Crain's Cleveland Business

NOTABLE WEALTH MANAGERS These professionals provide ethical, honest and productive financial management and planning. PAGE 10

CYCLING: Northeast Ohio progress on cycling infrastructure is everywhere. PAGE 3

CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM I NOVEMBER 8, 2021

Novel approach to development Unusual real estate fund aims to transform Lee Road in Shaker Heights

BY MICHELLE JARBOE

A

t 35, Amanda Corr owns a bustling business that provides dog daycare, boarding and training on Lee Road in Shaker Heights.

She also owns her building — a once-vacant property that epitomizes the transformation that an unusual real estate investment fund aims to make in the fragmented business district.

Marching south from Chagrin Boulevard to the Cleveland border, modest brick buildings line Lee Road. Among the hair salons, childcare centers, small offices and service retailers, some of those buildings sit silent, for-rent signs hanging in the windows and property-tax bills piling up behind the scenes.

See FUND on Page 30

Dogs gather around owner Amanda Corr at Process Canine, a boarding, daycare and training facility on Lee Road in Shaker Heights. | MICHELLE JARBOE/CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Employers brace for COVID-19 mandate Either vaccination or testing to be required

BY JEREMY NOBILE

As of Jan. 4, companies with 100 employees or more will have to either ensure their workforces are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or be equipped to test the unvaccinated for the virus on a weekly basis. Requiring this is the U.S. De-

partment of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which issued its emergency temporary standard (ETS) Thursday, Nov. 4, in response to the “grave danger” the agency says unvaccinated workers face amid the lingering coronavirus pandemic.

At this point, the ETS is expected to remain in place for at least six months from its effective date, but it could be extended or replaced with a more permanent rule.

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Employers have long known this was coming. But many are fretting about how to comply all the same.

Their lawyers will be working overtime this weekend to figure out the nuances of the 490-page-long rule.

“The big caveat here is we are still digesting everything,” said Chaz Billington, a labor and employment lawyer with Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease. “It’s a quagmire of rules.”

See MANDATE on Page 28

THE

Health care employers competing for workers

BY LYDIA COUTRÉ

Hospitals, senior care facilities, community health centers and other employers are competing to hire candidates to fill thousands of open positions at health care facilities in Northeast Ohio as burnout, career changes, geographic relocations

LAND SCAPE

and more contribute to growing job vacancies.

Nationally, employment in health care is down by 460,000 since February 2020, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

See WORKERS on Page 29

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GOVERNMENT

Progress on cycling infrastructure is everywhere in Northeast Ohio

BY DAN SHINGLER

Maybe you haven’t noticed — or maybe you’re the swear-behind-thewindshield type with images of tiny flashing red lights burnt into your brain — but there are more bicyclists on the road than there were just a few years ago.

And around Northeast Ohio, like much of the rest of the country, there are more places for them to ride and more still on the way, whether they be dedicated bike paths through bucolic environments or lanes on existing roads dedicated to cyclists.

It’s about more than just pleasing prolific pandemic pedal pushers. Ask those who work to build cycling infrastructure, and even some area developers, and they’ll tell you that good bicycling infrastructure is key to attracting the best and brightest new residents and employees — which means it’s also key to retaining and rebuilding populations and driving growth.

“That’s indicative that we’re a city of the future and we’re ready to accommodate a whole new bunch of knowledge workers,” said Akron developer Tony Troppe. “It’s about creating a greener society. If you’re not automobile-dependent today, you’re free.”

Troppe’s developments are principally in downtown Akron, where they’re almost all either a stone’s throw or an easy ride from the Towpath Trail. He says that’s an attraction for him as a developer and as a landlord seeking tenants, because his renters value the amenity.

Asked how many of his developments have dedicated and secure bike storage, Troppe quickly answers, “all of them.”

Other developments, such as the 130-unit Electric Gardens development in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood, and Akron’s Bowery District, also tout proximity to the Towpath in their marketing.

Akron sees cycling infrastructure as a critical component of its plans to rebuild population. When Akron recently redeveloped its Main Street in central downtown, it drastically widened the sidewalk. That wasn’t just for pedestrians, said Jason Segedy, the city’s planning and urban development director, on a fall ride through town.

“This is the bike lane,” Segedy said, pedaling down pristine smooth concrete without the whiff of a threat from automobile traffic.

Akron cyclists are a bit blessed.

Segedy rides, as does Mayor Dan Horrigan, and both are keen to expand the city’s cycling options to attract new young residents and workers who are perceived — and often claim — to value fitness and outdoor recreation more than previous generations.

And while Cleveland has had to fight hard for many of its connections to the vaunted Towpath — efforts that many cyclists applaud — the Towpath runs through all of Akron almost like a second Cuyahoga River, snaking into town from the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the Merriman Valley from the north and exiting on the city’s south side into Coventry Township near Portage Lakes.

On top of that, cyclists on the city’s north side, as well as in places like Stow and Munroe Falls, have the Bike and Hike Trail run by Summit Metro

Akron Planning and Urban Development Director (and cyclist) Jason Segedy on the Towpath Trail at Akron’s Summit Lake. | DAN SHINGLER/CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS PHOTOS

Dan Sirkin, owner of Solon Bicycle, sees progress being made on cycling infrastructure.

Parks. That network runs from Alexander Road in Cuyahoga County, down past Brandywine Falls and to the Cuyahoga River opposite of Munroe Falls Metro Park. It gives riders more than 30 miles of route that is almost all paved for bikes, with no cars and not many pedestrians.

Not that Cleveland and other cities around Northeast Ohio are coasting.

There are signs of recent progress with regard to cycling infrastructure, and plans for additional investments, across the region.

“This was the summer of ribbon cuttings,” said Cuyahoga County Planning Commission principal planner Elaine Price, who points to recent progress on projects such as multiple new Towpath connections; Cleveland Metroparks’ new Redline Greenway between the RTA Red Line and its Centennial Lake Trail; new trails at Brighton Park near the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo; and new trail extensions at the Brecksville Reservation, among a host of recent improvements.

She’s excited about more that are coming, too, such as a Rails to Trails project to connect Cleveland’s Slavic Village to routes into downtown Cleveland.

Like Price, Cleveland Metroparks’ chief planning and design officer, Sean McDermott, works on cycling infrastructure with many local municipalities, which planners say ulti-

mately hold the key to developing bike lanes and trails. He’s optimistic about some of the projects he sees on the horizon in places such as Lakewood, which is pushing hard to improve conditions for cyclists.

“There’s a project going on in Lakewood that’s super cool,” McDermott said, referring to plans to build an all-purpose trail from the Rocky River Reservation into Lakewood’s business district along Detroit Avenue. “Not only is it cool, it helps solve that last-mile issue (for bike commuters and multi-mode travelers), because there’s a bus stop right nearby,” and buses are equipped to easily carry bikes.

McDermott said helping communities find ways to make connections between existing bike routes and others in the region is a major part of his job. It’s also critical to developing cycling infrastructure that will enable regionwide transportation and recreation options for cyclists.

“Right now, we’re working with Cuyahoga and Garfield Heights on that exact scenario,” McDermott said, referring to work being done to connect the Garfield Park Reservation to the Towpath.

Cycling advocates are particularly excited about a project slated for Lakewood’s Clifton Avenue bridge that connects the city with its neighbor, Rocky River.

Price said the county is set to put a protected bike lane on the north side of the bridge next year, taking away a lane of automobile traffic and replacing it with not only the bike lane but with rest stops, plantings, benches and “selfie windows” where the views of the Rocky River below are the best.

“That bridge is going to be a destination,” Price predicts.

But if Northeast Ohio’s going to continue its progress and keep up with other regions, and connect to other, national trails, more needs to be done, cycling advocates say.

“It’s good, but not great,” said Dan Sirkin, owner of Solon Bicycle, of the area’s cycling assets.

Sirkin said he’s heartened by recently announced developments, including some in his home city.

Solon’s bike path from SOM Center Road (Route 91) to the city’s eastern border with Bainbridge is set to be built next year, said city engineer John Busch. He said the city already has secured funding for the project.

In addition to that, Busch said, Solon is about to create bike lanes along Aurora Road by the Solon Community Center and Park. Although neither project is high-mileage, Busch said they’ll help cyclists get around and from one bike lane to another. He also doesn’t think they’ll remain isolated.

“It’s going to be a good foundation for the city to build off of and provide

additional connectivity in the future,” Busch said.

That sounds like a well-tuned drivetrain to Sirkin of Solon Bikes.

“That sounds perfect. We want to do family rides with customers — non-Lycra rides,” Sirkin said with a chuckle. “I think the city as a whole is excited, and there are definitely a lot of new cyclists out there now.”

But much of the region still needs to take cycling infrastructure more seriously, many cyclists say. For instance, while a road with a bike lane demarcated by a painted line is better than a road with no bike lane at all, it’s a far cry from a road with bike lane protected by posts or a raised curb to keep motor vehicles in their own lane.

“Our biggest push is really around the quality of the infrastructure. You look at other cities that are doing bike work, and they’re not just doing painted lines for bike lanes — they’re doing protected bike lanes,” said Jacob VanSickle, executive director and co-founder of the cycling advocacy group Bike Cleveland.

Such features are needed, because too many cyclists are killed on the roads, said Caitlin Harley, the Ohio Department of Transportation’s safe routes to school and active transportation manager.

“We’ve seen pedestrian fatalities over the last few years really rise, so there’s a new attention on pedestrian and bicycle safety,” Harley said, noting that cycling fatalities increased from 11 statewide in 2019 to 14 in 2020.

“Providing dedicated space is the No. 1 way to prevent these kinds of accidents with people biking,” Harley said.

VanSickle sees progress, though.

His group is particularly pleased to see protected bike lanes planned for Cleveland’s $8.3 million Midway Protected Bike Boulevard project, which will create 60 miles of protected bike lanes in various parts of the city.

Bike Cleveland also is happy about the upcoming development of the $6.1 million Lorain Avenue Cycle Track that will run from West 20th Street to West 65th Street.

Cleveland is taking cycling safety seriously, VanSickle said, and cyclists applaud that.

“We’re really excited about the city’s work around ‘Vision Zero,’ which is a strategy to eliminate fatal crashes along Cleveland roadways.

That’s exciting because it’s a culture shift with regard to the way the city thinks about deaths on the roadways,” VanSickle said.

Cyclists and their advocates say things are improving — quickly, in certain pockets of the region. They hope cycling will continue to grow in popularity as not just a means of recreation but of transportation.

Not feasible for a town like Cleveland? Don’t tell them that. They’ll point to cities like Minneapolis, known for great cycling features like ubiquitous protected lanes and trails.

“It’s only a seasonal option because we’ve told ourselves it’s a seasonal option,” said Price, of the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission. “Minneapolis actually puts money into plowing their trails during wintertime … because people use them.”

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

NOVEMBER 8, 2021 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 3

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The eight-story Westinghouse Building towering over Edgewater Parkway and the low-rise building next door has been sold to a local investor group for redevelopment at an undisclosed price. | STAN BULLARD/CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

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300,000-square-foot property, which dates from the 19th century.

Others passed because the $6 A high-profile potential redevelopment property, the Westing- million asking price for the prophouse complex at 5800 Breakwater erty was too high for a costly redeAve. that gives a huge curve on velopment play. The county asEdgewater Parkway its name for signs the complex a market value traffic reporters, has landed in the of $1 million for property tax purhands of a fledgling realty develop- poses.

The challenge is not the er.

Through Westinghouse-Break- eight-story building on the south water Properties LLC, Michael Tre- side of Edgewater Parkway overbilcock Jr. on Oct. 18 acquired the looking Lake Erie and Edgewater property for an undisclosed Beach. The problematic part of the amount, according to Cuyahoga property is on the taller building’s south side, a sprawling structure County land records.

Trebilcock, son of the founder with a hip roof large enough to hold and chairman of MCPc Inc. of a football field.

One obvious use for the low-rise Cleveland, confirmed in a phone interview that he is the new owner building discussed in the real esof the property and that the venture tate brokerage community is for is his own undertaking. The young- storage, perhaps as a self-storage er Trebilcock also works at MCPc, a center. However, Trebilcock said storage is not among the uses he is global data protection company. considering.

The seller was Para“WHATEVER WE DO WILL BE mount-Breakwater RESPECTFUL TO IT. IT LENDS Properties, a group originally formed by industriITSELF TO GREAT RESIDENTIAL alist Peter Kole, who opAND COMMERCIAL USES.” erated the Paramount Stamping and Welding — Michael Trebilcock Jr. company in the building He declined to be specific about for decades.

Contents of the complex were ofpotential plans for the complex because he is still sorting through po- fered at an auction in spring 2019 that Marvin Schiff, a project mantential uses with his advisers.

“It’s an iconic property,” Trebil- ager at the Rosen & Barton Auccock said. “Whatever we do will be tioneers & Co. of Beachwood, said respectful to it. It lends itself to was about Kole moving on. Some great residential and commercial operations at the building had closed in January of that year, Schiff uses.”

Trebilcock landed a property told Crain’s Cleveland Business pursued by multiple real estate de- prior to the auction.

Adam Stalder, executive director velopers the past few years.

At least one prior group that of the Northwest Neighborhoods looked at it, Sustainable Communi- CDC, a community development ty Associates of Cleveland, passed corporation serving the area, said because it could not come up with in a phone interview that he had an economically viable plan for the discussed the property with Trebil-

cock.

However, since Trebilcock would not share nascent specifics with Crain’s, Stalder also declined to do so.

“He has ideas for the low-rise part of the property,” Stalder said.

“Every idea he has run by us is very solid, and he is open to ideas.”

Housing, Stalder said, is a given as a reuse for the eight-story building because it has Lake Erie and city views. He added that housing also is a use the community would accept there.

A challenge for any plan would be parking, Stalder said, because parking generally is a challenge in the area. The site is zoned general industry, he added, which would permit a variety of potential uses there.

The context for a remake of the Westinghouse has only gotten better the past few years. The Edison, a new apartment complex, has gone in on a former industrial site next to the Westinghouse. Newer townhouses nearby on West 58th Street and Breakwater Avenue recently have sold for $427,000 to $555,000, according to the Realtor.com website. The complex is minutes from downtown, and a bike path next door connects directly with downtown and the beach.

The complex takes its Westinghouse name from decades as a location that Westinghouse used, beginning in 1898, to first make brass and aluminum castings and later lights for airport and industrial uses until the 1960s, according to “The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.”

The seller had owned the property since1985.

Stan Bullard: sbullard@crain.com, (216) 771-5228, @CrainRltywriter

4 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 8, 2021

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REAL ESTATE

SITE Centers returns to the hunt, but with a tiny twist

BY STAN BULLARD

Recent additions to the portfolio of SITE Centers, the Beachwood-based real estate investment trust, have been notable for an unexpected reason: They are tiny in shopping-center terms, ranging from 11,000 square feet to under 70,000 square feet.

They also don't have traditional anchors such as grocery stores or big-box retailers, but have locations in high-wealth communities.

Such is the situation as SITE Centers returns to the buy side in the shopping-center business after spending the last three years primarily as a seller, including 48 regional and big-box centers it spun off with the formation of Retail Value Inc., which is down to its last three centers.

The upshot of dispositions and years of focus on its balance sheet is that the company has about $150 million to spend on acquisitions, not counting potential leverage, should it choose to use any.

The immediate answer amid the turmoil of brick-and-mortar retailing has been to buy an 11,000-squarefoot center called Emmet Street Station for $8.75 million in Charlottesville, Virginia; a 52,000-square-foot center, Shoppes at Addison Place in Delray Beach, Florida, for $40 million; and a 69,000-square-foot center, Hammond Springs, for $31 million.

David Lukes, president and CEO of Beachwood-based SITE Centers, has the company buying properties again after years of pruning the portfolio. | PETER ROSS

In a conference call with analysts and investors on Oct. 25, David Lukes, president and CEO, said the company's "investment thesis" is based on outcomes for shopping centers during the pandemic: Rents and occupancy are both growing in wealthier suburbs, where convenience is enhancing the value of the properties, more money is available than in urban markets, and there are

more frequent customer visits due to what he termed the "flexible workfrom-home culture."

Buying such centers allows the company to find properties to purchase, as many shopping-center owners decline to sell properties to avoid discounts due to higher-than-normal vacancy rates. Lukes also noted that the availability of geolocation data means the company

can analyze opportunities for potential rent growth and consider unanchored properties.

Typically, big shopping-center operators shun unanchored properties, because such holdings are higher-risk. But Lukes said geolocation data puts them in a different light.

It is a strategy that challenges orthodoxy among established shopping-center owners.

Joseph Padanilam, the owner of shopping-center investment and ownership company Optimus One LLC in Aurora, and who worked for SITE Centers predecessor DDR Corp. more than a decade ago, questions the strategy.

A big company buying such small centers creates a potential management problem compared with buying larger ones, he said.

"I scratch my head over this," Padanilam said of the company embracing small-center purchases.

"This management is throwing anything it can against the wall," Padanilam said. "They're trying to find anything that works."

Stock analysts are more sanguine about the strategy, which amounts to looking at small plazas that big REITs typically eschew.

Todd Thomas, a New York Citybased equity research analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets, said in an interview he does not expect SITE Centers to strictly buy small plazas

going forward.

"They are buying good centers in good markets," Thomas said. "They are looking for good risk-adjusted returns in this market. They're looking for opportunities they feel have been mispriced, but they see opportunities to raise rents in the future."

