Nashville Post Spring 2021 by FW Publishing

SPRING 2021

SELLING A NEW STORY CEO OF THE YEAR WOODY WOODWARD HAS KIRKLAND’S KICKING IT UP A GEAR

Stronger Support How organizations are reacting to health care providers’ burnout

Course Corrections Executive coaches share insights from a remarkable year

In Charge Our annual list of about 500 community leaders

The Nashville Predators would like to thank the State of Tennessee and Metro Nashville leadership for their guidance throughout the past year.

2021 THE 12TH EDITION OF OUR LIST OF MOVERS AND S H A K E R S F E AT U R E S SOME NEW FACES AND LOTS OF L O N G -T I M E R S PAGE 17

DANIEL MEIGS

SPRING 2021

TECHIE LEADERS

6 THREE QUESTIONS

Banded’s Lisa Powers Struble on post-COVID scenarios and hitting the pause button

8 COURSE CORRECTIONS

Executive coaches share insights gathered from a remarkable year

10 ‘TWICE AS GOOD’

Darrell Freeman on what Jack Bovender taught him

12 SELLING A NEW STORY

Our CEO of the Year Woody Woodward has invigorated Kirkland’s — to investors’ delight

SPRING 2021 | NASHVILLEPOST.COM

53 THREE QUESTIONS

Affinity’s J. Mac Brown shares pandemic-driven IT insights

53 MAJOR OPPORTUNIT Y

The pandemic has yielded consumer tech opportunities

BOOM

58 DATA BANK

60 FOOD FOR THOUGHT

VITALS

54 YOU SHOULD KNOW

Former Digital Reasoning exec applies AI angles to consumers’ health decisions

Permits pile up, rents reverse and more economic indicators

Nashville sees more alternative options for restaurant spaces

FAVORITES

62 GOOD ENERGY

Marketing pro Kriste Goad finds moments of Zen on two wheels

56 STRONGER SUPPORT

Companies react as COVID burns out nurses, other clinicians

DANIEL MEIGS

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OPEN

Readying for a rocket ride Woody Woodward is Exhibit A that a good plan can turn a right-placeat-the-right-time situation into a veritable rocket ride. Our CEO of the Year arrived at Kirkland’s two and half years ago looking to shake off the company’s cobwebs and move it a notch or two upmarket. The developing story of his time with the home goods retailer shows that building the right vision, putting in place strong leaders and investing in solid longterm priorities can steel an organization for even the most disruptive event of a generation. There’s more ahead for a company whose share price has risen 20-fold in less than a year and it should be fun to watch. Elsewhere in our first print issue of 2021, you’ll find other stories about how people and organizations are dealing with the effects of the COVID pandemic. Executive coaches shared with Stephen Elliott what they’ve learned from their clients and Kara Hartnett looked at how health care organizations are investing in their worn-out workers and the next generation that will soon join them. There’s a lot of lifting left to do there and in other industries even as we all feel the broader economy gearing up for a rocket ride of renewed growth. And no spring issue of this magazine is complete without our In Charge list, which spans 19 industries to line up for you some 500 people taking the lead in growing the city’s business, political and civic sectors. This year’s list doesn’t feature quite as many new faces as past editions — hunkering down a bit in the face of a global pandemic will do that — but that only reinforces the fact that we have a deep pool of leaders we can count on as we rebound. If you’re reading this magazine but you’re not a Post subscriber, you’re missing out on twice-daily emails that keep you up to speed with the latest executive moves, acquisitions and development plans in our still-booming city. I encourage you to get on board so that you’re staying informed. And I encourage you to reach out to our news team to let us know what you’re doing to contribute to the boom. We look forward to hearing from you on both fronts. Geert De Lombaerde, Editor gdelombaerde@nashvillepost.com

editorial EDITOR Geert De Lombaerde MANAGING EDITOR William Williams STAFF WRITERS Stephen Elliott, Michael Gallagher, Kara Hartnett CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Felicia Bonanno, Nancy Floyd, Holly Hoffman

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On the cover Woody Woodward Photo by Daniel Meigs

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Nashville Post is published quarterly by FW Publishing, LLC. Advertising deadline for the next issue is Thursday, May 27. For advertising information, call Heather Cantrell Mullins at 615844-9252. For subscription information, call 615844-9307. Copyright © 2021 FW Publishing, LLC.

SPRING 2021 | NASHVILLEPOST.COM

PARTNER LETTER

IN CHARGE

CapStar Bank is proud to again sponsor the “In Charge” issue of the Nashville Post magazine. Amid a challenging year across the nation, Nashville’s dynamic pace of economic expansion and change continues to accelerate, a trend that benefits local businesses and our growing employment base. We congratulate the leaders highlighted inside these pages and look forward to seeing them often this year and in the years to come. Over the past year, numerous companies of all sizes have announced plans to join the excitement in Nashville. CapStar is also growing to serve the evolving business community. Our Government Guaranteed Lending (Small Business Administration) team has increased our strength in an area we’ve always focused on – small and mid-sized business growth. These companies are the engine of Nashville’s economic vitality, and many of them are CapStar customers because we have the technology, approach and skill to anticipate and address their financial needs. In fact, CapStar was a statewide leader in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans processed to help protect approximately 1,500 small businesses and more than 20,000 jobs in our communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. High standards for customer service also set CapStar apart in consumer banking, private banking and wealth management. While technology has advanced the financial services sector, an algorithm will never be able to recommend the right solution for a complex business transaction, an acquisition or a strategic restructuring. That requires a team of knowledgeable experts who are flexible and appreciate the unique nature of your situation. We tailor solutions for business leaders like you. Our bankers want to hear about your business and your dreams before they recommend a solution. After all, the best relationships start with conversations. We’re listening.

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NASHVILLEPOST.COM | SPRING 2021

LEADERS

THREE QUESTIONS

Lisa Powers Struble Banded’s owner talks about what comes after COVID and why it’s OK to hit the pause button once in a while

isa Powers Struble spent two decades at big apparel names Under Armour and Abercrombie & Fitch before moving back to her native Middle Tennessee. After joining the team at fashion accessory company Banded, she bought the Franklinbased company — which supplies hundreds of boutiques in the United States and Canada — in 2018. Here, she shares some thoughts on how she has led her team since coming aboard and what’s ahead. What were you able to translate to Banded from your time at Under Armour and Abercrombie & Fitch? The biggest thing was learning from a global team about how to keep people connected while they’re remote. We didn’t panic when everyone had to work from home all of a sudden. Our focus has always been on making sure people understand their individual roles inside the larger group. If you understand how your work affects everyone else, you can be proactive and communicate more effectively. This is critical when people are working remotely and potentially making changes and decisions that will affect other work all down the line. Luckily, it’s easier with a small team to connect the dots. It helps you build agility into your culture all the time. If you weren’t flexible before, you can’t just build in flexibility during a crisis.

SPRING 2021 | NASHVILLEPOST.COM

ERIC ENGLAND

LEADERS

Congrats! Congrats!

‘If you weren’t flexible before, you can’t just build in flexibility during a crisis.’ When I arrived, I saw people chasing a lot of things. There was a lot of product development work going on but not a lot of focus. I really tried to bring some focus to the group, to define what we stood for and what we are going to stand for going forward. To me, it was about stripping away distractions. I had a lot to learn, too. This was my first time on the wholesale side. I learned quickly that if you’re going to create a new product, you need to be able to sell it through the same channels to the same people. Otherwise, it may be a great product but it’s probably not right for your brand. If you want staying power, brand comes first. What were your biggest lessons from dealing with COVID? That it’s OK to pause, to just stop for a few minutes. When the pandemic arrived, our world changed within 48 hours. We got on the phone, we got on Zoom meetings to ask ourselves and others, “What are you seeing? What are you hearing from customers?” Within the first week of stay-at-home orders being rolled out, clients were canceling orders, refusing shipments or returning products and we were extending payment schedules. But there was opportunity, too. Our appeal went primarily from selling scrunchies and the like — products we would file under “fashion items” — to having more “functional” accessories such as head wraps and masks. So we began pulling product and seeing what we could convert. We had weeded through our list of vendors when I got here

and that helped us build strong partnerships with one or two key suppliers. Within two weeks, we had signed off on new products and within 30 days, they had been produced. Around that time, there was no more panic from wholesalers and a lot of our smaller stores had figured out how to do e-commerce well. It’s so easy to become a hamster on a wheel. But it’s OK to stay put sometimes, look around and then make smarter decisions. What are some of your priorities coming up? We’re watching the news like everyone else and hoping for a spring and summer rebound. We’re launching an all-new collection inspired by Mediterranean color and style. It’s gorgeous, happy and bright and great for traveling or creating your own escape at home. The feedback we’re getting is that people want newness and are eager to get back out into stores. Longer term, we know what works for us and we’re not going to abandon it. We know what the customer wants. For us, a big focus will be on selling new accounts. A lot of stores may not reopen. But I’ve also talked to the team about opportunities coming our way because a lot of our competitors didn’t push out new lines. Post-COVID, we plan to continue to work from home at least three days a week and we just moved into a smaller, more collaborative office space. It won’t be a huge change for us versus before COVID. Even then, people with big projects would go home and work to help them focus. If I expect my team to be flexible, I think I owe them the same.

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LEADERS

Course corrections Executive coaches share insights gathered from a remarkable year BY STEPHEN ELLIOTT

he coronavirus pandemic has been hard on everyone. For some, it meant facing exposure to the disease daily working in hospitals, grocery stores or in the economy’s various supply chains. For business executives, it meant figuring out how to run a company when employees could not be in the same room and numerous processes needed to be overhauled. We spoke with three Nashville-based executive coaches — Angelo Valenti, Christie Berger and Kimberly Pace — about lessons learned from COVID-19.

Maintain hope, draw lines Valenti’s clients are mostly national, meaning he was prepared for long-distance meetings others were forced to adopt overnight. He says he has watched business leaders move through the different stages of stress. At first, organizations were faced with emergencies that had to be solved immediately: How would people keep working when they couldn’t come into the office? “You finally just learn to adapt, and that’s where people are now,” he says. Executives need to be honest with their workforce, Valenti says, while also maintaining as much optimism as possible.

SPRING 2021 | NASHVILLEPOST.COM

“The vaccine has started to give people hope,” he says. “People will persist a lot longer if there’s hope.” Moving forward, businesses are sure to adopt some of the new tendencies forced on us by COVID-19, according to Valenti. That will mean more remote work, even if it isn’t as universal as is currently required. That said, it’s important when working from home for both leaders and their employees to draw lines between their home life and work life, even though their work takes place at home. “People are really adaptable,” he says. “People adjust. It’s heartwarming to know people can do that, but it’s also frustrating that they’ve had to.”

‘People will persist a lot longer if there’s hope.’ ANGELO VALENTI

LEADERS

The switch to a virtual workforce has meant executives are seeing their employees’ spouses, kids and pets on a daily basis — a cross-pollination of the personal and professional largely unheard of before this. And, largely, that’s a good thing, Pace thinks, as executives have a clearer picture of the challenges faced by their employees at home. The leaders have challenges of their own, though, and Pace says she has had to urge clients to take a break to ward off burnout. “You can’t take care of other people if you can’t take care of yourself,” she says.

Balancing burnout with empathy

No more sitting at the dock Pace has long-term working relationships with most of her clients, who she says have proved “incredibly resilient” during the pandemic. They largely come from the health care and retail sectors, industries radically altered by COVID but in different ways. Those changes in many cases were good things, Pace says. Changes that businesses foresaw as future needs, but had been reluctant to adopt, were forced upon them overnight. That has included telehealth advances and online retail offerings. “People realized that we can get things done more quickly,” Pace says. “We don’t have to have every i dotted in every committee. One of the CEOs I talk with says, ‘I’d rather just get on the boat and let’s start moving. Then we can change course as needed, versus just sitting at the dock thinking about it for so long we miss the wave.’” Even more traditional companies, like law firms, have been “more adaptable than you’d think,” she says.

As COVID spread in its early days and businesses were forced to adapt, some business leaders were better suited to respond, according to Berger. Some people had never led virtual teams and struggled to adapt. More conservative workplaces were more reluctant to adjust long-held work practices. Others had it down more or less from day one. Now, as most offices have figured out a working solution to the challenges of COVID, a bigger barrier to progress is fatigue. Early on, virtual happy hours were still novel, but now people are just tired. “People are just burnt out,” Berger says. “People are getting used to it but there is this lingering fatigue and desire to have some level of interaction.” The way we work has changed and some of those changes are worth keeping. More flexible work structures have proven valuable, she says. But we’ve lost a certain level of connection. One specific type of lost connection is the spontaneous exchange — when colleagues pass each other in the hallway and ask about progress on a project, or a leader checks in on an employee’s wellbeing by sticking his or her head through the office door. As it becomes safer to return to offices, some workers will prefer to stay at home, at least some of the time. “Out of necessity, the pendulum swung all the way. We just didn’t have a choice,” Berger says. “We have to find that right place for the

‘We don’t have to have every i dotted in every committee.’ KIMBERLY PACE

CHRISTIE BERGER

pendulum to come down in the middle. Technology is wonderful but we just have to find the right blend to ensure we have methods and practices that will also draw connectivity, communication, engagement and relationships to the organization and within the organization.” With employees struggling, it was important for executives to lead with empathy, Berger says. And that will not go away. “It’s really highlighted the importance of leading in a way that is empathetic, with compassion, and with vulnerability, while also holding the weight and responsibility of what leadership is about,” she says.

NASHVILLEPOST.COM | SPRING 2021

LEADERS

‘Sometimes it’s best to lead the train from the caboose’ Darrell Freeman on what Jack Bovender taught him he team at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center early this year launched the Circle Back podcast, which invites successful area executives to revisit their roots and their journeys to success. Among those taking part in the first season is Darrell Freeman, who founded technology services and staffing venture Zycron in 1991. In this lightly edited excerpt, Freeman discusses landing a contract to supply HCA Healthcare and building a mentor relationship with Jack Bovender, the hospital giant’s CEO from 2001 until 2009. At the time, HCA had 35 IT companies under contract and was looking to narrow that group down to three.

There was a saying my father and my mother would say. That was, “You gotta be twice as good.” In other words: To get chosen, you gotta be twice as good. We got a chance to bid on an HCA contract. I think I spent about $30,000 putting that proposal and the presentation together because I wanted to make sure it was 10 times better than anybody else. When we went in to give the presentation, I mean, we crushed it. There’s very few days that I don’t think about the business lessons I’ve learned from Jack. He led the largest leveraged buyout in the history of the company at $30 billion. And during that

SPRING 2021 | NASHVILLEPOST.COM

period of time, as he’s doing this transaction, he and I are spending $10 at Prince’s Hot Chicken eating chicken wings. He would say, “If there is something bad happening in the business, don’t keep it a secret. Yell it as loud as you possibly can. And tell it to as many people who will listen.” When something bad is happening, if you’re running a publicly traded company — I serve on several public-company boards — and there’s something that you need to disclose but you’re waffling on whether you should disclose it, to him, his philosophy is disclose it. Some of his sayings to me over the years were, “Darrell, you know you don’t have to be out front all the time. Sometimes it’s best to lead the train from the caboose.” He wasn’t a person who would chop your head off if you made a mistake. He was a person who said, “I’ll give you a chance to redeem yourself.” And this is probably one of the best things that happened to me. He was a CEO who would say, “Keep people around you with dissenting voices and make sure you establish a culture where people know that they can tell you your idea is stupid.” And they would know that they weren’t going to lose their jobs because they told him that. So he taught me those lessons and, even after 20 or 30 years in business, I can run across a CEO and tell whether they are like a Jack Bovender or not. And I can also tell based on how they treat the people around them whether they’re going to have success or not. Because if you’re a CEO and you only get people around you who are telling you how great you are, you’re on your way out. I was the CEO of Zycron Inc. by default. Nobody appointed me CEO. Nobody did a search and said, “This is the best person for the job.” I’m an entrepreneur. The growth had stopped. I mean, it had stayed at $13 million to $16 million in revenue for two or three years. So I had to realize that I wasn’t good at it. I think one of the biggest downfalls of entrepreneurs is they think they’re the best at it and they don’t want to get out of their own way. They have a great product or service but they’ve got poor leadership skills because they think they’re it. I wish I had fired myself sooner than I did because when I fired myself, it gave the whole company life.

Freeman found a new CEO in Steven Smith. Over the next 10 years, Zycron revenues tripled to about $40 million. In April 2017, Texas-based BG Staffing bought the business born in a broom closet in a deal that was eventually worth nearly $23 million.

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NASHVILLEPOST.COM | SPRING 2021

VITALS

LEADERS

SELLING A NEW STORY Our CEO of the Year Woody Woodward has Kirkland’s kicking it up a gear — and investors grinning ear to ear BY GE E RT DE LOMB AE RDE

urbside pickup, of all things, gave Woody Woodward a sense that he was breaking through. Just like millions of other businesses around the world, home decor retailer Kirkland’s needed some time to absorb the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic last March. With hundreds of stores closed and the majority of its customers under lockdown orders, the Brentwood-based chain canceled orders from suppliers and got on the phone with banks and landlords to negotiate some breathing room. Not long after, as the first shockwaves ebbed, came the discussion about setting up a curbside operation — Kirkland’s version of the urgent “Well, what can we do now?” conversation happening at millions of other businesses. “We figured it out in two weeks,” Woodward says. “Before, we would’ve been studying it for months!” The plan, similar to those adopted by many other retailers, did the job of keeping at least some customer traffic coming via the company’s website and giving the company’s store managers and other full-time employees productive

ERIC ENGLAND

things to do during the spring. Still, it was not an easy lift: Woodward and his team had in early 2020 trimmed one out of every six headquarters jobs and permanently closed 27 stores while starting work on culling dozens more. They had followed that up in March by cutting a third of indirect labor at Kirkland’s distribution centers. This was still very much an all-hands-on-deck situation, evidenced by Woodward and CFO Nicole Strain drawing $40 million of just-incase money on their revolving credit facility. Woodward’s efforts to get Kirkland’s moving more quickly — a focus since he had come aboard in October 2018 — began to bear fruit. The company’s e-commerce operation generated a third more sales in the first quarter of 2020 than in the prior-year period and was on its way to posting year-over-year growth of 77 percent in Q2. The team’s work on improving the quality of Kirkland’s merchandise was finding an audience in shoppers stuck in homes they wanted to upgrade and seeing headlines of bankruptcy filings by competitors Pier 1 Imports in February and Tuesday Morning in May. In short, the narrative was changing.

$1.00 Jan. 2020

June 2020

BUYING THE STORY Shares of Kirkland’s started 2020 after falling about 90 percent the year before and soon after traded below $1 long enough to earn a Nasdaq warning. The story changed markedly soon after.

$1.00

Dec. 2020

March 2021 Source: Yahoo! Finance

NASHVILLEPOST.COM | SPRING 2021

LEADERS

CLIMBING BACK Consumer spending at furniture and home goods stores was rocked by the arrival of COVID after it had begun picking up in late 2019. By last summer, a big recovery had started, as shown by year-over-year changes in spending. 10%

Changing the tone The board of Kirkland’s had hired Woodward, now 64, from its higher-end peer Crate and Barrel, where he had been president and chief merchandising officer for three years after coming over from watch maker Fossil. During his interviews, Woodward had ultimately secured a mandate to ring in some changes at Kirkland’s, which was founded in 1966 and had carved out a value-oriented niche for knickknacks. But the company had run into a wall in the middle of the decade: Growing discounts on goods that weren’t moving as quickly as they should and rising supply chain costs had cut gross margins from more than 37 percent in 2014 to about 31 percent in 2018 — when the company posted a net profit of less than $4 million on sales of $647 million. Kirkland’s, Woodward says, had a growing relevance problem. “I had said that, if I came, I needed the freedom to make the changes I needed to make,” says Woodward. “We had to kind of kick ourselves in the pants.” Many incoming CEOs will come in blazing, claiming the right to overhaul this and that and taking few prisoners along the way. But Woodward had his work cut out for him at Kirkland’s, which had long been a family-run company and whose previous two CEOs — the late Robert Alderson and Mike Madden — did not have the same merchandising background. Turning that ship took some tough conversations, he says, but he credits his employee base for being open to the changes he was looking for. The first few quarters of the transition didn’t produce pretty numbers, though: Same-store sales fell more than 7 percent in 2019, hurt both by declining traffic and smaller transactions, and Kirkland’s booked a $53 million loss that included nearly $20 million worth of asset impairment charges. In June of that year, Woodward said his team “must continue to fast-track our strategy to improve the business,” but investors weren’t waiting around for results: After starting 2019 above $10, Kirkland’s shares slid below $4 in May and finished the year at barely $1. Analysts covering the company moved on and things looked pretty bleak.

SPRING 2021 | NASHVILLEPOST.COM

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

0% June 2019

Jan. 2019

Dec. 2019

-10%

-20%

-30%

-40%

ON THE UP Gross profit margins at Kirkland’s atrophied from 36 percent in 2015 to about 27 percent in 2019. Through the first nine months of last year, they were up about a point but that masks big improvements after the COVID shock.

-50%

2019 2020

Q1 27.9% 13.3% Q2 22.2% 28.6% Q3 27.7% 36.1%

-60%

Source: Company filings

But Woodward had the board’s backing for his plan to upgrade the furniture and tabletop assortment at Kirkland’s and make it a more attractive destination for shoppers looking to overhaul an entire room, not just put the finishing touches on pieces bought elsewhere. His goal is to position Kirkland’s a step below names such as Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma while still presenting a clear price-to-value proposition. Key to that is buying more goods directly from manufacturers rather than from wholesalers — a move that lets the company pay closer attention to quality and cuts out a middleman’s cut — so that Kirkland’s could market better products at the same price point as before. About 20 percent of Kirkland’s sales last year came from directly sourced products — without the pandemic’s disruption, Woodward says that number would’ve been closer to 30 percent — and the 2021 goal is to get close to 40 percent.

‘They’re still in the early innings of direct sourcing. That’s a driver that still exists.’ JOHN R. L AWRENCE

LEADERS

July 2020

Jan. 2020

Jan. 2021

‘WE PL AYED THREE INNINGS IN YEAR 1. W E ’ V E P RO B A B LY PL AYED SIX INNINGS THIS PAST YEAR.’ WOODY WOODWARD April 2020

Along with those efforts, Woodward and his team ramped up spending on their e-commerce and distribution infrastructure. In 2019, they leased a 200,000-square-foot distribution center in Dallas and added capacity to service their West Coast stores. They followed that up last year by consolidating one of their two Jackson, Tennessee, centers into the other and opening smaller e-commerce fulfillment centers in Nevada and Pennsylvania. On top of all that came new transportation management software to manage the flow of goods from warehouses to stores and the hiring in early 2020 of Jeff Martin from The Michaels Cos. to be senior vice president of omni-channel retail. All that legwork — enabled in part by a balance sheet nearly completely free of the debt that contributed to the bankruptcies of Pier 1 and Tuesday Morning — began paying off when COVID hit and what had originally been a fouryear plan to take Kirkland’s a notch upmarket was being rapidly condensed.

“We played three innings in Year 1,” Woodward says. “We’ve probably played six innings this past year.” A key player in that progress has been Strain, who came aboard as interim CFO in May 2017 and had the qualifier removed a little more than two years later. Woodward says she was tireless in negotiating with landlords before and after COVID’s arrival — Kirkland’s eventually closed 61 stores last year, up from execs’ initial target of about 50 — and has overseen other cost-cutting initiatives. “They’ve made a tremendous effort cost-cutting. At first, they targeted $30 million to $35 million but they’re probably higher than that now,” says John R. Lawrence, a Memphis-based equity consultant who follows retailers. “If you can get costs out with no debt on your books and then generate some comparable-store growth, that’s a pretty tight productivity curve. Then one plus one equals more than two.”

