Crain's Cleveland Business by Crain's Cleveland Business

VOL. 38, NO. 30

JULY 23 - 29, 2018

Source Lunch

The List Top patent recipients Page 26

Debbie Donley, principal, Vocon

CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Page 31

GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY

The delicate dance of tech startups Local entrepreneurs take small steps to improve Northeast Ohio’s entrepreneurial culture following critical report

By CHUCK SODER

By JAY MILLER jmiller@crain.com @millerjh

J Successful entrepreneurs and other members of the business community are too slow to take meetings with entrepreneurs or otherwise help them out. J There is no central hub for local entrepreneurs. J The region needs more founders and technical talent. But he also laid out a plan to fix those problems. Since that day, at least a few local entrepreneurs have taken steps — some small, some large — to address them. For instance, after the Techstars event, Aaron Slodov, a local software entrepreneur who led the effort to bring Techstars to Northeast Ohio, started organizing monthly meetings with people interested in seeing the Techstars plan become a reality.

csoder@crain.com @ChuckSoder

Techstars picked a particularly good time to give Northeast Ohio a swift kick in the pants. Last fall, a group of local entrepreneurs hired Techstars, one of the world’s best known startup business accelerators, to come to Northeast Ohio and take stock of the region’s startup scene. The results weren’t pretty. On March 13, Chris Heivly of Techstars got up in front of a packed crowd at the City Club of Cleveland and laid out a series of problems he identified while interviewing dozens of local entrepreneurs and others who work with them. Among the criticisms he doled out that day:

SEE STARTUPS, PAGE 16

Illustration by Andrea Ucini

JobsOhio evaluates performance

Inside At the Table: Pearl of the Orient is a restaurant ‘survivor’ Page 5

As John Kasich’s time in the governor’s chair winds down — his term ends in December — the product of one of his major policy initiatives is working to cement its future. JobsOhio, the nonprofit economic development organization that leads the state’s business attraction and retention effort, was created by Kasich and “given” the profits from the state liquor monopoly (it issued bonds to pay for the business over time). Kasich believed the state development agency was inefficient. He wanted the work of negotiating with businesses over financial incentives for expansion in the state to be handled by a high-quality staff exempt from public pay scales and public disclosure requirements. The 7-year-old organization last Monday, July 16, brought its quarterly board meeting to the Global Center for Health Innovation in Cleveland and, after that meeting, several of its leaders visited the nearby office of Crain’s to review its progress and talk about its future. SEE JOBSOHIO, PAGE 29

GOVERNMENT

Legal sports betting still a ways off By JAY MILLER jmiller@crain.com @millerjh

Someday, a local football fan will be able to collect the winnings on a legal wager — put down, maybe, at the JACK Cleveland Casino, or even placed by phone — that picked the Cleveland Browns to make the National Football League playoffs. The U.S. Supreme Court in May ruled that the federal ban on sports betting was unconstitutional. When (and how) that legal bet on the Browns can be made and then cashed in, though, is no clearer today than when the team, winless in 2017, will make the playoffs. But it isn’t looking like Ohio will move quickly to make sports betting legal. First, it’s unclear what authority exists in Ohio to carry out sports gambling. It may be a valid extension of the current authority of the Ohio Lottery Commission, the Ohio Casino Control Commission or both, to oversee — and tax — sports gambling, but it would first take the Ohio General Assembly to pass legislation to clarify the matter. SEE BETTING, PAGE 27

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

New ownership on the table at Rocksolid By RACHEL ABBEY McCAFFERTY rmccafferty@crain.com @ramccafferty

Cleveland countertop company Rocksolid Surfaces is going through some changes. First up is that name. Until recently, the company was known alternately as Wood Dimensions Inc., Solid Surfaces Plus and Rocksolid Stone Works. As of March, all three entities are now owned by Walsh Commercial Group, and the company primarily will refer to them as one company: Rocksolid Surfaces. Thomas Rocks started the company in 1979. At that time, it was focused on woodworking and custom cabinetry. It added countertops in the 1980s. Today, it works in materials ranging from natural materials like granite and quartz to wood to manufactured solid surfaces. The sale started as a joke, almost. Rocks had known J.B. Walsh and his family for decades as friends and as customers. Walsh said that he and Rocks had been talking after playing tennis and Rocks said he should come work for him. “Arrogantly, I said I’d rather buy your company than run it,” Walsh said. But he was kind of serious. And a few years later, the chance came up. Rocks began considering retirement and received an offer from a national group to buy the company and run it as a division. “So that made it serious,” Walsh said.

Jim Walsh and J.B. Walsh are the new owners of Cleveland countertop company Rocksolid Surfaces. (Contributed photo)

Walsh Commercial Group, which was formed to purchase Rocksolid, put in a formal bid and moved forward with the acquisition process. Negotiating with a friend was difficult, Walsh said, but he feels both parties “got a fair deal.” He declined to share the price of the acquisition, which was completed at the start of March. At the time of the sale, Rocks, his sister and his daughter were the owners. Now, it’s owned by J.B. Walsh and his cousin, Jim Walsh, along with their fathers. J.B. Walsh is now presi-

dent, and Jim Walsh is vice president of operations. Overall, Rocks said he was “pretty enthusiastic” about the idea of selling his business to them. “I felt they were going to treat the employees the way that I felt the employees needed to be treated,” Rocks said. Some of the employees at Rocksolid had been with Rocks since the start, he said, and he didn’t want to see them out of a job. Before buying Rocksolid, both of the Walshes had industrial experi-

ence, though not in the countertops business. J.B. Walsh had been in business development and sales management in the industrial chemicals market. Jim Walsh had been in pricing analytics and inventory management. And their fathers had owned a bearings company, where both J.B. and Jim Walsh had worked growing up. (They didn’t really overlap, as there’s more than a decade between them.) To help with the transition as they get to know the business, Rocks will stay on with the company for the next four years. The company has about 80 employees and does $10 million to $15 million in sales annually, J.B. Walsh said. About 90% of the business is in countertops, J.B. Walsh said. Its biggest customer base is big box retail stores and kitchen and bath dealers. It primarily serves residential customers in the northern Ohio region, but also commercial ones. The showroom and the countertop business is at 4031 W. 150th St. in Cleveland, with a second building about a mile away. J.B. Walsh said the three divisions had been operating as separate companies, and the Walshes are putting a stronger focus on operating as one. There’s a lot of overlap and opportunity for cross-training of employees. For example, the divisions had been measuring for projects separately, even if a customer was getting countertops and new cabinets. J.B. Walsh said his goal is to grow the company, especially in the com-

mercial market, and to make it more efficient. He wants to invest in technology. Sure, that means equipment and tooling to streamline some of what’s now done by hand, but Rocksolid needed some work outside of the plant, too. For example, employees in the field had been working on paper. J.B. Walsh wants to take the company paperless, using tablets in the field, and has been upgrading flip phones to smartphones. Something that makes Rocksolid Surfaces unusual as a business is that everything it makes is customized. Jim Walsh said that as the company adds more technology, it’s important to maintain the high quality customers expect. The company’s also updating its website and doing more marketing. It doesn’t want to cut out the large retail stores it works with, but it does want potential direct customers to better recognize its brand. So far, the cousins are enjoying being their own bosses. “At the end of the day, it’s on us,” Jim Walsh said. “You know, whether we succeed or fail, it’s on us. And that’s always kind of appealed to me.” J.B. Walsh agreed, saying it’s a “risk-reward situation.” “I don’t think you really get anywhere in life without taking risks,” J.B. Walsh said. J.B. Walsh said he hopes to purchase more companies through Walsh Commercial Group in the future, though they wouldn’t have to relate to Rocksolid Surfaces.

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Retail invasion heats up with Meijer, Menards By STAN BULLARD sbullard@crain.com @CrainRltywriter

Menards and Meijer are starting to make it real in Northeast Ohio. Bricks and mortar-wise, that is, after locking up sites in the region over the last four years. Eau Claire, Wis.-based Menard Inc. plans to open one of its “mega stores” — it includes a line of convenience groceries as well as building supplies — on Tuesday, July 24, at 125 Graham Road in Cuyahoga Falls. That said, it’s more than cutting the ribbon at one store. It’s the beginning of an invasion of superstores in Northeast Ohio as both Menards and Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Meijer, a hypermarket operator, have gone into construction mode throughout the region. Although Menards wouldn’t list its locations, its sites speak volumes. A Menards is under construction on Chester Road in Avon, and Brooklyn building commissioner Dave Kulcsar said it has received building permits for a site at 7700 Brookpark Road, where crews are currently removing the remnants of the parking lot. That location formerly served as a Super Kmart Center. In Mentor, Ron Traub, director of economic and community development, said Menards has not started work on Diamond Centre Drive, but it has secured a building permit for that site. Meantime, Meijer is making ready for its own push. Concrete walls recently went into place on the southwest corner of the Lear Nagle Road and Interstate 90 interchange in Avon for Meijer. Crews are installing steel beams inside the structure while earthmoving equipment is working on its future parking lot. In Stow, crews are working on the foundation for the Meijer near Kent Road, according to Rob Kurtz, Stow planning director. And in Mentor, the site of a former Super Kmart that has succumbed at 9200 Mentor Ave. is starting the transformation process. Traub said crews are starting to install underground utilities on the site after removing the old asphalt parking lot. The building action means consumers can look forward to most of the new Menard and Meijer stores opening in 2019. Frank Guglielmi, Meijer spokesman, said specific opening dates in 2019 for the Avon, Mentor and Stow stores are not yet set. Meijer also owns a site on Leavitt Road in Lorain, again a former Super Kmart. He said the construction schedule for that site is not yet set. However, additional projects are in the works. Both Menards and Meijer are on the cusp of committing to sites on the former Maplecrest Golf Course on Tallmadge Avenue in Brimfield Township. That’s the word from Dan DeHoff, president of North Canton-based DeHoff Development Co., who has excavating crews reshaping the former golf course into a 130-acre, mixed-use retail and industrial project. DeHoff said his company and Lemmon Development Co., also of North Canton, are developing the site as a joint venture and expect to sell 20acre sites soon. Both retailers will occupy the former portion of the golf course closest to the street and the project will share traffic lights with the 500,000-square-foot Cascade Plaza open-air retail center. DeHoff and Lemmon plan to develop another 10 acres with sites for fast-casual restaurants and a small

strip center of about 8,000. DeHoff said he initially sought to devote more acreage to retail uses, but Brimfield Township trustees trimmed that down. Even so, DeHoff said, “the stars have aligned” for the Brimfield project because devoting part of the site to retail allowed the partners to afford to develop the site, which would not have been possible as a strictly industrial project. “The dollars just aren’t there for industrial,” he said, as they are with retail uses that pay more for property. DeHoff said he knew Menards might be in the market for a Brimfield site, but Meijer came later after Beth Borda, DeHoff’s vice president of commercial development, found out at an International Conference of Shopping Centers

national convention in Las Vegas that the company was pursuing sites. If construction starts on the buildings for Menards and Meijer next year, they are likely to open in 2020, he estimated. Discussing so much retail development seems out of sync with the popular narrative about the challenge to bricks and mortar stores by online retailing. However, DeHoff, whose family does residential land development, apartments and senior housing as well as office and industrial properties, said he believes retail follows different rules from other commercial real estate ventures. “Retailers want to be near each other,” he sad. “They all grow over time. It’s not the typical cannibalization process

in retail as you would have with a warehouse.” As a result, he maintains the Brimfield Menards and Meijer will aid existing retailers nearby such as Lowe’s and Walmart nearby. However, Phil Rist, executive vice president of strategic initiatives at Prosper Insight and Analytics of Columbus, said his firm’s research shows the retailers occupy different niches. For instance, more impulse buyers — generally younger and more likely renters — go to Walmart, while more homeowners, devoted to a list, will go to Aldi’s or Giant Eagle. Online retailers challenge bricks and mortar, Rist said, by depriving them of the staples that often cause a consumer to go to a store, such as bottled water, detergent and paper towels. But even that is less important than

“the weapons” Rist said consumers now have in their hands, referring to smartphones. “If a customer is in a store and it does not have the item she wants in stock, she often will pull out a phone, find who does have it and order it then and there,” Rist said. That means stores not only have to present well, they have to add the breadth of merchandise that the likes of Meijer and Menards bring. The sites also have a long reach in attracting consumers. Traub sees the Meijer and Menards projects in Mentor as a reflection of its regional retailing status. “Why not be in Mentor?,” Traub asked. “We attract customers from Euclid, Geauga County and even Ashtabula County.”

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Thanks to a new federal rule, small businesses could find it easier to band together to buy health insurance, but some experts worry about the implications of these new insurance plans. Following an October 2017 executive order issued by President Donald Trump, the U.S. Department of Labor last month announced reforms to association health plans that effectively loosened regulations around such plans and granted small employers a greater ability to band together to purchase insurance. The goal is to grant small employers many of the regulatory advantages enjoyed by larger employers and to help small businesses access affordable health coverage. But some worry that this could introduce substandard, cheap plans, as well as have a negative effect on the Obamacare exchanges. The old rules, under which associations can still operate, were simply more restrictive, said Kyle Anthony, director of the human capital practice for Oswald Cos., a Cleveland-based insurance brokerage. Previously association health plans required its members to share a specific common purpose, such as an economic purpose, but the new rules allow members to be connected by simply geography or professional interests. Businesses can now join together across state lines. And the Trump administration’s regulation also allows individuals who work for themselves to join plans. “So it was harder for groups to band together,” Anthony said. “The new rules make it much more flexible to qualify as an association.” Many are still waiting for additional clarity around the new rule, which takes effect Sept. 1. It’s unclear how soon after that date such plans will be offered. But as clarifications are established in the coming weeks, Robert J. Klonk, CEO of Oswald Cos., predicts a lot of activity around the new plans. Oswald helped to establish ERChealth, an association health plan co-designed with ERC, a human resources organization based in Highland Heights. Because it’s an already established plan, they can, effective Sept. 1, begin rolling out new benefits, Klonk said. “But yet we’re still waiting for clarity on what we can and cannot do, so it’s a challenge,” he said.

Exceptions to ACA The reform allows “pretty important” exceptions from the Affordable Care Act, said J.B. Silvers, a health care finance professor at Case Western Reserve University and former insurance executive. For instance, association health plans don’t have to cover the essential health benefits required by the Affordable Care Act. All ACA marketplace plans cover: ambulatory patient services; emergency services; hospitalization; pregnancy, maternity and newborn care; mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment; prescription drugs; rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices; laboratory ser-

President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order on health care last October. The order was designed to expand health insurance options for some Americans, but may also undermine coverage for those who remain in Obamacare. (Bloomberg)

vices; preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management; pediatric services, including oral and vision care. There’s been a lot of concern about whether this will create substandard plans, Anthony said. “And while that’s definitely a risk that could happen, it’s just one that if I was running a small business I’d want to know about and go into kind of eyes wide open,” he said. “There are some who are concerned that what this regulation will do is it’ll create a platform for people to have substandard, super cheap insurance and it’ll end up hurting the consumer that way.” But he notes that so far, the plans with which Oswald has been involved are either meeting or exceeding Affordable Care Act standards. Eric Krieg, president of Fairlawn-based Risk International Benefits Advisors, said he worries that people covered by these plans won’t fully understand what they’re getting. “So now the position is going to be, ‘Well, do you know what you’re buying? Do you know what the limitations are? And do you really understand the impact that that’s going to have on employees and their family members?” Krieg said. Klonk notes that while there is a risk of these “skinny plans,” there’s also an opportunity for folks who aren’t covered today to get coverage. “Affordability for both the company and the employee is a huge concern,” Anthony said. “If done right, the association health plans create an opportunity for small businesses to really band together and do some creative things to address those concerns.”

