Crain's Cleveland Business

GRANTMAKER RETURNS Local Initiatives Support Corp., a nonprofit lender, is setting up an office in Cleveland.

GOING GLOBAL: Managing the pandemic’s impact on international goals. PAGE 10

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CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM I JULY 12, 2021

TACKLING A NEW ERA

Apartment building sales are picking up A rush of out-of-town buyers are joining locals in a bustling market

Athletic directors say students being able to capitalize on their name, image and likeness is good for college athletics

BY STAN BULLARD

“That’s a sign of a frothy market.”

That was the exchange between Bhavin Patel and Michael Smith, the principals of Green Harvest Capital of Akron, as a ballcap-wearing motorist in a BMW sped off after asking the two if the Shaker Crossing Apartments in Shaker Heights was up for sale or just changed hands. It was neither.

Such an unsolicited inquiry is part of the picture in Northeast Ohio’s multifamily market, far afield from the attention-grabbing new apartment towers that have transformed downtown and some city neighborhoods. An influx of out-of-town buyers — many established multifamily owners or private equity-backed startups from New York City and New Jersey — are joining a new generation of local owners. The action, which accompanies rising rents and low interest rates, is dramatically pumping up sale prices for older Class B and C properties that make up the bulk of the region’s inventory.

It’s a situation that does not deter Green Harvest’s principals, who have joined with a group of investors to build a portfolio focused on workforce housing.

Consider the improvements underway at Shaker Crossing on Warrensville Center Road, a half-mile from Van Aken District, the big-ticket, mixed-use project by RMS Investments and the city of Shaker Heights.

At the 1952-vintage, 80-unit apartment complex of buildings Green Harvest bought in 2020, Patel and Smith are heavy into updating the two-bedroom suites by opening up See APARTMENT on Page 21

`BY KEVIN KLEPS

Two years ago, leaders from the Mid-American Conference met to discuss the possibility of student-athletes profiting from their name, image and likeness.

There were representatives from the NCAA, as well as the legal and marketing industries. MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher didn’t quite know where college sports were headed, but he was confident major changes were on the way.

“It’s clearly not been a seamless process,” Steinbrecher said on June 30 — the day before college athletes were free to strike endorsement deals and benefit from their enhanced profiles.

See ATHLETES on Page 18 Tennis player Klara Mrcela has the second-largest social media following among all Cleveland State athletes, thanks to an Instagram account with 152,000 followers. | FRANK JANSKY

Colleges hopeful about fall enrollment tallies

BY AMY MORONA

Last fall brought steep enrollment drops for higher education institutions across the country during the pandemic. Officials at some of Northeast Ohio’s colleges and universities are hopeful the tide turns this fall.

But suddenly boosting enrollment isn’t simple, even as campuses open up.

The pandemic’s disproportionate

impact on women and communities of color continues to be felt. A thinktank survey of college students earlier this spring reported 65% said higher education is losing its value. Completions of the FAFSA, the financial aid form that offers funding for students in need or those from underrepresented groups, are down 5% nationally from this time last year.

And don’t forget about the hurdles that existed pre-pandemic, including

Ohio’s dwindling number of high school graduates. For instance, Youngstown State University officials cited regional demographic declines as one reason why applications are down.

The university is projecting a 5% decrease in enrollment in the fall.

That’s a point larger than the drop YSU saw last fall that brought its full-time enrollment to 9,739 students. It’s bigger than the 4% decline the University

of Akron is forecasting for the upcoming semester, too.

Plus, there’s the economy. The opportunity cost for going to college has changed over the past 90 days, said Kent State University president Todd Diacon. He’s not complaining, he said. He’s glad to see people finding work with higher wages. It’s just a situation he said he has never seen before.

See ENROLLMENT on Page 20

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NONPROFITS

Grantmaker returns to Cleveland after 15 years LISC, with assist from Cleveland Foundation, setting up local office

BY MICHELLE JARBOE

A national lending and grantmaking organization that pulled out of Cleveland 15 years ago is returning to the region, with an eye on reducing gaps in wealth, work and well-being.

The Local Initiatives Support Corp., better known as LISC, quietly began reestablishing its presence here last year by making more than $1 million in loans and grants to small businesses, community groups and a senior-housing redevelopment downtown. Now the New York-based nonprofit is setting up a local office with $3 million in support from the Cleveland Foundation.

In late June, the foundation’s board approved a three-year grant to help LISC open that office, hire staff and craft a longer-term strategy. The funding is flowing after two-plus years of discussions about opportunities to pump out-of-town cash into everything from neighborhood revitalization to financial counseling to workforce development.

LISC, launched in 1979 by the Ford Foundation, acts as a middle man between funders — banks, private companies, foundations and governments — and people and places in need. The nonprofit provides loans, grants and equity for real estate development and businesses, along with technical assistance to community development corporations and other organizations.

“I think they bring a lot of national

resources that can be leveraged here in Cleveland,” said India Pierce Lee, a Cleveland Foundation senior vice president who shepherds grantmaking and a former LISC senior program director who led an office here from 1998 to 2004.

The nonprofit first entered Cleveland in 1981 with support from local foundations and corporations. Over a quarter-century run in the region, LISC invested more than $33 million in affordable housing. The Northeast Ohio office once covered a six-county territory.

LISC quietly shut its doors here in 2006, after Lee had moved on to another job.

Denise Scott, the nonprofit’s executive vice president for programs, said she doesn’t know the precise reasons for that decision. But the organization periodically has left markets due to funding challenges, lackluster local support or the sense that its programs aren’t making enough of a difference in communities.

“I was always sad whenever LISC exited,” said Scott, who oversees the organization’s 37 city-based offices and national programs. “Now that I am sitting in this seat, I am thrilled to say that we’re coming back.”

In the intervening years, the group’s mission has grown far beyond affordable housing, to job creation, business growth, education, safety and health. LISC, which also offers services in roughly 2,200 rural areas, invests more than $1 billion annually in a broad array of

programs.

As a community development financial institution, the nonprofit offers debt and equity to real estate developers, small businesses and other customers who might struggle to secure traditional financing. LISC often invests some of the earliest, and riskiest, money in a project.

Last year, for example, the nonprofit provided a $450,000 loan to the owner of Carter Manor to study the feasibility of renovating the building, a senior housing tower on Prospect Avenue downtown. In May, a Chicago-based developer announced plans to move forward on an $18 million makeover of the 270-unit rental property.

Through a trio of affiliates, LISC connects investors and developers on deals involving Low Income Housing Tax Credits; uses federal New Markets Tax Credits to fill financing gaps for projects in distressed communities; and serves as a Small Business Administration lender.

In November, the group announced an initiative called Project 10X, a decade-long push to improve health and wealth in communities of color. So far, the $1 billion effort is drawing on money from major technology, retail and finance companies; corporate foundations; and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

See GRANTMAKER on Page 8

The Local Initiatives Support Corp. provided a $450,000 predevelopment loan last year to help a developer assess the feasibility of a major renovation of Carter Manor, a low-income apartment tower in Cleveland. | MICHELLE JARBOE

EDUCATION

David James leaves Akron looking to the future

BY RACHEL ABBEY MCCAFFERTY

As superintendent of the Akron Public Schools, David James helped build relationships with the community and make education more relevant and tangible for students.

One of James’ big initiatives was the College and Career Academies of Akron, which transformed the district’s high schools and created an educational model that ties learning to different career paths.

James, who left the Akron schools at the end of June, had been the district’s superintendent since 2008. In September, he’ll join the Columbus schools as a deputy superintendent for operations. Prior to taking the helm at Akron, he had spent about six years as the district’s executive director of business affairs and almost 10 as its environmental program manager.

James wanted the district’s approximately 20,000 students to be more aware of the careers in their community. Often, there’s a sense of relief at graduation, he said, but it’s really “just the beginning.” Students could go on to a four- or twoyear degree, or enter the workforce, or pursue a slew of other options.

They all have different needs and goals, he said.

“And we just need to make sure

that we’re providing an educational program that can take those individual needs into account, and really work with the students and their families,” James said.

James learned about the career academy model being used by the Nashville schools, which were being supported by Ford. He arranged for a visit to learn more and returned inspired. There were already similarities between the Nashville schools and what was being done around career education in Akron, he said, but the Nashville schools had gone a lot further. One of the schools had a credit union inside where students could get accounts; another hosted a center for Bridgestone.

“I saw that and said, ‘Wow, we need that here in Akron,’ ” James said. “Because we had half of the game accomplished. We already had a lot of career technical programs.”

Getting the new model off the ground took a little longer than James had hoped, but in 2017, the district became part of the Ford Next Generation Learning Community, officially kicking off its transition from traditional high schools to college and career academies.

James thought he’d see hesitation from companies, universities and other community partners. He

did not. Today, the district has almost 300 business partners, including named partners such as Bridgestone, KeyBank and Akron Children’s Hospital.

The college and career pathway model is “probably one of the boldest things we’ve done with our schools and our students,” said Bernett L. Williams, vice president of external affairs at Akron Children’s Hospital. But because James had built such strong relationships with the community prior to its launch, it was an easy decision to sign on board, Williams said.

Akron Children’s Hospital was the first named partner for the academies, working with North High School. Through the academy at North, students, teachers and health care professionals collaborate to get students real-world experience, from job shadowing to employing students during the summer, Williams said.

James was a “phenomenal” partner to the business community, said Tim Burke, KeyBank market president for Northeast Ohio. He sees the big picture, Burke said, and it was important that he give Akron’s graduates a range of opportunities for their post-K-12 lives. And companies in the community need help finding qualified candidates. The college and career

academies addressed both needs, thanks to James.

“He was the visionary behind this,” Burke said.

There’s a clear business case for the career pathways approach.

Companies often talk about the need to attract talent, James said, but he thinks the region needs to “develop the talent that’s already here.” The region needs an employment pipeline to be strong.

But there’s also an academic case to be made. The approach gives teachers a direct way to connect lessons to the real world, giving practical applications to career paths. It adds relevance for students.

Additionally, being exposed to careers students may not otherwise see “opens their horizons,” James said. And the professionals who volunteer their time help students gain not only technical skills, but soft skills, too, through activities like mock interviews. And those are “game-changers” that will last a lifetime, James said.

James is quick to note that there were many superintendents before him at Akron, and that there will be many after. And his work built on the foundation laid by others. But he wanted to leave the district better for his time there. He credits his team for much of the work, and

said he hopes the engagement between the schools, the universities and the business community continue into the future.

“Because all of those things go together. And for years, we just kind of worked like we were in isolation ... or an island all unto ourselves. And we’re not. We’re in a larger ecosystem,” he said.

The academies are an opportunity for companies to invest in the community and in the next generation, said Bob Lux, director for program engineering for consumer tires at Bridgestone.

“It’s a great way for a company to really give back to the community where we work, where we live and where we play,” Lux said. “We want to have a thriving community.”

He said when he hears students talking about the pathways, he can hear that they’re excited about their futures and the possibilities they see. The academies give them exposure to different industries and types of jobs, and they connect the lessons students learn to those future careers.

As a leader, James is “inspiring,” Lux said, adding, “He makes you want to be a part of something bigger than yourself.”

Rachel Abbey McCafferty: (216) 771-5379, rmccafferty@crain.com JULY 12, 2021 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 3

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Patient activity, service expansions, investments expand UH's impact

BY LYDIA COUTRÉ

University Hospitals’ economic impact to the regional economy grew 33% between 2016 and 2019, during which time the health system didn’t integrate any new facilities but rather got larger through service expansions and capital builds and investments. UH contributes $10.3 billion to the regional economy and $4.4 billion of labor income to Ohio, according to the economic impact report the system conducts about every three years.

“We have a mission for creating health and wellness, but we in fact are a major player in the economic health and well-being of the economy,” said Heidi Gartland, chief government and community relations officer for UH. “We know the healthier an economy is, the healthier its population is as well.”

An increase in patients has been a major driver of the growth, as well as increased investments in research and academics, she said. UH’s recent notable capital projects include the construction of the $26 million UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Ahuja Center for Women & Children, which opened in 2018 in Cleveland’s MidTown neighborhood, and a new $17 million ambulatory health center at UH Richland Health Center. In 2019, UH broke ground on a $27.5 million renovation and expansion project of surgical services at UH Parma Medical Center, as well as an $11.2 million renovation project at UH Elyria Medical Center. Additionally, a $236 million planned expansion of the UH Ahuja Medical Center campus includes a 216,000-square-foot hospital building and 78,000-square-foot sports medicine complex.

“For 155 years, University Hospitals has been guided by a strong commitment to civic and social responsibility, leveraging its role as an anchor institution to build physical and economic health for the community,” UH CEO Dr. Cliff Megerian said in a provided statement “Our goal is to be the most trusted health care partner.

Because we know there is a direct correlation between population wealth

UH Elyria Medical Center underwent an $11.2 million renovation. | CONTRIBUTED

Healthy gains UH’s estimated total state-level impacts

Percent increase from 2016*

$10.3 billion in total economic output

+33%

66,687 direct and indirect jobs

+9%

$4.4 billion of labor income

+8%

44,836 households supported

+7%

$370.4 million in total state and local taxes

+6%

$664.1 million in spending on good and services

+27%

$3.0 billion in household spending

+24%

*2016 WAS THE PREVIOUS TIME THAT AN ECONOMIC IMPACT REPORT WAS DONE. SOURCE: UH

and population health, this aim to be the most trusted includes driving strategic initiatives that create jobs and produce meaningful labor income. In turn, this fosters economic growth, which ultimately aids in keeping our Northeast Ohio population healthy.”