Turning up Investors began making the same calculations as the summer of 2020 drew near. Plus, there were now fewer competitors for more dollars being spent on textiles, furniture and dinnerware. Those dynamics amounted to rocket fuel for the shares of Kirkland’s (and a few of its peers and near-peers): After trading below $1 long enough to get a warning from the Nasdaq, the stock more than doubled in May. It just about doubled in June as well. And it rose more than 60 percent on top of that in July. By the time investors — many of them retail traders firing each other up online — paused to take a breath, Kirkland’s had gone from pennies to more than $11 in three months. Woodward and his team have since then produced numbers to back up that surge and then some: In their fiscal third quarter, Kirkland’s produced a profit of $12.4 million on sales of $147 million a year after losing more than $22 million on $145 million in revenues. In mid-February, they previewed Q4 profits that will be 60 percent larger still on sales that will be down about 7 percent from a year earlier — when the company ran 59 more stores. Kirkland’s stock has spent most of 2021 well above $20. “They’re still in the early innings of direct sourcing. That’s a driver that still exists,” Lawrence says. “Furniture, tabletop, top of bed… All of those still have some runway.” Woodward is sure of that. His group’s second act will be to prove that the early gains weren’t ephemeral and that same-store growth and solid margins are here to say. That means continuing to invest in direct sourcing and refining the Kirkland’s e-commerce platform — which he says has “shown some cracks” — with more lifestyle photography, visualization tools and more opportunities to link in-store shoppers to a broader array of online options. The long-term goal is to have sales come equally from brick-and-mortar stores and the web. “I hope there’s a lot more opportunity for our investors,” he says. “We’re going to keep pushing.”

NASHVILLEPOST.COM | SPRING 2021

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NASHVILLEPOST.COM | SPRING 2021

IN CHARGE

Leadership was at a premium in a 2020 that repeatedly tested our public health systems, our communities’ resilience and the strengths of our organizations. This 12th edition of the In Charge list includes many of the business, political and civic leaders who steered their teams through those storms. Their work embodies what it means to be “in charge” and to pitch in to make this region more successful than ever.

2021

ARTS

DEVELOPMENT

EDUCATION

FINANCE

FOOD

GOVERNMENT/ POLITICS

HEALTH CARE

LEGAL

MANAGEMENT CONSULTING

MANUFACTURING

MARKETING/PR

MEDIA/PUBLISHING

MUSIC

NONPROFITS

RETAIL

SPORTS

TECHNOLOGY

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NASHVILLEPOST.COM | SPRING 2021

IN CHARGE

A rts r ts Patrick Cassidy Artistic Director, Studio Tenn: Arrived in late 2019 bringing years of production and directing experience. In absence of live performances, hosts virtual talk show with performing artists from Broadway, film and music and leaders of local nonprofits.

Susan Edwards Executive Director and CEO, Frist Art Museum: Built museum into downtown anchor and destination by presenting high-profile exhibitions from multiple artists. Extended sole U.S. appearance of J.M.W. Turner: Quest for the Sublime and other exhibitions for viewing following limited reopening.

Tim Henderson Executive Director, Humanities Tennessee: Named leader in late 2012 after serving in several capacities since 1998. Oversees group that organizes history and culture programs statewide, including Southern Festival of Books, which took place virtually over 11 days in October.

Denice Hicks Artistic Director, Nashville Shakespeare Festival: Has worked for festival since 1990 as an actor, director and teaching artist. Festival has been recognized for artistic excellence nationally and internationally under her guidance.

John Hoomes CEO and Artistic Director, Nashville Opera: Became organization’s leader in 2012 in addition to serving as artistic director since 1995. In 2020, presented first-ever commissioned opera, One Vote Won, composed by Dave Ragland.

Martha Ingram Chairman Emerita, Ingram Industries: Doyenne of Nashville philanthropy, generous patron and unwavering advocate of the arts. Steadfast supporter of performing arts including Nashville Opera, Nashville Repertory Theatre and Nashville Symphony. Crucial to development of Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

David Lusk Owner, David Lusk Gallery: In 2014, skilled art dealer opened branch of successful Memphis gallery in Wedgewood-Houston. Represents more than 40 innovative and diverse artists in a wide range of practices.

Jane MacLeod President and CEO, Cheekwood Estate and Gardens: Has since 2010 introduced big exhibits and four-season

programming to boost Cheekwood’s profile, membership rolls and fundraising coffers. During 60th year, opened new Bracken Foundation Children’s Garden and renovated Ann and Monroe Carell Jr. Family Sculpture Trail and Blevins Japanese Garden.

Mark Murphy Artistic Director, Oz Arts Nashville: Named leader of contemporary art and performance center in August 2020 and serving as artistic director since late 2018. Presented virtual programs while overseeing repairs to building damaged by March tornado.

Drew Ogle Executive Director, Nashville Repertory Theatre: Joined as managing director in 2018 and named to current position in 2020. Initiated Young Voices, a monologue competition for middle and high school students, and New Works 615, a professional development program for local artists.

Jeff Rymer Owner, The Rymer Gallery: In 2007, opened eponymous gallery showcasing contemporary art and artists from a varied array of media and experience. In addition to Fifth Avenue Arts District space, maintains annex gallery and artist studio on Third.

Jamaal Sheats Director and Curator, Fisk University Galleries: Named to position in 2015 to manage school’s impressive permanent collection of more than 4,000 objects. Active in the city’s arts community. A respected repoussé artist and assistant professor in the Fisk art department.

Stephanie Silverman Executive Director, Belcourt Theatre: Has overseen theater since 2006 and maintains leadership role in national Art House Convergence. In 2020, shifted to virtual screenings and programming and popular drive-in series while undergoing elaborate safety precautions to reopen safely.

Susan Tinney Founder, Tinney Contemporary: In 2006, established namesake gallery, the second on Fifth Avenue. Co-founder of the First Saturday Art Crawl representing local, regional, national and internationally established artists from downtown location.

Jennifer Turner President and CEO, Tennessee Performing Arts Center: Arrived in 2019 to run entity that mixes big-name Broadway musicals and artists with educational outreach to thousands statewide and is the performance home to three resident companies.

SPRING 2021 | NASHVILLEPOST.COM

Alan Valentine President and CEO, Nashville Symphony: Joined symphony in 1998 and has scheduled innovative programming at Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Canceled 2020-21 season and furloughed 128 full-time staffers, including all 79 musicians. December agreement with musicians’ union provides stipends and health insurance through June 30, 2021.

Paul Vasterling Artistic Director and CEO, Nashville Ballet: Has held top role at state’s largest professional ballet company since 2010 and oversees professional company and NB2, the second company. Presented performances and offered classes virtually. Company filmed Nashville’s Nutcracker for a free, televised performance.

Lain York Director, Zeitgeist Gallery: Painter and gallery director at Zeitgeist since 1999. Known affectionately as the “Mayor of Art Town.” Provides a venue for world-class art shows at the gallery’s home in the creatively thriving Wedgewood-Houston district.

Dev el op m ent ment

ity. Provides legal counsel to San Diego-based Southwest Value Partners, which is undertaking Nashville Yards at former LifeWay campus in CBD and is led by Cary Mack.

Doug Brandon Managing Principal, Cushman & Wakefield: CRE industry veteran who oversees daily operations of entity that merged with DTZ in 2015. Previously worked at Smith Barney. Joined Cushman in 2006.

Sean Buck VP, Office Leader, JE Dunn: With local office of Kansas City-based builder since 2003. Now working with his sixth title in 16 years. Elevated from group manager role in late 2019.

Jim Caden Developer and Investor: Straightshooting industry veteran who helped lead the reinvention of M Street in The Gulch. Part of investor group that sold a key Guch parcel for $11.5 million in 2019.

Wood Caldwell Principal, Southeast Venture: Arguably the most visible member of company with multiple heavy-hitters. Serves with Cam Sorenson in SEV’s development services division. Company progressing with Silo Bend project in The Nations but yet to announce plans for Gulch site at Eighth and Division.

Lewis Agnew

Bo Campbell

President, Chas. Hawkins Co.: Named co-leader of long-time firm in October 2016, teaming with chairman Bill Hawkins. Received the 2016 NAIOP Developing Leader Award for Middle Tennessee.

Partner, Real Estate Industry CoChair, Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis: Has been involved in several first-time transactions or development deals in Tennessee, including the redevelopment of the former Nashville Convention Center site with the $400 million mixed-use Fifth + Broadway project.

Allen Arender Director of Development, Holladay Properties: Has helped Indianapolis-based Holladay create Nashville market presence. Now focused on Donelson Plaza shopping center adaptive reuse project, to feature a public library and retail.

Shawn Bailes President, FMBC Investments: Farsighted developer who sold his 83 Freight apartment property — derived from shipping containers, no less — in Wedgewood-Houston for about $11.2 million in June. Has undertaken work in 12South and West End Park, among other areas.

Charles Robert Bone President and CEO, Bone McAllester Norton: Past board chair for the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency who serves as general counsel for the Convention Center Author-

Hunter Connelly CEO, Village Real Estate Services: Named to role in January 2019 and teams with Principal Broker Zach Goodyear. University of the South grad previously worked as co-founder with Aaron White at Evergreen Real Estate. Firm merged with Parks in early 2020 and kept its brand.

David Creed President, Creed Investment: Eyeing early 2021 start on 20-story mixed-use building Moore in Midtown, a project with which Atlanta-based Portman will participate. Works closely with Stan Snipes, founder of Snipes Properties and a former XMi official. Owns downtown’s The Pilcher Building.

Roy Dale CEO, Dale & Associates: Offers 30plus years of experience in planning,

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gabriela.lira@compass.com 615.440.6327 615.475.5616 gabriela.lira@compass.com | M.| M. 615.440.6327 | O.| O. 615.475.5616 Gabriela is estate areal estate licensee affiliated with Compass RE, a licensed real estate and abides by equal housing opportunity laws. All material presented is intended for informational purposes only. Information is compiled from sources Gabriela Lira is Lira areal licensee affiliated with Compass RE, a licensed real estate brokerbroker and abides by equal housing opportunity laws. All material presented hereinherein is intended for informational purposes only. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdrawal without No statement is made as to the accuracy any description. All measurements and square footages are approximate. not intended to deemed reliable but is but subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdrawal without notice.notice. No statement is made as to the accuracy of anyofdescription. All measurements and square footages are approximate. This isThis not is intended to property already Nothing shall be construed as accounting legal, accounting or professional other professional outside the realm real estate brokerage. To reach the Compass RE office, call 615.475.5616. solicit solicit property already listed. listed. Nothing hereinherein shall be construed as legal, or other adviceadvice outside of the of realm of realofestate brokerage. To reach the Compass RE office, call 615.475.5616.

NASHVILLEPOST.COM | SPRING 2021

IN CHARGE BLD

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PHASE 3

zoning, development and construction management. Teams with trusted deputy Michael Garrigan to lead company involved in multiple local projects.

Mark Deutschmann Chairman Emeritus, Village Real Estate Services: Sold majority interest in Village, which he started in 1996, in January 2019. Oversees Core Development, known for Werthan Mills Lofts and its multiple projects in Wedgewood-Houston, with Andrew Beaird and Kent Campbell.

Sheila Dial-Barton Principal, EOA Architects: Oversees design firm long led by Gary Everton. University of Tennessee grad has been with company since 1997.

Tim Downey

FIFTY FORTY FLATS

holladayproperties.com

Gary Gaston

GM, oneC1TY: Now in eighth year of leading development of mixed-use oneC1TY, which saw the $80.6 million sale of apartment building The Shay in 2019. This past February completed hotel building housing a Marriott Element.

Principal, Giarratana: Skyscraper advocate who has developed downtown sites on which rise five towers of 200 feet or taller, including the 550-foottall 505. Company prepping work on skyscrapers at 900 Church St. and 801 Church St. Considered by many the most well-known local developer given the high-profile nature of his company’s projects.

Pat Emery

5040 | 5042 Linbar Drive Nashville, TN 37211

Co-Founding Principal, Hawkins Partners: Teams with husband Gary Hawkins to lead influential land planning and landscape architecture firm. Company, which is contributing to massive Nashville Yards project, losts its Five Points office to March 2020 tornado.

Co-Founder, Freeman Webb Companies: Oversees 41-year-old company with about 450 employees and nearly 15,000 apartment units and 1 million square feet of commercial property under management in four states. Owns Post parent company FW Publishing.

Tony Giarratana

President, E3 Construction: Continues focus on Clifton Avenue and surrounding streets of McKissack Park (which he calls City Heights). Known for his friendship and work with fellow real estate investor Max Khazanov.

1922 Old Murfreesboro Pike Nashville, TN 37217

Bill Freeman

Ryan Doyle

John Eldridge III

AIRPORT LOGISTICS PARK | PHASE 3

Regional Partner, Panattoni Development: Teams with brother Hayne on development of Music Row-area sites, including office buildings on 16th Avenue (home to SESAC) and on Music Circle South. Company started work in 2020 on Row office building at exsite of Bobby’s Idle Hour.

CEO, Southern Land: Leads company known for its mixed-use Vertis Green Hills, which won the NAIOP multi-family development of the year award in early 2020. SLC in 2014 sold its Elliston 23 for a then-record $287,000 per unit.

Chairman, Eakin Partners: Oversees with Barry Smith company that has developed mixed-use mid-rises Roundabout Plaza, SunTrust Plaza, 1201 Demonbreun and the 2020-completed Peabody Plaza in Rolling Mill Hill.

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Whitfield Hamilton

Founder, CA South Development: Working on multiple projects, including those in Edgehill, Pie Town and North Capitol. Bought Madison site in late 2020 for $1.7 million. Has background in developing sites with luxury homes in San Francisco area. Often works with Jared Bradley and Steve Armistead.

Executive Director, Nashville Civic Design Center: Principal contributor to “The Plan of Nashville.” A TEDx Nashville Fellow who oversees nonprofit now 21 years in operation and playing a lead role in planned rebuild of bombed Second Avenue.

John Eakin

NEW AFFORDABLE RESIDENCES

Meg Epstein

CEO, Hall Emery: Founder of Spectrum, Emery teamed with Fred Hall to create company in late 2017. Company paid about $11 million in 2019 for Music Row site on which it continues work on 17th & Grand office building. Nearby stands company’s 18th & Chet office building. One of the local industry’s elder statesmen.

Gina Emmanuel Principal, Centric Architecture: Teams with Jim Thompson, Justin Lowe and David Plummer to guide forward-thinking design firm. Board member of Catholic Charities of Tennessee and the Metro Housing Trust Fund Commission.

Jimmy Granbery CEO, H.G. Hill Realty: Has overseen urban infill projects in 12South, Five Points, Green Hills, Hillsboro Village and Sylvan Heights. Focused on Publix-anchored project for East Nashville and re-building at Five Points site damaged by March 2020 tornado. Part of city’s old school development community who garners props for using progressive design and planning concepts.

John Gromos Vice President and GM, Turner Construction: Ex-Vanderbilt quarterback has worked with local office of NYCbased Turner since 2004. Company has built, among others, Bridgestone Arena, Hill Center Brentwood, Tennessee State Museum and vertical addition to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.

Kim Hartley Hawkins

William Hastings Principal, Hastings Architecture Associates: Teams with David Bailey and David Powell to drive firm designing Asurion building in North Gulch for Highwoods and MCC Roundabout-area tower 805 Lea for New Orleans developer.

Michael Hayes President and CEO, C.B. Ragland: Classy industry official seeing looming completion in SoBro on Hyatt Centric hotel for ex-Listening Room site. Completed with Hines the mixed-use 222 2nd in SoBro.

Jeff Haynes Founder, Boyle Nashville: Oversees firm that worked with Northwestern Mutual and Northwood Ravin to develop Capitol View sites in North Gulch. Teams with Thomas McDaniel, Boyle’s director of office properties. Company captured NAIOP developer of the year award in early 2020.

Ray Hensler Principal, Hensler Development Group: Known for $80 million, 23-story Gulch luxury condo tower Twelve Twelve. His mid-2000s-finished Adelicia in Midtown continues to draw praise as one of city’s most attractive residential buildings. Eyeing 2021 start on Rolling Mill Hill residential tower.

Bob Higgins

Chad Grout

President and CEO, Barge Design Solutions: Has served in current roles since 2009. Joined Barge in 1996 as an intern following graduation from the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering.

Founder and Principal Broker, Urban Grout Commercial Real Estate: Oversees Brentwood-based boutique company with right-hand-man John Toomey. Company brokered numerous high-profile deals in 2020, including $22 million transaction of Germantown site near Cumberland River.

Market Vice President, Corporate + Urban Design, Gresham Smith: During her roughly 20 years at Gresham Smith, has worked with Jackson National, the State of Tennessee, Ramsey Solutions and Schneider Electric.

Kelly Knight Hodges

IN CHARGE

Jason Holwerda

Bert Mathews

Brian Reames

Partner, Brokerage Services, Foundry Commercial: Coordinated the 2018 purchase of brokerage business of OakPoint Real Estate’s Nashville office. With that deal, industry veteran Rick Helton joined Foundry, giving company a noteworthy combo.

President, The Mathews Company: Drives development, acquisitions, financing and institutional/investor relations for The Mathews Company. University of North Carolina grad is also a partner with Nashville office of Colliers International. Teaming with Seattle’s Eagle Rock Ventures on WeHo and SoBro micro-housing projects.

Senior VP and Regional Manager, Highwoods Properties: Oversees company that developed SoBro site on which sits 30-story Bridgestone Americas Tower. Company plans to finish this year redevelopment of North Gulch site with building to house Asurion.

Mark McDonald

President, ESa: Veteran health care building designer who joined the firm in 1981 and in 2018 was named to The College of Fellows of The American Institute of Architects. Works in tandem with Chairman Dick Miller, who has been with the firm since 1967.

Tom Hooper Managing Director, JLL: Teams with Co-Managing Director Bo Tyler to oversee national power’s Nashville office. Oversaw in 2019 the Nashville office’s addition of property management and retail brokerage services. JLL’s capital markets unit also in 2019 added industry veteran Tarek El Gammal (from SEV) as senior vice president.

Bill Hostettler Principal Broker, HND Realty; Chief Manager, Craighead Development: Quick-witted old-school industry veteran (about 40 years in the business) focused on developing reasonably priced condos and townhomes.

Michael Kenner Owner, MiKeN Development: Focused on the city’s once mainly working class west side. Known for mixed-use The Phoenix and residential project Treaty Oaks, both in The Nations. Remains focused on work in Charlotte Park.

Stephen Kulinski Managing Director, CBRE: Assumed current role in 2015 after 31-year career as an architect, most recently with Gresham Smith. Has served as president of local NAIOP chapter. Connected and respected.

Derek Lisle Co-Partner, Cottingham Capital Partners: Partners with Michael Young at locally based company focused on Salemtown and Germantown projects.

Rob Lowe Senior Managing Director, Cushman & Wakefield: With company for almost 24 years. Has participated in more than $810 million in investment sales and handled more than $975 million in leases while representing tenants and more than three million square feet of Class A office space for landlords. Works closely with Ronnie Wenzler, Cushman’s executive director.

Steve Massey Executive Vice President, CBRE: Joined company in 1985 and quickly established expertise as multi-family properties specialist in investment field. Has been involved in deals with properties representing more than $6 billion in collective value.

Senior Partner, M Cubed Developments: Teaming with Mark McGinley to undertake projects in 12South, Buena Vista, Five Points and Music Row. Veteran Nashville-based investor and developer is a partner with Oldacre McDonald, which is developing Century Farms in Antioch.

Bruce McNeilage CEO and Co-Founder, Kinloch Partners and Harpeth Development: Has garnered attention the past few years for his work in South Inglewood (Solo East), Williamson County (Fairview Station) and in the Crooked Creek and the Derryberry Estates subdivisions on the Maury County side of Spring Hill.

Janet Miller CEO and Market Leader, Colliers Nashville: Former Nashville Area Chamber ECD leader who moved to Colliers in July 2014. Firm, which is strongly involved with Nashville Yards, was sold to Colliers International Group Inc. for an undisclosed sum in late 2020 after having previously been called Colliers International Nashville.

Lee Mollette Founder, Mollette Investment Services: Continues to seek start on seven-story condominium building Contralto at Midtown intersection of 15th Avenue North and Church Street.

Bob Nichols President and CEO, Ragan-Smith Associates: One of city’s most esteemed manmade environment industry officials, having joined Ragan-Smith in 1979. Vanderbilt grad volunteers for YMCA of Middle Tennessee.

Dane Peachee President, Compass Real Estate Advisors: Assumed greater role with CREA after the 2020 retirement of Tim Stowell, company founder and managing member. Has been with firm since 2003.

Al Pramuk Chairman and CEO, Gresham Smith: Firm is architect-of-record for Fifth + Broadway and contributing strongly to Nashville Yards. Has been with company more than three decades and in early ‘21 said he plans to retire at year’s end.

Todd Robinson

2020 INCHARGE: EDUCATION

CONGRATULATIONS TO FISK UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT

Ben Rooke Regional Vice President, Brasfield & Gorrie: Auburn grad started career at Brasfield & Gorrie in March 2000. In current role since July 2018.

Cary Rosenblum CEO, Elmington Capital Group: Teams with Ben Brewer (president) to lead company that is now focused on mixed-used Edgehill project. Company sold portion of that site to Raleigh-based SLI Capital in late 2020 for $9.1 million. ECG recently completed developments in Hillsboro Village and Edgehill.

Mary Roskilly Principal, Tuck-Hinton Architects: Partners with Co-Principals Chuck Miller and Joshua Hughes to oversee one of city’s most established architecture companies. Has been with Wedgewood-Houston firm since 1994. Studied architecture at the University of Cincinnati.

Mike Shmerling Chairman and CEO, Clearbrook Holdings: Opened Pearl Street Apartments with Tony Giarratana in 2017, with the two friends also having partnered to develop Midtown site with 1818 Church. Veteran real estate investor works closely with Henry Menge, managing director and principal broker with Clearbrook (formerly known as XMi Holdings) sister operation FifthGen.

DR. VANN NEWKIRK, SR. 2020 INCHARGE LOCAL LEADER

Barry Smith Co-Founder and President, Eakin Partners: Combines with John Eakin to form experienced duo. Former executive VP and principal of now-defunct Grubb & Ellis/Centennial Inc. Company developed Rolling Mill Hill site with Eakin Plaza, which opened in 2020.

Fleming Smith Principal, Smith Gee Studio: Teams with fellow principals Hunter Gee, Dallas Caudle and Greg Tidwell at ar-

WWW.FISK.EDU| ADMIT@FISK.EDU

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IN CHARGE

chitecture firm focused on boutique projects throughout multiple urban districts in the city.

Warren Smith III Principal and Managing Director, Avison Young: Ex-Cushman & Wakefield | Cornerstone CEO leads local office of Canadian-based heavyweight. Former partner and president of Mid-South Financial Corp. and ex-president and CEO of Q10 | Vista Mortgage Group.

Andrew Steffens

CEO CEO NASHVILLE NASHVILLE CEO NASHVILLE CEO NASHVILLE

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Managing Director, Wood Partners: Helped launch Nashville office of Atlanta-based company in January 2019. Wood has quickly become one of Nashville’s most active apartment developers, with four projects offering a collective 1,129 units having started since mid-2020. Previously spent five years at Alliance Residential Company as development director, overseeing Broadstone Germantown, Broadstone 8South and Broadstone Gulch.

Lizabeth Theiss Business Development Director, DPR Construction: Joined company in mid-2019 after having served in a similar role with Crain Construction, which she joined in 2004. Skilled at marketing, media relations and business development.

George Tomlin President and CEO, GBT Realty: Drives Brentwood-based company developing sites in The Gulch and the West End corridor with mixed-use large-scale buildings. Company recently acquired property at West End Avenue and Elliston Place split and plans tower for site.

McClain Towery President, Towery Development: Has experience with projects located in or near 12South, Edgehill Village, The Nations and East Nashville. Often works with Elliott Kyle and Jamie Pfeffer.

Tom Trent Chair of Economic Development Group, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings: Offers almost 40 years of experience in real estate and economic development law. Vanderbilt grad. Represents manufacturing companies, corporate users of commercial real estate, institutional investors, developers and lenders.