Banding together Businesses have been banding together through different arrangements for years. COSE (Council of Smaller Enterprises), the small business arm of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, has been providing group purchasing for small businesses in a fully insured program for more than 40 years. In 2016, it also began offering a self-funded, multiple-employer health plan for small businesses through a contract with Medical Mutual of Ohio. The offering is a Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement (MEWA), which is another way to band togeth-

er multiple employers. MEWAs are regulated state-by-state while association health plans are federal, and under the new reform, can operate across state lines. “We’re well-established now, and well-positioned as a self-insured option in the marketplace, and providing competitive rates and access to comprehensive care,” said John Luteran, vice president of finance for Greater Cleveland Partnership. The Greater Akron Chamber is planning to launch a MEWA in the coming months, said Steve Millard, president and CEO of the Greater Akron Chamber and former head of COSE. “I think these association plan changes are interesting, but I’m not sure they’re going to change the game a lot in the marketplace,” Millard said. “It makes this ability to sort of go across states a little bit more real, but the ability to actually operate a plan across the states, to get the kind of economies that you need and those kinds of things, I think (is) a little bit more limited than what you can do with the MEWAs that have already been created in Ohio.”

Exchanges Krieg said he views the reform as “going backwards.” The Affordable Care Act put consumers in a better position to know what they’re getting, and the move also has the potential to “destabilize” the insurance market, he said. Silvers agreed: “There’s almost no question at all that it’s going to drive up the cost of plans on the exchange.” Association health plans can charge different premiums based on adhering to certain wellness requirements, Klonk said. This could make such plans more attractive for healthier people, and pull them from the exchanges. Krieg said this has the potential to “dilute” the insurance market by pulling potentially better risks away from the traditional insurance market and diverting them into this new vehicle, association health plans. “And if you’re going to have a new vehicle that also then isn’t paying all the claims that a standard program has, that’s not only going to hurt the member; that’s going to hurt the health care system, because now health care providers are going to be challenged to recoup that money,” Krieg said.

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At the Table

Love of food, hospitality drive family behind Pearl restaurants A love of cooking, good food and an appreciation for hospitality gave birth to one of Cleveland’s most enduring dining destinations, Pearl of the Orient. These days, Chinese restaurants and takeouts seem to pop up every few Joe blocks but few hold the Crea stature of the local Pearl dynasty, with Pearl of the Orient West in Rocky River and Pearl Asian Kitchen in Shaker Heights. Pearl’s presence in the Northeast Ohio goes back more than 40 years — as a family business, much like many of the city’s great restaurant names. “We like a good meal, enjoy good food ourselves, and we like to explore new recipes, new dishes,” said George Hwang, who operates Pearl West. He’s the youngest of four siblings: Margaret Wong, an immigration attorney; Cecilia Wong; and Rose Wong, who runs Pearl East (originally called Pearl of the Orient as well until a renaming). “We figured a restaurant was a good way to keep doing that,” Hwang said with a chuckle. “And I think most people who are in this business for a long time are hospitable people. It gives a sense of satisfaction when people come back year after year, have their birthdays and anniversaries. It just makes you feel good.” Surviving more than four decades in a highly competitive (and even more volatile) industry takes more than good fortune and a strong mea-

sure of business acumen. Hwang said passion and deep roots are essential. Those roots go back to Hong Kong. The siblings’ parents, Hwang Mien Ling (called Francis) and Kuo Hua Kuan (known as Alice, or “Mama Wong”), were prominent journalists and publishers. “They owned two magazines for like half a century in Hong Kong,” Hwang recalled. “One was Newsdom Weekly, like Time magazine here, and the other was Travel Magazine. Both closed in the late 1980s, when [our father] retired. He gradually moved to the States, spending more and more of the year here.” The publishing career of Hwang’s father ran nearly 50 years, he said. “I think that’s in our nature. That’s what you do. You keep doing what you’re doing and try to improve on it,” Hwang said. A passion for food led to a new direction for the family’s enterprises, he added. “In 1976, we had a family gathering, my three sisters and myself,” he said. “We were in college, and we wanted to start a business for ourselves. We went through college working in restaurants, so that was a natural. “In 1978, Rose and I started Pearl in Shaker Heights. I had befriended a chef in Boston where I went to school, so I brought that chef to Cleveland.” After three months working at the

Survivors In an era when, statistically, a restaurant that stays open for five years is considered a success, longstanding operations are a rarity. We call them “survivors.” Over the coming months, we’ll talk with chefs and owners who’ve stood the test of time and hear how they’ve managed to keep generations of customers coming back for more. In this installment, we spotlight Pearl of the Orient and its sister, Pearl Asian Kitchen. Chef Song Kwong rolls sushi rice in the main dining room at Pearl of the Orient, a Cleveland dining mainstay in Rocky River. George Hwang, who opened Pearl of the Orient in 1984, has established Cleveland mainstays of Asian classics and Szechuan specialties in Rocky River and Shaker Heights. ((Photos by Peggy Turbett for Crain’s)

original Pearl, Hwang returned to Boston, where he’d done undergraduate studies in accounting at North-

eastern University, to earn his master’s in finance at Suffolk University. “I came back to Cleveland after my

MBA, in 1980, and worked for Ameritrust for one year, and did some import-export of semi-precious stones to and from Hong Kong. And both were not my cup of tea,” Hwang said. “So I worked at the Pearl East kitchen in 1983 and ’84. “We wanted to expand at that time, and since we had one [location] in the east, we wanted to have one in the west. The Rocky River Pearl opened in 1984. “I like to joke (that) my family said, ‘Go West, young man,’ so here I am!’ ” Of course, in the food-service industry, things are rarely as simple as hanging out your “shingle” and expecting the guests to flock in. Opening Pearl West entailed an investment of roughly $200,000, about the same amount it took about a decade earlier to open the east side spot, Hwang said. SEE PEARL, PAGE 29

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Denise Carkhuff never expected she’d be in the business of training ninjas. But with her new Warrensville Heights “adventure sports center” Adrenaline Monkey, which opened earlier this month, she’s doing just that. There are men and women, boys and girls running throughout the obstacle course at any given time, jumping, climbing and swinging through mazes of padded walls and platforms inspired by “American Ninja Warrior.” Carkhuff There’s a rock climbing wall, warped walls with one as short as 10 feet and a jumping spider wall. Also featured: a salmon ladder, where users hang from a bar like they’re doing pull-ups and physically jump upward with the bar in their hands from a dangling position to reach higher rungs. There’s even a mezzanine that leads up to a 16-foothigh rope course were guests run across swaying platforms and other obstacles (magnetic cables keep everyone from falling). Participants slap giant red buzzers to clock their times at different segments. “It’s almost just like Ninja Warrior,” said 10-year-old Chase Haggerty. “You can do things hard, easy, nottoo hard. There’s basketball, a gym, and it’s so much fun on the rope course. You can have a lot of fun with your friends.” A few weeks past the official opening, Carkhuff is already entertaining auspicious dreams of building the “American Ninja Warrior”-inspired gym into a global company with worldwide franchises. The veteran Jones Day M&A lawyer has long aspired to run her own business. She works with business owners for a living and often finds herself thinking, “I can do that,” even though she at one time was more likely to in-

Owen Nielsen walks on the aerial ropes adventure course at Adrenaline Monkey, which boasts roughly 30,000-square-feet of activity space.

vest in a private equity fund or a small business instead of running a company herself. The idea for Adrenaline Monkey actually began with her twin 12-yearold daughters, Gia and Eva. About four years ago, the family was watching “American Ninja Warrior” during a season when Kacy Catanzaro achieved some milestones for female competitors on the show, including competing the challenging finals course. The spry competitor was just about 5 feet tall, though. That created some unique challenges for certain obstacles, including scaling the

infamous 14-foot high warped wall Watching Catanzaro compete, one of the girls suggested that Carkhuff make an obstacle course accessible to everyone regardless of shape or size. “I’m an adrenaline junkie, and it was a really good idea,” said Carkhuff, who added that she tries to inspire her kids — one of whom has pitched the idea of a clothing line for tomboy girls called “Not So Pink” — to run their own businesses one day. The cyclist and marathoner, who finds joy in keeping busy and can thrive on four hours of sleep a night, began looking for property almost im-

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

investment, though that could come quicker depending on the business flow. She already has some holiday parties booked and is marketing the space as a fun option for corporate team building, which could be its own revenue stream. But Adrenaline Monkey — which is both a play on “adrenaline junkie” and intended to evoke the idea of monkeys climbing on things — is more than a way to put her savings to work, scratch an entrepreneurial itch and feed a need to stay busy. “I do get an adrenaline rush from accomplishing lots of things quickly and effectively,” Carkhuff said. “If I feel like I’m a machine, than I’m feeling good.” It’s a way to flex some creative muscles that she doesn’t use as often as an M&A lawyer. It’s a way to spend time with her kids and inspire them to be business owners themselves one day. Her

Samy Elzarka runs on the Ninja Course at Adrenaline Monkey. (Ken Blaze for Crain’s)

mediately to bring the idea to reality. She hit a lot of snags, though. She needed a space with ceilings 30 feet high and with no poles in the way. Several times she’d find a promising location in an industrial area, but local governments refused to change the zoning for a use she needed. “The bottom line,” she said, “is the cities were working against me, not with me.” Meanwhile, some potential landlords flat-out rejected the idea. They usually preferred to have a traditional industrial tenant in their empty warehouses. Carkhuff estimates she looked at upward of 40 different locations around Greater Cleveland. She even considered some pretty creative options, including a former Masonic Temple. That was all before her luck began to turn around. “I truly believe the right timing will happen when it’s supposed to happen and if you’re patient you actually get the better result,” she said. “Even though I wanted to be in some of these places with perfect buildings already built, they really weren’t the best city and location for me.” She ended up finding a space in Warrensville Heights in planning, a 30,000-square-foot building intended to be mostly filled by a gymnastics studio with one-third of the space leftover for another tenant. But it got too expensive. The prospective studio operator walked away from the project before it got started. And the developer asked Carkhuff if she wanted to buy the property. She did. “I wanted a nice, boring building. Then I was going to do weird stuff. Now I’m going to be a developer, too?,” she recalled. “I was apprehensive, but decided to go forward with it.” With financing in place from Huntington Bank, Carkhuff closed the deal. And what would become a $4.5 million project saw construction began last fall. The facility officially opened at the start of July. Besides various obstacles, the space is complemented by a small arcade, concessions and a virtual reality area. The course itself lends itself to various customization. Carkhuff estimates it’ll be about five years before she sees a return on

Bennett Demordaunt — no word on whether he’s a ninja in training — climbs through the double trouble wall at Adrenaline Monkey.

twins actually help with various parts of the business, whether pitching ideas for obstacles or drafting a post for social media.

It’s also a way to give back to the community. The space currently employs 40 and is working up to a staff of 50. And she’s working on after-school

J U LY 2 3 - 2 9 , 2 018

programs that could start this fall. It’s even a way to combat her fear of heights. So far, she’s taken a few steps out on the rope course and conquered the 10-foot warped wall, but she’s working up to doing more. Carkhuff aspires for a franchise model with other facilities across the world, though it’s certainly far too early to predict how that might pan out. As far as whether she’s planning to build up the business to sell it, that’s undetermined. “It’s good to think about making a company so good that someone wants to buy it,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean you have to sell it.” She definitely won’t if Gia and Eva continue to have a say in the business, though. “My kids have said, mommy, there’s no way you can sell this,” Carkhuff said. “It could end up being a legacy for the kids.”

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Opinion From the Editor

More ways to make the best story pitch

Editorial

Get it right The U.S. Supreme Court in May opened the door to legalized sports betting nationwide. Ohio hasn’t exactly rushed in, as some other states already have done or are about to do, though as we see it, that caution is not so bad. As Crain’s government reporter Jay Miller reports in a Page One story this week, lawmakers in both houses of Ohio’s General Assembly have introduced bare-bones legislation that expresses the intent to enact sports wagering in the state, but there’s much work still to be done before that could become a reality. Unknown for now is whether sports gambling here might be overseen by the Ohio Lottery Commission or the Ohio Casino Control Commission — or both — or whether such an expansion in the state would require a constitutional amendment. That’s the route Ohio took in 2009, when the state gave the go-ahead for casino gambling. While the constitutional amendment process was flawed and gave too much control on sites and other matters to casino operators, it’s logical and preferable to go that route again if there is to be a significant expansion of gambling in the state. Given that it’s unlikely the state Legislature will tackle sports betting before the end of this year, any legislation or a constitutional amendment taking place in 2019 would push implementation into 2020 or beyond. That could put Ohio behind many states in introducing sports betting, ceding the advantage of the tax revenue windfall that comes from being an early mover. (That advantage shrinks over time, though.) Reuters news service reported that six states already have legalized gambling on sports, and an additional 19 have proposed legislation to follow suit. They’re chasing the tax benefits of what Reuters estimated is a “$150 billion black market for gambling on athletics.” But sports betting is a complicated field, marked by significant international activity and increasing electronic and mobile gaming options. While the Supreme Court started the conversation about states getting into the field, it’s possible Congress will enact legislation with rules that constrain sports betting.

States also have to answer key questions about the practice. Among them: What do you tax, how do you do it, and what’s the right rate? Will states allow sports betting only in person, and if so, is that only at casinos and race tracks, or could it be extended to, say, bars and restaurants? Alternatively, do states want to make their sports betting These are available online? These are important isimportant issues, sues, and Ohio’s residents would be ill-served by a and Ohio’s rushed approach that fails residents would to address them thoroughly. Plus, as Miller points be ill-served by a out in his story, an Amerirushed approach can Gaming Association study of the potential of that fails to sports betting in Ohio puts address them the state’s annual tax revenue take at $13.4 million. thoroughly. (Nevada, the center of America’s gambling universe, in 2017 collected about $17 million in tax revenue from legal sports betting, according to data from Fitch Ratings. That came on sports wagering of nearly $5 billion, so the AGA’s Ohio estimate seems high to us.) A tax windfall of more than $13 million, if it comes to that in Ohio, is a lot of money, to be sure, but it’s hardly a reason to race into this corner of the gambling world before all the kinks are worked out. Gambling companies across the country are eager to expand into sports betting to pump new life into what has become a sluggish industry with a lot of competition and an aging customer base. We get that. But Ohio’s legislators owe their allegiance only to citizens, and their obligation when it comes to implementing sports betting — if they do so at all — is to do it right, not to do it first.