The approach, he added, also takes advantage of the fragmentation at the small end of the shopping-center category. He said REITs and major institutional investors are increasingly using geolocation data, as was referred to by Lukes.

"It's good to see them pivoting to investing," Thomas said. "It's an important part of the SITE Centers story today."

The other advantage of niche deals is their immediacy.

During the same Oct. 25 conference call, according to a Seeking Alpha online transcript, Lukes noted the company had de-emphasized some planned redevelopments of shopping centers because of the strength of the pipeline of tenants for filling empty storefronts.

That allows for faster returns than redeveloping properties, Lukes said, which takes years to do, from winning government approvals to building new plazas.

Stan Bullard: sbullard@crain.com, (216) 771-5228, @CrainRltywriter

SPONSORED CONTENT

Innovating and collaborating to improve quality of life

BY SHANNON SMITH, CRAIN’S CONTENT STUDIO-CLEVELAND

JOHN CHAE, M.D. Co-director MetroHealth Rehabilitation Institute

P. HUNTER PECKHAM, PH.D. Co-director MetroHealth Rehabilitation Institute

Every year, approximately 2 million people suffer from strokes, spinal cord and/or traumatic brain injuries, while millions more are affected by complex neuromusculoskeletal conditions like multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The MetroHealth Rehabilitation Institute brings nationally recognized patient care and research practices to the forefront of Cleveland’s innovation district, ranking as the top rehabilitation hospital in Ohio and 24th in the country by the U.S. News and World Report in 2021.

The Institute is composed of multiple entities: an inpatient rehab hospital, outpatient practices, clinical operations and the Center for Rehabilitation Research.

It is the only academic rehab facility in the region that is fully integrated into a level one trauma center and comprehensive stroke center. It is also home to one of only 14 federally designated spinal cord injury model systems in the country.

With co-directors John Chae, M.D., a member of the National Academy of Medicine, and P. Hunter Peckham, Ph.D.,

a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the MetroHealth Rehabilitation Institute is the only rehabilitation institute in the nation led by two members of the national academies, according to MetroHealth.

COMMUNITY FOCUSED CARE AND POSITIVE OUTCOMES The MetroHealth Center for Rehabilitation Research, the research arm of the MetroHealth Rehabilitation Institute, has more than $51 million in extramural funding from federal, state and foundation sources, and it ranked third in the nation in National Institutes of Health funding among departments of rehabilitation medicine in U.S. medical schools. This has allowed for breakthrough discoveries and inventions that have the ability to change the lives of people suffering from paralysis, chronic pain and more.

In partnership with Case Western Reserve University and the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the Center is a global leader in the development and implementation of functional electrical stimulation (FES) technologies for motor restoration for people with central nervous system paralysis. These systems can be used to animate paralyzed limbs, facilitate neurological recovery and help treat chronic pain.

One of the Center’s specialties is innovative technology, an essential part of rehabilitation. The Networked Neuroprosthesis, an implantable FES device that delivers microcurrents of electrical stimulation to activate paralyzed muscles and record electrical activity from intact muscles, has successfully helped to restore hand, trunk balance, and standing function in persons with paralysis. Other

technologies provide respiratory, bowel and bladder function.

“These kinds of functions enable people to be independent,” Dr. Peckham said. “Certainly, the quality of life is improved when you can comb your hair and brush your teeth and eat a meal by yourself rather than relying on somebody else to help you.”

INNOVATION TO IMPLEMENTATION The Institute is dedicated to providing comprehensive care through a transdisciplinary approach that utilizes multiple disciplines of knowledge with world-class clinicians, scientists and engineers collaborating in research and innovation to further the science of rehabilitative medicine.

Since its establishment in 1958, the Institute has worked to not only conduct innovative research but to integrate its findings into clinical practice and teachings with residency and fellowship programs in physical medicine and rehabilitation, spinal cord injury medicine, brain injury medicine and pain medicine.

“We have three top priorities,” Dr. Chae said. “Our top priority is to provide outstanding clinical care to our patients. Second, in order to help ensure that outstanding care is available to as many patients as possible, we are committed to training the next generation of clinicians and scientists. Finally, we are committed to the discovery of new diagnostic and treatment techniques and methodologies that maximize treatment outcomes, and to translate these innovations directly into clinical practice.”

For more information, visit www.metrohealth.org/rehabilitation.

This advertising-supported section/feature is produced by Crain’s Content Studio-Cleveland, the marketing storytelling arm of Crain’s Cleveland Business. The Crain’s Cleveland Business newsroom is not involved in creating Crain’s Content Studio content.

NOVEMBER 8, 2021 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 5

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11/5/2021 12:20:26 PM

PERSONAL VIEW

Fed chair Powell shouldn’t continue to second term

RICH WILLIAMS FOR CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

BY STEPHANIE HOWSE

EDITORIAL

What's next?

J

ustin Bibb — make that Cleveland Mayor-elect Justin Bibb — ran a smart, positive, inspiring campaign that produced a big win and sets high expectations for what can be accomplished at City Hall.

Now the hard work begins.

The win itself was impressive, with Bibb taking nearly 63% of the vote to 37% for Kevin Kelley, the outgoing Cleveland City Council president. Bibb ran hard, in all areas of the city, and earned a decisive victory. It bodes well for his ability to rally support for his priorities. We hope council under new leadership, and with a different composition, is ready to work constructively with him to move the city forward. (One quick aside: Kelley in his concession speech said he will work in whatever capacity is necessary to help Bibb lead Cleveland into a successful future, noting, “You’ve got to make sure that you are ... always considering those that are less fortunate than us.” Kelley has been a dedicated public servant, that was a gracious concession, and following through on the sentiment is how we’ll make Cleveland government better.)

Bibb said in a message on his website that Clevelanders on Election Night “made it clear that it’s time for a fresh perspective and modern approach at City Hall.” He promised that over the next few months, “I will engage with residents, elected officials, business leaders, nonprofit executives, academics, activists and neighborhood leaders to ... assess the state of the city and offer pragmatic and bold recommendations we can enact on day one.

Cleveland, what are we waiting for? Let’s get to work!”

There’s a refreshing energy to that message when compared with the current occupant of City Hall. We expect Bibb will keep up the dialogue with people across the city, and quickly announce the cabinet and advisers who will help him tackle big questions: What’s the most efficient way for Cleveland to spend coronavirus-relief money from the federal government? How can Cleveland establish a more productive relationship with state officials? How can the city be more efficient in helping businesses grow here?

Bibb told Ideastream that his first priority is to name a transition manager and community co-chairs, and that his team then will work to fill top positions, including law director, police chief and chief operating officer. He said he wants a diverse cabinet

that is “smart as heck to tackle some of these issues we have ahead of us” and includes people who have worked in city government and those with private sector and nonprofit experience.

A fascinating Twitter thread started by Dan Moulthrop, CEO of The City Club, asked Clevelanders to think about roles Bibb might create in his administration. Among the suggestions: a small business concierge; a lead for continuous improvement; a “resident experience” lead; a “bureaucracy buster” role; someone to “captain our potential in fresh water innovation.” There are many more smart ideas. We hope Team Bibb absorbs some of that creativity.

Bibb in the campaign showed he has the ability to communicate a positive, growth-oriented vision for the city that includes doing a better job of delivering city services. We hope he continues to keep all Clevelanders engaged so the “fresh perspective and modern approach” he promises is backed with results, not just rhetoric.

Behind the curtain Everybody’s job has been hard during the pandemic. People who work in the live-performance side of the entertainment industry have faced particular challenges, as the sector only recently has started to regain its footing.

As the president and CEO of Playhouse Square, Gina Vernaci has been a performer of sorts, too — a juggler overseeing the rebuilding of an entertainment schedule that saw 1,100 shows and performances canceled since March 2020. Playhouse Square is back, thankfully, bringing much-needed entertainment to everyone. Vernaci, after applying a steady hand to running the show during a difficult time, announced last week that she will retire in February 2023, ending a nearly 40-year run with the performing arts nonprofit.

Vernaci set a high standard in the job, as a talented operator in a difficult business, and a passionate, tireless backer of the arts — straight out of central casting, you might say. We trust the next person in the role at Playhouse Square will be up to the challenge of continuing to grow one of Cleveland’s greatest assets.

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 the leader of our central bank, the Federal Reserve chair holds enormous control over our economy. The Fed’s duty is to promote the economic interests of the public by maximizing employment and stabilizing costs. And yet current Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell has long sided with his fellow elites over the American people.

Powell has long held ties to Wall Street State Rep. and big banks. Prior to his time at the Stephanie Howse Fed, Powell served as managing director (D-Cleveland) for a consumer bank called Bankers represents the Trust. He left after the bank became em- 11th district of the broiled in scandal: It diverted millions of Ohio House of dollars from unclaimed client funds to- Representatives. ward its own balance sheet, thereby losing its clients millions of dollars. This is not the only time Powell has worked for a company that pads its own bottom line at the expense of its clients. As a managing director at Dillon Read, an investment and financial advisory bank, Powell was a key decision-maker. Following his departure, Dillion Read would close after betting big on the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis, losing millions of their clients’ dollars on risky bets.

Even as the nation’s top banking regulator, Powell has continued to work directly with Wall Street to balloon its profits. Powell held meetings and calls with Wall Street ex- EVEN AS THE ecutives 50 times in 2017 alone. Since then, he has NATION’S TOP been open to the deregula- BANKING tion of our country’s financial system. Powell worked REGULATOR, POWELL with U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo HAS CONTINUED TO (R-Idaho) to allow for relaxed mortgage regulations WORK DIRECTLY and exemptions from stricter WITH WALL STREET oversight, two elements which led multiple banks to TO BALLOON ITS fail in the 2008 crisis. Powell PROFITS. has also essentially allowed banks to bypass stress tests by telling them what the tests would involve. He even weakened the Volcker Rule, which protects Americans’ money from being used in risky investments.

Powell’s ties to the financial sector extend beyond his career to his personal interests. He holds millions of dollars of investments in the very banks he is supposed to be regulating, including nearly $30 million in Goldman Sachs and BlackRock. This has contributed to his current net worth, valued between $20 million and $55 million, which makes him the wealthiest Fed chair in history.

Perhaps Powell’s affinity for the rich has clouded his ability to prevent his fellow elites from engaging in wrongdoing.

In 2020, when the country was enduring one of the greatest economic recessions in its history, three of this chairman’s top officials traded securities about which they may have had privileged information. Powell has claimed he was unaware of these trades — but nonetheless, he did nothing to prevent them from occurring.

Now, Powell wants another term to continue helping himself and his own. Powell’s time on Wall Street — and now as Fed chairman — has seen multiple scandals. We can’t afford to give another term to someone who tips the scales for the wealthy in a system he is supposed to balance.

President Biden cannot renominate Jerome Powell.

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.

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6 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 8, 2021

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OPINION www.naipvc.com

A WORLD OF SUPPORT

www.pleasantvalleycorp.com

PERSONAL VIEW

Don’t let inventory shortages cause marketing shortages

BY JAMES MORSE

As a company, there are few things more frustrating than when customers can’t get products they want because you can’t get the inventory you need. To add insult to injury, those out-of-stock items are listed as backordered for months, and it’s all out of your control.

Lately, this has become the norm.

Three large events helped cause worldwide inventory shortages during the last 18 months: COVID-19; the Suez Canal blockage in March 2021; and a historic winter freeze and blackouts in Texas, which caused the world’s largest petrochemical plant to come to a standstill. In August, central China received eight months of rain in one day, potentially laying the groundwork for coming agricultural shortages. The world’s supply chain is a mess. But deficiencies in the supply chain are no reason to stop selling your brand.

KEEP CUSTOMERS IN THE FUNNEL

Businesses say it all the time: “We can’t get supplies to sell, so why do we need to keep marketing?” It seems simple: no product, no marketing. But the relationship between marketing and selling is more complex than temporary interruptions in inventory. Even when marketing seems pointless, marketing during inventory shortages is essential to your long-term sales and growth.

You aren’t simply marketing yourself and your products to sell this week or month. You are laying the groundwork for the future when shortages end. Thinking about sales at this moment is only part of the picture.

The long-term view involves marketing so that customers remain engaged with your business, and even if customers don’t have the items to purchase or the funds to spend yet, your partners have to keep marketing in order to keep customers in the path to purchase. Remember, conditions will change. When they do, your customers will be positioned to spend.

Now the challenge becomes keeping your channel partners marketing on behalf of your brand. To keep partners marketing during shortages, you give partners the tools, the education and the incentives.

Consider these four points: 1. Provide higher co-op reimbursement rates to subsidize marketing costs to channel partners If you want to keep channel partners marketing during these historic supply shortages, then first you need to increase your co-op reimbursement rate so the financial responsibility isn’t on them. With a higher reimbursement rate, it is literally free money for marketing, and who wouldn’t spend that? Rather than incentivizing a particular tactic, raising your reimbursement rate encourages over all co-op spending, and that’s a big step forward.

2. Educate channel partners on your customer journey and the benefits of continued marketing to customers who may not be ready to purchase at this time Even the most successful channel partners are rarely marketers themselves. Less than half of partners do not understand marketing. Approximately 32% don’t be-

lieve their corporate marketing program has any meaningful impact on the success of their business, so they see marketing as a low priority. To get partners to participate in marketing your brand, educate them about the value of your channel marketing program. When you invest the time and resources to educate partners, you will increase proMorse is vice gram engagement, and when president of partners see greater ROI, research product shows they will engage more. management at 3. Reward channel partners who marketing act as brand advocates agency Support and education go handBrandMuscle. in-hand. Increasing program engagement requires incentivizing partner behavior.

Channel incentive programs are a behavioral modification tool that rewards partners for highlighting new products, liquidating old stock, and identifying new market opportunities. During inventory shortages, programs can encourage partners to focus on selling alternative products in place of out-of-stock items — different types of wood, for example, while in-demand types are back-ordered. When companies directly reward partners for selling and marketing, partners will sell and market more. Now is the time to reward partners for marketing. So offer them additional co-op funds, vacations or gift cards, and watch them market despite shortages.

4. Reach customers through social media when store visits are down Keeping a strong online presence is important during supply shortages. Consumers search for store hours and COVID policies online more than ever before, and often turn to social media for answers. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram allow customers to ask questions about when certain items will return to store shelves and local business partners can provide updates about product availability in real time.

In addition to fostering community engagement through meaningful conversations, partners can get creative to shift customers’ attention from deficits into products that are in stock. For example, if customers can’t find the fire pit they want at the hardware store, post a simple, engaging video tutorial online in order to sell the bricks, shovel, metal grate and firewood customers need to build one themselves. Putting a positive spin on shortages only involves focusing on what is available and finding a way to inspire customers.

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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 Exp.: 10/31/2021

SUPPLY CHAIN PROJECTIONS

Eventually, we will get back to a market equilibrium where supply meets demand, or even to a position where supply outweighs demand. While you may not have any control of inventory shortages, you do have control over your brand image. If your brand continues marketing, you will have perfectly positioned your channel partners for the onslaught of sales heading their way when inventory stabilizes.

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The former Robinson Mansion in Akron has returned to a familiar role in providing expectant mothers with help and support as the new home of Akron Pregnancy Services. | CONTRIBUTED

Robinson Mansion is new home for Akron Pregnancy Services 9/22/2020 1:14:55 PM

BY DAN SHINGLER

Akron’s ever-creative developer Tony Troppe has found a way to put a city landmark to use, put a women’s health-service provider into new and better digs, and find a place for artists visiting Akron to stay while they’re in town.

Troppe’s doing it all with a pair of properties he owns, one of which he’s already redeveloped and another that he now will start to make over since its tenant has moved.

The tenant, Akron Pregnancy Services, didn’t ditch Troppe. Far from it. The agency moved from his building at South Broadway and East Market streets into another Troppe building at the corner of South Broadway and East Buchtel Avenue.

“They moved in last Saturday,” Troppe said in an interview on Wednesday, Nov. 3. “It’s about a 16,000-square-foot building. They moved in and merged with Canton Pregnancy Services, and EVA (Women’s Clinic, an APS subsidiary) is going in there too, so you’ve got a nice mix of services.”

Except, it’s more than a building — it’s a historic landmark known to many Akronites. Depending upon whom you talk to and how old they are, the new home of APS will be familiar as Steinway Hall, The Crittenton Home for Unwed Mothers or by its original name: the Robinson Mansion.

Built in 1906 by Akron clay-products industrialist Byron Robinson, the structure was known as his family’s home along what was once Akron’s millionaire’s row. It became the Crittenton Home in 1939 and then Steinway Hall, a piano showroom, in 1990.

But by the time Troppe purchased the building in 2019 for $375,000, the Steinway piano store had moved to Boston Heights and what is now the last remaining home on the old millionaire’s street had sat vacant for five years, falling into disrepair.

Troppe has spent much of the last two years restoring the 44room structure and said the project came in under budget at $1.25 mil-

Developer Tony Troppe outside the BluTique hotel in the downtown arts neighborhood he’s developed and dubbed the Blu Zone. | DAN SHINGLER/CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

lion — he had initially estimated the cost at $1.6 million.

With the move of APS and EVA’s move set, Troppe says he now has it all leased out except for a small space on the third floor. And APS seems like it will likely take that as well.