Jay Turner

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Managing Director, MarketStreet Enterprises: Teams with Joe Barker and Dirk Melton to lead company focused on The Gulch. MarketStreet finished office building Three Thirty Three in 2020.

James Weaver Partner, Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis: Influential player in shepherding urban development projects through Metro Planning and fundraising for Democratic political candidates. Representing Chicago-based Monroe Investments related to River North development.

Tom White Partner, Tune Entrekin & White: Veteran attorney who is considered pleasant and fair even by his strongest foes. Teams with colleague Shawn Henry for an effective combo related to land-use legal work. Co-founded firm in 1978.

D.J. Wootson Principal, Titus Young Real Estate: Continues his focus on North Nashville work. His 1821 Jefferson mixeduse building offers 18 apartments and retail. Sold for $2.5 million — twoand-a-half times the price he paid in 2015 — a TSU-area apartment property in late 2020.

Manuel Zeitlin Owner, Manuel Zeitlin Architects: Oversees boutique design firm whose 21st century aesthetic (seen at, for example, Chelsea and the TAR Building) typically is either strongly embraced or roundly disliked. Announced in late 2019 firm is employee-owned by 11 other partners, retaining 60 percent ownership.

Lee Zoller Principal, Division Street Development: Commercial real estate industry veteran founded company in mid2017. DSD is focused on boutique projects and is aligned with Gulch office of Toronto-based Avison Young. Hoping to undertake a West End Avenue residential project this year.

has the Church of Nazarene-affiliated TNU undertaking bold initiatives, most recently a four-story health sciences building. Has also added degree programs and expanded Trevecca’s athletic fundraising.

Randy Boyd President, University of Tennessee: Former Radio Systems entrepreneur, special advisor on higher ed to Bill Haslam and gubernatorial candidate who was first appointed on an interim basis and then made permanent a year ago.

Christiane Buggs Chair, Metro Nashville Public Schools Board of Education: Former math teacher, second-term board member and United Way of Greater Nashville manager who took over the board chair position in 2020 after the death of Anna Shepherd.

Katie Cour President and CEO, Nashville Public Education Foundation: Oversees nonprofit centered on public education. Former executive director of talent strategy at Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools and leader of education consulting firm Cour Consulting.

Daniel Diermeier Chancellor, Vanderbilt University: University of Chicago provost who will begin term on West End in July. Guggenheim fellow who has specialized in political science and management studies.

Bob Fisher President, Belmont University: Former Post CEO of the Year who oversaw enrollment boom and landed big-money backing for major initiatives. Plans to step down mid-year after more than two decades on the job.

Glenda Baskin Glover

E d uc a ti on Adrienne Battle Director, Metro Nashville Public Schools: Stepped up to lead city’s more-than-86,000-student public school system after the contentious tenure of Shawn Joseph. Has more than 20 years of leadership experience within MNPS, including as one of four community superintendents. Has also served as adjunct faculty member for the University of Phoenix and Tennessee State University.

Dan Boone President, Trevecca Nazarene University: Understated academician who

President, Tennessee State University: Has since 2013 led institution that today has about 8,000 students. Has overseen notable additions such as health sciences building that will open this summer and $75 million residential facility slated to be completed next year.

Jason Golden Superintendent, Williamson County Schools: Appointed to top spot in top-performing district in 2019 after Mike Looney decamped for Atlanta. Began work in WCS in 2006 as staff attorney, was named COO in 2010 and deputy superintendent two years later.

Shanna Jackson President, Nashville State Community College: Former associate president and COO of Columbia State

IN CHARGE

Community College’s Williamson Campus. Push to make Nashville State the state’s largest such college includes new Madison campus scheduled to open in 2021.

ical school. Helped restart partnership talks with Nashville General Hospital and develop a new medical school at the Mexican border to address critical physician shortage.

Michael Licari

Sidney McPhee

President, Austin Peay State University: Chosen late last year to lead fast-growing university that now has more than 11,000 students. Was previously provost and vice president of academic affairs at Indiana State University.

President, Middle Tennessee State University: Began working in 2017 with eight-member MTSU governing board. Has overseen numerous big projects during tenure — including $147 million science building — but failed in 2018 attempt to relocate Valparaiso Law School.

Randy Lowry President, Lipscomb University: Moved here from Pepperdine in 2005 and led consistent push to add degree programs, buildings and students. Early this year announced plan to transition into chancellor role shortly before saying university met $250 million fundraising goal a year ahead of schedule.

Vann Newkirk Sr.

Veronica Mallett

Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Education: Former chief deputy commissioner of academics for the Texas Education Agency who took over state department two years

Senior Vice President for Health Affairs and Dean, Meharry Medical College: Chief academic officer for the nation’s oldest historically Black med-

President, Fisk University: Took over as school’s leader last summer after sudden exit of Kevin Rome and was named to role permanently in early 2021. Joined historically Black liberal arts university in 2018 as provost from Elizabeth City State University.

Penny Schwinn

ago. Has faced headwinds over plans to change school performance ratings and had to confront staff exodus.

Susan Wente Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Vanderbilt University: Overseer of university’s academic strategic plan since 2014 who was interim chancellor after Nick Zeppos stepped away. Announced in early 2021 she will leave mid-year to become president of Wake Forest University.

F i na nc e Vic Alexander Chief Manager, KraftCPAs: Joined one of the region’s largest accounting and advisory firms in 1982 and was named its leader in 1993. Advisor to businesses in a wide range of industries who was, among other things, president of the Nashville City Club board and treasurer of the Center for Nonprofit Management board.

DeVan Ard Chairman, President and CEO, Reliant Bancorp: Has built Brentwood-based bank via M&A (Community First in 2018 and Community Bank & Trust and First Advantage in 2020) and organically in Murfreesboro and Chattanooga. This year also focusing on cost savings and digital projects.

Sam Bennett Office Managing Partner, KPMG: Last year took over Big Four firm’s local office from James Powell and now also oversees firm’s Knoxville group. Moved to Tennessee in 2004 and specializes in working with clients in the consumer, retail and industrial manufacturing sectors.

Seth Bernstein President and CEO, AllianceBernstein: Has led asset management firm since 2017 after spending more than three decades at JPMorgan Chase. Team will eventually hire 1,250 for Fifth + Broadway headquarters.

Denny Bottorff Chairman, CapStar Financial: Former First American CEO who helped

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IN CHARGE

organize CapStar in late 2000s and co-founded Council Capital. Has served on boards of Ingram Industries and Vanderbilt University, among others.

Chase Gilbert

President, Fifth Third Bank (Tennessee): Longtime commercial banker who last year took over from Mickey McKay as the latter got called up to Cincinnati. Joined Fifth Third in 2018 after long stint at BofA followed by being market president of Capital.

CEO, Built Technologies: Co-founded with Andrew and Scott Sohr construction loan management software firm that processes $40 billion-plus in loans annually. Investors include Goldman Sachs and Regions Bank and client base has grown to 120+ institutions and thousands of builders and contractors.

Kate Burke

Parker Griffith

COO, AllianceBernstein: Former chief talent officer who was chosen in mid2019 to take over operations from longtime exec Jim Gingrich. Joined AB in 2004 to be part of its institutional sales team.

Southeastern Market Director, Robert W. Baird Private Wealth Management: Former Morgan Stanley branch manager who has led Baird’s area team since 2012. Has shown ambition by signing office lease at Broadwest and recruiting Columbia team from Morgan Stanley.

David Briggs

Barney Byrd President and CEO, Gen Cap America: Founded firm focused on smaller companies — revenues are typically between $10 million and $200 million — in 1998. Began investing from current $250 million fund in 2016.

Sid Chambless Executive Director, Nashville Capital Network: Connects 100-plus investors with promising startups via four funds. In mid-2020 completed 50th investment; recent local success stories include XOi Technologies, JumpCrew and Groups360.

John Crosslin and Justin Crosslin Co-Managing Principals, Crosslin: Jointly lead CPA firm (with Bryan White heading up IT services group) founded more than three decades ago. Combined, have three-plus decades of experience with firm.

Tony Detter CEO, Asurion: Joined mobile device insurer and tech support giant in 2003 and was its chief commercial officer before taking top job. New headquarters near Nashville Yards that will consolidate four area offices is nearing completion.

Aaron Dorn CEO, Studio Bank: Former U.S. Marine Corps officer and Avenue Bank exec who led team that raised $46 million in startup capital and opened its doors in 2018. Lender grew assets to $400 million and posted its first quarterly profit last year.

Jeff Drummonds CEO, LBMC: Led LBMC’s tax group before taking top job in 2015. Has in recent years built out offerings with acquisitions of locals W Squared and Think Data Insights as well as Atlanta

accounting software firm and North Carolina Microsoft system specialists.

Tina Hodges CEO and Chief Experience Officer, Advance Financial: Former nurse practitioner leads consumer lender that now employs about 1,100 and has more than $320 million in revenue. Has built online lending operations to nearly 20 states.

Michael Holley Member, Bass Berry & Sims: Firm partner since 2013 who specializes in working with PE firms and other investors. Works with LFM Capital and American Physician Partners, among others, and advised Servpro on its recapitalization with Blackstone.

Chris Holmes CEO, FB Financial: Has led FirstBank parent since 2013, overseeing loan growth, 2016 IPO and a number of acquisitions — including local rival Franklin Synergy Bank — that have grown asset base to more than $11 billion.

Denise Horvath Market Director for Tennessee and Alabama, JPMorgan Chase: Leading ambitious retail growth push — most recent neighborhoods include downtown and Cool Springs — for country’s largest bank, which has in recent years also stood up area middle-market lending and private banking teams.

Gordon Inman

in 2008 as a general partner and has been its leader since 2016. Last fall capped its fourth fund at $200 million.

Mike Johnson President and Head of Corporate Banking, PNC Bank Tennessee: Veteran commercial lender who in early 2018 moved to Pittsburgh-based PNC after nearly 18 years at Wells Fargo’s local operations. Leads team based in SoBro and building out a retail network with offices downtown and in Franklin and Hendersonville.

Kevin Lavender Executive Vice President and Head of Commercial Banking, Fifth Third Bancorp: Former state banking and finance commissioner who was named a Fifth Third EVP in 2016 and now also oversees the bank’s large corporate commercial verticals, capital markets, specialty lending and treasury management businesses.

Gaylon Lawrence Owner, F&M Bank, Fourth Capital, Volunteer State Bank: Has deployed chunks of family wealth in Middle Tennessee’s banking sector since 2015, most recently rebranding former Tennessee Bank & Trust into Fourth Capital. Also owns 6%+ stake in CapStar.

Wanda Lyle Managing Director and GM, UBS Nashville: Spearheaded Nashville expansion of global financial blue chip. Large downtown operations hub supporting various business units is now home to more than 1,500 people.

Joe Maxwell Managing Partner, FINTOP Capital: Serial fintech entrepreneur and adviser who led and sold Investment Scorecard and Shareholder InSite, among others. Firm’s $50 million-plus fund has invested in locally based software developer Core10, among others.

Rob McCabe Chairman, Pinnacle Financial Partners: Co-founder of Nashville’s largest homegrown bank and its Tennessee chairman since acquisition of BNC Bancorp in mid-2017. Built banking career in Knoxville and rose to vice chairman of former First American.

who in 2017 moved to regional holding company after leading regional operations of SunTrust since 2005. Active in community through Leadership Nashville, YMCA, and other groups and is chairing 2021 United Way campaign.

Johnny Moore President, Mid-West Tennessee, Truist Financial: Longtime leader of SunTrust’s Memphis team who was tapped in 2019 to run region for combined SunTrust-BB&T organization. Also oversees bank’s work with small and mid-sized companies.

Tyson Moore Market President, Bank of America: Thirty-year Merrill Lynch veteran who was picked in early 2017 to succeed John Stein as leader of BofA’s 14-county regional franchise. Continues in Merrill market executive role he took on in summer of 2011.

Tim Pagliara Chairman and CEO, CapWealth Advisors: Launched Cool Springs firm in early 2000 and has led growth to nearly $1.2 billion in assets for 600+ clients. Prominent voice on national debt and Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac restitution issues.

Dawn Patrick Nashville Managing Partner, Cherry Bekaert: Leads local efforts of firm that in late 2017 bought Frasier Dean & Howard. Leads Cherry Bekaert’s practice working with technology, health and life sciences and industrial firms.

Pepe Presley Chairman, President and CEO, Cumberland Trust: Leads one of region’s biggest trust operations, which passed $3 billion under administration in 2018 and now employs more than 100. Formerly headed up personal trust services at SunTrust.

Jim Regnier Managing Partner, BKD: Oversees Nashville and Bowling Green offices of national CPA and advisory firm, where he has spent more than 20 years. Specializes in tax and consulting work after transitioning from focus on audit, governance and regulatory issues.

Doug Rohleder

Director Emeritus, FirstBank: One of region’s most veteran bankers and entrepreneurs and a top revenue producer at FirstBank. Helped launch the former Franklin National Bank and was with Fifth Third, which bought Franklin National in 2004, until 2012.

John McDearman President and CEO, Wilson Bank & Trust: Took over top spot at $2.8 billion suburban powerhouse from co-founder Randall Clemons. Joined bank in 1998 and had been EVP from 2009 until becoming president two years ago.

Office Managing Partner, Ernst & Young: Health care specialist who was named office leader in 2018 as Big Four firm’s team relocated to 222 2nd tower. Before that was firm’s assurance managing partner for Southeast region.

Grant Jackson

Rob McNeilly

Ron Samuels

Managing General Partner, Council Capital: Joined Green Hills-based firm

Tennessee Division CEO, Synovus Bank: Four-decade banking veteran

Vice Chairman, Pinnacle Financial Partners: Sold Avenue to Pinnacle in

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IN CHARGE

NASHVILLEPOST.COM | SPRING 2021

IN CHARGE

2016 and has since helped lead the bank’s music and entertainment industry group. Always-around veteran of more than four decades in Nashville banking and community affairs.

Jim Schmitz Nashville Market Leader, Elliott Davis: Longtime Regions Bank regional president who joined accounting and advisory firm in early 2019 to spearhead growth push. Active in community via United Way, Chamber and other groups.

Tim Schools President and CEO, CapStar Financial: Former National Commerce Financial and South Financial Group exec who moved to town in 2019 to take over from founding CEO Claire Tucker. Has overseen several community bank purchases and stronger push into Knoxville.

Bill Spitz

Studio stays ahead of targets

he COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the operations of many businesses but delivered growth opportunities to some others. Consider Studio Bank (and a number of other regional lenders) to be in both of those camps. The downtown-based lender led by President and CEO Aaron Dorn will celebrate its third birthday this summer coming off a 2020 in which it quickly went remote — brand-new information technology systems were a nice help — then joined peers in processing hundreds of Paycheck Protection Program loans and riding an ever higher mortgage lending wave. Studio turned profitable in June and remained so the rest of the year, eventually earning $815,000. That sequence of events has helped put the bank about 15 percent ahead of the forecasts Dorn and his team made before opening their doors. It also enabled them to close a $9.5 million capital raise late last year, with existing investors accounting for 60 percent of those who took part. “Profitability like we had is similar to a smaller capital raise,” Dorn told the Post in February. “But our growth hasn’t changed […] That’s why we raised more capital.” Dorn, who is keeping an eye out for space to expand his team’s operations, plans to hire more commercial and private bankers in what’s left of 2021. He is looking for Studio to add between $100 million and $125 million in loans and deposits this year, which will grow the company’s asset base well past $500 million. Many of the region’s big companies, he says, have been confident about their post-COVID prospects for a while now. The economy is set for another boost soon, he adds, as small-business owners who have struggled more with uncertainty, are starting to see “glimmers of hope about how they’ll get through this.” — Geert De Lombaerde

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Co-Founder and Principal, Diversified Trust: Firm he helped launch here in early 2009 now manages more than $6.5 billion for families, foundations, retirement plans and others. Was treasurer and vice chancellor of investments for Vanderbilt from 1985 to 2007.

Terry Turner President and CEO, Pinnacle Financial Partners: Co-founder of largest bank based in Nashville, which has grown to $35 billion in assets in 12 markets. Has pushed into Atlanta and is eyeing market share growth in key former BNC markets such as Charlotte.

Bradford Vieira Regional CEO, ServisFirst Bank Nashville: Led Alabama bank’s expansion into Tennessee in 2013 and has overseen steady growth to about $800 million in loans — nearly 10 percent of ServisFirst’s total portfolio.

$6 billion worth of deals and helped scale Acadia Healthcare and emids, among others. Key backer of Nashville Capital Network.

Carol Yochem President, Middle Tennessee Region, First Horizon Bank: Veteran leader who took over Middle Tennessee team in 2014 and has more than doubled area loans and deposits.

Food Darek Bell Founder, Corsair Distillery: Founder of Nashville’s first microdistillery, Bell moved operation to Wedgewood-Houston from Marathon Village in 2015. Bought warehouse in The Nations in 2018 and opened revamped Marathon Village space Brewstillery in 2019.

Bob Bernstein Owner, Bongo Productions: Leader of Nashville’s breakfast scene for a quarter century with his Bongo Java cafés and coffee. Fido remains a fixture in fast-changing Hillsboro Village. In 2019 closed Jefferson Street Café and 12 South’s Box and moved his roasting operations to Alloy at Tech Hill.

Nick Bishop Sr. and Nick Bishop Jr. Co-owners, Hattie B’s: Father and son founded popular Midtown hot-chicken outpost in 2012 and have since opened locations as far afield as Atlanta and Las Vegas. Long lines still found at locations on Eighth Avenue South, Charlotte and the original Midtown spot.

Matt Bodnar

Office Managing Partner, Deloitte: Firm veteran of more than 20 years who was tapped last year to lead nearly 400-person Middle Tennessee team. Growth leader for the Nashville audit and assurance practice and lead recruiting partner for Tennessee.

Partner, Fresh Hospitality and Fresh Capital: Part of group behind expansion of Jim ‘N Nick’s and Martin’s BBQ, among others. Opened the Hunters Station food hall in East Nashville to house a collection of Fresh-backed concepts, as well as a large commissary kitchen for food trucks and ghost kitchens.

Ward Wilson

Sean Brock

Regional President, U.S. Bank: Joined nation’s No. 5 bank from First American in 2000 and has led its Middle Tennessee operations since 2005. Team has clung to No. 7 area market share spot, growing deposits to $2.3 billion.

Restaurateur: The former Husk chef/ partner walked away from his Charleston properties to focus on a series of East Nashville projects, including Red Bird and Audrey. In 2020 opened Joyland and will launch The Continental in the Grand Hyatt Nashville this year.

John West

Tom Wylly Senior Partner, Brentwood Capital Advisors: Former Bradford partner who has been involved in more than

Maneet Chauhan President, Morph Hospitality Group: Food Network fixture opened Chauhan

IN CHARGE

Ale & Masala in 2014, then a succession of high-profile successes: Mantra Artisan Brewery, Tànsuŏ and The Mockingbird. Chaatable slid right into Charlotte Avenue’s burgeoning dining scene in 2018.

Will Cheek III

a spot overlooking the Cumberland River in Madison. His quiet leadership among the city’s brewers was key in getting the state’s beer tax structure under control.

Cordia Harrington

Partner, Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis: Leads law firm’s alcoholic beverage team and provides licensing and regulatory compliance advice to restaurants, hotels, art venues, bars and clubs. Go-to source for Tennessee liquor law.

CEO, The Bakery Cos.: Former McDonald’s franchisee launched baking business in 1996, adding several plants and lines of business to build 500-employee company. In 2019 connected with private equity firm Arbor Investments to launch next growth phase, which resulted in several 2020 acquisitions.

Sandy Cochran

Hal Holden-Bache

President and CEO, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store: Former Books-AMillion CEO earned a contract extension in 2018. 2019 investment in Punch Bowl Social went south in a hurry but purchase of Maple Street Biscuit Co. showing more promise. Last year fought off another board challenge from activist investor Sardar Biglari.

Executive Chef and Co-Owner, Lockeland Table: Opened his East Nashville mainstay with Cara Graham in 2012 after going through the Greenbrier Resort culinary apprenticeship program and then working at Nick & Rudy’s, the Capitol Grille and Eastland Café.

Mignon Francois Founder, The Cupcake Collection: Entrepreneur started baking business in Germantown in 2008 with a handful of dollars and a dorm-sized fridge. Today, Francois’ operation has expanded to her hometown of New Orleans and last year connected with Taziki’s in the wake of the tornado.

Benjamin Goldberg and Max Goldberg Co-Owners, Strategic Hospitality: Builders of eclectic restaurant collection that ranges from crowd-pleasers Merchants and Pinewood Social to critic favorites Bastion, Henrietta Red and the still-unmatched Catbird Seat. After revamping Paradise Park into Downtown Social Club, the duo brought back the Paradise Park concept in 2019.

Clint Gray, Derrick Moore and Emanuel “E.J.” Reed Owners, Slim & Husky’s Pizza Beeria: Trio has grown pizza and beer (and cinnamon roll) empire beyond North Nashville to locations in Antioch, Atlanta and Sacramento. The former TSU classmates also teamed with Gemaal Pratts to open E G & Mc on Jefferson Street.

Howard Greenstone Restaurateur: New York veteran owns or is partner in well-known restaurants such as 404 Kitchen, Adele’s, Bajo Sexto and Emmy Squared. Also is a strategic adviser to Marcus Samuelsson’s restaurants.

Linus Hall Owner, Yazoo Brewing: Moved highly successful brewery from The Gulch to

Doug Hogrefe Partner, 4Top Hospitality: Teams with Paul Schramkowski, David Conn and Ben Brock to run nearly 20 restaurants in Huntsville, Memphis and Jackson, Miss. Nashville fixtures include Amerigo, Etch, Etc. and Char.

Chris Hyndman Owner, MStreet: With Jim Caden, has transformed McGavock Street (aka MStreet) in The Gulch with Virago, Moto, Saint Anejo and Kayne Prime (as well as Midtown’s Tavern). Whiskey Kitchen is set to make way for Eleventh House hotel project.

Wesley Keegan Founder and CEO, TailGate Brewing: Has built a substantial brewing operation focused both on Tennessee and exports to the United Kingdom. West Nashville base is the site of a massive taproom, complemented by boutique brewing operations on Music Row and Gallatin Pike.

Ned Lyerly CEO, CKE Restaurants: Previously the leader of the international operations of the parent of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., Nyerly was tapped to take over after former boss Jason Marker left amid allegations of age discrimination.

Andy Marshall Owner, A. Marshall Hospitality: Oversees Franklin company known for Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant, Deacon’s New South and Scout’s Pub. In 2020 revamped downtown Franklin’s Puckett’s Boat House into Americana Taphouse.

Pat Martin Owner, Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint: Turned a strip-mall barbecue joint in Nolensville into a critically acclaimed

Celebrating leadership Leaders are people who work from a core of vision and integrity to create an impact that matters in their organizations and their communities. Deloitte is proud to recognize the 2021 Nashville Post In Charge honorees, including our own, John West, Deloitte’s Nashville managing partner. www.deloitte.com Copyright © 2021 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved.

IN CHARGE

empire with locations in Nashville, Louisville, Birmingham and Charleston. Hugh Baby’s chain of burger shops also was expanding quickly before COVID arrived.

Jim Mazany CEO, SPB Hospitality: Former TGI Fridays COO and Joe’s Crab Shack president was named last year to lead reincarnation of Logan’s Roadhouse and Rock Bottom parent CraftWorks after its Chapter 11 restructuring.

Margot McCormack Chef-Owner, Margot: The original East Nashville fine dining restaurant, Margot paved the way for much of Nashville’s current culinary scene. After last year’s tornado and the arrival of COVID, the regular James Beard nominee made the call to close her nearby Marché concept.

Charlie Nelson and Andy Nelson Founders, Nelson’s Greenbrier Distillery: Brothers more than a decade ago (re)launched the family business their great-great-great grandfather had grown into a global brand in the late 1800s. After sourcing their product from Indiana for a few years, the venture is now producing and aging its own products to good reviews.

Catherine Newman and Will Newman Owners, Edley’s Bar-B-Que and 12South Filling Station: Wife-andhusband team has steadily grown Edley’s from a single place to locations in Lexington and Chattanooga. Popular Filling Station complements 12South BBQ joint.