Publisher and Editor: Elizabeth McIntyre (emcintyre@crain.com)

CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Managing Editor:

Scott Suttell (ssuttell@crain.com)

Sections Editor:

Timothy Magaw (tmagaw@crain.com)

Contact Crain’s :

216-522-1383

A while back, I shared advice for small businesses and others with little or no experience in media relations for getting your story ideas noticed by Crain’s and other media outlets. I promised a follow-up column — and here it is. My earlier advice focused on the following: J Identify what your news is — maybe you recently made an acquisition, or named a new CFO, or are noticing a noteworthy trend in your business. J Read the publications to which you are pitching and familiarize yourself with reporters and their beat assignments. That way you’ll know who is most likely to be interested in your idea. J Seek out coverage opportunities by researching upcoming special sections. J Don’t get discouraged if nothing comes Elizabeth McIntyre from a story pitch. We both need each other, so keep pitching. Now for some more nuts and bolts media relations advice. Email is always better than a phone call: When you’re pitching a story, most journalists prefer email over a phone call. Reporters and editors are frequently on deadline and juggling many things at once, so they can’t drop what they are doing to answer a call from someone they don’t know. Email allows them to consider your story idea at a less hectic time. If you do call, first ask if it’s a good time to talk because the journalist is likely on deadline. And if you do email, don’t be afraid to follow up after a couple of days to make sure your email was received. More on that below. Get straight to the point: Start with an informative email subject line, then pitch your idea clearly and concisely. Avoid industry jargon and keep it simple. You don’t need to send a press release. If you have one, include it after your story pitch. Never send attachments with your email — reporters and editors rarely open them. Follow up only once: As long as your story idea isn’t time sensitive, wait anywhere from one to three days before checking to see whether a reporter is interested in your story idea. Best to forward your original email when you follow up. If you still don’t hear back, it’s likely the reporter has decided not to pursue the pitch. Don’t take it personally. Journalists receive many email pitches and usually can only respond to those they plan to use. If a reporter decides your story idea is a winner, keep the following in mind: You’re on the record: Anytime you talk to a journalist in a professional setting, assume you are on the record, meaning anything you say is part of the reporting process and can be quoted. We occasionally hear from sources after a story publishes that they wish certain things they told us hadn’t been included. But everything that’s on-the-record is fair game. Solid communication during the reporting process is crucial. We live in a visual world: Be prepared to supply photos or have a photographer visit your company to take pictures. In today’s digital environment, visuals are just as important as words in storytelling. No prior review: Do not ask to see the story before publication. Most media outlets, including ours, have strong policies against this practice. Reporters take notes and generally record interviews to ensure accuracy in their stories. Feel free to make yourself available should the reporter need to fact check after gathering notes and information. But you can’t read a story or make suggested edits. If you do find a factual error after publication, alert the reporter or editor so that a correction can be made. Accuracy is paramount for us. When we get it wrong, we own up to it and make it right. As always, I’d appreciate your feedback on getting your news out. Feel free to call or send me an email.

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

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

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PA G E 9

Personal View

Was reform successful in Cuyahoga County? Number of private business establishments in Cuyahoga County has not increased since county government reform in 2010. 38,000

2001: 37,900 2010: 34,800

Establishments

On Nov. 3, 2009, two-thirds of Cuyahoga County voters approved a reform of Cuyahoga County government. Voters hoped fundamental reform would stem rampant county corruption, strengthen political accountability and improve the county’s economic growth. Nearly a decade later, it’s time to assess how successful the reform was. On the corruption front, some of the worst offenders — former county commissioner and Democratic Party chairman Jimmy Dimora and former county auditor Frank Russo — were convicted and some progress has been made. At the same time, however, some warning signs have emerged. Sharon Sobol Jordan, the first chief of staff for Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish, received a sweetheart deal to complete her executive MBA and left the Budish administration soon after completing her degree to take over a nonprofit. The county’s economic development and IT departments are both being investigated by local corruption investigators. Voters also imagined the reform would lead to more competitive county elections and greater political accountability. Unfortunately, in the most recent primary, Budish was unopposed, and only two of the seven county council seats were contested. In the upcoming general election, none of the seven county council races are contested and Budish will be contested by a last-minute candidate, Peter J. Corrigan. Has the reform effort been successful in terms of jobs and economic development? At a superficial level, it appears the county has recovered somewhat from its recessionary trough and received more favorable publicity. It is more difficult to see real long-term progress in two key metrics for measuring the success of economic development: the number of businesses and the number of persons employed. Cuyahoga County has performed poorly relative to other areas and is not getting its share of business or employment growth. The number of private business establishments in Cuyahoga County decreased from 38,000 in 2001 to 34,800 establishments in 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2017, despite the national economic recovery, the completion of the convention center, the Republican Convention and the Cavs championship run, the number of business establishments in Cuyahoga County was still about 34,700. To put the business establishment numbers in perspective, the number of private business establishments in Cuyahoga shrunk by 8% over the 2001-2017 period, while the rest of Ohio grew by 5% (and Ohio is not a fast-growing state.) The story is slightly worse when the success of reform is measured by job creation for county residents. In 2001, Cuyahoga County had an average of 660,600 residents employed. The county averaged 577,900 in 2010 and 575,200 in 2017. From 2010 to 2017, the “reform” resulted in a continued job loss in Cuyahoga County, while employment in the rest of the state grew by 5%. It might be unfair to pin Cuyahoga County’s poor performance on county government when major structural changes are occurring in the national economy. The reality is that local governments do not create economic activity and meaningful jobs themselves. However, Cuyahoga County employs 7,500 employees, owns $800 million in public facilities, and spends $1.5 billion to create an environment that supports entrepreneurial activity, business formation and job growth. The employment losses and low rate of startup activity indicate that reform has failed to create the economic climate that creates economic opportunities for businesses and individuals in Cuyahoga County. What does Cuyahoga County need to do to recapture the promise of reform and its benefits? First, voters must restore political accountability by

Cuyahoga County private establishments

2017: 34,700

28,000

’01 ’05 ’10 ’15 ’17 Est. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. Note: Establishments are individual locations, like manufacturing plants, warehouses, offices or retail locations.

Cuyahoga County employment Average county resident employment has fallen slightly since county government reform in 2010. 2001: 660,600

650K Employment

By JAMES M. TRUTKO

550K

2010: 577,900

Employment 12-month moving average Dec. ’01

Dec. ’05

Dec. ’10

2017: 575,200

Dec. Dec. ’15 ’17

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics Data analysis by James M. Trutko

rejecting candidates with checkered records of political opportunism and supporting new candidates with new ideas. When candidates are re-elected without opposition and no political punishment is meted out for incompetence or failure, government is unlikely to improve. In this November election, the only countywide race in which voters can make a statement is the race for county executive. A sizable vote against Budish might be interpreted as a vote for change and encourage more challengers in the next election. It might also energize council incumbents, the county bureaucracy and the plethora of boards and commissions to avoid tax increases and demand better job performance from well-paid public employees with job security and little incentive to improve. Second, the county’s new economic development plan must be radically different from the last one by focusing on actions needed to create an entrepreneurial climate, rather than on workforce development. The county needs more entrepreneurs and business owners to invest in businesses in Cuyahoga County, thus creating a strong job market that will make workforce development initiatives more successful. In addition, the county needs to improve retention and expansion services to engage with businesses directly rather than to delegate business contact to a hopedfor “collaboration” of other nonprofit organizations and foundations. Only if Cuyahoga County elevates new leadership and takes a different path will it begin to create a safe, predictable and dynamic environment that nurtures entrepreneurship, encourages enterprise formation and creates economic opportunities. Trutko is a local economist and market research professional. He lives in Rocky River.

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PA G E 10

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Letter to the Editor

Vibrant NEO 2040 is framework for a more successful region A recent presentation to the City Club of Cleveland on the subject of regional viability by attorney Jon Pinney has rekindled a community discussion about pressing issues that continue to threaten the competitiveness of Northeast Ohio in the national market. Pinney argued that Northeast Ohio is falling behind and, in the minds of many, is dead last as a place to live, work and invest. Despite ample fresh water, a wealth of amenities, and a low cost of living, our region too often fails to compete successfully against peer regions — including Columbus and Cincinnati — for the capital and talent it needs to truly prosper. Pinney’s message is not new and is no longer limited to our central cities.

“Vibrant NEO 2040 identifies the region’s challenges in the areas of population, housing, transportation, environment and intergovernmental collaboration and makes specific recommendations for how Northeast Ohio can become a more competitive region.”

Going back to the Plain Dealer’s Quiet Crisis series from more than a decade ago, we have heard the sobering message that Northeast Ohio and each of our four metropolitan areas (Cleveland, Akron, Canton and Youngstown) underperforms comparable regions, both at the state level and nationally. Six years ago, the intergovernmental planning agencies representing

each of our metropolitan areas came together to explore ways that Northeast Ohio communities can collaborate to change our region’s trajectory. Led by the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) and with the support and encouragement of the Fund for Our Economic Future, these organizations established the Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium (NEOSCC) and

competed successfully for a federal Sustainable Communities grant. Over a three-year period, NEOSCC engaged local government officials, citizens and subject matter experts across our region to develop a long-term civic vision for our region: Vibrant NEO 2040. More a framework for action than a “plan” in the traditional sense, Vibrant NEO 2040 identifies the region’s challenges in the areas of population, housing, transportation, environment and intergovernmental collaboration and makes specific recommendations for how Northeast Ohio – with 12 counties and more than 400 local governments — can become a more competitive region. Vibrant NEO 2040 was recognized in

2015 as “best in class” by the American Planning Association which presented NEOSCC its highest honor, the Daniel Burnham Award. Vibrant NEO 2040 employed a disciplined, data-driven process to identify Northeast Ohio’s current land development trajectory — “no growth sprawl” — between 2010 and 2040 and to analyze in detail the long-term environmental and fiscal implications that this trend scenario presents the region and its communities. The results of the fiscal analysis are, in many ways, the most sobering: Continuing to grow our region’s footprint without growing our job base and population will result in serious chronic fiscal stress for each of our region’s counties, municipalities and townships and other tax-supported agencies. For the foreseeable future each is likely to face a recurrent structural imbalance between their costs and revenues as a result of our region’s current development patterns. All of our region’s counties will suffer from Northeast Ohio’s lackluster job and population growth. Those hardest hit are likely to be the counties that have seen the greatest losses. Even those now experiencing significant growth are likely to be fiscally worse off in 2040 than the worst counties are today. Vibrant NEO 2040 examined three other scenarios, each of which suggest ways in which our region can avoid the fate projected in the trend scenario. Based on these scenarios Vibrant NEO 2040 identified four overarching themes — strengthen established communities, increase transportation choices, preserve and protect our natural resources, and promote collaboration and efficiency — and made nine policy recommendations. To implement these recommendations, Vibrant 2040 identified 41 specific Initiatives that our communities can undertake to make themselves more livable and competitive. The Vibrant NEO board of directors, our regional consortium, documents and celebrates these initiatives and encourages additional efforts, large and small, that will “move the needle” on the indicators of success that Pinney identified. We invite you to join us in putting Vibrant NEO 2040 to work in your community or organization. Together we can make Northeast Ohio a more equitable, sustainable and economically successful region. Vibrant NEO Board of Directors Emma Petrie Barcelona Greg Brown Jennifer Brown Adrian Byrne Joe Calabrese Freddy Collier Jade Davis Kirby Date Todd Ederer Grace Gallucci Fred Geis Joe Hadley Jim Kinnick Mackenzie Makepeace Joe Marinucci Lucy Miller Hunter Morrison Jim Pirko Howard Rabb Mark Rantala Joel Ratner Chase Ritenauer Don Romancak Donna Skoda Paul Volpe Brian Zimmerman

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PA G E 11

Focus

LaunchHouse — one of the region’s most well-known co-working spots — recently opened a new outpost in Lakewood. Its main hub is in Highland Heights. (Contributed photo)

TECHNOLOGY

Meet Cleveland’s co-working chorus

The rise in communal workspaces in Northeast Ohio is showing few signs of slowing down By DOUGLAS J. GUTH

“There’s an esprit de corps here during the day when the space is full. People are crossing paths and talking about their business plans. It’s a great environment that’s thrilling to build.”

clbfreelancer@crain.com

The rise of co-working in the United States is years in the making, as the sector has grown at an annual average rate of 23% since 2010, according to real estate investment firm JLL. The Cleveland area is on trend with national numbers, opening at least six new spots so far in 2018. The city’s collection of co-working spaces host an assortment of startups and one-person shops, offering inexpensive month-to-month rentals of desks and office space. Proponents of the model say in-house proximity helps entrepreneurs learn from one another, generating a powerful vibe ideally leading to innovation and expansion. But with so many co-working spaces trying to attract members regionally, there exists worry that the effort is spreading talent thin, creating silos where innovative spirit remains isolated. While those running various co-working concepts locally are excited about the industry’s evolution, collaboration among communities can only help the overall cause, they said. LaunchHouse, which is based in Highland Heights, brought its co-working community model to Lakewood in February, headed by former city of Cleveland “tech czar” Michael DeAloia. The new

— Michael DeAloia, LaunchHouse

Workers take advantage of communal spaces at MidTown Tech Hive. (Contributed photo)

location operates from DeAloia’s Front Porch Media Network’s offices in conjunction with Startup Lakewood, housing Aviatra Accelerators, 3rd Sun Solar, Bowers Stevenson and a market manager for the Lyft car-sharing service. At 800 square feet, the space holds eight desks and a conference table, with Front Porch Media taking up the building’s two remaining suites. LaunchHouse charges a $125 monthly fee, providing tenants with free Wi-Fi and a calendar of networking opportunities. Less tangible — but just as critical to the community’s health — is the camaraderie engendered by sharing a close physical space, said DeAloia. SEE CO-WORK, PAGE 13

PA G E 12

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

TECHNOLOGY

Older and Wisr: Cleveland startup looks to connect college students with alumni By DOUGLAS J. GUTH

“No matter where that learner is in relationship with their institution, they can find people who are ready and willing to help.”

clbfreelancer@crain.com

Wisr co-founder and CEO Kate Volzer was the first member of her family to attend college, relying mostly on herself to build key relationships and make critical decisions on her path to a career. “I had no clue what I was doing,” Volzer said. “I had to network hard, and I couldn’t call my parents to get an internship.” At the time, Volzer would have appreciated a means to seamlessly link with experienced alumni who’d already traversed the sometimes tricky road from academia to the working world. Thanks to technology and her inherent entrepreneurial spirit, Volzer helped launch Wisr, an Ohio Citybased company that facilitates connections between alumni and current students via an online tool. Wisr’s platform allows its vast and ever-growing web of learners and graduates to grow their networks, get advice from seasoned professionals, and explore their ideal career destination. Built-in communication tools foster alumni-to-student coaching, leveling the playing field for undergrads of all socioeconomic backgrounds, said Volzer. “Wisr serves as an exo-layer across the entire student journey,” she said. “No matter where that learner is in relationship with their institution, they can find people who are ready and willing to help.” Wisr, founded in March 2016 by Vol-

Ciccarello

Knific

zer, John Knific (president and COO) and Kris Ciccarello (CTO), operates 25 networks at 26 colleges and universities. Hometown clients include Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland State University and Oberlin, with the startup’s national footprint extending to University of Colorado Denver and Stanford University. About 25,000 students have downloaded the Wisr application, engaged by the 75,000 alumni who also use the service. The company and its 10 employees are housed in the Limelight co-working space in Ohio City, following stints at StartMart and Volzer’s Lakewood apartment. Giving students insight into career outcomes has resulted in a combined $1.9 million investment from, among others, North Coast Angel Fund, JumpStart, Impact Angels, InvestHER Ventures and a group of Cleveland-based female executives led by Lynn-Ann Gries, managing partner of the First Check Fund. Although Wisr is talking with several businesses about strategic partnerships, its founders have no current plans to sell the company and are committed to growing their client base.