“We’re planning to (take it all). At this point, we have the lower level and the second floor. There’s a ballroom upstairs they haven’t renovated yet, but I have my eye on that,” said APS executive director Janet Paul.

“IT’S A PLACE THAT FEELS LIKE, ‘WOW, THIS WAS SET UP FOR ME TO COME AND TAKE PART IN PARENTING CLASSES, PREGNANCY CLASSES’ … THE HOUSE IS JUST BEAUTIFUL.” — Janet Paul, APS executive director

EVA hasn’t moved in yet, but Paul said that will happen soon.

Paul said the move is good for APS because the Robinson Man-

sion — Troppe’s preferred moniker — provides a more inviting space than the organization’s former, traditional office space. It’s also got more of a neighborhood feel, being on the border of downtown and Akron’s Wallhaven neighborhood, and is easily accessible via public transportation, she noted.

“For the last 35 years, we’ve been in an office location on Broadway and Market Street. The Robinson Mansion feels like a home, so it feels inviting,” Paul said. “It’s a place that feels like, ‘Wow, this was set up for me to come and take part in parenting classes, pregnancy classes’ … the house is just beautiful.”

Now Troppe has to find a use for APS’ old home, which he also owns.

That’s a 22,000-square-foot building at Broadway and East Market Street that once was used by the Akron Beacon Journal.

Troppe said he’s about to start redeveloping that and envisions it becoming what he’s calling Live on Broadway. He’s hoping to turn it into lofts that will at least partially be used by artists who come to town to work with the Akron Art Museum.

“It’s right across from the art museum, so the vision is unfolding on two fronts — I got a twofer,” Troppe said.

That’s not a done deal yet, but museum interim director Jon Fiume said that while no deal has been struck or negotiated, he’s interested in Troppe’s concept.

“We haven’t started formal conversations yet,” Fiume said. “But we’re certainly eager to be part of the conservations with Tony … we’re excited to see the activity.”

That concept would also fit well with Troppe’s other developments near the art museum in an area along Market Street that Troppe has dubbed the “Blu Zone” and already includes his Blu Plate restaurant and Blu Jazz+ music venue, along with the Blu-Tique Hotel.

“It’s all one big happy family,” Troppe said.

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

8 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 8, 2021

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PERSONAL VIEW

Cleveland’s Guardians will make a deal Is Cleveland big enough to support two sports teams with the same name? Not according to the city’s roller derby team, the Guardians, which filed a lawsuit last month against the city’s baseball team, now also called the Guardians but formerly known as the Indians.

“Two sports teams in the same city cannot have identical names,” the complaint begins.

This is not entirely true. Both St. Louis and Brooklyn (and Boston for a single year) harbored professional football and baseball teams that shared a name. But in these and similar historical instances, the two entities typically had either common ownership ... or a deal.

That’s what the roller derby team presumably wants: a deal.

Let me confess first that I know nothing about the sport. When I hear “roller derby,” the image that pops into my head is a battered but victorious James Caan skating around the track as delirious fans chant “Jonathan! Jonathan!” But roller derby — described by Smithsonian Magazine as “a family-oriented fellowship of friends who like to beat each other up while wearing skates” — is popular, with more than 1,200 teams nationwide.

That popularity matters. Trademark law rewards a company for creating an association between a particular mark and the company’s goods or services. A plaintiff must show, however, that allowing someone else to use a similar mark will confuse consum-

JASON MILLER/GETTY IMAGES

BY STEPHEN L. CARTER /BLOOMBERG OPINION

ers.

In the Cleveland suit, the plaintiff’s claim is that its investment in the “Guardians” mark in the local community will be lost if the (richer, better-known) local baseball team uses the same mark.

Professional sport has long been a hotbed for trademark lawsuits, and the plaintiffs do not always win.

In 2006, for example, a federal court rejected a request by a Cincinnati-based sports training organization called Ignition Athletic Performance Group for an injunction to prevent Detroit’s new professional soccer team (now defunct) from using the name Ignition.

The plaintiff lost even though it sponsored a soccer team called the Kings whose uniforms bore the Ignition logo. The court found no likelihood that the public would confuse the two marks, an outcome dictated largely by the distinct geographic markets in which the

parties operated.

To be sure, when the big boys of professional sports sue to protect their marks, they tend to prevail. After the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League moved to Indianapolis, for example, a startup Canadian Football League franchise back in Baltimore wanted to call itself the Colts. The NFL team sued and, in the courts at least, beat the CFL team. The courts concluded that by using the name, defendants would be trading on the plaintiffs’ residual goodwill. But the injunction was narrow. “If they want to use ‘Colts’ in conjunction with anything besides a Baltimore football team,” wrote a federal appellate court, “there is nothing in this lawsuit to prevent them.”

Now, nobody would claim that the Cleveland Guardians of roller derby fame enjoy anything like the name recognition enjoyed by the old Baltimore Colts. Moreover, the two Guardians teams would be playing entirely separate sports.

Still, the complaint alleges harm aplenty: The roller derby team’s website crashed as fans rushed to purchase what they thought was baseball memorabilia. Social media accused the roller derby team of stealing the baseball team’s intellectual property. Dealers stopped filling the original Guardians’ orders for branded products, under the mistaken belief that the roller derby team was planning to sell counterfeit baseball paraphernalia.

None of these harms are trivial. They might even turn out to have been foreseeable.

Why then did the baseball team pick

Guardians as its new name? Maybe because its decisionmakers were genuinely unaware of the roller derby team’s prior use. Maybe because they thought the team would prevail in a lawsuit. Or maybe because all the good names were taken.

I’d prefer to think they picked the name knowing that they’d sooner or later have to buy out the rights to the name held by the pre-existing Guardians. I used to teach a case from 1968 called Burger King v. Hoots. The national fast-food chain was awarded rights to the name throughout the country, except for a small area in Illinois where the defendant had used the name first, and where locals presumably associated the name with his restaurant. I explained to the students why the court had found the efficient solution: The local restaurant had created local value, and the national chain needed national value. Thus the parties would bargain and find a price at which Burger King would buy out Hoots’ rights.

Unlike in Burger King, there’s no effective way to create a carve-out for the roller derby Guardians. The two teams would be operating in the same metropolitan area of about 2 million people. Thus publicity for the baseball team will inevitably swamp the roller derby team’s brand. But the efficient solution would still seem to be that the baseball team should buy out the roller derby team’s rights in the name.

That’s not to say that I’m sure the court will rule in favor of the plaintiffs. But I can predict with confidence that the parties will settle.

By spring, there will be only one Guardians sports team in Cleveland.

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To book an ad and submit an article, contact Associate Publisher Amy Ann Stoessel at astoessel@crain.com.

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CRAIN’S 2021

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WEALTH MANAGERS INVESTING IN RESULTS

man a po from erin A Sha wor Th Sha Jewi of C B role with

Our 46 Notable Wealth Managers differ in title and style, but share the same goal of providing ethical, honest and productive financial management and financial planning.

Their journeys began in places as varied and distant as Australia and Pakistan. They devote their free time to helping schools, foundations, women’s groups and the arts. They specialize in wealth management and financial planning, and carry titles that include president, founder, chief experience officer, chair and CEO. They coach advisors, manage mutual funds and are partners in various financial entities. They work for firms they founded, and for large banks and money management companies.

One nomination form described an advisor in a way that can apply to all: The honored individual has the ability “to understand the risk/reward of a given situation and the information needed to optimize that situation.”

BR

Part JL S

METHODOLOGY: The honorees do not pay to be included. Their profiles were drawn from the nomination materials submitted.

This list is not comprehensive. It includes only individuals for whom nominations were submitted and accepted after a review by editors. To qualify for the list, nominees must be based in Northeast Ohio. They must be currently employed full time at a financial institution or company offering wealth management services and showcase professional achievements. They must have a minimum of three years’ experience and oversee at least $10 million in assets under advisement. They must be active in the community and/or philanthropic activities, mentoring programs and/or diversity and inclusion initiatives.

GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK PHOTO

A cial

DAVID ALLEN

COLIN ANDERSON

CHRISTOPHER ANSELMO

CHRIS BARR

Executive director and Cleveland team lead J.P. Morgan Private Bank

Principal Vantage Financial Group

President Brookside Tax & Financial Group

David Allen’s experience with a broad range of investment firms from McDonald & Co. to Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan has given him a keen sense of how to deliver global investments to a local market.

Within each firm, he’s achieved increasing responsibility, including management roles that required a high degree of problem-solving.

According to the nomination, “Attention to detail, problem solving and ability to maintain sustained levels of mental energy developed through years of high-altitude mountain climbing. He brings these unique characteristics and background to deliver differentiated results to his customers and team members.”

Allen manages professional advisors and specialists dedicated to designing strategies that help families plan, invest, bank and borrow. He’s particularly focused on helping executives, entrepreneurs and business owners unlock the value of their concentrated wealth.

He sits on the Rocky River Planning Commission, is part of the American Heart Association Greater Cleveland Heart Walk Executive Leadership Council and is co-chair of the JPMorgan Chase Market Leadership Team, which connects business lines in efforts to be a positive corporate citizen in the region.

“A native of Cleveland, he delivers a local presence, extensive industry experience and the global capabilities of J.P. Morgan,” the nomination stated.

— Lydia Coutré

Colin Anderson has been at Vantage for a dozen years and is a founding member of the firm's investment education committee.

He is also an investment advisor representative with Vantage Financial Group's investment advisory firm.

Before joining Vantage, he worked with employers to design and operate complex qualified retirement plans. His experience includes helping employers improve participation levels in 401(k) plans and helping employees appreciate the value of the plans for building financial security.

In addition to being a registered representative and investment representative advisor with Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, a broker/dealer and registered investment advisor, he also holds life, accident, health and annuity insurance licenses.

Anderson received his B.A. in business administration from Colby-Sawyer College in New London, New Hampshire.

Kathleen Kapusta, an Independence city councilwoman and client who nominated Anderson, said she has recommended Anderson to countless family members, friends and business colleagues. She described Anderson as insightful and able to put clients at ease.

Kapusta added that Anderson possesses "the capacity to make decisions today that will continue to best serve us into the unknown territory of the future."

— Stan Bullard

A lot of wealth managers will tell you they deliver outstanding customer service, but we’re not sure we’ve seen one go as far as Christopher Anselmo.

Heck, one of the photos with his nomination was captioned “Chris mowing a client’s lawn” — and he was using a walk-behind, not a riding mower at that.

That client was hospitalized when their city complained, and Anselmo wasn’t going to let a city fine affect his client’s wealth.

But it’s little wonder. Anselmo learned how to treat people at the same place where he probably learned to count money — at his father’s produce stand at the West Side Market.

Anselmo was taught to treat people as clients, not customers. But today, he treats many as though they were family.

But then, Anselmo treats the entire community well. He spent several years serving on the board for Habitat for Humanity and, through his charitable fund Brookside Gives Back, he raises money for tuition assistance, as well as emergency mortgage, rent and utility assistance through the Catholic Community Foundation.

His clients, meanwhile, help him to help others by participating in a charity raffle that Anselmo has at a client clam bake he holds each year.

— Dan Shingler

Senior wealth advisor and team leader, managing director, Wealth Management department MAI Capital Management Chris Barr brings nearly 30 years of experience to his work with high-net-worth clients’ portfolio investments and allocations.

Barr, who joined MAI Capital Management in June 2014 and manages two employees at the firm, also is part of a team that analyzes potential private equity opportunities, according to the nomination. He manages client relationships with a combined $933 million in assets under management as of June 30.

Prior to joining MAI, Barr was vice president at Big Game Capital LLC, a multigenerational family wealth management office that he helped launch in 2000. Prior to moving back to Cleveland in 2000, Barr worked for 10 years with a filling brokerage on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Barr for the last 15 years has been involved in Chagrin Falls’ public school programs and community athletics. He and his family participate in LifeAct, a nonprofit that educates students to recognize depression and warning signs to help prevent teen suicide. Barr also supports various charities sponsored by MAI, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

He graduated from Miami University with a bachelor's degree in economics.

— Scott Suttell

10 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 8, 2021

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REBECCA BAR-SHAIN Partner and financial planner Cedar Brook Group Rebecca Bar-Shain has decades' worth of experience in finance, operations and strategic planning.

Part of her success lies in distilling that expertise, in breaking down money-management concepts for clients, whether they're worth $1 million or upward of $65 million.

"Clients working with Rebecca can often see a better future than they had envisioned on their own," wrote Betsy Figgie, a client, in nominating Bar-Shain for inclusion on this list.

"Her comprehensive work addresses growth, risk management, goal-setting and financial behaviors, which all contribute to a powerful tool set for building wealth," Figgie wrote. "Clients transition from viewing money conversations as stressful to viewing them as empowering."

A partner in Cedar Brook Group's Mannen, Munday, Slater and BarShain practice, she joined the East Side firm in 2007. Her resume spans work in consulting and senior management.

The regional board president for the Jewish National Fund USA, BarShain sits on her synagogue's finance committee and volunteers for the Jewish Family Service Association of Cleveland and the Jewish Federation of Cleveland.

But her involvement in the community does not stop with those formal roles. She also provides free financial education sessions for young adults, with an eye on helping women in particular.

— Michelle Jarboe

CONGRATULATIONS,

ERICA CAMERON! And To All Crain’s Notable Wealth Managers for 2021 Cerity Partners applauds your dedication and shares your passion for making an impactful difference in the lives of others through objective, independent, comprehensive wealth management.

Cerity Partners

Cleveland Team

BRYAN BIBBO

GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK PHOTO

Partner and accredited investment fiduciary JL Smith Group

ngs xpewith nts’ ents

MAI t in ages the poacages 933 s of

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Although it’s not his formal title, Bryan Bibbo is an evangelist for financial planning. At Avon’s JL Smith Group, he spreads the word among “successful professionals, business owners, and retirees who are concerned with building and maintaining financial security for themselves and their families,” according to the nomination.

He started at JL Smith in 2009 doing tax returns and is now a partner who has grown its tax practice threefold, the nomination said. But his passion goes back to his youth, when he worked with a Cleveland stockbroker at the age of 16.

Bibbo doesn’t limit his outreach to one-on-one meetings with clients, however. According to the nomination, he conducts “multiple educational seminars in person” as well as webinars. And he has a raft of local and national media credits, including Forbes and US News & World Report, where he has shared his fiscal expertise.

The Kent State University graduate is chapter president of the American Financial Education Alliance for Lorain, Erie and Sandusky counties. Together with his wife, Amanda, and two children, he enjoys collecting “vintage monies, artifacts, and collectibles,” the nomination said, as well as cooking, living on the lake and reading.

— John Kappes

cleveland@ceritypartners.com

CUSTOM PUBLISHING SECTION

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CLEVELAND

Congratulations to Randy Carver for being recognized as a Notable Wealth Manager!

EDWARD BOEHMER Senior vice president, senior financial advisor Merrill Lynch Wealth Management For over 36 years, Edward Boehmer hasn’t only helped individuals and corporations achieve their goals. He’s helped crush those goals.

Boehmer specializes in a combination of wealth management planning, growth financing and operational efficiencies. He joined Merrill Lynch in 2002 because he believed in helping people achieve their financial goals — and that’s exactly what he’s done.

“Ed believes that a client’s likelihood of success is greatly enhanced when thorough and complete planning has been performed, documented and reviewed,” the nomination said. “Ed regularly meets with families to help make certain that they continue to move toward the achievement of their goals and objectives as originally defined, that any revisions are updated in their wealth management plan, and that their asset allocation is appropriate.”

At Merrill Lynch, Boehmer also oversees the delivery of business financial services to corporate clients. According to the nomination, those services include wealth management planning, wealth transfer planning, cash management and lending services, stock option exercise and retirement plans.

Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, Boehmer served as an executive for several middle market companies, according to the nomination.

“As a former C-suite executive, Ed understands what is important to these decisionmakers,” the nomination said.

— Timothy Magaw

Congratulations Randy for being chosen as one of the brightest and savviest members of Northeast Ohio’s wealth management community who are

Your Vision. Our Priority.

You have clarity on your life goals. You know the lifestyle you want to lead and the legacy you want to build. It’s our job to help get you there.

At Carver, your vision lives at the center of everything we do.

helping clients achieve their goals in an often-shifting economic and regulatory landscape.

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Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services are offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc. Carver Financial Services, Inc. is not a registered broker/dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services.

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2021 NOTABLE WEALTH MANAGERS

MORE CLIENTS ARE WILLING TO SHARE PERSONAL DATA WITH THEIR PRIMARY WEALTH MANAGER THAN THEIR DOCTOR. — The 2021 EY Global Wealth Management Research Report

ERICA CAMERON

RANDY CARVER

Partner and practice area leader for estate and financial planning Cerity Partners

President and CEO Carver Financial Services Inc.

Erica Cameron knows the importance of relationships.

She’s “been a steward to her clients and role model to her peers, helping her clients and the Cleveland community thrive” since becoming an advisor nearly two decades ago, colleague Bob Smith wrote in his nomination of Cameron.

Her client-retention rate clocks in at 98%, thanks in part to both her technical savvy and the way she relates to people, Smith wrote. She advises a wide-ranging group, including individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations on comprehensive wealth management services.

Cameron became the youngest female partner at Cerity Partners in 2020 and is an active member of Soroptimist International. The group’s goal is to offer women and girls opportunities to earn economic empowerment through education and training.