In 2019, UH directly employed 27,755 people. Adding in those employed by joint venture partners and its construction activities, the system’s permanent and construction jobs that year totaled 31,524. For every direct UH job, approximately 1.12 additional jobs are supported in Ohio, according to the report, authored by Silverlode Consulting.

It estimates that, in total, UH’s medical centers, health centers and

physician offices generate nearly 67,000 direct and indirect jobs, supporting 45,000 households. UH-supported households spend about $3 billion purchasing goods and services in Ohio, while the health system purchased $664.1 million in goods and services from Ohio vendors in 2019, according to the report.

“While our real mission is to heal, to teach and to discover, we’ve become a very big economic nonprofit organization that does give back to the community,” Gartland said. “So when we prosper, we really reinvest that prosperity back into the community.”

Lydia Coutré: lcoutre@crain.com, (216) 771-5479, @LydiaCoutre

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ECONOMY

Team NEO: Economic momentum is building Organization says projects in last six months could spark $1.3 billion in capital investments

Tracking ahead

BY KIM PALMER

New jobs 10,000

completed projects estimated to generate 5,117 new jobs with $332.9 milTeam NEO’s 2021 quarterly report lion in annual payroll in the 18-counfinds “momentum is building and ty region. The projects are projected confidence is growing stronger” as to spur about $1.26 billion in new the economy opens up and new cap- capital investment in the region, acital investment comes into the re- cording to the report.

Those numbers put 2021 on a gion.

“The trajectory of Northeast Ohio’s stronger pace than 2020, when Team economy is on an upward swing,” the NEO worked on projects that created nonprofit economic development or- 8,528 new jobs representing $449.1 ganization said in its latest report, million in payroll, and 2019, which “Momentum Endures,” which high- saw the organization work on projlights the organization’s work during ects that led to 5,464 new jobs and $285 million in payroll. the first half of 2021.

Strict year-to-year comparisons The news is better than previously expected, said Bill Koehler, CEO of can be tricky, because they can be Team NEO. He said the easing of skewed by a small number of big COVID-19 restrictions is driving job projects. But Koehler said the data creation and new investment beyond bode well for Northeast Ohio’s ongolevels Team NEO projected in March, ing recovery. based on the amount of projects in the So far in 2021, business attraction group’s pipeline. and expansion in the region has been “Our first half ... demonstrates strongest in agriculture and food serthere is a strong vote of confidence vice; logistics and distribution; advanced manufacturing; and information technol“BUSINESSES, GIVEN THE CHOICE ogy, the report found.

BETWEEN PRODUCING HERE OR Koehler said that the OVERSEAS, (OFTEN) ARE CHOOSING types of businesses choosing to relocate or expand HERE. ... THEY HAVE BETTER are consistent with what the region has seen over CONTROL OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN.” the last few years, though a — Bill Koehler, Team NEO CEO new emphasis on shortening up supply chains for out there for the regional economy,” manufacturers is driving some decisions.

Koehler said.

“Businesses, given the choice beIn the first half of 2021, Team NEO, working with JobsOhio and other tween producing here or overseas, economic development partners, (often) are choosing here,” Koehler

Team NEO’s 2021 Performance and Impact Report highlights job creation and payroll numbers from new projects in the region that are on pace to be much higher than the region’s totals in the category in 2020.

Koehler

Annual payroll from new jobs $500 million 8,528

8,000

Barnes

6,000

said. “Even though it may be a little more expensive, they have better control of the supply chain.”

Justin Barnes, executive director of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce Research Foundation, said the state is well-positioned for businesses looking to shorten supply chain and shipping distances.

“Ohio has a strong legacy of manufacturing, logistics and transportation, and when businesses are looking to adjust their supply chains, because of disruptions, we are ready to step in and say we have the capacity and the skill if you’re looking to get your product out to customers more effectively and in a quicker timeframe.”

The region also benefits from a growing need for more distribution hubs in the Midwest as the timely transport of inventory to customers, particularly in the agriculture and food service industry, intensifies.

Team NEO counts among the list of completed projects four food science and agriculture companies: Peaceful Fruits in Summit County; Symba & Snap Gourmet Foods in Cuyahoga County; Valley Foods Inc. in Mahoning County; and The Chef’s Garden in Erie County.

Northeast Ohio’s proximity to farms, fresh water and good transpor-

4,000

300 5,464

5,117

200

2,000 0

$449 M

400

$333 M

$285 M

100 2019

2020

0

2021*

2019

2020

2021*

* FOR THE FIRST HALF OF 2021 SOURCE: TEAM NEO

tation infrastructure has helped grow the industry that in previous years was one of only two sectors in Northeast to experience both gross domestic product and employment growth.

“Ohio is becoming an increasingly more attractive place to invest in the food business,” Koehler said.

The region’s trend toward logistics and distribution growth also means some companies require more warehouse space, as demonstrated by another Team NEO-assisted project: the expansion of a Macy’s fulfillment center in Mahoning County, a $29.9 million capital investment that will create 417 jobs.

Companies looking to take advantage of the region’s proximity to large swaths of the country’s population are in need of built-out or shovel-ready sites, Koehler said, noting that Team NEO, in conjunction with JobsOhio and other partners, anticipated that need and worked on identifying “a robust inventory of readily

available sites” in the region. The organization’s NEO RightSites program, which identifies, catalogs and reviews large tracts of land to market to growing businesses, now lists nine properties, ranging from 39 to 350 acres, as being ready for site development.

To address the gap in shovel-ready properties, Team NEO funded six speculative development projects, in six different counties, totaling 1.7 million square feet of new and renovated space as part of the JobsOhio Site Inventory Program. That program awards grants and low-interest loans for speculative site and building development projects.

“This is an example of what we have done over a two- to three-year period. We think we’re on the right track, and we think it’s making a difference,” Koehler said.

Kim Palmer: kpalmer@crain.com, (216) 771-5384, @kimfouroffive

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PERSONAL VIEW

Making sure no one is left behind after COVID-19

RICH WILLIAMS FOR CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

BY TIMOTHY BURKE AND RACHAEL SAMPSON

EDITORIAL

Labor pains O

hio in the last week of June ended its participation in the federal pandemic unemployment compensation program, which provided an extra $300 per week in unemployment benefits to those who were out of work. The theory, according to Gov. Mike DeWine, business organizations and others that advocated the move, is that the additional benefits were disincentivizing people from re-entering the workforce, contributing to a labor shortage that is a drag on the economic recovery.

The labor shortage is real. You see it anecdotally in restaurants and other service industries, where wait times are longer and “now hiring” signs are plentiful, and in a more concrete way in government data. For instance, the U.S. Department of Labor’s latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, released last Wednesday, July 7, showed that job openings nationwide rose to a record 9.21 million in May, breaking the previous high mark of 9.19 million in April. Vacancies were particularly notable in the health care and hospitality industries.

As Bloomberg noted in examining the JOLTS data, “The THE STRESSFUL JOB of a worker shortage at THAT PAYS MINIMUM enigma a time when millions of AmeriWAGE OR JUST ABOVE cans remain out of work likely reflects myriad factors includIS LESS APPEALING ing child care challenges, lingering coronavirus concerns THAN EVER. and expanded jobless benefits.”

Put aside, at least for now, an effort by attorneys including Marc Dann, a former Ohio attorney general, to force the state to restore the $300-per-week benefits. (A hearing in that case, which argues getting rid of the extra payments violates Ohio unemployment law, is set for July 21.) We’ll note, too, that we’re OK with Ohio and other states sunsetting the additional benefits a little early. They had to end at some point, and the labor market is clearly on the upswing. But will the end of those benefits help make it significantly easier for employers to find workers? Possibly, to varying degrees that depend on the industry and nature of the workforce available in a particular geographic area. Even so, employers shouldn’t expect that their labor challenges all of a sudden will disappear.

After the shock to the economic system that came with the pandemic, we’re seeing, as the Washington Post put it recently, “a great reassessment of work in America” that suggests employers in certain industries are facing longer-term staffing challenges.

Take the retail world, for instance. In April, the Labor Department reported, 649,000 retail workers left their jobs, the industry’s largest one-month pace of departures since the government began tracking the data more than 20 years ago.

The Post, in analyzing the numbers, noted that the pandemic “introduced new strains to already challenging work: longer hours, understaffed stores, unruly customers and even pay cuts.” And in a world that’s returning to normal by the day, workers — particularly those who were able to build up savings as a result of receiving stimulus checks and staying in during the pandemic — have options.

The stressful job that pays minimum wage or just above is less appealing than ever in the context of what people have experienced for the last 16 months. Some will try a new field entirely. Others might look to become entrepreneurs. (In Ohio and elsewhere, the number of new-business filings rose during the pandemic and remain elevated today.) Because so many jobs are open, still other workers will dip into an opportunity but then leave quickly if something better comes around.

Employers, then, will have to work harder than ever to attract and retain talent. Of course that means looking at pay structures. The federal minimum wage isn’t changing, but market forces have led many big employers to push to or past the $15-per-hour pay level. That’s not easy for some smaller employers, yet neither is contending with persistent labor shortages and hoping wage pressures ease.

Money means a lot, but it isn’t everything. Employers who aren’t looking at other elements of the work environment they provide — stability of schedules, safer working conditions, the general benefits package — will find themselves lagging their competitors for talent.

The pandemic has brought a reset of the employer/employee relationship. The smart employer will adapt quickly — or won’t be around much longer to complain about it.

Executive Editor: Elizabeth McIntyre (emcintyre@crain.com) Managing Editor: Scott Suttell (ssuttell@crain.com) Contact Crain’s: 216-522-1383 Read Crain’s online: crainscleveland.com

As consumers emerge and spend within their communities, there are new opportunities to support minority- and women-owned businesses.

Recent U.S. Census data shows that in Ohio, there are more than 306,000 businesses owned by Burke (left) is KeyBank’s Northeast women and more than Ohio market president. Sampson is 122,000 owned by mi- Key4Women’s national director. norities. When you consider that roughly half (48%) of small business revenues are recirculated back into the neighborhoods they serve, the impact businesses owned by Black, indigenous and other people of color (BIPOC) and women have is substantial.

Unfortunately, these businesses have taken the biggest hit from the pandemic. As a study by Kinsey & Co. states, part of the reason lies in the fact that minority- and women-owned businesses are more likely to be concentrated in the industries most affected by the pandemic. Even before COVID, many were undercapitalized from systemic social and economic injustices that have long created barriers to growth and financial stability.

The good news is that more consumers are sustaining the call for economic and racial equity by supporting BIPOC- and women-owned businesses. Supporting these businesses creates jobs, supports families, attracts other businesses and investments to the area, and strengthens the community.

Economic equity and inclusion is a cornerstone of our business. Our initial $16.5 billion National Community Benefits Plan focused on supporting underserved communities in our 15-state footprint. In Northeast Ohio, KeyBank has made more than $1 billion in community investments. The plan’s recent expansion to $40 billion enables even greater support for low-to-moderate income small businesses, affordable housing, community development, mortgage lending and philanthropy.

Here are some things that all companies can do to support local BIPOC- and women-owned businesses: `Implement inclusive business practices. In addition to diversified hiring practices, all companies can empower employees with knowledge to mitigate unconscious bias. At KeyBank, our employee onboarding experience includes a diversity, equity and inclusion curriculum that addresses unconscious bias head-on and sets clear standards for service and product delivery, including credit and lending decisions rooted in sound risk management. ` Create a diverse and inclusive workforce. Inclusive hiring practices that reflect the diversity of the communities we serve are critical to creating value to our diverse client base. ` Spend intentionally. Using a company’s buying power through intentional and inclusive supplier diversity can go a long way in creating economic access and opportunities for minority- and women-owned businesses. ` Support entrepreneurs. Our area is rich with opportunities to serve BIPOC and women on their journey to financial wellness. Through advocacy, connections and empowerment, our Key4Women program provides women in business access to experts who understand their unique needs and can help them achieve their goals, in life and in business.

The past year has brought significant challenges to our communities and a collective awakening about the obstacles people of color and women face every day. We all have the opportunity and obligation to take action and influence change.

Working together, we can strengthen our communities while supporting businesses most impacted over the last year.

Write us: Crain’s welcomes responses from readers. Letters should be as brief as possible and may be edited. Send letters to Crain’s Cleveland Business, 700 West St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, Cleveland, OH 44113, or by emailing ClevEdit@crain.com. Please include your complete name and city from which you are writing, and a telephone number for fact-checking purposes.

Sound off: Send a Personal View for the opinion page to emcintyre@crain.com. Please include a telephone number for verification purposes.

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OPINION

Global Partnership Built on

Deep Local Knowledge PERSONAL VIEW

Tackling racial health disparities with artificial intelligence

BY ANANT MADABHUSHI

lation-specific models that more accurately predict risk and recurrence of disease. In addition, equitable representation of all populations within A world of support that revolves around one axis: models can help discern underlying biological differences in cancers and other diseases that might exist between different racial groups. For inConnect with us | www.naipvc.com stance, an AI analysis of digitized images of cancer tissue conducted by the Madabhushi is Center for Computational Imaging the Donnell 6155 Rockside Rd., Ste 304 | Cleveland, OH 44131 540 White Pond Dr., Ste A | Akron, OH 44320 1093 Medina Road | Medina, OH 44256 and Personalized Diagnostics Institute 216 831 3310 330 535 2661 330 239 0176 (CCIPD) has shown critical variations Professor of www.naipvc.com between Black and white prostate canBiomedical cer patients. Currently employed risk Engineering at calculators, nomograms and companCase Western ion diagnostic tests for prostate cancer Reserve don’t account for these variations.