Volzer

— Kate Volzer, Wisr co-founder and CEO

“For 2018 into next year, we want to increase our client base and get students the support they need to graduate,” Volzer said. A former higher education administrator, Volzer compares the Wisr platform to a typical social media network like Facebook, but with one major difference: Anyone who downloads the Wisr app must be verified by their institution. “You’re going to know what their intentions are,” Volzer said. “The network is not just browsable by anyone.” Streamlining mentoring-related matchmaking helps students search for internships or receive guidance on how to interview for a job, she said. Member institutions, meanwhile, manage huge lists of alumni through the platform, assembling directories with data automatically integrated from a graduate’s LinkedIn profile. Wisr was developed in partnership with career services and alumni relations officials from a quintet of partner universities, among them Case Western Reserve and Volzer’s alma mater, the University of Chicago. Since launch, the company has expanded its

offerings in support of incoming college students through alumni well into their post-grad careers. New features include an affinity-based discussion board where participants can present questions to a specially tailored community, be it women in business, first-generation college students or political science professionals. Accessing specific communities drops barriers for learners anxious about the networking demands inherent to their chosen careers, Volzer said. Wisr’s team also provides tips on what questions to ask alumni during an initial phone conversation. “The idea is for them to reach out to folks on the network,” Volzer said. “The more we can make their academic journey easier and meaningful, the better.” Cleveland State plans to unveil its Wisr platform this fall, connecting undergrads to alumni in the service of practice interviews as well as internship and career shadowing opportunities. John Holcomb, associate dean of the college of sciences and health professions at the university, said school officials were impressed by the system’s overall accessibility

and ease-of-use. “We hadn’t been any one platform before, just Facebook or Twitter, but in an unsupported way with varying degrees of success,” Holcomb said. “We thought Wisr would be a more organized way to provide those tools.” Meeting alumni from their respective fields can take some of the fear students have about interacting with older peers, added the school official. “Landing that first job after college can be an intimidating process,” Holcomb said. “Talking to people who made that leap will teach students how to focus their resume.” Wisr has added nearly 20 schools to its client list in 2018, funneling part of its marketing budget into free informational summits. During these events, speakers cover professional development topics, followed by software demonstrations and a happy hour meet-and-greet. “We’ve been getting to know customers, and there’s been word-ofmouth growth,” Volzer said. “Now that we’re two years in, we’ve become a trusted player in the market. We’re not going anywhere.” Improving the college experience for a varied student population continues to motivate Volzer’s work. As she empathizes with some of that struggle herself, she’s pleased to create a centralized hub where career dreams can flower. “It’s great seeing my team’s excitement in the mission we’re working for,” Volzer said. “You don’t have to come from a family of means to get your dream job or have a better life.”

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an esprit de corps here during the day when the space is full,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People are crossing paths and talking about their business plans. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a great environment thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s thrilling to build.â&#x20AC;? Although that nearness creates an energetic atmosphere, LaunchHouse is used by members as more of a waystation than an office. DeAloia understands the need to hustle, but heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to see the space garner more daily use as it develops. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our message hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t transferred yet to this tsunami of buzz,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll grow into that.â&#x20AC;?

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;A learning curveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Northeast Ohioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crop of co-working locations has kickstarted the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entrepreneurial momentum, observers say, a topic explored in March during a City Club of Cleveland event helmed by Techstars, an organization of startup experts. At the City Club presentation, Chris Heivly, a Techstars entrepreneur-in-residence, also warned of having too many spaces bringing in startups and freelancers, which he suggested could scatter innovators who are better off closer together. DeAloia said Cleveland is early enough in its co-working life cycle where thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still room to add more workspace locations. He envisions a future where two or three co-working offices representing different industries operate out of a single community or block. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re still in the top of the first inning here,â&#x20AC;? DeAloia said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t used to working in an environment with eight other companies daily. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a learning curve.â&#x20AC;? A report released earlier this year by

From Alex Harnocz (city planner, city of Lakewood), Michael DeAloia (head, LaunchHouse in Lakewood), Todd Goldstein (CEO, LaunchHouse) and David Moss (chief creative officer, Front Porch Media). (Contributed photo)

JLL identified 28 co-working locations in the Cleveland-Akron-Canton region with a total of 250,000 square feet of flexible office space. Regionally, the average monthly price for a co-working desk is $196, while a private office costs, on average, $499 per month. In an email, JLL vice president and director of research Andrew Batson said three more co-working offices have opened since the report published, giving the region a total of 31. The study describes co-working as a shared workspace featuring an open, communal environment. Co-working is the most prevalent type of what JLL calls â&#x20AC;&#x153;flexible spaceâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; making up 59% of such locations in the Great Lakes region â&#x20AC;&#x201D; with other examples including executive

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suites and incubators. DigitalCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s MidTown Tech Hive, situated on the western end of the Health-Tech Corridor east of downtown, is a fairly typical co-working location. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 67 tenants sign monthly leases for the use of office and conference space, enjoying amenities such as a coffee bar, bike rack and a wellness room with a shower. A dedicated desk and file cabinet in an open room costs $250 a month, and an eight-person office rents for $2,400 per month. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Having a flexible space is key for co-working,â&#x20AC;? said Tech Hive manager Anna Buchholz. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A short-term lease makes it easier for companies starting out, because they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know if theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to grow to 15 employ-

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ees and a 500-square-foot office isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t going to cut it.â&#x20AC;? Buchholz said co-working fills the gap between working from a coffee shop and signing a three-year office lease. Clevelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s co-working spaces generally donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work together, a condition Buchholz ascribes to geography. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have a unique problem of being spread out compared to other regions,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Having one space in a central location is difficult for us, which is why so many of these spaces have popped up.â&#x20AC;?

Getting out of the silo Software startup veteran Ed Buchholz, who is Annaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s husband, knows itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pointless and counterproductive

++ ++ +

for the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s co-working operators to compete with one another. With that in mind, the Buchholzes created a â&#x20AC;&#x153;disloyalty cardâ&#x20AC;? that incentivizes startup owners to try more than one co-working space. Ed Buchholz has distributed 5,000 of the punch cards through Start in CLE, his nonprofit dedicated to connecting the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s freelancers. Participants fill out their card by visiting Tech Hive, LaunchHouse and four additional locations, receiving a $10 day pass as well as, hopefully, a new business contact or two. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re working out of one of these spaces, but if you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the opportunity to meet people from other spaces, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re all going to lose out on the potential that comes from that,â&#x20AC;? said Buchholz. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The point here is we see these great spaces in siloed communities, and want people to mix and go between them.â&#x20AC;? Zach Ciccone, whose 12,000-squarefoot Beauty Shoppe co-working facility opens in August on the corner of West 25th Street and Detroit Avenue in Ohio City, expects the future of the professional workspace to resemble co-working. While Ciccone isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t certain yet how new and existing spaces may collaborate, the inclusivity fostered by co-working can only boost Clevelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s innovation economy, he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want more people to have access to the space and resources they need,â&#x20AC;? Ciccone said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s room for growth as long as weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re focused on inclusion.â&#x20AC;? DeAloia of LaunchHouse said the local co-working industry should consider an alliance where spaces market each other to would-be tenants, creating a frisson with the potential to proliferate region-wide. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We need to be talking, but forming a confederation with a pot of marketing dollars is going to help all of us,â&#x20AC;? DeAloia said.

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Q&A: Patrick Ghilani CEO, MRI Software

MRI Software of Solon, a provider of technology and service solutions to owners, operators and investors in commercial and residential real estate, has experienced rapid growth in recent years. In the first quarter of 2018, for example, it reported a 44% worldwide revenue growth fueled by 117 new clients, a 50% increase over the same period in 2017, and a 136% increase in bookings over the same period in 2017. The company also grew its headcount by 62% across all regions of the world. A large part of this growth can be attributed to the company’s ambitious approach to acquisitions — it has made nine since September. Crain’s recently talked to Patrick Ghilani, MRI’s chief executive officer, about his company’s growth and what advice he’d give other tech companies looking to grow as well. — Beth Thomas Hertz What are the services that MRI offers its customers? We provide financial, accounting and investment solutions that can serve clients with hundreds of thousands of units and millions of square feet, as well as smaller owner-operators who have just a few units. This is how they operate their business. This is how they receive money from and serve their tenants and residents. This is how they determine the value of their assets and how they manage funds.

If you think about large-scale ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems — the SAPs and Oracles of the world — they are very common in manufacturing and industrial solutions and discrete manufacturing. We are the ERP solution for the real estate vertical. It’s a very fragmented market. There are tons of little players in it, but only a few that are the size and scale of us that play in multiple regions of the globe. I would say there are even fewer that have the comprehensive set of solutions that we have, from an A to Zed perspective. We are pretty functionally rich in meeting most of the use cases inside of real estate ownership and investment.

Your company takes a lot of pride in its openness and ability to connect with other products. What does that mean for your customers? It’s a huge differentiator. When you think of the consumer in today’s world, whether it is in their personal lives or in their business lives, people want things their way. They want to be able to take a solution, whether that is a car, software or a meal at a restaurant, and they want to be able to go in there with everybody else, but be able to come out with something that’s unique and special for them. In order to do that, you have to have a business paradigm that says you are willing and ready to be interoperable with a larger ecosystem. Instead of insisting that our solutions can only be used with and on our solutions, and telling customers that they are on their own for anything else, we say “let’s connect with these other solutions. Let’s not only connect with them, let’s connect data, let’s connect use cases.” It’s kind of like having a cousin or a relative who has a lot of the same attributes as you, but they are different. When you put them all in the same picture, it looks like they go together. That is what we are doing with our open and connected models. We have a large partner program of both software providers

and service providers that join our network of solutions. With them, we offer the largest connected real estate technology ecosystem out there. You can say you are open and connected, but it needs to be a culture. If you go to our website or our marketing brochures, for example, we talk about our partners. At our users’ conference, which is one of our largest real estate users’ conferences in the world, we invite our partners, many of whom have significantly competitive products to us. It would be like Ford inviting Chrysler to put some of their cars on their lot. It’s a massive paradigm shift. You have to live it in everything you do versus just saying “we connect the data.” What’s driving the growth that MRI has experienced? First and foremost, we are thrilled that we are a client-focused organization and we have been in a really wonderful several years where we have had organic growth that is coming from inside of our install base. As many of our clients grow, we have been able to grow with them and we have been able to offer them more solutions that they have leveraged within their organization. Our focus is to develop, acquire and partner with solutions that are most desired by our customer base.

We are very proud to acquire new clients, and we are very proud to enter new markets and buy other product platforms that do similar things to what we do, but at the forefront of what we are focused on is providing more solutions to the clients that we have. That has afforded us some very solid organic growth. We also have been very inquisitive to buying organizations that are A) adding functionality to our comprehensive suite and B) entering us in other markets either for the first time or in a larger scale. Today, for instance, we have over 350 people in the Europe and Middle East and Africa. That region is almost the size of what our company was three or four years ago. We are one of the largest, if not the largest, player in the Australia-New Zealand-Pacific region and we are growing very heavily in Asia. Where do you see the company going over the next few years? We are on a mission to continue to revolutionize real estate technology and expand our footprint across the globe. We are not going to be slowing down as it relates to acquisitions. We are not going to be slowing down as it relates to investment in R&D for new products and development. The goal isn’t to be the biggest in the world. It is truly to be the best.

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TECHNOLOGY

Adviser: Jamie Pingor

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We are smart growers in the sense that we make very fiscally sound decisions on what we invest in both internally and inorganically. We are very sound. We are not one of those businesses that is going to ebb and flow in size. We make decisions for long-term steady growth and I think that is what you’re going to see from us — continuing to trek forward but in a way that makes sense and grows with our clients. What advice can you give to other tech companies that are looking to experience strong growth of their own? You need to be able to collaborate and partner with others in the space, and what you do with that collaboration and partnership needs to add real value to your customers. There are tons of companies out there that are trying to do something that has never been done before and that is wonderful, but the reality is you have to get that innovation into people’s hands. They need to be able to adopt it and accept it and move into it. Secondly, I would say take a little bit of risk. Doing what everybody else is doing is not going to advance the market, and the client is not always right. They sometimes don’t know what they need. I think we have a role as technologists to push the envelope and help them see what maybe they don’t.

Beware of the blurred lines between professional and private social media President Donald Trump tweets a controversial message, launching a key employee into an unbridled rage. The person returns fire on social media with a barrage of emotionally charged remarks. In the process, the tirade is played out before a select audience that includes your most valued customers, partners and prospects. The social platform the employee used as a political megaphone was personal and technically private, but over time the employee had socially connected to many of your company’s key influencers. What do you do? What can you do? Some businesses have begun reprimanding, and in rare instances, firing employees who don’t appropriately represent their company online. In an age of social media, employees are never really off the clock — especially when they’re socially linked to critical stakeholders. As a preventative step, many businesses are adopting social media policies that reach well beyond the company’s own platforms and restrict employees from posting “inappropriate” content on their personal pages. This can include subjects such as political and reli-

Pingor is partner and intellectual property chair at the Cleveland law firm Walter | Haverfield. He is focused on intellectual property with a specialty on domestic and foreign patent and trademark preparation, prosecution, procurement and litigation.

gious views that might be considered offensive. The NFL this year surprised many people when it took a similar stance by prohibiting players from protesting during the National Anthem. The decision made headlines, but it fell in line with how many employers now view personal conduct, regardless of place or time. Putting a policy in place sends a clear message that employees represent their company’s brand 24/7. Their conduct, words and actions are expected to uphold the values of the organization. And while legally de-

fining what is “offensive” is a task worse than herding cats, a written policy causes many employees to think twice before raging online. The policy should include guidance about how the company’s own social channels are managed. This includes details about the logo and messaging, down to specific colors, design styles and imagery. It can include post frequency, relevance and objectives. The policy should be clear about who has authority to make posts, comment and respond, especially to controversial remarks. When United Airlines discovers a negative tweet about its brand, the company has very specific protocols about how a complaint is managed. When a customer complains online, the first step should be to take the conversation offline and resolve the issue away from a large viewing audience. Then, handle the customer as if they called. The policy should prohibit employees who are not involved with this process to abstain from any engagement, so the professionals can handle it. Many consumers today have become empowered through social media to expose businesses for their

bad behavior. In many ways, the new environment has forced companies to improve their service, while some consumers have found ways to take unfair advantage. Your company’s social media policy should be all-inclusive, with consideration to any influence, inside or outside of the organization. It should address how employees can interact with the brand online and how they conduct themselves on their “own time.” The policy should address how social media is managed during a crisis, who is in charge and how the social managers interact with communications teams and senior management. No company policy is ironclad in the eyes of the law, but many can prevent mistakes and clear confusion among employees. Attorneys and public relations firms can help draft social media policies to fit your organizational needs. When a policy is finalized, it should be presented effectively throughout the entire organization. A strong brand can take decades to build, but even the best brands can come undone in a single day. Don’t let a loose social media policy unravel years of hard work.

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STARTUPS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Momentum from those meetings is growing: The meeting on June 13 attracted more than 25 people to the Tech Hive co-working space in Midtown Cleveland and about a dozen or so others via phone â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a group that included people from a long list of organizations that work with entrepreneurs in Northeast Ohio. And at that event it was announced that Slodov had officially joined StartInCLE, formalizing what had been an informal partnership with the volunteer-led group, which spent its first year of existence organizing 20plus dinners and other events designed to help founders connect with one another and help each other. Now StartInCLE is drafting bigger plans for year two â&#x20AC;&#x201D; more events, a founder festival, grants and educational programs for startups, etc. The group also has adopted some of the messaging used in the Techstars report, which was informed by concepts in the book â&#x20AC;&#x153;Startup Communitiesâ&#x20AC;? by Techstars cofounder Brad Feld. The timing of the report was fortuitous for those who want to see its findings put into action: Economic development has been a hot topic in

the local business community ever since Jon Pinney, the managing partner at the Kohrman, Jackson & Krantz law firm, started writing columns and giving speeches about how far behind Northeast Ohio is when it comes to job creation and other economic development metrics. Plus, four prominent local nonprofits concerned with economic development â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the Greater Cleveland Partnership, the Cleveland Foundation, the Fund for Our Economic Future and JumpStart â&#x20AC;&#x201D; are working to hire a consultant to help them figure out why Northeast Ohio is still struggling and what can be done about it. StartInCLE has taken steps to make sure that both of those conversations are informed by both the Techstars report and entrepreneurs themselves, said StartInCLE founder Ed Buchholz, who like Slodov previously served as co-founder of a software company that went through one of Techstarsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; many accelerator programs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We really want to make sure that the founder focus gets carried through to that larger discussion,â&#x20AC;? Buchholz said. So does one of StartInCLEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s allies, Charles Stack, who is head of both the Flashstarts startup business accelerator and the StartMart co-work-

ing space in Terminal Tower. For instance, both StartInCLE and Stack have been involved in discussions related to Project 1969 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; an early stage project that aims to create what Pinney has described in Crainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s as a large entrepreneurial hub modeled after 1871 in Chicago. He noted that his organizations and StartInCLE need to work with a sense of urgency because at the moment the local economic development seems willing to try new things, said Stack, who also cited Akronâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new Bounce Innovation Hub and auto dealer Bernie Morenoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s effort to turn Northeast Ohio into a hub for blockchain technology, which was made popular by Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an interest and a willingness on the part of the community to engage in some new thinking,â&#x20AC;? Stack said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve not really seen it at this level ever. ... We need to coordinate the different initiatives that have bubbled up out of all of this energy.â&#x20AC;?