Giving back is important to Cameron. It’s a value she’s committed to passing on to her two young daughters, too. The Ohio University and John Carroll University grad also works with several local groups, including the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission’s associate board and the alumni committee of the Cleveland Leadership Center.

— Amy Morona

Give our youth the future they deserve. youthopportunities.org

Current Job Partner & OH Market Leader Cerity Partners First Job Farmer’s Helper

CA

Chie Dak

Life-threating challenges — including a plane crash, motorcycle and skydiving accidents, a heart attack and cancer — have not derailed Randy Carver from building a multibillion-dollar international financial services company. Carver began his advisory career by opening a Mentor office for a regional brokerage firm in 1987. That branch, according to the nomination, became one of the company’s most successful within three years.

Today, he operates Mentor-based Carver Financial Services, an independent registered investment advisory launched in 1990, which now manages more than $2.2 billion for clients globally.

“Randy’s drive has helped him become one of the most awarded financial advisors in the United States, having been recognized by Forbes, Barron’s and Financial Times among others,” the nomination said.

In addition, the Oberlin College economics major is the driving force behind Carver Cares, a program that has raised $300,000 to date for organizations such as Torchlight Youth Mentoring Alliance, Lake County Council on Aging, Crossroads Health, Deepwood Foundation and End 68 Hours of Hunger Lake County. Carver is also an active member of the Mentor Rotary Club and has advised or sat on the board of a number of area nonprofits.

— Judy Stringer

JOHN CIANCIBELLO

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Senior wealth advisor, managing director MAI Capital Management If John Ciancibello isn’t helping one of his clients — who collectively represent $241 million in assets — odds are good you might see him out and about in the community.

Ciancibello is a senior wealth advisor and team leader for one of the larger money managers in Cleveland, MAI Capital Management, where he’s built up his practice over more than three decades.

At work, Ciancibello helps manage the finances of professional athletes, retired athletes, coaches, corporate executives and other entrepreneurial and highnet-worth clients.

But outside the office, Ciancibello may be volunteering or serving on any number of boards. He currently serves as treasurer of the Bonder Foundation, whose goal is to provide grants to charities to promote health and education. He’s also a supporter for Boys Hope Girls Hope and the Achievement Centers for Children.

His role at the growing MAI operation can’t be understated, however, where his practice represents about 2% of all assets under management at the firm.

This past summer, MAI sold a majority stake in the company to private equity-backed Galway Insurance Holdings, a financial distribution services umbrella company. The partnership and equity investment is expected to fuel additional roll-ups of fellow wealth management firms across the country for MAI. — Jeremy Nobile

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FRED CUMMINGS Founder and president Elizabeth Park Capital Management

“

Working in the hay fields for my dad was hot and uncomfortable work. My arms got scarred up and the hours were long. I learned the importance of being responsible and doing what I was told. When I went off to college, I was the first of my family, and my friends would complain about the burdens of schoolwork, I would smile and tell them, ‘it pales in comparison to putting up hay in the summer.’

Bob Smith

FRE

Over the years of running a supremely successful, community bank-focused hedge fund — which happens to feature some of the region's most prominent businesspeople as investors — Fred Cummings, founder of Elizabeth Park Capital Management, has comfortably established himself as an authority in investor and bank industry circles.

Cummings’ business continues to evolve since its founding in 2008.

While the firm continues to focus on its bread and butter collecting positions in promising publicly traded banks, Elizabeth Park recently unveiled what amounts to its first private investment vehicle.

A so-called banktech strategy that has launched in partnership with Strandview Capital, a California venture capital outfit focused on the fintech sector, the goal is to pool $100 million in capital from a consortium of community-oriented banks across America that will be invested in emerging fintech companies specializing in serving the community bank industry.

Not only will this give participating bank limited partners a connection to emerging fintech companies that could help them, it also offers them an opportunity to co-invest directly and share in any future financial upsides, including a sale or IPO. Just playing in that space — let alone in partnership with the VC firm — should only help professionals at Elizabeth Park become even better bank analysts.

— Jeremy Nobile

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CARINA DIAMOND Chief experience officer Dakota Wealth Management Carina Diamond is dedicated to helping women take control of their financial futures — whether they're gaining literacy or pursuing careers in her field.

As chief experience officer for Dakota Wealth Management, she mentors other financial advisors and speaks to industry groups. She joined Dakota in 2019, when the Florida-based company bought Springside Partners, an Akron-area firm that Diamond co-founded and led.

Last year, she donned another hat, launching Dakoré Wealth to provide money-management services to clients of Apple Growth Partners, an accounting and business-advisory firm based in Akron. Dakoré relies on Dakota's local staff.

"It's been an extraordinary story of starting a wealth-management business during a pandemic. ... Call us crazy, but we're off to a smashing start!" she wrote in an email.

Diamond is a longtime champion of efforts to boost diversity in the male-dominated industry through outreach, education and mentorship.

She's been particularly involved in initiatives at the University of Akron.

"Carina's working style and quality is like none other that I've worked with in my 25 years in public accounting," wrote Chuck Mullen, chairman of Apple Growth Partners, in nominating Diamond for recognition. "She is extremely proactive, driven and can talk with anyone."

— Michelle Jarboe

OF WEALTH CLIENTS, 62% OF WOMEN AND 67% OF MEN SAY THEY ARE WELL PREPARED TO MEET THEIR OVERALL FINANCIAL GOALS. — The 2021 EY Global Wealth Management Research Report

Business Banking with features to help your business thrive.

For us, business banking is about more than expert financial guidance and proven banking products. It’s about the ways we put you and your business’s needs first.

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JASON DILAURO

• Serving businesses of all sizes and lending needs

Managing partner DiLauro Wracher & Thomas Jason DiLauro’s career in the financial industry has spanned almost three decades.

The entrepreneur founded DiLauro Financial Services in 2009. Six years later, the firm became the Wealth Advisory Group of Akron-based DiLauro Wracher & Thomas.

Instead of focusing “solely on asset accumulation,” DiLauro, according to the nomination, discusses asset distribution, asset preservation and income generation with his clients.

DiLauro is a frequent presenter at financial planning seminars, and he serves on the Revere School Foundation’s board of directors. He also works with students at his alma mater, the University of Akron.

“Jason continually provides education to clients and others on the fundamentals of investment planning and wealth management,” the nomination said. “Educating clients on the wealth management process instills confidence and assists them in making decisions.”

DiLauro Wracher & Thomas was formed when DiLauro’s business joined forces with MWT Investment Group LLC. The combined group — which is led by managing partners DiLauro, Matthew Wracher and William Thomas — also has offices in Boardman; Greensburg, Pennsylvania; and Hermitage, Pennsylvania.

When he’s not running a business, DiLauro enjoys playing golf, working out and coaching youth sports, the nomination said.

— Kevin Kleps

Let our team help yours thrive.

Contact Kurt Kappa at (216) 529-2998 or kkappa@ffl.net.

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FOCUS: ECONOMIC OUTLOOK ISSUE: DEC. 20 | CLOSE: NOV. 19 | CONTACT: astoessel@crain.com

Here for you.

Here for life.

FRED DISANTO Chairman and CEO Ancora Fred DiSanto is a well-known member of the Greater Cleveland business, academic and sports communities.

He has been CEO of Ancora since 2006 and chairman since 2014. He remains one of Ancora’s top producers while also guiding the company in a leadership role.

DiSanto is chairman of the board of trustees at Case Western Reserve University, former chair of the board of regents at St. Ignatius High School, and former chair and current trustee of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission.

He has helped create a culture of philanthropy at Ancora, which in 2020 supported more than 45 community organizations.

Rather than send a holiday gift to clients at the conclusion of the pandemic year of 2020, DiSanto decided to have Ancora donate $30,000 to the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. The same year, DiSanto and his wife, Brittan, donated $5 million to CWRU as the first commitment to a scholarship campaign honoring outgoing president Barbara Snyder.

DiSanto was a three-sport student-athlete at St. Ignatius, where he pitched a no-hitter in 1980. At CWRU, he earned four letters in football, basketball and baseball, and quarterbacked an undefeated team in 1984.

He is a member of the Athletic Hall of Fame at both schools.

— Pat McManamon

obile

www.ncafinancial.com (440) 473-1115 Securities offered through Royal Alliance Associates, Inc. (RAA), Member FINRA/SIPC. RAA is separately owned and other entities and/or marketing names, products or services referenced here are independent of RAA. RAA does not provide tax or legal advice. Investment advisory services offered through NCA Financial Planners. 6095 Parkland Blvd., #210 Mayfield Hts., OH 44124 F: 440-473-0186 NOVEMBER 8, 2021 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 13

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Disclaimer: This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended as an offer or solicitation with respect to the purchase or sale of any security or for the services of Elizabeth Park Capital Management, Ltd.

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND

Tap into Cleveland.

Crain’s is now in the app store.

Congratulations to MAI Capital’s Honorees for Notable Wealth Managers: Chris Barr

John Ciancibello

Stephen Rudolph

Stephanie Sandle

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U.S. BANK SPECIALISTS

EMILY DRAKE Managing director at Fairport Wealth Management Advisor at Luma Wealth Emily Drake aims to offer customized financial planning and investment services for each client as managing director at Fairport Wealth Management and advisor at Luma Wealth, a division of Fairport focused on financial services for women, in Cleveland. In those roles, she’s known “not only for her in-depth financial knowledge, but also for her empathy for the emotional aspects of financial decision-making, especially in times of challenging transition,” her bio said.

Drake has more than 30 years of financial management experience, working at companies like McDonald Trust Co. and Ameritrust National Bank before joining Fairport in 2000.

The nomination noted a personal experience of working with Drake, who led the Fairport team in working with the nominator’s family.

“Together the team has taken the time to learn about our family’s goals and interests and they have matched an investment advisor who is an excellent fit with the unique family personalities,” the nomination read.

Drake is also active in the community outside of work and currently serves on the board of the Saint Luke’s Foundation.

— Rachel Abbey McCafferty

78% OF WEALTH CLIENTS WORLDWIDE NOW HAVE GOALS RELATED TO SUSTAINABILITY IN THEIR LIVES, WHILE 62% OF CLIENTS, REGARDLESS OF

Focused on Solutions.

Focused on You. 216.920.4800 | www.mai.capital

AGE OR GENDER, HAVE GOALS RELATED TO GENERATING A LEGACY. — The 2021 EY Global Wealth Management Research Report

216.920.4800 | www.mai.capital 14 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 8, 2021

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estMann of n, in her athy ing, bio

2021 NOTABLE WEALTH MANAGERS JILL DUGOVICS

HEATHER ETTINGER

ERIC FULLER

Senior vice president and senior fiduciary advisor PNC Private Bank Hawthorn

Managing partner at Fairport Wealth Management Founder and CEO at Luma Wealth

Senior vice president Fuller Group/Merrill Lynch Wealth Management

Jill Dugovics is a senior vice president and senior fiduciary advisor at PNC Private Bank Hawthorn. But she’s also earned a whole slew of other unofficial, yet important, titles during her 35 years in the wealth management industry: advisor, mentor, leader.

She’s able to tap into that experience to offer advice, helping to “drive success through targeted and thoughtful collaboration in the family wealth group,” her nomination said.

The Kent State University and Cleveland-Marshall College of Law graduate’s “success can be attributed to her willingness to listen, her dedication to her clients, and her holistic approach to meet both the goals of her teams and the goals of her clients,” according to the nomination.

In addition to her work, she serves on the ministry leadership council of the Faith United Church of Christ as well as the board of PetFix Northeast Ohio, a low-cost spay and neuter nonprofit clinic.

— Amy Morona

A consistent thread through Heather Ettinger’s career in the financial services industry, as well as with her community involvement, is her fierce advocacy for women and girls.

It was no surprise then that the managing partner of Fairport Wealth Management founded Luma Wealth Advisors in 2017, a female-focused division of Fairport that welcomes clients into “an environment where they can learn, connect and celebrate with like-minded and like-situation women,” according to the nomination. That effort now advises on more than $3 billion in assets and works with close to 1,500 multigenerational families nationwide. Last fall, Ettinger published “Lumination: Shining a Light on A Woman’s Journey to Financial Wellness.”

Investment News recognized Ettinger in its inaugural “Women to Watch” list in 2015 and its “Icons and Innovators” feature and event in 2019. That same year, she received the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Award from the Women’s Vote Project for “advancing the aspirations of women,” the nomination stated.

Ettinger has long dedicated her time to nonprofit and corporate boards and in advisory roles. She currently serves on the boards of University Hospitals, The Private Trust Corp., Asurint – One Source Technology and Racing Towards Diversity. She is a longtime supporter of her alma maters, Dartmouth College and Laurel School, where she is a board trustee emeritae.

— Elizabeth McIntyre

Eric Fuller isn’t interested in looking to the past.

As the nomination characterized it, “Eric helps clients he’s known for decades look forward — to lifestyles and legacies they envision for themselves and those they love.”

That said, a little history is important: He joined his dad, Dan, at The Fuller Group in 2005. Even before then, he remembers visiting the office as a child and seeing the value advisors brought to their clients and families.

For Fuller, the nomination said, “helping clients prepare for likely and unlikely circumstances and feel financially and emotionally strong are ongoing sources of pride and fulfillment.”

“Eric begins every relationship with a conversation, helping his clients identify and prioritize which goals matter most to them,” the nomination said. “Whether it's transferring wealth to the next generation, customizing their financial approach to help them pursue their passions, or providing advice and guidance to help them stay informed, he starts by listening to learn more about the individual, their family and their goals.”

Fuller — a native of Northeast Ohio — is a certified financial planner and also holds a designation as a certified investment management analyst from the Investments & Wealth Institute.

— Timothy Magaw

25% OF U.S. ADULTS HAVE NO RETIREMENT SAVINGS. — PwC Market Research Centre

The Ohio Market of Wells Fargo Advisors

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James E. Mayer, Jr. CRPS® C(k)P® Managing Director – Investment Officer

Wells Fargo Advisors is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member SIPC, a registered broker-dealer and non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company. 1021-03238.

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2021 NOTABLE WEALTH MANAGERS RYAN FULMER

RYAN GIACOMARRO

LES GLOBITS

President Beese Fulmer Private Wealth Management

Ohio market manager and managing director J.P. Morgan Private Bank

Chief investment officer NCA Financial Planners

When a Canton company was looking to invest in assets that weren’t “so market-driven,” Ryan Fulmer selected a large portfolio of community bank stocks.

The company, the nomination said, had a 30% return in a little more than one year, which it wouldn’t have attempted unless it was “comfortable” with Fulmer’s research.

Fulmer has spent a decade at Beese Fulmer Private Wealth Management. In 2019, he became Beese Fulmer’s president.

Prior to joining the Canton firm, Fulmer worked at Goldman Sachs in New York. He’s a member of Beese Fulmer’s investment committee and serves as a portfolio manager.

Fulmer, according to the nomination, spends “a significant portion” of his time working with high-net-worth and ultrahigh-net-worth individuals and families. He “works with clients to holistically analyze their asset allocation, total wealth, spending, gifting and other cash flows to ensure that their portfolio has the best probability of achieving their goals.”

Fulmer has served on the boards of directors for the Akron Zoo, Aultman Health Foundation and Early Childhood Resource Center. He also writes a column, “Ask the Rational Investor,” for the Canton Repository.

— Kevin Kleps

Boasting a quarter-century of industry experience, Ryan Giacomarro understands the challenges of running a complex organization.

Giacomarro joined J.P. Morgan in July, and now drives the private bank’s ambitious growth strategy across Ohio. In Cleveland, Giacomarro oversees a total of 50 advisors and support staff in the company’s Ohio footprint.

Giacomarro is a believer in a “One Ohio approach,” meaning a single team working from multiple locations and united in a singular vision. This collaboration illuminates J.P. Morgan’s strengths in intellectual capital, investment and commercial banks, and sophisticated wealth management, the nomination said.

Before arriving at J.P. Morgan, Giacomarro was instrumental in the expansion and evolution of investment banking company UBS. Through this work, Giacomarro spread his strong management capabilities across products, sales, operations and markets. An influential leader, he also held senior management roles in New Jersey and North Carolina.

Outside the office, Giacomarro is an active member of the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital leadership council and the Villanova alumni association. In his free time, he enjoys golf, physical fitness and spending time with his daughter.

— Douglas J. Guth

WEALTH CLIENTS ARE FOCUSED ON MEETING THEIR PERSONAL GOALS, DIVERSIFYING THEIR INVESTMENTS, PROTECTING THEIR WEALTH AND MAINTAINING FINANCIAL SECURITY. — The 2021 EY Global Wealth Management Research Report

INSIGHTS & ANSWERS

When Les Globits joined NCA Financial Planners in 2016, he brought with him three decades of experience in the financial industry, having worked for KeyCorp, TransOhio and in retail finance in his native Australia.

“Starting out as a financial analyst made him realize the importance of understanding the moving parts of a company, giving him a strong and solid analytical foundation, and allowing him to develop a more holistic view of the investment industry,” said Kevin Myeroff, CEO of NCA Financial, in nominating Globits.

His passion for thematic investments started in the early 2000s (before it was “cool,” according to his nomination), and his work has been featured in Bloomberg and Barron’s.

While Globits takes his work seriously, investment meetings in his office some days will include a disco ball and music, the nomination said, adding that his style is “one of passion, care and fun.”

An active member of the local Hungarian community, he regularly volunteers at St. Ermeric Catholic Church and has been a senior member of the Hungarian Scouting movement for more than 30 years.

