Crain's Grand Rapids Business, Oct 16, 2023

CRAINSGRANDRAPIDS.COM I OCTOBER 16, 2023

Corewell Health details Grand Rapids master plan THEY’RE ALREADY ACCOMPLISHED, BUT AREN’T DONE YET. MEET THEM. PAGE 19

Monroe North campus would raze buildings for surface parking and include housing

By Kate Carlson and Mark Sanchez

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JUSTIN RAZMUS

Corewell Health plans to demolish five aging, unoccupied buildings in Grand Rapids’ Monroe North neighborhood and turn them into surface parking lots and green space that would become part of a broader development.

The health system filed a request for special land use approval from the Grand Rapids Planning Commission to carry out its Corewell Health Place North Monroe Campus Master Plan, which includes developing housing for medical residents and fellows, as well as a market-rate housing project.

“These proposed plans allow us to develop residential housing for Corewell Health graduate medical residents and fellows in the near future. The proposed housing will allow residents to live within a walkable distance to the medical center and will help Corewell Health attract top talent to West Michigan,” the health system said in a written statement to Crain’s Grand Rapids Business.

Corewell Health intends the proposed parking and some of the housing in the master plan to serve its eight-story, $100 million Center for Transformation and Innovation office tower that’s under construction in the neighborhood north of downtown.

The new parking lots will “replace displaced parking to support the Corewell Health Place campus and align with our long-term development plan for Monroe North,” the health system said.

Corewell Health previously said the Center for Transformation and Innovation will consolidate about 1,200 employees from 24 offices across West Michigan. Plans for the center also include two parking decks.

According to city documents, Corewell Health proposes to demolish buildings at 648 Bond Ave., 647 Ottawa Ave., 637 Ottawa Ave., 700 Ottawa Ave., and 711 Ionia Ave. NW. Four See COREWELL on Page 44

Construction continues on Corewell Health’s eight-story Center for Transformation and Innovation office tower that will be the centerpiece of the health system’s Monroe North campus. | KATE CARLSON VOL. 40, NO. 21 l COPYRIGHT 2023 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. l ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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FINANCE Study finds state ranks fourth in loss of bank branches

REAL ESTATE Artists list custom ‘organic modern’ home in Ada woods

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LG Energy to invest an additional $3B at Holland plant New Toyota contract prompts the expansion

By Kurt Nagl

“many of them didn’t go back to the branches when the pandemic lessened,” Tumin said.

Among the 190 metropolitan areas in the U.S. with at least 250,000 residents, Flint ranked second nationally with the closing of 21.7% of all full-service and retail bank offices in the market.

Lansing ranked sixth in the U.S. at 19.6%.

The Grand Rapids area was 16th nationally with 49 office closings that reduced the number of bank branches from 286 to 237 offices, or by 17.1%, according to

LG Energy Solution will invest an additional $3 billion in Michigan to supply Toyota Motor North America Inc. with lithium-ion battery modules for electric vehicles, the companies announced.

The $3 billion expansion is in addition to the $1.7 billion, 1.7 million-square-foot expansion LG is undertaking at its existing manufacturing campus in Holland.

LG said it will establish new production lines for battery cells and modules dedicated to the automaker, with production starting in 2025. The battery modules will be supplied at an annual capacity of 20GWh at the South Korean battery giant’s plant in Holland.

An LG Energy spokesman declined to provide details beyond the news release.

“LGES’s agreement with Toyota, and resulting investment in its Holland facility, cements this region as a leader in battery manufacturing — a reputation earned by dozens of West Michigan companies that make up this region’s battery manufacturing cluster,” Jennifer Owens, president of the Lakeshore Advantage economic development organization that serves Allegan and Ottawa counties, said in a written statement. “This type of investment sets us up to be successful, together, as a region that’s on the map as a place that is future-focused, ripe with opportunity and a magnet for talent.”

The battery modules made on the new lines will be shipped to Toyota Motor Manufacturing

See BANKS on Page 44

See LG ENERGY on Page 44

First Community Bank closed its location on Monroe Center in downtown Grand Rapids and relocated operations to Cascade Township. | JOE BOOMGAARD

Study finds state ranks fourth in loss of bank branches Grand Rapids has seen 49 office closings over three years | By Mark Sanchez Banks in Michigan closed 345 branch offices from 2020 to 2023, as the pandemic drove digital banking to new heights and a major merger led to the closing of redundant locations.

Michigan had more full-service office closings during the threeyear period than most other states, ranking fourth in the nation based on the percentage of branches closed, according to an analysis by online lender LendingTree. The closings from June 2020 to June 2023 reduced the number of bank branches in the state from 2,289 to 1,944 offices, a reduction of 15.1%, which was

more than twice the national rate, per the LendingTree report.

The branch closings furthered a

younger generations, are increasingly banking digitally, said Ken Tumin, a senior banking industry analyst for LendingTree.

“Definitely, the digital age is a big contributor and a longterm trend, and the pandemic accelerated that trend toward digital banking,” Tumin said. “The digital trend is continuing and it’s going to continue.”

The pandemic forced consumers to do their banking online or through their smartphone, and

The Grand Rapids area was 16th nationally with 49 office closings that reduced the number of bank branches from 286 to 237 offices. trend that’s been occurring for two decades and reflects the evolving state of banking where customers today, especially

Soccer stadium plan advances Grand Action 2.0, CAA approve memorandum to build and operate venue

By Kate Carlson

The entertainment authority that oversees major venues in downtown Grand Rapids has approved an agreement to kick off a joint effort with Grand Action 2.0 to build and operate a soccer stadium in Grand Rapids.

The Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority (CAA) board approved the memorandum of understanding with Grand Action 2.0 on Oct. 6. The two-page agreement stipulates

“the development, funding, construction, ownership and operation of the stadium,” per the MOU language, and is modeled off a similar partnership to develop a riverfront amphitheater.

“This is a minor step, but at least another step forward,” Rich MacKeigan, regional manager of ASM Global, told Crain’s Grand Rapids.

The MOU is similar to two other agreements that the CAA is operating under with Grand Action 2.0 for the development of a riverfront

amphitheater and adjacent properties for potential redevelopment.

This third agreement creates a basic framework for the CAA and Grand Action 2.0 to pursue the development of a soccer stadium.

“This is kind of getting the infrastructure in place,” said Kent County Administrator Al Vanderberg. “I look at these big projects as: They are all puzzles. The soccer stadium has a few more pieces of the puzzle that still need to be put See SOCCER on Page 44

Renderings prepared by Progressive AE Inc. last year showed a site on Grand Rapids’ west side where Grand Action 2.0 has been considering locating a soccer stadium. | COURTESY OF PROGRESSIVE AE

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Artists list custom ‘organic modern’ home in Ada woods Built in 2021, the structure has plenty of fun amenities, including a hidden speakeasy

By Rachel Watson

Artists Robyn Smith and Rob Patterson are selling their peaceful retreat and “organic modern” home that they built in a quiet neighborhood in Ada Township.

Smith and Patterson hired architect Chad Gould to design their 3,785-square-foot home on 2 acres in Mosaic Custom Homes’ Revado Hills single-family subdivision, which is located about 9 miles east of Grand Rapids in the Lowell school district.

The first house in Revado Hills was built in 2016, and now all 18 lots are built out with homes of varying architectural styles.

Completed in 2021, Smith and Patterson’s three-bed, four-bath home is on two parcels on a hilltop in a secluded, wooded setting with lots of wildlife. It is accessible by a long private drive.

The home’s amenities include a three-car attached garage and an outdoor saltwater plunge pool accompanied by a patio and outdoor kitchen with a mini-fridge and meat smoker. The home also includes a screened porch with a fireplace, a lower-level ceramics studio, speakeasy-style bar and lounge hidden behind a Murphy bookshelf, and views of the woods from its many windows.

The pair — originally from Michigan’s east side — are ready to move on to the next phase, and on Sept.

28 put the Ada Township home on the market for $1,295,000.

Their Realtor, Tony Lewis of Re/ Max of Grand Rapids, notes in the listing that the home is priced below the cost to build, at $342 per square foot.

“It was next to impossible to find a really good comparable reselling in Revado Hills, so we took a look at some comparables like we always do, but ultimately looking at total cost to build the home 18 months ago, we wanted to price it under that to give a good value,” Lewis said.

An inspired setting Smith is originally from Clinton Township. She and Patterson lived in Rochester Hills before moving to Ada, where they were drawn to West Michigan’s arts scene, the quaint Ada Village, and the private wooded setting of Revado Hills.

Smith is a ceramic artist and owner of Robyn Lynn Studios, producing decorative clay pottery sculptures inspired by nature and

humanity’s connection to Earth.

Patterson also is an artist — specializing in laser-cutting, design and woodwork — as well as co-founder and CEO of LoveBook, a Rochester-based custom publishing company that lets people create personalized books.

Smith and Patterson were looking to build a home on a decent-sized lot surrounded by the beauty of nature, but also within biking distance to a town and driving distance to a city. They felt Ada fit the bill, so they bought the two parcels on which their home now sits for $125,000 in March 2021.

“It checked all the boxes of property, and we love the old-growth trees, the hills, and just the beauty of the nature in Ada was pretty unmatched when we came out here.

And then the town itself, being built up the way it was, we really just fell in love,” she said.

Designing their dream home Mosaic Properties invited Smith and Patterson to tour some of the other homes in the development to get a sense of design possibilities, then connected the two with Gould.

They were drawn to the Scandinavian modern examples, but wanted to infuse their home with nature-informed twists. The style they ultimately ended up choosing is referred to as “organic modern,” Smith said.

Gould had the idea to angle what’s technically the front of the

This house in Ada Township’s Revado Hills neighborhood listed for $1,295,000 on Sept. 28. | TONY LEWIS, RE/MAX OF GRAND RAPIDS

After living in the home for about 18 months now, Smith said one of her favorite features is the light that fills nearly every room.

“The natural lighting has been amazing, especially for doing art,” she said.

Smith loves that her pottery studio in the lower level doesn’t feel like a basement room because of the windows and 9-foot ceilings.

She added that she loves the quality of the building materials, especially the trim throughout the home.

“My dad was a woodworker when I was growing up, and he is very particular about certain things, so the trim work really caught my eye — the preciseness and the cleanness of that,” she said.

The house has three bedrooms: A primary suite on the first floor and two beds on the lower level.

But the artist’s studio could be converted to a fourth bedroom suite, possibly for an in-law or teenager, as it already has an attached half-bath and an exterior entrance, plus it’s accessible by stairs to the garage.

Smith feels that the home, though large and open, is also cozy. The wooded setting contributes to the cozy feel.

“We get wildlife — we get deer and turkey and lots of other birds here,” she said.

She added that the three-season porch, with its fireplace and floorto-ceiling windows, is ideal for observing the flora and fauna.

Smith and Patterson hired architect Chad Gould to design their 3,785-squarefoot home on 2 acres in Mosaic Custom Homes’ Revado Hills home away from the driveway to face the backyard, partly for additional privacy but mainly to enhance the views. From one side of the house, they can see the sunrise, and from the other, the sunset.

And, like all the homes in Revado Hills, it’s oriented away from the neighbors’ sightlines.

Though the home is a one-story “daylight ranch,” the lower level is fully finished with a full walkout basement and windows lining the entire back wall.

Custom features When designing the floor plan of the basement, Smith and Patterson had some extra square footage next

to the mechanical room that they wanted to turn into a “fun” space.

Drawing on their love of Prohibition-era speakeasies, they decided to put a secret bar and lounge behind a bookcase that’s actually a Murphy door.

The bookcase swings open at the touch of a button to reveal a room decorated in a completely different style than the rest of the house — dark and moody. It features a brick veneer wall up to chair-rail height, then a deep blue wall above, with black, old-style tin ceilings, wall sconces and pendant lights above the bar.

Half the room is the lounge, and the other half the bar, with a shelf for spirits and liquors, a mini-fridge for beer, and an ice maker and glass washer.

“We were just batting around ideas and landed on that,” Smith said. “It’s just a nice room to sit in and relax or have friends over or something. We’d often sit down there and listen to music, hang out or talk.”

Another unusual feature is outside next to the patio area and pool, where a cabana serves as an outdoor prep kitchen for grilling and smoking meats, complete with a mini-fridge for storing the meat before preparing it, as well as a sink, countertop and cabinets.

“We do entertain in the summer, so it’s nice to have friends over, and we can use that to lay out some foods or drinks … so it just makes for a very convenient space to have when people are over,” Smith said.

Up-to-the-minute tech In addition to the home’s contemporary design, it’s also equipped with state-of-the-art technology.

All of the appliances are Wi-Fienabled for remote control, and app-controlled blinds on the street-facing side of the house are scheduled to automatically raise and lower after sunrise and sunset each day.

As well, a Generac whole-home generator kicks on automatically after a power outage, ensuring Smith never loses the use of the electric kiln in her studio. This has been a lifesaver during the three or four major storms that came through in the past year and a half, she said.

To power the kiln, the house is wired with 240-volt electric. When Smith and Patterson decided to go that route, the builder suggested it would also make sense to add a couple of electric vehicle charging ports in the garage — which they did, in case they or a future owner ever bought EVs. The pool has an electronic cover, as well as LED lighting and a fountain.

For the next owners Smith said the home would be “great for families,” with other children in the neighborhood and nearby bike paths and woods.

But it also would be ideal for people looking for a quiet getaway, she added.

“That’s how I feel when I’m here, like I’m on vacation almost, and I can unwind and not worry about things,” she said. “I think the biggest thing for me is just like I said before, feeling like the house is spacious enough for me to breathe and do the things I want to do, but it’s also cozy. … I think it’s the materials they used and the color tones we picked that just really pulls it all together.”

6 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | October 16, 2023

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Acrisure procures office space Expansion is welcome bright spot in a stagnant market

By Kate Carlson

Acrisure LLC is leasing a sizable amount of downtown Grand Rapids office space as the company outgrows its new seven-story headquarters and considers plans for a second office building, Crain’s Grand Rapids has learned.

The insurance brokerage and fintech within the past six months began leasing about 40,000 square feet of additional office space on the upper floors of 64 and 70 Ionia Ave. SW that is used as a flex space, said Elliott Bundy, Acrisure’s chief communications and marketing officer.

The properties — owned by an affiliate of Rockford Construction Co. — are located a block away from Acrisure’s 105,000-squarefoot headquarters that opened in August 2021 at 100 Ottawa Ave. SW. 70 Ionia is the former location of GRid 70, a business hub with work spaces shared by employees at Amway Corp., Meijer Inc., Steelcase Inc. and Wolverine World Wide Inc. Acrisure Chairman and CEO Greg Williams hopes to eventually build a second office building that’s double or even triple the size of the company’s current headquarters in Studio Park.

“We’re still open in terms of what we’re doing, but because of the size and scale of the company and our needs, we’re probably going to have to build,” Williams told Crain’s

Acrisure has started leasing office space — and installed signage — at 64 and 70 Ionia Ave. SW as the company outgrows its nearby headquarters. | ANDY BALASKOVITZ

Grand Rapids. “I certainly don’t know of anything that exists that fits all the needs and things we’re looking for, so it’s probably a build.”

Williams’ comments came in late September as the company announced a $30 million donations that secured the naming rights to a downtown amphitheater. Acrisure Amphitheater, along with a potentially large second downtown office building, would further solidify the company’s presence in Michigan’s second-largest city.

The company has been examining ways to grow its office footprint in downtown Grand Rapids since at least March 2022, as Crain’s Grand Rapids previously reported.

Acrisure’s Studio Park headquarters has a capacity of 800 employees who are currently required to work in-person three days a week.

Bundy said many of those workers opt to work in the office four or five days a week.

Acrisure signed a 30-year lease for its headquarters with Studio Park developer Olsen Loeks Development LLC. When initially announcing the headquarters in

2019, Acrisure anticipated a second, 175,000-square-foot office building nearby at 158 Oakes St. SW. It’s unclear whether that particular plan will move forward.

Meanwhile, Acrisure’s new office leasing is a bright spot in an otherwise stagnant Grand Rapids office market. Downtown Grand Rapids’ office vacancy is at a “historic high” of more than 14%, which will likely get worse before it gets better, said Jeff Karger, senior vice president of brokerage and leasing at JLL’s Grand Rapids office.

According to JLL’s 2023 second-quarter office market report, year-to-date occupancy losses in downtown Grand Rapids exceeded 162,000 square feet. The bulk of leasing activity in the second quarter this year consisted of smaller deals with average leases of 2,235 square feet, according to JLL. “Without question, JLL’s national clients that are headquartered elsewhere and have a Grand Rapids presence are downsizing their space by at least 50%,” Karger said.

However, Acrisure’s growing office footprint and three-day weekly in-person office requirement, along with Gentex Corp.’s recent announcement of a downtown Grand Rapids tech hub at 25 Ottawa Ave. SW, are highlights that could spur similar decisions from other companies, Karger said.

“It speaks volumes for Acrisure to do a three-day mandate, and bringing more people downtown just overall creates energy and also helps the first-floor retailers and restaurants that tend to struggle during the day,” Karger said.

The owners of Farmhaus Cider Co. have acquired Moelker Orchards and Farm Market in Tallmadge Township, where they intend to grow a majority of the apples used in their hard cider production. | COURTESY

Farmhaus Cider owners bring fresh life to farm 116-year-old Moelker Orchards will be used for cidery’s production

By Abby Poirier

Farmhaus Cider Co. is expanding with the purchase of the 116-year-old Moelker Orchards and Farm Market in Tallmadge Township, where the owners intend to grow a majority of the apples used in their cider production going forward.