Betaland Stack is working on his own project inspired by the Techstars report. He was disturbed when he saw that the report gave Northeast Ohio a low score (2.3/7) in the density category â&#x20AC;&#x201D; meaning that there arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t

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President and CEO Vitamix

It might be unusual for an education major to emerge as a technical and marketing expert in industrial automation for some of the country’s most complicated manufacturing environments, including nuclear power, mining and petro-chemical plants, but Kristen Barbour is anything but typical, according to Richard Lubinski, president of Think Energy Management. “She has succeeded in a business where many men have failed based on her native IQ and work ethic,” Lubinski wrote in Barbour’s nomination form. Over the last 20 years, Barbour has risen from a product manager at Rockwell Automation to a leader of Pepperl+Fuchs’ North American process automation team, based in Twinsburg. The German industrial controls manufacturer recently added oversight of marketing efforts in Central, Latin and South Americas to Barbour’s long list of responsibilities. “Many women have been attracted to the industrial controls business based on her position and record of success in this business,” according to Lubinski.

Jodi Berg’s leadership at Vitamix has been nothing short of transformative. Berg left the hospitality industry to join her family’s high-performance blender making business in 1997. During the early years, she led Vitamix’s overseas expansion, driving double-digit growth and laying the foundation for the Olmsted Township company’s presence in 130 countries. Named president in 2009 and CEO in 2011, Berg is credited with revolutionizing the organization’s vision, mission and culture by creating and promoting Vitamix’s higher purpose of making the world a healthier place via better nutrition and healthy food choices. Last year, she guided the company through its most significant product launch in decades: the introduction of “smart” blenders with wireless capabilities. “At Vitamix, we innovate. We make products that last for generations. We have best-in-class testing facilities. But above all, we transform people’s lives,” product management director Laetitia Guezet-Kasl said in the nomination. “That is driven from the top.”

LINDA BARITA Director of Strategic Alliances MAGNET The Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network’s CEO Ethan Karp credits Linda Barita with elevating MAGNET’s business development efforts to a new level. “Currently 80% of new business come from warm referrals from the partners that Linda has built relationships with,” Karp said in his nomination form. “This is remarkable, because five years ago, MAGNET had to utilize cold calling to generate business.” Barita guides MAGNET’s business development, is a member of the senior management team and provides strategic input to the leadership on the needs and challenges of manufacturers in the organization’s 21-county region. Joining MAGNET as business development specialist in 2006, she worked her way up to director with her high energy and ability to communicate with individuals at all levels, from business to community to schools. Barita is president and founder of Women Leaders in Economic Development, chair of Women in Manufacturing and vice president of the Cleveland Engineering Society’s board of directors.

ELIZABETH M. BARRY CEO, President and Chairwoman Delta Systems Inc. Lawnmowers might not be top of mind when thinking about innovative products, but Elizabeth Barry has been transforming that notion. Barry heads Delta Systems, a manufacturer of outdoor power equipment components. Having been on the Delta board since 1995, she became president of the Streetsboro company in 2005 and quickly turned her focus to modernizing product offerings. Innovations under Barry’s leadership include a sealed power take off switch, Bluetooth capabilities, advanced touch screen displays and rear backup cameras. Delta sales and marketing vice president Bill Michaels credits Barry for her unique ability to seamlessly transition from an executive staff meeting to a conversation on the factory floor. “Her passion and sense of purpose for Delta leave both groups feeling they’ve been heard by someone who cares tremendously not only about the company’s success, but their own,” he said in a nomination letter. She also spearheads company partnerships with local vocational and high schools on STEM education.

Manufacturing By The Numbers The manufacturing industry statistics on the following pages represent Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, Stark and Summit counties.

ALICIA BOOKER Vice President, Manufacturing Technology Center of Excellence Cuyahoga Community College Manufacturing executives often cite the “skills gap” as the biggest challenge facing their companies. Cuyahoga Community College’s Alicia Booker is on the front lines of filling that gap. As Tri-C’s vice president of manufacturing, Booker leads a team of more than 50 people who create and implement advanced manufacturing training programs and recruit and train students. According to Tri-C executive vice president William Gary, Booker has been instrumental in introducing the college to innovative concepts and the latest technology and equipment. Most recently, she spearheaded the purchase of a mobile training unit that companies and schools use for onsite training experiences. In his nomination, Gary said Booker’s unique set of leadership skills have advanced Tri-C’s position as the “premier provider” and educational leader of advanced manufacturing training in Northeast Ohio. “She represents the face of manufacturing and innovation to the industry and is recognized throughout the region for her outstanding accomplishments,” he wrote.

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SUNNIVA COLLINS Associate Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Case School of Engineering Case Western Reserve University When Sunniva Collins left Swagelok in 2013 for Case Western Reserve University, it was a significant win for CWRU and its mechanical engineering and materials science students. “As a faculty member, she brings a combination of practical experience and inspirational teaching, encouraging others to pursue successful careers in manufacturing,” said Greg Shaw, director of technology and innovation at Swagelok, in Collins’ nomination form. During her 18-year tenure at Swagelok, Collins performed research on stainless steel surface treatments and worked closely with design engineers to innovate next-generation fluid system components. She is an inventor on three patents with another nine applications pending. At CWRU, Collins has developed several engineering courses and guided students who have gone on to Ford, Tesla, SpaceX, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Harley-Davidson, GE and others. In addition, Collins is active in ASM International, and served in 2014-15 as its second female president.

TIFFANY DUX AES R&D Metallurgical Applications Engineer Arconic Inc. Tiffany Dux is leading Arconic’s Cleveland facility to a new frontier. With the commercial space industry’s emergence over the last few years, Dux has focused her attention on developing and applying new applications and forgings for space exploration customers. Dux has a deep background in various metallurgical processes, joining Arconic in 2005 after three years as a research associate at Ohio Aerospace Institute. Today, she is a “key resource” within the R&D group, according to her nomination, “further developing new technologies, processing recipes and product forms in advanced nickel and aluminum materials supporting the aerospace and space industries,” said Arconic director Dustin Bush, who oversees the forging technology and application engineering division. Outside of the office, Dux extends her love of engineering to kindergarten through eighth-grade students with speaking engagements in which she describes her path to a successful career and uses fun, hands-on demonstrations of the material principles of forging, extrusion and tensile strength.

July 23, 2018 S3

MARY KIM ELKINS Senior Vice President, Taxes Eaton Mary Kim Elkins is much like a world champion chess player, according to Robert Zweerus, a senior director in Eaton’s global indirect tax group: She is always thinking “several steps ahead of the game,” Zweerus said in his nomination form. Elkins joined the Beachwood-based power management company in 2006 as director of tax strategy for its fluid power group and was promoted several times before assuming leadership for Eaton’s global tax function. She leads a 200-person tax department spanning over 30 different countries. She is credited with guiding Eaton smoothly through changes in the rapidly evolving and complicated corporate tax environment. She strengthened her tax department’s culture, and led the largest supply chain restructuring in the company’s 110-year history, which involved consolidating intellectual property from more than 20 countries and streamlining more than a dozen financial systems. Recently, Elkins was selected as member of the 2019 Leadership Cleveland class.

NOTABLE WOMEN IN MANUFACTURING

S4 July 23, 2018

NOREEN GOLDSTEIN

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ALLISON GREALIS

President MidWest Materials Inc.

President Women in Manufacturing

MidWest Materials has experienced record profits for nearly two decades under the leadership of Noreen Goldstein. Goldstein is president and general counsel for the Perry-based steel service center, which was founded by her father and uncle 65 years ago. She has guided her company’s growth by empowering employees to modernize its processes, including implementation of manufacturing, electronic quoting and purchasing innovations. Goldstein also has been a champion and mentor for several female employees who began their careers in entry-level positions and have advanced to management roles, including the director of purchasing, the human resources manager and senior accounting manager Melissa Evenheimer. In the nomination letter, Evenheimer said Goldstein provided her with the “guidance and advice” that helped her move forward during a 10-year career at MidWest Materials. “Noreen has been and continues to be a role model for me both at work and in the community,” she wrote.

Allison Grealis is the driving force behind the nation’s first and only trade association dedicated to providing year-round support to women who have chosen a career in the manufacturing industry. The Independence-based Women in Manufacturing (WiM) organization launched in 2011 after a group of female executives associated with the Precision Metalforming Association identified the lack of a national voice and resource for women in manufacturing. Grealis assumed leadership for the burgeoning group, which operated under PMA until it became a designated trade association in 2015. More than 1,000 individual members representing nearly 600 manufacturing companies have joined WiM. In addition to leading WiM, Grealis serves as vice president of membership and association services for PMA. In the nomination form, colleague Kandyce Burgett, PMA meetings and events manager, said Grealis’ “impact is felt by many for the new and innovative ways she promotes networking between individuals in our industry.”

LAUREN GOOD Vice President, Finance; Owner The Technology House/ Sea Air Space Machining and Molding

TERESA HACK

Lauren Good has made a big impact on The Technology House in her three-year tenure. Joining the contract manufacturer as CFO in 2015, Good became instrumental in cost analysis for its beta testing of the carbon additive manufacturing process and in growing it into a true production process. Technology House president Chip Gear said Good was also involved in the company’s purchase of a 50,000-square-foot plant in Streetsboro and the decision to retain a 35,000-square-foot plant in Solon to keep up with business growth. In addition, Good provided exact cost modeling to an ERP implementation team that resulted in greater efficiency. As such, Good has been involved in the company’s evolution from a job shop and rapid prototyping service bureau to an advanced contract manufacturer. “She has what I see as the rare ability to quickly understand complex processes, identify their positives and negatives and calculate an ROI,” Gear said in the nomination.

www.crossroads-lake.org

President and COO Channel Products Teresa Hack has forged a path in the gas appliance industry by infusing culture and innovation in a decades-old manufacturing company. Hack joined Channel Products in 2013. Early on, the new president reconstructed the company’s cultural foundation, instilling specific “cultural pillars” — each designed to make Channel a better place to work and to enhance the way it interacts with customers. She also led her company’s development of new gas appliance components and systems to support them. Currently, the company has a half-dozen patent applications pending in support of new products and is preparing to move from its original corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility in Chesterland to a state-of-the-art facility in Solon, complete with an innovation center and R&D lab. “She has shepherded the expansion of the company's manufacturing capabilities, extending its reach into the European and Asian markets,” said CEO Ron Weinberg in the nomination. Under Hack’s leadership, the company’s revenue has doubled and profitability has quadrupled. Her Channel 2020 initiative is designed to focus on continued growth, with goals to reach $50 million in sales and $8 million in EBITDA by the end of 2020.

www.beaconhealth.us

JANET MORSE who is among Crain’s Cleveland Business’ Notable Women in Manufacturing

74.1%

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR BOARD MEMBER

PERCENTAGE OF MANUFACTURING WORKFORCE THAT IS MALE (2017)

25.9%

PERCENTAGE OF MANUFACTURING WORKFORCE THAT IS FEMALE (2017)

SPONSORED CONTENT

NOTABLE WOMEN IN MANUFACTURING

KIM HUMPHREYS

TUWHANNA LEWIS

Vice President, Operations and Supply Chain, Label and Graphic Materials, North America Avery Dennison Kim Humphreys is a seasoned manager in Avery Dennison’s North American label and graphic materials group, where she has overseen numerous investments in the Mentor-based division’s manufacturing operations, including expansion projects, equipment upgrades and the installation of Automated Guided Vehicles at its Peachtree City, Ga., plant. In addition, Humphreys has led several projects to advance efficiency, such as changes to distribution in order to save freight and improve customer lead times and the establishment of an investment strategy focused on maximizing return on capital employed over a five-year strategic period. North American Label and Graphic Materials vice president and general manager Nick Tucci said along with her technical expertise, Humphreys has a keen eye for recruiting and developing talent. “For example, she supported our Leadership Development Program, building a pipeline of talented recent graduates from Miami University and supporting our LDPs to ensure they see success in the organization,” Tucci said in the nomination form.

July 23, 2018 S5

Associate Executive Director Cleveland Engineering Society Tuwhanna Lewis is responsible for operations, administration and outreach, all of which directly support the Cleveland Engineering Society’s mission to increase industry awareness and promote engineering and manufacturing as career pathways for youth. “As more emphasis has been placed on STEM education, students are more interested but often don't truly understand where a degree in engineering can take them,” Lewis said. “I enjoy playing a role in that learning experience for them.” She helps oversee the organization’s events, including the annual Northeast Ohio Manufacturing Symposium. (This year’s event is set for Sept. 28 at Lorain County Community College). “Tuwhanna has always been a champion to the manufacturing community,” said Linda Barita, director of strategic alliances for MAGNET. “She has led (Cleveland Engineering Society) with many educational and valuable events brought to the manufacturing membership of CES and has helped in delivering the great value that CES stands for.” Her professional affiliations include serving as a member of the New Tech Advisory Council for Cleveland Metropolitan School District and the Dean’s Diversity Council at Cleveland State University’s Washkewicz College of Engineering.

CHRISTINE MATTHEWS Vice President No Limit Swiss Christine Matthews founded No Limit Swiss in 2007, with one customer and a single machine in rented space and annual sales of $42,000. Today, the contract manufacturer operates out its own Mentor building with sales of more than $600,000. In recent years, Matthews has led the company’s implementation of ISO 9001 standards, facilitated the purchase of a Miyano BNA machine to increase capacity and capability and negotiated long-term blanket orders with a major customer, resulting in 10% increase in sales. Outside the office, Matthews champions manufacturing as an active member of the Mentor Area Chamber of Commerce and Alliance for Working Together, a regional consortium of 100 companies advancing the sustainability of manufacturing. She also is as an active alumnae of Leadership Lake County. “She uses her leadership position to inspire and encourage youth that manufacturing is a career worthy of pursuing,” said Leadership Lake County CEO Jessie Baginski in the nomination form.

NOTABLE WOMEN IN MANUFACTURING

S6 July 23, 2018

DARLYN MCDERMOTT

SPONSORED CONTENT

ELAINE REOLFI

Market Leader MAGNET South When Cleveland-based MAGNET, the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, was ready to raise its profile among manufacturers in the southern portion of Northeast Ohio, it tapped former Oswald Cos. executive Darlyn McDermott to lead the charge. In the last year, McDermott has launched the MAGNET South Territory, which focuses on manufacturers in Summit, Stark, Wayne, Medina and Portage counties, and “single-handedly opened the new Akron office, staffed it and leads with energy and a glass half full approach,” according to MAGNET vice president of operations Michael O’Donnell. “Darlyn is a strong leader who is calm under pressure and is an extremely resilient team player,” O’Donnell said in the nomination form. In addition to actively growing the organization’s brand, McDermott coaches manufacturing supervisors, managers and line leaders to be more effective and engaging leaders and is an accomplished public speaker, having spoken to well over 2,000 people, industry groups and clients.