— Pat McManamon

SPONSORED CONTENT

Business succession plans help maximize value and avoid disruptions

By KIM BONVISUTTO, CRAIN’S CONTENT STUDIO-CLEVELAND Trillions of dollars will change hands over the next 10 to 15 years as business owners retire and sell or pass their business to the next generation.

PAT PASTORE Regional president PNC Cleveland

While some business owners have planned their transition, others aren’t sure where to start. One thing is for sure, having a solid succession plan in place is crucial to ensure a smooth exit with minimal disruption.

GO OR GROW PNC Cleveland Regional President Pat Pastore says engaging a professional that can help business owners explore their options and create a blueprint for their next chapter is key to a successful transition.

MARK BUXTON Regional director, wealth strategy PNC Private Bank

“As part of our process, we work with business owners to explore the pros, cons and financial implications of the decision with which many owners struggle: Is it time to exit my business, or should I continue to invest in my company to improve its value?” he said.

Mark Buxton, wealth strategy regional director for PNC Private BankSM, calls that a “go-orgrow decision.”

“For a majority of business owners, this is one of the most important – if not the most important – financial decisions they will make during their lifetimes” he said. “PNC provides owners the information and resources they need to make sure they’ve made the right decision for themselves, their families and their businesses.”

Buxton went on to say that while the standard is to begin succession planning three to five years before actually transitioning a business, it’s never too early or too late to begin, with up to 50% of transitions being unplanned due to death, disability, divorce or disagreements among owners or shareholders. An owner also could be faced with an offer they can’t refuse.

“It’s important to be prepared for these unplanned events,” he said. “You want to make sure you’re in a position to take advantage of the situation and maximize the value of your business.”

PLANNING, SIMPLIFIED To help simplify the process, Buxton said he starts by focusing on a few key areas which lead to common themes business owners should consider and work through with a professional:

• Transition options: It pays to understand the benefits and considerations of each transition option to determine how each impacts the owner’s financial and personal planning objectives. Some owners may want to gift a business to the next generation, but discover as part of their professional consultation that the business is a substantial amount of their overall net worth. “There may be practicalities around the fact that they need something from the business to support their lifestyle that might make a full gift of a business impractical,” Buxton said.

been properly maintained and/or parts that are missing. These owners need to determine if the time is truly right to exit their business.

From a personal perspective, it’s important to plan out what life will look like after an exit from the business, whether that includes travel, more family time or volunteer work.

• Financial goals: Buxton said business owners should have a vision of the lifestyle they want post-exit. They should also identify any personal or charitable legacy goals that are important to them. Depending on how the owner wants the future to look, they may need to continue investing in the business to ensure the type of future they want is in reach.

PNC also helps owners broach sensitive topics with family members and take a deep dive into communicating the business owner’s goals.

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (“PNC”) uses the marketing names PNC Private BankSM to provide investment consulting and wealth management, fiduciary services, FDICinsured banking products and services, and lending of funds to individual clients through PNC Bank, National Association (“PNC Bank”), which is a Member FDIC, and to provide specific fiduciary and agency services through PNC Delaware Trust Company or PNC Ohio Trust Company. PNC does not provide legal, tax, or accounting advice unless, with respect to tax advice, PNC Bank has entered into a written tax services agreement. PNC Bank is not registered as a municipal advisor under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

• Exit readiness: Assessing readiness to exit the business – from a business and personal perspective – is important. Buxton said that selling a business can be like buying a car. A business might look shiny and new from the outside, but pop the hood and prospective buyers might find there are parts that have not

“Owners have spent years, and sometimes decades, building value in their company,” Buxton said. “It’s well worth the time to do the planning necessary to maximize its value when it’s time for a transition.”

“PNC” is a registered mark, and “PNC Private Bank” is a service mark, of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. ©2021 The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

This advertising-supported section/feature is produced by Crain’s Content Studio-Cleveland, the marketing storytelling arm of Crain’s Cleveland Business. The Crain’s Cleveland Business newsroom is not involved in creating Crain’s Content Studio content.

16 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 8, 2021

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2021 NOTABLE WEALTH MANAGERS EDWARD HEMMELGARN

BRENT HORVATH

JESSE HURST

DAVE LAPUMA

NA

President and co-chief investment officer Shaker Investments LLC

Director, Wealth Management Services Gries Financial Partners

President, CEO and founder Impel Wealth Management

Vice president and family wealth advisor Ancora

Thirty years ago, Edward Hemmelgarn founded Shaker to invest in small and midcap companies still early in their growth cycles.

His efforts included creating a niche research process that incorporates 11 characteristics that help companies — primarily health care and financial services — grow.

He also successfully developed a Fundamental Growth product.

Hemmelgarn serves on the visiting committee for Case Western Reserve University’s College of Arts and Sciences and is on the board of trustees of the Cleveland Museum of Art. A philanthropist, he contributes to the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, CWRU, Playhouse Square, the Cleveland Food Bank and other organizations.

Earlier in his career, Hemmelgarn, who served on the Shaker Schools Foundation, helped raised money for Shaker Heights City Schools. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and an MBA from CWRU, where he also served as an instructor. He received the Outstanding Alumni Award from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management as well as from the CWRU Department of Chemistry.

— Leslie D. Green

Calm, reassuring and confident — three qualities one might want in a wealth manager.

Brent Horvath checks all those boxes in addition to his incredible understanding of the technical complexities of financial planning, according to the nomination.

“Brent analyzes his clients' financial situation and stress tests it in numerous manners,” the nomination said. “Some might say he over prepares, but the end result is always excellence.”

Horvath is a certified financial planner and is especially knowledgeable about estate and retirement planning, according to the nomination. He also helps younger clients plan to reduce their debt, obtain mortgages, explore insurance options and more. He’s even helped clients through the car-buying process.

“Brent is provocative in his questions as he tries to probe his clients' spending habits, aspirations and goals. His thorough examination of a client gives them complete confidence in his analysis and his conclusions,” the nomination said. “Brent instills trust in his clients which is essential in his line of work.”

Horvath is also active in the community.

For one, he serves as treasurer for The Center for Principled Family Advocacy and S.T.A.R.T. (Support To At-Risk Teens), and has served on a number of other committees, the nomination said.

— Timothy Magaw

Impel Wealth Management, according to its website, charts “a course to connect” its clients’ current financial situation and their vision for the future.

Jesse Hurst, a former founding partner of Millennial Group, launched the Cuyahoga Falls firm in 2017. The entrepreneur has been a financial advisor for almost 35 years.

Hurst, according to the nomination, understands his clients’ “financial, personal and family goals on a deep and meaningful level.”

The Impel founder, the nomination said, “has established a reputation for wisdom, integrity and clear communication.”

Hurst is a past president of the Financial Planning Association’s Northeast Ohio chapter. He leads the investment management committee of the Horizon Advisor Network — a group of 55 financial planners in 14 states who collectively manage and consult on more than $2 billion in client assets.

Hurst, according to the nomination, is very active in the community. He’s a Children’s Hope Ambassador for Akron Children’s Hospital, and is a member of the board of directors of the United Way of Summit and Medina counties, as well as the International Soap Box Derby.

Hurst resides in Stow. He and his wife, Rachel, have three children.

— Kevin Kleps

Dave LaPuma joined Ancora in 2019 to design investment solutions for both individual and institutional clients, a suite of services that encompasses foundations, endowments, pensions and more.

LaPuma has a wealth of experience on the institutional side of the industry, managing hedge funds and other investment options at Zelman & Associates. LaPuma also worked for Fidelity Investments, where he cultivated long-term relationships with broker-dealers.

In nominating him, one of his clients wrote, “He manages my own money like it’s his own which makes me very comfortable.”

In his free time, LaPuma serves on the jobs committee for Saint Martin de Porres High School, giving underprivileged youth employment opportunities and a Jesuit education. Additionally, he acts as a board member for the Northern Ohio Italian American Foundation and as chairman of the bridge board at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland.

He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Akron and his MBA from John Carroll University.

— Douglas J. Guth

Man pres Ray

Excellence doesn’t happen on accident.

Congratulations on being recognized as a Crain's Cleveland Business 2021 Notable Wealth Managers Honoree.

We’re so proud of all your accomplishments!

From your team and the families that you serve.

(216) 859-8800 AdCap-Partners.com

Chaya Slain

President and Chief Investment Officer

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2021 NOTABLE WEALTH MANAGERS NANCY K. LEIZMAN

CRAIG LEONE

BEN MACKOVAK

JAMES MAYER JR.

Managing director and senior vice president, investments Raymond James

Senior vice president and wealth management advisor Merrill Lynch

Co-founder and managing partner Strategic Value Bank Partners

Financial advisor and managing director Wells Fargo Advisors

Nancy K. Leizman doesn’t outsource client portfolio management. As the managing director and senior vice president of investments at Raymond James, she stays directly involved.

“Unlike many others who work in this field, Nancy does not delegate the responsibility to develop and manage client portfolios to a third-party, but instead applies her own knowledge and skill in providing clients with custom, risk-managed portfolio strategies,” the nomination said.

Leizman is the founder and managing director of Leizman Wealth Management of Raymond James, having joined the company in 2015. Her career of more than 30 years also includes time at Merrill Lynch, Wachovia Securities, which is now known as Wells Fargo Advisors, and McDonald & Co. Investments, where the nomination said she served as a founding member of the Women’s Advisory Council.

At Raymond James, Leizman is part of the Raymond James Discretionary Advisory Council, the RJ Longevity Advisory Board and the Marketing Advisory Council. She’s also active in the community and currently serves on the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland’s board of directors.

— Rachel Abbey McCafferty

Craig Leone’s formative years in southeast Ohio’s coal-mining country taught him the importance of hard work and the money that comes from it.

The experience also formed his sense of diligence toward building the savings of clientele at Merrill Lynch, according to his nomination.

“Craig’s commitment to discipline fosters an approach that requires him to consider your whole life,” the nomination said. “He willingly takes to understanding your values, as well as your needs and your priorities.”

Leone holds a Certified Investment Management Analyst designation from the Investments & Wealth Institute, a program hosted by the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a visiting committee member and past alumni president for the business college at Cleveland State University.

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Bowling Green State University, he audited company financial statements for Deloitte & Touche. A subsequent MBA from CSU opened doors at Invacare Corp., where Leone managed the company’s finances.

Leone’s obligation to CSU includes overseeing mentoring initiatives and connecting learners to the university alumni network.

When not crunching numbers for corporate clients across industries, Leone enjoys coaching youth athletic teams in his community.

— Douglas J. Guth

Ben Mackovak founded Strategic Value Bank Partners in 2015 with two other partners, Umberto Fedeli and Marty Adams. An investment partnership focused exclusively on community banks, the firm says it offers a private equity approach to community bank investing.

Mackovak, the nomination form said, works hard to develop a culture that is comfortable with uncomfortable decisions while maintaining discipline. Mackovak’s “personal style is that of a contrarian and an independent thinker (who) often makes decisions apart from the mainstream,” the nomination said.

During the COVID market downturn last year, Mackovak was aggressive about using capital.

Mackovak was born and raised in Cleveland, but worked in Long Beach, California, and Charlottesville, Virginia, before returning home in 2012 as the founder and portfolio manager of Cavalier Capital.

He earned his MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business after earning his bachelor’s degree from Kent State University.

Mackovak has been a director for nine community banks and a board observer for three others.

— Pat McManamon

In managing assets for individuals, trusts, retirement plans and businesses, James Mayer Jr. has been recognized as a premier advisor by Wells Fargo Advisors every year since 2011.

Mayer believes in building relationships, whether attending client birthday parties and weddings or dropping by for a graduation day. Clients view Mayer as a “quarterback” able to lead all manner of critical financial decisions, according to the nomination.

A 20-year industry veteran, Mayer focuses on education funding, retirement planning, and IRA and estate planning strategies. He also acts as a leader in Ashtabula County, championing local efforts including the Kent State University Ashtabula Rising Scholars program, which provides free tuition and mentorship to at-risk youth.

“You can hear people in the community remark, ‘We need more young leaders like James Mayer,’ ” the nomination said.

Mayer is a graduate and former board member of Leadership Ashtabula County, and a past board member of Ashtabula’s YMCA. In 2012, Mayer was named one of the “Top 5 Under 40” for Ashtabula County by the regional young professionals organization.

Outside the office, Mayer is an avid golfer and lifelong Cleveland sports fan who enjoys spending time with his family.

— Douglas J. Guth

THANKS FOR MAKING US ONE OF OHIO’S TOP SBA LENDERS.

At First Commonwealth, we’re proud of the partnerships we’ve made with small business owners throughout our region who have trusted us to be the best bank for their business and help them reach their financial goals.

Thanks to all of you, we’ve reached an amazing goal of our own. First Commonwealth Bank is now one of Ohio’s top SBA lenders.

If you’d like to talk with our team about growing your business, call Matt Zuro at 216- 416-0577.

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NOVEMBER 8, 2021 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 19

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Congratulations

At JL Smith, our focus is to simplify, educate, and act as holistic advisors to all of our clients.

Jason L Smith, CEP®, BPC

Bryan Bibbo, AIF®, NSSA, BPC

440.934.9181 | jlsmithgroup.com

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Senior vice president, senior relationship strategist PNC Private Bank Hawthorn

Sen man MAI

Kenneth Morgan’s career has been on an upward trajectory for years. Even though he now leads a team at PNC dedicated to serving the needs of highworth clients, he knows he can always do more.

“Ken is a passionate champion for his clients,” the nomination said. “Throughout his career, he has demonstrated a commitment to excellence across all of his roles with PNC Bank. He is constantly approaching his position with a focus on relationship building as well as process improvement.”

As a senior relationship strategist, Morgan serves as a primary point of contact and is responsible for business development and the overall client experience, according to the nomination.

Regularly recognized by his peers, Morgan has consistently won PNC Market All-Star Awards and even achieved two PEAK Awards (PEAK stands for PNC Excellence, Achievement and Knowledge). PEAK Awards recognize individuals across PNC’s lines of business who consistently demonstrate the company’s values with clients, colleagues and the community, according to the nomination.

Morgan — a veteran of the U.S. Army who achieved the rank of staff sergeant — continues to give back to the community. He serves as a trustee for the Oak Ridge Military Academy, The Union Club Foundation and the Great Lakes Science Center.

— Timothy Magaw

KEVIN MYEROFF

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Kevin Myeroff, an Ithaca College graduate, started his career in public accounting and transitioned to financial planning in 1986, “to spend more one-on-one time with clients,” according to a nomination. Over 35 years, Myeroff has grown Mayfield Heights-based NCA Financial Planners to nearly 30 employees, who provide financial and investment services to more than 1,000 families across the country.

He is also a regular guest on the airwaves, sharing money management tips on WKYC and WTAM. “He’s been a great asset to me and my listeners over many years,” said Bill Wills, a host on WTAM. “His ability to cut through and explain financial matters in a simple form is something I can count on no matter how complicated the topic.”

When he’s not dispensing financial advice, Myeroff volunteers his time as a pilot for Angel Flights, which provides free transportation for medical treatment, and Kids in Flight, which uses aviation-related activities and airplane rides to empower children with serious illnesses or disabilities. In addition, he is a long-term volunteer and member of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeast Ohio, most recently lending his expertise during the organization’s merger with three other chapters.

— Judy Stringer

COVID-19 IS SET TO MAKE THE NEXT GENERATION OF WEALTH CLIENTS MORE RISK AVERSE. — The 2021 EY Global Wealth Management Research Report)

CONGRATULATES

CARINA S. DIAMOND, CFP , AIF ®

STEPHEN RUDOLPH Senior wealth advisor, team leader and managing director MAI Capital Management

®

CHIEF EXPERIENCE OFFICER

for being named to Crain Cleveland’s Notable Wealth Managers 2021 www.dakotawm.com 275 Springside Drive, Ste 250, Akron, OH 44333 - 330.598.2208 Dakota Wealth Management is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor

Stephen Rudolph joined MAI in 2021 when it bought his former firm, HW Financial Advisors, where he served as president. Rudolph had worked at MAI in the 1990s, but left to start his own firm; 21 years later, MAI purchased HW Financial Advisors and brought Rudolph back to the team.

Cleveland Jewish News reported that MAI managing partner Rick Buoncore told Rudolph it was like coming home after a redecoration.

Rudolph has more than 25 years of experience working with high-net-worth individuals. His approach: Frequent contact to discuss trends and offer solutions in both investment management and financial planning.

In 2021, Forbes named him a Best-in-State Wealth Advisor in Ohio.

Rudolph is chair of the retirement fund committee for the Jewish Federation of Cleveland and is board member of Milestones Autism Resources, where he serves as chair of the annual fund and planned giving committees.

— Pat McManamon

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2021 NOTABLE WEALTH MANAGERS STEPHANIE L. SANDLE

JAMES SCHAFFER JR.

JON SHANE

MATT SHANNON

Senior wealth advisor; team leader, wealth management; and managing director MAI Capital Management

President Waypoint Partners

Managing director, senior financial advisor Merrill Lynch Wealth Management

Managing director of investments Wells Fargo Advisors

Stephanie L. Sandle joined MAI in 2012, starting out as a senior tax advisor. With her vast knowledge and relatable communication abilities, she quickly vaulted into the company’s estate and financial planning practice and currently manages a combined $317 million in client assets.