University and Similarly, a study of more than 400 director of the Black and white women presented at Center for the 2021 American Society for CliniComputational cal Oncology’s annual meeting in Imaging and June points to significant differences Personalized in the appearance of endometrial Diagnostics. He also is a research cancer between the two populations.

By taking these differences into conhealth scientist sideration, more nuanced, populaat the Louis Stokes Cleveland tion-specific models could more effectively address biological Veterans differences and better predict recurAdministration rence of prostate cancer, endometrial Medical Center. cancer and other diseases in minority populations. This, in turn, could lead to better patient care and ultimately lives saved.

Partnerships are being created to foster work that counteracts health disparities. In April, the CCIPD signed a memorandum of understanding with Hampton University, a historically Black research university in Virginia, to develop AI tools for addressing cancer disparities. The technologies will help answer important questions about which Black men undergoing proton therapy are likely to respond to the treatment.

“I am thrilled that Hampton University will be working with leaders in AI in medicine,” said Bill Thomas, vice president for government relations at the university. “Together, Hampton University and Case Western Reserve University will be able to push the boundaries on addressing cancer disparities and make a positive impact on the health of underserved communities.”

There is a lot of long-overdue attention being paid today to social inequity and racial injustice in America.

While society examines the treatment of minority populations, it can’t overlook one key segment — health care.

Using responsibly developed AI tools that employ population-specific risk prediction models, we can recognize important biological variations, then develop and optimize tools that benefit all patients. It’s a small, but critical, step toward rectifying health disparity.

You

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Our nation has been embroiled in social unrest for several years, reaching a boiling point in May 2020 with the death of George Floyd. Racial inequities permeate all facets of our lives, from housing and education to law enforcement and the workplace.

Health care is not immune to such inequalities. The United States is facing a crisis in health disparity — the unequal burden of illness, injury or mortality experienced among population groups.

Research by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Altarum, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing health among at-risk and disenfranchised populations, estimates that disparities lead to approximately $93 billion in excess medical care costs and $42 billion in lost productivity per year. Close to home, Cleveland rightfully boasts its role as a leading medical destination. However, the city has a poor record on health disparity. Understanding inequities and addressing them through the combination of appropriate medical therapies and technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) is paramount to population health management in Northeast Ohio, the nation and around the world.

There is mounting evidence that many of the disease risk calculators and companion diagnostic tests used today aren’t reliable for all populations. For instance, a recent study revealed that the Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence test — the most commonly ordered genomic test to ascertain risk of distant recurrence for early-stage breast cancer and gauge whether a person will benefit from chemotherapy — is less accurate for Black women than white women. Information used to develop the test derived from studies in which only 5% to 6% of the women participating were Black, which raises questions about the prognostic accuracy of the Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Scores in women from minority groups.

AI tools can provide invaluable assistance to counteract potential inaccuracies, utilizing big data to more reliably predict disease risk, outcomes and therapy response. However, it’s important to note that AI tools alone aren’t the panacea to health disparities, particularly if their development is prone to the same bias as diagnostic tool construction.

News stories have fairly pointed out problems with AI when implicit bias infiltrates algorithms. For instance, multiple studies cited in an article in The Atlantic warn about the potential for racial disparities to crop up when using machine learning for skin cancer screenings because the data derives primarily from light-skinned populations. This is especially troubling since the mortality rate for Black Americans with skin cancer is notably higher than white Americans, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. Researchers and tech companies involved in the creation of algorithms need to remain vigilant against bias creep.

However, by responsibly and thoughtfully harnessing the power of big data and AI, researchers can create popu-

NAI Pleasant Valley, a leading provider of commercial real estate brokerage, property management, facility management and construction management services throughout Northeast Ohio.

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THE WEEK THAT’S SETTLED: Cleveland Clinic Akron General will pay $21.25 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act of improper relationships with certain referring physicians and the submission of false Medicare claims, based on an agreement reached in May. The settlement resolves allegations that Akron General paid compensation “substantially in excess of fair market value” to area physician groups in order to secure patient referrals between August 2010 and March 2016, according to a settlement announcement. The Clinic acquired Akron General at the end of 2015 through a full member substitution agreement. Shortly after, in early 2016, the system “identified a potential compliance concern related to Akron General’s contracts with a few of its independent physician groups,” the Clinic said. The Clinic voluntarily disclosed its concerns to the government and received credit for its cooperation in the resolution reached by the parties. The compensation arrangements were put in place by Akron General’s prior leadership.

AIMING HIRE: Progressive Corp. announced plans for another major hiring spree in support of its ongoing growth. The national Mayfield Village-based insurance company announced Wednesday, July 7 that it intends to hire “up to” 6,400 new employees during the rest of 2021. That number represents a roughly 15% increase in its total workforce of more than 43,000 people, though the potential 6,400 new hires is not a net figure and therefore does not take into account how many people might leave the company over the year. Progressive said the largest number of open positions are in the call center, with 3,000 remote job openings across the country.

Another 2,900 jobs in the Field and Centralized Claims division are available as well, which include some hybrid work-from-home and fully remote positions. Additionally, the company said there are more than 300 jobs available on the technology front — such as developers, data engineers and IT analysts — 150 jobs in the legal group and 60 jobs in data and analytics.

DRIVEN TO SUCCEED: You could buy your next car from a movie star — one whose business interests extend to a health and wellness company, a line of waters and the Wahlburgers restaurant chain, too.

Actor, producer and businessman Mark Wahlberg on Tuesday, July 6, announced that he and business partner Jay Feldman acquired Lorain County auto dealership Joe Firment Chevrolet and will name it

GRANTMAKER

From Page 3

Project 10X debuted when discussions about LISC’s return to Cleveland were well underway. But the program’s goals closely align with the Cleveland Foundation’s increasing emphasis on equity, said Keisha Gonzalez, the foundation’s program manager for social impact investing and community development initiatives.

“I think everyone is collectively on this journey of what is equity,

Cleveland Clinic Akron General will pay $21.25 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act of improper relationships with referring physicians. | CONTRIBUTED

An outdoor stage is part of the next phase of renovations at Karamu House, the oldest African American producing theater in the United States. | KARAMU HOUSE

Mark Wahlberg Chevrolet of Avon.

It will be the fifth auto dealership in Ohio for Wahlberg but the first in the Cleveland market. His other dealerships are in the Columbus area. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Avon dealership, located at 37995 Chester Road, occupies 10.5 acres and has 38,000 square feet of showroom, service (with 20 bays) and parts space, according to the release. A spokeswoman said the dealership has 75 employees. Wahlberg began acquiring Ohio dealerships in 2018.

His most recent deal in that market came in August 2020 with the addition of a Chevrolet dealership in suburban Worthington.

FOLLOW THE MONEY: AML RightSource, backed by private equity firm Gridiron Capital, acquired Blue Umbrella Ltd. of Hong Kong in a deal that bolsters AML’s work in compliance services and technology solutions available to the financial institutions it serves. Blue Umbrella, founded in 2009, specializes in due diligence research and regulatory compliance technologies. It has served a variety of industries including technology, food and agriculture, life sciences and financial services.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The acquired company includes 200 employees who join Cleveland-based AML with the deal. Staff serve clients in Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America.

Progressive Corp. announced plans for another major hiring spree in support of its ongoing growth. | PROGRESSIVE CORP.

SETTING THE STAGE: The next phase of the renovation of Karamu House, the oldest African American producing theater in the United States, is set to move forward as a result of a $1 million grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation. Karamu and Bank of Ameri-

ca announced the grant Thursday, July 8. They said it will enable Karamu to complete the third phase of a campus renovation that will include major upgrades to a black-box space that will be called the Bank of America Arena Theatre, as well as a new outdoor stage, a full-service bistro with patio, ADA enhancements and a renovated streetscape.

Tony F. Sias, president and CEO of Karamu, said the Bank of America grant is being applied to the Karamu Rising capital campaign that supports renovations of the theater.

That campaign in June set a goal of raising an additional $3.5 million for Karamu, Sias said. Since 2017, Karamu has renovated its historic

Jelliffe Theatre as well as its art gallery, gift shop, theater lounge and box office and main lobby. The latest phase of Karamu’s capital campaign was expected to be completed in January, but, like many things, its was delayed as a result of the pandemic. With the Bank of America grant, Sias said, Karamu expects to be able to break ground on the phase three renovations by September. If all proceeds as planned, those renovations will be completed by summer 2022, Sias said.

what is justice and how does that show up in community development and economic development,” Gonzalez said.

Near-term, LISC has committed to selecting four geographic areas for investments, said Kevin Jordan, a senior vice president who lives in the Cleveland area and is representing LISC on the ground while the nonprofit searches for a local executive director.

The first two target sites are the adjoining Stockyards and Clark-Fulton neighborhoods on Cleveland’s West Side and the

long-suffering city of East Cleveland.

Cuyahoga County officials brought LISC to East Cleveland, said Mayor Brandon King. The organization is contributing to a nascent master-planning process focused on roughly 40 acres near the city’s western border. And the nonprofit is helping the city’s fledgling community development corporation, the Northeast Ohio Alliance for Hope, add staff and build expertise.

“We want to ensure that quality housing and businesses that sup-

port quality housing are built in the city, to protect the integrity of current residents and new residents. I think LISC has an excellent track record in those two arenas,” King said. “And I think they will play a very important role in making sure that mixed-income development happens in a responsible way.”

It’s too early to say how significant a mark LISC can make in Cleveland.

Tania Menesse, president and CEO of nonprofit Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, said she’s encouraged by the work LISC did last

FIRE UP THE ROBOTS: Ranpak Holdings Corp. has gotten itself into a Pickle. The Concord Township-based producer of environ-

mentally sustainable, paper-based packaging for e-commerce and industrial supply chains announced it has made a strategic investment in Pickle Robot Co. of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Ranpak did not disclose specific terms of the investment in Pickle. Pickle “has developed a low-cost, collaborative package-handling robot that automates several key tasks along the e-commerce supply chain,” Ranpak said. It noted the investment follows Ranpak’s recent creation of R Squared Robotics, a division that uses 3D computer vision and artificial intelligence technologies to improve end-of-the-line packaging and logistics. year, during the worst of the pandemic, to prop up small businesses through grants to community development corporations and through the federal Paycheck Protection Program.

Most of the direct loans or grants went to minority- or woman-owned businesses with fewer than 10 employees, Scott said.

“We’re a growing market,” Menesse said. “We need all the resources we can get.”

Michelle Jarboe: michelle.jarboe@ crain.com, (216) 771-5437, @mjarboe

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FINANCE

Bitcoin for Billions is Charles Stack’s latest initiative

BY JEREMY NOBILE

Charles Stack has Bitcoin on the brain. And he wants to help a billion others board his train of thought.

Feeding this more newfound passion, the entrepreneur and prolific Cleveland software investor behind Flashstarts — the venture fund and startup accelerator turned business consultant — said he is channeling efforts in a new endeavor, Bitcoin for Billions.

Stack said Bitcoin for Billions Association will be established in the coming months as a nonprofit. He’s already in the market for volunteers who want to get involved. The endeavor is represented today by a website Stack is building up (bitcoinforbillions.org).

The ultimate mission is to help spur the adoption of the much-debated cryptocurrency around the world that Stack and many others are quite bullish on.

This means educating people, businesses and countries about it while promoting avenues for affecting faster transactions. Stack wants to provide a roadmap others can follow to replicate what El Salvador has done in embracing the digital money as legal tender.

“We’re trying to make Bitcoin a global currency,” he said.

Supporting this is the website, which is being loaded with information about Bitcoin and the Lightning Network.

Investopedia describes the Lightning Network as a “technological solu-

tion intended to solve the problem of transaction speed on the bitcoin blockchain by introducing off-ledger transactions.”

In other words, it’s a system designed to facilitate faster, cheaper and generally better Bitcoin transactions, a crucial element of spurring its wider adoption.

A “node” on the network acts as a gateway to its ecosystem and serves as an access point for fast, private payments on a blockchain, like what powers Bitcoin. What El Salvador is doing is powered by the Lightning Network.

Stack has been a Bitcoin advocate for several years, having first bought a small amount of the cryptocurrency when he opened his Coinbase account in 2016 (he’s Stack never sold any).

It ties in with his blockchain advocacy and support for the now-dormant Blockland initiative. He’s helmed dozens of presentations recently on Bitcoin and the Lightning Network. Both have remained a core focus of his during the pandemic.

It was the recent Miami 2021 Bitcoin Conference that inspired the launch of Bitcoin for Billions. Its slogan is “Bitcoin for billions, not billionaires.”

That itself is a reflection of Bitcoin’s creation of something “by the people

and for the people,” said David Croft, an attorney with Meyers Roman Friedberg and Lewis whose practice centers largely on cryptocurrency. Croft sold a Bitcoin-mining business in recent years, and among his clients are crypto exchanges and companies looking to use Bitcoin and other blockchain-based technologies.