Deb Paquette Executive Chef of Etch, Etc. and Jasper’s: Fixture of Nashville dining scene for more than three decades, Paquette’s menus at Etch in SoBro and Etc. in Green Hills are built on global flavors and are among city’s most creative. Last year teamed with longtime 4Top partners to convert West End’s Saltine to “fun and playful” Jasper’s.

Mark Parkey CEO, J. Alexander’s: Took the helm of upscale chain from Lonnie Stout in 2019 and last year hit pause on a possible sale and cut overhead to help steer the company through the COVID pandemic. Has been with company since 1993 and had been CFO before being promoted.

Austin Ray President and Founder, A.Ray Hospitality: Operator of M.L. Rose neighborhood pubs in Melrose, Sylvan Park and Capitol View, Also owns popular

Von Elrod’s across from First Horizon Park and is a partner in Sinema, The Sutler, Rambler and Melrose Billiards.

G ov ernm ent/ ernment/ Pol i ti c s

Randy Rayburn Owner, Midtown Cafe and Cabana Taps: Community leader whose name adorns culinary arts program at Nashville State Community College. Rayburn’s Midtown Café will look to reclaim power lunch spot status once COVID passes. Sought-after consultant also is part of the Belcourt Partners team that opened Moxy Hotel near Cabana.

Bailey Spaulding and Steve Wright Co-Owners, Jackalope Brewing: A former Vanderbilt Law graduate who gave up a legal life for beer, Spaulding has teamed with Wright, who started as Jackalope’s biggest fan and worked his way up to run one of Nashville’s most beloved breweries. Duo expanded in 2018 to Ranch complex in Wedgewood-Houston then closed Gulch location last year.

Jimmy Spradley CEO, Standard Functional Foods Group: Was 26 when family bought Standard Candy in 1982. Business grew to 500-plus employees before Spradley sold it in 2017 to refocus on Goo Goo Clusters. SoBro shop is a big hit with tourists.

Kent Taylor Co-Founder, Blackstone Brewing: Status as city’s longest running brewer — Blackstone opened in 1994 — has made him the godfather of local beer scene. One of the few craft brewers to ship to all 95 Tennessee counties, Taylor’s acumen has made him a sought-after contract brewer. Brews Scott Mertie’s Nashville Brewing Company lagers, for example.

Tandy Wilson Chef-Owner, City House: One of Nashville’s most decorated chefs — he won the prestigious James Beard Award as Best Chef in the Southeast in 2016 — Wilson’s City House has ranked near or at the top of the city’s best restaurants for more than a decade.

Ginna Winfree Alcoholic Beverage Law Section Leader, Gullett Sanford Robinson & Martin: Former assistant director and interim executive director of the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission joined downtown law firm in 2016 to help lead work on licensing and regulation for hospitality clients and manufacturers, importers and wholesalers.

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Kim Adkins Principal, The Capitol Strategy Group: A lobbyist with a varied state and Metro government practice, the former college tennis player also serves as chair of the Metro Sports Authority at a key moment during the city’s relationship with several pro franchises.

Jane Alvis Owner, Alvis Co.: Has lobbied for the Tennessee Municipal League and Metro Nashville Airport Authority at the state Capitol in recent years, as well as for energy companies doing business with Metro. A former staffer in governor’s and mayor’s offices, was formerly a partner at The Ingram Group.

Rogers Anderson Mayor, Williamson County: Serving a fifth term as mayor of the booming county, now facing a new challenge: guiding the community through COVID-19 and related economic turbulence.

Ward Baker President, Baker Group Strategies: The former National Republican Senatorial Committee executive director served as senior adviser to Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, two Tennessee Republicans who won open Senate seats in the past two cycles.

Marsha Blackburn U.S. Senator: The first-term Republican, now Tennessee’s senior senator, has carved out a role as a top Trump ally, but she’ll have to pivot with a Democrat in the White House.

longtime congressman and moderate Democrat fended off a primary challenge from the left in 2020, but those same groups appear ready to do it all over in 2022. Brother John was elected mayor in 2019.

John Cooper Mayor, Metro Nashville: Recently completed his first year in office — a year defined by disaster. Faced with a tornado, an unprecedented pandemic, social unrest and the Christmas Day bombing, the city’s top spot was not the fiscal cleanup job the first-term mayor envisioned.

Kevin Crumbo Finance Director, Metro Nashville: The former KraftCPAs consultant was tasked by new Mayor John Cooper with bringing stability to the city’s finances; neither knew that would be much more difficult as COVID upended Metro’s typical tax collections.

Yuri Cunza President and CEO, Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce: The longtime leader of the local Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has in recent years taken on a leadership role with the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

John Drake Chief, Metro Nashville Police Department: After starting his career as a young patrol cop, worked his way into top leadership at the department. During a contentious summer, took over as interim chief upon Steve Anderson’s rushed departure, and then was picked as permanent leader after a national search.

Butch Eley

State Senator, District 20: The former Oak Hill mayor is the first Democrat to win a Republican-held state Senate seat in more than a decade. Her win over Nashville Republican Steve Dickerson grew the Senate Democratic Caucus to six.

Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration: Founder of Infrastructure Corp. of America and former president of The Ingram Group was named head of Gov. Bill Lee’s 2018 transition and then COO before taking over as finance commissioner — a tall task given a rushed budget process and uncertainty around pandemic tax revenues.

Karen Camper

Jeremy Faison

House Minority Leader: House Democrats once again tapped the Memphis lawmaker as their leader. The group remains in the super-minority.

House Republican Caucus Chair: Elevated to House leadership after the fall of Speaker Glen Casada, the Cosby Republican fended off a challenge for the position from former state GOP chair Robin Smith.

Heidi Campbell

Mark Cate Principal, Stones River Group: Former top Haslam aide who lobbies for Nashville SC and a variety of other entities at both the state and Metro level.

Jim Cooper U.S. Congressman, 5th District: The

Bob Freeman State Representative, District 56: The real estate developer won his West Nashville House seat as a Democrat after it was held for decades by Republican Beth Harwell.

IN CHARGE

Glenn Funk District Attorney General, Davidson County: Nashville’s top prosecutor has waged fights in recent years with state leaders over abortion, marijuana and the death penalty.

Brenda Gilmore State Senator, District 19: Elected to the Senate from Nashville in 2018, the state House and Metro Council veteran has focused on criminal justice reform, among other issues.

Scott Golden Chairman, Tennessee Republican Party: Newly re-elected to a third term at the helm, has overseen entrenchment of Republican rule of Tennessee.

Bill Hagerty

officer and elections head pushed back when advocates sought to loosen voting rules in response to the pandemic and supported a Trump push to overturn election results in other states.

time lobbyist at the state and Metro levels whose clients have included Global Tel Link and the Hermitage Hotel. Past life in politics included stints advising Lamar Alexander and Bill Haslam.

Daron Hall

Bradley Jackson

Davidson County Sheriff: The jailer who has been in office since 2002 last year oversaw the assumption of jail management from private operator CoreCivic.

President and CEO, Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry: Leader of the state chamber since 2016, last year led a push during a special session to protect Tennessee businesses from coronavirus-related litigation. Chamber in early 2021 signed a partnership deal to bring Tennessee Automotive Manufacturers Association under its umbrella.

Joe Hall Partner, Hall Strategies: Metro lobbyist’s clients include major players like CoreCivic, Live Nation and the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp.

Greg Hinote

U.S. Senator: A top Trump ally, he easily won Lamar Alexander’s Senate seat after a chippy Republican primary. The investor, political fundraiser and former ambassador to Japan heads to Washington as his main benefactor is moving out.

Partner, Jigsaw: Set up a new lobbying and consulting firm with Beecher Frasier and Sam Reed where he represents, among others, the Nashville Predators and Vanderbilt University. A former top aide to Mayor Karl Dean and Rep. Jim Cooper, also advised now-Mayor John Cooper.

Tre Hargett

Tom Ingram

Secretary of State: The constitutional

Founder, The Ingram Group: A long-

Jack Johnson Senate Majority Leader: Staying on in his leadership role, the Franklin-based senator is tasked, in part, with carrying legislation for Gov. Bill Lee.

Tequila Johnson and Charlane Oliver Founders and Executive Directors, The Equity Alliance: The duo started the Black empowerment and civic engagement organization in the wake of Trump’s 2016 election and

have since grown it to include several staff members, an affiliated political advocacy group and a statewide voting rights push.

Kim Kaegi Fundraiser: A go-to political fundraiser whose past work in Nashville and Tennessee has included candidates from both parties, including Bill Hagerty, Bill Lee, Megan Barry and David Briley.

William Lamberth House Majority Leader: After one potential rival said he would challenge the Republican leader, an election cycle in which House Republicans held on to their 73-seat super-majority resulted in the challenger backing down.

Brad Lampley Partner, Adams and Reese: Ex-UT lineman and member of the Nashville Sports Council, until recently led the law firm’s local office as it preps for a 2021 move. Also maintains varied lobbying practice that has included clients like the Metro Nashville government and Carfax.

Congratulations to all on the 2021 In Charge List

IN CHARGE

Bill Lee

Emily Reynolds

Erica Vick

Governor, State of Tennessee: Moving through third year in office with signature achievements like education savings accounts and anti-abortion measures on ice. Has staved off calls for COVID mask mandate as he leads state government through unprecedented pandemic.

Chair, Davidson County Election Commission: A former aide to Sens. Howard Baker and Bill Frist, now leads the county election commission in a time of great uncertainty for voting.

Member, Bass Berry and Sims: Leader of the firm’s government advocacy and public policy group, with a lobbying client list that includes Brown-Forman, RaceTrac and Acadia.

Bob Rolfe

Joe Woolley

Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development: Has worked as top economic development official for two governors and has continued announcing new deals with the private sector during uncertain time for many businesses.

CEO, Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce: Has worked with big businesses moving to the state to fight against anti-LGBT legislation, often to little avail in the Republican-dominated Tennessee legislature.

CEO, American Health Partners: Founder of Windsor Health Group which in 2010 was purchased by German company Munich Re for $125 million. Also co-founded MedSolutions, Inc. (now Evicore) and National Imaging Affiliates.

Jim Schmidt

Jeff Yarbro

Jeff Balser

Senate Minority Leader: Senate Democratic Caucus again picked the Nashville senator as its leader. Now, the group has grown from five members to six, though it still has a significant disadvantage in the 33-member chamber.

President and CEO, Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Has led $3.2 billion hospital system since 2009 and oversaw its 2016 separation from Vanderbilt University, where he remains dean of med school. Recently purchased three hospitals in Lebanon, Shelbyville and Tullahoma from Community Health Systems.

David McMahan Principal, McMahan Winstead & Richardson: Longtime local lobbyist’s firm in 2020 expanded to Washington while keeping a state-level client list that includes pro sports leagues, betting interests and the Tennessee Cash Advance Association.

Randy McNally Lieutenant Governor, State of Tennessee: Republicans once again picked the longtime lawmaker as leader of the Senate, where he will oversee a legislative session focused on COVID-19, public education and more.

Ralph Schulz

Metro Council, At Large: After a year as chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, has taken on a role as one of the Council’s most visible communicators.

President and CEO, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce: Well over a decade as one of the leaders of the city’s business and tourism communities, the former Adventure Science Center CEO now faces a new challenge to the once-unbeatable tourism sector: COVID-19.

Ken Moore

Cameron Sexton

Mayor, City of Franklin: Mayor of the hot Middle Tennessee city for a decade, now the doctor with decades of experience is helping Franklin manage the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaker of the House: Continues to lead the state House after taking over after the fall of Glen Casada. Largely in step with Gov. Bill Lee and his Senate Republican counterparts, with occasional exceptions.

Bob Mendes

Justin Owen President and CEO, Beacon Center of Tennessee: Libertarian-leaning think tank leader has carved out a niche highlighting government misspending and overspending at the state and local levels.

Emily Passini Partner, Greenlight Media Strategies: Served as chief of staff to Mayor David Briley before rejoining her direct-mail firm, which has grown in recent years and taken on high-profile clients, including Jamaal Bowman in New York.

Delishia Porterfield

President, Schmidt Government Solutions: State-level lobbyist with his own practice and a client list heavy on health care, including GlaxoSmithKline and the Tennessee Radiological Society.

Lisa Sherman-Nikolaus Executive Director, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition: In 2020, took over as leader of the statewide organization, which is building a new headquarters and continuing to build its affiliated political advocacy group.

Herbert Slatery III Tennessee Attorney General: State’s top attorney joined an ill-fated attempt by Texas to overturn presidential election results in swing states, a move hailed by many Republican lawmakers.

District 29, Metro Council: As vice chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, is tasked with assisting in the city’s response to coronavirus-related budget issues. Represents a district that sits between Murfreesboro Pike and Percy Priest Lake.

Kyonztè Toombs

Lisa Quigley

Nancy VanReece

Chief of Staff, Congressman Jim Cooper: A top aide to Nashville’s representative in Congress, the former candidate is heavily involved in Democratic politics around the state.

Metro Council, District 8: Chairs the Parks, Library and Arts Committee. In her second term representing the fast-changing East Nashville district.

Metro Council, District 2: Defeated an incumbent for the position, now chairs the Budget and Finance Committee. Tasked with leading the Council’s efforts at managing a turbulent budget cycle.

SPRING 2021 | NASHVILLEPOST.COM

H ea lth Ca C a re Tim Adams CEO, Saint Thomas Health: Former Tenet executive who took over local hospital system from Karen Springer at beginning of 2018. Has since added joint replacement and critical care capacity, partnered on mental and behavioral health hospitals in Nashville and expanded specialty services.

Hal Andrews CEO, Trilliant Health: Helped lead Digital Reasoning and Shareable, among others, before taking over at data and analytics venture that brought together Aegis Health and Clariture. Most recently experienced a 20-percent growth and has situated the company to build out its data science and technology teams.

Richard Ashworth President and CEO, Tivity Health: Pharmacist and former Walgreens executive took top spot at Tivity in June and oversaw company’s $575 million sale of Nutrisystem.

Cindy Baier CEO, Brookdale Senior Living: Former company CFO (and Navigant and Central Parking exec) has steered the company through restructuring and property sales from the company’s 800-community portfolio since taking over in early 2018.

Jack Bailey Managing Director, Bailey Southwell & Co.: Has 20-plus years of middle-market deal experience and in 2005 founded Brentwood-based

investment bank that has worked on deals worth more than $15 billion. In 2018 launched equity fund with a portfolio spanning health care services and technology.

Michael Bailey

John Bass CEO, Hashed Health: Health IT veteran who helped lead InVivoLink and empactHealth.com and who now oversees team-building blockchain-based use cases and partnerships.

Bill Bates Founding Dean, Belmont University College of Medicine: Longtime local academic was previously with Meharry Medical College, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and University of Tennessee Medical Center. Helping to establish Belmont’s new medical school.

Marty Bonick President and CEO, Ardent Health Services: 25-year hospital operations veteran now overseeing Ardent’s 30 facilities and more than 26,000 employees. Formerly led anesthesia and pain management company PhyMed and publicly traded Community Health Systems.

Chuck Byrge President and CEO, Harpeth Capital: Has three decades of experience in M&A and capital raising and took over at Harpeth in 2005 after leading FTN Financial’s i-banking team. Recently led funding into health care analytics company Embold Health, which announced a partnership with Walmart months after.

Ed Cantwell President and CEO, Center for Medical Interoperability: Heads up fiveyear-old nonprofit research lab tasked with developing standards and systems around sharing health care data. Communications industry veteran was previously with West Health Institute and 3M’s wireless division.

IN CHARGE

Devin Carty CEO, Martin Ventures: Former Vanguard chief marketing officer and Cancer Treatment Centers of America strategy and talent chief who in 2017 was promoted from COO at Charlie Martin’s investment firm. Co-founded and sits on the board of Wellvana Health and Trilliant Health.

Stu Clark CEO, Premise Health: Former CHD Meridian exec who oversaw 2014 worksite health care merger that created Premise and last year bought CareHere to grow revenues past $1 billion. Sits on the board of Nashville Health Care Council and serves as an adviser for Nashville Capital Network.

Dick Cowart Shareholder, Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz: Firm board member and 25-year leader of its health and public policy group leader. Works with for-profit and nonprofit providers on policy and governance issues.

Bob Crants Founding Partner and Chief Investment Officer, Pharos Capital Group: Co-founded with Kneeland Youngblood firm that manages about $800 million. Currently serves on the boards of Charter Healthcare Group, Complete Healthcare Partners, Employee Benefit Solutions and Verdi Oncology, among others.

Neil de Crescenzo CEO, Change Healthcare: Oracle veteran took over at former Emdeon in 2013. Oversaw various M&A and efficiency-oriented moves before in January announcing a planned sale to UnitedHealth Group for about $8 billion.

Jim Deal CEO, Compassus: Four-decade health care services veteran co-founded hospice venture and oversaw 2014 recapitalization by two firms. Company increased revenue 233 percent in three-year span and now has more than 130 locations and more than $500 million in revenue.

Nancy-Ann DeParle Partner, Consonance Capital Partners: Manages about $2 billion portfolio in health care private equity. Formerly headed White House Office of Health Reform under the Obama administration. Serves as a director at CVS Health and HCA Healthcare.

David Dill CEO, LifePoint Health: Picked in ‘18 to lead new iteration of LifePoint following union with RCCH HealthCare

Sinha, emids squarely at center of rapid health IT changes

aurabh Sinha, founder and CEO of local health care technology firm emids, has just spent a year talking to clients who needed their long-term technology infrastructure plans implemented immediately. As the pandemic took control, the health care industry turned to IT to transition to remote work, support clinical teams, track data on the novel coronavirus and engage with patients in a new virtual world. Cool Springs-based emids was also undergoing rapid change, structuring its various teams to work remotely while identifying and executing long-term growth opportunities via webcams and phone calls. “Across our client base, we saw a complete change of mindset,” Sinha says. “Clients that were behind on adopting virtual models of engagements, more digital aspects, started really accelerating that. Clients that were already doing it started pushing forward to do more of it because they realized that this was going to stay.” Going into 2020, emids employed nearly 1,500 people across the globe, including in London and Bangalore, India. After several

more acquisitions and growth initiatives, the company founded in 1999 now tops 2,300 people and has expanded its software engineering capabilities and client base. “Our customers have accelerated both their timelines and their investments in digital and virtual health solutions focusing on patients,” Sinha said after announcing the acquisition of Canadian company Macadamian in January. “Our acquisition very eloquently delivers the added sophistication that our payer, provider and life sciences partners need and demand.” Sinha has a unique perspective of the health care industry because emids brings together the often-fragmented tech arms of hospitals, payers, medical device markers and life sciences companies. The mass digitization brought on by the pandemic is finally bringing those components closer together — centered around the patients, he says — at a rate in “normal” times would have taken the better part of a decade.“ In many ways, COVID-19 has been the single biggest digital transformation force,” he says. — Kara Hartnett

NASHVILLEPOST.COM | SPRING 2021

IN CHARGE

Partners. Former Renal Care Group exec joined company in 2007 and was previously president and COO.

Brandon Edwards CEO, ReviveHealth: In 2009 founded marketing agency now part of Weber Shandwick after working at national firm and Tenet. Moved HQ to Nashville from California and has grown team to 70. Firm’s client list includes HCA, VUMC and Cleveland Clinic.

Dan Elrod Attorney, Butler Snow: Veteran member of firm’s health care regulatory and transactions group. Certificate-of-need and licensing expert who works with hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies and others.

Bill Frist Partner, Cressey & Company: Former U.S. Senate majority leader who in 2015 founded population health nonprofit NashvilleHealth and helps lead Health Care Council’s Fellows program. Most recently launched longterm support services company with more than $40 million in funding.

Bobby Frist Chairman and CEO, HealthStream: Co-founder of health care workforce development company has in past year ceded president title to Eddie Pearson and paid $18 million for skilled nursing quality software. Company grew by more than 100 employees in 2019, posting approximately $254 million in revenue.

John Graves Associate Professor of Health Policy, Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Led Vanderbilt’s Department of Health Policy in modeling COVID-19 trends within Tennessee, providing invaluable insight on the novel coronavirus to local and statewide public health officials. Conducts interdisciplinary research on the intersection of health economics and policy.

David Jarrard

Bruce Moore

CEO, Neighborhood Health: Former TennCare deputy COO and Jackson Hewitt exec who was recruited in 2017 to replace primary care organization’s longtime leader Mary Bufwack. Oversaw insurance exchange planning initiative for state prior to Jackson Hewitt stint.

President and CEO, Jarrard Phillips Cate & Hancock: Veteran communications strategist and adviser to health systems and entrepreneurs who leads 40-plus-member team that has worked with more than 400 clients in 40-plus states.

President of Service Line and Operations Integration, HCA Healthcare: Joined hospital giant more than three decades ago and has since early this decade overseen oncology, urgent care and surgery centers businesses, among others.

Jay Hardcastle

Michele Johnson

Frank Morgan

Partner, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings: One of city’s top health care advisers who works with providers of all sorts on M&A, joint ventures, Medicare/Medicaid issues, whistleblower defenses and more.

Executive Director and Co-Founder, Tennessee Justice Center: Runs nonprofit open since 1996 advocating for access to health care and other basic needs in Tennessee. Most recently has been leading the front against the TennCare block grant policy proposal.

Managing Director, RBC Capital: Former Jeffries analyst and J.C. Bradford partner has led health care services equity research at RBC since late 2008. Authority on hospital industry, senior living, behavioral and other operators.

David Katzman CEO and Chairman, SmileDirectClub: Former venture capitalist who helped found tele-dentistry company disrupting the industry. Led the company through the launch of its $9 billion IPO this year and continues to combat waves of legal pressure from providers, consumers.

CEO, Acadia Healthcare: Former UHS exec recruited by Acadia directors as part of their shock ouster of Joey Jacobs. Joined Pennsylvania-based UHS in 1984 and had since 1999 led behavioral health group that now has $5 billion in revenue. Recently sold company’s struggling UK division, which had made up 35 percent of revenues.

A.J. Kazimi

Jeff Patton

President and CEO, Cumberland Pharmaceuticals: Founded the company in 1999 and has since managed more than $100 million through equity and debt financing, as well as its IPO. Serves on the board for the Nashville Health Care Council and formerly was a director for Aegis.

President and CEO, OneOncology: Longtime leader of Tennessee Oncology who early this year took over from Tracy Bahl. Holding company for various cancer care ventures in 2018 launched with $200 million in backing and has since expanded network across the nation.

Wendy Long

Jonathan Perlin

President and CEO, Tennessee Hospital Association: Former TennCare chief and Metro Public Health Department director who oversaw budgets of $10.5 billion and $46 million, respectively. Earned her current title in 2019 after a seven-month national search to replace 26-year THA veteran Craig Becker.

Chief Medical Officer, President of Clinical Services, HCA Healthcare: Joined hospital titan in ’06 after working as Veterans Health Administration CEO. Oversees clinical performance push that leans heavily on company’s massive data analytics group.

Charlie Martin Chairman, Martin Ventures: Veteran hospital company builder and ex-Vanguard Health CEO in 2013 returned full-time to investment firm he founded to evangelize for technology — including blockchain — as a way to simplify and improve health care.

VP of Network Innovation, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee: Joined state’s largest insurer in 2006 to direct government relations and took on current role in 2013. Manages provider networks and leads work on ACOs and other alternative payment programs.

Phil Mazucca

Lisa Piercey

CEO, Williamson Medical Center: Former CHS operations exec to take lead at prominent regional hospital. More than 38 years of experience in hospital operations, majority of which are in Middle Tennessee.

Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Health: Former health systems operations executive at West Tennessee Healthcare serving as state’s 14th Health Commissioner under Lee administration. Has coled statewide COVID-19 response, including testing logistics, hospital surge, data delivery, contact tracing and public health policy.

Sam Hazen CEO, HCA Healthcare: Took reins from Milton Johnson at city’s most prominent health care company after two years as president. Started with hospital giant in early 1980s before overseeing Western Group and being named COO in ’15.