In that position, she helped design and now leads a 12-person financial planning team that services more than 40 advisors accounting for $11.3 billion of MAI’s assets.

A true leader, Sandle is the “go to” expert within MAI, her nomination stated. She earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accountancy from Miami University.

She is a certified public accountant, a certified financial planner, a certified private wealth advisor, holds a Master Planner Advanced Studies designation, an Accredited Estate Planner designation and is a member of the Estate Planning Council of Cleveland.

Sandle also mentors younger female professionals aspiring to be financial advisors.

She founded and leads MAI’s Women’s Network, which has a “mission to connect with women both inside and outside the firm to form relationships that support, educate and inspire women in the Cleveland area and beyond,” according to the nomination.

She is also a member of the Fairview Park Women's Club.

— Kim Palmer

James Schaffer Jr. has been a Cleveland-based representative with Lincoln Financial Advisors for 30 years, developing a business that has grown to over $700 million in client invested assets. At LFA, Schaffer is a founding member of The Resource Group, a nationwide network of its top advisors, and since 2004, he has achieved the organization’s Top of Chairman’s Council, a designation reserved for “an elite group of top performing representatives who have consistently demonstrated superior results,” according to the nomination.

Waypoint Partners is the marketing name for registered representatives of Lincoln Financial Advisors.

LFA divisional vice president Timothy O'Shea applauded Schaffer’s ability to navigate between counseling high-net-worth individuals with sophisticated solutions and participants within his corporate retirement planning business. “He finds as much satisfaction assisting a 401(k) participant line worker as working with a business owner’s multi-million dollar investment and estate planning, to help them both achieve their goals,” O’Shea said in the nomination.

A University of Michigan graduate with an MBA from Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Management, Schaffer serves on advisory boards with Fidelity, Principal and Voya, providing input on their retirement planning business. He also sits on the leadership council for University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center and is involved in a student scholarship program in El Salvador through St. Dominic Catholic Church.

— Judy Stringer

For Jon Shane, the client is his north star.

“Jon has built a practice that is truly client centric — each portfolio is customized to the risk objective and liquidity need of the client, and every effort is made to be both cost and tax efficient,” the nomination said. “The client’s interest is always put first.”

For example, Shane is known for his detailed summary reports for each portfolio, which cover portfolio structure and returns, highlight specific risk concerns and review titling and beneficiary designations, according to the nomination.

Shane’s certainly doing something right, as the veteran wealth manager has 39 years of experience — all with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. Also, for 29 of those years, he’s secured a spot on Merrill Lynch’s coveted “Circle of Excellence,” according to the nomination.

Leading publications like Forbes, Barron’s and The Financial Times have also taken notice.

Community also plays an important role for Shane. He’s served on the board of his synagogue, coached soccer for six years and even served as director of the Solon Strikers soccer club — a traveling soccer program for boys.

—Timothy Magaw

Matt Shannon is one of three managing directors of investments for Legacy Strategic Asset Management.

The Hudson firm is a dedicated affiliate of Wells Fargo Advisors with 11 employees and about $9 billion in assets under management. Legacy assists more than 65 institutional and nonprofit organizations.

Shannon, who has worked in the industry for more than 25 years, joined Legacy in 1998. He, according to the nomination, offers consulting services for institutional and high-net-worth clients. Among the focus areas of his work are asset allocation, manager search and selection, risk management and evaluation studies.

He earned the Certified Investment Management Analyst designation in 2006.

Last year, he achieved the title of Private Wealth Financial Advisor by Wells Fargo Advisors.

Shannon is a member of the board of trustees of the St. Hilary Parish Foundation and the Brothers of the Holy Cross investment committee. He’s a former board member of the Northeast Ohio Medical University Foundation, and “he regularly contributes to nonprofits that he is passionate about,” the nomination said.

Shannon lives in Copley with his wife and three children. He enjoys the outdoors, farming and aviation.

— Kevin Kleps

CONGRATULATIONS! Heather R. Ettinger, Founder & CEO and Emily Drake, CFP®, AEP®, Managing Director

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mon NOVEMBER 8, 2021 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 21

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CONGRATULATIONS COLIN O. ANDERSON, AIF® 2021 Crain Cleveland’s Notable Wealth Managers!

Fareed Siddiq’s first experience managing investments came when he was 16 and living in Pakistan, his native country. After seeing his interest in the stock market, his father let him manage some of his investments. Siddiq did that for a number of years, then in 1972, followed his sister to Cleveland, where he has worked and been active in the community for four decades.

— Pat McManamon

Colin is a Principal of the firm and has been with Vantage for over 12 years.

His practice is focused on 401(k) and Wealth Management for individuals, families and businesses.

` What is your philosophy of financial management?

I believe that the best way to do the work is give all the information possible to help people make decisions that are good for them and that matches with their ultimate goals. It’s not a specific philosophy. The way I put it is, there are hundreds of different ways to go from Cleveland to Chicago. My job is to show them the different ways. Then it’s up to them to follow through.

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God gave you one mouth and two ears for a reason. Most of us are busy with what we want to say as opposed to listening to what other people are saying. ` Is your community work in diversity more important now than ever?

There are two things in life I’ve been involved with: The Hunger Network and the Diversity Center, both for 30 years. My job as a board member is to make our job disappear, but I’m afraid it will never be the case. It has had different names, but the Diversity Center is a 100-year-old organization. In those 100 years, we haven’t been able to narrow the gap and get rid of bigotry and bias. The same is true for hunger. The critical thing in my opinion is that when we understand the other perspective and when we know somebody who is not like us, we are less likely to have biases. One of the national conference T-shirts said, "No one is born a bigot." People tend to be less fearful when they know. ` You have said America is more salad than melting pot. Can you explain where your heart is in that regard?

With a soup or melting pot, you don’t taste all the different ingredients as much as the full flavor. When you are a salad, you have different fruits and vegetables; each has a different taste, separate and distinct form the others, yet they are together. ` You’re also on the board of the City Club. How does the City Club mesh with your vision and why is it important to serve there?

My belief coming from Pakistan is that democracy is critical for a civil society.

At the City Club, we have no bias toward any political perspectives. We get complaints, but we will invite anybody who has a point of view and is able to share that point of view in an educated, considerate manner. The audience listens and then asks very intelligent questions. It’s a civil discourse that helps society come together. When we stop having civil discourse, that’s when democracy falters and dies.

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CHAYA SLAIN

JOHN SLYMAN

JASON SMITH

Managing director and wealth management advisor Merrill Lynch

President and chief investment officer AdCap Partners

Senior vice president and wealth management advisor Merrill Lynch Wealth Management

Founder and CEO Clarity 2 Prosperity Enterprises

Fareed Siddiq grew up in Pakistan and attended St. Patrick’s College in Karachi. He had a sister who married and moved to Cleveland, and he followed her to the area.

Siddiq worked for Morgan Stanley for 36 years, and has been with Merrill Lynch for three.

He bases his client work on listening, and presenting the fullest financial picture possible, along with options that can meet individual goals.

The past three years, he has been named to Forbes' Best-in-State Wealth Advisors list.

Siddiq is active in the community and is a board member for the Diversity Center, Ideastream Public Media, the American Red Cross of Northern Ohio, the Cleveland Council on World Affairs and the City Club of Cleveland. He is also a life trustee of the Hunger Network.

In an effort to promote interfaith understanding, Siddiq established a Chair of Islamic Studies at John Carroll University and is an advisory board member of the Abrahamic Center at Notre Dame College in South Euclid.

“When people are younger,” he said, “it is much easier to help them be open-minded.”

— Pat McManamon

Chaya Slain was named president of AdCap Partners in 2020, less than two years after joining the new company as its first chief investment officer. AdCap was established in 2019. There, she identifies and manages alternative investments for ultra-high-net-w or th families.

Analytical and objective, Slain earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Columbia University.

Shortly after graduation, she became an associate in the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs. She also worked nearly 12 years at Parkwood LLC, ending her career there as a director.

She credits Daniel Kahneman’s book “Thinking, Fast and Slow” for her ability to understand how the intersection of emotion and behavioral economics impacts investors. In 2018, Chief Investment Officer magazine named Slain one of 25 NextGen honorees.

Slain, who strongly believes in the power of community, serves as treasurer of Fuchs Mizrachi School. She also sits on the investment committees of several nonprofits.

— Leslie D. Green

A certified financial planner, John Slyman joined Merrill Lynch in 2002, shortly after earning his bachelor’s degree in finance from Cleveland State University.

For three consecutive years from 2019 to 2021, Forbes has included Slyman on its list of “Bestin-State Wealth Advisors,” which spotlights more than 5,000 advisors. According to the most recent honors, his client accounts are typically $2 million to $5 million and team assets are $447 million.

“Our clients come from different levels of knowledge and wealth but all deserve meaningful, real-world results,” he wrote in an email.

“We do so much behind the scenes for clients — uncovering areas of their financial picture that may have been ignored previously.”

In addition to his work with clients, Slyman enjoys hiring smart, hardworking people and watching them grow.

He supports the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Northeast Ohio and the Cleveland Food Bank and, in his spare time, enjoys golfing and traveling.

— Leslie D. Green

Jason Smith has been in financial services work since 1995, and in that time has founded four companies: Clarity 2 Prosperity Enterprises, Clarity Insurance Marketing, Prosperity Capital Advisors and the JL Smith Group. His LinkedIn page states that he works as the CEO of all four.

His company vision was affected by a serious heart condition diagnosis when he was 29, which led him to transition his effort toward process-driven work that would continue with or without any one person.

His financial planning is holistic and self-managing, which allows him to provide individualized services to clients and allows advisors to build a self-sustaining model.

Clarity 2 Prosperity is a part of his effort to train advisors nationwide. Much of the training focuses on Smith’s Rainmaker Multiplier Process (making firms self-sustaining) and Bucket Plan Process (simple, holistic financial plans that clients understand).

He has been active with Soles4Souls and the Make A Wish Foundation, and is working on his fourth book.

— Pat McManamon

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2021 NOTABLE WEALTH MANAGERS KARIN MALONEY STIFLER

DALE VERNON

GARY WAGNER

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Co-founder and partner Walden Wealth Partners

Principal Bernstein Private Wealth Management

Partner and chief operating officer Carnegie Investment

Man Cap

Karin Maloney Stifler started Walden Wealth Partners in 2014, after working for years in larger financial firms while also focusing on her growing family.

As one of the co-founders, she, along with Sarah O'Neil Hannibal, built a comprehensive fiduciary wealth management firm with five employees serving more than 100 high-net-worth, multigenerational families around the country.

For Stifler, creating the firm was the best way to make a greater impact by working directly with individuals instead of as just one person in a multiperson team.

She enjoys “helping families across generations be the best stewards of hardearned resources,” the nomination stated, in particular in “turning uncertainty and confusion into confidence and clarity.”

Her analytical capacity and keen attention to detail are juxtaposed with a unique way of listening to what a client is saying and asking the perfect question at the perfect moment, according to her nomination.

Stifler was appointed by the state treasurer to the Ohio Fire and Police Pension Fund board. She is also a current board member for the Hudson Community Foundation.

— Kim Palmer

Dale Vernon has taken a different path to a leadership role in financial services.

Vernon worked at Parker Hannifin and Boston Scientific, and had a leadership role with a pair of intellectual property firms. In 2007, he made the move to Bernstein Private Wealth Management.

The principal of the global firm’s Cleveland office “advises and consults a myriad of affluent individuals and families,” the nomination said. Among his clients are business owners and senior-level executives.

Vernon and his wife, Monica, wrote “How Imperfect Parents Lead Great Families,” a book they say is “a playbook that tells you how to deal with the challenges” all parents face.

Vernon was an accomplished wrestler at Heidelberg University who is active at Karamu House — the nation’s oldest African American producing theater. There, Vernon, according to the nomination, donates his time working with staff on an operating system that can help the theater “achieve their vision.”

The Bernstein principal also is a past president of the Association for Corporate Growth’s Cleveland chapter. During his tenure as a member of ACG’s board of directors, the Cleveland group rose to the national organization’s fourth-largest chapter, the nomination said.

— Kevin Kleps

Anyone coming to a company for strategic investment and wealth management advice expects the utmost attention and service. As a partner at Carnegie Investment, Gary Wagner brings those qualities and more, according to the nomination.

“Like all good investment firms, Carnegie has all the tools and an honest, credible approach,” the nomination said. “Gary is a phenomenal listener. I interviewed a few investment advisors, and the spectacular thing about Gary and his colleague Richard Alt is they listened to my personal goals.”

Wagner received an MBA from Kent State University. He worked with Reserve Management Corp., Schwab Institutional and Federated Investors prior to joining Carnegie.

Wagner is currently treasurer and a board member of the local chapter of March of Dimes. He also acted as finance committee lead for the Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland’s capital campaign and planned giving committees.

A background in finance nonprofit volunteerism has built Carnegie’s robust knowledge base, according to the nomination: “The firm helps others thrive so they can do good things. It’s very important that Northeast Ohio retains locally owned investment firms to keep their resources and people here.”

— Douglas J. Guth

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AS A RESULT OF THE PANDEMIC, 51% OF CLIENTS GLOBALLY PLAN TO USE MORE DIGITAL AND VIRTUAL TOOLS IN THE FUTURE. — The 2021 EY Global Wealth Management Research Report

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24 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 8, 2021

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NEIL WAXMAN Managing director Capital Advisors With more than 38 years of experience in managing money, there aren’t many trends, economic cycles or black swans that Neil Waxman hasn’t seen.

“Neil uses this experience to help clients quickly and intelligently take action, which is a reason he is often sought out by the national media for comment and opinion,” noted Capital Advisors senior analyst Mary Kozar, in nominating Waxman for recognition here.

Waxman is known for his clear thinking and ability to cut through the clutter with straightforward advice for his clients, while also making sure those clients always understand why their decisions are made.

That’s not only allowed Waxman to keep and build his client base but has seen him quoted in news outlets like Barron's, Investor's Business Daily and The Financial Times.

It’s also gotten Waxman named a Five Star Wealth Manager by the research firm Five Star Professional six times, most recently just this year, and being named one of Worth Magazine’s top 100 wealth advisers six times as well.

When he’s not going over clients' portfolios or meeting with them, Waxman serves several local organizations, such as the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, or can be found working with local wrestlers he coaches and mentors, including through the Cleveland Chapter of Wrestlers in Business Network that he helped found.

— Dan Shingler

DiLauro Wracher and Thomas congratulates the 2021 “Notable Wealth Managers” honorees, including our own Jason C. DiLauro and Matthew G. Wracher

36% OF U.S. WORKFORCE THINKS THEIR RETIREMENT SAVINGS PLAN IS ON TRACK. — PwC Market Research Centre

MARK WEISKIND President, chief compliance officer Fairway Wealth Management

Guth Weiskind co-founded Fairway in 2002 and has executive responsibilities with the firm, but said he spends most of his time working as the wealth manager for about 50 client families.

Many of those engagements span multiple generations.

Weiskind, who is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio with a bachelor’s in accounting and finance, became a financial planner after realizing that his long-standing interest in investments provided a more attractive path for him than his original one as an auditor at what was then Deloitte & Touche.

That "epiphany," as Weiskind terms it, quickly found an outlet as he joined the team that launched Deloitte's investment advisory practice. After working for Deloitte since 1993, he left the firm in June 2002 to help found Fairway.

He attributes his willingness to leave a secure salaried position for launching a firm from scratch to having the "entrepreneurial bug" that ran through his family.

Scott Bilsky, a client, said in Weiskind's nomination that he not only values Weiskind and Fairway's investment advice but also sounds him out on decisions such as buying or selling a home. — Stan Bullard

MATTHEW WRACHER Managing partner DiLauro Wracher & Thomas Matthew Wracher takes his work as a financial advisor beyond just the finances, striving to understand clients’ life goals and include how their portfolio performance fits into that picture.

He specializes in retirement and investment planning and implementation for individuals, families, trusts, businesses and foundations.

“His focus is to help clients gain confidence in their financial decision-making by listening to their needs and goals to gain a deep understanding of their situation,” the nomination stated.

Wracher, “a beacon of integrity and class,” started at Prudential in 1992 before leaving to build an independent practice a few years later, according to the nomination. Today, he is approaching $250 million in managed assets, and he has built a $2 billion firm, first by building organically and more recently through acquisitions.

He’s been a school board member, coached youth sports, led fundraising projects, served on several nonprofit boards in the past and currently serves on the advisory board of Bullseye Activewear.

“A true practitioner of wealth management and disciplined investing, Matt looks at our business as an opportunity to educate wealthy families and small businesses,” the nomination said. “Matt leads by example in the office by diligently servicing his clients, and giving back to the community.”

— Lydia Coutré

Sec urit ies offered t hrough Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. I nvest ment advisory servic es are offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc. The Wealt h Adv isory Group of DiLauro Wracher & Thomas is not a registered broker/dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services.

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DALE VERNON

AND THE EXCLUSIVE GROUP OF ADVISORS As honorees for Crain’s Cleveland Business’ Notable Wealth Managers Awards Bernstein Cleveland contact info: Key Tower 127 Public Square | Suite 5000 Cleveland, OH 44114 216.263.8090

Visit us at Bernstein.com | Invest with IntentionSM © 2021 AllianceBernstein L.P. The [A/B] logo is a registered service mark of AllianceBernstein and AllianceBernstein® is a registered service mark used by permission of the owner, AllianceBernstein L.P.