JANET MORSE Machine Division Senior Manufacturing Engineer Lincoln Electric Janet Morse last year assumed her newest role in an 18-year career at Lincoln Electric’s global headquarters in Euclid. Morse is senior manufacturing engineer, where she shepherds new product designs from concept to launch, including production manufacturing cell design and automation. For the five previous years, she managed a three-shift production operation of up to 120 employees and championed significant improvements in safety focus while maintaining product quality. Morse is the named inventor on four patents for the testing and design of different welding consumables. She is active in improving the recruitment and retention of women, who are now much more commonplace in technical positions at Lincoln than when she started. A member of the board of directors at Alliance for Working Together and a board of directors member at Crossroads in Mentor, Morse is known both inside and outside the office as someone “who effectively drives projects, not allowing them to stagnate through the often difficult middle stages,” Crossroads CEO Mike Matoney said in the nomination form.

CONGRATULATIONS, ELAINE REOLFI. We are proud to work alongside a woman whose mission aligns with our own – WR H HFW PHDQLQJIXO FKDQJH

Vice President, Organizational Advancement and Corporate Relations TimkenSteel Elaine Reolfi worked in various aspects of Timken Co.’s communications and employee engagement activities for nearly two decades when Chairman, President and CEO Tim Timken asked her to take a leadership role in the Canton manufacturer’s public spinoff, TimkenSteel, in 2014. As vice president of communications and community relations, Reolfi was pivotal in developing and deploying the TimkenSteel brand. Today, she is the only woman on its eight-person senior leadership team and oversees human resources and compensation and benefits in addition to communications and community relations. In 2017, Reolfi helped navigate a steep ramp-up in hiring and production, leading a team that on-boarded more than 400 employees. “As a result of her leadership, our attrition rate has dramatically decreased,” Timken said in the nomination form. “We've introduced people-focused programs that put us at the forefront of manufacturing, such as four weeks paid parental leave, flexible work schedules and other time-off benefits.” She also led the creation of the TimkenSteel Charitable Fund, the company’s community relations function and community engagement strategy.

DIANE SALAY-SWENCKI

National Aerospace/Manufacturing Product Manager Brennan Industries Inc. Diane Salay-Swencki is a recent addition to the sales team of Brennan Industries, but has already orchestrated several top-level meetings and demonstrated an ability to adapt to different needs and requirements of its customers, according to Patrick DeCapua, vice president of global manufacturing for the Euclid-based fittings manufacturer. “She quickly built up a reputation as a friendly and generous colleague who is always happy to be part of the team,” DeCapua said in a letter accompanying her nomination. The new position builds on Salay-Swencki’s background in the aerospace and oil and gas industries. She most recently was a sales engineer at Trust Technologies, where she brought on five new customers that equated to more than $8 million in revenue. She also was a sales engineer with Consolidated Precision Products, where her responsibilities included negotiations and technical support under a portfolio that includes global manufacturing leaders in advanced aerospace and defense products.

9.5%

Percent of the Northeast Ohio manufacturing workforce that is AfricanAmerican

Total percentage the Northeast Ohio manufacturing workforce that is Hispanic or Latino; Asian; multi-racial; or Native American

82.4%

330.498.0753 D E S I D A R A . C O M

Percent of the Northeast Ohio manufacturing workforce that is white

SPONSORED CONTENT

NOTABLE WOMEN IN MANUFACTURING

ALYSON SCOTT

DALITHIA SMITH

President Fredon Corp.

Vice President of Human Resources Oatey

Alyson Scott in 1996 initiated her career with Fredon Corp. in public relations, then became CFO and ultimately advanced to president of the family owned precision machining manufacturer “by employing creative problemsolving skills, engaging all employees to aspire to leadership possibilities, as well as developing strategies, solutions and execution for quality control and customer satisfaction,” according to the nomination of colleague Brent Buckley, managing partner of Buckley King. Scott leads Fredon’s relationships to international, national, small and Fortune 500 customers in the aircraft, space and defense industry. She oversees innovation initiatives relating to the company’s manufacturing certifications, including the rarefied designation of ISO/AS9100D for its qualifications and commitment to supplying safe and reliable products. She also focuses on efforts to recruit and inspire next-generation manufacturing employees and leaders both internally and externally. Scott, for example, coordinated the Mentor firm’s Cannons of Fredon program, an innovative high school apprenticeship program. She developed and promotes the regional Alliance for Working Together RoboBots competition for high school students.

Dalithia Smith spent the last 11 years at Lincoln Electric, ascending from her first role as director of recruiting and talent to her most recent role as vice president of human resources. Her accomplishments include building diversity recruiting strategies that resulted in 50% minority hires for its college recruiting program and launching the company’s first employee resource group called Women in Lincoln Leadership. She also launched that company’s first external executive coaching program for high-potential talent. As of today, Smith will parlay her talent into a new role as vice president of human resources at Oatey, a Cleveland-based manufacturer of plumbing products. “I’ll be leading the strategic direction of the human resources department and developing creative strategies for attracting and retaining talent,” Smith said. “We are excited to have Dalithia join the Oatey team,” said Oatey CEO Neal Restivo. “Dalithia’s manufacturing background will be invaluable to our workforce development initiatives, which are critical to our success as we continue to grow our business.” Smith’s professional associations include serving as a national and local member of Society for Human Resource Management and a current board member for The Diversity Center.

Managing editor, custom and special projects: Amy Ann Stoessel, astoessel@crain.com

Avery Dennison Celebrates our “Notable Woman in Manufacturing,” Kim Humphreys.

Writer/Project editor: Kathy Ames Carr

Writer: Judy Stringer

July 23, 2018 S7

Graphic designer: Staci Buck

$74,470 AVERAGE EARNINGS PER NORTHEAST OHIO MANUFACTURING JOB IN 2017.

SOURCE: EMSI 2018 data, provided by Cuyahoga Community College.

For more information about custom publishing opportunities, please contact Amy Ann Stoessel.

Our very own Kim Humphreys helps pave our path every day. In a company of pioneers, that’s saying something. Congratulations Kim, on being named a “Notable Woman in Manufacturing” Some companies avoid the unknown. At Avery Dennison, it’s where we’re most comfortable. Instead of resting on what’s been done, we continually seek the next breakthrough in materials science and process manufacturing.

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CRAINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Top Patent Recipients in Ohio

Top Patent Recipients Recipients in in Ohio Ohio Ranked by total patents patents issued issued from from

11 --

Ranked by total patents issued from 2015-2017

PATENTS ISSUED PATENTS ISSUED

PATENTS ISSUED THIS THIS YEAR ORGANI ATION BUSINESS UNIT (1) YEAR ORGANI ATION BUSINESS UNIT (1)

1 2 3

& Gamble Co., Cincinnati 1 ProcterProcter & Gamble Co., Cincinnati www.pg.com

2 3

TOTAL 1 - 1 1,287

www.pg.com Eaton, Beachwood 643 Eaton, Beachwood www.eaton.com www.eaton.com Rockwell Automation Technologies Inc., Mayfield Heights 469 Rockwell Automation Technologies Inc., Mayfield Heights www.rockwellautomation.com www.rockwellautomation.com Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc., Cincinnati 278 Ethiconwww.ethicon.com Endo-Surgery Inc., Cincinnati Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake LLC, Elyria www.ethicon.com www.foundationbrakes.com Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Akron 247 Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Akron www.goodyear.com PolyOne Corp., Avon Lake www.goodyear.com www.polyone.com Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland 206 Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland www.clevelandclinic.org Vertiv, Columbus www.clevelandclinic.org www.vertivco.com PPG Industries Ohio Inc., Cleveland 175 PPG Industries Ohio Inc., Cleveland www.ppg.com Ohio University, Athens www.ppg.com www.ohio.edu Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland 167 Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland www.case.edu Ferro Corp., Mayfield Heights www.case.edu www.ferro.com Parker Hannifin Corp., Mayfield Heights 165 Parker Hannifin Corp., Mayfield Heights www.parker.com Invacare Corp., Elyria www.parker.com www.invacare.com The Lubri ol Corp., Wickliffe 162 www.lubrizol.com The Lubri ol Corp., Wickliffe Kent State University, Kent www.lubrizol.com www.kent.edu Nordson Corp., Westlake www.nordson.com 153 Nordson Corp., Westlake AtriCure Inc., Mason www.nordson.com www.atricure.com Ohio State University, Columbus www.osu.edu 143 Ohio State University, Columbus Babcock & Wilcox, Barberton www.osu.edu www.babcock.com Emerson Climate Technologies Inc., Sidney www.emersonclimate.com 111 Emerson Climate Technologies Inc., Sidney Sirrus Inc., Loveland www.emersonclimate.com www.sirruschemistry.com Diebold Nixdorf, North Canton 104 Dieboldwww.dieboldnixdorf.com Nixdorf, North Canton Rambus Delaware LLC, Brecksville www.dieboldnixdorf.com www.rambus.com Teradata Corp., Dayton www.teradata.com 104 Teradata Corp., Dayton LexisNexis, Miamisburg www.teradata.com www.lexisnexis.com Dana Inc., Maumee www.dana.com 97 Dana Inc., Maumee Sherwin-Williams Co., Cleveland www.dana.com www.sherwin.com Go o Industries Inc., Akron www.go Inc., o.com 95 Go o Industries Akron Molten Metal Equipment Innovations LLC, Middlefield www.gojo.com www.mmei-inc.com University of Akron, Akron www.uakron.edu 94 University of Akron, Akron The Timken Co., North Canton www.uakron.edu www.timken.com GE Lighting, East Cleveland www.gelighting.com 87 GE Lighting, East Cleveland Unverferth Manufacturing Company Inc., Kalida www.gelighting.com www.unverferth.com Nanotek Instruments Inc., Dayton http://nanotekinstruments.com 82 Nanotek Instruments Inc., Dayton Swagelok Co., Solon http://nanotekinstruments.com www.swagelok.com Owens Corning, Toledo www.owenscorning.com 82 Owens Corning, Toledo Velocys Inc., Plain City www.owenscorning.com www.velocys.com First Solar Inc., Perrysburg www.firstsolar.com 76 First Solar Inc., Perrysburg GrafTech International Ltd., Brooklyn Heights www.firstsolar.com www.graftech.com Devicor Medical Products Inc., Cincinnati 68 Devicorwww.mammotome.com Medical Products Inc., Cincinnati The Hillman Group Inc., Cincinnati www.mammotome.com www.hillmangroup.com Owens-Illinois Inc., Perrysburg www.o-i.com 66 Owens-Illinois Inc., Perrysburg CardioInsight Technologies Inc., Independence www.o-i.com www.medtronic.com University of Toledo, Toledo www.utoledo.edu 61 University of Toledo, Toledo Ferno Washington Inc., Wilmington www.utoledo.edu www.fernointernational.com Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., Solon www.plastics.saint-gobain.com 60 Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., Solon LG Fuel Cell Systems, North Canton www.plastics.saint-gobain.com http://lgcorp.com Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus 59 Battellewww.battelle.org Memorial Institute, Columbus Orbital Research Inc., Cleveland www.battelle.org www.orbitalresearch.com Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC, Elyria www.bendix.com 58 Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC, Elyria Moen Inc., North Olmsted www.bendix.com www.moen.com Crown Equipment Corp., New Bremen www.crown.com 56 Crown Equipment Corp., New Bremen Hunter's Manufacturing Co., Mogadore www.crown.com www.tenpointcrossbows.com Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati www.cincinnatichildrens.org 52 Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati Materion Corp., Mayfield Heights www.cincinnatichildrens.org www.materion.com American Greetings, Westlake www.americangreetings.com 49 American Greetings, Westlake University of Dayton, Dayton www.americangreetings.com https://udayton.edu/ University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati www.uc.edu 43 University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Illinois Tool Works Inc., Troy www.uc.edu www.itw.com Steris, Mentor www.steris.com 43 Steris, Mentor Mac Trailer Manufacturing Inc., Alliance www.steris.com www.mactrailer.com Intelligrated, Mason www.intelligrated.com 41 Intelligrated, Mason Arisdyne Systems Inc., Cleveland www.intelligrated.com www.arisdyne.com Hexion Inc., Columbus 40 Hexion www.hexion.com Inc., Columbus Bertec Corp., Columbus www.hexion.com https://bertec.com MTD Products Inc., alley City www.mtdproducts.com

4 4 39 5 5 40 6 6 41 7 7 42 8 8 43 9 944 10 1045 11 1146 12 1247 13 1348 14 1449 15 1550 16 1651 17 1752 18 1852 19 1954 20 2055 21 2156 22 2257 23 2358 24 2459 25 2560 26 2660 27 2762 28 2863 29 2964 30 3065 31 3166 32 3267 33 3368 34 3469 35 3570 36

THIS TOTAL 1 - 1 YEAR ORGANIZATION/BUSINESS UNIT (1)

TOTAL 1 2015-2017 2017

481

407

399

259

215

169

172

137

160

199

Materion Corp., Mayfield Heights 19 www.materion.com 49

9 16

University of Dayton, Dayton 19 https://udayton.edu/ 43

3 21

Illinois Tool Works Inc., Troy 18 www.itw.com 43

9 16

Mac Trailer Manufacturing Inc., Alliance 18 www.mactrailer.com 41

4 11

Arisdyne Systems Inc.,17 Cleveland www.arisdyne.com 40

9 13

Bertec Corp., Columbus17 https://bertec.com 39

7 16

1,287 481 MTD Products Inc., Valley City www.mtdproducts.com 643 259 Diamond Innovations Inc., Worthington www.hyperion.sandvik.com 469 172 Promerus LLC, Brecksville www.promerus.com 278 23 Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake LLC, Elyria 35 11 www.foundationbrakes.com 247 76 PolyOne Corp., Avon Lake 33 13 www.polyone.com 206 71 Vertiv, Columbus 32 10 www.vertivco.com 175 57 Ohio University, Athens 31 9 www.ohio.edu 167 55 Ferro Corp., Mayfield Heights 29 14 www.ferro.com 165 60 Invacare Corp., Elyria 29 7 www.invacare.com 162 57 Kent State University, Kent 28 8 www.kent.edu 153 49 AtriCure Inc., Mason 28 7 www.atricure.com 143 53 Babcock & Wilcox, Barberton 27 4 www.babcock.com 111 37 Sirrus Inc., Loveland 26 11 www.sirruschemistry.com 104 32 Rambus Delaware LLC, Brecksville 25 11 www.rambus.com 104 29 LexisNexis, Miamisburg 25 9 www.lexisnexis.com 97 41 Sherwin-Williams Co., Cleveland 25 7 www.sherwin.com 95 35 Molten Metal Equipment Innovations LLC, Middlefield 25 5 www.mmei-inc.com 94 49 The Timken Co., North Canton 25 5 www.timken.com 87 42 Unverferth Manufacturing Company Inc., Kalida 24 11 www.unverferth.com 82 36 Swagelok Co., Solon 24 10 www.swagelok.com 82 33 Velocys Inc., Plain City 24 4 www.velocys.com 76 12 GrafTech International Ltd., Brooklyn Heights 23 5 www.graftech.com 68 23 The Hillman Group Inc., Cincinnati 22 10 www.hillmangroup.com 66 23 CardioInsight Technologies Inc., Independence 8 www.medtronic.com 22 61 25 Ferno Washington Inc., Wilmington 22 7 www.fernointernational.com 60 25 LG Fuel Cell Systems, North Canton 22 7 http://lgcorp.com 59 25 Orbital Research Inc., Cleveland 21 13 www.orbitalresearch.com 58 21 Moen Inc., North Olmsted 20 12 www.moen.com 56 22 Hunter's Manufacturing Co., Mogadore 20 4 www.tenpointcrossbows.com 52 19

39 38 36 35 33 32 31 29 29 28 28 27 26 25 25 25 25 25 24 24 24 23 22 22 22 22 21 20 20 19 19 18 18