James Hildreth President and CEO, Meharry Medical College: Took over at one of nation’s oldest and largest historically black academic health science centers in 2015. Has been a regional and national leader in public health battle against COVID while laying out ambitious growth plans for Meharry.

Tim Hingtgen CEO, Community Health Systems: Was promoted twice in 2016 into top operations role and at beginning of 2021 took over top job at slimmeddown company from longtime boss Wayne Smith. Joined CHS in 2008 as a VP of operations.

Craig Hodges CEO, CarePayment: Former senior Emdeon executive relocated patient financing company’s home office here from Oregon in 2017 and since expanded provider partner base. Company runs more than 4 million accounts with no-interest payment plans.

Julie Gray

Harry Jacobson

Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, Meharry Medical College: Meharry grad turned professor of dentistry and interim administrator heads logistics for Meharry’s three community assessment centers in Nashville. HBCU was among first health organizations to jumpstart COVID testing, later to be adapted into citywide effort.

Co-founder and Partner, TriStar Health Partners: Former VUMC CEO has founded more than 10 companies and mentored countless others. Works with multiple investment firms, including Iroquois Capital.

David Guth CEO, Centerstone: Co-founded nonprofit behavioral health provider and has steadily grown its footprint via acquisitions to more than 155,000 patients in six states and more than $320 million in revenue.

Brian Haile

Alex Jahangir Chairman, Metro Board of Health: Vanderbilt trauma surgeon turned local household name as lead of city’s COVID-19 task force. Advised public policy and tracked local COVID-19 trends. Coordinated response effort among hospitals, testing sites, labs, among others. Board member at the Adventure Science Center.

SPRING 2021 | NASHVILLEPOST.COM

Russ Miller CEO, Tennessee Medical Association: 32-year TMA veteran was promoted to chief executive role in 2013. Most recently the association has been pushing for policies surrounding the opioid epidemic and balance billing solutions.

Debbie Osteen

Clay Phillips

C. Wright Pinson Deputy Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, Vanderbilt University Medical

IN CHARGE

Center and CEO, Vanderbilt Health System: Clinical and operational leader who plays point on partnerships with regional providers. In recent history, completed key acquisitions of Tennova and CHS facilities and aligned with UTled University Health Network.

Patsy Powers Co-Chair of Healthcare Department, Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis: Picked with Brent Hill to take over from Ken Marlow as leader of team comprising about 200 attorneys that works with health systems, home health and long-term care providers.

Jim Rechtin President and CEO, Envision Healthcare: Former OptumCare and DaVita Medical Group exec came to physician staffing company in February. Led adaptation of service offerings through pandemic, including helping hospitals flex clinician workforce during surges.

Clay Richards CEO, naviHealth: Healthways veteran helped launch booming post-acute care manager in 2012; deal by NY PE firm valued venture at more than $1.3

billion. Recently promoted company COO to president and recruited exec to build out provider relationships.

Michelle Robertson COO, Saint Thomas Health: Former pediatric nurse hired in 2017 from parent organization Ascension’s Texas arm to run day-to-day operations for nine-hospital system that employs more than 8,000 people.

Bill Rutherford CFO, HCA Healthcare: 31-year HCA veteran has led the company through industry-defying financial performance. Steered finances of 150-facility network through pandemic turmoil, allowing the company to return $6 billion in COVID-19 federal aid.

Jerry Shelton President and CEO, Cryoport: Moved life science logistics company to Brentwood in February and began rapid global expansion. Currently leading company through COVID-19 vaccine trials and distribution efforts while enhancing core services in reproductive medicine, animal health products and biopharma.

REPORT

Saurabh Sinha CEO, emids Technologies: In 1999 co-founded health IT systems company now home to more than 2,500 people. Moved HQ to Cool Springs from airport area and continues to expand as pandemic fuels digital health revolution.

TSU alum still pushing to improve finances of Metro-owned hospital. Fought off ex-Mayor Barry’s proposal to end inpatient care and recently has looked to expanding hospital’s outpatient network to drive admissions and balance its budget.

Jim Sohr

Sam Weinstein

Chairman, Powered Health: Cofounder and former CEO of the former AIM Healthcare who launched Powered in 2013 to house health IT investments. Portfolio includes Perception Health, Xsolis and Relatient.

CEO, SpecialtyCare: Promoted to chief executive role after serving as president and CMO when acquired by Kohlberg & Co. in 2017. Has since been expanding its network across the country and employs more than 1,800 people total.

Fahad Tahir

Phil Wenk

President and CEO, Saint Thomas Midtown and West hospitals: Leads local Ascension network’s flagship facilities after reorganizing and growing network’s doctor group for three-plus years. Has proposed rehab facility partnership with Kindred Health and is overseeing long-term Midtown campus buildout that includes women’s health and cancer care centers.

President and CEO, Delta Dental of Tennessee: Former dentist who joined insurer in 1997 and was picked to lead it in early 2000. Carrier works with more than 2,100 employer groups.

Joseph Webb CEO, Nashville General Hospital: Former Methodist LeBonheur exec and

Steve Wilson CEO, United Healthcare of Tennessee: Has been with giant insurer, which early this year said it was buying Change Healthcare, for more than a decade and leads unit that has more than $1 billion in sales by working with groups of up to 3,000 employees.

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IN CHARGE

L e gal

dit the New York Stock Exchange.

Don Cochran David Anthony Partner, Anthony Watson: Left Bone McAllester Norton after more than a decade, the banking and creditor’s attorney is sure to be at the center of a number of looming bankruptcy cases.

Kathryn Barnett Nashville Managing Partner, Morgan & Morgan: Has secured a number of multimillion-dollar verdicts for plaintiffs in her practice focusing on consumer protection, personal injury and torts while leading the local office of the national plaintiffs firm.

Jeff Bivins Chief Justice, Tennessee Supreme Court: The longtime judge and former Boult Cummings Conners & Berry attorney has led the high court since 2016 but this year steered it through a new challenge as courtrooms around the state sought to continue operating amid the spread of coronavirus.

Ross Booher CEO, Latitude Legal Solutions: Birthed by lawyers from traditional local firms, his on-demand legal services startup has continued to grow, including by recently adding outposts in Indianapolis and Miami.

Matthew Burnstein Chairman, Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis: With a background in work with health care companies and on business transactions, this lawyer has led the major firm since 2014.

Brigid Carpenter Nashville Managing Shareholder for Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz: An attorney with experience in products liability defense, catastrophic personal injury defense and prosecution and defense of commercial disputes, her leadership of the firm’s local office has included management of a planned ‘21 office move.

Mark Chalos Nashville Managing Partner, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein: Leader of national plaintiffs firm’s local presence has confronted COVID-19 in the courts, including by suing insurance providers on behalf of local restaurants and by seeking to shape business liability law under consideration at the legislature.

Jim Cheek III Member, Bass Berry & Sims: Corporate and securities law expert with decades of experience, he has been at the center of blockbuster deals and helped au-

Former U.S. Attorney, Middle District of Tennessee: The former Belmont University professor spent most of Trump’s presidential term in the office. Left to be seen is who occupies it next.

Chase Cole Partner, Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis: The securities and M&A expert was lead counsel for CapStar Financial’s 2016 IPO.

Sam Coleman Presiding Judge, Davidson County General Sessions Court: The former Metro Councilmember recently took over as General Sessions presiding judge, a newly fraught position as the court seeks to manage high caseloads amid the pandemic.

Waverly Crenshaw Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee: After taking over leadership of the depleted court in 2017, the former Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis partner has seen its ranks restocked.

Page Davidson Partner, Bass & Berry & Sims: A career working on corporate transactions has in recent years included major deals involving payment processing company i3 Verticals and Tivity Health.

Dawn Deaner Executive Director, Choosing Justice Initiative: After a decade as Metro Public Defender, turned her attention more forcefully to advocacy with the formation of the Choosing Justice Initiative, a nonprofit group focused on criminal defense.

Griffin Dunham Member, Dunham Hildebrand: A former U.S. Air Force judge advocate now working on workouts and bankruptcies, an expertise expected to be increasingly in demand as the outcomes of the COVID economic downturn become more apparent.

Alberto Gonzales Dean, Belmont University School of Law: Has overseen the BU law school’s continued growth since 2014 after a career in government work, culminating as White House counsel and U.S. attorney general.

Chris Guthrie Dean, Vanderbilt University School of Law: Serving his second five-year term at the helm of the region’s most established law school, is also an expert on behavioral law and economics, dispute resolution and negotiation.

SPRING 2021 | NASHVILLEPOST.COM

Aubrey Harwell Partner and Co-Founder, Neal & Harwell: Though he no longer runs the firm he co-founded, has continued an active practice that has included high-profile cases involving Pilot Flying J and Greg Kelly, a former Nissan executive.

Ronald Harris Chief Administrator, Neal & Harwell: The longtime lawyer at the firm is now its day-to-day manager. His civil litigation practice has included libel and defamation cases, construction disputes and more.

Tucker Herndon Nashville Managing Partner, Burr & Forman: Practicing in the Birmingham-based firm’s lending group, has overseen its Nashville office since 2018.

Lela Hollabaugh Nashville Managing Partner, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings: An experienced trial lawyer working on behalf of energy and pharmaceutical companies, among others, has for a half decade overseen the Birmingham-based firm’s large Nashville office.

Jamie Hollin Sole Practitioner: Lawyer with a wide-ranging practice that also includes a focus on niche issues like Metro regulations and short-term rental law.

Daniel Horwitz Sole Practitioner: An attorney with experience in various high-profile Nashville-area cases, including last year representing Joseph Webster, whose 15-year-old murder conviction was vacated.

Martesha Johnson Metropolitan Nashville Public Defender: Elected to the top job in 2018, has worked in the public defender’s office since 2007.

Bill Koch Jr. Dean, Nashville School of Law: After serving on the Tennessee Supreme Court and Tennessee Court of Appeals, took over leadership of local law school where he has taught for more than two decades.

2019, an office that has grown in recent months with the addition of a trio of real estate attorneys from Bradley.

Tom Lawless Attorney, Lawless & Associates: A politically engaged attorney with current and past roles on the Registry of Election Finance Commission and Board of Judicial Conduct, specializes in his private practice on bankruptcy and creditor’s rights.

Ryan Levy Managing Shareholder, Patterson Intellectual Property Law: Leader at the specialized firm, his practice is focused on patent litigation.

Ellen Hobbs Lyle Judge, Davidson County Chancery Court: Fifth-generation Nashvillian who has led Business Court pilot since its launch in 2015 and who has recently been at the center of several high-profile cases, including a proposed Metro tax referendum and the under-construction MLS stadium. Legal community rallied to her defense after GOP lawmakers targeted her for removal for election-related rulings in 2020.

Mark Manner Member, Bass Berry & Sims: This co-founder of the former Harwell Howard Hyne Gabbert & Manner has worked for years in the realm of mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, leveraged buyouts and other corporate and securities matters.

Jerry Martin Partner, Barrett Johnston Martin & Garrison: The Obama-era U.S. attorney works primarily on complex litigation, including the representation of False Claims Act whistleblowers, an extension of his prosecutorial work.

Rocky McElhaney Founder and Managing Partner, Rocky McElhaney Law Firm: Helms, and lends his name, to personal injury firm.

Mekesha Montgomery

Stacey Garrett Koju

Member, Frost Brown Todd: A former leader of the regional firm’s Nashville office, now leads the firm’s manufacturing industry group and practices in the areas of employment discrimination and wrongful termination.

Founding Member and Board Chair, Bone McAllester Norton: The longtime local legal leader has a wide-ranging practice with a particular focus on higher education issues, including work with Fisk University.

Partner, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings: A pre-eminent local expert on bankruptcy who could soon see that expertise in high demand.

Rob Laird

Larry Papel

Managing Shareholder, Maynard Cooper & Gale: Helped open a Nashville office for the Birmingham-based firm in

Partner, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough: In addition to a career in real estate law, has served in leadership

Bill Norton

IN CHARGE

IN CHARGE|LEGAL LIEFF CABRASER CONGRATULATES MARK P. CHALOS

Mark P. Chalos PARTNER

Seeking justice for the injured, victims of fraud, whistleblowers, employees, municipalities, and investors across the U.S. and globally since our founding in 1972.

NASHVILLE SAN FRANCISCO NEW YORK MUNICH lieffcabraser.com

IN CHARGE

roles for organizations including the Nashville Civic Design Center.

John Peterson

64.4% of senior leaders who were among the more than 500 respondents to LBMC’s Business Outlook Report 2021 said making their organizations more efficient is a top priority this year

40.3% of respondents said cutting expenses is high on their list

of respondents are eyeing technology improvements

32.2% are looking to raise their prices

7.8% had no specific plans yet

planned to lay off workers

Managing Partner, Dodson Parker Behm & Capparella: A litigator with experience in employment, personal injury and criminal law. Has led the firm since 2018.

Tom Sherrard

Brant Phillips

Jonathan Skeeters

Member, Bone McAllester Norton: A former U.S. attorney whose practice is focused on high-profile criminal defense.

Partner, Bass Berry & Sims: As chair of the firm’s litigation and dispute resolution group, oversees the work of nearly 100 attorneys. Has also carved out a specialty in certificate-of-need work for health care companies.

Chair and Managing Partner, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings: An attorney whose practice is focused on the health care industry. Leads the Birmingham-based firm from Nashville, one of its biggest offices and the source of half its name.

Ma M an a g e m e n t C o n su lt i n g

Edward Playfair

Founding Member, Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison: The corporate and securities work veteran has served as outside counsel to both public and private companies.

Nashville Partner in Charge, Adams and Reese: Previously a solicitor in the United Kingdom, he joined Adams and Reese more than a decade ago and now leads its IP team. Was recently named to manage the local office.

Joycelyn Stevenson

Ann Pruitt

Gerard Stranch IV

Executive Director, Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services: After working as a litigator for Baker Donelson and in the legal department at Dell Inc., joined TALS, a nonprofit that seeks to connect vulnerable Tennesseans with civil legal assistance.

Managing Partner, Branstetter Stranch & Jennings: A litigator whose most high-profile work has included suits against opioid manufacturers. Has led the local firm since 2017.

Partner, North Pursell & Ramos: A lawyer focusing on personal injury, employment law and workers’ compensation whose past civic involvement includes leadership roles with the Nashville Bar Association, Catholic Charities of Tennessee and Conexión Américas.

David Raybin Co-Founder, Raybin & Weissman: Prominent criminal defense attorney who has worked on behalf of Nashville police officers, including Andrew Delke, whose murder trial has been delayed due to COVID-19.

Jennifer Robinson Nashville Managing Shareholder, Littler Mendelson: Work has included defense in class-action cases, in addition to leading the Nashville office and the hospitality group in the worldwide employment and labor firm.

Todd Rolapp

5.1%

Tyler Chance Yarbro

Managing Shareholder, Polsinelli: A litigator with experience in corporate governance, real estate and commercial disputes, leads the firm’s local office after a stint as a partner at Riley Warnock & Jacobson.

Gregg Ramos

37.3%

downtown Nashville perch. Has worked in heavily regulated industries including coal and auto.

Managing Partner, Bass Berry & Sims: An attorney with experience in mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and other corporate and securities issues. Has been leader of the local firm since 2013.

Robert Sartin Chairman, Frost Brown Todd: Leads the Louisville-based firm from his

Executive Director, Tennessee Bar Association: A Littler Mendelson shareholder and Nashville Bar Association president before taking over the TBA in 2017.

Peter Strianse Attorney, Tune Entrekin & White: A former prosecutor with a high-profile list of criminal defense clients, including former Rep. Jeremy Durham and former Judge Casey Moreland.

Gif Thornton Managing Partner, Adams and Reese: A lobbyist who has represented Metro Nashville Government at the state Capitol. Has led regional law firm since 2015.

Byron Trauger Partner, Trauger & Tuke: Politically connected attorney who has chaired campaigns for governor and mayor in addition to a practice that includes civil litigation, government relations and health care matters.

Jack Waddey Partner, Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis: Previously a co-founder of Waddey Patterson, now focuses on intellectual property work at Waller, including mediation, IP disputes and business breakups.

DarKenya Waller Executive Director, Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands: Has been at LAS since 2008 and led the regional office since 2018. Among other focuses, the public service firm has zeroed in on a wave of pandemic-related evictions.

Ed Yarbrough

Patricia Asp President, Compass Executives: Former Community Education Partners and ServiceMaster exec who joined Compass in 2011 and was named president last year, taking over dayto-day role from Art Rebrovick. Also CEO and a director of photography of company Nationwide Studios.

Christie Berger Executive Leadership Coach, CB Consulting: Launched firm in 2007 and has worked with small-biz leaders as well as Fortune 50 executives. Also was head of executive coaching for Belmont’s Center for Executive Education from 2011 to 2018 and founded Fusion Leader Circuit development program for women leaders and execs.

Jerry Bostelman CEO, Vaco: Founded recruiting firm in 2002 and has overseen growth into global player. In 2019 acquired consulting firm MorganFranklin, which grew revenues to $750 million, and last year picked up KraftCPAs team focused on Microsoft systems work.

Bill Brown CEO, A2B Advisors: Revived consulting business after nearly a decade as CEO of EHR workflow software venture Entrada, which he grew and sold to NextGen Healthcare in 2017 for about $34 million. Entrepreneur Center board member and executive-in-residence for incubator’s Project Healthcare program.

Kevin Cowherd Senior Managing Director, Ankura: Tapped in late 2020 to succeed Beth Chase, who founded the former c3 consulting and led its 2018 sale to Ankura. Joined company in 2013 after more than two decades at IBM and specializes in HR, IT and sales work.

IN CHARGE

David Furse

Don Williamson

Co-founder, Executive Aura: Former professor who built Nashville Consulting Group in ‘80s and ‘90s and co-founded Executive Aura in 2012. Has been adjunct at Vanderbilt since ’02 and led development of EC’s mentor program.

Managing Director, Compass Executives: Former president and CEO of Rogers Group who helped launch Compass in 2006. Also held leadership roles at Aladdin Industries and with medical device company Symbion.

Congratulations to the 2021 In Charge honorees. Thank you for your leadership in our city. We’re honored to support what you create.

Ryan Gallagher CEO, InfoWorks: Former firm president who was chosen in early 2021 to succeed co-founder Jim Clayton. As president, helped more than triple revenues since joining in 2012 from industry giant Booz Allen Hamilton.

Dustin Hillis Head, Southwestern Coaching: CEO of wide-ranging Southwestern Family of Companies launched sales-focused coaching business in 2008. Division has grown to more than 200 people in six countries and has worked with more than 10,000 people.

John Mark McDougal Audit and Advisory Practice Leader, LBMC: Lead shareholder for firm’s manufacturing and distribution work and member of its board since 2010. Works primarily with private middle-market companies, specializing in manufacturing.

David Owens Professor of the Practice of Management and Innovation, Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management: Specializes in innovation, product design and organizational design. Last year took over management of Wond’ry innovation/ entrepreneurship hub.

Kimberly Pace President and CEO, Executive Aura: Communications-focused professor at Vanderbilt’s Owen school since 2005 who in 2012 launched firm with Michael Burcham and David Furse. Has worked with VUMC, Ingram Content Group and Lucent Health, among others.

Art Rebrovick Chairman and CEO, Compass Executives: Three-decade consulting veteran who brings background in manufacturing, distribution and experience with turnarounds to clients. Firm of about 20 people has worked with more than 300 clients.

Nancy Schultz Vice President, North Highland: Has nearly three decades of consulting experience and specializes in business processes and work with vendors. Launched firm’s Nashville office in 1999 and is now North Highland’s global health care leader.

Manufa c turi ng Mike Apperson President and CEO, Resource Label Group: Oversees label printing business that is regular acquirer of niche peers and now employs 1,450 people. Has backing of private equity firms First Atlantic and TPG Growth. Company acquired Dallas- and Seattle-based entities in late 2020.

Greg Bafalis CEO, Aries Clean Technologies: Named in July 2016 to lead firm. Has 30-plus years of leadership in clean technology and energy sector. Past work includes stints with Fortune 500 companies and launching PE-backed renewable energy company in Houston. Company landed in early 2018 collective $46.4 million of new and additional equity from two entities.

Steve Cook Executive Managing Director and Co-Founder, LFM Capital: Oversees private equity investment entity that focuses, in part, on manufacturing entities. Ex-principal with TVV Capital and COO of MFG.com. Ex-Navy lieutenant who flew combat missions in support of Desert Shield.

James Curleigh CEO, Gibson Brands: Replaced Henry Juszkiewicz at end of company’s 2018 bankruptcy restructuring. Former Levi’s exec has pushed mix of heritage, innovation for brand and in early ‘21 acquired amplifier brand Mesa/Boogie.

Reagan Farr President and CEO, Silicon Ranch: Stepped up from COO in mid-2019 to take over from Matt Kisber. Former state revenue commissioner during administration of Phil Bredesen who has helped grow Silicon Ranch to 120+ families in 14 states. Silicon Ranch in late 2020 landed another $225 million in funding from Shell and others to fuel growth plans.

Philippe Fauchet Dean, Vanderbilt University School of Engineering: Veteran academician also serves as VU professor of engineering. An expert in silicon photon-

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IN CHARGE

45.1% of fast-growing company leaders who were among the more than 500 respondents to LBMC’s Business Outlook Report 2021 said they plan to increase their spending on marketing in 2021. That’s more than double the share of no-growth companies that plan to spend more on marketing.

ics who holds numerous patents and once founded a successful startup. Helped land in 2019 a $20 million gift for engineering school from VU chair Bruce Evans.

Paolo Ferrari President, COO and CEO, Bridgestone Americas: Took over from Gordon Knapp in January 2020 after leading tire giant’s European operations since 2016. Former luxury retail exec who moved to the auto industry in 2012 to lead Pirelli North America.

TJ Higgins Global Chief Digital Strategic Officer and Global Chief Business Strategic Officer, Bridgestone Corp.: Joined Bridgestone Americas in 2014 as President of the Consumer Integrated Tire Group. Has worked with Pfizer, Merck and Vlasic Foods.

Jeff Hollingshead CEO and GM, Smyrna Ready Mix: Leads concrete company that acquired seven peers in four states in 2018 and in 2019 unveiled plans to build new HQ at Interstate 840 and West Jefferson Pike.

Mark Johnson

Here’s how many firms in certain sectors plan to ramp up their spending:

35.3% Technology

31.9% Health care

26.1% Manufacturing and distribution

22.5% Construction and real estate

President, Mars Petcare, North America: Oversees strategy and execution for company, which employs about 4,000 people and has 22 facilities nationwide. Company announced early this year it will invest $145 million to expand its manufacturing facility located in Fort Smith, Arkansas, a move that will yield 120 full-time jobs.

Ted Klee Senior Vice President, Schneider Electric: Vanderbilt graduate who in 1985 joined what was then Square D. Was named senior VP in 2009 and in 2019 shifted role to help companies with large internet clients.

Steve Marsh Senior Vice President of Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management, Nissan North America: Appointed in March of last year, taking over from Heath Holtz as leader of Nissan’s manufacturing operations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Has been with auto maker for more than 30 years.

Darin Matson President and CEO at Rogers Group Inc.: Replaced the retiring Jerry Geraghty in 2016 and has been with company since 2004. Rogers provides crushed stone, sand and gravel for the road construction industry, which had been home to more than 1,800 employees prior to the pandemic.

Jérémie Papin Vice Chairman, Nissan North America: Nissan’s senior vice president of administration and finance since 2018 who last year took over leadership of auto maker’s North American unit. Will in April move into newly created role covering all of the Americas.

Brad Southern CEO, Louisiana-Pacific: Replaced Curt Stevens in July 2017 as fifth CEO in company’s history. Joined LP in 1999 and led both siding and oriented strand board units before moving up to COO. Holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in forest resources from the University of Georgia.

Sam Strang CEO, Alley-Cassetty: Vanderbilt grad who was in 2011 named to lead brick, concrete block and mortar company founded in 1879. In late 2018 bought assets from local peer LoJac that grew regional plant network to 14.