NOVEMBER 8, 2021 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 25

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11/4/2021 1:43:53 PM

CRAIN'S LIST | PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES Ranked by 2020 revenue REVENUE (MILLIONS) RANK

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

COMPANY NAME

GREAT LAKES CHEESE, Hiram 440-834-2500/greatlakescheese.com MEDICAL MUTUAL OF OHIO, Cleveland 216-687-7000/medmutual.com

LOCAL FTE STAFF 6-30-2021

YEAR FOUNDED

2020

2019

% CHANGE

$4,000

$3,600

11%

1,020

1%

$3,795.1 $3,741.2

TYPE OF BUSINESS

TOP LOCAL EXECUTIVE

1958

Packager and manufacturer of natural and processed cheese

Dan Zagzebski, president, CEO

2,342

1934

Health insurance company

Rick A. Chiricosta, chairman, president, CEO

MTD PRODUCTS INC., Valley City 1 330-225-2600/mtdproducts.com

$2,500 2

$2,400 3

4%

3,000 4

1932

Manufacturer of outdoor power equipment

Robert T. Moll, chairman, president, CEO

DEALER TIRE LLC, Cleveland 216-432-0088/dealertire.com

$2,400 5

$2,500 6

-4%

—

2002

Distributor of tires and automotive parts

Scott Mueller, CEO; Dean Mueller, president

DIRECTIONAL AVIATION, Richmond Heights 216-261-3000/directionalaviation.com

$2,390.4 $2,242.4

7%

720

2003

Private aviation: fractional, jet card, charter, air ambulance, management, pilot training, maintenance, fueling

Kenneth C. Ricci; Michael A. Rossi, principals

JONES DAY, Cleveland 216-586-3939/jonesday.com

$2,226.4 7 $2,077 7

7%

607

1893

Law firm

Heather Lennox, Cleveland partner-incharge

251%

887

2003

Retail mortgage lender

Ronald J. Leonhardt Jr., CEO

CROSSCOUNTRY MORTGAGE, Brecksville 440-845-3700/crosscountrymortgage.com

$2,220

$633

WESTFIELD, Westfield Center 330-887-0101/westfieldinsurance.com

$2,143.1 $2,300.7

-7%

1,612

1848

Insurance, banking and financial services company

Edward Largent, president, CEO, board chair

GANLEY AUTO GROUP, Brecksville 440-584-8202/ganleyauto.com

$2,017.6 $1,875.3

8%

2,201

1968

Auto dealership group

Kenneth G. Ganley, president, CEO

0%

4,335

1947

Manufacturer of industrial fluid system products and assemblies

Thomas F. Lozick, chairman, CEO

SWAGELOK CO., Solon 440-248-4600/swagelok.com

$2,000

$2,000

FIRST BRANDS GROUP LLC, Cleveland 248-371-1700/firstbrandsgroup.com

$1,980 8

$2,200 9

-10%

—

—

Manufacturer of automotive and industrial equipment components

Patrick K. James, CEO; Guy Andrysick, president

THE CARTER-JONES COS. (CARTER LUMBER), Kent 330-673-6100/carterlumber.com

$1,750

$1,504

16%

610

1932

Building materials retailer

Neil Sackett, chairman, CEO

THE KENAN ADVANTAGE GROUP INC., North Canton 800-969-5419/thekag.com

$1,600 10 $1,700 10

-6%

745

1991

Tank truck transporter and logistics provider

Charlie DeLacey, CEO

ASSOCIATED MATERIALS LLC, Cuyahoga Falls 330-929-1811/associatedmaterials.com

$1,300

$1,318.1

-1%

1,019

1947

Manufacturer of exterior building products

Brian C. Strauss, president, CEO

$1,287.6 $1,143.7

13%

872

1880

Tree services, grounds maintenance and consulting services firm

Patrick M. Covey, chairman, president, CEO

2%

1,171

1974

Manufacturer of snack foods

Bill Nictakis, chairman, CEO

THE DAVEY TREE EXPERT CO., Kent 330-673-9511/davey.com SHEARER'S FOODS LLC, Massillon 330-834-4030/shearers.com

$1,272

AMERICAN GREETINGS CORP., Westlake 216-252-7300/americangreetings.com

$1,100 11 $1,200 12

-8%

916

1906

Celebrations company — cards, gift packaging, party goods and digital celebrations

Joe Arcuri, CEO

LEAF HOME, Hudson 800-290-6106/leafhome.com

$1,068.8

$582

84%

771

2005

Direct-to-consumer provider of home solutions

Rocco Mango, interm CEO and president

$1,042

$1,035

1%

—

1890

Law firm

Frederick R. Nance, global managing partner; Michele L. Connell, managing partner, Cleveland 13

-3%

618

1945

Service, sales and rental for Caterpillar equipment and engines

Kenneth E. Taylor, president

—

—

—

1904

Automotive retail, real estate development, golf course and marina management

Alan Spitzer, chairman, CEO

SQUIRE PATTON BOGGS, Cleveland 216-479-8500/squirepb.com

$1,251

OHIO CAT, Broadview Heights 440-526-6200/ohiocat.com

$1,028.8 $1,065.2

SPITZER MANAGEMENT INC., Elyria 440-323-4671/spitzer.com

$1,000 14

THE GARLAND CO., Cleveland 800-641-7500/garlandco.com

$890.5

$892.3

0%

169

1895

Manufacturer of roofing, flooring, coatings, sealants David M. Sokol, president and maintenance systems

DISCOUNT DRUG MART INC., Medina 330-725-2340/discount-drugmart.com

$860

$789

9%

2,521

1968

Regional drug store chain

Don Boodjeh, CEO

HYLAND, Westlake 440-788-4988/hyland.com

$850

$820

4%

1,767

1991

Content services software developer

Bill Priemer, president, CEO

BAKERHOSTETLER, Cleveland 216-621-0200/bakerlaw.com

$789.4

$732.5

8%

361

1916

Law firm

Matthew A. Tenerowicz, Cleveland office managing partner

SHILOH INDUSTRIES INC., Valley City 330-558-2600/shiloh.com

$738.3 8 $1,054.7

-30%

—

1950

Automotive supplier providing lightweighting and noise and vibration solutions

Brad E. Tolley, president

-8%

159

1935

Distributor of industrial products and supply chain services

Carl G. James, chairman, CEO

1,738 4

1929

Grocery store chain

Jeffrey Heinen; Tom Heinen, copresidents

BDI WORLDWIDE, Cleveland 216-642-9100/bdiworldwide.com

$714

HEINEN'S INC., Warrensville Heights 216-475-2300/heinens.com

$625 8

$600 8

4%

GEON PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS, Westlake 800-438-4366/geon.com

$579 10

$800 15

-28%

—

2019

Manufacturer of polymer products

Tracy Garrison, CEO

UNION HOME MORTGAGE CORP., Strongsville 800-767-4684/uhm.com

$506.9

$193.9

161%

687

1970

Independent mortgage lender

C. William "Bill" Cosgrove, president, CEO

RESERVE MANAGEMENT GROUP, Stow 440-519-1768/reserve-group.com

$499.4

$478

4%

303

1991

Metal recycling, electronics repair, resale and recycling services provider

Steve Joseph, president, CEO

WMK LLC (MOBILITYWORKS), Richfield 234-312-2000/mobilityworks.com

$482.4

$562.6

-14%

228

1997

Retailer of wheelchair accessible vehicles

Bryan Everett, CEO

$775.6

Research by Chuck Soder (csoder@crain.com) | Companies in some cases submit rounded revenue figures. Data is from the companies unless footnoted. NOTES: 1. Stanley Black & Decker has agreed to acquire the 80% stake in MTD that it doesn't already own in a deal slated to close in late 2021 or early 2022. 2. From August 2021 news release; represents prior 12 months. 3. Estimate from 2019 annual report filed by Stanley Black & Decker. 4. As of March 2021. 5. From Moody's; for 12 months ending March 2021. 6. From Moody's; includes Dent Wizard, which Dealer Tire acquired in 2020. 7. Gross revenue from The American Lawyer's Am Law 200. 8. Crain's estimate. 9. From Moody's; for 12 months ending March 2020; includes revenue from acquisitions that closed in July 2020. 10. From Moody's. 11. For fiscal year ending in February 2021. 12. For fiscal year ending in February 2020. 13. Connell will become global managing partner at the beginning of 2022, and Steve Auvil will become partner-in-charge of the Cleveland office. Nance will lead the Office of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion). 14. Company estimate. 15. Company estimate from February 2020 Crain's story.

Get 167 companies and more than 880 executives in Excel format. Become a Data Member: CrainsCleveland.com/data 26 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 8, 2021

P026_CL_20211108.indd 26

11/5/2021 12:20:44 PM

DATA SCOOP

Privately Held list shows growth, especially for companies making loans or cheese

BY CHUCK SODER

Most businesses on the Crain’s Privately Held Companies list grew straight through the COVID-19 pandemic — especially those making loans and cheese — but the pandemic has pushed them to make some big choices.

This year’s list provides a particularly good window into the performance of somewhat larger privately held businesses in Northeast Ohio: The digital list is bigger than ever, with 167 companies with at least $10 million in 2020 revenue, and the Excel version now includes 2021 revenue projections for more than half of those companies.

Plus, this year we asked companies on the list to tell us about their policies related to vaccine mandates and remote work.

Growth straight on through 2021 Yes, some industries got hit hard in 2020 — such as all three major league sports teams in Cleveland.

But combined revenue for the entire list grew 4.8% in 2020, and the median company saw a 3.4% increase, judging by the 157 companies for which we have data for 2019 and 2020.

And 2021 should be even better, at least for the 87 companies that gave

us 2021 revenue projections. When you add up those projections, those 87 companies expect their combined revenue to rise by 13.1% this year. Projections we received this year were way higher than the 2020 projections companies submitted for last year’s Privately Held Companies list. When you add those up, you get a 6.5% projected increase.

But next year, when we analyze the 2022 list, the growth percentage will most likely be lower than that 13.1% projection. Why? Companies that aren’t having a great 2021 may not have wanted to give us an optional 2021 projection. For instance, last year’s 6.5% projection did turn out to be somewhat higher than the 4.8% actual 2020 revenue increase we saw for the entire list this year.

Who’s up, who’s down Let’s start at the top of the list, where there’s a new list leader: Great Lakes Cheese of Hiram reached $4 billion in 2020, up 11% from 2019, pushing it past Medical Mutual of Ohio, which had been in the top spot since 2016. And that 11% equates to about $400 million.

But on a percentage basis, one industry absolutely destroyed all others in 2020: mortgage lenders. If you re-ranked the full digital list by percent growth, the top three companies

Most companies are not requiring vaccination

Vaccine mandates and remote work

choice question about two hot topics.

The first question: Is this company currently requiring employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19?

Of the 92 respondents, 75% said “No.” But 16% picked “No, but we are considering it.” The other 8.7% (eight companies) are requiring at least some employees to get vaccinated.

Next question: Regarding local employees who began working remotely when the pandemic began: Will your firm require them to come back to the office?

Of the 99 respondents, 31% picked “They’re back or will soon be back full time.” However, 41% said they’ll allow remote work at least once a week. That rises to 63% for the 16 respondents that generate more than $500 million in revenue.

But even that pales in comparison to the change going on at the biggest private sector employers in Northeast Ohio, who answered an identical question for our Largest Employers list this summer. A whopping 75% of the 36 companies answering that question — a group that includes public companies, large businesses headquartered elsewhere and some of the largest employers on this list — said they’ll allow remote work at least once a week.

Most companies on the list also answered a few anonymous multiple

Chuck Soder: csoder@crain.com, (216) 771-5374, @ChuckSoder

Crain’s asked 92 companies about their current policies on employees being vaccinated against COVID-19.

No requirement: 69 Considering a requirement: 15 Vaccine required, depending on employees’ job and location: 2 Vaccine required, with a few or no exemptions: 6 SOURCE: CRAIN’S SURVEY

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS GRAPHIC

would all be nonbank mortgage lenders, with CrossCountry Mortgage being the biggest at No. 7 on the list and the fastest-growing, as it posted revenue growth of 251% in 2020. The other two companies, Union Home Mortgage and Nations Lending, both more than doubled in size. That growth, fueled by low interest rates and a strong housing market, should slow down considerably in 2021. For instance, CrossCountry projects a more normal 8% increase in 2021, and Union Home Mortgage projects a 6% decline.

Another fast-growing company in the top 20, Hudson-based Leaf Home, which provides gutter filters and other home products, saw revenue jump by 84% in 2020, surpassing $1 billion for the first time.

Who didn’t do so well? On average, local auto dealers and other companies tied to the auto industry struggled in 2020. Also, the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Indians saw rare revenue declines due to COVID-19 restrictions, according to Forbes estimates.

The Indians were hit particularly hard, due to a shortened 2020 season and baseball’s heavy reliance on ticket sales, which disappeared as fans weren’t allowed in the stands. Forbes estimates the Indians brought in $117 million in 2020, down 59%.

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NOVEMBER 8, 2021 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 27

P027_CL_20211108.indd 27

11/5/2021 1:12:19 PM

CONSTRUCTION

Ruhlin Co. starts transition in top leadership

BY STAN BULLARD

Another Ruhlin family member, Jim Ruhlin Jr., has been named president and chief operating officer of the Ruhlin Co., which puts him in position to succeed his father as the diversified heavy construction contractor and building services company’s CEO. However, Ruhlin’s selection was not a given at the company founded in 1915 in Akron by his great-grandfather, John G. Ruhlin. That’s because Ruhlin Co. is about 80% owned by active employees in an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) that began in 1977.

A committee of seven, including outside directors of Ruhlin, interviewed internal and external candidates for the position, including one outside candidate who was not from Ohio in the final four. The company’s board made the final decision.

Jim Ruhlin Sr., chairman and CEO, said in a Zoom interview that the process is similar to one the company has used the last few years in filling executive roles. He expects to serve a year or so as CEO before passing on the title and serving as chairman.

“It’s part of being an ESOP to re-

spect the ownership of the company,” Ruhlin said about the transition planning.

The younger Ruhlin won the job after a series of interviews with fellow executives and board members that he said “had no softballs.”

Then again, the COO minted earlier this year had started working as a laborer in the farm-sized yard of construction equipment at its Sharon Center headquarters while he was attending Highland High School, and later, while earning a diploma in civil engineering in Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

However, the younger Ruhlin benefited from a variety of experiences outside Ruhlin as well as inside it.

“When I graduated from Bucknell,” he said, “my dad said, ‘Go find a job.

I’m not hiring you.’ “ For his part, the elder Ruhlin said the only person who disliked the idea was his wife, who wanted her son home.

The younger Ruhlin joined the heavy construction firm now known as Allan Meyer and based in Worcester, Pennsylvania, as a project manager in its Maryland operations, where he worked on range of highway and

Ruhlin Jr.

Ruhlin Sr.

other projects.

“It’s good to learn in a different world from the one you’ve known all your life,” he said. “The best part was to see how things are done in another region. It’s a whole new level of traffic out there.”

He joined the Ruhlin Co. as a project manager in 2007. He was dispatched to Columbus to work on a job building bridges on the road leading to the Columbus airport, site planning for a $60 million highway project in downtown Columbus and a 23-bridge project in the Dayton area.

He returned to the Sharon Center headquarters in 2013 as a superintendent and became operations manager in 2018, the position he held prior to becoming COO.

That varied experience will come in handy, as Ruhlin is not only a wellknown heavy construction company with multiple highway projects in the region. Besides such civil projects, it has also has a building division, its oldest, which provides general contracting services; an industrial unit, which provides construction and services in the factories of Fortune 500 companies; and a structural unit for handling structural erection and rehabilitation projects.

All told, Ruhlin revenues, including the cost of construction, exceed $160 million annually. It has 90 salaried staff. During the peak summer construction season, it employs about 170 people in the field.

On the Engineering News Record trade magazine’s annual top 400 contractors list, Ruhlin ranked No. 295 in 2021.

The variety of work is mind-boggling. One of Jim Ruhlin Jr.’s assignments was working on repairing a breach in the dam that creates Ohio’s Buckeye Lake. Other recent projects include emergency repairs for the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s bridge over Front Street in the Flats on the Waterfront Line,

MANDATE

From Page 1

There will need to be some clarity on things, including how the ETS applies to remote workers, who seemingly would not need to be vaccinated or subject to testing if they never come into an office or work with or around other people. But what about remote workers who might go to their offices from time to time? That’s not immediately clear.

There’s also some uncertainty over how total employees for a company is calculated. That’s a concern for John Barker, president and CEO of the Ohio Restaurant Association, which is hosting a webinar about the ETS on Monday, Nov. 8.

“We are still trying to figure out: What happens if you’re a multi-unit operation? It’s not crystal clear whether (employees are counted) per location or per holding company,” Barker said. “Business are set up in many different ways. Some have holding companies with everything within it. Some have separate LLCs per location. That is the kind of analysis we are going through right now.”

Many businesses, Billington said, are hopeful some legal challenges will stop the rule before it goes into effect.

The same day OSHA released its ETS, which is projected to apply to 84 million private sector workers, a number of lawsuits were filed across the country to try and stop it. Those include challenges by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and The Buckeye Institute, a right-leaning think tank.