The family-owned Moelker Orchards, located at 9265 Kenowa Ave. SW, opened in 1907 and grows 30 acres of apples, peaches, pears, plums and cherries. Moelker Farm Market offers fresh fruit and u-pick options throughout the summer, and sells baked goods.

Owners Tom and Bonnie Moelker announced their retirement last year, closing the farm in late December. The Moelkers put the farm up for sale earlier this year.

The listing came as John Behrens and Megan Odegaard, the husband-and-wife duo behind Farmhaus Cider, started to explore buying an orchard. They couple was looking for a new challenge after several years of perfecting the craft of cider-making.

“It always made sense to have our own apples,” Behrens said.

When they noticed Moelker Orchards had hit the market, they knew they wanted to help preserve the farmland.

“We looked at it a bit as a joke initially,” Behrens said. “(We were) figuring it was way bigger and way more involved than what we were looking for. We already have this other business, but it was so perfect given that it’s about 15 or 20 minutes away from our existing spot. It’s easy for people to go to both places.

It’s the same customer base. So we said, ‘Why not?’”

Both Behrens and Odegaard come from farming backgrounds.

Farmhaus Cider is built on a 150-year-old family farm previously owned by Behrens’ grandparents, while Odegaard comes from a lineage of farmers in North Dakota and Iowa.

While they both have farming families, Behrens said “it would be a stretch” to call themselves farmers, making the Moelker Orchards purchase a new endeavor

for them both.

“I feel like we’re best positioned for anyone that’s not a developer, in terms of having a business depending on apples,” Behrens said.

“Let’s give it our all and see what happens.”

Before they even closed the deal, Behrens and Odegaard got to work on the farm.

“We started caring for the orchard before we knew whether we had finances in place (or) whether our offer would be the one chosen,” Behrens said. “We knew if we didn’t start taking care of it, the trees weren’t going to be in the shape necessary (to produce). So we took a big chance, starting before we were even the owners of the property, just hoping for the best. Luckily, it’s worked out.”

They pruned trees during the winter and spent the spring caretaking on the farm, months before officially purchasing the farm this September in time for the fall harvest season.

The new owners now are navigating their first apple harvest with the help of other local fruit growers and some former Moelker employees who returned to lend a hand at the farm.

While they haven’t had much time to plan out the future of the farm, Behrens and Odegaard have renamed it as Farmhaus Farms.

“What I think we’re most passionate about as it relates to this, is getting people to see and understand where their food comes from,” Behrens said. “The cider, it’s always been about education.

It’s about educating people about where your food comes from, being able to stand in the dirt, touching the tree, pulling the apple off the tree.”

With a new orchard at his disposal, Behrens anticipates growing the apples used to make Farmhaus’ ciders. He estimates 60-70% of the apples used at the cidery will be grown at Farmhaus Farms, a change he expects to boost the quality of the cider.

The bakery also will remain open, a new endeavor for Odegaard, who’s digging up old Norwegian family recipes to revitalize the baked goods selection.

“I’ve been a long-time home baker,” Odegaard said. “I love to bake and cook, so this is something that I was very excited about.”

8 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | October 16, 2023

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Return-to-office mandates boost furniture makers Manufacturers are seeing most of the improvements in the Americas

By Kayleigh Van Wyk

Return-to-office mandates playing out across the country have provided a lift to West Michigan furniture manufacturers, which experienced strong domestic performance in the most recent quarter.

While Zeeland-based MillerKnoll Inc.’s net sales declined nearly 15% in its first quarter of fiscal year 2024 from $1.08 billion in the same period last year, the company’s overall quarterly results exceeded expectations through a combination of strong sales and gross margin expansion, according to executives.

“I’m very excited to share that our team delivered a strong first quarter, as evidenced by our top line results and margin expansion,” Andi Owen, president and CEO at MillerKnoll, said during a recent earnings call with analysts. “Across our enterprise, we have set ourselves up to seize opportunity as market conditions improve, and we believe we are at an inflection point.”

Owen and other executives on

the call elaborated that this “inflection point” is related to more CEOs adopting return-to-work policies and seeking ways to bring employees together and utilize office space.

“We’ve seen companies begin to take the leap back into physical space and announce return-to-office policies,” Owen said. “Office leasing in the U.S. began to rebound in the second quarter of 2023, and we’re seeing this amongst our clients as companies continue to announce return to office policies.”

Commercial real estate agency JLL in mid-July reported U.S. office leasing experienced the fastest growth rate since the second quarter of 2021, with gross leasing volume growing 11.6% quarter-over-quarter after nine consecutive months of decline.

This trend has proven advantageous for MillerKnoll’s financial results. While the company’s earnings reflect lower than expected demand in some international markets, the Americas Contract segment experienced “significant

profit improvement” and 2.1% organic order growth over the same period last year.

“This is particularly encouraging as it’s the first time in four quarters we’ve reported an increase in order levels in the Americas segment,” Jeff Stutz, CFO at MillerKnoll, said during the earnings call.

Despite progress domestically, Owen said the company will remain vigilant as the global market remains “dynamic,” particularly with difficult macroeconomic conditions in both China and Europe.

“We remain pragmatic about the next few months,” Owen told analysts. “We’re still in the early period of recovery, and our business segments reflect varied economic conditions around the globe. Right now, we have cause for both enthusiasm and vigilance.”

Grand Rapids-based Steelcase Inc. reported quarterly revenue of $854.6 million, down 1% from $863.3 million from the same quarter last year.

“We’re pleased with the progress we’re making in many areas of the business and believe our strategy is

Steelcase’s award-winning Ocular table on display at NeoCon earlier this year. | JACK GRIEVE

helping to drive these improved financial results,” Sara Armbruster, president and CEO of Steelcase, said during the company’s recent earnings call with analysts.

David Sylvester, senior vice president and CFO at Steelcase, said the company’s better-than-expected revenue “was driven by strong performance in the Americas, which benefited from faster order fulfillment patterns and favorable pricing benefits.”

The company’s earnings show an overall gross margin of 33.2%, reflecting a 430-basis point improvement in the Americas. The Americas segment for Steelcase also experienced improvement in operating income and slight organic growth.

During the earnings call, executives pointed to a potential correlation with increasing office attendance as a factor behind that

growth.

“The world of work continues to evolve, and we’re seeing a growing number of company leaders talking about the importance of being in the office more regularly and in a coordinated way,” Armbruster said.

“Many large companies are implementing workplace strategies that bring their people together in the office on some combination of days.”

Armbruster noted the company’s success in the legal and finance sectors, as Steelcase recently assisted some large clients in those industries in Chicago, Dallas and New York with creating spaces that fit both collaboration and privacy needs.

Like MillerKnoll, Steelcase also experienced declines in orders and growth in its International business segment in the most recent quarter, particularly in Europe and China.

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10/11/23 7:29 AM

The Associated Builders and Contractors Western Michigan Chapter (ABC/WMC) has unveiled the winners of the highly anticipated 2023 Excellence in Construction Awards.

The Excellence in Construction Awards are a testament to the incredible work that ABC members put into each project, showcasing not only their skills but also their commitment to safety, the tradespeople they employ, and the communities in which they work.

CRAFT PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

Honoring the best in the construction community.

SAFETY AWARD OF EXCELLENCE ABC is proud to recognize member companies striving to maintain best-in-class safety. In our continued efforts to be a recognized leader for health in safety in the industry ABC awards a Trade and General Contractor the Safety Award of Excellence

TIM STERK 2023 CPOY Winner

ABC Western Michigan presents the annual Craft Professional of the Year award to a construction craft professional who excels in his or her field, demonstrates a passion for the trade, exhibits outstanding leadership qualities, and demonstrates a commitment to safety, education, and the merit shop philosophy.

Trade Contractor Winner

General Contractor Winner

“Congratulations to the BEST in West Michigan’s commercial construction. From the superintendents and project managers, to the Craft Professional of the Year, and all the ABC members connecting, protecting, growing and defending, YOU make our industry great.” — Greg George, President/CEO

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10/3/23 5:46 PM

GENERAL CONTRACTOR CATEGORIES Renovation/Addition/Tenant Build-Out Less Than $1 Million Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. Ghafari Associates Renovation/Addition/Tenant Build-Out $1-5 Million The Christman Company Fetzer Institute Renovation/Addition/Tenant Build-Out $5-10 Million Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. Rockford Public Schools - Carlson-Munger Stadium

HVAC Allied Mechanical Services Gerald R. Ford International Airport - Central Utilities Plant Phase 2 Interior Finishing - Flooring Ritsema Associates Fetzer Institute

Interior Finishing - More Than $1 Million Ritsema Associates Berrien Spring Public Schools - Arts and Athletic Center

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Low Voltage Buist Electric SpartanNash Headquarters

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Glazing Architectural Glass & Metals Grand Rapids Community College - ATC Secchia Piazza

Interior Finishing - Less Than $1 Million The Bouma Corporation Michigan State University Offices

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,

General Trades Nugent Builders Tanglefoot Park

Renovation/Addition/Tenant Build-Out More Than $10 Million Lakewood Construction Holland Aquatic Center New Construction $1-3 Million Lakewood Construction Ivy House Event Center

SCAN HERE!

New Construction $3-6 Million Erhardt Construction Allendale Fire Station New Construction $6-9 Million Wolverine Building Group Counter Solutions by Lumbermen's

Masonry Kortman Masonry Construction Simplified Metal Buildings Pioneer Construction Jenison Public Schools - Athletic Facility Miscellaneous Steel FCC Construction, Inc. St. Sebastian Bell Tower Plumbing DHE Plumbing & Mechanical Western Michigan University - Student Center & Dining Facility

New Construction $9-11 Million avb Portage Zhang Senior Center New Construction More Than $11 Million Pioneer Construction The Southgate

TRADE CONTRACTOR CATEGORIES Concrete Burgess Concrete Construction Fruitport Community Schools - High School Electrical Buist Electric Hudsonville Ice Cream Exterior Finishes Architectural Metals, Inc. Autocam Medical Fire Protection Brigade Fire Protection Michigan Maritime Museum

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Precast Concrete Pioneer Construction Autocam Medical Process Piping Van Dyken Mechanical, Inc. Perrigo Plant 4 - Glatt 500-5 Roofing Langerak Roof Systems Amway Headquarters - Building #31A Structural Steel Pioneer Construction Autocam Medical

10/3/23 5:47 PM

CRAIN’S LIST TOP AREA GRADUATE BUSINESS DEGREE PROGRAMS Ranked by 2022 West Michigan enrollment

Program director(s)

UNIVERSITY 1 DAVENPORT 6191 Kraft Ave. SE, Grand Rapids 49512

2022 enrollment in graduate business degree programs

Accreditiation

IACBE

DND $1,006 2 years

Master of Accountancy, Master of Business Administration, Master of Management, graduate certificates

Renuka Phillips

243

AACSB

DND $765 2.5 years

M.S. in accountancy, MBA, M.S. in cybersecurity, M.S. in finance and more

Erika Murphy

204

DND

DND DND 2 years

Executive MBA, Professional MBA, Master of Science in accounting, Master of Science in taxation

Na Li, PhD

160

Master of Business Administration, MBA: International Accreditation 2.5 Doctor of Business Administration Council for Business Education, $600 18-24 months Baker College: The Higher Learning Commission

Alexandria Baldridge

134

Higher Learning Commission Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs

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(269)-387-8400 / wmich.edu VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY 3 GRAND 1 Campus Drive, Allendale 49401 (616) 331-5000 / gvsu.edu COLLEGE 4 BAKER 1903 Marquette Ave., Muskegon 49442 (855) 487-7888 / baker.edu/academics/graduatestudies UNIVERSITY 5 CORNERSTONE 1001 East Beltline Ave. NE, Grand Rapids 49525 (616) 949-5300 / cornerstone.edu STATE UNIVERSITY IN GRAND RAPIDS 6 FERRIS 151 Fountain St. NE, Grand Rapids 49503 (616) 451-4777 / ferris.edu/grandrapids

Graduate Business Degrees Offered

Misty Davis 616

(800) 686-1600 / davenport.edu MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY 2 WESTERN 1903 W. Michigan Ave., Kalamazoo, MI 49008

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Master of Arts in design thinking and innovation, Master of Arts in design thinking and innovation, and more

Crain's Grand Rapids Business list of Top Area Graduate Business Degree Programs, ranked by enrollment in graduate business degree programs is the most comprehensive available. The list is based on responses to Crain's Grand Rapids Business surveys. Crain's Grand Rapids Business surveyed 18 institutions; 10 returned surveys and 6 are listed.

To be considered for future lists, email danielle.nelson@crain.com. DND = Did not disclose

CONTACT US (616) 458-1535 | WWW.VOSGLASS.COM 3800 STAHL DR SE, GRAND RAPIDS, MI 49546

12 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | October 16, 2023

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CRAIN’S LIST TOP AREA ADVERTISING AGENCIES Ranked by 2022 West Michigan net advertising billings

Top W. Mich. executive(s)

2022 2021 W. Mich. net advertising billings

Bill McKendry; Jason Vanderground

$185M $115M

Branding, marketing, strategic positioning, Consumer products, building messaging and campaign management products, furniture, health care, higher education, faith-based ministries and nonprofits

Jordan Buning

$11M $9.6M

MarComm strategy, brand, design, web development, media planning and buying, content development

Health care, financial services, global manufacturing

Mike Muller; Allen Crater

$5.49M $4.6M

MarComm, brand development, media planning/placement, digital marketing, graphic design, websites

All markets and industries

Brett Youker; Mike Murphy

$5.34M $4.83M

Full-service marketing/advertising consulting for digital, broadcast, print, promotional premiums

All consumer markets

Mary Reagan Shapton

$5.2M

Strategic marketing/comms., branding, design, writing, digital, web, animation, events, content creation

Health care, education, non-profit, B2B, B2C

Steve Harney

$4.75M $2.98M

Marketing, brand development, photo/ video, advertising and media buying, website development

Office furniture, education, consumer products, health care, industrial, financial and retail

Laura Timmerman

$2.92M $2.85M

OOH advertising, POP materials, grand format, dye sublimation printing

Quick-service restaurants, retail, trade show and entertainment industry

Scott Crowley; Jennifer Crowley

$2.8M $2.52M

Research and strategic planning, graphic Technology, banking, health care, design and art direction, web services and A&D, pharma, sports and other development consumer-based industries

$2.3M $2.2M

Creative, media buying, advertising in television, radio, outdoor, print, digital, social

Retail sales, consumer shows throughout Michigan

Paul La Vigne

$1.8M

Full-service marketing and advertising agency specializing in small and mediumsized businesses

B2B and B2C with experience in corporate, manufacturing, services, technology and nonprofit

Tom Sullivan; Matt Tiedgen

$1.73M $2.03M

Full service marketing and advertising, Business to consumer and creative strategy, brand, media social, web business to business in all dev/SEO markets and industries

Elyse Flynn; Karen Tracey; Rob McCarty

$1.13M $1.1M

The Image Shoppe creates and manages successful brands: Strategy, design, logos, websites, print

Real estate development, restaurants, retail, government, B2B

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Samantha Toth

$1M $1.25M

Marketing and social media strategy, design, HR and company culture, staff training and websites

Health care, professional services, bars and restaurants, manufacturing

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$378,263 $352,905

Television, outdoor, digital, radio, consulting, production, media buying and creative services

(FORMERLY HAVEN | A CREATIVE 1 BRANDHAVEN HUB) 212 S. Harbor Drive, Suite 200, Grand Haven 49417 (616) 776-1111 / brandhavenagency.com MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS 2 DDM 100 Grandville Ave. SW, Suite 600, Grand Rapids 49503 (616) 454-0505 / teamddm.com ADVERTISING 3 STEVENS 190 Monroe Ave. NW, Suite 200, Grand Rapids 49546 (616) 942-2801 / stevensinc.com COMMUNICATIONS 4 MTI 3690 Jefferson Ave. SE, Grand Rapids 49548 (616) 224-8336 / mti-communications.com MARKETING + DESIGN LLC 5 REAGAN 912 Wealthy St. SE, Grand Rapids 49506 (616) 459-4064 / reaganmarketing.com CIRCLE MARKETING & DESIGN 6 FULL 600 7th St. NW, Suite 200, Grand Rapids 49504 (616) 301-3400 / thinkfullcircle.com GROUP MICHIGAN DIVISION 7 OLYMPUS 1685 Viewpond Drive SE, Grand Rapids 49508

Services offered

(616) 455-2424 / olympusgrp.com GROUP 8 HIGHLAND 645 Cherry St. SE, Suite 200, Grand Rapids 49546 (616) 528-8936 / wearehg.com MILES ADVERTISING & PRODUCTIONS INC. Paul Miles 9 PAUL 1345 Monroe Ave. NW, Suite 257, Grand Rapids 49505 (616) 459-6692 / paulmilesadvertising.com

10 DVS 401 Hall St. SW, Suite 489, Grand Rapids 49503 (616) 975-9911 / dvs.com MARKETING AGENCY 11 LEAD 2311 East Beltline SE, Grand Rapids 49546 (616) 551-3488 / leadmarketingagency.com IMAGE SHOPPE 12 THE P.O. Box 6093, Grand Rapids 49516 (616) 330-1003 / theimageshoppe.com

616-965-6743 / avalanchegr.com SPRING ADVERTISING 15 PAM 2248 Edgewater St. NE, Grand Rapids 49525 (616) 855-1985 / pamspringadvertising.com MARKETING GROUP 16 PMSI 625 Kenmoor SE, Suite 301, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 (616) 265-8302 / pmsimarketinggroup.com

Ashten Duncan; Martin C; $275,000 Nick S. ; Kelsey Enriquez; $210,000 Ken Lenneman; Kristine Kletke

Primary markets served

Retail, events and nonprofit

Brand strategy and development, Health care, senior services, marketing, communications, PR, websites, restaurants, breweries, digital media, media rel. construction, banking/finance

Crain's Grand Rapids Business list of Top Area Advertising Agencies, ranked by West Michigan net advertising billings is the most comprehensive available. The list is based on responses to Crain's Grand Rapids Business surveys. Crain's Grand Rapids Business surveyed 116 companies; 19 returned surveys and 16 are listed. To be considered for future lists, email danielle.nelson@crain.com. DND = Did not disclose 14 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | October 16, 2023

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Thomas Damitio

Grand Rapids marketing agency elevates new leader

Thomas Damitio will focus on day-to-day leadership, operations

By Kayleigh Van Wyk

A Grand Rapids-based web development and digital marketing firm has had a change in ownership after an employee acquired the company.