“Bitcoin was never supposed to be something only the wealthy could afford or understand,” Croft said. “But there is a learning curve to understanding it. If (Stack’s) mission is to educate people on Bitcoin, and to make it faster and more accessible, I’m all for it. Those are noble intentions.”

What Stack is doing is not unprecedented. But he sees his efforts playing into that global mission of bringing Bitcoin into the mainstream.

“Bitcoin presents us with a once-ina-lifetime opportunity for world-changing economic empowerment,” Stack said. “That became crystal clear at this conference. And so I decided to really focus on that in my own small way. We’re trying to provide people around the world with the tools and information they need to adopt Bitcoin to improve their lives.”

That’s no small task. But like most proponents of the cryptocurrency, Bitcoin has captured Stack’s imagination.

“Once you understand the technology at some level other than the trivial, it doesn’t have to be deeply technical. It does have a hands-on element. There will be a-ha moments. But once you get below that level of magic, once you understand what’s going on, you can start to see what happens if this reaches broad scale,” Stack said. “What it does is offer the chance to transform all the people in the world who don’t have banks — the unbanked become banked overnight. So they can participate in the global financial system. And that’s a lot of people.”

Stack referenced Greater Cleveland’s collection of immigrant communities and how the use of Bitcoin in remittances, where people send money back to others in their home country. Stack personally is open to talking with these groups about using cryptocurrency to help them do just that.

Of course, that’s just seemingly one of many compelling use cases for Bitcoin. Some advocates suggest Bitcoin may not be widely adopted as a currency by other governments like El Salvador, but that it could instead see wider use as a store of value for holding reserves in the asset — like what some countries do with gold.

So why focus on Bitcoin? What about the plethora of other coin alternatives in the market today?

Stack believes Bitcoin is the only useful crypto from a currency perspec-

tive. And Ethereum, the No. 2 cryptocurrency, is more promising as a platform for software developers than a transactable currency. All the other altcoins — like Dogecoin, Litecoin, Stellar etc. — are, from a currency standpoint, effectively rubbish, he said.

“None of the other altcoins will have what success Bitcoin is having or will have,” Stack said.

Of course, not everyone is as bullish on Bitcoin. There are critics who think blockchain is more hype than anything and that cryptocurrencies will never catch on. Its volatility fairly raises questions about its potential as a proper storage of value. Stack is aware of these criticisms and tends to brush them off.

He’s working on thoughtful, intellectual responses to them. A page of his website will address these points of view and many other common questions and critiques.

The site eventually will include detailed “playbooks” Stack is developing.

These so-called roadmaps could help spur Bitcoin’s use and support.

Stack said he’s working to line up volunteers, from established investors to college students, who want to be involved with his effort and some other cooperative partnerships. Of the latter, some are in the works, but it’s too early to discuss them publicly, he said.

As far as any fundraising for his nonprofit, Stack said he’s not looking at that right now.

CALLING LOCAL TRAILBLAZERS! Crain’s Cleveland Business is seeking nominations for its 2021 class of 40 under Forty. We’re looking for today’s brightest under 40 who continue to make their mark within their company, their industry and their community.

Winners will be featured in a special section of the Nov. 22 issue of Crain’s Cleveland Business.

NOMINATIONS CLOSE: AUG. 23 NOMINATE TODAY: CrainsCleveland.com/Nominate

JULY 12, 2021 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 9

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DUMPSTER DELIGHT Waste management tech firm from Cleveland is an asset for haulers nationwide.

MIDDLE MARKET

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pres “No our affe is a just one train ple pac In from trac gear hard emp are Th Nov of d Cur tion rope som er m tion whe serv A con trac the The whe lock el. I cust hav best

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GOING GLOBAL

Companies manage the pandemic’s impact on international business goals

BY DOUGLAS J. GUTH

A

bout a quarter of Hyland Software’s customer base exists outside the U.S., with the content service provider bringing the same go-to-market offerings internationally as it does stateside.

“Operations are represented across all functions of a business — sales, marketing and customer service,” said Ed McQuiston, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Hyland. “We’ve also got folks (overseas) doing R&D and tech support, and have HR and back office operations.”

FOR NORTHEAST OHIO MIDDLE MARKET ENTERPRISES, THE ECONOMIC CLIMATE IN THE ONGOING FALLOUT OF COVID-19 IS CREATING NEW CHALLENGES FOR INTERNATIONAL GROWTH.

For Hyland and other Northeast Ohio middle market enterprises, the economic climate in the ongoing fallout of COVID-19 is creating new challenges for international growth. Companies are delaying expansion plans, at the same time Adams embracing a remote global workforce model that had already been gaining traction prior to the pandemic.

With the virus crisis receding in some parts of the world, local midsized firms are once again casting

their eyes overseas, even as they adapted over the course of the pandemic to new ways of doing business beyond America’s borders.

Park Place Technologies, a Mayfield Heights data center hardware maintenance company, postponed the opening of a new sales arm in India earlier this year due to that country’s COVID-19 struggles.

“We had people hired, we had an office and training set up, and had to cancel all of those plans,” said

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A gion avai to o dleChu the ima niza inte of plan back P exec ers incl send ers war McQ rusa “l bus tran less have “A part scen “Fro poin in havi mor Ever that uall mor posi E Hyla pus ting wen for t 2020 14% wid had ent men

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president and CEO Chris Adams.

“Now we’re training remotely until our employees can come back. But it affects the office there, because this is a remote location that we were just standing up. You want people in one environment with concentrated training. That’s definitely one example of how the pandemic has impacted our success.”

International revenue derives from both on the maintenance contract side and the selling of network gear, refurbished servers and other hardware. Of the company’s 2,300 employees, anywhere from 600-750 are located overseas.

The firm, which doubled its size in November 2020 through acquisition of data center equipment supplier Curvature Inc., has physical locations and teams of engineers in Europe, Asia and South America. As some employees in these areas cover multiple countries, travel restrictions required further modifications when providing top-shelf customer service.

Adams said, “We had a business continuity planning team that kept track of all our global locations and the corresponding restrictions.

There were even a few locations where the environment was in hard lockdown with no nonessential travel. In those instances, we notified customers that our support would have to be a combination of remote/ best effort until conditions changed.”

ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES

On the road again?

Hyland’s customers and partners from Europe, the Middle East and Africa gather annually for an immersive technology event to learn the latest solutions and services that will help them support evolving business initiatives and network with industry peers. | KIRSTEN VAN SANTEN

others — using the company’s OnBase flagship software.

McQuiston said he would be surprised if global business travel in general returned to 50% of what it had been before March 2020.

“Platforms like Zoom have become a staple to how business gets done, when before it would have been disrespectful to do a video call,” McQuiston said. “I have a meeting today with a global partner in Japan. I would’ve taken that in person in the past, but now we’ll get on Zoom for 45 minutes.”

As the pandemic dissipates in regions where vaccines are readily available, business travel is expected A look ahead to once again be a facet of middle-market operations. According to Vitamix felt COVID’s impact upon Chubb and the National Center for global closures of the restaurants and the Middle Market (NCMM), approx- other hospitality markets to which it imately 29% of middle market orga- sells its high-performance blenders. nizations had employees traveling The Olmsted Falls company has sales internationally as of the last quarter staff in Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, along with China, of 2020. Another 41% Korea and Australia. A displanned to get employees back on the road this year. tribution center in the UK Pre-pandemic, Hyland temporarily closed due to executives visited customthat region’s high case ers in significant markets counts. including Europe, while Like other manufactursending international staffers, Vitamix suffered from ers across borders on softoverseas supply chain isware implementation jobs. sues as well as the ongoing McQuiston said vi- McQuiston semiconductor chip shortrus-spurred shutdowns had age. Sourcing alternative a “leveling effect” for all component suppliers businesses, making the helped the company weathtransition to remote work er the storm, while a masless stressful than it could sive uptick in home dining have been. boosted sales abroad.

“All of our customers and “We never left our cuspartners were in the same tomers in those markets — scenario,” McQuiston said. things were just put on “From a services standhold,” said Heather Henpoint, we saw improvement Hennekes nekes, senior human rein productivity from not sources director at Vitamix. having to travel, because we had “We’ve kept those relationships warm more time to focus on the customer. for existing customers and those in Everyone had to perform processes the pipeline.” that they were previously doing manVitamix is currently making inroads ually. They had to become much into China, banking on the country’s more digital, which ended up being a large population and a strategic inpositive.” vestment with a new partner. The Even with vaccinations on the rise, company is also planning a small Hyland isn’t seeing an overwhelming number of international trips over the push from global clients about get- next 90 days, with territorial sales staff ting back on site. Companies that ready to meet customers barring viwent remote intend to stay that way rus surges or restrictive quarantining for the near future, a scenario that in rules.

“We’ve continued to monitor the 2020 saw Hyland raise its bookings 14% over the previous year. A world- states and countries where we operwide emphasis on cloud computing ate,” Hennekes said. “From day one, had both Hyland customers and cli- the thing that’s been most important ent constituents — students, govern- to us is that people stay safe.”

Park Place CEO Adams hopes to ment officials, hospital patients and

tour the company’s new Ireland location this fall, should the country lift its 14-day nonessential traveler quarantine by then.

“It’s good to sit down and listen to

employees — that helps us calculate our business based on the feedback we get,” Adams said. “Americans make the mistake of just trying to replicate business overseas, but it’s a

Contact Douglas J. Guth: clbfreelancer@crain.com

LEADING WITH OUTCOMES KEVIN GRIFFIN, PRESIDENT, BRAND AND MARKET INSIGHTS Kevin’s expertise in designing data-informed marketing strategies and passion for brandcustomer relations drives our Brand and Market Insights group. As president of this group, Kevin helps bring out the best from our smart, competitive and creative marketers, giving our clients actionable outcome-based strategies.

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When Daniel Wilkinson joined the marketing team at Niagara Systems Inc. in 2018, the Mentor maker of industrial washers set a five-year sales goal of $6 million.

Three years in, and with that objective clearly in sight — Wilkinson anticipates Niagara will clear $5 million this year — the company recently initiated a new five-year target with the intention of being a $10 million to $12 million company by 2026.

“And we see that being very reasonable,” he said, “and not super aggressive.”

The sales engineer attributes a planned 30,000-square-feet expansion at the 35,000-square-feet Pine Industrial Park facility that Niagara

Systems shares with parent company South Shore Controls to “big opportunity” in industrial washing.

Factories are ramping up automation, he said, driven in part by labor shortages. Meanwhile, Niagara Systems has made “a significant marketing investment” over the last three years, according to Wilkinson, to advance the 87-year-old company beyond “word of mouth” lead generation.

As a result, “we are getting busy,” he said.

“I think a lot of people were kind of sitting on their money in the first half of the year, but they were still investigating process improvements. So, we saw a lot of RFQs come in in the beginning and middle of quarter one, and now we are seeing that we are converting those.”

Niagara Systems supplies cabinet-style washing machines and fully automated wash lines to a wide variety of commercial users. Wilkinson said automotive makers are among the company’s most consistent clientele. It also builds washing systems for food and beverage, pharmaceutical and industrial parts manufacturers along with a growing base of customers in the energy and oil space, including big hitters like Saudi Aramco, Marathon and Westinghouse.

Orders to date have been custom or semi-custom builds, which range in price from the low $100,000s to $2 million to $3 million.

“They can be as simple as washing and drying some parts that are going into the manufacturing process later to as complicated as ma-

12 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | JULY 12, 2021

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As a firm providing wealth management services to clients, UBS Financial Services Inc. offers investment advisory services in its capacity as an SEC-registered investment adviser and brokerage services in its capacity as an SEC-registered broker-dealer. Investment advisory services and brokerage services are separate and distinct, differ in material ways and are governed by different laws and separate arrangements. It is important that clients understand the ways in which we conduct business, that they carefully read the agreements and disclosures that we provide to them about the products or services we offer. For more information, please review the PDF document at ubs.com/relationshipsummary. © UBS 2020. All rights reserved. UBS Financial Services Inc. is a subsidiary of UBS AG. Member FINRA/SIPC. CJ-UBS-2031105874_4 Exp.: 10/31/2021

oth quite bullish on Niagara Systems’ near-term prospects. | CONTRIBUTED

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chining nuclear fuel rods with acids,” he said.

In another example of the “complicated,” Niagara Systems has been called upon multiple times to integrate a chemical etching process into the pre-coating wash of racecar pistons. The etching, Wilkinson said, increases adhesion of the coat-

offer both options.”

Wilkinson said the company shares both personnel and physical space with South Shore Controls, which bought Niagara Systems in 2013 from longtime owner (and still Niagara Systems director) Chris Langmack. Four years later, an investor group led by John Ovsek and

“WE HAVE THE SKILL SET AND COMMITMENT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR PRODUCTS ARE THE HIGHEST QUALITY AS WELL AS VERY, VERY WELL ENGINEERED SO THAT THEY CAN OPERATE FOR MANY YEARS WITHOUT MAINTENANCE.” — Chris Langmack, Niagara Systems director

ing applied and reduces piston failures.

The company, however, is nearing rollout what will be its premier “off the shelf” offering — a readymade washing system with a friendlier price tag.

“Custom obviously comes with some expense,” he said. “We want to make sure we are competitive and

Chris Weinkamer purchased a majority stake in South Shore Controls.

