durham inc.
BIZBRIEFS Compiled by Emily Davis Flagstone Foods Chief Executive Officer Harry Overly joined the board of food-tech company Pairwise in November. Overly will help to guide the company’s launch of Conscious Greens, new salad green varieties that will be available to consumers this year. Overly has extensive executive experience in marketing, sales and food product innovation, and also serves as the executive chairman of the board at SunMaid Growers of California.
ON THE MOVE
Roxanne Miller began her role as Durham Technical Community PHOTO BY College’s KELLY F. WILLIAMS new vice president and chief institutional advancement officer on Jan. 17 and will lead the Durham Tech Foundation’s efforts to engage with corporate, foundation and individual donors to support Durham Tech’s goals. Miller most recently served as the senior director of development at the Wake Tech Foundation. Five new members joined the Durham Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors in January: • Chair: Stelfanie Williams, Duke University • Director: Scott Levitan, Research Triangle Foundation • Executive Committee: Robert J. Nelson IV, Genentech • Director: Michael Landguth, Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority • Director: Jane Brasier, Clark Nexsen Allen Chan joined M&F Bank’s board of directors in July after having served on the M&F Durham City Advisory Board since December 2017. Chan is the managing director of Diversified Search Group, helping businesses develop diversity, equity and inclusion strategies. He brings financial, nonprofit and entrepreneurial experience to the advisory position.
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Silicon carbide technology developer and manufacturer Wolfspeed appointed Elif Balkas as its chief technology officer in January. Balkas joined Wolfspeed in 2006 and served as vice president of research and development in Wolfspeed’s materials division. She succeeds the late John Palmour, continuing the co-founder’s work in innovating Wolfspeed’s manufacturing process.
AWARDS & HONORS
Tire sensor development and data management company Tyrata honored our city’s public GoDurham bus system with a 2022 Know Your Tires Safety Award. Tyrata presents the annual award to customers who demonstrate “significant safety, efficiency or cost improvements.” Since switching from manual tire monitoring to Tyrata’s automated Drive-Over system in 2020, GoDurham’s fleet has recorded more than 40 million miles of tire tread data, demonstrated consistently maintained tires well above safety limits, worked to change tires closer
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to replacement thresholds and proactively addressed mechanical issues, Tyrata reported. The Home Builders Association of Durham, Orange and Chatham Counties celebrated its 60th anniversary in December during an event at Hope Valley Country Club. The association marked the installment of new officers, including CQC Home President and CEO Ken Combs as a vice president, and CIMG Residential Mortgage loan officer George Linney as secretary and treasurer. Linney was also recognized with the association’s 2022 Associate of the Year award. A report released by financial research group Smartest Dollar ranked the Durham-Chapel Hill area as the best-paying city for accountants among 94 midsize metro areas in the country, ranking each location by its median annual wage for accountants and adjusted for cost of living. Durham led the cohort with a median annual wage of $84,328 compared to a median wage of $77,250 nationally.
MOVEMENT & DEVELOPMENT
Real estate company Thompson Thrift is slated to complete construction of Marketplace at Ellis Crossing, a mixed-use development located between Ellis and Yunus roads, in March. The 30acre site boasts approximately 71,810 square feet of retail space, with much already leased by businesses including Durham’s first Publix, the third
location of restaurant It’s a Southern Thing, a Lee’s Nails storefront, a Heartland Dental office and a Chipotle. Other tenants include First National Bank and a gas station. Approximately 13,000 square feet of shop space remains available as of press time. Learning development and consulting agency BCL launched online learning program Feedback Academy in October. Cofounded by Garry O’Brady (pictured above left) and Nathan Pienkowski (pictured left), Feedback Academy offers companies ondemand, self-paced lessons on how, when and where to give and receive feedback that is effective and consistent. Visual intelligence solutions company BrightView Technologies moved from Morrisville to a new facility on Stirrup Creek Drive in midJanuary. The 60,000-squarefoot facility will increase the company’s capacity to produce visual and optic solutions for consumer electronics and automotive and robotics uses.