407 215 137 56 10 75 12 59 15 54 8 59 8 51 9 52 11 57 13 50 14 36 11 32 7 36 5 38 9 25 13 25 4 27 5 23 5 26 11 34 11 28 7 20 10 23 10 18 7 20 4 18 NA 13 10 20

1 2016

2015

399 14

169 11

160 16

11 13 10 9 14 7 8 7 4 11 11 9 7 5 5 11 10 4 5 10 8 7 7 13 12 4

199 10 14 96 12 8 76 15 7 64 8 14 53 8 7 54 9 13 53 11 9 47 13 8 40 14 9 38 11 4 40 7 7 39 5 11 18 9 9 35 13 7 20 4 16 18 5 8 23 5 9 23 11 9 30 11 7 17 7 5 23 10 4 13 10 5 17 7 8 14 4 4 19 NA 8 21 10 6 13

14 8 7 14 7 13 9 8 9 4 7 11 9 7 16 8 9 9 7 5 4 5 8 4 8 6

7 3 22

5 11 11

2 7 15

7 7 12

7 16

71 11

5 14

55 9

7 11 5 11 2 12 7 18

RESEARCHED BY CHUCK SODER (CSODER@CRAIN.COM)

38 11 11 16 Diamond Innovations Inc., Worthington Companies with www.hyperion.sandvik.com the same three year total are ranked by patents issued in 2017. Not every patent may be included because organizations sometimes file them under names of obscure subsidiaries. Patent numbers may not match

numbers published on previous lists due to differences in how patents are counted, delays in assigning patents to organizations, patent portfolio sales and other factors. Send feedback to Chuck Soder: csoder@crain.com. Promerus Brecksville (1) Source: U.S. Patent andLLC, Trademark Office; compiled by Ocean Tomo LLC, an intellectual property services firm in Chicago.

www.promerus.com

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

BETTING

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Or it may end up legalized by a vote on a state constitutional amendment, like the one that created casino gambling in 2009. In any event, it’s looking like it will take until at least 2020 before Ohioans can place sports bets in the state. By that time residents in many, and perhaps a majority, of the states around Ohio will be placing legal sports bets. That prospect disappoints Jay Masurekar, head of gaming and travel investment banking at KeyBanc Capital Markets in Cleveland. “We always seem to do something at the end, after everybody else did it,” he said. “(Sports betting) is happening, it’s a given that it’s happening across the country.” He would have preferred that Ohio lead, which he believes would have maximized the tax revenue for the state, “instead of waiting for everybody else to play it out and then try to get a small piece of whatever remains.” Masurekar said that’s the scenario that played out with casino gambling. By the time Ohio’s casinos started opening in 2012, many bettors, particularly those who live near the state borders, already were in the habit of crossing the state line to gamble and thus weren’t inclined to switch their allegiance to an Ohio casino that was as far, or even farther, away. As a result, their heavily taxed gambling losses benefited the budgets of Pennsylvania or Michigan, not Ohio. On May 14, the Supreme Court agreed with the state of New Jersey and overturned the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which prevented the spread of sports betting in the United States. That returned authority over sports betting to the states. “When you look at sports betting, nearly 20 states introduced or passed legislation this year,” said Casey Clark, vice president of strategic communi-

Full-scale sports betting began at Dover Downs Hotel and Casino in Dover, Del., last month. It’s doubtful Ohio will soon follow Delaware, the first state aside from Nevada to legalize sports betting. (Bloomberg)

cations for the American Gaming Association (AGA). “A lot of those happened even before the court ruled, so there were a lot of states anticipating a positive result from the court.” Already, casinos and racetracks in two states, New Jersey and Delaware, have started to accept bets on sporting events. Four other states — Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia — are expected to join the club before the end of the year. Other states, including every other state bordering Ohio, have legislation in the works. In Ohio, legislators in both houses have introduced one-sentence, placeholding legislation, that express the intent to enact a sports wagering bill. State Sen. John Eklund, a Munson Township Republican, who is co-sponsoring legislation with state Sen. Sean O’Brien, a Trumbull County Democrat, said he doesn’t think legislators yet understand what legalization means and how it might work best in Ohio. He hopes to gather information over the summer to flesh out a bill that can pass before the session ends in December. “I think the outlook is ‘guarded optimism,’” he said. “I think we can get it right.”

Others are not so certain. “I don’t think we’ll be an early adopter,” said David Robinson, a former legislator now an economic development attorney and consultant with the Montrose Group. “Unless they can figure out a revenue model that produces a lot of money.” He said the Legislature could tax sports bets like a sales tax on each bet, or it could use the casino taxing mode. The state of Ohio levies a 33% tax on a casino’s gross revenue, and after winners are paid. A study by the AGA of the potential of sports betting estimates Ohio would gain $13.4 million a year in state revenue from a tax on sports

betting. By comparison, the Ohio Casino Control Commission collected $265.5 million in tax revenue in 2017, or 33% of the total amount wagered. Complicating the situation, though, is both the history of sports wagering and the impact of technology on the future. Betting on sports has a long, if illegal, history of transactions through independent businessmen, bookmakers, by phone. In addition, New York has had neighborhood, off-track-betting parlors for horse racing since the 1970s. That has Rick Lertzman, who was involved with several of the attempts to amend the constitution to bring casino gambling to Ohio a decade ago, thinking about a constitutional amendment in 2019. Lertzman plans a November 2019 ballot issue that would bring sports betting to bars and bowling alleys, in the same way that the Ohio Lottery Commission brought keno to those establishments. “The Legislature is a do-nothing Legislature,” he said. “The only way to do it is to amend the constitution. It should not be left to the monopolies (the casino and racino operators) that now run the state.” His proposal wouldn’t preclude the casinos from running sports betting operations, he said, “but we would open it up to a lot of establishments that already have liquor licenses or do Keno statewide.” Technology, though, is likely over the long term to have a greater im-

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pact on placing bets. Although it has been illegal to run online or mobile phone betting operations in the United States and for bettors to use their U.S. credit cards to place bets, the rest of the sporting world has moved its wagering online. And online sports books like FanDuel, which is owned by an Irish firm, are moving in. FanDuel already operates legal fantasy sports operations in the United States. Now it is teaming up with New Jersey’s Meadowlands Racetrack to operate its sports betting parlor and online operation. That may be the future of sports betting in Ohio and elsewhere, said Jake Williams, head of legal for Sportradar US, which is a subsidiary of a Swiss sports data and technology firm. Sportrader provides sports data to many sports leagues and also offers bookmakers information services including oddsmaking. “The main issue in the U.S. is that all sports betting will be attached to current casino operations where everything is done inside the gaming facility," Williams said. "If you want to play craps you go to the casino. Around the world, generally, you don’t need a physical gaming facility” for sports betting. So, he said, adding sports betting would involve subcontract to an existing online sports book with the state-licensed casino operator responsible for tracking the dollars wagered and collecting the taxes for the state.

Crain Content Studio-Cleveland will highlight accomplished women within Northeast Ohio’s real estate sector in a special custom section September 17.

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

AKRON

ArtsNow looks to bolster business ties By JUDY STRINGER clbfreelancer@crain.com

Having spent the better part of three years coaxing Summit County’s diverse population of arts and culture organizations and individual artists to think and behave as a unified sector of the local economy, Nicole Mullet, the industrious executive director of ArtsNow, is ready to focus her attention on the next step in bolstering the county’s creative community: getting businesses on board. “Candidly, we have not seen the turnaround in giving to the arts that others have seen in terms of social services since the recession,” Mullet said. “We are now in good place to begin to tell the story of why we are an important resource.” That “story” is grounded in the philosophy that cultural amenities are a critical ingredient in the formula to create the kind of vibrant downtowns, neighborhoods and public spaces that draw not only visitors and tourism dollars, but talented workers, who — in turn — will attract new businesses or business investments, or perhaps start their own. “If you think about communities where you want to visit or where today’s graduating seniors say they are going to move to, they are communities where there has been an investment in the arts and culture sector,” she said. Of course, corporate arts investment is not a new idea. While hard data is unavailable, Mullet said a 2013 study of Summit County’s arts and cultural assets — a study that ultimately gave rise to ArtsNow — found that local giving historically has mirrored what was happening across the U.S. Nationally, private support of arts organizations by individuals, foundations and corporations grew in the 1980s and ’90s but fell sharply following the dot.com bust and 9/11 terrorist attacks. Buoyed by an expanding economy, arts funding has picked up again over the past couple of years. In June, Giving USA released its latest annual snapshot of charitable donations. In 2017, according to the study, private sector giving to the arts rose to $19.5 billion, an 8.7% increase from 2016. This marked the sixth consecutive year of growth and makes

The Akron Art Museum receives substantial corporate support — receiving a $1.1 million gift from the J.M. Smucker Co. — but the nonprofit arts advocacy group ArtsNow wants to begin to communicate to more Akron businesses that a vibrant arts community is a good resource for the city. (Shane Wynn for AkronStock)

2017 the highest arts contribution year ever, even when adjusted for inflation, the study said. Emily Peck, vice president of private sector initiatives for the New York Citybased Americans for the Arts, said that trend data jibes with what her organization is hearing from U.S. businesses. In its most recent national survey of corporate giving, 45% of business respondents said they increased their arts support between 2013 and 2016. Peck said corporate giving in recent years has changed not only in terms of increased investments, but also the motivation behind those dollars. Companies gave in the 1980s and ’90s, “because it was considered a good thing to do,” she said. Today, giving is more strategic and closely aligned with corporate values and goals. “During the recession when companies were cutting back on their giving, it also gave them an opportunity to think about what they were doing and why there were doing it,” Peck said. “A lot of companies are now looking for investments that also make sense for the company strategically in addition to benefiting the arts organizations they are partnering with.”

Not ‘seeing the bump’ Despite a broader expansion of corporate support, the Greater Akron arts community is “not seeing the bump in private giving following the last recession,” Mullet said. One complicating factor has been the area’s own growth when it comes to civic and cultural amenities, according to Christine Amer Mayer, president of GAR Foundation, a longtime philanthropic partner to the arts. “Back in the ‘good old days,’ you can envision a giant like Goodyear knowing it ought to support the Akron Art Museum and the symphony, and maybe a handful of others,” Mayer said, “but it bares noting that the landscape is very different now. There are so many different art organizations today, not to mention a host of other very worthy causes that fall beyond the arts.” Akron Civic Theatre executive director Harold Parr said that many times that meant “there were basically 100 different arts or cultural organizations all talking to the business community independently, and from the business community’s perspective

that did not instill a lot of confidence.” ArtsNow was launched in 2015, Parr said, in part to provide a single point of contact and advocacy voice for local arts interests. That is not to say that the Akron art scene does not have its corporate cheerleaders. The J.M. Smucker Co. ranks high on that list. After decades of supporting the Cleveland Orchestra, CEO Mark Smucker said the Orville company (and he personally) started giving to the Akron Art Museum beginning in about 2008 when he joined the museum’s board of directors. The company announced its largest commitment — a $1.1 million gift — to the museum in October. “Our philosophy is simple,” said Smucker, who is an Akron resident and a fifth-generation family member to run the 120-year-old company. “We want to improve the quality of life in the communities in which we live, and we see supporting the arts as an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to enriching our communities through education.” Mustard Seed Market and Café is another prominent Akron arts backer. For several years, the company has

used a professional art curator to choose displays of local artists’ works in its restaurants, hired local musicians and deejays to perform at company and community events, and commissioned Akron artists to create artwork for reusable shopping bags, for example, and pieces above the fireplace in its Highland Square café. The regional grocer’s chief operating officer, Jon Fiume, said founders Margaret and Phillips Nabors recognize the company was built with community support and view local arts support as a way to “give back.” Fiume, an ArtsNow board member, also cites a link between the arts and what he calls “economic vibrancy” as an impetus for the company’s investments. “Typically when you see those communities that have a strong arts and culture scene, they tend to be in a little better shape economically as well,” Fiume said, “and that ties into the attraction of talent and retention.” According to Mullet and Fiume, Huntington Bank is in the discovery phase of an Akron arts investment as part of its neighborhood-building initiative. Meanwhile, Parr reports that corporate support for the Civic has almost completely rebounded since the recession. The gifts are more modest, in general, but from a larger donor base that includes many small and medium-sized companies. Still, arts advocates admit they have a long way to go when it comes to capturing the hearts and minds of area businesses. Mullet thinks part of the answer lies in better communicating how the arts can help build healthier communities and/or address community issues, including those that impact business. Kent State student Emelia Sherin’s nationally renowned play exploring heroin addiction is a recent example, she said. Greater encouragement, however — at least from a business perspective — likely comes back to the idea of economic vibrancy. “Think of it just in terms of keeping our Kent State and University of Akron students or getting other students to boomerang back here after graduation,” Mullet said. “If we want talent to stay here, we have to give them more to do than going to work, going to the gym and going home. We have to give them a community that they want to live in.”

Americhem builds base in India with acquisition By FRANK ESPOSITO fesposito@crain.com

Americhem Inc.’s recent acquisition of Indian materials firm Prescient Color Ltd. is the next step in the firm’s global strategy, according to CEO Matthew Hellstern. Cuyahoga Falls-based Americhem announced the deal on June 1. Prescient is based in Pune, India, and makes textile and specialty masterbatch concentrates for markets including synthetic fibers. No sale price was announced for the transaction. “Acquisitions are going to be key for us, along with organic growth,” Hellstern said in a recent interview with Plastics News. “India is a fast-growing region. The Indian middle class continues to expand. “We have customers moving into that region and we want to move with

Americhem CEO Matthew Hellstern speaks at the NPE2018 trade show in May in Orlando, Fla. (Michael A. Marcotte)

them. [Prescient] also is focused on fibers, just like we are.” Hellstern added that Americhem is impressed with technology that

Prescient has developed and plans to merge some of it with its own core competencies and technologies. Prescient was incorporated in

2006 and initially operated in a small plant of its parent company, Sudarshan Chemical Industries Ltd. Prescient acquired its own site in 2008. Most of Prescient’s products are based on polypropylene and PET. Its key markets applications are fibers and non-wovens used in apparel, upholstery, automotive interiors and carpets. The Prescient deal is Americhem’s fourth acquisition since 2013. At the recent NPE2018 trade show in Florida, company officials announced that the firms had placed three recent acquisitions under the Americhem name. Between 2013 and 2016, Americhem acquired Infinity Compounding, LTL Color Compounders and ViChem Corp. Those units had continued to operate under their own corporate names, but now they will all be under the Americhem umbrella.

Americhem also will add a new compounding line at its plant in Suzhou, China, by the end of the year. The new line will focus on making soft-touch materials. Americhem’s Indian customers previously had been served from Suzhou, Hellstern said, but now will be able to source materials from the plant in Pune. Hellstern joined Americhem in February. He has almost 30 years of specialty chemicals experience, including stints with W.R. Grace & Co. and BASF SE. Americhem is one of North America’s 30 largest compounders and concentrate makers, according to Plastics News data. The firm operates 10 plants worldwide and has annual sales of almost $300 million. Esposito is a reporter with Plastics News, a sister publication of Crain’s Cleveland Business.