Corporate Conversions LLC last month announced Thomas Damitio, account lead and partner at the firm, now is a majority owner after previously becoming a minority partner in 2018.

Damitio will focus on day-today leadership and operations as the firm’s two other partners, who requested to remain anonymous, stay in advisory roles while pursuing other passions, according to Damitio.

“Being the third partner, I talked to the team (and) had some goals of what we’d like to achieve,” Damitio said. “I decided to purchase in more to become that majority owner and

35% in the last year, he said.

The team recently added Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance for website builds to its core service offerings. The accessibility tool helps bring websites closer to ADA compliance.

“We had some clients asking about that, and it is best practice. … It adds just a little bit of value and may set us apart from somebody that doesn’t offer that,” he said.

Damitio said Corporate Conversions also has worked on more website redesigns and engaged with more e-commerce clients in the last couple of years than in the past as digital marketing has become more competitive, particularly after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. Census Bureau found that e-commerce sales increased by 43% in 2020, growing from $571.2 billion in 2019 to $815.4 billion in 2020.

“After 2020 and the start of COVID, I think a lot of people realized their online presence matters a little more than they may have thought prior,” Damitio said.

“I think people are starting to see that value and spend a little more in that space so they can stand out and hopefully rank better in Google Search.”

Looking ahead, Damitio said he aims to grow the team and set new goals to position the firm for success.

“I really look forward to managing with a lot more transparency internally and with our clients to build that trust inside and out,” he said.

Damitio earned his bachelor’s degree from Grand Valley State University and also studied business finance at Wayne State University.

Prior to joining Corporate Conversions, Damitio held roles in the business development and marketing communications sectors. He also has been an ambassador for the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce for more than five years.

“Part of my role is looking for how we can improve our internal processes and then externally with our clients.”

— Thomas Damitio, majority owner

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leader from here on out while the other two partners are not so much in the day-to-day but are in an advisory role to help us continue to grow.”

Damitio, who described his role with the small team as “wearing many hats,” also will continue to handle some client accounts, though he said he hopes to train another team member for that role.

“Part of my role is looking for how we can improve our internal processes and then externally with our clients,” Damitio said.

In recent years, Damitio has led the company’s expansion of digital marketing offerings, and company revenue has grown by

16 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | October 16, 2023

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City, The Right Place secure $12.3M in grants Funds will be used for affordable housing and placemaking

By Kate Carlson

The city of Grand Rapids will allocate $6.1 million in state funding from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. to support five affordable housing projects adding 79 units.

The funds are part of the total $99.2 million in Revitalization and

Placemaking Program (RAP 2.0) grants for Michigan’s 10 prosperity regions that the MEDC announced Oct. 5.

The Right Place Inc. also received $6.2 million in the latest round of RAP grant funding, though the economic development organization has not yet disclosed how it will direct the funding.

“When state and local partnerships are strong, we are able to do some incredible things for the people of Michigan,” Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, said in a statement. “With

this infusion of dollars directly into our communities, our neighborhoods will become even more attractive places for folks to move to and put down roots. I’m proud that we were able to deliver these funds that will create meaningful change in our state.”

The first round of the RAP program awarded $83.8 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars in September 2022. The program is meant to address the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and support community revitalization across Michigan, fo-

cusing on projects that drive population growth and tax revenue.

The city of Grand Rapids is spreading the $6.1 million across five projects: w $500,000 for The Emory, a $2.6 million mixed-use project at 2040 S. Division Ave. that nonprofit The Diatribe Inc. is developing. w $960,000 will support the first of multiple phases of Benjamin Flats at 916 Benjamin Ave. NE. The first phase calls for 16 rental housing units for households earning 70% to 80% of the area median income.

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developing the nearly $3.7 million project. w $1.89 million for Seymour Condominiums, a nearly $10.9 million ICCF Community Homes project that will redevelop an existing building into 27 condominiums for home ownership. Plans call for 14 units to be sold to households earning at or below 80% of the area median income, and for 13 units to be sold to households earning between 80% and 120% of the area median income. w $1.7 million for Southtown Lofts, a total $4.1 million project at 640 Eastern Ave. SE being developed by Larlen Communications Inc. The grant will support demolishing an existing building and constructing a new, four-story structure with first floor office space and 12 rental units on the upper floors for households earning 60% to 80% of the area median income. w $1 million for 2017 Eastern, a nearly $3.7 million project led by Apposite Properties LLC. The grant will support the renovation of the building at 2017 Eastern Ave. SE, with plans to retain the U.S. Postal Service as a commercial tenant and add 16 rental units to the building.

The apartments will target households with incomes earning 45% to 100% of the area median income.

A city committee reviewed 11 proposals seeking RAP 2.0 funds and selected five community projects that were deemed best at meeting the program requirements. The city received the full amount of state funding initially sought.

“This is obviously great news for the city and the result of a well-designed approach to our application, and collaboration both internally and externally,” Grand Rapids Acting Economic Development Director Jono Klooster said in a statement. “We’re grateful for the MEDC’s support which is absolutely critical in this environment, and we look forward to working with the applicants to move these projects forward quickly.”

The Right Place and the city of Grand Rapids were the only funding recipients in prosperity region four for this round of RAP grant funding, which limited awards to $13 million across the region. Prosperity region four includes Kent, Mason, Lake, Osceola, Oceana, Newaygo, Mecosta, Muskegon, Montcalm, Ottawa, Ionia, Allegan and Barry counties.

The Right Place secured $3.6 million in the first round of RAP grants in 2022 that were used to support nine different projects across Kent, Barry, Mason and Oceana counties.

“The funds will help propel several placemaking opportunities into action across West Michigan.

The investment in public placemaking projects, which brings new vibrancy to a community, is the most visible of economic development tools,” Tim Mroz, senior vice president of community development at The Right Place, said in a statement. “The Region 4 team looks forward to working together to determine which public placemaking projects will be supported through this grant.”

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UNDER 2023

Meet 40 who are making their mark in West Michigan Welcome to the inaugural class of 40 Under 40 from Crain’s Grand Rapids Business.

Building on our company’s rich history with this program and its long tenure in the Grand Rapids market, we’re excited to showcase a crop of inspirational leaders from around West Michigan who were younger than 40 (as of Oct. 1).

Each of this year’s honorees was nominated by their colleagues or peers and selected in a rigorous vetting process led by the Crain’s Grand Rapids Business editorial team. The class includes many business owners, C-suite executives, founders, partners, directors, principals and managers from a cross section of industries who are already making waves in our region.

We suspect they’ll become even more familiar faces in the years ahead. Get to know them now at a special event from 5:30-8 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 18, at GLC Live at 20 Monroe.

Visit crainsgrandrapids.com/events for more details.

Photography by Justin Razmus

Tara Aday, 34 Senior Director of Programs, Safe Haven Ministries

D

JUSTIN RAZMUS

omestic violence isn’t just a personal issue — it’s a workplace issue, resulting in about $729 million in lost productivity for U.S. businesses each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Tara Aday has spent a decade working to improve and organize Safe Haven’s systemic response to domestic violence in West Michigan.

In her first role as program director from 2014-17, Aday helped lead a $5.5 million capital campaign to build a new facility that now houses all agency programming under one roof. She’s also worked to increase agency partnerships and collaboration around the issue, breaking down silos in how West Michigan understands and responds to domestic violence.

Recently, Aday helped secure $4 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to reduce domestic violence in Kent County and led the county’s first system-mapping domestic violence homicide review and made recommendations. She also helped launch new programs to prevent violence and center youth voices, including the Gender Equity Reading Initiative and Young Leaders Against Violence, and partnered with the CDC and Michigan State University to increase the local commitment to preventing sexual violence.

She’s not done yet: Aday is working to create a Safe Haven Learning Institute by 2025 that will centralize all of the nonprofit’s prevention training. It would offer policy and cultural consulting, as well as equip individuals, institutions, faith communities and human service organizations to better recognize and prevent domestic violence.

“We can’t afford not to do something different,” Aday said.

— Rachel Watson

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Eva Alexander, 36 Strategic Operations Manager for Equity and Inclusion, Office of Global Michigan

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E

va Alexander immigrated from Mexico to the United States when she was 12 years old, and has lived in Grand Rapids since. While in the U.S., she often helped her mom — whom Alexander credits as one of her biggest influences — navigate day-to-day life, which often involved translating English.

“Everything was hard,” Alexander said, recalling times of frustration and being uncomfortable when her mom’s language barriers would boil over into anger.

However, Alexander went on to “immerse” herself in language. She said it’s “funny” to now work in a career that helps other immigrants adapt to life in the U.S. and access language proficiency programs in her role as strategic operations manager for equity and inclusion at the state’s Office of Global Michigan.

Her most recent work involves developing a statewide language access plan to help residents with limited English proficiency better obtain public services and “interact with local government.”

Prior to joining the Office of Global Michigan in May, Alexander served as executive director of Holland-based Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates (LIA), where she grew the nonprofit’s budget from about $350,000 to $1 million. She also expanded the organization’s staff and developed a comprehensive benefits plan for employees, and worked with local organizations to help settle refugees from Afghanistan during the fall of Kabul in 2021.

Going forward, Alexander foresees potentially adding on to her master’s degree with more advanced degrees, and possibly starting a business. She also recognizes that her career path in the U.S. started with her mom.

“I’m very proud of the work my mom did as an immigrant,” she said. “Without her strength to come to the country … I wouldn’t be able to help or be where I am today.”

— Andy Balaskovitz

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Jamon Alexander, 39 President and CEO, West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology

A

s president and CEO of the West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology (WMCAT), Jamon Alexander is at the helm of a nonprofit bringing educational opportunities to adults and children in underrepresented communities.

Six years after joining the organization as its director of workforce development, Alexander stepped into his leadership role at WMCAT in 2021.

Alexander said one of his career highlights at WMCAT was watching the inaugural cohort of graduates from the organization’s new tuition-free Cybersecurity + GRC (Governance, Risk and Compliance) training program this summer. The program, which launched in 2022 as part of WMCAT’s Adult Career Training Program, helps Kent County adults experiencing unemployment launch a new career in technology.

Another highlight was the co-creation of WMCAT’s “Leadership by Design” program, which helps adults prepare for em-

ployment through professional development centered around lived experiences and their translation into workplace cultures that may differ from their own.

Alexander said the course was heavily inspired by his own life, and his early career experience acclimating to a professional environment that felt like an entirely different world than his upbringing.

“I didn’t know (Grand Rapids) wasn’t predominantly Black until I graduated from college and went to work professionally,” Alexander said. “It felt to me like a totally different culture.”

Alexander now helps other adults translate their upbringing into new workplace environments that might differ drastically from their communities.

This is Alexander’s third consecutive 40 Under 40 recognition, and his sixth overall, cementing him as one of Grand Rapids’ changemakers.

— Abby Poirier

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Nick Bykerk, 38

Paul Byrne, 30

Chief Financial Officer, Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing

Chief Product Officer, UV Angel

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N

ick Bykerk became part of Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing Inc.’s executive team at a time when the company was just starting and struggling to get off the ground. In the 11 years since, the Grand Rapids contract pharmaceutical maker has grown from two to six facilities and was a key player in Operation Warp Speed, the federal government’s initiative to quickly develop, produce and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine.

As CFO, Bykerk led negotiations that secured a contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Defense to produce vaccines. He later helped to secure a partnership with Johnson & Johnson to make its COVID-19 vaccine.

“This was a great accomplishment for my career, and it changed the trajectory of our organization,” said Bykerk, who became GRAM’s CFO in May 2022.

Bykerk joined GRAM as controller in August 2012 when “the company was not making money, which is hard to accept when you are in a finance role,” Bykerk said. “However, I could see that our company had the potential it needed to grow.”

He was the company’s first in-house finance person. GRAM, which has about 400 employees, previously outsourced the position to a contract CFO, he said.

The company’s break came in 2013 when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved GRAM’s first commercial product.

“We’re doing great now,” he said. “The enterprise that we are (today) is nothing compared to what we were when I started.”

A Texas native, Bykerk earned a degree in public accounting in 2007 from Calvin University, where both of his parents are alumni. He volunteers mentoring a group of men who are “striving to grow in their careers and build their skills and understanding of leadership in their workplace.”

— Mark Sanchez

aul Byrne strives to create a positive effect on the lives of others.

As chief product officer for Grand Haven-based UV Angel, Byrne manages the product development and market strategies for the disinfection technology company. UV Angel’s ultraviolet light technology is used in various applications to reduce harmful pathogens on surfaces and in the air.

“Under my guidance, (we’ve grown) the business, developed a strong vision and expanded into AI and software offerings to combat bacteria, viruses and mold to create more healthier spaces,” Byrne said.

For Byrne, it’s rewarding to witness opportunities such as reduced hospital acquired infections (HAIs) in the health care industry and a new installation project at homeless shelters in New York City.

“One of the things that I’m most passionate about is what UV Angel is most passionate about, and that’s making an impact, and making a measurable impact. … Our company measures success on how many lives we save, and how many lives we improved,” Byrne said. “That’s really what gets me out of bed and gets me excited in the morning — to be able to do what I get to do.”

Byrne also leads UV Angel’s internship program, and he is passionate about technology success in West Michigan and connecting people with science and technology opportunities.

A Grand Haven native, Byrne splits his time between West Michigan and Washington, D.C.

— Kayleigh Van Wyk

Congratulations on your well-deserved recognition among Crain’s Grand Rapids 40 Under 40

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wnj.com Bloomfield Hills | Detroit | Grand Rapids | Holland | Kalamazoo | Lansing | Macomb County | Midland | Muskegon October 16, 2023 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | 21

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Colleen Christensen, 31 Founder, Colleen Christensen Nutrition Inc.

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egistered dietitian Colleen Christensen started her company in 2018 with the goal of inspiring women to break away from harmful diets and learn to eat for their health and well-being without restrictions.

Christensen now reaches more than 27 million people monthly through social media platforms, teaching strategies and offering dietary advice for people looking to create healthy, sustainable habits.

She said she’s found success in her work by following her gut when making career decisions as well as choosing what and when to eat.

“It’’s about not following these strict rules or (what) people tell you you should do,” Christensen said. “No one knows your body. And I think also in terms of business, no one knows your strengths or what the areas are that you’re truly going to shine in. The work that I do is very unconventional. And I think that’s where the secret sauce is: This is what I enjoy. My career doesn’t look anything like I would’ve imagined it, but it’s so right.”

Christensen said she’s been “someone a lot of people didn’t believe in,” adding that she wasn’t great in school and was told she didn’t apply herself. Now, years later, those same reasons she was told she wouldn’t succeed have become her biggest strengths.

“It’s OK to not fit inside of a box and to do things a little bit unconventionally,” Christensen said. “I feel like I have always had a very creative mind and I always kind of felt like in order to be successful, this is what that path looks like. You know, it looks like getting a certain degree, getting a certain type of job. That can be an avenue for success, but it’s not the only one.”

— Abby Poirier

Dir

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Adam Clarke, 38 President, 1 Bold Step

A

dam Clarke serves as the president of marketing agency 1 Bold Step, a company he started in 2019 with business partner Jennifer Jurgens. For Clarke, building his own business was a dream come true, and he wanted to do it right, starting with creating a healthy workplace culture that serves clients well and values employees.

“When we launched this company, I made it a priority to ensure that the values we embraced would lead to a positive and supportive work environment,” Clarke said.

So far, Clarke feels he’s been successful in that mission. Almost five years in, he’s retained all of his employees while building a firm that strives for personal and collective growth.

“It’s neat to be able to create that company where not only clients want to work with us, but also the team wants to continue to work and build the business,” he said. He added that caring for his employees and practicing transparency and accountability have been his keys to building a successful business.

In addition to his work at 1 Bold Step, Clarke is heavily involved in the West Michigan community, serving on the boards for the Ronald McDonald House of Western Michigan and the American Marketing Association of West Michigan.

Clarke thanks his parents for providing him with a strong foundation for his personal life and professional career, instilling values like hard work and community building.

“Their support has truly shaped who I am,” Clarke said. “I can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done for me.”

— Abby Poirier

Trey Conner, 35 Chief Operating Officer, Grand Rapids Gold

T

rey Conner is continually building on his success with the Grand Rapids Gold, the NBA G-League affiliate of the Denver Nuggets.

Conner was elevated and entrusted to become the Gold’s new chief operating officer in 2022 as the organization was going through a transition and relocated to downtown Grand Rapids. He was instrumental in settling the organization into Van Andel Arena and ensuring that basketball operations remained uninterrupted at the start of the 2022-23 season.

Prior to becoming the team’s COO, Conner served as the vice president and director of community relations of the Grand Rapids Drive, the former name of the Gold. In 2014, Conner led the newly created Grand Rapids Drive to the top sales in the entire NBA G-League.