The new owners moved the merged companies from a leased space in Perry to the newly built Mentor headquarters, which is in the same industrial park as another one of their holdings, Enterprise Welding & Fabricating.

South Shore Controls has about

50 employees. Less than 10 of them, Wilkinson estimates, are dedicatedly exclusively to Niagara Systems. It leans on South Shore for control and some automation capabilities.

Enterprise Welding does much of the pre-fabrication laser cutting and bending.

Langmack, like Wilkinson, is quite bullish on Niagara’s near-term prospects. The company’s deep expertise in parts cleaning gives it an edge among an ever-present demand for companies to optimize manufacturing processes.

“We have the skill set and commitment to make sure that our products are the highest quality as well as very, very well engineered so that they can operate for many years without maintenance,” Langmack said. “That’s an important part of what we do, because any machinery that people buy from us, they usually only get only one and it can be the backbone of what their process is and has got to work all the time.”

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FOCUS | MIDDLE MARKET

Dumpster delight

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Waste management tech from Cleveland firm is an asset for haulers nationwide

BY DOUGLAS J. GUTH

No matter where your travels take you, dumpsters are a common sight.

A cloud-based solution from a Cleveland company is helping waste management businesses nationwide simplify their hauling operations.

Waste industry technology company Dispatcher.com LLC offers clients across the continental U.S. and Canada a web application alongside a driver-friendly mobile app. Director of product management Kyle Erlenbach said the solution is built to streamline driver dispatch, asset tracking and customer management via a single customizable platform.

The company’s customer base has grown 60% since last year’s acquisition of the Thumbster Connect dispatch platform, an innovation initially launched by Thumbster LLC in Marietta, Georgia, for the dumpster rental industry.

Dispatcher.com has since rebranded Thumbster Connect, boosted by a team of software engineers integrating improved support capabilities and a better customer experience into the existing truck dispatching app.

“The rebrand happened after the acquisition, with more work starting earlier this year,” said Erlenbach.

“We’re going through a brand transition where we wanted to bring the app under the Dispatcher.com brand, so that involved new updates and applications.

We entirely rebuilt the Thumbster mobile app, and solidified some of its features and Erlenbach technology.”

In refurbishing the mobile technology — in concert with enhancement of the web app — the company is able to meet the demands of larger haulers in need of advanced reporting capabilities. Among other upgrades, the revamped version of the app reports real-time actions like waste container pick up or drop off.

Quickbooks integration is another key feature of the Dispatcher.com solution.

“The mobile app for the drivers gives them a view into their schedule for each day,” Erlenbach said. “The app also lets drivers report back to dispatchers when completing a job or en route to a job.”

A vast improvement ADM Rolloff owner Sean Bartram utilized a handful of work management software systems before switching over to Thumbster in 2014. Bartram was happy for the changeover, as preceding apps required input of a

'It i

The main Dispatch screen where customers create schedules for their drivers and dispatch those schedules to the Dispatcher.com mobile app on the drivers’ phones.| DISPATCHER.COM

“I’D BEEN USING A CALCULATOR AND PENCIL — NOW I’M GETTING JOB INFO WITH A CLICK OF A BUTTON.” — ADM Rolloff owner Sean Bartram

complicated code before they could even be accessed.

“They looked like they were written in 1995, and if you didn’t know how to code, you could barely use them,” said Bartram, whose Atlanta-headquartered dumpster rental service caters to warehouses, construction companies and most any other enterprise in need of garbage removal. “I’d been using a calculator and pencil — now I’m getting job info with a click of a button.”

Upon its initial launch, the app saved Bartram countless hours of manual labor. Transition to Dispatcher.com has been mostly seamless, with ADM now able to harness job reports that convey in-depth details on work orders over time.

“We’ve got different dump sites in different storage yards to drop empty dumpsters,” Bartram said. “There was a time when it was hard to figure

out how many dumpsters I might have in a certain yard. The new app has a feature where I can now see that information.”

Dispatcher.com is part of Standard Brands LLC, created in 2016 by John Fenn and Mark Campbell to hold a burgeoning portfolio of waste dumpster businesses. In 2009, the pair started Budget Dumpster LLC — which brokers dumpster rentals for various companies — following that up with the 2016 introduction of Dumpsters.com, a brick-and-mortar hauling operation.

When Dispatcher.com acquired Thumbster Connect for undisclosed terms last year, the Dumpsters.com team had already been using the Thumbster app for several years.

Halfway into 2021, Dispatch.com is wrapping up the rebranding process for the cloud-based innovation. Part of that process includes sending out emails to groups of haulage firms to keep them updated on any changes to the technology.

“We’ve done a good job of reaching out to folks proactively for feedback,” Erlenbach said. “There’s been a few cases where people liked how Thumbster worked, and we were able to adjust (to their needs) along the way.”

Looking ahead, Dispatcher.com aims to add additional sales and support reps to a staff of software engineers and marketers. Expansion into new market sectors — among them portable toilets and curbside containers — is also in the planning stages.

In the meantime, officials are open to advice about how to enrich an already robust waste management app. Having a keen understanding of every facet of the haulage industry will navigate Dispatcher.com along that path, noted Erlenbach.

“With Dumpsters.com under the parent entity, that gives us insight into a lot of the nuances in dumpster rental,” Erlenbach said. “You have to know the different sizes and materials that dumpsters can transport. Our knowledge and expertise helps us understand in real-time the challenges that are faced within this industry.”

Contact Douglas J. Guth: clbfreelancer@crain.com

The ticket list provides the driver with his/her schedule for the day showing all the tickets assigned to them. | DISPATCHER.COM

14 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | JULY 12, 2021

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FOCUS | MIDDLE MARKET | ADVISER

Renewal 2022: Is your employee benefits adviser up to the task?

BY KATE HUBBEN

Your renewal for your employee benefits plan is right around the corner, and it is important to understand what might be lurking out there for 2022. The landscape changes daily with legislative detours, compliance burdens and technology innovations, which makes the role of your employee benefits adviser more important than ever. Be mindful this renewal season and consider these guideposts to check if your adviser is up to the task.

'It is what it is' There is some truth to this annoying idiom; however, your adviser should not be the one saying it. You pay your adviser to offer solutions— both during and leading up to your renewal. For example, if you are self-funded or considering it, stop loss insurance renewals are tough right now because the market is “hard.” That means that even when your medical loss ratio is low, your stop loss renewal can be high. Stop loss insurance is a pooled product and not based on your group’s individual claims—a fact that many employers might not know. It is the adviser’s role to advocate, advocate and

then advocate some more for their clients and spend the time to consider options like a captive solution, an alternative market, a level funding plan or a significantly Hubben is a vice higher stop loss president for level with an ad- NFP.. ditional layer underneath. Whether it is stop loss, pharmacy or medical costs, this is not the time for your adviser to fall back on “it is what it is,” but rather be your champion as you go into renewal season.

The devil is in the details Ask your adviser to show you how to “dig in” to your renewal. Your adviser should know about aggregate factors, trend assumptions from carrier to carrier, CPT codes and what every single penny pays for in your renewal. Disease management fees, access fees and state mandated taxes can be found in the small print and should be understood. The ultimate goal for your adviser is to minimize risk through negotiation and to eliminate inefficiencies in your benefits

program. With that said, plan sponsors should not have to shoulder the burden of trying to outsmart their adviser every year, but should demand illustration, explanation and discovery.

Ask and you shall receive With your prescription drug costs increasing 3.5 times faster than inflation, your adviser needs to have a full scouting report on patient care management programs that your Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM) offers. These programs can save you big money, but they won’t be offered if your adviser doesn’t specifically request them. Additionally, there are numerous vendors outside the PBMs that can improve conditions, like subsidy programs for lower income workers and group purchasing agreements. If you adviser isn’t asking for relief, there won’t be any offered.

One size does not fit all Wellness programs need to fit the client—not the adviser. Don’t accept the pre-packaged plan of Weight Watchers meetings, walking clubs and monthly Lunch & Learn sessions as the wellness plan for

THERE ARE ELEMENTS IN SERVICE THAT YOU SHOULD EXPECT FROM YOUR EMPLOYEE BENEFITS ADVISER. YOU SHOULD EXPECT INDEPENDENT CLAIM REVIEWS, CONTRACT REVIEWS, STRATEGY MEETINGS, LEGISLATIVE GUIDANCE, TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANCE, PHARMACY REBATE AUDITS AND FREQUENT COMMUNICATION. your company. Advisers should use your claims data to determine the wellness strategy. Consider that in 2021, 70 million Americans have a digestive disorder diagnosis while only 30 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes; most companies think that diabetes is still enemy No. 1. This increase in digestive diseases and the expensive pharmacy attached to it is changing the landscape of wellness vendors, and your adviser should be one step ahead of it. Expect your adviser to know your claims, know your budget and know what will appeal to your employees.

Beware of 'over promise and deliver what I can' There are elements in service that you should expect from your employee benefits adviser. You should

expect independent claim reviews, contract reviews, strategy meetings, legislative guidance, technology assistance, pharmacy rebate audits and frequent communication. If you feel you are being under serviced, you probably are. Be thoughtful when you consider a new adviser by meeting the team, review their client deliverables and don’t hesitate to share your annual claims review and renewal information to see if the adviser can offer any meaningful advice.

Heavy lifting up front might weed out the advisers who eventually “under deliver.”

As you look toward your January renewal, the choice is yours to elevate your expectations. Work with an adviser who can be your strategic partner and trusted counselor. As John D. Rockefeller said, “Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.”

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CRAIN'S LIST | EMPLOYEE BENEFIT SERVICES FIRMS Ranked by number of full-time benefits professionals in Northeast Ohio RANK

COMPANY LOCAL OFFICE

LOCAL BENEFITS PROFESSIONALS 6-1-2021

6-1-2020

TOTAL LOCAL STAFF

COMPENSATION STRUCTURE

SERVICES

TOP LOCAL EXECUTIVE

1

OSWALD COS. 1100 Superior Ave., Suite 1500, Cleveland 216-367-8787/oswaldcompanies.com

157

165

334

Fees, commissions

Employee benefits strategic consulting, group benefits brokerage, human capital strategies, health and wellness management, retirement plan consulting

Robert J. Klonk, chairman, CEO

2

SELMANCO One Integrity Parkway, Richmond Heights 800-735-6262/selmanco.com

148

147

152

Fees, commissions

Administration of life and health insurance programs for employers, insurance companies, financial institutions and affinity groups

David L. Selman, president, CEO

3

CBIZ INC. 6050 Oak Tree Blvd., Suite 500, Independence 216-447-9000/cbiz.com

147

132

310

Fixed fees, commissions

Group health benefits consulting and administration, retirement plan services, payroll services, property and casualty, talent and compensation solutions

Jerome P. Grisko Jr., president, CEO

4

WILLIS TOWERS WATSON 1001 Lakeside Ave., Suite 1500, Cleveland 216-937-4000/willistowerswatson.com

120

120

150

Project, commissions, fixed fees, hourly, retainer

Benefits strategy, design and pricing; pharmacy benefit management consulting; benefits administration and exchange; communication and change management

Gina Kashuk, managing director, office leader, Cleveland

5

FINDLEY, A DIVISION OF USI 1 1660 W. 2nd St., Suite 900, Cleveland 216-875-1900/findley.com

90

89

86

Fee-for-service based on hourly rates

Health and group benefits, retirement consulting, actuarial services, defined contribution plan recordkeeping, defined benefit plan administration

Matt Klein; Nancy Pokorny, principals

6

GALLAGHER 323 W. Lakeside Ave., Suite 410, Cleveland 216-623-2600/ajg.com

85

—

126

Fees, commissions

Brokerage and consulting in health and welfare, retirement, wellness, human resources, compensation, health care analytics, benefits compliance

David D. Kempton, Ohio president

7

ONEDIGITAL 4200 Rockside Road, Independence 216-520-3300/onedigital.com/team/cleveland-oh

80

71 2

113

Commissions, fixed fees, fee for service, contract based

Health, wealth, HR consulting, benefits services and online administration, workforce strategy, analytics, compliance

John Wain, principal, financials and operation; Kevin Mackay, principal, mergers and acquisition; Dino Sciulli, principal, sales and retention; Tim Paradiso, principal, strategy

8

THE FEDELI GROUP LLC 5005 Rockside Road, Fifth Floor, Independence 216-328-8080/thefedeligroup.com

55

52

102

Commissions, fixed fees and consulting services

Plan design, consulting, compliance, wellness, self-funding, data analytics, voluntary and executive benefits

Umberto P. Fedeli, CEO

9

MERCER 200 Public Square, Suite 900, Cleveland 216-830-8000/mercer.com

49

53

70

By project, commissions, fixed fees, hourly rates

Health and wellness benefits, retirement and risk management, investment consulting and management, talent strategies and management

Mike Ponicall, managing partner, Great Lakes office leader

10

TRINITY PENSION CONSULTANTS 202 Montrose West Ave., Suite 310, Copley 330-668-3747/trinitypension.com

43

40

48

Retainer, fixed fees, by project

Actuarial consulting, administration, plan design, plan documents

Anthony J. Warren, CEO, partner

11

USI INSURANCE SERVICES LLC 1 1001 Lakeside Ave., Suite 1200, Cleveland 216-591-0088/usi.com

39

38

61

Commissions, fixed fees

Employee benefits strategic consulting, group benefits brokerage, population health management, retirement plan consulting