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

PEARL

At a glance

JOBSOHIO

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

“Our financial plan was seed money from the family. Also from the Pearl East. And sincerely, from the second month, we were in the black. We have been blessed with good business,” Hwang said. The Rocky River location’s most challenging period was about a dozen years ago, when Hwang launched a major remodeling in 2005-2006. Revenue at the Beachcliff Market Place location dropped by about half, he said, “but we sustained all the expenses. I did not let one person go.” Still, Northeast Ohio’s changing dining scene had an impact. Sushi grew in prominence as a craveable alternative. Vietnamese, Thai and other Southeast Asian restaurants seem to open routinely. And Hwang said an influx of new immigrants from the Fu Chow area of China has yielded new generation of “all-youcan-eat” style buffets that draw scores of customers day and night. Responding to modern tastes caused George and his wife, Lily Yao Hwang, to expand the menu at Pearl West. First they added a sushi bar and installed a chef artful in raw seafood preparations. They then gradually integrated a few other Asian dishes, primarily Vietnamese and Thai specialties, into the menu. “My chef has been here 29 years of my 34 years in business, and he was born in Vietnam, so he can prepare good Chinese and Vietnamese dishes,” George Hwang said. “I feel that to market a restaurant today, we need more — a different — customer base. With a wider variety of foods, cuisines, we can attract [a broader] customer base here.” Menu expansion can prove a delicate balance. Many large-scale operations grow their offerings to such bloated dimensions that few are really well prepared. Does such an increase risk the watering down of quality? “Not really,” Hwang said. “Our sushi preparation is completely separate from our hot kitchen. And our Thai and Vietnamese dishes, we have

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Pearl of the Orient West (pictured): Beachcliff Market Square, 19300 Detroit Road, Rocky River; 440-333-9902, pearlwest.com. Pearl Asian Kitchen: Van Aken District, 20060 Van Aken Blvd., Shaker Heights; 216-751-8181; pearlshaker.com.

maybe 12 items out of 150. So it’s not really affecting our Chinese operation. But it does have appeal to many of our customers.” As for the future of Pearl West, Hwang plans to keep the rudder steady and maintain his restaurant’s reputation for quality. It routinely appears on an array of “best of Northeast Ohio” lists and is a staple on the benefit scene, playing a prominent role in major events such as Taste of the Browns, Market at the Food Bank and others fundraisers. But the Hwangs don’t anticipate their children stepping into the family business. Daughter Jacqueline works as a certified public accountant for Price Waterhouse in New York City. Son Vincent just graduated from Tufts University and is on course to earn a master’s degree from the school. “I remember a friend of mine whose family owns an Italian restaurant saying, “George, when I was a kid, my dad came home and he had a load of cash and we’d sit around the table and count all the money. But now there are dozens of Italian restaurants on the West Side.’ These days, the same goes for Chinese restaurants. We do well. But, frankly, the business is not what it used to be.”

At the board meeting, the organization outlined its ambitions for attracting new health care businesses to the state — an industry that, probably more than coincidentally, is the focus of the Global Center. “Our ambition is to make Ohio one of the great health care clusters in the U.S.,” manager director Aaron Pitts told the board and visitors. Health care and the biosciences make one of the nine industry sectors on which JobsOhio focuses. In 2017, it helped biohealth businesses that invested $288 million in Ohio operations that created 4,139 new jobs. Its other focus industries are advanced manufacturing, aerospace and aviation, automotive, energy and chemicals, financial services, food and agribusiness, information technology and logistics and distribution. All are industries that sell their products and services to individuals and businesses across the world. Later, at the Crain’s office, John Minor Jr., JobsOhio’s president and CEO, touted the organization’s successes, acknowledged some areas that need improvement and, using a “performance assessment” JobsOhio commissioned from management consultant McKinsey & Co., identified ways JobsOhio could boost the state’s economy beyond simply offering financial incentives to businesses looking for a place to grow. “We wanted McKinsey to come up with opportunities, or areas for us to improve, to enhance our performance,” Minor said. “They also identified certain areas where JobsOhio should consider elevating its impact — we talked about talent, we talked about sites (as well as) infrastructure.” The ability of a state or community to attract the kind of talented job candidates a company will need has moved to the top of the list for most companies when they evaluate moves. The issue of sites has been especially a concern in the older cities of Northeast Ohio, which have lit-

REAL ESTATE

Phone: (216) 771-5276 KateCalcaterra Rozek Contact: Lynn E-mail: CLBClassified@crain.com INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

tle open land for large business expansion yet also have growing inventories of abandoned, often environmentally contaminated industrial properties — brownfield sites that, if cleared, could be attractive. JobsOhio has helped clean up brownfield sites, but generally only those where an end user already has committed to move. The older cities of Northeast Ohio would like JobsOhio to invest with the cities to clean up sites before an end user is committed, since many expanding businesses can’t wait a year or two for a cleanup. Minor said his organization has tried to be more flexible but is reluctant to risk its money on sites that could sit unused. Minor said he believes JobsOhio could help develop infrastructure that would make parts of the state more attractive to new businesses but offered no specifics. He conceded that the dollars needed to shore up the state’s infrastructure — its roads, bridges, sewers and ports — dwarf JobsOhio’s financial capacity. While it was not directly acknowledged, the commissioning of the McKinsey assessment appears to be a response to calls for more public scrutiny of JobsOhio by state government. Both candidates for governor, Democrat Richard Cordray and Republican Mike DeWine, and state auditor Dave Yost, a Republican who is running for state attorney general, have all made greater scrutiny of JobsOhio’s finances and its dealings with businesses campaign issues. The legislation that created JobsOhio exempted it from public-records laws and Yost has pressed for several years for the right to regularly audit the organization’s books. A bill he supports recently passed the state senate that included an amendment to authorize the state auditor to do what’s called a performance audit that would examine efficiency and effectiveness of a program. It still needs approval by the House of Representatives and Kasich’s signature to become law. Board chairman James Boland also pointed out that the new governor in 2019 will appoint five new

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members to JobsOhio’s nine-member board. “Everybody over there is nervous with the governor’s election coming up,” said an economic development officer who was working with JobsOhio on a project earlier this year. “They seemed concerned about what the future might hold.” That official, though, said his work with JobsOhio was productive. “I’ve been impressed with the marketing, the outreach to other areas, to other countries,” he said. “And I saw that the McKinsey report said they do it fairly efficiently.” McKinsey ranked JobsOhio among the top five in a group of 17 state economic development organizations it used for comparison. The study included similar economic development organizations in all of its Midwest peers as well as organizations in faster growing states such as California, Florida and Texas. It ranked among the top three in jobs it had a hand in creating (through site selection assistance and financial incentives) during the 2013-2017 period and in the top five in the number of deals in which it was involved over the time span. Tim Bartik, senior economist at the W.J. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo, Mich., said in a tweet that the McKinsey report provides some useful analysis of Ohio’s strengths and weaknesses, and some analysis of JobsOhio data transparency. “But this report does not in any way provide an impact evaluation or a performance assessment or a benefit-cost analysis of how the world differs with JobsOhio’s various programs, versus a world without those programs,” he wrote. “We need better performance standards for economic development evaluation reports.” For their part, JobsOhio’s leaders believe that accountability and transparency are “bywords” of the organization and, said Don Grubbs, JobsOhio’s general counsel, “We have worked hard to let the public know what we do and how we do it, while still protecting the confidentiality of pending projects” with site-seeking businesses.

CRAIN'S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

JULY 23, 2018

PAGE 29

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

ADVERTISING SECTION

www.crainscleveland.com/onthemove

To place your listing or for more information, please call Debora Stein at (917) 226-5470 or email dstein@crain.com

CONSULTING

MBA

WEATHERHEAD SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

weatherhead.case.edu

LAW

FINANCE

LAW Howard L. Wernow Partner

Sand and Sebolt, LPA

Doug Campbell

Joseph Calabrese

Lynn Rowe Larsen

Amanda H. Wilcox

Managing Director

Vice President of Treasury Management

Partner

Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP

Lynn Rowe Larsen has joined Taft as a partner in the Litigation group. She is experienced in commercial litigation, bankruptcy, and restructuring and creditors’ rights matters. Lynn represents global companies and closely-held entities in business disputes, including breach of contract, UCC commercial claims, licensing, sales commission claims, and shareholder disputes. Lynn also represents sports and media clients in contract disputes. Her J.D. is from Wake Forest University School of Law.

Amanda H. Wilcox has joined Taft as a partner in the Intellectual Property group. She counsels clients in all areas of intellectual property and is experienced in the procurement and enforcement of intellectual property rights for companies, large and small, in the U.S. and internationally. She also has significant experience in the IP aspects of business transactions. Her J.D. is from the University of Toledo College of Law. She also has a B.S. in Biochemistry from Miami University.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Inglewood Associates LLC Doug Campbell will head up Inglewood’s manufacturing consulting arm and be involved with strategy execution, operations excellence and lean supply chain management initiatives. Campbell has experience in S&OP, CRM, ERP, supply chain development & lean tools implementation. Campbell comes to Inglewood Associates with 10 years of private equity experience at Resilience Capital. Prior to that, Campbell was the vice president of manufacturing at Excello Engineered Systems.

ADVERTISING & MARKETING

TriState Capital Bank Joseph Calabrese will be responsible for driving strategic initiatives, as well as growing revenue through new clients and expanding relationships of current clients for TriState Capital Bank’s Ohio regional office.

ADVERTISING & MARKETING

Alyson Fieldman

Matt Seitz

Director of Marketing

Director of Strategic Marketing

Skoda Minotti Skoda Minotti is pleased to announce that Alyson Fieldman has been appointed director of marketing. Fieldman will lead and oversee marketing, business development and communications strategies for the firm. Fieldman possesses more than 15 years of experience in professional services marketing. As director of marketing for Skoda Minotti, she will work closely with leadership to set the firm’s marketing strategy in order to grow the business and its service lines.

Skoda Minotti Skoda Minotti is pleased to announce the promotion of Matt Seitz to director of strategic marketing. Seitz works with clients to understand their marketing goals and objectives, then develops and executes strategic marketing plans. He also heads up Skoda Minotti’s lead generation initiatives. His areas of experience include advertising, branding, content marketing, lead generation, public relations, social media and strategic marketing planning.

Dennis Murphy, CPA, CCA

Jonathan J. Shoop, CPA

Principal

Partner

Skoda Minotti

Skoda Minotti is pleased to announce the promotion of Dennis Murphy, CPA, CCA, to principal. Murphy devotes approximately half of his time to auditing construction contractors, where he routinely reviews and tests contracts, pay applications, change orders and job costs. Additionally, he assists clients who deal in cryptocurrency, such as receiving payment in bitcoin and paying employees in bitcoin. Murphy sits on the Executive Committee of the firm’s Real Estate and Construction Group.

Skoda Minotti is pleased to announce the promotion of Jonathan J. Shoop, CPA, to partner. Jon leads the firm’s Manufacturing and Distribution Group. His experience includes over 15 years in accounting, working both in accounting firms and client-side at a multinational manufacturer. His areas of expertise include business advisory services, internal and external audit and attest services, buy/sell due diligence and technical accounting consultations, and performing cost studies/margin analyses.

Sand & Sebolt, LPA is pleased to announce that Howard Wernow has been named a partner in the firm. Mr. Wenow provides intellectual property counsel to clients from Fortune 500 firms to individual entrepreneurs, both domestically and internationally. He represents clients in federal patent and trademark litigation and participates in adversarial proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office for Appeals and and Inter Partes Review proceedings.

LAW Jessica Wright Associate

Dworken & Bernstein Co., LPA Jessica Wright has recently joined Dworken & Bernstein as an associate in our Domestic Relations practice area. She focuses her practice on all aspects of family law including divorce, dissolution, child custody, visitation, child support, adoption, domestic violence protection orders, and post-decree actions.

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Source Lunch

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Debbie Donley

Principal, Vocon

Donley is tough to schedule for lunch these days. She spends a lot of time in New York City, where Cleveland's fifth-largest architecture firm is making headway. The founding principal of Vocon, who launched the company at 23, now heads a powerhouse whose name pops up in Northeast Ohio on everything from designing office space and corporate headquarters to apartment buildings and stores. Its clients range from Goodyear to Rising Star Coffee Roasters. She speaks engagingly about what makes offices work or fail for companies as well as the people who work in those offices. Her Cleveland roots are deep, and she prizes them. She is a great example of work-life balance; She speaks seamlessly on topics ranging from design and business to her kids and family. Asked to identify her role models, she cites other high-profile women in business: Beth Mooney, CEO of KeyCorp, and Laura Thompson, Goodyear's chief financial officer. Donley is a tireless networker with a keen sense of where business is going, and not just in terms of design. — Stan Bullard

Five things What would you do if you did not run a design firm? I'd be a matchmaker or TV host.

Favorite vacation destination? Vero Beach, Fla.

What do you read for pleasure? People magazine so I have something to talk about with my girl friends.

Drive-time listen The Highway on Sirius XM for country music

Favorite place in Cleveland Lake Erie. We brought our boat down from Canada for the first time this year. Until you are out on it, you don't realize how big it is. It's a real asset for the region.

What is the hardest thing about growing an architectural firm? People are the soul of an architectural firm. Without people we simply don’t exist. Many in our profession have forgotten that one simple yet critical rule and the profession has pivoted in a direction that is void of authentic, real relationships that make a project truly special. Finding people who share our passion for relationships and architecture requires patience and discipline and can often mean that growth is a slower, more deliberate process. I’m OK with that. How much of the firm’s work in terms of revenue in Northeast Ohio and how much from the rest of the U.S.? Half of our work is outside Ohio, and 35% is in Northeast Ohio. Another 15% is in the balance of Ohio. Was anyone a mentor to you in business? I am blessed to have grown up in a family business (The Voinovich Cos; Vocon was launched separately by Donley) so as I always describe it, every family meal was more or less a mentoring session. There were celebrations and there were some really tough times discussed over meatloaf in South Euclid, and I think a few lessons always stuck with me … and will be the title of my book some day: "Stay Humble, Always be Grateful, Work Very Hard and Always Remember that God has a Plan.”

Lunch spot The Marble Room 623 Euclid Ave., Cleveland

The meal One had sushi, asking the chef to use avocado. The other had a Caesar salad with grilled chicken. Both drank Diet Coke.

The vibe On Mondays, the place is quiet for lunch, a big change from the evenings. The quiet makes it a great location for a lunch meeting. The former banking lobby has so much architectural detail, it's like dining in a museum.

The bill $ 58.60 with tip

How has the firm’s New York office worked out? It’s been an incredible journey. We’ve been in the city since 2010 and have grown our team to 60 people, which is exciting. I think it’s our Midwest values and work ethic along with being a “new voice” in the city’s design community that have contributed to our success. Our early relationship with WeWork (the big co-working provider) and other global organizations who are challenging conventional paradigms continues to fuel our growth. Our Cleveland office continues to thrive as well, with 110 team members right here in Northeast Ohio. How did you wind up working with WeWork? Our New York principal, Lance Amato, had a relationship with a

key person at WeWork. It evolved from there. We did a lot of work for them when most of the world had no idea who they were. At this point, we’ve provided architectural services for over 100 projects for WeWork and 35 that are active today. WeWork has locations in 24 U.S. cities and others around the world. Will they ever come to Cleveland? We hope so. Do you think the open office environment movement will ever die? Open office planning has certainly gotten a bad rap, as this workplace trend drew complaints for noise, interruption and employee dissatisfaction. It’s true — there can be a downside to the open office concept when an individual’s needs for privacy, focus, collaboration, socialization and learning aren’t considered. However, that doesn’t mean the open office isn’t effective. Rather the best approach considers the desired experience of its inhabitants — both the individual and groups. You work in so many other cities around the country, what is your perspective on the economic situation in Cleveland? I am the greatest Cleveland cheerleader. I’m Cleveland born and raised. But I’m also a realist. There’s been a lot of window-dressing in Cleveland. It’s been wonderful. But we need to look behind the curtain and deal with some of the more serious issues facing our community today. We need new and a more diverse range of voices at the leadership table in Cleveland. We must stop talking about problems and actually do something. What is it like to be a woman who leads a business where both women and men are trying to get ahead? As a parent of a boy and two girls, I want them all to succeed, and I take that to the workplace. What’s the most important thing when you interview a job candidate? Prompt, personal follow up. That does not mean email.

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