“As a member of the founding team, I am impressed every day by how a small group of people have made a great impact in the Grand Rapids community,” he said. “We came together to bring high-level athletics to our town, but more importantly, to offer a venue for families to have fun at a reasonable cost. We wanted to create pride in West Michigan, to give folks something to cheer for and support with hometown pride.”

Conner is ensuring that the Gold remains entertainment for the community, but also influential in the lives of everyday people. He has helped the Gold to provide summer camps for children, reading programs in schools, and fundraising for local organizations.

— Danielle Nelson 22 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | October 16, 2023

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Jenny Dakoske, 39

Loïc Dimithe, 33 Member, Miller Johnson

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self-described “deal girl,” Jenny Dakoske in March 2022 joined Grand Rapids-based Charter Capital Partners, where she works on the M&A and investment banking team after spending 14 years in the banking industry and going through a series of mergers and acquisitions.

Dakoske and her family moved from the Chicago area to Grand Rapids in March 2019 — a year before the pandemic began — and first worked for the former Chemical Bank, which merged with the former TCF Bank the same year. TCF was later acquired in 2021 by Huntington Bank, where Dakoske worked as a senior vice president in a group that finances private equity transactions prior to joining Charter Capital Partners.

At TCF, Dakoske was named a “top performer” for 2020, which she describes as “a year full of unforeseen challenges and obstacles, both internally at the organization as well as externally with the COVID-19 pandemic.” The recognition was “one of my greatest career accomplishments,” she said.

Throughout eight bank consolidations she’s been involved with throughout her career, “I saw how the culture of a workplace

can change on a Monday morning with a single press release,” Dakoske said. “Yet, throughout all of the unknowns this caused, I have been guided by a strong belief in people and ethical principles, believing people can achieve great things together, not alone.”

A native of Jackson, Dakoske earned an undergraduate degree in finance from Michigan State University’s Eli Broad College of Business and an MBA from DePaul University. She started her career with the former LaSalle Bank in Chicago in 2006 as a credit analyst.

Dakoske serves on the board at the World Affairs Council of Western Michigan in Grand Rapids.

— Mark Sanchez

oïc Dimithe’s father has always instilled in him the value of hard work, which Dimithe seeks to exhibit in all aspects of life.

As a member of Miller Johnson’s business corporate practice, Dimithe works with clients on debt financing, M&A and general corporate affairs. His biggest career win thus far was a successful $125 million refinancing process while representing a senior lender, something he felt cemented his reputation as an attorney.

Dimithe, who was born in Cameroon and has lived in multiple countries, said he didn’t grow up around lawyers, but ended up going to law school after an older cousin encouraged his interest in that career path.

He earned his BBA with honors and went on to receive his Juris Doctor with honors.

“Graduating from law school made me realize that nothing is impossible, and that you are only limited by your own imagination,” Dimithe said.

Dimithe is part of the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce’s Create Great Leaders Council and the 2023 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Pathfinder, a program designed for high-potential, mid-career attorneys charged with expanding diversity and inclusion in the legal field.

He also volunteers with The Potter’s House mentorship program.

“Knowing that nothing worthwhile comes easy and that success only comes after a lot of hard work are tenets that I try to incorporate into everything that I do,” Dimithe said. “I’m grateful that my peers and colleagues recognize these attributes and I hope that I continue to embody these ideals throughout my career.”

— Kayleigh Van Wyk

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Celebrating the Michigan Businesses who are dedicated to building a People First Economy Good For Michigan is a program of People First Economy. We help companies across the state identify, measure, and guide the implementation of practices that create positive social and environmental change. Providing technical assistance using the SDG Action Manager and B Impact Assessment tools, two of the world’s leading assessments in measuring the impacts of social and environmental practices. Offering tailored engagement opportunities such as educational presentations, hackathon events, and cohort models designed to help communicate the value of using business as a force for good.

These companies are already working toward a better business future Social Good Promotions Fishladder Inc. Double O, Inc Koki Life Holdsworth Communications Archival Brewing Ann Arbor T-Shirt Company LLC Gun Lake Investments Next Door Photos Northwest Michigan Habitat for Humanity REGROUP Inc. Renewed Legacy Properties, LLC Stingray Advisory Group LLC Harbor Brenn Insurance Agencies The Workshop Brewing Company Atomic Object LLC Brewery Vivant Broad Leaf Brewery & Spirits Kentwood Catalyst Partners Ktisis Capital Swift Printing & Communications, Inc. The GFB Valley City Electronic Recycling Tiny World Tours LLC Circle Theatre Reink Media Group Boileau Communications Management Michigan Snowsports Industries Association Higher Grounds Trading Company Tiny Planet Gold Coast Doulas, LLC. Messy Hands Preschool Big Steps Little Feet Bearcub Outfitters Fjallraven Crystal Mountain

Velocity USA JLF Adventures Jacquart Fabric Products Güd Marketing Grand Rapids Early Discovery Center Everbloom Montessori Cooperative My Buddies Child Care Superior Asphalt, Inc. Marketing Metal Shinka Sustainability Consultants Revalue Little Space Studio Glamour and Grit Floral Cellar Door Preserves United Bank Gordon Water Systems Julienne Tomatoes, Inc. FLETCH’S INC. The Highlands Petoskey Deli Tailored CPAs, P.C. Gray Space Collaborative Mission Control, LLC Bear Creek Organic Farm Ore Dock Brewing Co. Eagle Mine, LLC Urban Brew Lab LLC Aaron Peterson Studios Partridge Creek Farm Beards Brewery LLC OTONO The Boreal Collective Walker-Miller Energy Services Cascade Engineering Eco Smart Home Pros Keweenaw Mountain Lodge Workit Health

Archival Brewing Stingray Advisory Group LLC Tiny Planet The Spot Shinka Sustainability Consultants Workit Health Cherry Capital Foods, LLC The Uplift Agency Lions & Rabbits Center for the Arts United Bank Frances Jaye Initiating Communities Helping Area Neighborhoods Gain Empowerment (ICHANGE) Last Mile Cafe Global Foods Distribution Center Gold Coast Doulas, LLC. Give Back Great Lakes Highland Group Woodways Northwest Michigan Habitat for Humanity Donckers and the Delft Bistro Eco Smart Home Pros The Fire Station Stuga North Veterinary Care, P.C. TriMedia Environmental & Engineering Keweenaw Mountain Lodge Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Myconaut Reink Media Group Walker-Miller Energy Services Altruic Advisors CLOZTALK Revalue Atomic Object LLC Next Door Photos The GFB

Good For Michigan is a program of People First Economy. We lead the development of an economy grounded in local ownership that meets the basic needs of people, builds local wealth and social capital, functions in harmony with our ecosystem, and encourages joyful community. Learn more online at peoplefirsteconomy.org

Catalyst Partners Cella Building Company Cascade Engineering Better Way Designs Kapsarino Consulting, LLC SEEDS Ecology & Education Centers Pleasant Hearts Pet Food Pantry The Landmark Inn Ethanology Distillation Broad Leaf Brewery & Spirits Westside Brewery Vivant Broad Leaf Brewery & Spirits Kentwood EDSI Beards Brewery LLC Boyne Mountain Edgewater Design Group Mission Control, LLC Northwest Michigan Habitat for Humanity Raven & Lotus The Highlands Caroline Manages Gun Lake Investments Life Addicts Studio Cafe Rica Loose Parts Studio, LLC DBA Kalamazoo Dry Goods Baitmen’s LLC GRNoir Wine & Jazz Y & j dolls llc Pinecrest Northwoods Perfect Circle Proteins+ Perfect Circle Recycling Stingray Advisory Group LLC EA Marketing Hub Cellar Door Preserves Holdsworth Communications Crystal Mountain

CELEBRATING OUR

2023 Good for Michigan Award Winners

GOOD FOR GOVERNANCE

GOOD FOR COMMUNITY

GOOD FOR ENVIRONMENT

GOOD FOR WORKFORCE

Cafe Rica

Kalamazoo Dry Goods

The Highlands

Last Mile Cafe

The Governance category celebrates a company’s overall mission, ethics, accountability and transparency through policies and practices that foster integration of social and environmental goals in employees’ performance evaluation, impact reporting and transparency, and more.

The Community category celebrates a company’s contribution to the economic and social well-being of the communities in which it operates, through impacts that foster diversity and inclusion, job creation, civic engagement and philanthropy, supply chain management, and more.

The Environment category celebrates a company’s overall environmental stewardship, including how the company manages general environmental impacts as well as specific topics like climate, water use and sustainability, and impacts on land and life.

The Workforce category evaluates a company’s contribution to its employees’ financial, physical, professional, and social well-being through payment of a living wage, benefits, employee health and safety, professional development opportunities, and more.

Café Rica Is Built On Relationships Using The Power Of Specialty Coffee. We take pride in strong, personal connections to make everyone feel like family.

Kalamazoo Dry Goods is a retailer specializing in handmade, small batch, and high-quality new and secondhand items, with a focus on providing local access to beautiful, useful things. An ever-changing, eclectic mix of supplies for fine arts, fiber arts, and creative reuse as well as natural home and body products can be found in the curated space that serves to inspire creativity and cultivate interpersonal connection. A commitment to access, inclusion, and community needs drive the business model.

At The Highlands, we’re big believers in tradition. Even as we’ve grown to become one of Michigan’s premiere all-season resorts, we’ve taken care to preserve the things that matter. We provide plenty of excitement - from zipline adventures to Segway tours right alongside exceptional golf and skiing, a renowned dinner theatre, and countless opportunities for guests to share time together with family and friends. We also believe in our initiatives to attain a sustainable tomorrow through collaboration and by positively affecting the lasting impact our resort, team members, and guests have on the planet.

Last Mile Cafe is a black-owned and woman-owned coffee roaster located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They recently achieved B-Corp certification for their commitment to being a mission-driven organization. They are making coffee more inclusive and equitable through diverse ownership, best-practice sustainability initiatives, and a unique charitable giving model.

We believe that great food and great coffee can and will bring people together to create a special community.

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Joe Dyer, 36 President, Disher Corp.

J

oe Dyer was named president of Disher Corp. in 2022, and has been focused on leading the engineering, manufacturing technology and talent recruiting firm with a “steward leadership” mindset.

“A steward is someone who manages someone else’s assets, typically to be able to grow and multiply them,” Dyer said. “If I am tasked with managing our team and influencing the community, I am tasked with stewarding — not just serving — in those realms, which changes my framework and the way I approach that day-to-day.”

Disher is kicking off an internal strategic planning effort in 2024 with the aim to grow the company’s automation and project management skill sets, Dyer said.

“As you lead, you see people are very creative and want to show up and really fulfill our (company’s) mission to make a positive difference,” Dyer said.

“Our vision is leaving the world better than where we found it through integrative relationships and innovative solutions. I resonate with the mission and it integrates with my personal values and who I am. We really live by that every day.”

As a company, Disher also has “lifted up” mental health benefits for employees, especially after the pandemic, Dyer said.

“We’ve all really learned there is so much going on outside of work. Even when people are in a growth moment, there is always other stuff going on personally, too,” Dyer said.

— Kate Carlson

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Evelyn EsparzaGonzalez, 34 Executive Director, Hispanic Center of Western Michigan

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velyn Esparza-Gonzalez’s top priority when she became executive director of the Hispanic Center of Western Michigan at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was to deploy the organization’s resources in the best way possible.

“A lot of things changed during the pandemic, and the needs were bigger and of course we had to change our programming to respond to those needs with vaccination clinics, food drives and different events throughout the year,” Esparza-Gonzalez said. “We’re definitely very open to listening to our community and making sure we create the right programs for them.”

Esparza-Gonzalez started working at the Hispanic Center six years ago when she was hired as the director of finance when the organization was going through significant financial struggles. She was able to restore programming and operations to a point of financial stability, and in her role as executive director she has worked to se-

cure the center $2 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to form a CDFI or micro-loan program.

The four main pillars of the Hispanic Center’s work are family support services, youth and education, language services and workforce development. Through a variety of programs, the organization is working to address many pressing needs for Grand Rapids’ Latino population, but one of the biggest obstacles is the lack of language inclusion, Esparza-Gonzalez said.

“We find ourselves being the bridge and connection between many wonderful programs that exist in our communities,” Esparza-Gonzalez said. “I hope as other organizations are designing their programs and initiatives to consider the Hispanic community in their plans to make sure language and cultural inclusion — or at least partnerships with other organizations — is a part of that.”

— Kate Carlson

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Jessica GutowskiSlaydon, 36

Bethany Harris, 38 Executive Vice President, Waséyabek Development Co.

M

President, Swift Printing

A

t the end of 2022, Jessica Gutowski-Slaydon became part of the third-generation ownership team at Swift Printing Co., the commercial printer and west side Grand Rapids mainstay for nearly 75 years.

“It’s been a lot of fun — there’s always new things I’m learning every day,” Gutowski-Slaydon said of the transition. “It’s been very validating for us as a business to continue the legacy and move the needle forward and be active in the community.”

Gutowski-Slaydon succeeded her father, Walt Gutowksi Jr., who took over the business in the 1980s from his parents, Walter Sr. and Lorraine Gutowski, who started Swift Printing in 1950. She called the company’s transition to a majority woman-owned firm her “most significant career triumph.”

Not only did the announcement come during Women’s History Month, but it “acted as a catalyst, drawing new customers eager to collaborate with women-owned businesses,” Gutowski-Slaydon said.

She also calls the company’s recertification as a B-corporation a proud professional accomplishment.

“For us, business goes beyond mere profit-making; it’s about prioritizing our employees’ well-being by providing excellent health insurance and encouraging them to take time off,” Gutowski-Slaydon said.

“Nurturing a caring culture is paramount.”

Gutowski-Slaydon volunteers for numerous organizations around Grand Rapids, and serves on the boards of the Grand Rapids Downtown Improvement District and the Stockbridge Business Association.

Meanwhile, Gutowski-Slaydon’s advice to other aspiring women entrepreneurs is simple: “Find good mentors. There are so many people who want to help you with your career and give you advice. … You need those people who are going to champion you and push you when you think you can’t be pushed any further.”

— Andy Balaskovitz

ore than four years ago, Bethany Harris took a career leap from lawyering to working for one of the largest tribal non-gaming economic development organizations in Michigan.

She joined Grand Rapids-based Waséyabek Development Co. LLC as an executive assistant to the firm’s chief operating officer, and subsequently worked her way into various roles with the company’s government contracting arm.

Making the change has led to “a lot of discomfort” for Harris as she plunged into “an entirely new subject area.” Taking time to learn, ask questions and grow into her current role as executive vice president of Waséyabek Federal Group has unlocked countless opportunities for personal growth, she said.

Harris cites a recent contract the company won to serve the U.S. Navy’s Joint Technical Data Integration program as a key win that offers Waséyabek a repeatable blueprint toward winning additional federal work.

“The win represents a proof of concept for a long-term strategy of targeting Department of Defense work through leveraging our tribal ownership status for pursuing

government contracts,” said Harris, who describes her role at Waséyabek as being part of a “once-in-a-lifetime” team that’s aligned around the mission of diversifying the economy of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi Tribe.

“Our core group is geographically dispersed and supports government contracts across the country,” Harris said. “We’ve grown together to build our customer base, brand, and systems and processes — even during the pandemic. It’s incredibly rewarding to work with such a talented and dynamic team, all in support of creating a brighter future for the tribe.”

— Joe Boomgaard

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Kara Harrison-Gates, 31 Real Estate Incentive Associate, Colliers International

K

ara Harrison-Gates found her niche in the real estate and development world five years ago when she stepped into the role of real estate incentive associate at Colliers International’s West Michigan office.

Harrison-Gates helps developers navigate the incentive application process for affordable housing projects, most of which are in West Michigan. Harrison-Gates has felt a shift in most communities’ attitudes, from a mostly “NIMBY” mindset to becoming more accepting of affordable housing projects in recent years, she said.

The “tremendously increasing” costs for affordable projects is a common obstacle for developers, but many are still pursuing multifamily projects, Harrison-Gates said.

“Typically a developer will already have a project in mind and will come to our team because they encounter a large financing gap and we turn over all the stones to make their project feasible,” Harrison-Gates said.

Most of the projects Harrison-Gates leads are considered 100% affordable projects, but a national trend she hopes to see more of in West Michigan is mixed-income housing projects that offer a range of housing price points in the same development. New incentive tools that have recently been introduced by MSHDA, including Missing Middle and RAP 2.0 funding, could make more mixed-income housing projects a reality, she said.

“It’s so rewarding to help directly impact people’s lives in a positive way and impact my community by bringing different types of housing in different neighborhoods,” Harrison-Gates said. “It’s cool to drive past the projects and know that some of my work helped the tenants be comfortable there.”

— Kate Carlson

Daniel Hatch, 34 Attorney, Shareholder, Butzel Long

D

aniel Hatch is devoting his professional career to helping others.

As an attorney and shareholder at Butzel Long’s Grand Rapids office, Hatch practices construction, business and tax law. He also specializes in insurance recovery and advisory, and commercial litigation.

Hatch said his biggest career win was when he successfully represented a couple with five children who were removed from their home that they had bought under contract. Hatch said he was able to uncover evidence in the case that showed the seller created a scheme to have the property condemned during the land contract to remove his clients from the home because the seller wanted to keep it for herself.

“After trial, the court ordered the seller to consummate the sale and give my clients possession of the home,” he said. “The court also ordered the seller to return all of my clients’ personal property and offset the purchase price of the home by the damages my clients incurred as a result of being removed from the property.”

Hatch is not the only one in his family who has ventured out into the legal world.

His father also was an attorney, but passed away in a tragic car accident when Hatch, who was in the car, was 10 years old. In the years following, Hatch and his brother were raised by their mother.