Jason Whitaker CEO, Shoals Technologies Group: Joined maker of solar energy equipment parts in 2009 as CTO and was named CEO in early 2020. Company went public early this year in red-hot IPO that valued it at more than $4 billion.

Uzi Yemin Chairman, President and CEO, Delek US Holdings: Has led energy conglomerate since mid-2004, overseeing numerous acquisitions of pipeline and logistics assets. Began 2021 facing calls for big governance and strategy changes from CVR Energy, a Carl Icahn-controlled company that owns 15 percent of Delek.

Yoichi Yokozawa President and CEO, Mitsubishi Motors North America: Has been with the broader Mitsubishi organization since August 1998 and was president and CEO of its North American arm from April 2011 to February 2014. Also has held senior-level positions in the company’s financial, strategic planning, marketing and sales organizations, among others.

Michael Youngs Plant Director, GM Spring Hill: Third-generation General Motors employee who took over in Maury County in 2019. Has worked at six GM sites over 26 years with auto giant, whose local operation employs about 3,700 people. GM execs last October said they will invest $2 billion to add an electric vehicle production line to plant.

Ma M a r ke t i n g Jeff Bradford President and CEO, Bradford Dalton Group: Has worked in the industry since 1985 and last year merged his 20-year-old firm into the Atlanta-based Dalton Agency. Among the youngest individuals inducted (1991) into Leadership Nashville.

Clint Brewer Managing Partner, Imperium Public Strategies: Communications industry veteran with expertise in politics, journalism and marketing. Former Tennessean government and politics editor, City Paper editor and executive director of Beacon Center.

Jeffrey Buntin Jr. President and CEO, The Buntin Group: Leads Tennessee’s largest communications agency, which relocated in 2019 its 110 employees from Gulch-area building to former Tennessee Central Railway train shed.

Libby Callaway Founder and Principal, The Callaway: Oversees communications agency offering branding, event execution, marketing and PR focused on companies in fashion, beauty, retail and hospitality. New York Post writer and editor from 1997 to 2004.

Alice Chapman Managing Partner, MP&F: Joined MP&F in 1995 as staff associate and elevated to partner in 2011. Led firm’s successful campaign supporting wine sales in Tennessee’s retail food stores on behalf of Red White and Food coalition.

Beth Seigenthaler Courtney Managing Partner, Southeast, Finn Partners: Assumed role in early 2019 with what had been DVL Siegenthaler. Firm counts Jack Daniel’s and NES among its clients.

Shari Day President and CEO, BOHAN: Promoted in November 2015 from president/ COO to CEO, replacing Kerry Graham. Joined the advertising and marketing agency firm in 2010 as senior VP for operations and planning.

Jamie Dunham Founder and President, BrandWise: Veteran marketing and branding advisor whose client roster includes HCA and Twice Daily. Founder of Red Letter Day event focused on marketing to women.

John Farkas CEO and Founder, Golden Spiral: Oversees marketing team geared to-

IN CHARGE

ward assisting B2B technology companies. Company is a supporter of Women in Technology of Tennessee and offers client roster that includes Kasisto, Digital Reasoning and Socure.

David Fox Partner, MP&F: Former reporter who once worked on the presidential campaigns of Howard Baker and Jimmy Carter. Joined MP&F as partner in 1990 and specializes in strategic planning and media relations.

Rob Henderson CEO, JumpCrew: Has grown marketing and sales generation company to more than 300 people since launching in 2016 and moving here from New York City. Last year moved team to MetroCenter from former Dickerson Road home.

Keel Hunt President and Founder, The Strategy Group: Politics and media veteran who has consulted for some of Tennessee’s largest institutions, including HCA, Pilot, Ingram Industries and BellSouth. Noted author and columnist.

Jeff Lipscomb Co-owner and CEO, GS&F: Teams with right-hand-man Gregg Boling to oversee Cummins Station-based integrated marketing agency that employs more than 115 people and has capitalized billings of more than $76 million. Has been with company since 1985.

Rosemary Plorin President and CEO, Lovell Communications: Joined firm that focuses on health care in 2000 and took over as its leader in 2015. In mid-2019 relocated team from longtime Green Hills home to space on West End.

Lauren Reed President and Founder, Reed Public Relations: Launched her firm five years after moving to Nashville from Louisville to open office for Peritus. Has during her career worked with O’Charley’s, Ford and Madame Tussauds, among others, and recently relocated firm to Wedgewood-Houston from Midtown.

Ronald Roberts Managing Partner, Southeast, Finn Partners: Former journalist and MTSU official and instructor joined what was then still Dye Van Mol and Lawrence in early ‘90s.

Deborah Varallo President, Varallo Public Relations: Energetic PR sector veteran who finds a way to attend seemingly every local event of note — with camera in hand. Known for robust network of contacts.

Justin Wilson Partner, Hall Strategies: Has since joining Hall in 2015 built a real estate development practice that includes Fifth + Broadway, Four Seasons Nashville and River North. Was named partner in late 2020, a decade after he moved to Nashville from D.C.

Medi a / Pu bl i s hi ng Chuck Allen President and CEO of AMG/Parade and Executive VP and COO, Athlon Sports Communications: Has since 1997 run company known for its college and pro sports season preview annuals. Former U.S. Army captain.

David Bailey CEO and Co-Founder, BTC Media: Oversees company that publishes what it bills as world’s only print magazines about Bitcoin and blockchain industries. With interest in Bitcoin growing globally, BTC claims millions of readers.

LaDonna Boyd President and CEO, R.H. Boyd Publishing: Runs family’s 115-year-old religious publishing company. In mid2019 made $1 million contribution to the National Museum of African American Music. Father is Boyd Publishing Chairman Emeritus R.H. Boyd, who stepped down in late 2017 from running daily operations.

Frank Daniels President, FW Publishing: Oversees parent company of Nashville Scene, Nfocus, Williamson Home Page and the Post. Duke grad previously served as political columnist for The Tennessean.

Maria De Varenne Executive Editor, The Tennessean: Joined the morning daily in 2011. Previously was the editor and vice president/news of The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California. Has served as an adjunct professor at Middle Tennessee State University.

Chris Ferrell CEO, Endeavor Business Media: Founded B2B company in December 2017. Ex-Metro councilman and former CEO of then-Post parent SouthComm.

John Ingram Chairman, Ingram Content Group: Princeton and Vanderbilt grad also is lead owner of Major League Soccer

who reccognize that the path forward requires everyone to come together to accomplish what they couldn’t accomplish alone by:

INVITING

diversity of thought

FOSTERING

open discussion

ALIGNING ON & SUPPORTING a common goal

IN CHARGE

CONGRATULATIONS TINA DONIGER

franchise Nashville SC. Named chairman of Ingram Industries in 2008.

Demetria Kalodimos Founder, Genuine Human Productions: Started people-focused documentary film company in 2000. Best known for her anchor work at WSMV NewsChannel 4. Left station at 2017’s end as its longest continuously serving evening news anchor.

Rene LaSpina

NAMED AS NASHVILLE POST IN CHARGE NON-PROFIT LEADER The Community Resource Center would like to recognize our Executive Director, Tina Doniger. Tina rose up to meet all of the challenges Middle Tennessee faced this year. From tornadoes, to a pandemic, to bombing recovery efforts, CRC has taken the lead in times of crisis. We’re so grateful for Tina’s leadership! Lorem ipsum

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VP and General Manager, News Channel 4: Hired in January 2019, bringing more than 20 years of television station management experience. Has held TV jobs in Buffalo; Minneapolis; Memphis; Albany, New York; and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Ben Mandrell President and CEO, LifeWay Christian Resources: Elected LifeWay’s 10th president in June 2019. Previously pastored churches in Colorado and Tennessee. Holds divinity degrees from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville and from Union University in Jackson, Tennessee.

Stuart McWhorter Partner, D17 Ventures: Veteran early-stage investor, former Entrepreneur Center CEO and recent state finance commissioner under Gov. Bill Lee has made headlines in recent months by investing in Shannon Terry’s Outsider and buying Kentucky Sports Radio and the Clemson Insider.

Rosetta Miller-Perry Publisher and CEO, The Tennessee Tribune: Elder stateswoman of local media sector launched the Tribune, generally considered Tennessee’s most influential African-American-owned publication, in 1991. Background includes work with the U.S. Navy, the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Earned chemistry degree from the University of Memphis in 1956.

Bob Mueller Anchor, News2: Veteran and straightforward broadcast journalist has co-anchored WKRN’s main desk since 1982. Has been honored with three National Telly Awards and two National Communicator Awards.

Lyn Plantinga

crcnashville.org 218 Omohundro Place Nashville, TN 37210 615-291-6688 Lorem ipsum

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VP and General Manager, NewsChannel 5: Previously served as WTVF’s station manager. Has been with broadcast entity since 1989 and in current role since 2014.

Erik Schelzig Editor, Tennessee Journal: Ex-Associated Press reporter covered Tennes-

see state government and politics for 12 years before succeeding Ed Cromer as Tennessee Journal leader in 2017. Once worked for the Washington Post and German paper Der Spiegel.

was named to current position in September 2018. Has overseen launch and buildout of Circle TV joint venture and polished the Opry brand during pandemic with successful livestreams.

Steve Swenson

Scott Borchetta

President, Nashville Public Radio: Named to role in April 2019. Has worked in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C. Teams with Anita Bugg, VP of programming, to oversee public broadcasting station.

President and CEO, Big Machine Label Group: Set in motion label ecosystem that launched Taylor Swift and also houses Rascal Flatts, Cheap Trick and Lady A, among others. In 2019 sold to entity led by artist manager Scooter Braun for reported $300 million.

Shannon Terry Founder and CEO, Outsider: Serial entrepreneur behind Rivals and 247Sports who has cracked the code on niche digital properties. Latest venture focused on country music and the outdoor lifestyle already reaches 10 million users monthly.

Phil Williams Chief Investigative Reporter, NewsChannel 5: Bulldog-esque hard news journalist who boasts three duPont-Columbia University Awards and a trio of George Foster Peabody Awards. Started decorated broadcast media career as a newspaperman.

M us i c Kris Ahrend CEO, Mechanical Licensing Collective: Worked on various labels’ legal teams and at Rhino Entertainment before rising to president of U.S. Shared Services for Warner Music Group in Nashville. Was tapped in early 2020 to lead the MLC, which was created by publishers and songwriters to license and administer rights under the Music Modernization Act.

John Allen President, New West Records: Former VP at BMG Chrysalis opened New West’s first Nashville office after being appointed president in late 2014. Roster includes Buddy Miller, Ben Folds, Rodney Crowell, John Hiatt and Nikki Lane.

Dan Auerbach Musician, Producer, Frontman of The Black Keys and The Arcs: Owns and operates Easy Eye Sound recording studio and record label. Has produced albums by The Pretenders, Lana Del Rey and Yola. Co-founding business partner at Barista Parlor Golden Sound.

Scott Bailey President, Opry Entertainment Group: Former president of The Enthusiast Network’s automotive group

Richard Busch Head of Entertainment and Intellectual Property Sections, King & Ballow: Lawyer who won famous “Blurred Lines” case also has successfully represented numerous other clients in trials and appellate court cases, including copyright infringement actions for big names such as Eight Mile Style and Jillian Michaels.

Ashley Capps President and CEO, AC Entertainment: Started music biz career in 1970s booking shows in Knoxville and in 1991 founded music promotion company that co-produces Bonnaroo and several other festivals. Opened a Nashville office in 2013. Sold in 2016 a majority stake in AC to Live Nation.

Jamie Cheek President and Co-Owner, Flood Bumstead McCready & McCarthy: Role was elevated in 2018 when founding partners Chuck Flood, Frank Bumstead and Mary Ann McCready stepped away from day-to-day operations at financial advisory firm that employs 140.

Dave Cobb Producer: One of Nashville’s most in-demand producers. Has worked with and won awards alongside Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson and Rival Sons, among others. Tenant of historic RCA Studio A since 2016.

Derek Crownover Partner, Loeb & Loeb: Prominent entertainment, media and sports attorney whose songwriter, publisher, artist and producer clients have sold more than one billion albums and singles. Selected to Super Lawyers list from 2007–09 and 2018–19. Has practiced for more than 20 years.

Mike Curb Founder and Chairman, Curb Records: California’s former lieutenant governor and ex-acting governor. Songwriter, producer and owner of independent record company since 1962, yielding more than 400 No. 1 records. Major Belmont University benefactor.

IN CHARGE

Doyle Davis and Mike Grimes Co-Owners, Grimey’s New & Preloved Music: Co-proprietors of nationally respected indie record store, which moved from Eighth Avenue South to East Nashville in 2018. Davis hosts WXNA’s D-Funk radio show, Grimes runs live music venues The Basement Nashville and The Basement East.

Mike DuCharme VP, Nashville Regional Office, AEG Live: Moved to Nashville from AEG’s Kansas City office to help oversee work on two venues in the works at downtown’s future Nashville Yards.

Mike Dungan Chairman and CEO, UMG Nashville: Former Capitol Records Nashville president and CEO. Appointed to position at UMG following 2012 merger with EMI. Regular on Billboard’s Power 100 list.

John Esposito Chairman and CEO, Warner Music Nashville: Formerly at Def Jam, Polygram and WEA Corp. Runs Warner Music Nashville, encompassing Warner Bros. Nashville, Atlantic Nashville, Elektra Nashville and LoudMouth.

Rod Essig VP, Creative Artists Agency Nashville: Helped build CAA into one of the most formidable agencies in Music City. Moved into penthouse of downtown’s SunTrust Plaza building in 2012. Agent for Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Martina McBride and Tim McGraw.

Katie Fagan Head of A&R, Prescription Songs Nashville: An early hire at publishing company founded by multi-platinum producer and songwriter Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald. Helped launch L.A.-based firm’s Nashville office in 2017 and was promoted to head of A&R in 2018.

Leslie Fram Senior VP of Music Strategy, Country Music Television: Omnipresent exec who oversees music integration throughout CMT’s brands and across all platforms, including on CMT, CMT. com and CMT Radio. Georgia Radio Hall of Fame member and T.J. Martell Foundation Award recipient.

Joe Galante CEO, Galante Entertainment Organization: Industry veteran and former Sony Music Nashville chairman holds key positions in various philanthropic organizations. Vice chairperson of CMA Foundation, which raises funds for music education programs, and adviser to numerous entrepreneurs.

McWhorter returns to private sector with ideas, momentum

tuart McWhorter made his name investing in health care businesses, particularly those catering to the technological side of one of Middle Tennessee’s most important industries. Of late, though, he has made headlines putting money to work in sports media via D17 Ventures. After leaving the administration of Gov. Bill Lee last summer — he was first commissioner of finance and administration before overseeing Lee’s COVID-19 response team — McWhorter worked as a senior advisor at Clemson University, his alma mater. In January, he announced he had acquired The Clemson Insider sports news site, a move that came shortly after he said he’d bought Kentucky Sports Radio. The moves echo past McWhorter sports investments — he was among those who backed Shannon Terry with Rivals.com and

247Sports, which sold to Yahoo and CBS, and is a partner in Terry’s new Outsider site — and suggest more is in the works. Like many other things, sports has suffered from the pandemic (and our generally shrinking attention spans) but niche platforms have an enduring ability to draw and retain an audience. McWhorter isn’t leaving behind his roots, though. While at the state, he co-chaired with former LifePoint Health CEO Bill Carpenter a health care task force whose work focused a lot on rural issues. The group had just concluded a series of listening sessions around the state when COVID arrived and shut down its work. But McWhorter says what he heard and learned has him looking for new opportunities to improve access and outcomes for populations away from cities and their denser, more advanced health care ecosystems. — Geert De Lombaerde

NASHVILLEPOST.COM | SPRING 2021

IN CHARGE

Becky Gardenhire

Shane McAnally

Co-Head, WME Nashville: Promoted to partner role in 2019 alongside Scott Clayton, Joey Lee and Jay Williams. Serves on boards of Academy of Country Music, TJ Martell’s Nashville chapter and W.O. Smith Music School.

CEO, SMACK and Co-President, Monument Records: Respected hit songwriter founded music publisher SMACK in 2012. In 2017, Sony Music tapped him and Sandbox Entertainment CEO Jason Owen to run revival of Monument, which released early albums by Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton and others.

Randy Goodman Chairman and CEO, Sony Music Nashville: Former VP and general manager of RCA Label Group and senior VP of marketing at RCA before that. Member of Music City Music Council and board member of Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Jed Hilly Executive Director, Americana Music Association: Has overseen nonprofit artist advocacy group since 2007 and been key in growing genre’s stature. Grammy and Emmy winner as producer of “Levon Helm: Ramble at the Ryman” and two-time Regional Emmy winner.

Joe Hudak Senior Editor, Rolling Stone Country: Former TV Guide editor and Country Weekly managing editor who helped launch and now oversees Rolling Stone’s Nashville-based country coverage. Also contributes to magazine’s non-country reporting and hosts panels and Q&As.

Jay Joyce Producer and Songwriter: Has produced career-defining albums by Eric Church, Brandy Clark, Miranda Lambert, Cage the Elephant, Patty Griffin, Little Big Town and Thomas Rhett, among others. Songwriting credits include tunes cut by Emmylou Harris, Keith Urban and Faith Hill. 2015 winner of ACM Honors Studio Recording Award.

Ken Levitan

ploys more than 200 here and in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, London and Berlin.

Mike Sistad Vice President, The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers: Belmont University alumnus and recipient of the Music City Milestone Award in 2019. Promoted to ASCAP VP in 2019.

Michael Milom

Jennie Smythe

Partner and Founding Member, Milom Horsnell Crow Kelley Beckett Shehan: Founding member of Tennessee Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts board. Legal counsel to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Radio Broadcasters and other big industry names. Taught copyright and entertainment law at Vanderbilt for more than 35 years.

CEO, Girlilla Marketing: Founded digital marketing firm in 2008, with client roster now including Tim McGraw, Brandy Clark and the Academy of Country Music. Making industry opportunities for women has been major focus.

Jason Owen President and CEO, Sandbox Entertainment: Company’s client roster includes Kacey Musgraves, Faith Hill and Little Big Town. Billboard’s 2018 Executive of the Year for Country Power Players. Also serves as co-president of Monument Records with Shane McAnally.

John Peets Founder, Q Prime South: Manages from East Nashville office Eric Church, The Black Keys, Rhiannon Giddens and The Wild Feathers.

Kelly Rich Senior Label Relations Manager for Nashville, Amazon Music: In 2017, left position at Big Machine to help online sales and streaming media giant expand local business, where country music accounts for above-average share of streaming volume.

Co-President and Founder, Vector Management: Co-partner of Vector and immediate past chair of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. board. Launched upscale Music City Food & Wine Festival in 2013 with concert promoter C3 Presents and longtime clients Kings of Leon.

Sherod Robertson

Jonathan Loba Executive Vice President, BBR Music Group: Longtime label group executive has had relationship with label’s flagship artist Jason Aldean since start of latter’s career. Industry giant BMG bought label group in 2017.

Program Director, WMOT: Veteran DJ and radio programmer with more than 45 years of industry experience. Hired when MTSU-based station switched to Americana format in 2016. Co-founder of Americana Music Association and popular YouTube channel Music Fog.

David Macias

Jim Selby

CEO and Co-Founder, Thirty Tigers: Versatile Grammy-winning producer who handles marketing, distribution and management for Jason Isbell, Lucinda Williams, Patty Griffin, Aaron Watson, Trampled by Turtles and others.

Chief Publishing Executive, Concord: Former Naxos of America CEO who has been with Concord since March 2016 and was its COO until taking over publishing role from Jake Wisely at beginning of 2021. Concord em-

President and Owner, Music Row Enterprises: Former CFO for ex-Post parent company SouthComm Inc. Bought publisher of MusicRow magazine in 2010 and oversees brand’s operations and strategic initiatives.

Jessie Scott

SPRING 2021 | NASHVILLEPOST.COM

Brian Traeger President, Live Nation’s Tennessee Business Unit: In charge of programming at Live Nation’s Ascend Amphitheater. Nominated for Talent Buyer of the Year at the 2015 Pollstar Awards.

Sarah Trahern CEO, Country Music Association: Former Great American Country executive who before that covered politics and public affairs at C-SPAN. Took over as trade group’s leader in early 2014 and has grown membership.

Kelli Turner President and COO, SESAC: Brought extensive media background to SESAC in 2014 as CFO and EVP of operations and development. Promoted to current roles in fall 2018. Led sale of SESAC to private equity firm Blackstone and revenue collections have reportedly doubled during her tenure.

Lester Turner President, Tuned-In Broadcasting: Company is home to WRLT Lightning 100 and Live on the Green Music Festival. Family owns downtown building housing Acme Feed and Seed.

Mike Vaden Principal, Elliott Davis: Accountant with long history of working with music industry figures including Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and George Jones. Leads regional firm’s entertainment and family office/business management practice.

Jack White Musician and Owner, Third Man Records: Grammy winner known for work with The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather. Landed a star on the Music City Walk of Fame in 2015 and recently opened record pressing plant in native Detroit.

Sally Williams President of Nashville Business and

Music Strategy, Live Nation: Former head of Opry Entertainment Group programming and artist relations division and Grand Ole Opry GM. Oversees Live Nation operations of Live Nation Nashville venues Ascend Amphitheater, The Quarry and Brooklyn Bowl.

Nonprofits Jane Allen CEO, Entrepreneur Center: Appointed in 2019 to lead organization which has provided assistance to 10,000plus entrepreneurs, helped create more than 1,300 jobs and raised $208 million in capital.

Tatum Hauck Allsep Founder and CEO, Music Health Alliance: Launched in 2013 to provide access to health care and insurance for music community. Has served more than 11,000 clients and secured over $50 million in cost savings.

Janet and Jim Ayers Co-Founders, The Ayers Foundation: Founded organization in 1999 to improve quality of life for Tennesseans through health, education and social welfare programs. Foundation has awarded more than 4,300 college scholarships.

Bari Beasley CEO, Heritage Foundation of Williamson County: In 2017 named historic preservation entity’s first-ever CEO. Oversaw purchase of former O’More College of Design campus, renaming it Franklin Grove Estate & Gardens. Has raised over $15 million in corporate and individual giving.

Pete Bird President and CEO, Frist Foundation: Has served as foundation head since 2002 and been with entity since 1983. Oversees more than $390 million in foundation assets.

Barbara Bovender Tennessee Region Chair, American Red Cross Tiffany Circle: Founding member of Nashville chapter of Tiffany Circle, female donors to Red Cross who pledge to donate $10,000 or more annually. Serves on Tiffany Circle National Council.

Agenia Clark CEO, Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee: Dynamic leader of organization that serves more than 20,000 girls and volunteers in 39 Middle Tennessee counties.

IN CHARGE

Left to Right: AUSTIN RISSLER, STEVE AINSWORTH, DAVE BERTANI, ANNIE SCHMALZRIED, KENNY CRAPSE, DAVID BRIGGS, TOM FEENEY, JONATHAN GODFREY, JON LONG, TOM MILES Team Members not available for photo: HOUSTON BROWN, JACKLYN CLAIRE, RHONDA CLARK, PEGGY CLARK, DAVID EATON, ROSS FLOREY, ROBIN HARMON, CAROLINE HARRIS, SAMUEL HARRIS, REBECCA HETZER, JP HICKEY, THOMAS KILCREASE, CLAY RISINGER, GLENN SHAW, JOHN STRINGFIELD, RYAN SULLIVAN

Tennessee, meet Fifth Third Bank.

Oh, you’ve already met! Some of these faces may look familiar to you. After all, these proven experts have nearly 250 years of combined commercial banking experience. Providing unparalleled local market knowledge, they’ve come together for one purpose— to help empower and propel your business into the future. Congratulations to 2021 In Charge Leaders

Fifth Third Bank, National Association. Member FDIC. CS8492185

IN CHARGE

Glenn Cranfield President and CEO, Nashville Rescue Mission: Oversees operation that serves more than 7,000 men, women and children annually. Mission facility property in SoBro is being engulfed by nearby development.