Matt Baird, president, Employee Benefits Cleveland

12

NFP 4700 Rockside Road, Suite 540, Independence 216-264-2707/nfp.com

39

36

54

Fees, commissions

Corporate benefits, property and casualty, private client group, HR technology solutions and retirement services

Brian Hirsch; Jim Dustin, managing directors

13

J.P. FARLEY CORP. 29055 Clemens Road, Westlake 440-250-4300/jpfarley.com

39

30

39

Fixed fees

Health plan administration services, self-funded employee benefits, medical, dental, vision, custom solutions

James P. Farley, president, CEO

14

MARCUM LLP 6685 Beta Drive, Mayfield Village 440-459-5700/marcumllp.com

26

33

174

By project, commissions, fixed fees, hourly, retainer

Benefits, compensation, 401(k), Affordable Care Act planning and compliance, benefit plan audits, retirement plan design and administration

Dani B. Gisondo, office managing partner

15

HUNTINGTON INSURANCE INC. 200 Public Square, Cleveland 888-576-7900/huntington.com

25

30

65

Commissions, fees

Consulting and strategic planning in population risk management, on-site clinics, data analytics and predictive modeling, results-based wellness and health care reform

Mary Beth Sullivan, insurance president

16

BUCK GLOBAL LLC 6000 Freedom Square, Suite 100, Independence 216-682-7600/buck.com

22

23

23

By project, commissions, fixed fees, hourly rates, retainer

Health and productivity, retirement, communications, compensation, benefit audits, benefit outsourcing

Tom Tomczyk, principal, market leader Cleveland and Pittsburgh; Audrey Cervas, director

17

VANTAGE BENEFIT ADVISORS INC. 6200 Rockside Road, Independence 216-642-7878/vanfinbenefits.com

18

18

62

Commissions, fees, project

Employer sponsored insurance programs, retirement plans, flexible spending arrangements, benefits technology, human resources, compliance and Medicare

William M. McCormick, CEO

18

PK FINANCIAL GROUP INC. 9261 Ravenna Road, Suite B4, Twinsburg 216-393-8182/pkfinancialgroup.com

17

17

24

Fees (percent of assets managed); commissions

Retirement plan consulting services for the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors

Pete Kaplan, president; Brian Petros, CEO

19

CHELKO CONSULTING GROUP 24651 Center Ridge Road, Suite 110, Westlake 440-892-2600/chelkogroup.com

16

14

18

Fee-based retainer, by project

Medical, prescription, life and disability plan management services: data analysis, design, planning, vendor selection and reporting, stop loss, compliance, audits, wellness

Rick Chelko, president

20

AON 950 Main Ave., Suite 1600, Cleveland 216-623-4105/aon.com

15

—

70

By project, commissions, fixed fees, hourly rates, retainer

Health and benefits, retirement and investment, talent and rewards, HR operations services

Pete Cerar, senior vice president; Gregory M. Hubbell, senior vice president, health and benefits practice leader; Brian Slife, managing director, Ohio

21

MAGIS ADVISORY GROUP LLC 36711 American Way, Suite 2F, Avon 440-934-4102/magisadvisorygroup.com

15

15

17

Commissions, fees

Employee benefits strategic consulting and benefits brokerage including voluntary and worksite, retirement plan consulting, executive benefits

Philip J. Amos, president, cofounder; Aaron M. Marinelli, CEO, cofounder

22

MOSKAL GROSS ORCHOSKY INC. (MGO) 24400 Chagrin Blvd., Suite 310, Beachwood 216-771-4242/mgo-inc.com

14

14

26

Fees and commissions

Plan design and consulting, plan investment selection and monitoring, fiduciary liability protection, plan administration, employee education and communication

Ronald S. Gross, president, CEO

23

NOBLE-DAVIS CONSULTING INC. 6190 Cochran Road, Suite D, Solon 440-498-8408/nobledavis.com

14

15

20

Fixed fees plus hourly rates for special projects

Retirement plan consulting, plan design and administration, welfare plan documents and filing

Jan L. Davis, president

24

NATIONAL ASSOCIATES INC. 22720 Fairview Center Drive, Suite 100, Fairview Park 440-333-0222/nationalassociates.biz

14

11

17

Fixed fees, hourly rates, retainer, project

Actuarial, administration, compliance, plan design, consulting and document services for defined contribution and defined benefit plans

John P. Adzema, president

25

DEFINITI LLC 3 370 Blackbrook Road, Painesville 440-951-8889/definiti-llc.com

13

13

18

Fixed fees

Administrative, actuarial, consulting, fiduciary, outsourcing and recordkeeping services for retirement and pension plans

Lisa Lowe, regional sales consultant

Research by Chuck Soder (csoder@crain.com) | When ties occur, firms are ranked by total local employees. Information is supplied by the companies. Employment figures are full time. NOTES: 1. USI Insurance Services acquired Findley in November 2020. USI's pre-existing Cleveland office and its Findley division submitted separate figures for this list. 2. OneDigital acquired DS Benefits Group of Medina on July 1, adding another 14 full-time local employees, including 11 focused on benefits, who are not included in this June 1, 2020 figure. 3. Definiti announced the acquisition of Brewster & Brewster on Feb. 1, 2021.

Get all 30 firms and more than 120 executives in Excel format. Become a Data Member: CrainsCleveland.com/data 16 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | JULY 12, 2021

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DATA SCOOP

List packed with biz purchases

BY CHUCK SODER

Donna Brewster understands why so many companies on our Employee Benefit Services Firms list have changed owners and in some cases names in recent years.

She and her sister Jane sold their company, Brewster & Brewster of Painesville, to retirement services firm Definiti LLC of The Woodlands, Texas, in a deal announced on Feb. 1. Definiti is now No. 25 on this year’s list.

The Brewster sisters had no interest in selling the third-party administration company a few years ago, but the factors that have been driving consolidation throughout the employee benefit services industry also drove them to change their minds.

Donna Brewster specifically mentioned cybersecurity concerns as well as technology and marketing needs that could be better met by a larger company. She’s also 63 years old and knew she couldn’t run the company forever. And there was an advantage to doing a deal sooner rather than later, given concerns that the capital gains tax could be increased under the Biden administration.

Plus, a good deal was brought to their doorstep. Four potential suitors contacted Brewster & Brewster, including Definiti, which said it would keep the company’s staff.

“All those things just make it very attractive,” she said.

Brewster & Brewster is a third-party benefits administrator, but other types of employee benefit firms are getting scooped up as well, including many insurance brokers. Crain’s identified 12 acquisitions involving local employee benefit companies since the start of 2019.

For instance, Cleveland-based Oswald Cos., which has held the No. 1 spot on the list for five years, gained a new sister company in December.

That’s when its parent company, JBO Holding Co., acquired RCM&D of Baltimore.

The two companies retained their individual brands while also operating under a new umbrella brand called Unison Risk Advisors. Unison aims to acquire additional companies in the employee benefits and insurance industries — two somewhat overlapping sectors that are both in consolidation mode.

National firms with offices in Northeast Ohio are buying each other up, too. For instance, USI Insurance Services of Valhalla, New York, acquired Findley of Nashville in November 2020. Their local offices for now still appear separately on the list, at No. 11 and No. 5, respectively.

In March 2020, Aon (No. 20 on the list) announced plans to acquire Willis Towers Watson (No. 4) in a $30 billion all-stock deal, but since then the two global insurance giants have been working to clear several legal challenges, including an antitrust lawsuit from the U.S. Justice Department.

OneDigital, Gallagher and NFP, which all have local offices, also have been active acquirers.

Local M&A deals: Employee benefits edition There’s been a lot of mergers and acquisitions in the employee benefit services industry in recent years. Here’s a list of local deals identified by Crain’s, going back through 2019.

Date 2/1/2021 12/8/2020 12/1/2020 11/2/2020 7/1/2020 4/13/20202 2/1/2020 12/2/2019 12/11/2019 11/12/20192 8/1/2019 1/10/20192

Buyer Definiti LLC JBO Holding Co./Unison Risk Advisors (parent of Oswald Cos.) Alera Group USI Insurance Services1 OneDigital USI Insurance Services CBIZ Inc. Marcum LLP NFP Risk Strategies CBIZ Inc. OneDigital

Buyer HQ The Woodlands, Texas Cleveland Deerfield, Illinois Valhalla, New York Atlanta Valhalla, New York Independence New York New York Boston Independence Atlanta

Acquired company Brewster & Brewster RCM&D Todd Associates Findley1 DS Benefits Group Chapman & Chapman3 Pension Dynamics Co. Skoda Minotti Progressive Benefits Zito Insurance QBA Benefits LLC Alpha Group Agency

Acquired company HQ Painesville Baltimore Beachwood Nashville Medina Twinsburg Pleasant Hill, Calif.

Mayfield Village Solon Mentor Westlake Westlake

1. BOTH USI AND FINDLEY HAVE OFFICES IN CLEVELAND. 2. DATE REPRESENTS WHEN DEAL WAS ANNOUNCED. 3. A PORTION OF CHAPMAN’S BUSINESS WAS PURCHASED BY MAGIS ADVISORY GROUP OF AVON. SOURCE: CRAIN’S RESEARCH

Chuck Soder: csoder@crain.com, (216) 771-5374, @ChuckSoder JULY 12, 2021 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 17

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ATHLETES

From Page 1

A June 21 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in a landmark antitrust case left schools scrambling to adopt an NIL policy, or hope one was enacted in their state. In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine signed an executive order that allows athletes to be compensated for their name, image and likeness, and sets guidelines on deals that should be avoided (such as those associated with tobacco or marijuana products, alcohol, adult entertainment and gambling).

“I think it levels the playing field, so to speak, with some categories that are not available to be considered,” Michelle Morgan, the senior director of athletics at John Carroll University, said of the governor’s ruling.

Athletic directors with whom Crain’s spoke view the start of Morgan the NIL era as a good thing for college athletics, and especially for the athletes. They believe the predictions of ensuing chaos are overblown, though they expect plenty of complications to emerge.

“We’ve got stuff that is flying at a really fast pace and decisions on really big-picture things that have only solidified in the last week or two,” Scott Garrett, the director of athletics at Cleveland State University, said on June 30.

The NCAA took a major hit on June 21, via the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in a landmark antitrust case. | C. MORGAN ENGEL/GETTY IMAGES

‘Lightning in a bottle’ Midmajor Division I athletic programs, like the ones at Cleveland State and in the Cleveland-based MAC, don’t have the star power of the Power Five institutions. But the schools have had their share of athletes who have made their mark in the professional ranks, and the benefits of NIL aren’t just reserved for the revenue-generating sports.

“I think people will be surprised at the number of student-athletes who are not in the sports with the highest visibility traditionally that have the ability to connect to a niche audience and grow from there,” Ohio University director of athletics Julie Cromer Cromer said.

Of the Cleveland State athletes with the four largest followings on social media, three are women. Tennis player Klara Mrcela has more than 150,000 followers on Instagram, and basketball player Isabella Geraci has sizable followings on TikTok (58,000) and Instagram (almost 18,000).

“People that are considered influencers are able to capitalize and monetize some of their reach,” said Morgan, the AD at John Carroll.

“That’s probably what is realistic for a large portion of the entire collegiate athlete pool.”

The ADs think the opportunity to host camps and clinics, particularly in the athletes’ hometowns (where, Cromer points out, they’re “known as a Division I athlete who came from that high school”), will be among the most popular ways for the students to benefit. There also will be chances to link up with local businesses, which might jump at a shot for some cre-

Cleveland State guard Demetrius Terry, who has 300,000 combined followers on Instagram and TikTok, is using Cameo to benefit from his name, image and likeness. | FRANK JANSKY

CSU’s most-followed athletes Of the Cleveland State athletes with the four largest followings on social media, three are women. The numbers are as follows: Athlete Demetrius Terry, men’s basketball Klara Mrcela, women’s tennis Isabella Geraci, women’s basketball Julia Hintz, women’s basketball

Twitter

Instagram

TikTok

Total

6,400

119,000

181,000

306,400

N/A

152,000

N/A

152,000

7,400

17,800

58,000

83,200

700

3,700

12,300

16,700

SOURCE: CRAIN’S AND CLEVELAND STATE RESEARCH. NUMBERS ARE AS OF JULY 9.

ative marketing.

“From an agency perspective, it’s yet another outlet for brands to explore in a variety of promotional ways,” said Jason Therrien, the president of thunder::tech, a Cleveland integrated marketing agency with offices in Chicago and Detroit.

For some companies, going into business with a college athlete will be “a diversification play,” Therrien said.

“Some of this,” he added, “is spinning a roulette wheel and seeing if you can get lucky with the right athlete and catch lightning in a bottle.”

In the first week that students could profit from their name, image and likeness, several athletes in the

region were announced as Barstool Athletes — the definition of which isn’t entirely clear. (There are promises from Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy of free merchandise and pizza, and the chance to attend company-sponsored parties.)

A Cleveland State source said eight students have been announced as Barstool Athletes. Men’s basketball standout Demetrius “Meechie” Terry, who has 300,000 combined followers on Instagram and TikTok, is on Cameo, and teammate Deante Johnson is attempting to build a following on Twitch.

Ohio University’s most significant NIL deal thus far has involved run-

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS GRAPHIC

ning back De’Montre Tuggle, who partnered with BobcatAttack.com, an OU fan site and message board.