“My mother sacrificed everything she had to raise my brother and I,” he said.

“She told us we had two options: To get bitter or to get better. We all chose to get better.”

— Danielle Nelson

Solmeris Hernandez, 39 Associate Wealth Management Advisor, Fifth Third Bank

S

ol Hernandez was managing the Knapps Corner branch office when somebody reached out to her about a position that was open in Fifth Third Bank’s private banking business. She had worked in retail banking for much of her time at Fifth Third, where she started in 2009 as a customer service representative and later became a credit analyst and then a retail office manager.

The position in private banking intrigued her. The bank wanted somebody in the job that was a relationship builder, out in the community, served on boards and would “be a good ambassador,” she said.

“I thought this was right up my alley with those things that I like doing,” said Hernandez, who since August 2022 has worked as associate wealth management advisor at Fifth Third Private Bank.

“I said, ‘If I can make this move it will give me the opportunity to grow my network and learn something new in another line of business that is going to make me a better individual for the whole organization.”

Hernandez, who moved to the U.S. from Venezuela when she was 16, has co-chaired Fifth Third Bank’s corporate-wide Latino Business Resource Group since 2014. She also serves as an ambassador for the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, and for five years was involved in the West Michigan Welcome Plan Collaborative that works “towards a more inclusive and welcoming Kent County,” she said.

“I can say that having lived in Venezuela allowed me to establish a foundation of resiliency, but coming to the U.S. gave me the fortitude to conquer my dreams and to not be afraid of taking risks,” she said.

— Mark Sanchez

28 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | October 16, 2023

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Kelly Hollingsworth, 38

CONGRATULATIONS,

Zach Meyer Selected for

Crain’s Grand Rapids Business 2023

Partner, Warner Norcross + Judd LLP

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elly Hollingsworth is a partner at Warner Norcross + Judd LLP who focuses on technology and data privacy laws.

She assists her clients on issues including procurement, commercial contracting and implementation of technology, along with the protection and utilization of her clients’ data and their customers’ data to meet legal regulations.

While Hollingsworth spends her time providing legal advice to her clients, she is also devoted to her community.

Hollingsworth is a member of her firm’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Action Committee, which focuses on establishing a positive working environment for everyone at her firm. The committee also provides opportunities that advance entrepreneurship, small business, community education, and talent pipeline programs.

As a member of the committee, Hollingsworth helped to expand her firm’s supplier diversity initiative and direct funds to nonprofits advancing DEI in Michigan, particularly through minority entrepreneurship, job opportunities for marginalized individuals, and social justice education.

In addition to her work with the committee, Hollingsworth is a board member of various organizations including StoreHouse of Michigan, and she volunteers with organizations such as Kids’ Food Basket.

“As an authority in my fields, I represent some of the largest and most sophisticated companies in West Michigan and speak nationally on technology and data privacy issues,” she said. “I believe leadership and representation matter, and have committed myself to the betterment of my firm’s culture, seeking out leadership roles on several committees to bring firm members of all levels together and develop future leaders, while also making time to support the many nonprofits that are making a difference in the community.”

— Danielle Nelson

■ Corporate governance,

regulatory compliance, M&A

■ Startups and venture capital ■ Technology and health care ■ A leader and mentor

SHARE YOUR SUCCESS

Contact Laura Picariello at lpicariello@crain.com for a unique opportunity to co-brand your company with a reputable news source.

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Johannah Jelks, 36 Community Engagement Manager, Grand Rapids Community Media Center

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ohannah Jelks’ top passion can be found in her job title that emphasizes community. Jelks was promoted to her current role at the Grand Rapids Community Media Center in April after spending the previous eight months as the nonprofit’s marketing manager. Her efforts are now centered around boosting membership and creating new events.

GRCMC is a media and technology assistance organization that powers several Grand Rapids institutions, including WYCE, GRTV public access television, the Wealthy Theatre and citizen journalism outlet The Rapidian.

Prior to joining the GRCMC, Jelks was marketing manager for Motu Viget Spirits, art gallery and studio coordinator for Heartside Ministry, mobility manager for Midwest UX, and a housing resource specialist with the Grand Rapids Housing Commission. Jelks also founded the She Rides Her Own Way campaign geared toward promoting health and self-esteem among women through cycling.

She currently serves as marketing chair and an executive board member for the East Hills Council of Neighbors, volunteers at Congress Elementary School, facilitates the Wealthy Heights Sharing garden for families in East Hills, and volunteers at Uptown Grand Rapids Shop Hop and other neighborhood events.

Jelks formerly served on the Site:Lab Executive Board and the Grand Rapids Symphony Community Engagement Committee.

“I am supremely grateful … to the (nominators) and to the Grand Rapids community for highlighting my work, and I look forward to continuing to give back,” she said.

— Rachel Watson

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Devon Joslin, 30 Managing Partner, JosVon Holdings

D

evon Joslin is managing partner of JosVon Holdings, where he manages a portfolio of startup investments and acquisitions, and serves as chairman of the Michigan Center for Economic Innovation. He says he’s earned his place in Grand Rapids’ economic development scene through a bit of luck and a lot of hard work.

The proud grandson of migrant farmers from Mexico, Joslin said he’s been working hard as long as he can remember.

“I don’t remember not having a job, to be completely honest,” he said. “I started playing soccer when I was three years old. I was just always going.”

That hard work has continued throughout his career. Most recently, JosVon Holdings acquired the Grand Rapids Wanderers FC and Great Lakes FC to launch a new professional men’s and women’s arena soccer club earlier this year under the name Great Lakes Futbol Club.

“You could be the most talented athlete in the entire world, and if you don’t put in the work, you’re never going to see the field,” Joslin said. “If you’re not putting in the work, in logging the hours, you’re never going to be where you need to be when good luck strikes.”

While the hard work has paid off so far, Joslin is trying to be careful to ensure he balances work and play. He said his next big goal is building a family and a life that brings him joy aside from his work.

“Work is necessary to sustain life, but life’s worth living when you have those other things,” he said.

— Abby Poirier

30 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | October 16, 2023

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Paul Keifer, 39

Meagan Malm, 27

Vice President of Neighborhood and Community Lending, Bank of America

Principal, Michigan Capital Network

M

T

hanks to the work of Paul Keifer, more than 100 million clients at Bank of America are now tracking the progress of their financial goals through a digital product on the company’s mobile app and online banking platform.

Keifer is the senior vice president of neighborhood and community lending at Bank of America, where he has been instrumental in helping clients with their financial journey through education, guidance, and simple action steps that can help create better financial outcomes.

“Knowing my work has reached so many people and helped them save more, manage their spending habits better, and achieve their goals is something I am very proud of,” he said.

He is also playing a pivotal role in the lives of people who live in traditionally underserved communities. Keifer joined the Neighborhood Lending team at Bank of America to help individuals achieve their dreams of homeownership in the northeastern United States.

He not only assists in helping his clients thrive, but he is also ensuring that his colleagues have a healthy working environment through his work as marketing inte-

gration executive. He helps the 200 Bank of America employees in Grand Rapids work better together, understand the enterprise strategy and apply it to their day-to-day responsibilities, and create a strong culture of partnership in West Michigan.

Keifer said his commitment to helping others was inspired by his grandmother, who was a World War II veteran.

“She always approached a problem with an open mind and an open heart, gave great advice, knew how to work a room, and never missed an opportunity to tell the people around her how much she loved them,” Keifer said.

— Danielle Nelson

eagan Malm joined Grand Rapids-based Michigan Capital Network in December 2020 as a parttime analyst. Now a principal, Malm works on deal reviews, conducting due diligence on prospective investments, deal sourcing and managing portfolio companies.

“It was my dream to work for one startup, and now I work for about 40,” Malm said.

A Grayling native, Malm graduated in 2018 from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business with a degree in business. She studied Swahili and lived in Tanzania from mid 2018 until the end of 2019 after graduating. In Tanzania, she worked on an independent research project studying the effect of micro-financing tools on small businesses.

Malm returned to the U.S. wanting to become involved in financial technology. After she saw a job posting, Malm applied for and secured a position at Michigan Capital Network, where she credits CEO Paul D’Amato for serving as a mentor and playing a “crucial role” in her success and professional development.

Malm worked alongside D’Amato and senior partners Dale Grogan and Jody Vanderwel to raise $38 million in commitments from investors for a fourth venture capital fund.

Becoming part of the Crain’s Grand Rapids Business 2023 class of 40 Under 40 leaders will “allow me to build relationships and collaborate with other upcoming leaders to support our thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem, advocate for diversity and inclusion, and identify growth opportunities for Grand Rapids,” Malm said.

Malm serves on the Michigan Venture Capital Association’s Talent Committee, the Grand Valley State University Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation advisory board, and the board of directors for PhotoniCare, a portfolio company that developed a medical scope so doctors can more precisely diagnose middle ear infections in children.

— Mark Sanchez

Congratulations on being recognized as one of the brightest young professionals in the West Michigan community! We are grateful for your leadership, service, and dedication to advancing Waséyabek and the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi.

BETHANY HARRIS

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF 8(a) BUSINESS

CONGRATULATIONS FROM THE WASÉYABEK FAMILY OF COMPANIES

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Andrew Martin, 37 Government Affairs Manager, Meijer Inc.

A

ndrew Martin’s interest in politics began at an early age during the 2000 presidential election and continued through a program at East Grand Rapids Public Schools that involved mock congressional hearings.

“That was exactly what I needed and was looking for,” Martin said of his early exposure to the political process.

After studying political science at the University of Michigan, his experience served him well as he joined Walker-based Meijer Inc. as government affairs manager, a position that involves the family-owned company’s lobbying and government affairs work across a six-state footprint and in Washington, D.C. At first blush, Martin said people may wonder what a grocery store has to do with government affairs.

However, consider the range of products that Meijer sells and the accompanying need to navigate local, state and federal regulations, he said.

“The reality is it’s almost endless,” Martin said. “The volume of work just never ends.”

Despite the heavy workload, Martin still finds time for volunteer work and serving on local boards, including Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. and the Downtown Improvement District and the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce’s Public Policy Committee.

For Martin, professional success comes when lawmakers “pass meaningful legislation.” His proudest moment came when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in early 2022 held a bill-signing ceremony at a Lansing-area Meijer store for a new prescription drug transparency law.

Martin’s real conversation-starter, though, dates back to 2009, when he and then-band members in the Good Luck Joes won the second annual April in the D songwriting contest, which celebrates the overlapping of seasons for the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Pistons and Detroit Red Wings.

“It’s one of the funnier experiences I’ve ever had,” Martin said. “It’s one of those things you carry with you.”

— Andy Balaskovitz

Alison Mast, 33 Senior Managing Director, President of West Michigan, Northern Trust

B

efore moving to Grand Rapids with her family in May 2022, Alison Mast led strategy for Northern Trust in Chicago. Relocating to lead the West Michigan market for Northern Trust transitioned her into an operational role.

“I love strategy work. It is still my one true love, but I think you really lose touch when all you do is build the strategy, so you need to get out into the market to really put that strategy into execution,” Mast said.

Mast serves as senior managing director and president of West Michigan for Northern Trust. She oversees operations in a market that covers the western half of the Lower Peninsula and includes a team of about 20 people in trust and portfolio advisers, bankers, and business development and support staff. She previously worked for 16 months as senior vice president and head of strategy for Northern Trust in Chicago.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, suburb Shaker Heights, Mast earned dual undergraduate degrees in English and Spanish from the University of Michigan and an MBA in 2019 from Harvard Business School. She once lived in Spain for seven months as part of her double major at the University of Michigan, studying with students at La Universidad de Sevilla, and taught high school Spanish for the nonprofit Teach For America in Hartford, Conn.

Mast serves as a board and finance committee member at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, and on the board at Junior Achievement of the Great Lakes Region.

— Mark Sanchez

Mandice McAllister, 36 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Manager, Warner Norcross + Judd LLP

M

andice McAllister’s “trailblazing spirit” has helped her pave the way for positive change.

Since February 2022, McAllister has served as the inaugural diversity, equity and inclusion manager at Warner Norcross + Judd LLP, working to create a more inclusive and diverse environment at the law firm.

“As the first person to hold this role at the firm, and the only person in a devoted DEI position in any West Michigan-based law firm, I am honored by the unique opportunity to trailblaze DEI initiatives and pave the way for positive change within the legal industry,” McAllister said.

In her role, McAllister has developed strategies and programs like Mosaic, the resource group for people of color at Warner. She also is involved in the firm’s Mansfield Rule certification process to help increase diversity in law firm leadership.

Before her legal career, McAllister worked in education and said she often found herself pulled into task forces or heading new committees.

“Being that trailblazing spirit ends up with me having too many ideas,” McAllister said.

“When you’re the person with the idea, everybody is like, ‘Great, you run with it.’ So I do, and usually it ends up being a joy in the process.”

Outside of work, McAllister serves on two boards and on the planning committees for the Young Professionals of Color Conference, the Michigan Legal Diversity Summit and the Grand Rapids Public Schools’ Grade School to Graduate School program for girls.

She credits her two sons as her biggest influence in life.

— Kayleigh Van Wyk 32 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | October 16, 2023

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hen that

Kyle McGregor, 36

Congratulations to Jenny Dakoske 40 Under 40 Award Winner

Director of Health Innovations and Venture Creation, Spartan Innovations

K

yle McGregor said he feels lucky to be a part of the growing health and technology sectors in West Michigan.

After working to make connections between data and health care earlier in his career, McGregor now works as the director of health innovations and venture creation for Spartan Innovations, where he exercises his passion for equity in health innovation and entrepreneurship.

Over the past two years, he has helped deploy millions of dollars to first-time and historically underrepresented startup founders.

“This work has helped build a new narrative about what can be done, what can be built, and who can be successful in Grand Rapids,” McGregor said.

As well, McGregor has been involved in several boards and committees, including The Right Place Inc.’s Technology Council and the Grand Rapids Tech Week steering committee.

“I know that we are on a path that can help GR become the tech hub it should be,” McGregor said.

McGregor’s impact also extends beyond West Michigan, from volunteer work with biotech organizations around the world to speaking at a World Health Organization conference.

“My whole thing for most of my career has been: We need to treat people’s data in a way that pays respect to who they are as humans … making sure we humanize both the person and the data,” McGregor said.

McGregor recently earned his MBA from the University of Cambridge. He previously earned his doctorate at Indiana University and completed postdoctoral fellowships at Yale University and Columbia University.

— Kayleigh Van Wyk

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duA in part vera in

I’m honored to be included in the 2023 class of the Crain’s Grand Rapids Business 40 under 40 business leaders. Being a member of the Charter team is an incredible privilege and I look forward to being a mentor to other young women who choose a career in finance.

Jenny Dakoske, Director, Charter Capital Partners

ON THE

Stay Ahead of Industry News MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT! Debora Stein | dstein@crain.com

Evelyn Esparza-Gonzalez, Executive Director of the Hispanic Center, has been honored with a spot in Grand Rapids' prestigious "40 Under 40."

This recognition is not just a milestone in her career, but a testament to her exceptional dedication and vision.

ens on. chez

Evelyn's leadership at the Hispanic Center has been nothing short of transformative. Her unwavering commitment to the community and her innovative initiatives have redefined the Center's role and purpose. Under her guidance, the Hispanic Center has become a space for empowerment and a symbol of unity.

We are celebrating not just Evelyn's accomplishments but also the promise she holds. She serves not just as a role model for young professionals but as a representation of what can be achieved when passion, dedication, and an unwavering commitment to the community holds.

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Zach Meyer, 38 Partner, Varnum LLP

Exe

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ach Meyer studied history and classical languages in college, and said his favorite job was working as an underground copper mine tour guide in the Upper Peninsula.

Pursuing law was something that Meyer, who now works as a partner with Varnum’s Business and Corporate Services Practice Team, eventually discovered to be a natural fit.

“What really drew me to law school was that all the skills I valued the most in terms of understanding, deciphering, communicating, analyzing, and ultimately trying to develop counsel, to be prudent and wise, were all packaged up in what it meant to prepare for and be a lawyer,” Meyer said.

Today, Meyer focuses his corporate governance, M&A and compliance practice on startups, health care, forestry products and manufacturing companies. He also has led Varnum’s innovative MiSpringboard program for about five years, helping propel the firm’s startup practice.

A member of the State Bar of Michigan and the Grand Rapids Bar Association, Meyer also serves on the board of directors of InvestUP, a regional economic development organization in the Upper Peninsula. Previous board memberships include the West Michigan Better Business Bureau and Catherine’s Health Center.

“As someone I respect once told me, we can make a bigger difference if we go beyond being motivated to grow as much fruit as possible on our own trees and are instead content to watch our fruit grow on others’ trees,” Meyer said.

Outside of professional pursuits, Meyer also volunteers as a recreational soccer league coach and maintains a hobby farm with chickens, horses and a garden.

— Kayleigh Van Wyk

A

orga O mu sup Hou lead by t H form volv men “Th to h sup E com ben “Th ties com said mu ing

Courtney Myers-Keaton, 39

Director, Grand Rapids Area Coalition to End Homelessness

C

ourtney Myers-Keaton leads a coalition of more than 60 nonprofit service organizations, agencies, municipalities and community members to tackle the problem of homelessness.

Housed within Heart of West Michigan United Way, the coalition provides temporary shelter, social services, and assistance in finding and maintaining permanent and safe housing.

The coalition has its roots in Kent County’s Essential Needs Task Force, which was formed in 1982 as the first coordinated effort to ensure basic needs of residents. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) had recently required communities that receive homeless assistance funding to form a Continuum of Care, out of which the coalition was born. It took its current name and mission in 2021.