Tina Doniger Executive Director, Community Resource Center: Stepped into role in 2019 for organization that facilitates donations for 100-plus nonprofits. In 2020, oversaw massive donation drive for tornado and COVID-19 relief efforts.

Rasheedat Fetuga — President and CEO, Gideon’s Army: Founded the grassroots activist organization in 2010 to serve North Nashville community. In 2020, mobilized volunteer and tornado relief efforts across the neighborhood.

Rachel Freeman

Doniger overseeing explosive growth at CRC

hile many businesses were forced to scale back in 2020, the Community Resource Center nearly tripled its efforts. Under the leadership of Executive Director Tina Doniger, the nonprofit, which partners with other agencies to provide basic essentials to those in need, went from working with roughly 100 agencies in 2019 to well over 300 in 2020. “Something that we planned for a threeyear growth pattern happened in about 30 days,” says Doniger. It’s impressive growth for any organization and even more so for a nonprofit that operates with a full-time staff of just three people. “If people really knew what has gone on behind those doors, I think they’d be really shocked that a team of three and some really amazing regular volunteers have pulled off amazing feats,” Doniger says. Like all organizations, the CRC was forced to drastically change its protocols in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Doniger and her team had to close their 5,000-squarefoot warehouse to the public and limit the number of volunteers working at any given

SPRING 2021 | NASHVILLEPOST.COM

time. That meant creating alternative methods for delivering supplies to the people who needed it most. Instead of “shopping” in the warehouse, partners could place online orders and do a drive-thru pickup. Due to the tornado, pandemic and Christmas Day bombing, Doniger and her team also had to navigate much greater need than they’d ever dealt with before. “We operate at a heightened level 365 days a year serving 325-plus Nashville organizations, so when you add a pandemic and you add a disaster into the middle of it, it just takes it to a whole other level,” Doniger says. Despite the changes in their process, the volunteer restrictions and the significant increase in need, Doniger and her team were able to provide roughly $10 million worth of products to their partners and to clients, reaching more than one million people across Middle Tennessee in 2020. And the organization isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. “CRC is going to be operated at a level that we’ve never operated at,” Doniger says. “We’re preparing to operate at this level for the foreseeable future.” — Nancy Floyd

President, Sexual Assault Center: Named to position in 2018 after 17 years on staff at only agency in Middle Tennessee whose primary purpose is to provide support to survivors of sexual assault and to end sexual violence.

Pete Griffin President and CEO, Musicians on Call: Instrumental in growth of charity providing live and recorded performances to patients in hospitals to 90 programs in 20 major markets and serving more than 775,000 patients, families and caregivers.

Jenny Hannon Executive Director, Friends of Warner Parks: Appointed to position in 2019. Oversees nonprofit arm of citywide parks system, dedicated to preservation and conservation. Major projects include the restoration of the Allée at Belle Meade Boulevard entrance of Percy Warner Park and a seven-year plan to remove invasive species from parks’ 1,930 acres.

Danny Herron President and CEO, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville: Has served in the position since 2010. Leads organization that, since 1985, has built more than 1,300 new homes and served 3,200-plus individuals.

Tari Hughes President and CEO, Center for Nonprofit Management: In December 2016, named fourth president and CEO of organization that serves more than 800 Middle Tennessee nonprofits. Previously served as president of Nashville Public Library Foundation for 12 years.

IN CHARGE

Sallie Hussey

Ellen Lehman

Executive Director, Fifty Forward: Named to position in 2019. Seasoned nonprofit professional oversees numerous programs benefiting adults over 50 through its seven learning centers in Nashville and Williamson County.

Founder and President, The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee: Oversees entity that manages more than $1 billion in charitable donations in approximately 1,350 separate funds. In 2020, distributed nearly $2.4 million in grants to 350 nonprofits and oversaw fundraising of $12 million in tornado relief funds.

Nancy Keil President and CEO, Second Harvest Food Bank: Named to position in 2019 after five years as chief development and marketing officer. Runs organization fighting hunger with 490 partner agencies working in 46 Middle and West Tennessee counties.

Kay Kretsch Interim CEO, Dismas House: Former board chair who took over last year from Gerald Brown, who had for four years led organization that provides housing and social support programs for formerly incarcerated men. Dismas last spring opened four-story residential facility.

Liz McLaurin President and CEO, The Land Trust for Tennessee: Named president in July 2015 and assumed CEO office in May 2016. Since 1999, conservation nonprofit has protected almost 130,000 acres of public and private land statewide through more than 400 projects. In 2020, organization was awarded National Land Trust Excellence Award.

Juliana Ospina Cano Executive Director, Conexión Américas: In July 2019, succeeded co-founder and executive director Renata Soto to run comprehensive programs that assist region’s Latino families. In 2020, organization distributed more than $1

million in economic assistance and more than 50,000 meals.

Sharon Roberson

ural beauty products sold nationwide and work in its cafe. Serves as model for 70 organizations nationwide.

President and CEO, YWCA Nashville and Middle Tennessee: Oversees organization with more than $10 million in assets. Programs for women and girls include the Family Learning Center and the state’s largest domestic violence shelter.

John Tumminello

Lori Shinton

Steve Turner

President and CEO, Hands on Nashville: Has led, since 2016, organization that connects thousands of volunteers to 300-plus service projects each month. In 2020, mobilized 40,000 new volunteers to aid in tornado relief and staff COVID-19 testing facilities.

Chairman, James Stephen Turner Family Foundation: Credited for philanthropic efforts and helping jumpstart downtown Nashville development in 1980s. Supports, among others, Nashville Symphony and Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Becca Stevens Founder and President, Thistle Farms: Episcopal priest, author and entrepreneur whose nonprofit works with women recovering from prostitution, trafficking and addiction. Twoyear residential program and social enterprises employ residents who, with graduates, manufacture all-nat-

Executive Director, Centennial Park Conservancy: Appointed to position in 2019 after eight years with organization. Oversees nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of the Parthenon and Centennial Park.

Holly Whaley President and CEO, Nashville Wine Auction: Leads nation’s oldest charity wine auction, which has raised more than $26 million for cancer research since 1980.

IN CHARGE

Congratulations Bill Freeman, President and Co-Founder oF Freeman WeBB ComPany, For Being reCognized in nashville Post

Reta Ret a i l Austin Benedict Senior Associate, CBRE: Among the city’s most respected brokers for urban retail space. Was important factor in filling first-floor commercial spaces at SoBro’s Encore.

Nora Buikstra General Manager, The Mall at Green Hills: Assumed post in 2018, replacing Kimberly Shadwick, who had been mall’s GM since February 2013. Mall continues to add high-end tenants, with Zara and Gucci announced in 2019.

Crissy Cassetty

in Charge!

Retail Recruiter, Nashville Downtown Partnership: Major contributor to downtown’s landing of soft goods and food-and-beverage retail businesses. Works equally effectively with owners of properties and of retail businesses.

John Dyke Owner, The Turnip Truck: Alwayspleasant natural foods advocate who in 2020 opened a grocery on Charlotte Avenue in West Nashville to supplement his Gulch and east side stores that have been in business for 20 years.

Sonya Hostetler President, Kroger Nashville Division: Replaced company veteran Zane Day in mid-2019. Former Walmart vice president and regional general manager who oversaw 13 markets, 122 stores and 45,000 employees in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Tasha Kennard Executive Director, Nashville Farmers’ Market: Assumed role in January 2014. Previously worked in marketing for Second Harvest Food Bank and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. Facility’s Night Market has been a huge hit under her watch.

Hal Lawton CEO, Tractor Supply: Replaced Greg Sandfort weeks before COVID arrived in the United States, which sparked a boom in sales. Former Macy’s president rallied the team to scale up and in early 2021 announced a $297 million acquisition of Midwest peer Orscheln Farm and Home.

freemanwebb.com 3810 Bedford Ave # 300 Nashville, TN 37215

David Meadows Senior General Manager, CoolSprings Galleria: Left mall in late 2016 before returning in 2018. Has worked with Chattanooga-based CBL & Associates, which owns the Galleria, since 1994. Oversees about 150 stores, with

cookie dough shop NoBaked one of the most recent arrivals.

Jad Murphy

Sp orts po

General Manager, Opry Mills Mall: Oversees facility highlighted by about 200 stores, many of them outlets of popular retailers. Spanning 1.2 million square feet, the mall in 2018 saw the announcement of Amber Falls Winery and Cellars, the parent company of which owns a winery, tasting room and vineyard near Columbia.

Amy Adams Strunk

Ann Patchett

Casey Alexander

Author, Co-Owner, Parnassus Books Nashville: New York Times bestselling author and co-owner, with Karen Hayes, of the literary landmark in Green Hills. Opened outpost at airport in 2017.

Men’s Basketball Coach, Belmont: A member of Belmont Athletics Hall of Fame, he was named head coach of the men’s basketball team after legendary coach Rick Byrd retired. In his first season with Belmont, he led the Bruins to 26 wins and an OVC tournament championship.

Charlie Robin Owner, Robin Realty: Has been involved in local commercial real estate industry since 1976. Replaced father William H. Robin, who founded the company in 1947. Respected for knowledge of city’s pre-1970s-constructed urban retail spaces. Second Avenue influence.

Todd Vasos CEO, Dollar General: Took over from Rick Dreiling in May 2015 after overseeing store operations, merchandising and supply chain. Joined Goodlettsville-based company in 2008 and last year oversaw the launch of suburban-focused Popshelf concept.

Mimi Vaughn President and CEO, Genesco: Joined Genesco as vice president for strategy and business development in 2003 and replaced Bob Dennis as CEO in early 2020 after two years as COO. A year ago announced plan to move retailer’s HQ to former Bridgestone building near BNA.

Tom Wilson GM, Fifth + Broadway: Oversees the retail component of the massive mixed-use development, the residential and office towers for which opened in 2020. The National Museum of African American Music and the first phase of Assembly Food Hall opened this year with additional retail and food and beverage businesses to begin operations by 2021’s end.

Woody Woodward President and CEO, Kirkland’s: Recruited from Crate and Barrel in 2018 to revamp home goods retailer’s operations and merchandising. Turnaround plan paid off in spades as COVID struck and drove up spending on household items.

Controlling Owner, Tennessee Titans: Has asserted herself in numerous ways, most notably by leading effort that brought 2019 NFL draft to Nashville. The redesigned uniforms and updated colors also were a pet project. Has adopted much more public stance regarding fan interaction.

Mikki Allen Director of Athletics, Tennessee State: Took over as TSU AD for recently retired Teresa Phillips, who held the position for 16 years. He earned his master’s degree in sports administration from TSU in 2007 and spent 11 years in sports administration, including serving as the assistant director of athletics for player relations and development at the University of Tennessee.

Ian Ayre CEO, Nashville MLS/Nashville SC: With a background in directing professional soccer teams in England and Germany, Ayre led Nashville’s entry in Major League Soccer. Took over as CEO of Nashville SC in 2018 and built a club that set a Tennessee state attendance record (59,069) for a soccer match in its MLS debut.

Bernard Childress Executive Director, TSSAA: Under his direction, body achieved the long-discussed public-private split with its 2017 reclassification and expanded to nine classifications for football. Has shown a firm hand in dealing with disciplinary issues, including fights during recent basketball seasons.

Tim Corbin Baseball Coach, Vanderbilt: Sustained success over 18 seasons including two national championships and has produced string of Major League players and prospects, including first overall MLB draft picks (David Price in 2006 and Dansby Swanson in 2016). Has become resource for coaches in other sports both on campus and nationwide.

Scott Corley Director of Athletics, Belmont: Star basketball player during Belmont’s NAIA era has applied a contemporary

IN CHARGE

business model to athletics department operations since 2016 hiring. Early coaching hires have shown he can identify and attract proven leaders.

Willy Daunic Nashville Predators Play-by-Play Man and Co-Host of Darren, Daunic & Chase (102.5 The Game): As Preds’ television broadcast voice, he has the ears of a loyal and passionate fan base. Role as co-host of mid-day talk show on Predators’ flagship station affords opportunity to share NHL franchise’s message.

Beth Debauche Commissioner, Ohio Valley Conference: In 11 years on the job, has expanded conference membership and championship events and negotiated digital and television deals, the most recent for 600-plus OVC events on ESPN+. Moved league basketball tournaments to Evansville but must now deal with departures of Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State.

Mark Elliott Director of Athletics, Trevecca: Has led school’s transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II competition and wrote operating codes for G-MAC, the first new NCAA Division II conference in 25 years, to ensure Trevecca had a place to compete. Also has upgraded facilities, including new basketball floor and a high-tech lighting system for baseball.

Sean Henry CEO, Nashville Predators: Franchise sold out every home game from 2017–2020, leading team to put a cap on season ticket sales, until the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season prematurely. Impact of franchise’s fan engagement under his leadership was apparent in tens of thousands who turned up outside Bridgestone Arena for 2017 playoff games.

Philip Hutcheson Director of Athletics, Lipscomb: Bison men’s basketball team made its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2018 and men’s and women’s soccer teams each advanced in their respective NCAA tournaments. His direction over past decade is paying dividends for nearly all of school’s athletic programs.

John Hynes Head Coach, Nashville Predators: Named third head coach in franchise history in January. Won an NCAA national championship with Boston College in 1995. Worked with Predators GM David Poile with the USA Hockey National Development team. Made the Stanley Cup Playoffs once in four-plus seasons with the New Jersey Devils.

Mike Jacobs General Manager, Nashville SC: Worked with CEO Ian Ayre to construct a roster which included 2020 MLS Defender of the Year Walker Zimmerman for Nashville’s MLS debut season. Made mid-season acquisitions for Jhonder Cadiz and Alex Muyl, who helped NSC reach the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Candice Storey Lee Athletics Director, Vanderbilt: Took over for Malcolm Turner as Vanderbilt AD in beginning of February. Served as deputy director of athletics for five years and sports administrator for football and women’s basketball. Became first African-American woman to lead an SEC athletics program. Fired football coach Derek Mason after a disappointing seven-year run and hired VU alum Clark Lea as his replacement.

Paul Mason Program Director, 104.5-FM The Zone: His station is the flagship for the Tennessee Titans as well as local outlet for University of Tennessee football and basketball. Three daily local shows rank among most highly rated anywhere in country and influence local dialogue.

Chris Massaro Director of Athletics, Middle Tennessee State: In 14 years on the job, MTSU teams have won 58 conference championships. School recently launched $100 million campaign for facility upgrades to benefit all sports. Academic achievement in athletics also has improved and peaked in 2017 when graduation success rate hit 88 percent.

Erik Moses President, Nashville Superspeedway: Became the first Black track president in NASCAR history in August. He was team president of the XFL’s DC Defenders, who ranked among the XFL’s best in ticket sales, game day experience and social media engagement. Moses has held several sports leadership positions, including senior vice president at Events DC, CEO of DC Sports & Entertainment Commission and D.C. Department of Small and Local Business Development director.

Chris Parker President, Music City Grand Prix: Parker is a top-level corporate sales, sponsorship and marketing strategy guru. Before joining the Music City Grand Prix, he served as executive vice president and chief sales officer of the Nashville Predators and director of corporate partnerships and sponsorship sales manager with the San Jose Sharks.

IN CHARGE

David Poile

50.9% of more than 500 company leaders who took part in LBMC’s Business Outlook Report 2021 said they plan to invest in cloud technologies this year.

President of Hockey Operations/GM, Nashville Predators: Became winningest general manager in NHL history and was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. Was NHL’s 2017 General Manager of the Year after having been finalist three other times. Only thing missing from his resume is a Stanley Cup but team’s lackluster 2021 campaign has ramped up criticism of some of his work.

Ryan Porth Program Director, ESPN 102.5-FM The Game: His station is the flagship for the Nashville Predators. Has overseen major changes in show lineup, which now features fewer nationally syndicated productions. He also serves as executive producer of the Nashville Predators radio network and hosts the show Preds Insiders.

Scott Ramsey

Here are other highpriority investments execs are planning:

45.9% Business intelligence and analytics

37.7% Information management and data governance

37.1% Information and data security

32.7% Improving data quality

President and CEO, Nashville Sports Council: Nashville continues to attract international soccer events. In 2019, the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams played at Nissan Stadium. His direction also helped land the NFL Draft, while the TransPerfect Music City Bowl, Rock ‘n’ Roll Nashville Marathon and other events — albeit disrupted by COVID — have become fixtures on local sports calendar.

Jon Robinson Executive VP/General Manager, Tennessee Titans: Has shown he won’t settle for status quo. Fired head coach Mike Mularkey following playoff appearance and has been willing to move on from fan favorites such as Demarco Murray and Marcus Mariota in attempt to improve franchise. Signed franchise faces Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry to big-money extensions in 2020 offseason.

Gary Smith Head Coach, Nashville SC: Led club in inaugural MLS season that culminated in becoming the second-ever expansion franchise to win an MLS Cup Playoff match in its first season. He coached NSC to upset wins over the No. 2 and 3 seeds in the Eastern Conference playoffs and one of the stingiest defenses ever by an MLS expansion side. He won an MLS Cup in 2010 with the Colorado Rapids.

Mike Vrabel

32.1% Data integration

Head Coach, Tennessee Titans: Three-time Super Bowl champion as a player, making one Pro Bowl and earning an All-Pro selection both in 2007. Took over as Titans head coach after firing of Mike Mularkey. In his second season, he took the Titans to their first AFC championship game since 2002.

In 2020, he coached Tennessee to first 11-win season since 2008. The Titans have made the playoffs every season with Vrabel at the helm.

CGI. Was 2020 president of Women in Technology of Tennessee and is co-founder of Tech Council’s emerging leaders program.

Frank Ward

Alex Curtis

Co-Owner, Nashville Sounds: With partners bought AAA club (now again affiliated with Milwaukee) in 2009 and laid out vision for what is now First Horizon Park near downtown. Stepped into bigger operational role in early 2021 after GM Adam Nuse departed for a vice president role with the Titans.

VP of Public Affairs and Communications, Greater Nashville Technology Council: Spearhead of council’s growing advocacy work at state and federal levels. Previously was director of Creators’ Freedom Project.

Tec hnol og y Antoine Agassi Chairman and CEO, Trinisys: Has led data management and integration company since early 2015. Was previously president of Cogent Healthcare and CIO at 21st Century Oncology, among other things.

Charlie Apigian Director, Data Science Institute, MTSU Jones College of Business: Chair of university’s booming computer information systems department, which is home to about 500 students, and a key player in region’s efforts to boost IT workforce.

Rob Bellenfant Founder and CEO, TechnologyAdvice: Retook reins of business technology consulting firm in 2017 after short stint as chief strategy officer. Previously CEO of Thrive Marketing Group also founded investment vehicle 615 Ventures.

Michael Berman CEO Ncontracts: Has been with financial and compliance software firm since 2009 and has overseen growth spurt driven by several acquisitions. Team’s most recent deal, for California-based QuestSoft, grew team to 260 and client roster to 3,700 financial institutions.

Joan Butters CEO, Xsolis: Leads growing marketer of machine learning and artificial intelligence tools that mine EMRs and claims data. In 2019 bought fellow local software company MEDarchon and last year hired former Brookdale and Change Healthcare exec Chris Bayham to be COO.

Meg Chamblee EVP, Tennessee, UDig: Tapped in 2020 to lead lT consulting firm’s team across the state after working as director at

Greg Daily Chairman and CEO, i3 Verticals: Serial payment tech entrepreneur in 2012 launched i3, which now processes $14 billion in transactions annually. Team has in the past year spent $128 on East Tennessee and Detroit software companies that specialize in working with government agencies.

Wellford Dillard CEO, CM Group: Leads global marketing technology player that bought local success story Emma in 2017. Backed by NY investment firm Insight Partners, his team has bought five firms in the past two years, growing revenues to more than $250 million.

Keith Durbin CIO and Director of IT Services Department, Metro Government: Has led Metro’s IT team since 2009 after being member of Metro Council. Former HCA IT&S manager has set up new data center for city and led push to make more data publicly available.

Tim Estes President, Digital Reasoning Systems: Launched artificial intelligence software company in 2000 and built it beyond its national security roots to play roles in finance and health care. Oregon-based Smarsh last year bought company, putting Estes in position to build out products and tap into broader talent base.

Tod Fetherling CEO, Perception Health: Serial entrepreneur who built on IT career at HCA to help build GoNoodle, Stratasan and other firms and, as Tech Council president, was part of core team that launched EC. With Perception, is working to turn masses of health care data into actionable business insights.

Nicole Gibson Nashville Site Director, Dell: Oversees with Henry Pile (former GM of Marathon Music Works and Exit/In) the tech giant’s local campus, which has grown to 1,800 people in recent years. HR specialist who joined Dell in 1999 and was named to leadership position in 2017.

IN CHARGE

Bill Grana CEO, HCTec: Former PureSafety CEO who has helped build health IT and managed services company into major player that now works with more than 1,000 hospitals. Has in past year sold small revenue cycle division and announced plans to add 100 jobs in Lewis County and hire 20 in Brentwood.

Ray Guzman CEO, SwitchPoint Ventures: Co-founded consulting/equity investing firm in 2018 with Damian Mingle after building WPC Healthcare and transitioning to buyer Intermedix. Machine learning and AI clients include PhyMed and Decode Health, the former IQuity.

Tammy Hawes Founder and CEO, Virsys12: Started and leads firm that helps health care companies integrate Salesforce. In 2018 landed first outside funding from Salesforce vehicle. Previously worked in tech positions at HCA, Central Parking and Paradigm Health.

Amy Henderson President and COO, Nashville Software School: Leads growing nonprofit education venture day to day. Led Firefly Logic through growth and sale to LeanKit and was 2020 chair of Greater Nashville Technology Council board.

Dov Hirsch GM, Immersive Health Group, The Glimpse Group: Veteran health care and tech exec who joined New Yorkbased Glimpse in 2019 after stints with Entrepreneur Center and other organizations. Also advisor to entrepreneurs going through Vanderbilt’s Wond’ry program.

Beth Hoeg COO, Trinisys: Joined data conversion and integration company in 2009 and has more than 20 years of IT and organizational improvement experience. Past president of Women in Technology of Tennessee.

Jim Jirjis Chief Health Information Officer, HCA Healthcare: Former VUMC chief medical information officer who joined hospital giant in 2013 to focus on interoperability, clinician and patient tools and tech acquisitions such as PatientKeeper and MobileHeartbeat. Last year was named to federal government’s Health Information Technology Advisory Committee.

Thanks to recent acquisition, company now processes more than $14 billion in card payments annually from 40,000 businesses.

Peter Marcum Founding Partner, Dev Digital; Managing Partner, Kernel Equity: Serial entrepreneur has built web application and development company after running Nashville Computer Liquidators, Bargain Hunt and other companies. Has added Bahamas and India offices to presence here.

HIRING

IS HARD

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Enderson Miranda CEO, OnSomble: Was promoted in 2017 to lead health care education platform developer after being its president and COO for four years. Joined firm in 2012 after managing Sprint’s regional business operations.

Brian Moyer President and CEO, Greater Nashville Technology Council: Former CIO at Gaffey Healthcare and HealthTechS3 assumed helm of trade group in 2016. Has sharpened body’s focus on workforce development and advocacy work.

Marty Paslick Senior VP and CIO, HCA: Three-decade veteran of hospital operator, where he oversees more than 5,800 IT&S workers working at five data centers and 15 support offices. Last year named to Tech Council Hall of Fame.

Joelle Phillips President, AT&T Tennessee: Has since 2013 overseen state operations for telecom giant, which has invested billions in networks. Now leading AT&T’s response to Christmas Day bombing, after which company took some heat for its network approach.

David Pierce CEO, Education Networks of America: Has led networking and school company focused on schools and libraries since 2002 and has more than three decades of industry experience. In 2018 bought two Texas companies to add to service offerings.

Martin Renkis VP OpenBlue Security and Innovation, Johnson Controls: Founder and CEO of cloud software and video venture Smartvue Corp., which he sold to Johnson Controls in 2018. Was promoted last year to oversee security services and digital transformation of security products.

Kevin Jones

Paul Ricci

CEO, Celero Commerce: Veteran fintech exec who in 2018 founded Celero with backing from LLR Partners.