“The people not subject to the federal contractor regulation, I think a lot of those folks are still taking a wait-and-see approach,” Billington said. “I think a lot of people are betting this gets enjoined and never goes into actual enforcement. I don’t know that’s a terrible bet as it will take only one judge in Ohio or Texas to say it’s enjoined, then, bye bye.”

Be that as it may, Billington does not encourage his clients to sit idly

Katie Fields, lead universal banker, works at The Middlefield Banking Co.’s Garrettsville office. The bank is one of many employers weighing how to comply with the Biden administration’s mandates requiring either vaccination or testing for COVID. | CONTRIBUTED

by.

“I absolutely do not recommend that course of action,” he said. “I recommend having a plan. Assume the law will go into effect. Assume you are subject to it. And assume there will be some enforcement mechanism.”

A number of large employers in Northeast Ohio indicated they will be reviewing the rule over the coming days and determining next steps, including Progressive Corp. and KeyCorp., among others.

Some trade groups and business associations, like the Greater Cleveland Partnership and Precision Metalforming Association, have said they’re not ready to comment on the situation.

Others, though, are supportive of the legal challenges to the ETS which they view as government overreach.

28 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 8, 2021

“(The Nov. 4) announcement from the Biden administration is a significant infringement on the ability of Ohio employers to set their own workplace policies,” said Steve Stivers, president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. “Ohio businesses know best how to protect the health and safety of their employees, customers and patients and should not be subject to the heavy hand of government dictating a one-size-fitsall approach to COVID-19 vaccines and testing.”

Evan Kleymeyer, spokesman for the Ohio Bankers League, said the OBL embraces a similar position.

“We are struggling with the decision as to how our member institutions will comply with this,” Kleymeyer said. “I think most of our membership tries to limit as much

HIPPA-protected data as possible. It’s going to be a pretty big, dramatic change here for HR departments to keep up with on a weekly basis.”

Managing weekly testing would be an “extreme hardship on my department,” said Carole Shaull, senior vice president of human resources for The Middlefield Banking Co. Besides the cost and resources that might go into testing — Billington said prices for COVID test kits can range from $15 to $250 a piece, depending on the type and how many are being purchased — Shaull spoke to a concern many in the business world have with the policy in general: losing staff amid a labor crunch impacting industries from hospitality to financial services.

“My fear is 50% of our population is vaxxed,” she said. “If you refuse to

and building the pedestrian bridge at North Coast Harbor.

One of the firm’s projects, which will take until 2025 to complete, is in a joint venture on the $161 million Akron Beltway project, which will enhance the confluence of I-77, I-76 and state Route 8 in Akron.

For all its big projects, the company emphasizes the role of its employees.

Tim Linville, CEO of the Construction Employers Association trade group in Cleveland, said in a phone interview that the Ruhlins have impressed him over the years with their humility.

“They’re clearly on a par with everyone, from the field to executives,” Linville said. The company has also been an active member of the association for years, both for training and working on industry issues.

For Jim Ruhlin Jr.’s part, one of his jobs over the next few years will be learning as much as possible from his father’s 40 years of building experience as well as recruiting the next generation of the firm’s executives.

Stan Bullard: sbullard@crain.com, (216) 771-5228, @CrainRltywriter get tested, and you don’t have an accommodation, what are the consequences? To be honest, at this point, I don’t know what the answer is. But I don’t want to lose people over it.”

According to an October report by the Society for Human Resource Management, 38% of organizations surveyed cited retaining talent as the hardest part of the Biden administration’s mandate, 89% said they believe some employees will quit because of it, and 65% said they fear they couldn’t afford the cost of regular testing of employees — which might apply not just for tests, but possibly other personnel to oversee testing.

The labor issue is a major concern for restaurants as well.

“The takeaway from most of the people who have commented on all this so far is it’s another thing that could negatively impact their ability to find enough workers,” Barker said.

“Over 90% of our members are still running at a severe labor shortage, and that goes for Cleveland as well.

People are short-staffed and there’s a good amount of turnover. It’s already difficult to keep up with this.”

It’s unlikely the ETS leads to more companies mandating vaccination. If they were going to do that, most would’ve done so already, Billington said. It’s been long established that there are legal protections for doing so. But most have avoided this because of the pushback they might invite from the workforce.

“I think there is still reluctance to mandate if you don’t have to,” he said. “So these rules won’t move the needle a whole lot.”

Still, Billington added, the “big pivot point” here is whether employers opt to mandate vaccination, or weekly testing, or some combination of the two.

“Most of the folks I’ve seen are leaning heavily toward incentivizing vaccination and rapidly figuring out how to test this many people,” he said.

Jeremy Nobile: jnobile@crain.com, (216) 771-5362, @JeremyNobile

WORKERS

From Page 1

In January, University Hospitals had about 1,500 vacancies — a figure typical for the health system.

But that had doubled to around 3,000 by the end of October, said Kim Shelnick, UH’s vice president for talent acquisition. That figure excludes Lake Health, which officially became a member of UH in April 2021. Lake Health currently has about 400 openings, also much higher than normal.

“It steadily has gone up every single week throughout the entire year,” she said. “We are working so hard to fill positions ... but the numbers just keep escalating.”

UH has been collaborating where possible with Cleveland Clinic and MetroHealth, Shelnick said, but they’re all hiring candidates back and forth from one another because there simply aren’t enough staff and new graduates to fill all open roles.

“This is unbelievable — and my colleagues say the same thing — this is an unbelievable volume of openings,” Shelnick said. “We have to be extremely creative right now to maneuver through this.”

The substantial number of openings across the state span clinical and administrative roles, and the competitive environment has necessitated creativity, said John Palmer, spokesman for the Ohio Hospital Association. In addition to re-evaluating benefits packages, he said more hospitals are examining sign-on bonuses, as well as looking at things employees may need in order to work, Shelnick such as child care.

The pipeline for health care workers is just not adequate right now, he said.

“This isn’t an Ohio problem — we have states, neighboring states that are competing regionally,” he said.

It’s not just hospitals, Conn but also nursing homes and community health centers in every state in the country looking for health care workers.

Citing staffing challenges, Summa Health in late September began reducing its inpatient bed capacity by 22% and announced a series of other steps to align its inpatient hospital capacity with current levels of available staffing. In early November, Dr. David Custodio, president of Summa’s Akron and St. Thomas campuses, said in a statement that the system is making progress toward its goal of reducing its bed count.

The McGregor Foundation, a nonprofit provider of residential and community-based care for seniors, currently has about 500 of its 600 positions filled. Vacancies range from administrative billing to social work to housekeeping to nursing and a physician, said McGregor CEO Ann Conn. The pandemic, initially expected to be a sprint, is now clearly a marathon, she said.

“Obviously the first component was around the health and safety of our residents and our staff, and as we learn more about the disease and we’re able to pivot, now it’s become much more about securing resources to support the

seniors that we care for, and staffing is the biggest resource at this point in time,” she said.

As everyone in health care competes for workers, it will come down to each institution, its mission, its work environment — and how those can help draw in staff, Palmer said.

Having faced projected and existing shortages in various clinical fields and specialties for years, employers have already implemented workforce development programs.

roles received training to help in clinical areas, covering 770 shifts since September.

UH is offering sign-on bonuses of up to $8,000. Although it has offered sign-on bonuses at that level before, it’s offering the $8,000 figure more often, compared with its typical range of $3,000 to $6,000 for certain areas.

McGregor increased wages and offered sign-on bonuses in some areas, but Conn said it’s difficult to compete with other industries’ resources as the nonprofit’s reim-

“THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE — AND MY COLLEAGUES SAY THE SAME THING — THIS IS AN UNBELIEVABLE VOLUME OF OPENINGS. WE HAVE TO BE EXTREMELY CREATIVE RIGHT NOW TO MANEUVER THROUGH THIS.” — Kim Shelnick, UH’s vice president for talent acquisition

McGregor offers training programs, including paid apprenticeships and initiatives to introduce high school students to clinical care.

Hospitals across the region have worked with educational institutions at all levels to grow the pipeline of students and ultimately, graduates. For instance, UH is starting to see graduates from a program it launched with Cleveland State University. UH Nursing Scholars received $12,000 from UH, contingent on a two-year work commitment with the system.

The top reason employees leave UH is going to a competitor, Shelnick said. The second-highest turnover reason among nurses is relocation outside the region — for a rolling 12-month period, 151 registered nurses cited that reason.

Because the shortages “are so severe,” Shelnick said they’ve teamed up with the Clinic, Metro and Team NEO to try to figure out that relocation statistic.

“We have got to come up with innovative solutions to produce more and retain more within Northeast Ohio,” Shelnick said.

Expanding pipeline programs continues to be important, but won’t fill immediate critical gaps hospitals are struggling to fill.

After accepting an offer, people have either not showed up or called last minute to say they found another job, Shelnick said.

It has happened 70 times in the last two months alone.

Health care employers also are balancing using their existing staff to cover shifts and maintain patient safety and quality, while avoiding overworking them, as burnout continues to be a major concern and a factor in some separations.

UH’s Helping Hands program — through which employees can volunteer to take shifts to help out in clinical areas — has been one way to alleviate some of that workload.

Since September, 920 employees from 392 non-clinical departments helped fill 6,188 shifts in clinical areas. They do tasks such as running lab samples to allow clinical staff to stay at the bedside.

Also through the program, 225 registered nurses in non-bedside

bursement rates don’t keep up with expenses.

So it found other ways to try to bring in more candidates.

Last year, recognizing the need for more staff, McGregor began recruiting international nurses, a practice hospitals have long employed that Conn would like to see others in the region begin to implement. Because the immigration process takes time, the five international nurses in the pipeline still are about a year out from being onboarded.

Also late last year, McGregor teamed up with a group of nonprofit aging services providers around Cleveland to pilot a nontraditional advertising recruitment program from last November through the first half of this year.

Together, they tried to introduce individuals who may have been displaced during the pandemic to a potential career in senior living.

For instance, Conn said, health care workers who were maybe seeking a more mission-based organization who hadn’t thought of senior living as a career option.

“While I think we did see some success in that, some of the other forces in the community — around the extension of unemployment, the child tax credit, some of these other safety net systems — were headwinds that we didn’t experience the same success we were hoping for, but it’s probably something we will go back to in the future,” she said.

The effort created partnerships with the other organizations that were working independently before, and rather than simply try to compete for limited employees, Conn said they opted to come together to try to broaden the candidate pool overall.

Collaboration across partners who are otherwise competing for talent in the labor market will be critical going forward, Shelnick said. It’s the first time in her 15 years in her role that the health systems have worked so closely on workforce initiatives, but the hospitals, schools, workforce ecosystem and community have to come together to solve the larger issue.

“Those are some pretty big strategies to kind of maneuver through,” she said. “How are we going to stop people from relocating out? How are we going to get more people interested in health care?”

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

The Kroger Co. is developing a network of robot-powered fulfillment centers to support same-day and next-day grocery delivery. The first such hub opened early this year in Monroe, north of Cincinnati. | KROGER CO.

THE WEEK IN LINE FOR CREDITS: Real estate developers and investors are seeking more than $417 million in tax credits through a new Ohio program aimed at so-called “transformational” mixedstate C Ruse A I Nprojects. ’ S C L E VThe ELA N D received B U S I N E42 S Sap-| plications for the debut round of its Transformational Mixed-Use Development Program, according to the Ohio Department of Development.

The projects, scattered across the state, are jostling for up to $100 million in awards — $80 million earmarked for deals in or near major cities, and $20 million aimed at investments in smaller communities.

Applications were due Oct. 29.

SOMETHING NEW IN STORE: Thirty-six years after leaving Northeast Ohio, the Kroger Co. is positioning itself to re-enter the market — with a much different product. The Cincinnati-based grocer is eying a deal in

Oakwood, near the southeastern edge of Cuyahoga County. Real estate sources say the proposed development is a high-tech fulfillment center capable of offering grocery delivery to miles| away.

KroShouseholds E P T E M B E R up 3 - to 9 , 90 2 018 PA G E 29 ger’s name and an unspecified Oakwood location popped up in late October on an agenda for the Ohio Tax Credit Authority, a five-member board that considers state tax breaks tied to job creation. But the project was pulled from the agenda without discussion. A Kroger spokeswoman declined to comment. Oakwood Mayor Gary Gottschalk did not return phone calls. But village council records reveal a mysterious project is in the works along Interstate 271, on a 32-acre site owned by Premier Development Partners. Referred to only as “Project Crunch,” the deal is the subject of discussions about tax breaks and other development incentives.

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FUND

From Page 1

Process Canine opened in a former plant nursery in Shaker Heights in late 2017. Owner Amanda Corr was able to buy the property a few years later from a group of community-minded investors, who subsequently acquired the building next door. | MICHELLE JARBOE/ CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS PHOTOS

Lee Road corridor investment area An unusual real estate investment fund is raising money to acquire and renovate buildings in Shaker Heights, in the Chagrin-Lee business district.

VAN AKEN BLVD

CHAGRIN BLVD

AVALON ROAD

LEE ROAD

dents, but they don’t have to be sophisticated investors. The shares are priced at $1,000 and split into two groups.

Class A investors must buy at least 10 shares, making a minimum investment of $10,000, and be wealthier individuals. Class B investors, with lower incomes or net worths, can purchase a single share. Both groups will have representation on the Fund’s board.

“We wanted to open it up and have, hopefully, a more broad-based support network,” said Fedor, who described the target audience as current and former Shaker Heights residents and people with ties to the community.

“I’m not saying this with any sort of ego or misconception that this fund is going to be like the savior for the commercial district, but it was important for us to provide an opportunity where maybe opportunities have historically not existed for folks to have a seat at the table,” he said.

In designing the Fund, the development corporation and its consultants looked at co-op investing models and other neighborhood-based initiatives, including a Los Angeles fund formed to maintain the historic

E. 154TH ST

“People don’t realize this is Shaker,” said Corr, who opened Process Canine in 2017 and bought her building two years later from a group of community-minded investors.

The creators of the Shaker Lee Development Fund LLC, called “The Fund” for short, hope to replicate that model to change the energy on the street. In August, the new company started soliciting investors, with the goal of amassing up to $5 million to buy real estate along the corridor.

Launched by the nonprofit Shaker Heights Development Corp., the Fund is not a profit-motivated vehicle.

“We’re mission-oriented. We’re very clear that this is a social-impact investment,” said Nick Fedor, executive director of the community development corporation, the Fund’s manager.

Though it’s possible that investors will see modest returns from real estate operations or eventual building sales, the Fund will measure its success differently — through filling empty storefronts, diversifying the tax base of a bedroom community and cultivating a diverse mix of largely local entrepreneurs.

Fedor believes that unconventional approach could resonate in other inner-ring suburbs and close-knit communities striving to revitalize well-worn commercial districts.

But it’s far too early to say whether the Fund will achieve its goals.

So far, the company has raised $500,000, including cash and the value of two properties that Shaker Heights Development Corp. and fellow local investors committed to the venture.

The offering set a minimum threshold of $550,000 for the Fund to start spending money on real estate deals. The fundraising window will run for 13 months, ending Sept. 25, unless the Fund hits its $5 million cap earlier.

“The initial reaction that I’ve gotten in speaking with people has been really positive,” said Scott Garson, a semi-retired real estate professional who sits on the Fund’s board of directors. “We’ve got a long way to go in raising the money that we want to, but we’re just getting the ball rolling in getting the word out.”

Participants must be Ohio resi-

SCOTTSDALE BLVD SOURCE: SHAKER LEE DEVELOPMENT FUND LLC OFFERING CIRCULAR

character and culture of a Japanese American enclave called Little Tokyo.

They also drew on lessons from the Process Canine deal.

In late 2016, local investors and the

development corporation joined forces to buy that property, a former plant nursery, for $160,000. They renovated the building and signed a lease with Corr, who had been strug-

gling to find a location for her growing, home-based business.

That lease carried below-market terms and gave Corr the option to become an owner.

“It wasn’t designed for anybody to make a killing on it,” she said of the arrangement. “It was designed to get a business in here.”

When she bought the property, most of the investors turned around and put their small profits into the neighboring building, a 1950s retail strip in need of an overhaul. The storefronts now are fully leased to a longtime hair salon, Process Canine’s expanded training operation and True Vibes Unleashed, a dog-grooming business that also offers yoga for pet-care professionals and reiki, an energy healing therapy, for dogs.

With some transactions, the Fund is likely to follow that formula of buying, renovating, selling and reinvesting. In other cases, properties will be longer-term holds.

Shaker Heights Development Corp.’s investment push on Lee Road comes as the city is studying ways to make the corridor more appealing for businesses, pedestrians and cyclists. A yearlong planning and community-engagement process is scheduled to start in early 2022.

A reimagined Lee Road could be slimmer, with slowed-down traffic, better parking and a multipurpose path, said Laura Englehart, the city’s economic development director. Officials are pursuing local, state and federal grants to help pay for the infrastructure work.

“In the end, we intend for it to be a complete makeover,” said Englehart, adding that the planning process also involves updating the economic-development strategy for the district.

Englehart holds a non-voting seat on the Fund’s board to ensure coordination between those public and private efforts.

“No matter where you live in Shaker, an investment in this part of town will benefit you — and, frankly, can benefit people in the surrounding areas, as well,” said Garson, who lives in Shaker Heights and takes his dog, Otis, to Process Canine.

“If we can get investment into this community, the entire region can benefit,” he added. “And I think the scale is small enough that the momand-pops can be part of the solution.”

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

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