Myers-Keaton said her biggest recent “win” was securing a $2.47 million HUD grant — on the coalition’s fifth attempt — to help end youth homelessness. The funding allowed the group to create an action plan that is now underway. The grant also will ensure continued funding for youth-specific programs that already exist.

“It’s an honor to be part of a group of leaders in our community who are being recognized for their efforts,” she said of her 40 Under 40 award.

Prior to joining the coalition in 2018, Myers-Keaton worked for Great Start Collaborative Kent County and the Healthy Homes Coalition of West Michigan. In the latter role, she developed a direct services program to identify and mitigate hazards to children’s health, such as lead, radon and asthma triggers.

Myers-Keaton also serves on the Kent County Health Equity Council and is a member of the Housing Stability Alliance.

— Rachel Watson

34 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | October 16, 2023

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Brooke Oosterman, 32 Executive Director, Housing Next

A

t a time when just about every community is navigating a housing shortage, Brooke Oosterman has broadened the reach of Housing Next, one of West Michigan’s most prominent housing advocacy organizations.

Oosterman was hired as Housing Next’s director of policy and communications in 2022 and promoted to executive director this year to support the organization’s expansion of services into Kent County.

Housing Next has since been selected as one of the organizations to lead West Michigan’s five-year regional strategy for housing solutions by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.

Housing Next has solidified its work in Ottawa and Kent counties with formal partnerships, and is working with both counties to establish revolving housing loan funds to provide gap financing for the development and preservation of affordable housing.

“This work has been incredibly rewarding because it has allowed us to have greater impact locally and at the state level in ensuring housing supply solutions are moving forward,” Oosterman said.

Expanding Housing Next’s reach has required collaboration and compromise to bring together stakeholders, and finding solutions that benefit everyone while finding common ground, Oosterman said.

“There is a clear divide in how urban, rural and suburban communities plan and think about housing, as well as how stakeholders in the communities we represent view the challenges of housing,” Oosterman said. “Navigating these different viewpoints and cultures within communities or counties has been an area of growth with the goal of bringing about common ground.”

— Kate Carlson

CONGRATULATIONS

40 UNDER 40 WINNER

ADAM CLARKE PRESIDENT, 1 BOLD STEP

Congrats on receiving this outstanding award, Adam! Thank you for your constant leadership and commitment to investing in the growth of West Michigan businesses.

Ready to grow your business? Scan the QR code to take the first bold step.

Commercial Real Estate

OUTLOOK FOR 2024

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Melissa Page, 39 Director of Clinical Services, Emmanuel Hospice

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s Emmanuel Hospice’s director of clinical services, Melissa Page was on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading a field-based team providing necessary care to patients during a time of widespread uncertainty. Page said the experience, while difficult, is among her top professional accomplishments.

Page said her team was able to change the type of care they were providing in “a couple of days,” adjusting how they interact with in-home patients, teaching patients to navigate telehealth visits, and providing connection for end-of-life patients while keeping staff safe.

“We (had to) shift quickly to make sure that patients’ families are still able to have some kind of a connection,” Page said. “Knowing that your loved one is passing and you’re not able to see them or hold their hands or give them that hug meant that we had to be creative and we had to be creative quickly.”

The nearly overnight changes required resourcefulness and hard work — something Page is accustomed to.

“My whole life, including my professional career, I have charged through new and unknown pathways for the betterment of myself and others,” she said.

Page’s best piece of career advice is to “find your niche and then make a big impact,” adding that “nursing is really a blank slate. There are so many different things that people can do and sometimes it takes a couple of different tries before you (say), ‘All right, I found what feels like home to me.’”

— Abby Poirier

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Emily Paszkowski, 37 Senior Manager, Hungerford Nichols

E

mily Paszkowski says her role as senior manager at Hungerford Nichols is the first job in her accounting career that has brought a sense of fulfillment.

“We work with a lot of entrepreneurs and small business owners who are really good at what they do, but they shouldn’t have to be accounting experts, too,” Paszkowski said. “We’re able to help them make better business decisions and come alongside them in their business goals.”

Paszkowski is also passionate about advocating for a better work culture for accountants in general, and at her own firm. After going through a high-risk pregnancy in 2021, she successfully advocated for a better maternity policy with her firm’s human resources department that resulted in a better benefit package for all employees.

“This has been a huge year for me to go from being very career driven to a parent with a demanding career,” Paszkowski said. “I really learned that you can’t do anything on your own, whether it’s parenting or your career — you really rely on others for where you are today.”

Paszkowski is also pushing for Hungerford Nichols and other firms to embrace employees who want to work flexible or reduced schedules, especially given the decline in the number of people going into accounting, she said. As well, it would be more beneficial to employees and firms to put less emphasis on the number of hours people work, and instead focus more on the quality of work people do, Paszkowski added.

“My goal is to be a shareholder at the firm, which will give me the ability to create change,” Paszkowski said. “I want to push for change not only to make my life better but I also want to provide those same benefits to the next person.”

— Kate Carlson

Krista Paulin-Kark, 34 Vice President of Marketing and Community Affairs, Huntington Bank

K

rista Paulin-Kark’s professional career is all about making adjustments.

She is the vice president of marketing and community affairs at Huntington Bank and has been involved in several changes, including a merger and multiple leadership changes.

Despite those challenges, she has achieved multiple successes, including establishing the West Michigan Inclusion Council, which is designed to create an inclusive, respectful and supportive environment for all of her colleagues. Paulin-Kark also played a pivotal role in driving corporate giving and brand awareness for Huntington Bank in West Michigan “Despite organizational transitions, I have remained steadfast in driving positive transformations and making a difference in the communities we serve,” she said. Those organizational transitions include Huntington Bank’s 2021 acquisition of TCF Bank, which created the second-largest bank operating in Michigan.

As Paulin-Kark creates positive change in the workplace, she is also involved in the community, serving as a board member of the Grand Rapids Symphony, Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan, Athena Grand Rapids, and the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce.

She also teaches financial literacy through Junior Achievement, and volunteers with Kids’ Food Basket, which works to alleviate childhood hunger.

“Through my work, I strive to inspire and empower others, fostering growth and innovation,” she said. “I am committed to continuous learning, collaboration, and using my skills to address challenges and create meaningful change.”

— Danielle Nelson 36 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | October 16, 2023

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Shirward Punches, 39 Principal, Managing Partner, Bridge Commercial Realty

President, CEO, Haviland Enterprises

M

eg Post is more than one year into her role as the top executive of a chemical manufacturing company, and she considers the transition to that role as her biggest career win.

Post joined Haviland Enterprises Inc. as vice president of finance in 2018 before promotions to chief financial officer, president, and now president and CEO effective July 1, 2022.

Last year also marked 10 years of employee ownership of Haviland, which Post said is rewarding from both a structural and cultural standpoint.

“Our employees own the business, which means they really take ownership over their roles and care about the business a lot,” Post said. “It also means that we try to make sure that employees are empowered to do their job to the best of their abilities.”

Post came to Haviland after working several years at a financial consulting firm. She has worked to immerse herself in different departments in the company to gain a deeper understanding of the work and the industry.

“I have the opportunity to be in an industry where women are not often present in leadership positions,” Post said. “There certainly are others than me, but to be visible

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and for people in the industry and in the company to see me leading an organization and know that they as women can also do the same thing, I think, is very meaningful to me.”

Outside of work, Post volunteers with her kids’ school events and sports teams. Her board experience includes roles with Axios International Inc. and Kentwood Office Furniture.

— Kayleigh Van Wyk

hirward Punches’ path into commercial real estate hasn’t been linear, but he’s all-in now, buoyed by a recent win for his one-year-old firm.

Punches worked in insurance, quality assurance, youth pastoral ministry, marketing, financial services, business development, and the arts before getting his first commercial real estate job with CARR, a Colorado-based national brokerage that serves the health care sector. There, he helped West Michigan medical practices secure office space from 2016-2022.

He and his business partner Clint Herrema then co-founded Bridge Commercial Realty, a full-service commercial brokerage licensed in Michigan and Florida. Punches also co-founded the Healthcare Realty Network, a national association for brokers in his sub-specialty.

Punches said his first big achievement at Bridge came when he secured an endorsement as a preferred service provider for the Michigan Dental Association, which is already starting to open doors for the young firm. Now, Punches and Herrema are on the hunt for their own office space.

As an adoptee, Punches finds meaning connecting to his cultural heritage locally.

He’s the former entertainment director for the Grand Rapids Asian-Pacific Festival and a founding board member and former development director for the Grand Rapids Asian-Pacific Foundation. He is an emcee, fashion model and dancer for the Philippine Cultural Group of Michigan, and he serves on the board of the West Michigan Asian Business Association, which formed less than a year ago.

Punches also was recently elected to a two-year term as board president of the Council on Aging of Kent County.

He said it “feels surreal” to be chosen as a 40 Under 40 honoree: “I’m just very, very grateful.”

— Rachel Watson

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October 16, 2023 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | 37

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Leanne Schaeffer, 33

Josh Sikkema, 31

Partner, Boileau & Co.

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Co-founder, Black Pigeon Studios

L

eanne Schaeffer takes a can-do approach to helping businesses communicate, and believes “most problems can be solved by better communication,” she said.

Schaeffer became a partner and co-owner at Boileau & Co. three years ago after joining the marketing agency as a communications specialist in 2016. The family-owned, Holland-based company offers strategic communications, marketing, web and video services.

As she progressed from entry level to director of client services and now partner, Schaeffer helped her now co-owners, Vince and Erich Boileau, implement the EOS operating system for which she serves as integrator, using it to grow the firm from six to 15 employees and boost its book of business. She also helped improve the employee experience through better health benefits, quarterly reviews and regular one-on-ones.

Schaeffer said she is inspired to serve by the lessons her sports-loving late father taught her.

“He taught me early that you don’t need

K S

I

J to be the most natural athlete to win if you know the rules, study and learn,” she said. “(Also), it’s not the last shot in the game that matters most, but the effort you put into the little things. … Whether it’s helping a city department communicate about a new program, launching a capital campaign or just in my one-on-one conversations, I hope to help people understand and grow.”

In addition to her work, Schaeffer has served on the West Michigan Sports Commission Advisory Council for two years and was recently elected to the board of Girls on the Run West Michigan.

— Rachel Watson

osh Sikkema is a believer in helping people bloom where they’re planted.

After leaving Michigan to pursue a career in the Hollywood film industry almost nine years ago, he still splits his time between Grand Rapids and Los Angeles so that he can help lead Black Pigeon Studios.

In 2020, he co-founded the rentable film and photography studio in Grand Rapids with Detroit native Johnny Ray, and they’ve since added L.A. native Thomas Blunt as a partner.

The studio offers two sound stages, custom set construction, art direction, crew staffing and equipment rentals, with the idea of helping young artists thrive in the film industry. To that end, the studio mentors between 20 and 35 interns at a time from schools like Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University, Calvin University and Grand Valley State University.

“The need and the want is there for the kind of service we provide,” Sikkema said.

“So we’re excited, we’re going to figure out some ways to monetize that and make it more advantageous for the interns and for us.”

Sikkema said he remains committed to “bridging the gap” between Michigan and Hollywood.

“It is our responsibility as humans to provide access and information to others once we attain a certain height,” he said. “Building community is far greater than building your own career.”

Sikkema is a member of the Michigan Film Industry Association that is lobbying for the Multimedia Jobs Act, legislation introduced in July that would bring film incentives back to Michigan.

He also is part of the West Michigan Film and Media Alliance and partners with the Black United Fund to create media industry synergies between Grand Rapids and Detroit.

— Rachel Watson

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38 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | October 16, 2023

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Kyle Van Strien, 38

Zachary Verhulst, 36

Co-owner, Co-founder, Long Road Distillers

Founder, Managing Principal, Pure Architects

I

n a career built around the ethos of not taking shortcuts, Kyle Van Strien has carved out a path to success, both personally and for the Grand Rapids-based craft distillery he co-founded and co-owns.

Van Strien has led the charge into a successful new product category for Long Road Distillers, which operates a flagship distillery and restaurant on Grand Rapids’ west side and the Less Traveled cocktail bar in the city’s East Hills neighborhood, plus a satellite tasting room in downtown Grand Haven.

After launching a line of three spirits-based ready-to-drink canned beverages into statewide distribution in February, Long Road exceeded its sales goal for all of 2023 by the end of the second quarter, with no signs of a slowdown in sight.

“This is the fastest-growing adult beverage category in the country, and we consider ourselves to be on the leading edge of what’s to come,” he said, noting the products are all based on popular cocktails Long Road has served at its bars.

As a “driving force” behind Long Road, Van Strien also has relished in the numerous accolades that the company has received since its founding, including dozens

Z

of awards praising the quality of the distillery’s products.

“These honors are a testament to our dedication to doing things the right way, without taking shortcuts, and to the tremendous agricultural resources we have available to us in West Michigan,” he said.

Outside of the distillery, Van Strien remains active in local government, having served as chairman of the Grand Rapids City Planning Commission since 2012.

— Joe Boomgaard

achary Verhulst formed Pure Architects in August 2020 and has since generated $7 million in revenue along with plans to move his growing team to a new location on Grand Rapids’ west side.

The Grand Rapids-based firm has 23 employees and will likely be up to a team of 25-30 when the company moves into new offices at the Shade Shop building on Leonard Street NW, which Verhulst purchased in April for $1.1 million.

Pure Architects’ projects are mainly in education, office space, mixed-use developments and working on community projects such as developments for nonprofits and other community organizations, Verhulst said.

Pure Architects’ current projects include leading the design work on a $158 million project for East Grand Rapids Public Schools, the $32 million expansion and renovation of the United Methodist Community House and The Diatribe Inc.’s $6.2 million mixed-use development.

“The one thing in common with all of (our projects) is they are rooted to the idea that human beings are at the center of what we do,” Verhulst said.

Verhulst is active in the community and “passionate about bridge building” between his passions and personal connections, he said.

Verhulst was also among the 40 Under 40 class of 2022 and 2019, and he received the 2019 Young Architect of the Year award from the American Institute of Architects’ Grand Rapids chapter. The Grand Rapids native serves on several architectural and entrepreneurial organization boards in the community, and he regularly mentors students interested in architecture or business.

— Kate Carlson

Meijer congratulates Crain’s Grand Rapids 40 Under 40 including our own Andrew Martin from the Meijer Government Affairs Team.

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Ashley Ward, 33 CEO, W Talent Solutions

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shley Ward serves as CEO of W Talent Solutions, a talent recruitment firm she established in 2017 on a leap of faith. Ward founded her business on philanthropy and empowerment, two principles she still abides by today.

Born and raised in Grand Rapids, Ward said that her focus on philanthropy is driven by her love for her city and a deep respect for the West Michigan nonprofits she supports. Those nonprofit organizations, including the YWCA of West Michigan, now benefit from Ward’s work as donor, leader and volunteer.

“I honestly wouldn’t be where I am today without their services,” Ward said. “I serve on the board of the nonprofits that have supported me in my personal journey. Getting to play a leadership role in the services they offer that are literally rebuilding people’s lives and giving people a new opportunity and lease on life is just super rewarding.”

Most recently, Ward celebrated an expansion at W Talent Solutions with the addition of a new office in Detroit, where she’s excited to build a client base.

“Ultimately what propelled my career is leaning into my strengths,” Ward said. “My strength, really, is just connecting people. You don’t need to have a ton of knowledge or education to be able to have a really successful career and make an impact.”

— Abby Poirier

Anastasia Wiese, 35

Senior Financial Adviser, co-owner, Grand Wealth Management

A

s a senior financial adviser and co-owner at Grand Wealth Management LLC in Grand Rapids, Anastasia Wiese leads as both a “servant leader” and a “shepherd leader.”

Through her professional position, Wiese seeks to create “an opportunity for women to be mentored by women, learn the foundational wealth and investment knowledge they need to be successful in their careers, and provide real client facing experience to hone professionalism and expertise,” she said.

“This is what drives me. I want to help women enter the financial services industry with ease.”

A Farmington Hills native, Wiese earned an economics degree in 2010 from Albion College with a focus on finance and accounting, then went to Valparaiso University in Indiana, where she earned a law degree in 2013. During law school, she served a summer clerkship for a judge in Wayne County. That role gave her a “well-rounded picture of society,” she said.

Wiese decided she “really wanted to work with people in a more long-term sort of relationship, and help clients and people work through the good times and bad.” After graduating from Valparaiso, Wiese became an investment adviser and then started her own registered investment advisory firm, Meadow Ridge Financial LLC. She later sold Meadow Ridge to Grand Wealth Management in 2018 and today manages about $166 million in assets, with a niche for working with several owners, business professionals and corporate executives in wealth and investment management.

Wiese serves as a corporate sponsor and mentor for the Michigan chapter of the Girl Scouts and has mentored college-age young women through her church and Calvin University. She is the mother of two daughters.

“A large part of what motivates me professionally is to illustrate to them that women can do anything, even in a typically male-dominated profession,” Wiese said.

— Mark Sanchez

40 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | October 16, 2023

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10/11/23 10:36 AM

City Built launches collaborative beer project Partnership hopes to elevate Hispanic and Latino brewers

By Abby Poirier

City Built Brewing Co. aims to elevate Hispanic and Latino brewers with a new collaborative beer project it’s launching in partnership with a Detroit brewery.

CEO Edwin Collazo, whose grandparents immigrated to America from Puerto Rico, said the Mi Gente collaboration will tell the stories of Latino and Hispanic brewers, sharing their contributions to the brewing industry and highlighting their communities.

Mi Gente, which translates as my “people,” grew out of Collazo’s friendship with Eric Plata, the production manager at Detroit-based Batch Brewing Co. The collaborators aim for the first beer to get released this month.