“There are a myriad of ways for them to engage in this, and I think they’re all positive,” said Cromer, the Bobcats’ AD.

‘Educational laboratory’ John Carroll’s Morgan is a former director of marketing at her alma mater, the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She also has a background in corporate partnership sales with the Minnesota Wild of the NHL. “Traditionally, there’s only so

many dollars to go around,” the JCU senior director of athletics said. “So do brands and properties potentially look to reallocate some of those funding dollars for marketing to tie to an athlete, as opposed to where they may be tied into an institution right now?”

Therrien, thunder::tech’s president, doesn’t think there will “a wholesale change” in companies’ partnerships with schools, but he does envision a slight shift to the athletes, “especially with more progressive brands that want to take things into their own hands.”

Other institutional concerns include the work that will need to be done to ensure that athletes don’t violate NIL guidelines and that any potential deals don’t conflict with schools’ existing agreements. Athletic departments, already short-staffed following budget cuts that were accelerated by the pandemic, can enlist the help of a third party to Garrett specialize in NIL and track agreements.

Garrett and Cromer said they’ll evaluate whether their departments will need outside assistance, but the early plan is for a “team approach” to NIL. Steinbrecher, along with the ADs, say one of the biggest benefits for the athletes might not be financial.

“This is just a phenomenal educational laboratory for the student-athletes that want to engage in this area,” said Steinbrecher, who is in his 13th year as the MAC’s commissioner. “It’s going to be brand building 101, it’s going to be finance 101, it’s going to be biz law 101. All of these things are going to come into play, and what a neat thing.”

Cromer said the athletic department will lean on Ohio’s College of Business, and particularly its well-regarded AECOM Center for Sports Administration, for “educational opportunities” that will result from the NIL era.

As athletes return to campus later this summer, they’ll get the chance to participate in workshops that cover such topics as setting up an LLC, marketing, social media and tax implications. There also will be online re- Steinbrecher sources that have information on the relevant subjects.

“A school of our size and visibility, the educational components (of NIL) are arguably the most important,” Cromer said.

Education also will be “a primary focus” for Cleveland State, which wants to make sure that student-athletes “don’t get taken advantage of as they explore these opportunities,” Garrett said.

The market will dictate what chances are present, Steinbrecher added, “and I would suggest no one should overreact to what we see in the first month, the first six months, probably the first year or two.”

That viewpoint was shared by the athletic directors.

“My message has been that we need to be patient and see where this goes before assuming that the sky is falling,” Cromer said.

Kevin Kleps: kkleps@crain.com, (216) 771-5256, @KevinKleps

18 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | JULY 12, 2021

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AKRON

ENROLLMENT

From Page 1

The Aerosmith tribute band Draw the Line drew an enthusiastic crowd to Akron’s Lock 3 Park on May 28. | CONTRIBUTED

Akron rocks — again Venues say their crowds are back and as excited as ever

BY DAN SHINGLER

Dad rock and all, the boys (and girls) are back in town at Akron’s live music and performance venues.

And local event promoters who are fielding their first live shows in nearly a year-and-a-half say the crowds are back, too.

Asked recently how he was doing, Akron Civic Theatre executive director Howard Parr seemed to have to pause and take a breath.

“Doing great, actually,” Parr said with some reflection. “I’m happy to be back at it.”

Parr’s been “at it” since 2007 at the Civic, and at other venues before that, so he knows a thing or two about the local live entertainment scene. After about a 15-month hiatus when the Civic had no shows due to COVID, Parr said he has been more than happy to return to serving audiences — and ecstatic to see they haven’t left him.

“What we’re seeing across the board is the numbers are basically what they would have been pre-pandemic, or better,” Parr said.

That includes not only the Civic, he said, but Lock 3 Park next door to the south, where he books performances, and the new, 200-plus capacity Knight Stage that opened this year in the Whitelaw Building in the Bowery District next door.

“We just had two really good weekends in a row,” Parr said. Recent events such as the band Midnight Star’s performance at Lock 3, the Akron Pride Festival’s Drag Battle on the Civic’s main stage and the Say it Loud live-theater event on the Knight stage have all drawn big crowds, he said.

“We had the Journey tribute (E5C4P3 on July 2 at Lock 3), that had between 5,500 and 6,000 people,” he said. “We’ve been hitting those numbers when the weather’s been good.”

But even on May 28, on a rainy night with temps in the 40s, about 1,000 people came to see the Aerosmith tribute band Draw the Line at Lock 3, the city reports.

In the arts downtown district, developer Tony Troppe has dubbed his developments the “Blu Zone.” They include Troppe’s Blue Jazz+ nightclub and Musica, both on East Market

Street, and Maiden Lane Live!, an outdoor stage that Troppe opened nearby at the end of March.

“We’ve packed the house,” Troppe said. “The other night we had 300-plus people (at Musica) for Dear Hunter. It was very encouraging to see the line wrapped around the building.”

The show by Dear Hunter, a progressive rock band from Rhode Island, was canceled in 2020, but Troppe said he didn’t have to refund many tickets.

“Folks had tickets from 2020 and a lot of them held their tickets and waited for them to return. Plus, we sold another 200 or so tickets,” Troppe said.

Now Troppe said he’s enthusiastically booking more acts for all of his venues through the rest of the year, because he’s confident the crowds will keep coming. He said Blue Jazz+ is preparing to return in the fall, after he reopens his BLU-tique hotel at the corner of Main and Market streets. He opened the hotel in January 2020 to enthusiastic reviews, only to have to close it in March due to COVID. “We have a great lineup at Musica.

We had our third show this past week, and we’re gearing up for a great summer,” Troppe said. “We have a number of great shows lined up for the summer at our Maiden Lane venue. ... The hotel’s going to be reopening the first week of August, and Blue Jazz+ should be coming online for our seventh anniversary” in November.

The return of live entertainment also is evident in the listings on the SummitLive365 website run by the arts-support organization ArtsNow in Akron. The site lets area artists and venues list their upcoming events for free.

In February 2020, just before the pandemic struck, the site listed 217 events. That number plummeted to just 67 events the next month, March, before reaching a nadir of just 33 events in December.

This year, the numbers have been going back up, with 78 live events listed in May and another 75 in the first 23 days of June, the latest figures available.

ArtsNow executive director Nicole Mullet said venues that have reopened are doing well, and more venues are opening all the time, but with an additional emphasis on safety. It

will take a few months for the entire scene to be back in swing, she predicted.

“As we approach fall, I think we’ll see seasonal openings return to normal,” Mullet said.

It’s not as easy as just booking a band, stocking the bar and reopening the doors, according to Mullet and others.

“We are gearing up to reopen.

We’ve had every service contractor in the universe in over the last few days getting all our equipment ready and our (air) filters cleaned,” said Jill Bacon Madden, owner and “chief vibe officer” at Jilly’s Music Room on North Main Street.

Bacon Madden said she has been working with other clubs nationally to develop safety protocols for reopening that she’ll apply at her club and share with other venue owners. But it has been a challenge for some venues, because being safe often requires investing in equipment, and owners have had to guess for well over a year about when the pandemic would lift enough for them to bring in revenue again.

“We all thought the pandemic was going to last about six weeks,” Bacon Madden said. “Then we thought all the health guidelines would still be in place and we were preparing for the worst. ... Now all the protocols and guidelines are done, at least for now.”

Many venue owners and operators also weren’t expecting to go from an allowed capacity of 25% to 100% all at once, as happened when Ohio lifted its restrictions on gatherings on June 2.

“We were at 25% capacity, we thought maybe we’d go to 50% and then 75%, but all of a sudden ... all of the restrictions were gone,” said Akron Civic Theatre’s Parr.

But that’s a happy challenge. Parr and other venue operators say they’re mostly just glad to be back to work and proud of the way people in their industry stuck together.

“We all, as an industry, worked together: the bands, the managers, the agents and the venues,” Parr said.

“Nobody was a jerk.”

Dan Shingler: dshingler@crain.com, (216) 771-5290, @DanShingler

“It's one thing to say, ‘Well, I'm not going to take a minimum wage job to go to college,’ ” he said. “It's another thing to say, ‘I'm not going to take a job that pays me $20 an hour to go to college.’”

Diacon projects Kent State will come “very close” to meeting its goal of enrolling a freshman class of about 4,000 students. Fall 2020’s full-time enrollment dropped 4%.

KSU has the largest full-time enrollment in the region, at about 27,000 students.

Like their peers, Kent officials got creative with outreach to prospective students. It included efforts such as hosting prospective student events at drive-in movie theaters. There’s the new “Flashes Go Further” scholarship, which will cover unmet need for in-state freshmen and sophomores who have an expected family contribution of $10,000 or less. Juniors and seniors will be eligible for some aid, too.

Diacon estimated the university will see a decline in returning students, though. It goes back, at least reportedly for some, to the job market. He has heard about students in professional programs who have been offered full employment from summer internships even before graduation.

The job market is affecting students at Cleveland State University, too. Jonathan Wehner, vice president and dean of admissions, enrollment management, and student success, remains “cautiously optimistic” for the university’s projections.

Cleveland State saw its full-time enrollment drop 2% to about 12,112 students in fall 2020. Wehner said models for the upcoming semester come in somewhere between being flat year-over-year or down a low single-digit percentage.

“Students seem to be really slow in their decision-making,” he said.

“They definitely seem to be taking their time and waiting up until the last minute.”

International student enrollment is projected to rise. That’s helpful, as those students typically pay full price. Like Kent, CSU also projects a drop in returning students. Wehner said that’s partially due to the university’s six-year graduation rate crossing 50% for the first time.

“That's a great, great thing,” he said. “We're graduating students faster, but that also means that students stay a little bit less time.”

Wehner added the amount of transfer students aren’t where they would have been before the pandemic. Community colleges were hit the hardest during COVID, as enrollment fell at those institutions by 9.5% nationwide last fall.

It’s too early to tell exactly how things will shake out at Lakeland Community College, according to Stephanie Brown, the college’s assistant provost for strategic retention initiatives. Similar to other two-year institutions, she said Lakeland will see a lot of enrollment activity in August.

Enrollment at Lakeland is trending down, though. Even with increased marketing and outreach to prospective students, it’ll probably clock in at a single-digit drop. Fulltime enrollment fell 19% last fall.

“The one thing that we do have control over is how we support our current students, how we retain them, the services that we have in place for those students,” Brown said.

One of the few local institutions to enroll more students last fall was Ursuline College. The Pepper Pike campus’ full-time enrollment grew 6%, rising from 817 to 866 students.

Some graduate programs are “struggling a bit,” said Susan Dileno, vice president for enrollment management. But she expects more growth this fall in terms of new firsttime students. The incoming class is expected to have roughly 124 students, up from 102 last fall.

She said the college is committed to keeping and growing Ursuline’s hold on the region. The school historically has drawn the majority of its students from Northeast Ohio.

“A lot of schools have kind of let that slip,” she said. “We try to remain pretty aggressive and be in the forefront of students’ minds.”

Dileno can quickly tick off a few of what the college views as its strengths: It’s a women-focused institution, highly personal and a good value.

But when it comes to higher education options, Northeast Ohio is a crowded market. There’s a lot of competition as administrators focus on how to distinguish themselves from their peers to attract more students.

“That's what keeps me up at night, you know,” Dileno said. “Really trying to get a scan of what other colleges are doing or thinking, strategizing in terms of how we keep our market share.”

Amy Morona: amy.morona@crain. com, (216) 771-5229, @AmyMorona

Prospective students and their families take a tour of Kent State University. | KENT STATE UNIVERSITY

20 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | JULY 12, 2021

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APARTMENT

From Page 1

kitchens, refinishing bathroom tile and installing USB ports in every outlet. That’s accompanied by stringing the 10 buildings with fiber to offer residents superior internet access as an amenity.

“We see this as a 30-year investment,” Patel said.

By carefully making thoughtful upgrades, they hope to leverage technology to improve operating margins and provide homes for mid- to low-income tenants for years. Smith said some changes are simple, such as supplementing old-fashioned streetlights with LED lighting to flood the complex with light.

Future plans include phone-controlled garage doors.

Surprisingly, there is substantial competition for so-called Class B and C properties such as those Green Harvest Capital seeks.

Gary Cooper, a senior vice president and principal of the Colliers International realty brokerage in Cleveland, called it a very “abnormal market” compared with regional apartment transactions he has seen in the past three decades.

“You have unprecedented demand for multifamily,” Cooper said.

“We’re going seven days a week.

Sales dropped off during the early months of the pandemic, but operators have done well collecting rent and interest has come back. Most of our volume is from buyers from New York City and New Jersey at this point. And it’s happening as the number of deals that are closing has dropped off.”

The outlook is similar at Marcus & Millichap’s office in Independence, which serves the national realty investment sales market in Northeast Ohio.

Michael Barron, a Marcus & Millichap senior managing director, said the apartment market was strong going into the pandemic, hit a pause, and then hit a reset late last year.

“Everyone is hungry and doing deals again,” Barron said. “Some buyers want to get capital invested

they didn’t place last year. We’re going to have a lot of (transaction) volume closed by the end of the year.”

A combination of factors has created the onslaught, even with the region’s multifamily market being more dynamic than 20 years ago, when a handful of local developers and investors controlled most of the market.

