durham inc.
BIZ BRIEFS Compiled by Lauren Rouse
COMINGS & GOINGS
Research Triangle Foundation President and CEO Scott Levitan was named among the state’s PHOTO BY JOHN most influential MICHAEL SIMPSON leaders in economic development, life sciences, real estate and construction, education, nonprofits, transportation and more on Business North Carolina’s Power List 2024. Levitan joined the foundation that manages Research Triangle Park – which is currently adding housing and recreational projects to complement its traditional office-lab mix, including the projected $1.5 billion Hub RTP development – in 2017. City Manager Wanda Page announced her retirement after 36 years of service. In her letter to Mayor Leonardo Williams PHOTO BY JOHN MICHAEL SIMPSON and City Council members, Page said she “believes now is the right moment to begin the transition of passing the torch to new leadership and allow fresh perspectives to shape the future of our beloved city.” Page joined the City of Durham in 1987 as a senior staff accountant and served in several progressively responsible positions before being named deputy city manager in 2006. She was named interim city manager in October 2020 and officially appointed in March 2021.
94
|
durhammag.com
|
The Durham Chamber of Commerce held a ribboncutting ceremony for Braxton Townhomes’ new community in May. Leasing specialist Stacey Sopko (pictured) cut the ribbon during the event, which included several Chamber members, Chamber ambassadors, a representative
PHOTO COURTESY OF DURHAM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
from Congresswoman Valerie Foushee’s office and local businesses. Braxton Townhomes is located at 719 Graphite Dr. and offers three-bedroom, twoand-a-half-bath townhomes with varied layouts and price points to fit diverse needs. Tiny Earth Toys, a Durham-based startup focused on making children’s toys more sustainable, shuttered after four years. Co-founders Rachael Classi (pictured) and Catherine Bhattachar initially focused on subscription toy rentals and later pivoted to design a dollhouse that would convert into a bookshelf as a child grew up. While this product generated excitement in a successful Kickstarter fundraiser, transitioning it into a physical product in a highly competitive
Au g u s t/ s e p t e m b e r 2 0 24
PHOTO COURTESY OF U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined Gov. Roy Cooper on a summer construction tour of North Carolina, with visits to Raleigh, Winston-Salem and Durham, in July. While in Durham, Secretary Buttigieg, Gov. Cooper and Mayor Leonardo Williams celebrated the recent announcement of a $12 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) federal grant through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for the Holloway Street: Safe Access to Durham’s Busiest Transit route project to improve 33 intersections between Elizabeth Street and Junction Road, including adding ADA curb ramps and crosswalks, tightening curb radii, upgrading bus stop amenities and closing sidewalk gaps. The project is scheduled for completion by 2027, with the city contributing an additional $3 million. Buttigieg also met with some of the small business owners and community members who will benefit directly from this investment and visited other infrastructure projects across the state. space proved too heavy a lift. The company canceled its Kickstarter campaign, did not bring in any of the backers’ funding. “Our priority is to maintain transparency and ensure that your time and trust in us are respected,” the company posted to its Instagram. “Please stay tuned on how we plan to keep this community alive.”
AWARDS & HONORS
Triangle Business Journal recognized its 2024 Life Science Award winners, celebrating individuals and research organizations blazing trails in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, clinical research, human health, medical devices and diagnostics. Sheila Mikhail (pictured), co-founder of Asklepios BioPharmaceutical Inc., received a Lifetime Achievement Award; Jude Samulski, AskBio cofounder, former president and chief scientific officer, also won an award for outstanding research from universities or research institutes. Other Durham honorees recognized for groundbreaking contributions to the field include: Creo
President and co-founder Mike Townley (Best Consultant); KBI Biopharma Inc. President and CEO J.D. Mowery (CEO of the Year); Harpe Bioherbicide & Traitology Inc. (Best Ag-Bio Companies); Asensus Surgical (Best Medical Device Company); Novo Nordisk (Company of the Year – Public) Kriya Therapeutics (Company of the Year – Private); and Gilero (Best Early-stage Product Development Company). Coastal Credit Union is among Business North Carolina’s 2024 Best Employers. This is the seventh time Coastal has won the award over the past eight years, and it marks the 10th year in a row that the company has earned at least one best workplace award. “It’s great to be consistently recognized as one of the top employers in North Carolina, an amazing state with plenty of great companies,” Coastal Credit Union President and CEO Tyler Grodi said. “For Coastal, success is never about the trophies; it’s always about our people. Our strategy and our commitment is to develop an awesome, intentional culture that will help us attract and retain great employees [who] will help the credit union, our members and our communities to succeed together.”