“We’ve been talking about doing a beer collaboration for like two or three years that highlighted Latinos and Hispanic brewers and the contributions that they’re making to the industry,” Collazo said. “This is something that we

had been working on and the timing wasn’t always great until recently.”

Together, Collazo and Plata are launching the first Mi Gente collaboration. The brew, a West Coast IPA, will debut in taprooms at both City Built and Batch Brewing on Oct. 27, followed by a launch at the Michigan Brewers Guild 14th Annual Detroit Fall Beer Festival on Oct. 28.

Mi Gente will also give back to the community, an important part of the collaboration. City Built plans to donate a portion of the proceeds from sales of the beer to the Grand Rapids Community Foundation’s Somos Comunidad Fund. The fund, established in 2022, is Latino-led and -focused, offering resources to support racial, social and economic justice within Latinx communities in West Michigan.

Batch Brewing plans to donate a portion of the proceeds from Mi Gente to the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation.

“It’s been immensely rewarding to work on this project and see it

come to fruition. I’m humbled to be a part of an initiative that represents a growing minority in the brewing industry, all while highlighting the expansive culture of the Hispanic brewer,” Plata said in a statement.

According to data from the Boulder, Colo.-based Brewers Association, 2.2% of craft brewery owners as of 2021 identified as Hispanic, Latinx or of Spanish origin, the largest minority group of respondents.

After the initial launch, Collazo hopes other Latino and Hispanic brewers will pick up the brew and share their stories as well, noting that West Michigan-based The Mitten Brewing Co., Speciation Artisan Ales and Pigeon Hill Brewing Co. all have Hispanic and Latino brewers or partners who could be potential future collaborators.

“The opportunity for us is to start to tell the stories of those brewers,” Collazo said. “The breweries who decide to work with us and have Hispanic and Latinos working in their spaces, that gives us a chance to just talk about

Aaron McCall designed the artwork for Mi Gente, a West Coast IPA that City Built Brewing is launching as a collaborative beer with Batch Brewing in Detroit. | COURTESY PHOTO

them.”

The Mi Gente project draws inspiration from other national movements highlighting people of color in the brewing industry, most notably the Black Is Beautiful Beer, a collaborative brew launched by Weathered Souls Brewing Co. of San Antonio, Texas, in 2020. Black Is Beautiful supports the National Black Brewers Association’s work in developing and growing Black brewers nationwide through an open collaboration in which participating brewers produce the same beer in each of their markets and donate a portion of the proceeds back to the association.

Like Black Is Beautiful, Mi Gente

will focus on a singular recipe, art and mission shared between collaborating brewers in Michigan, celebrating Hispanic and Latino brewers.

“Really, the opportunity is for another brewery to just take on the recipe and the art and then make it themselves,” Collazo said.

Collazo hopes he can look back next year and see the bridges he helped build and the connections he facilitated between brewers from Hispanic and Latino backgrounds.

“City Built’s logo has a bridge in it (and) one of our mottos is, ‘Where cultures collide,’” he said.

“This is just another opportunity for us to do those things.”

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CRAIN’S CONTENT STUDIO October 16, 2023 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | 41

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10/11/23 10:51 AM

COMMENTARY

We can find local solutions to child care issues

By Win Irwin, Lew Chamberlin and Kevin Clay

GETTY IMAGES

A

new report from the Michigan Chamber of Commerce is sounding the alarm bell about the growing crisis of access to quality, affordable child care.

The report projects that many parents across Michigan are poised to leave the labor force entirely because they simply don’t have good options for their children.

That’s bad news for small businesses because it means even fewer employees. It’s also bad news for parents who are literally being forced out of the workforce because of lack of access to child care.

The MI Untapped Potential report, which was developed in partnership with the Grand Rapids Chamber, examines the impact Michigan’s lack of accessible and affordable child care has on our working parents, job providers and the economy.

Child care issues, which were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, result in an estimated $2.88 billion annual loss for Michigan’s economy, the report said.

As business leaders in Kent County, we are committed to developing solutions so working parents can be supported and our economy can thrive. Access to quality child care is a dual-generation workforce issue, critical to maintaining and growing today’s workforce and developing the workforce of tomorrow.

In Kent County, we are lucky to have the Ready by Five Early Childhood Millage, which is administered by First Steps Kent.

The millage, passed overwhelmingly by voters in 2018, has provided more than 12,400 young children and expectant par-

ents across every ZIP code in Kent County access to programs proven to improve the health, school readiness, and well-being of children 5 and younger.

Quality early childhood programs improve academic outcomes and high school graduation rates. Adults with a strong foundation built during childhood are more likely to be in the workforce and be better parents to their own children.

The Ready by Five Millage has been a huge success, and we in the business

community recognize we need to build on these programs and do much more to expand access to child care in our community. We continue to advocate for the federal, state, and private investments necessary to fully solve this issue, but we can’t wait for Washington and Lansing.

Locally, we need to invest in growing our child care workforce, support child care business owners so they can stay in the field, and help parents find quality care that meets their needs.

Giving children in our community the best start possible will help provide a bright future for our families and our economy. Giving working parents access to quality, affordable child care will pay dividends for generations to come.

Win Irwin is the Ready by Five steering committee co-chair; Lew Chamberlin is the First Steps Kent co-chair; and Kevin Clay is chair of the TalentFirst Early Childhood work group.

COMMENTARY

Crain’s Power Breakfasts aim to inform and engage

A

There, at a packed venue t our most recent Crain’s downtown, the event centered on Grand Rapids Business electric vehicles and experts from Power Breakfast at Meijer a variety of sectors — from supGardens, we heard from a panel pliers to battery makers to acaof experts on the issue of mental demia — offered their insights. health in the workplace.

Once again, even though it was The discussion flew by as the a full discussion, complete with panelists, along with moderator audience questions, people reJason Reep of The Employers’ Asmained afterward to talk with the sociation, offered helpful, timely Mickey panel members and converse advice geared toward business Ciokajlo is leaders. executive editor with each other before moving on with their day.

They couldn’t possibly get to all of Crain’s I attended my first Power of the audience questions within Detroit Business Breakfast in March, just two the time allotted and dozens of and Crain’s months after I joined Crain Compeople stayed afterward to talk Grand Rapids munications, when we held with Jason, members of the panel Business.

Women Who Mean Business and each other. events in Grand Rapids and Detroit.

It was a classic Crain’s Power Breakfast.

The panel discussion at each breakfast Come for the presentation, stay for the engagement. Or, for some, perhaps it was was riveting in its own way, with moments the other way around, as networking time of humor, poignancy and inspiration. I reis offered before the programming begins alized then that Crain’s Power Breakfasts are a form of live journalism, complete as well.

A similar scene played out two weeks with sharing stories, offering insights and building community. later in Detroit.

I have the good fortune of meeting and talking with our experts before they take the stage. In many cases, they don’t know each other before we invite them to join a Crain’s panel to discuss a given topic. There they are at 7:15 in the morning, sharing coffee and business cards, getting to know one another before offering their knowledge and wisdom to a room full of people.

Our next Power Breakfast will be Wednesday, Nov. 8, at Meijer Gardens. The program that morning will be the 2024

outlook for the commercial real estate market in West Michigan. The event will feature a conversation with Kara Wood, the executive director of Grand Action 2.0, which is leading the charge for a downtown amphitheater, followed by a panel discussion with leading industry experts.

I am certain it will be an interesting and enlightening morning. So, please, come for the information — and stay for the engagement. The other way around works well, too.

Sound off: Send a column for the Opinion page to tim.gortsema@crain.com. Please include a phone number for verification purposes, and limit submissions to 500 words or fewer. Please include a headshot, title and organization name with the submission.

42 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | October 16, 2023

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Tribal business leaders create new path to minority certification NNASC launches standalone process to access economic development tool

By Kayleigh Van Wyk

A new national nonprofit based in Grand Rapids aims to empower companies owned by Native Americans and tribal entities with a minority enterprise certification tailored to the nuances of that growing business community.

The National Native American Supplier Council launched Sept.

20 at the Great Lakes Tribal Economic Summit hosted by Tribal Business News at the Four Winds Casino Resort and Hotel in New Buffalo.

By launching its own standalone minority business certification process, the NNASC aims to help companies circumvent existing certifying bodies that have effectively stymied the efforts of many tribally owned companies to access the powerful tool to help grow their operations.

“Tribes, the word ‘tribes’ and the way tribes are commonly referred to almost speak of the tribes as homogeneous — all are the same and structured the same — and it’s absolutely false,” said Julio Martinez, chairman of NNASC’s board of directors and CEO of Dowagiac-based Mno-Bmadsen, the non-gaming investment arm of the

based on them failing that threepart test, other regional offices in states across the country have certified similar tribally owned entities as MBEs. Moreover, tribally owned businesses often receive the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) disadvantaged business certification, which requires similar proof of minority ownership.

The NNASC is what Martinez describes as a first-of-its-kind organization that aims to fill the gap in understanding and provide qualified companies with MBE certifications that they can use to expand their business reach while boosting economic equity among tribal communities.

One particular benefit for the entities that NNASC certifies will be access to business with publicly traded companies and other Fortune 500 corporations that have minority supplier spending goals.

To that end, a 2021 study from Miami-based strategic consultancy The Hackett Group Inc. found that companies globally are expected to increase their diversity spending goals by more than 50% by 2025, when they are expected to steer 13% of their total spending to companies owned by underrepresented diversity groups.

“For the businesses that are interested in supplier diversity efforts, the reality is the Native Americans haven’t been able to participate in a full level up until now, and so really being accepting of the certification, (it’s) saying, ‘We’re willing to give Natives a seat at the table,’” said Jason Palmer, executive director of the NNASC and citizen of the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, or Gun Lake Tribe.

“When you’re talking about a tribe, you’re really talking about a community. Each of those communities is defined uniquely, and it’s defined by the tribes themselves. Having a third party coming in and trying to define tribal membership is really insulting, quite frankly,” Palmer said. “Who better to certify Native-owned companies than Natives themselves?”

Palmer said building awareness of the new certification process remains a key priority for the new organization. That initial outreach has led to eye-opening conversations with corporations, which “have been pretty open with their willingness to accept a certification” from the NNASC, he added.

At this point, a handful of Native-owned companies have started the certification process, so the NNASC hasn’t seen that acceptance in practice just yet, according to Palmer.

The NNASC is based in downtown Grand Rapids at McKay Tower, which is owned by a partnership of two tribally owned economic development firms,

“Who better to certify Native-owned companies than Natives themselves?”

— Jason Palmer, executive director of the NNASC and citizen of the Match-E-Be-NashShe-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians

Pokagon Band of Potawatomi.

“It really takes somebody who knows the tribal space to be able to properly vet the organization … and be able to properly certify, be able to go through the channels and understand the documents that would support it,” he said.

To date, Michigan tribally owned companies have faced what one former enterprise leader described as “circular exclusion” from the Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council, the body that vets “Minority Business Enterprise,” or MBE certifications.

Although Native Americans qualify as minorities under the MBE program, tribally-owned investment entities face challenges when they try to certify businesses in their portfolios. That’s because tribal economic development groups often are set up as holding companies that leave existing management in place to operate and grow the companies, taking a page from the private equity and family office playbook.

The existing MBE certification requires that minorities own, operate and control the companies in question.

While the Detroit-based Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council has denied MBEs

Gun Lake Investments and Waséyabek Development Co. LLC. Plans for the NNASC have been in the works for several years, and Martinez said progress accelerated in the past year after previous interruptions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. “(We’ve been) moving this project forward, I’d say, for the last year and very seriously in the last 10 months to organize it and start registering the nonprofit and starting to get resolutions of support from each tribe,” Martinez said.

Looking ahead, NNASC’s intent is to expand beyond the Midwest to both of the coasts over the next two years.

Martinez said the future effect of the NNASC is especially important as tribes and tribal economic development corporations have been working to diversify their portfolios and revenue streams.

“The forward-looking tribes are creating these businesses in order to be able to continue to provide services to their citizens into the future,” Martinez said. “We need to build it today for the future and the

The National Native American Supplier Council launched Sept. 20 at the Great Lakes Tribal Economic Summit in New Buffalo. From left: Tanya Gibbs of Rosette LLP, Julio Martinez of Mno-Bmadsen, and Jason Palmer of National Native American Supplier Council. | DARREN THOMPSON FOR TRIBAL BUSINESS NEWS

McKay Tower in downtown Grand Rapids. | COURTESY PHOTO

future generations as a tribe because reliance on a single revenue stream has been shown throughout business history to be a fool’s

errand because eventually, that revenue stream can be compromised or eliminated, so this can have a very significant impact.”

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BANKING & FINANCE

EDUCATION

HEALTH CARE

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Van Andel Institute

Health Alliance Plan (HAP)

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Shawn has served as an advisor in the financial services industry for 24+ years. He prides himself on building strong relationships with clients, working collaboratively with these individuals and families to help them achieve their most important financial and life goals.

A graduate of WMU with a degree in Business Administration, Shawn holds the designation of Accredited Wealth Management Advisor.

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October 16, 2023 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | 43

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10/11/23 10:48 AM

COREWELL From Page 1

LGES Michigan’s expanded campus in Holland. | LG ENERGY SOLUTION MICHIGAN

LG ENERGY From Page 5

Kentucky, where they will be assembled into battery packs and installed in battery electric vehicles.

“Today’s announcement that LG Energy Solution and Toyota are partnering up to power electric vehicles in America right here in Michigan reaffirms our strategy to Make It in Michigan by building a landscape that encourages global investment while creating opportunities for people and communities across our state,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement. “Together, we can continue growing our economy, creating good-paying jobs, and further cement Michigan as the global epicenter of the next revolution of the automotive industry.”

The deal marks a big win for LG Energy, which has already teamed with automakers including Honda and General Motors Co., which has three Ultium Cells battery plants with LG Energy, including one near Lansing. It also marks a departure

from the battery producer’s prior EV business models, which are generally arranged as joint ventures with automakers. The deal with Toyota is LG’s largest single supply agreement secured outside of a JV. “We’re excited to have Toyota, the best-selling global automaker, as our new customer,” Youngsoo Kwon, CEO of LG Energy, said in the release. “The agreement also presents another big opportunity for us to strengthen our production capacity in North America, thereby bringing more real-life, large-scale progress toward electrification in the region.”

Crain’s inquired with the Michigan Economic Development Corp. about what incentives the company will potentially be seeking for expansion and how many jobs it is expected to create.

— Kurt Nagl is a reporter for Crain’s Detroit Business. Crain’s Grand Rapids Business reporter Kate Carlson and Crain’s Detroit Business reporter David Eggert contributed to this report.

STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION (Act of August 12, 1970: Section 3685, Title 39, United States Code) 1. Title of Publication: Grand Rapids Business Journal

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8. Location of headquarters or general business offices of the publisher: Crain Communications Inc., 1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, MI 48207-2997.

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10. Owner (if owned by a corporation, its name and address must be stated and also immediately thereunder the names and addresses of stockholders owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of stock. If not owned by a corporation, the names and addresses of the individual owners must be given. If owned by a partnership or other unincorporated firm, its name and address, as well as that of each individual must be given.): Crain Communications Inc., 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit, MI 48207-2997; K.E. Crain, 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit, Mich. 48207-2997.

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surface parking lots with 320 parking spaces would be constructed in their place.

The health system is proposing the housing development for medical residents and fellows at 648 Ottawa Ave. and 649 Ionia Ave. Construction is set to start “as soon as funding is available,” according to a planning memo filed with the city.

“There are currently 415 residents and fellows in Corewell Health West Graduate Medical Education program that require convenient and affordable hous-

BANKS From Page 5

the LendingTree analysis.

Detroit ranked 27th nationally for the closure of 14.9% of branches, while Kalamazoo was 57th with six closures, or 11.3%.

Much of the decline in the number of branches in Michigan resulted from the 2021 merger between Huntington Bancshares Inc. and the former TCF Financial Corp., a deal that led to the closing of 197 offices that were in close proximity to other branches. That includes 98 branch locations located inside Meijer Inc. stores across the state.

Bank mergers typically result in closing redundant offices, as banks seek to contain costs and optimize their branch footprints, Tumin said.

“You regularly see a reduction in total branches after a merger,” he said.

Nationwide, banks closed nearly 6,458 full-service and retail branches from June 2020 to June 2023, reducing the number of offices by 7.1%, according to the LendingTree analysis.

While digital banking channels are the preferred method of banking today for many people, the office reductions could limit or interfere with access to credit for some consumers and small businesses who prefer in-office banking, Tumin said.

“Some consumers and some businesses could have a little tough

ing in close proximity to the Medical Mile and in walking distance to Corewell Health’s Medical Campus,” the health system wrote in a planning memo filed with the city.

Additionally, Corewell Health is proposing a market-rate housing development for 706 Bond Ave., with construction expected to begin in 2025 or 2026.

Corewell Health plans to phase the Monroe North campus expansion to “avoid cost escalation” as much as possible, according to the memo.

In its special land use application, the health system said the proposed development will “be compatible and harmonious with the recent redevelopment proj-

ects as part of the Corewell Health Place North Monroe Campus and will be appropriate with any future developments in the neighborhood.”

The developments also would add to the “walkability of the neighborhood by locating the future residences and amenities nearer to places of work,” according to documents that Corewell Health filed with the city.

Corewell Health filed the applications for consideration at the Grand Rapids Planning Commission’s Oct. 26 meeting.

The entire Corewell Health Place campus should open next summer, according to the health system.

time not having a branch or as many branches nearby,” he said.

Data in the FDIC’s recently issued Summary of Deposits for 2023 show that there are 900 fewer physical bank offices in Michigan today than two decades ago, even as deposits more than doubled.