Dan Burkons, an executive managing director at Marcus & Millichap, said that worries the Biden administration may succeed in reducing favorable capital gains treatment and curtailing 1031 exchanges (which allow sellers and buyers to shelter gains by buying another piece of property) has gotten more groups interested in selling suites.

“No one is liquidating, but some long-term holders are nervous,” Burkons said. “They think they should reduce some of their exposure by selling a few holdings.”

Another factor is rents in Northeast Ohio, primarily due to pricier new apartment projects, have climbed in the region to approach national norms. Cooper notes Cleveland led the nation in rent growth in 2019 and before the pandemic took hold in 2020, which prompted investors from the East Coast to start searching the market again because they view pricing here as low.

That created a run-up in sale prices for apartment buildings that experts agree is unprecedented in the region. Seeing prices averaging about $60,000 a unit has become commonplace, compared with $30,000 just a few years ago.

Statistics from Point2Homes and PropertyShark delineate the movement.

In the Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor MSA, median sale prices per suite climbed 114% to $47,996 in 2020 from $22,400 in 2015. In the Summit-Portage MSA covering Akron, the median price per unit climbed 86% to $61,250 in 2020 from $32,961 in 2015.

While big-ticket sales of properties such as Mariner’s Watch in Ohio City (62 units for a rumored $15 million) and The Vista (formerly the distressed North Pointe Apartments,

with 949 units for $30 million) draw Sale prices skyrocket media and industry attention, they represent the extremes of the mar- The median sale prices for apartments in Northeast Ohio over the past decade: ket. Much of the Cleveland market is Summit-Portage metropolitan statistical area $61,250 made up of smaller properties of Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor metropolitan statistical area fewer than 100 suites, with many dating from the 1920s to the 1960s. $60,000 That explains some recent transactions, as Northeast Ohio properties look cheap to outsiders.

For instance, an affiliate of Nied$47,996 erst Management, which maintains $50,000 a Fairview Park office although it’s now headquartered in Orlando, Florida, sold the 1964-vintage Rockside Place Apartments, at 12105 Valley Lane in Garfield Heights, on June $40,000 8 to an affiliate of North York Capital of New York City.

No sale price was recorded, but a $12.5 million mortgage on the property indicates the group paid about $30,000 $17 million for the complex, or about $52,000 a unit. The 25-building complex has an average asking rent of $800 a unit, according to online realty data provider CoStar. $20,000 However, some local buyers look at such a price and say, “No more.”

Kelly Stumphauzer, CEO of Guardian City Investments of Cleveland and its single-family investment unit Prosper Cleveland, owns ‘10 ‘11 ‘12 ‘13 ‘14 ‘15 ‘16 ‘17 ‘18 ‘19 ‘20 about 200 units in seven multifamily projects she bought over the last 18 SOURCE: POINT2HOMES AND PROPERTYSHARK months for $30,000 to $40,000 per unit. Her strategy is to add value to them through improvements, and, “EVERYONE IS HUNGRY AND DOING DEALS AGAIN. SOME she said, “It’s a lot of work.”

However, asking prices are now so BUYERS WANT TO GET CAPITAL INVESTED THEY DIDN’T high that she said she stopped look- PLACE LAST YEAR. WE’RE GOING TO HAVE A LOT OF ing for apartments and instead fo- C R A I N ’ S C L E V E L A N D B U S I N E S S | S E P T E M B E R 3 - 9 , 2 018 | PA G E 21 cused on her single-family business. (TRANSACTION) VOLUME CLOSED BY THE END OF THE Reading off asking prices for older YEAR.” apartment buildings from Lakewood to Maple Heights, she calcu- — Michael Barron, a Marcus & Millichap senior managing director lates the prices per unit are from $100,000 to $140,000 a suite.

“They’re probably worth $80,000 a view Park. (A clear sale price was not Despite market conditions disunit in terms of what kind of rent recorded when the property couraging some locals, Green Haryou can get,” she said. “I’ll probably changed hands in May to a reputed vest Capital’s principals remain fostart buying again in nine months if California-based buyer using the cused on ferreting out deals by word prices go down.” named Bridlewood Reorganiza- of mouth that won’t attract groups The owner of the largest apart- tion.) looking to buy and sell in hopes of ment portfolio in Northeast Ohio, Doug Price, CEO of K&D, said the reaping a quick profit.

K&D Group of Willoughby, also company could have afforded to do “As a young organization, you passed on a recent offering for eight- the deal. look to acquire assets at every stage floor Bridlewood, a North Olmsted “However, the price the successful of the business cycle,” Patel said. apartment tower developed and still bidder paid is what I felt the building “We do what we can do at any time.” managed by Zaremba Group of Fair- would be worth after making improvements and boosting occupan- Stan Bullard: sbullard@crain.com, cy,” Price said. “It wasn’t worth it.”

(216) 771-5228, @CrainRltywriter

Advertising Section

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GHC Capital principals Michael Smith, left, and Bhavin Patel are updating a 1950s-era apartment complex in Shaker Heights and are among new groups of owners starting to make a mark in the regional apartment market. | STAN BULLARD

LIST YOUR AD TODAY JULY 12, 2021 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 21

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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Advertising Section To place your listing, visit www.crainscleveland.com/people-on-the-move or, for more information, contact Debora Stein at 917.226.5470 / dstein@crain.com

ACCOUNTING

CONSTRUCTION

CONSTRUCTION

FINANCIAL SERVICES

LAW

Bober Markey Fedorovich

Rudolph Libbe Group

Tober Building Company

UBS Financial Services, Inc.

BMF welcomes with pride and purpose, our newest partner Mindy Marsden, CFE. Mindy is a Partner in our Transaction Advisory Services group (TAS), a national practice serving private equity firms, strategic buyers, subordinated debt funds and others within the merger and acquisition arena on quality of earnings, due diligence and related matters. Mindy joined BMF’s audit department in 2008 before transitioning to our TAS group in 2011. She is a graduate of the University of Akron.

Day Hoy and Tim Levers have been promoted to account managers for the Rudolph Libbe Group, northeast Ohio operations. Dan began Hoy his career with RLG in 2019 as a project engineer.

Currently he is working with our Walbridge, OH office’s project management team on the close-out of the Elyria Carvana project. Tim began with the North Ridgeville office in 2015 as a co-op student while attending the University of Akron Levers and was promoted to project engineer in December 2017. Tim has been managing work at the Cleveland-Cliffs steel mill as well as closing out the ore conveyance tunnel for CLE-CUY Port Authority.

Anthony Lazar joined Tober Building Company in 2021 serving as Director of Design. His 38 years of design, construction and management experience, along with tradesman, estimator/ project manager, business/ salesman, construction admin, and architect skills, optimizes design, development, and construction processes. Always innovating better ways of building, designing and managing the construction process, he ensures communication between TBC and other parties to gain higher levels of service and quality.

UBS Financial Services, Inc. is pleased to announce Michelle Herman has joined The Kensington Advisory Group as First Vice President. Michelle brings more than 19 years of experience delivering comprehensive planning, investment, and financial solutions to clients in the Cleveland area. Michelle is a graduate of Ohio University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in finance.

Meyers, Roman, Friedberg & Lewis

ENGINEERING / CONSULTING

LAW

Karpinski Engineering

Benesch Law

Douglas A. Barnes, PE, and Matthew D. Morgan, PE, LEED AP BD+C, have been named principals of Karpinski Engineering, Barnes an award-winning, multidisciplinary firm.

Barnes is a leader in the firm’s Pittsburgh office, where he manages projects, mentors staff, and serves as the firmwide Quality Process facilitator. He specializes in healthcare and laboratory projects.

Morgan is based in the firm’s Cleveland office and is a leader in the firm’s mechanical engineering department. In addition to leading healthcare and Morgan laboratory projects, Morgan serves as a mentor and teacher for Karpinski staff. As principals, Morgan and Barnes are responsible for the strategic vision, operations, and financial wellbeing of the firm. Learn more at karpinskieng.com

David M. Hopkins has joined Benesch as an associate in the firm’s Litigation Practice Group. David represents clients in the construction, health Hopkins care, and insurance industries in breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, indemnification, and subrogation actions among others.

J. Phillip Nester has joined Benesch as an associate in the firm’s Litigation Practice Group and as a member of the Transportation & Nester Logistics Group. Phil represents manufacturers, distributors, retailers, carriers, brokers, and forwarders in connection with general business consultation, regulatory compliance counseling, drafting and negotiation of contracts, litigation, dispute resolution, and enforcement defense including during investigations and audits.

CONSTRUCTION

Tober Building Company

ARCHITECTURE

HBM Architects, LLC HBM Architects is proud to recognize the professional accomplishments of Brooke Breiner, NCIDQ, LEED AP ID+C who has been promoted to Associate. Brooke joined HBM in 2014 & has over 15 yrs of professional experience. Brooke recently contributed to the success of projects such as the Main Library Renovation for the Toledo Lucas Co. Public Library, renovations to the renowned Antoine Predock designed Rawlings Library for the Pueblo City County District Library & multiple projects for the Stark Co. District Library.

T.J. Pasadyn joined the Tober Building Company in 2021 and serves as Senior Estimator. He has over 21 years of commercial estimating experience, as well as experience as both an Estimator and Project Manager for several prominent local firms. This background drives his focus at TBC on bringing his knowledge of Site Development and General Trades to the PreConstruction team. T.J. enjoys the challenge of assisting the project team in targeting the budget while providing value to the overall program.

NEW GIG?

Meyers, Roman, Friedberg & Lewis is pleased to announce that David M. Smith has joined the firm as a partner, focusing his practice on employment litigation, business disputes, civil rights litigation, and a wide variety of complex claims. David has a strong background as an advisor to businesses and governmental agencies on employment matters and risk management.

He brings additional experience in drafting employment agreements and handbooks and giving counsel to companies on the ever-changing landscape of employment legislation. David is a member of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel and the Defense Research Institute.

SUPPLIERS

Towlift Bob Kwieciak has been promoted to President of Towlift, Inc. A distinguished leader, Kwieciak served as the firm’s Vice President of Sales from 2015 to 2021. During this period, Bob helped Towlift achieve record revenue growth, develop its strong corporate culture and reinforce Towlift’s long standing reputation as the region’s top material handling partner. In his new role, Bob is responsible for all aspects of the business in the Ohio, SE Michigan, and Western PA markets.

Preserve your career change for years to come.

CONTACT

Plaques • Crystal Keepsakes • Frames • Other Promotional Items

22 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | JULY 12, 2021

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WEDNESDAY

July 21 | 4 p.m.

VIRTUAL EVENT

Every year, Crain’s Cleveland Business salutes a group of inspiring women whose dedication and achievements enrich Northeast Ohio, its institutions and its people. This year, join us virtually as we celebrate and learn from the extraordinary female business leaders in the 2021 class of Women of Note!

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Executive editor Elizabeth McIntyre (216) 771-5358 or emcintyre@crain.com Group publisher Jim Kirk (312) 397-5503 or jkirk@crain.com Managing editor Scott Suttell (216) 771-5227 or ssuttell@crain.com Web editor Damon Sims (216) 771-5279 or dasims@crain.com Assistant editor Kevin Kleps (216) 771-5256 or kkleps@crain.com Art director Kayla Byler (614) 312-7635 or kayla.byler@crain.com Senior data editor Chuck Soder (216) 771-5374 or csoder@crain.com Cartoonist Rich Williams REPORTERS

C O N G R AT U L AT I O N S T O T H E 2 0 2 1 W O M E N O F N O T E !

TITLE SPONSOR:

Ayonna Blue Donald

Laura Hong

Diane Beastrom

Shameka Jones Taylor

Laura Duda

Marcia Moreno

Director, Department of Building and Housing City of Cleveland President and CEO Koinonia

GOLD SPONSORS:

Senior Vice President, Chief Communications Officer Goodyear

Barbara Faciana

Co-CEO Pleasant Valley Corporation / NAI Pleasant Valley

Sarah Flannery

Partner Thompson Hine LLP

Katharine Goss

President and CEO Lakeview Cemetery

Heidi Gullet

Associate Director, Associate Professor Case Western Reserve University, Center for Community Health Integration

Partner and Mass Tort & Product Liability Group Chair Tucker Ellis LLP Vice President, Corporate Work Study Program Saint Martin de Porres High School President and Founder AmMore Consulting LLC

Jill Paulsen

Executive Director Cuyahoga Arts and Culture

Ying (Anne) Pu

President/Editor Global Chinese Service LLC Erie Chinese News, Yili China News

Cheryl Stephens

President and CEO East Akron Neighborhood Development Corp, member of Cuyahoga County Council

Jodi van der Wiel Design Director Vocon

Carla Harwell

Medical Director, UH Otis Moss Jr. Community and Health Center University Hospitals Health System

Stan Bullard, senior reporter, Real estate/ construction. (216) 771-5228 or sbullard@crain.com Lydia Coutré, Health care/nonprofits.

(216) 771-5479 or lcoutre@crain.com Michelle Jarboe, Enterprise reporter.

(216) 771-5437 or michelle.jarboe@crain.com Amy Morona, Higher education.

(216) 771-5229 or amy.morona@crain.com Rachel Abbey McCafferty, Manufacturing, K-12 education, technology. (216) 771-5379 or rmccafferty@crain.com Jay Miller, Government.

(216) 771-5362 or jmiller@crain.com Jeremy Nobile, Finance/legal/beer/cannabis.

(216) 771-5255 or jnobile@crain.com Kim Palmer, Government.

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