CEO, Qualifacts: Former Nuance Communications leader who recently took over from David Klements as leader of

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IN CHARGE

firm that develops software for behavioral health care providers. Company now works with more than 800 agencies after last year buying a Maryland peer with backing of Warburg Pincus.

Aaron Salow CEO, XOi Technologies: Founded wearable tech company that now focuses on field service work and has completed more than 600,000 jobs. In 2019 landed $11 million in funding from investor group that includes Nashville Capital Network.

Shaun Shankel CEO, Fresh Technology: Former songwriter who has since 2017 run Fresh Hospitality arm that markets multiple IT systems that handle $330 million in annual food sales. Last year led team to strong client growth as COVID hit.

Nicole Tremblett

Congratulations to Adventure Science Center’s President & CEO, Steve Hinkley, for being named a Top Tourism Leader. Thank you for always inspiring us to dream big!

VP of Information Technology Group, HCA: Leads strategy and planning for hospital company’s national tech team of more than 5,500. Regional knowledge and advocacy connector, former Greater Nashville Technology Council board chair and now board member of TechBridge TN.

Van Tucker President and CEO, Launch Tennessee: Joined public-private entrepreneurship partnership as COO in early 2020 and last summer took over from Margaret Dolan. Previously led Nashville Fashion Alliance and was a co-founder of Avenue Bank.

Barry Vandevier COO, Asurion: Leads product management, tech and supply chain teams for device insurer and tech services titan finishing up new downtown HQ. Former Tech Council board chair who previously was, among others, CTO at Travelocity and CIO at Sabre.

John Wark

adventuresci.org

CEO, Nashville Software School: Founded and bootstrapped nonprofit training academy now based in airport area and recruited Amy Henderson to be first president and COO. School has graduated more than 1,300 people since 2012.

Tou rrii s m Joe Chambers Founder and Director, Musicians Hall of Fame: Oversees Municipal Auditorium-based museum that exhibits instruments owned and played by both well-known artists and behind-

the-scenes session musicians. Former songwriter who inducted cultural attraction’s first class in 2006.

Jan Freitag

town hotel since May 2004, rising from original role of rooms executive.

Colin Reed

Senior VP of Lodging Insights, STR Inc.: Known for his work with local and national media providing data related to hotel industry. The de facto face of the Hendersonville-based research company.

Chairman and CEO, Ryman Hospitality Properties: Leads company that owns Grand Ole Opry, Ryman Auditorium and radio station WSM. Company walked away in May 2020 from a roughly $275 million deal to buy entertainment complex home to Austin City Limits.

Henry Hicks

Rob Schaedle

President and CEO, National Museum of African American Music: Leads nonprofit that unveiled 56,000-square-foot cultural attraction at Fifth + Broadway early this year. Was a White House fellow in 1998 under then-President Bill Clinton.

Managing Partner, Chartwell Hospitality: Co-founded hotel development entity in 2003 and later constructed and then sold Hilton Garden Inn in SoBro. Company developed Capitol View site with 10-story Hampton Inn and is now focused on getting under-construction Hilton Conrad at Broadwest opened.

Steve Hinkley President and CEO, Adventure Science Center: Has led respected educational attraction since July 2017. Tufts University graduate previously oversaw California-based The Wolf Museum Of Exploration + Innovation.

Amanda Hite President and CEO, STR Inc.: With company since 2006, as president since 2011. Ex-Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce official is member of boards of directors of the American Hotel and Lodging Association, U.S. Travel Association and Executive Council of Women in Lodging.

Ashley Howell Executive Director, Tennessee State Museum: Assumed role in 2017 and oversaw move to new home in late 2018. Previously worked at what is now Frist Art Museum.

Howard Kittell President and CEO, Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage: Previously served as executive director at Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation. Earlier this year won Spirit of 1812 Award from National Society of the United States Daughters of 1812.

Bill Miller Owner, Johnny Cash Museum, Nudie’s Honky Tonk & Patsy Cline Museum: Opened Cash Museum in 2013 and later added downtown attractions Nudie’s Honky Tonk, Cline Museum and live magic venue House of Cards. In 2018 bought building home to restaurant Skull’s where he also plans to develop Frank Sinatra-themed bar. Now planning boutique hotel for Third Avenue North.

Dee Patel Managing Director, The Hermitage Hotel: Named to current position in January 2019. Has been with down-

Rick Schwartz President, Nashville Zoo: Leader of exotic wildlife park that now annually welcomes one million-plus visitors. Andean bear exhibit has captured top honors in exhibit design award category by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Steve Smith Owner, Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge: Man behind Nashville’s most legendary honky-tonk who also co-owns Rippy’s, Honky Tonk Central and The Diner. In 2018 opened four-story Fourth and Broadway building home to a Kid Rock honky-tonk.

Butch Spyridon President, Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp.: One of city’s most visible cheerleaders who helped lead effort to see the Music City Center come to fruition. Was key figure in landing 2019 NFL Draft event that drew national raves. Now tasked with strategy to lure back tourists and business travelers once COVID-19 pandemic subsides.

Charles Starks President and CEO, Music City Center: Oversees massive SoBro-based convention facility. Has been in position since March 2005. Facility will face challenge in post-coronavirus world.

Kyle Young Director, Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum: Has led iconic downtown-based cultural attraction since 1999 and regularly posted record numbers pre-pandemic. Joined nonprofit in 1976 before becoming its head of education in 1978. COVID forced long closure and laying off of half of facility’s staff.

IN CHARGE

Tran sportat Tr ansp ortat ion Chuck Abbott CEO, Gray Line of Tennessee: Leads company that battled a 2020 hampered by pandemic-related layoffs minimizing the positive impact of entering 2019 having seen 22 percent growth in 2018 compared to 2017 mark.

Steve Bland CEO, WeGo Public Transit: Former Pittsburgh transit head who replaced Paul Ballard in 2014. Pushing to modernize what had been called until 2018 the Metro Transit Authority.

Clay Bright Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Transportation: Spent 36 years at construction firm Brasfield & Gorrie, opening its Nashville outpost in 1998 and overseeing more than $3 billion in construction. TDOT celebrated the reopening of Interstate 440 in July 2020, with the roadway earning immediate praise.

Mark Cleveland CEO and Co-Founder, Hytch: Leads company whose Hytch Rewards app validates, tracks and rewards ridesharing behavior and is funded, in part, by a state grant and employer partners. Teamed in late 2019 with San Francisco-area-based Bay Area Council on new coalition of transportation ventures.

Faye DiMassimo Senior Adviser to Mayor John Cooper: A key factor in the Metro Council in December 2020 voting 33-5 in support of Cooper’s transit plan. Must now help secure federal grants imagined by the proposal (and to require a Metro match and to be considered on a case-by-case basis).

Mike Honious CEO, Americas, Geodis: Tapped last summer to succeed Randy Tucker as leader of former Ozburn Hessey-Logistics. Joined Brentwood-based OHL 16 years ago and previously served as COO. Previously held several senior level operations positions at Gap Inc.

Ryan Hunt CEO, Premier Parking: A 12-year veteran of the parking industry who began his career at Premier as an account specialist and climbed the ranks. Replaced Ryan Chapman in 2019. Began with company as an account specialist.

David Ingram Chairman and President, Ingram Entertainment Holdings: Owns nation’s largest distributor of home entertainment products, with six distribution centers around the country. Company in 2018 processed 60 million units. In late 2019 sold California distribution business DBI Beverage Inc. for reported $550 million. In January 2020 paid $11.4 million for Forest Hills property home to National Register of Historic Places, listed The Hibbettage.

Orrin Ingram President and CEO, Ingram Industries: Leads holding company that includes inland marine transportation company, Ingram Barge and publishing industry services company Ingram Content Group. Vanderbilt grad known for work with university’s board of trust.

Doug Kreulen President and CEO, Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority: Former airport COO assumed CEO role in December 2017 and now leads authority’s $1 billion upgrade plan. BNA enjoyed a record 18.3 million passengers served in 2019, a 14 percent jump from previous year’s mark, but fell to 8.3 million in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns.

David O’Loughlin CEO, Ingram Barge Co.: Oversees one of area’s largest private companies. In late 2020, Ingram Barge agreed to acquire the assets of Houston-based Cheryl K LLC and San Jacinto River Fleet LLC.

Michael Skipper Executive Director, Greater Nashville Regional Council: Former executive director of Nashville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, which transitioned into GNRC. Group’s 93 mayors announced in 2020 they will help coordinate Unified Transportation Plan 2020.

Shanna Whitelaw Interim Director, Metro Public Works Department: Former Metro Water Services official took helm of Public Works in June 2020. A licensed civil engineer with 14 years of experience in the private sector and another 14 years of experience in government service.

TECHIE

THREE QUESTIONS

J. Mac Brown Affinity vCIO shares pandemic-era insights from an IT perspective

Mac Brown joined Affinity Technology Partners as virtual chief information officer last fall, during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based in Brentwood, Affinity provides technology solutions for the health care, legal, nonprofit and financial services sectors, among others. The pandemic emphasized more than ever these industries’ need for strategic preparation, as well as the essentialness of leaders’ ability to pivot on a dime to ensure business continuity and operational efficiency. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the migration of entire workforces from the office to remote work. Brown met virtually with the Post to reflect on his clients’ IT experiences with the “change curve” of the last 12 months and to share his tech insights and tips for the future. What was the biggest IT pain point your customers discovered as COVID-19 scattered the workforce? Primarily, it was around workfrom-home setups. If an organization hadn’t already had those features available as a corporate experience, they were scrambling quickly. The majority of our clients had already thought that through, had that ability and were already remote. An example of that is a company I [worked for prior to Affinity] that was a big Zoom shop for years beforehand because we did business all over the country. So we were using Zoom often. We had nine conference rooms set up for it. We were very flexible and had 25 percent of the workforce traveling every week. [At the onset of the pandemic], I was sitting in the clients’ shoes, experiencing COVID that way and running as a VP of Operations. So I have that view, as well.

SPRING 2021 | NASHVILLEPOST.COM

As far as Affinity is concerned, some clients had to do more scrambling, more VPN setups and remote management. Firewall rules had to be changed very quickly to allow people to get into their networks from home. Some of them might have had a big desktop environment, which I would say is a trend now. We are seeing a lot more of our clients investing in desktop workstations and equipping their workforce with laptops so they own the one machine that makes them good for traveling remote or being in the office, and a lot more investment in second monitors and docking stations, etc. That was the primary thing at the onset of COVID: Were you able to move your workforce remote or not?

A year later, where have these companies adjusted best and what’s still a challenge? The Two Cs: communication and culture. You had to learn how to interact with your clients and coworkers and vendors through a screen. This meant learning basic things like encouraging each other to use the camera so you can actually see body language and have better attention and communication skills. I think it was a big challenge for a lot of companies to learn how to communicate with one another in an electronic, remote situation. I think that also affects the culture of your company. You aren’t standing around a breakroom interacting in normal ways that you used to. Maybe you were more efficient.

TECHIE

Maybe in some cases you weren’t more efficient. But you also have that loss of the humanistic happenings and amount of information exchanged in the breakroom. Things we used to pick up just because we were in proximity to one another. We don’t have that information anymore. So people who worked in bullpen offices that really relied on that exchange of information were at a loss. They had to figure out, “How do I touch base with key stakeholders with projects that I’m working on?” Some upsides and ways they have adjusted best: The employees’ commute time has been eliminated, leading to increased productivity; the resiliency, humanness and spirit of employees to adapt, and technically, for companies to quickly deploy remote IT solutions that were previously missing in many institutions; and employees’ family life has improved by spending more time together and connected. What are some benchmarks leaders should think about for their IT budgets as a share of operating expenses? The primary benchmark that in 2021 and 2022 is going to be focused on is security. You’ve exposed your network to these remote places at home, and the more egregious and, for lack of a better word, evilness of security infiltrators and nefarious actors is where a lot of IT dollars are getting spent to up their game: getting baseline security implemented, multi-factor authentication, phishing testing, all these kinds of products we are seeing deployed by many of our clients. People in the financial services, legal profession and health care industries have other compliance issues — HIPPA, FFIEC, FINRA and/or PCI-DSS requirements — and our customers must prove out their networks and practices to demonstrate they have the hardware and people processes in place to meet or exceed these expectations. I would also add that we have seen substantial changes to cybersecurity insurance policies over the last two years. Insurance carriers have been hit with significant IT security claims (ransomware, fraud, etc.) over the last two years, and carriers are getting more detailed in the inclusion and exclusion clauses of their policies. Additionally, our customers are being asked to fill out more detailed reports of what exists in their IT infrastructure stack prior to securing a cyber insurance policy rider or annual insurance renewal. We are seeing tons of insurance companies that are paying out from cybersecurity threats and paying out claims, so the language around what they are willing to insure is changing. Better read the fine print. Stuff that might have been covered a year or two ago might not be covered now, and their premiums might be a lot higher. The insurance agents are really raising their expectations that customers confirm compliance, and we, being the IT company, are having to affirm that clients are in compliance with these baseline security measures.

Investor sees consumerfocused tech as big opportunity Pandemic has made shoppers more discerning, demanding

n industry after industry, the COVID-19 pandemic is pushing companies online more rapidly than before, spurring investments in both back-end systems and customer-facing applications. Early-stage investor Monique Villa with Mucker Capital is keeping a close eye on that latter push to help her figure out tech opportunities. The past year, she says, has made us all more discerning online consumers for products and services ranging from skin care products and education to health care and finance. “We now expect a certain level of user experience, communication and engagement,” Villa says. “Customers are really challenging companies to pay attention more closely. It’s literally a gold mine if you can capture the right data on why consumers are engaging with you. But it’s going to take experimentation and flexibility to respond and find out why.” Villa, who opened a local office in 2019 for San Francisco-based Mucker, is optimistic Middle Tennessee companies and entrepreneurs can capitalize on this need/opportunity. The region can claim a long list of retailers, entertainment and hospitality companies that know how to best connect with consumers. These days, it also is drawing ever more talent — from both coasts as well as hubs such as Chicago — with either the experience or the desire to build new ventures.

MONIQUE VILL A

“Post-COVID, this will look entirely different than before,” she says. “With their resources, knowledge and industry expertise, they will help to spin the flywheel that was spinning before the tornado.” From a core talent perspective, Greater Nashville appears more prepared than ever to scale tech ventures. A report published late last year by the Department of Information Systems and Analytics at Middle Tennessee State University in partnership with the Greater Nashville Technology Council showed that the number of area tech jobs rose 36 percent from 2014 to 2019. That growth included software developers, business analysts and — albeit in smaller raw numbers — data scientists, showing that the area’s tech ecosystem is more diversified than it’s ever been. “Much of the infrastructure is now in place that will fuel our future success,” Brian Moyer, CEO of the Greater Nashville Technology Council, said at the time. “We’re ready to make the most of the steady flow of new tech jobs that this report foresees.” — Geert De Lombaerde

NASHVILLEPOST.COM | SPRING 2021

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YOU SHOULD KNOW

Marten den Haring Former Digital Reasoning exec is applying an AI angle to consumers’ health decisions

arten den Haring is bringing Silicon Valley-esque individualized engagement tools into the health care space. But instead of using data to drive a sale, he wants to use the combined power of behavioral science and machine learning to produce better health outcomes. A former executive at Cool Springs-based Digital Reasoning Systems, den Haring joined Knoxville-based Lirio in 2019 as chief product officer after a year working with artificial intelligence company Element AI in Montreal. His main objective was to help bring to market a product that uses Lirio’s expertise in behavioral science and artificial intelligence. The team created a commercialization plan to seek out health systems and insurers, offering them a patient engagement tool that would influence consumers to make better decisions surrounding their health. “We were trying to figure out something really hard, but really interesting: How do you combine behavioral science — the science about understanding human behavior — and combine that with artificial intelligence, which is often used to try and automate business processes and workflows?” he says. “How do you combine those two to figure out how to engage with people in a more personalized way so that you can influence their health decisions and ultimately influence their health outcomes?” Lirio’s engagement tool now serves as a layer of intelligence between providers and payers and their patients/members, mining data from electronic health systems and other sources to curate an individualized approach to communicating. Lirio’s product goes beyond care coordination through its machine learning capabilities, den Haring says, which allows it to learn how best to communicate with individual patients.

SPRING 2021 | NASHVILLEPOST.COM

“A lot of health systems find themselves at a place where they know a couple things to be true: They know that they need to just be better at creating a personal experience […] Health systems have been very good at talking to patients and telling them what to do. And they’re starting to, I think, understand that there is a brave new world of consumers out there that are far more advanced in understanding the impact of personalization.” Last year, den Haring’s role at Lirio — which is being backed by Hambrecht Ducera Growth Ventures and others — shifted from product development to operations as he oversees the company’s expansion in Nashville, which is set to triple Lirio’s team. Nearly a quarter of the company is based in Middle Tennessee

today while another quarter works remotely, an approach den Haring said will likely continue post-pandemic. The core science and technology teams remain in Knoxville, a hotbed of machine learning talent being pulled from the nearby Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee’s doctoral programs. “The intentional move to Nashville really has everything to do with Nashville,” den Haring says. “If you’re in that intersection of science, health care and technology, what better place to be than in Nashville and part of this amazing, vibrant environment? Knoxville is a really great place to cultivate and attract and retain great talent from a technology perspective, but not surprisingly, in Nashville, the team is commercializing the technology.”

ERIC ENGLAND

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and best practices right at the bedside. Various hospital service areas now feature posters with QR codes that can be scanned to access stepby-step guidelines. This was especially helpful during the pandemic, Englebright says, since care strategies for COVID patients changed regularly as research and experience shaped the way hospitals treated symptoms. The hospital giant also has directly invested in the education sector as a tool to recruit and develop future clinicians for its hospitals. In early 2020, it acquired a majority stake in the Galen College of Nursing — which is set to expand into new markets this year — and it said last fall it would partner with Belmont University on the school’s new medical college. The medical school will be the third in Nashville, alongside Vanderbilt University and Meharry Medical College, whose leaders have welcomed reinforcements in the fight to turn out more doctors. The Association of American Medical Colleges said last summer that clinical labor deficits are set to worsen, with

‘People are going to be starting to think more creatively.’ TRISHA COADY, HEALTHSTREAM

a potential shortage of up to 139,000 doctors by 2033. That’s up from about 20,000 in 2018 and an increase of 14 percent from the roughly 122,000 maximum shortage the AAMC had forecast for 2032 a year earlier. Other area technical schools and universities also have beefed up their nursing and

health care programs as demand grows. Nashville State Community College has been approved for a new cohort of nursing students in its two-year program, Trevecca Nazarene University is building out a new health sciences center and Tennessee State University has launched a partnership with Meharry to develop a pipeline of Black doctors and dentists who will stay and work in minority communities that have the greatest burden of health care needs. Developing that talent pipeline will be the relatively easy part, as the number of applications submitted to U.S. medical schools and health care programs is at an all-time high. Retaining those workers for decades and ensuring their well-being will take a greater level of investment and understanding, according to Coady. “I think that’s a benefit that has come out of the pandemic, honestly,” Coady says. “Burnout has been a problem for years and now I think people are going to be starting to think more creatively.”

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Building a stronger support structure The pandemic is burning out nurses and other clinicians. Companies are reacting. BY KARA HARTNETT

ealth care leaders are scrambling to respond to a workforce shortage exacerbated by pandemic fatigue by tapping into new wellness and training technologies and establishing education partnerships to plump up their pipeline of future clinicians. Nurse and physician shortages are nothing new. Leadership teams have been trying out new human resources strategies for the better part of a decade to help build out their clinical teams, and hospitals have been relying heavily on high-cost contract workers to fill demand. But COVID-19 brought extra attention to this dynamic: During the height of various outbreaks, staffing was each hospital’s biggest limiting factor: “We can find a bed just about anywhere,” a local hospital executive said in December when intensive-care beds were running very low. “We just don’t have the nurses and doctors to cover it.” In a survey conducted by HealthStream last September that received responses from more than 12,000 nurses, nearly 85 percent said they were struggling to manage burnout on some level. That stress has acutely affected younger generations of nurses — those aged 18 to 34 — which the industry needs to retain to stabilize its workforce as older workers round out their careers.

SPRING 2021 | NASHVILLEPOST.COM

“In the midst of a global pandemic, nurses need support more than ever. Hospitals either lack wellness programs or are providing services that are falling short,” the survey concluded. “The next generation of well-being solutions needs long-term strategies that help nurses navigate persistent work stress to invest time in effective self-care.” Trisha Coady, senior vice president of workforce solutions at HealthStream, says health care organizations need to look at longer-term communication strategies and tap into scheduling technologies to facilitate better management of their clinicians. (HealthStream last year spent more than $120 million on three acquisitions focused on scheduling software and tools.) She says HealthStream clients are also turning more to continuing education tools that use artificial intelligence to crosstrain nurses so they can fit into different departments within a hospital. Last spring, more than 1.5 million users enrolled in HealthStream’s training platform, representing more than 4,000 facilities in one month. These types of solutions help hospitals flex their staff and could become commonplace in the industry, Coady says, to alleviate hospital workers in departments more susceptible to burnout — namely, in intensive care units.

The workforce development and training company has also recently launched a nurse wellness app, Keener, that helps create an individualized approach to managing burnout and encouraging healthy living practices among nurses. “Now more than ever, leaders are looking to be more proactive versus reactive,” Coady says. “How do you help get all staff in this constant state of readiness? Not for something as large as this pandemic necessarily, but we have had those moments in various organizations where your staff is ebbing and flowing. So how can we be better and make sure that we’re fully staffed, delivering quality care by having some of these habits in place?” The leaders of HCA Healthcare, the largest health system in the country which now employs more than 280,000 people, in 2019 piloted a hotline for nurses as part of a wellness initiative. When the pandemic hit the United States, the company rolled out that service to its entire company in six weeks — and eventually fielded more than 25,000 calls in 2020, the majority related to pandemic fatigue. HCA Chief Nursing Officer Jane Englebright says her team also has looked to centralize training and education programs that help doctors and nurses find real-time information

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CMY

At June Lake, you have a path to anywhere. We believe in community and its ability to provide a path to a bright future. Woven throughout the entire community, greenway paths provide easy, scenic access between home, work, and play. Close access to I-65 and I-840 gives residents and guests an easy path into June Lake, a short path to Nashville, and a path to anywhere you want to go. www.junelaketn.com

a development by

‘People are going to be starting to think more creatively.’ TRISHA COADY, HEALTHSTREAM

a path to anywhere

BOOM

Data Bank RENTS REVERSE

MOST E CON OM I S TS and market watchers are counting on strong economic growth in 2021 as we (hopefully) emerge from the shadows of COVID-19. But it’s still not entirely clear just how robust that rebound will be in some parts of the economy — think tourism and hospitality. The picture for the real estate and construction market is relatively positive, however.

Heading into the pandemic, Nashville’s year-over-year rent growth of 4.2 percent was the second-fastest among U.S. cities. That number has since reversed and Music City’s two-bedroom rent trend is now in a group with cities such as Denver and Orlando, trailing peers such as Indianapolis and Charlotte but ahead of Austin and most of the country’s largest markets. Change from March

-0.4%

-1.7%

-3.9%

June

September

December

Source: Apartment List

SQUARE FEET STATS Of course COVID hurt the region’s office market in 2020. But the research team at Cushman & Wakefield points out that new construction also played a role — for instance, the 111,000-square-foot Virginia Springs II building in Maryland Farms was only 6 percent pre-leased when it opened late in the year — and likely will in ’21 as some of the more than 3 million square feet being built comes to market. Look for those Class A rates to climb some more.

PERMITS PILE UP The multifamily construction market as a whole is still cooking, though. Through November, the number of authorized housing units was up 18 percent from 2019 and 51 more buildings with at least five units had been permitted.

Vacancy rate 20

Type

Units

14,125 5%

112 263%

3 and 4

228

400%

11,060

33%

5 or more

YOY change

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

SUSTAINED MOMENTUM

5 Total

CBD

Cool Springs

Brentwood

Midtown