Closings tended to occur in urban markets, in lower-income neighborhoods, and involved larger banks, often in areas where they have long reached market saturation and reduced their branch networks, given the growth in digital banking that cut customer office traffic, Tumin said.

In some instances, banks have trimmed their footprints in some

markets and added in others with high population growth. Fifth Third Bancorp Inc. President and CEO Tim Spence noted in a July conference call with brokerage analysts to discuss quarterly results that the bank has added more than 70 new offices in the southeastern U.S. since entering those markets in 2019.

Over the same period, Fifth Third Bank’s Michigan branch network declined from 201 to 168 offices, according to FDIC data. Oth-

er banks — PNC, JPMorgan Chase, and Comerica among them — also have closed dozens of branches across the state since 2019.

Another factor in the branch closing trend has been the rise in small community banks, some of which continue to expand their markets, as well as credit unions that in the last decade have been more aggressive in competing for both consumer and commercial customers, Tumin said.

Tumin specifically cited Grand Rapids-based Lake Michigan Credit Union, which has grown rapidly for years. The largest credit union in the state, Lake Michigan had 67 offices in Michigan and Florida with 477,000 members as of June 30. The credit union had nearly $12.72 billion in total assets and $10.68 billion in total deposits, according to a quarterly financial report to federal regulators.

“In the last 10 years, we’ve seen a pretty strong expansion in credit unions. I think they may be challenging a lot of banks going forward,” Tumin said.

The growth of credit unions has included acquisitions of small community banks. Lake Michigan Credit Union, for example, completed two acquisitions of community banks in markets on Florida’s Gulf Coast, where it now has 20 offices.

Most recently, East Lansing-based Michigan State University Federal Credit Union in August announced plans to acquire two community banks in the Chicago area.

north of Pearl Street NW and immediately west of U.S.-131.

Developing a soccer stadium has long been discussed by Grand Rapids officials as a way to drive economic development. A destination asset study in 2016 called out a soccer stadium as a viable option for the city. The Right Place Inc. included a 7,000-capacity soccer stadium in its list of 12 “transformational” projects in 2022.

A sports venue of that size would help draw a USL Championship soccer league franchise, the economic development organization stated in a memo last year about the transformational projects.

“Any professional sport that we have here allows us to continue

carrying on the Grand Rapids brand throughout the nation and the world, hopefully,” Doug Small, president and CEO of Experience Grand Rapids, told Crain’s Grand Rapids. “It’s just another opportunity to get our name out there, so I’m excited for that. I think we’ve got a very robust soccer fan base here. It’s nice to see that the fanbase get rewarded with a team of the caliber they are looking to bring in here.”

Small added that he thinks the soccer stadium will help to reach a different crowd that Grand Rapids has not fully tapped into before.

“This could help bring in a more diverse visitor base here, which is always good,” Small said. “I also think there is an opportunity for other events to use that stadium.”

Nationwide, banks closed nearly 6,458 full-service and retail branches from June 2020 to June 2023.

D. Free Distribution by Mail; Samples, complimentary, and other free copies

133

0

E. Total Free Distribution (Sum of D and E)

2,864

97

F. Total Distribution (Sum of C and F)

5,640

6,500

G. Copies not distributed

342

574

H. Total (Sum of G and H) Should equal net press run shown in A)

5,982

7,074

I. Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation

49.21%

98.51%

17. Publication of Statement of Ownership for a Requester Publication is required and will be printed in the 10-16-2023 issue of this publication.

14. Issue date for circulation data in item 15: September 18. I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and 18, 2023. complete. Jim Kirk, Publisher.

SOCCER From Page 5

into place, but there is some exciting potential.”

Grand Action 2.0 Executive Director Kara Wood could not immediately be reached for comment.

Grand Action 2.0 officials previously confirmed that the entity is considering a site on the city’s west side as a potential project location.

Grand Action 2.0 has been working since at least September 2022 with architects to determine viable sites for the outdoor soccer stadium. Grand Action 2.0 at the time was looking at multiple sites, including property immediately

44 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | October 16, 2023

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10/11/23 10:45 AM

State board approves brownfield incentives program Subsidies will be used to encourage affordable housing development

Gretchen Whitmer in July. It encourages the redevelopment of blighted and dilapidated properties by allowing tax revenues captured through local brownfield redevelopment authorities to fund housing development activities for households whose income is no more than 120% of the area median

By Rachel Watson income.

The brownfield law previously A state housing board has approved a pair of new subsidy pro- only covered commercial and ingrams aimed at fueling affordable dustrial development activities.

The new Housing TIF program housing development.

At its Sept. 29 meeting, the Mich- “will transform underutilized igan State Housing Development properties into quality, affordable Authority board approved the housing, help spearhead economic Housing Tax Increment Financing activity, aid in environmental proprogram and Pilot Housing TIF tection and much more,” Amy HovGap Lending program to create ey, MSHDA’s executive director, and preserve rental and homeown- said in a statement. “With the support of the legislature, the Whitmer ership projects statewide.

The Housing TIF program was administration and now the MSHDA board, we can deploy this valuable resource across the state, creating more places of opportunity for Michiganders.”

Eligible housing development activities could include the following: w Reimbursing owners of rental units for — Joshua Lunger, the Grand Rapids Chamber’s qualified rehabilitavice president of government affairs tion. w Upgrading public created under an amendment to infrastructure and safety features. the state’s 1996 Brownfield Rede- w Demolishing and renovating exvelopment Financing Act intro- isting buildings and site preparaduced in March and signed by Gov. tion for projects serving in-

“This legislation takes a major step forward to allow for local private-public partnerships to support the development and rehabilitation of workforce housing.”

come-qualified households that are buying or renting. w Covering relocation costs for income-qualified households for up to one year. w Buying blighted or obsolete rental units to promote rehabilitation or adaptive reuse of the units for income-qualified households. w Reimbursing developers to fill financing gaps for the development of units priced for income-qualified households.

Reimbursing developers for infrastructure and site preparation costs for housing development for income-qualified households on eligible property.

The program gives MSHDA oversight of work plans or combined brownfield plans if the development includes housing to be rented or sold below market rate, or is subsidized.

The Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce helped spearhead the brownfield law amendment, along with the Housing Michigan Coalition.

“This legislation takes a major step forward to allow for local private-public partnerships to support the development and rehabilitation of workforce housing,” Joshua Lunger, the Grand Rapids Chamber’s vice president of government affairs, told Crain’s Detroit Business in June. “Increasing the supply of attainable housing will have a positive impact on communities, residents and job providers across West Michigan.”

Meijer-Blue Cross plan offers seniors allowance for supplies Insurance partnership is the first of its kind for the retailer

By Mark Sanchez

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s newest Medicare Advantage plan for senior citizens comes with an allowance that enrollees can spend at Meijer Inc. stores across the state.

Under the Medicare Plus Blue PPO + Meijer plan that begins enrollment this month, subscribers will get a $660 allowance to buy health-related items such as vitamins, bandages, medications and equipment. They can also use it to purchase healthy foods if they have a chronic medical condition.

The allowance is good at the approximately 120 stores the Walker-based Meijer operates in Michigan.

“We see this partnership as the opportunity to unlock growth opportunities for both of us and really foster deeper, more authentic customers. For Blue Cross, that’s its members and for Meijer that’s our customers,” said Jackie Morse, Meijer’s group vice president of pharmacy and health. “Meijer has long been a food destination, but we’re much more than that. We’re a health and wellness destination for customers and for members who

want to take charge of their health.”

Partnering with Blue Cross Blue Shield on the new Medicare plan marks Meijer’s entry into the health insurance arena.

The supercenter retailer, which has more than 500 stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin, may delve further into health care in the future, Morse said. Some stores already house walk-in medical clinics through partnerships with health systems, and “that’s a model that’s worked well for us,” she said.

“We do continue to explore other models, be it chronic care management, be it something further in the nutrition space or digital. All of those things are certainly in scope from a conversation standpoint, and we’re excited to bring more of those to life,” Morse told Crain’s.

“This, to us, is a big initiative and we’re excited to get over the finish line here. This is a long-term strategic partnership, so we see more opportunities between Meijer and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to partner. From a company standpoint, we are exploring health and wellness more holistically and how we can create a cohesive experience for all of our shoppers.”

Enrollment in the Medicare Plus Blue PPO + Meijer plan runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 for policies that take effect on Jan. 1, 2024. The Medicare Advantage plan includes $0 monthly premiums, annual deductibles, and co-pays for primary care visits and generic prescription drugs, as well as dental and vision coverage.

For now, the partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield is exclusive to Michigan, although Meijer could join with Blues plans elsewhere for similar ventures in the future.

“Certainly, down the road, are we open to other partnerships with Blues plans in other states we operate our retail supercenters? We certainly are,” Morse said. “Those are conversations to come.”

The strategic partnership in Michigan came together after Blue Cross Blue Shield reached out to Meijer a year ago about a potential collaboration.

Krischa Winright, president of Medicare Advantage at Blue Cross Blue Shield, believes the new plan “is really going to resonate with consumers that we share in common that can get even better value out of their Medicare Advantage offering.”

The Union Suites on Coit affordable housing development is one of many West Michigan projects supported by low-income housing tax credits through the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, which recently expanded incentives for affordable housing developers. | RACHEL WATSON

The Housing Michigan Coalition also includes West Michigan housing advocacy nonprofit Housing Next.

Housing Next Executive Director Brooke Oosterman said the new program gives developers tools that were unavailable before the brownfield law amendment, and comes as construction costs are rising faster than developers can keep up.

“Our excitement about the TIF legislation, specifically, is it really shows the importance of housing in our region and our community and the state, frankly, in that it changes the definition of brownfields as it relates to housing,” she

said. “We really do need to look at all of the available tools. In Michigan, moving forward, this critical tool is going to mean that we will see an impact on the housing supply around what is affordable for those who need it most.”

The MSHDA board on Sept. 29 also approved the Pilot Housing TIF Gap Lending program, which will allows MSHDA to provide funding to developers via construction loans and permanent tax reimbursement loans.

Any project using this program would be subject to income restrictions for households not exceeding 120% of the area median income.

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THE CONVERSATION

Employment law expert advises companies to rein in noncompetes as FTC proposal looms Federal trade regulators will decide sometime next spring whether to implement a proposed ban on noncompete agreements. The Federal Trade Commission last spring received more than 21,000 comments from business organizations, trade associations, individuals and even attorneys general across the U.S. about the possible changes.

Mark Smith, a partner at Grand Rapids-based Rhoades McKee PC who co-chairs the law firm’s employment law practice group, spoke with Crain’s Grand Rapids Business about the rule that was proposed in early 2023 and what the FTC may do. | By Mark Sanchez Where does the FTC proposal on non-compete agreements sit right now?

It’s just been disclosed … that they are going to delay the issuance of their final rule until April of next year. They got so many comments that they simply can’t move into the final rulemaking as quickly as they had hoped to do.

Why do you think there were so many comments and so many people interested in the proposal?

They got them from both sides: Those that wanted to enforce and those that think that noncompetes are the worst thing ever.

The major trade associations and business interests and chambers of commerce and others weighed in early and often, alleging that the FTC didn’t have the power to take on noncompetes. They didn’t think it was within the scope of their jurisdiction. Then substantively they weighed in that noncompetes serve a legitimate interest in the business community.

On the individual side, people weighed in with their own personal experiences: This wrecked my career. It put my career on ice. It deprived me of the ability to earn a living. It shackled me to an employer that was not a good fit for me. There was a lot of individual anger associated with noncompetes.

What was suggested in the public comments other than a complete ban or doing nothing?

There was a middle ground of comments that said, ‘We understand the need to rein in noncompetes, but take a look at some alternatives other than complete elimination,’ such as have been implemented in states such as Colorado, where noncompetes are limited in scope. People under X amount of the state average weekly wages are excluded from noncompetes.

How common are noncompete agreements?

They’re extremely common and overbroad. There’s no doubt that noncompetes have been overused and have been applied to employees that really should not be subject to a noncompete.

The example that everyone turns to was a few years ago a

look for opportunity to claim that it’s overly broad and interferes with an employee’s rights and is therefore an unfair labor practice.’

While the FTC is chewing its way through the 21,000 comments, we have the National Labor Relations Board looking at noncompetes, and they’re not subject to this rulemaking process. An employer that uses them in an overbroad way faces the prospect of an unfair labor practices charge, and that’s a charge that can be levied even against a non-unionized workplace.

Mark Smith is a partner with Grand Rapids-based Rhoades McKee who chairs the firm’s employment law practice group.

Jimmy John’s franchise in the Detroit area had everyone sign a noncompete — the sandwich makers, the people taking the orders at the register and whatever. They just had no basis to restrain them going to the corner deli shop. There’s no secret about how you spread mayonnaise or put lettuce on a bun.

What do you think the FTC will do?

I’m betting that they’re going to come down with a modified version of the rule that they proposed. I just think that there are so many circumstances where noncompetes make sense to protect legitimate business interests that they’re not just going to wholesale eliminate all of them.

We may see something like in Colorado and other states that have a cutoff point where below this economic level they’re just not enforceable, and above it they may be enforceable to certain categories of employees.

The FTC’s original proposed rule said, ‘Hey, business, you can protect yourself through confidentiality agreements and the Uniform Trade Secret Practices Act.’ I just think that’s naïve. I don’t think that an employer gets the

protection it needs through just confidentiality agreements. I just think that we’re going to get some hybrid of the original rule.

What kind of reaction do you expect once the FTC issues the final rule?

No matter what they come out with, someone’s going to rush to court immediately and seek to enjoin it and say, ‘FTC, you don’t have the power to do this, and we need the courts to weigh in on the threshold issue and whether you even have the power.’

Then it’s going to be held up in litigation for a period of time.

For employers that use noncompetes, how should they think this through and prepare for what the FTC may do?

I’m safe for a little while longer, but not as safe as I used to be.

A development since the FTC acted is that the National Labor Relations Board chimed in on the issue as well. The general counsel for the National Labor Relations Board issued what’s known as an advice memo to its regional offices saying, ‘I’m of the opinion that noncompete agreements, if they’re overly broad, interfere with employees’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act, and so you, regional directors,

What’s your best advice to employers?

I would look at my noncompetes and say: I had everyone sign them just as a matter of administrative convenience, but I really need to rethink who could legitimately hurt me if they walked out the door and went to a competitor, and I should think about limiting my noncompetes to that group of employees.

Everyone else, I just need to address their job mobility in the sense of, ‘you can’t take confidential information and documents, you can’t take trade secrets, and you can’t solicit my clients or other employees away from me.’

You can still considerably tie up a former employee without enforcing a noncompete. You should still visit the issue and consider limiting it in that fashion.

What we’re telling our clients is that this isn’t a three-alarm fire, but as you’re going through your annual review of your policies, your procedures and your handbook, you should think about revisiting the scope of your existing agreements and maybe pare them back.

How do you think today’s tight labor market plays into all of this?

Frankly, in this job market where it’s difficult to find and retain talent, that can be a pitch that you can make that would distinguish you from other employers. If I’m a kid hot out of college and I have a choice of going to Employer A that’s going to tie me up for two years if I go to a competing employer if I leave, or I can go to Employer B that doesn’t tie my hands, chances are I’m going to go to Employer B.

CrainsGrandRapids.com President and CEO KC Crain Group publisher Jim Kirk, (312) 397-5503 or jkirk@crain.com Executive editor Mickey Ciokajlo, mickey.ciokajlo@crain.com Editor Joe Boomgaard, joe.boomgaard@crain.com Managing editor Andy Balaskovitz, andy.balaskovitz@crain.com Special projects editor Tim Gortsema, tim.gortsema@crain.com Director of audience and engagement Elizabeth Couch, elizabeth.couch@crain.com Audience engagement editor Matthew Pollock, matthew.pollock@crain.com Creative director Thomas J. Linden, tlinden@crain.com Associate crative director Karen Freese Zane Digital design editor Jason McGregor Art directors Kayla Byler, Carolyn McClain, Joanna Metzger Senior digital news designer Stephanie Swearngin Notables coordinator Ashley Maahs REPORTERS Kate Carlson, real estate, kate.carlson@crain.com Jack Grieve, audience engagement, jack.grieve@crain.com Abby Poirier, restaurants, retail and agribusiness, abigail.poirier@crain.com Mark Sanchez, health care and finance, mark.sanchez@crain.com Kayleigh Van Wyk, manufacturing, technology and law, kayleigh.vanwyk@crain.com Rachel Watson, residential real estate, insurance and tourism, rachel.watson@crain.com Danielle Nelson, research and data, danielle.nelson@crain.com ADVERTISING Senior vice president of sales Susan Jacobs, susan.jacobs@crain.com Advertising & event sales director Jill May, jill.may@crain.com Account executive Shelly Keel, shelly.keel@crain.com Michigan events director Samantha Flowers, samantha.flowers@crain.com Marketing and events coordinator Matthew Chaffee, matthew.chaffee@crain.com People on the Move manager Debora Stein, dstein@crain.com Classified sales Suzanne Janik, sjanik@crain.com Sales assistant Rachel Smith Inside sales Tawni Sharp CRAIN’S CONTENT STUDIO Senior director of Crain’s Content Studio Kristin Bull, kbull@crain.com Crain’s Content Studio manager Clare Pfeiffer Content marketing specialist Allie Jacobs PRODUCTION Vice president, product Kevin Skaggs Product manager Tim Simpson Prepress/production director Simone Pryce CUSTOMER SERVICE (833) 830-7446 toll free (845) 267-3031 local line (for any foreign calls) customerservice@crainsgrandrapids.com

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