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March 2007 Issue
What Do Icebergs and Business Success Have in Common?
This month we are honoring the 2007 NEO Success Award winners, an event that is marking its 14th anniversary. Yet sometimes it takes an unexpected experience to remind us why we do what we do, or in this case, remind us of why we celebrate the success of high-profile companies, low-profile companies and companies with no profile at all. Let me tell you the story. Last year I was invited to speak at a dinner meeting of couples who get together to discuss issues of the day and enjoy each other’s com... |
Impotence Unbound
You see them regularly: lists in magazines and newspapers that rank a city’s most powerful or influential leaders. It is a fun exercise, an endeavor for editors that is a little like playing Monopoly. It also gives editors a sense of power, something their station in life craves. I know something about creating these lists because I once edited a magazine that occasionally undertook this task. Assembling a list of the most powerful is best done with knowledgeable colleagues, a snifter of brandy an... |
A Moment in Time
Editor’s note: Time magazine was headquartered in Cleveland from 1925 through 1927 at the Terminal Tower. The recent publication of the book, “The Man That Time Forgot: A Tale of Genius, Betrayal, and the Creation of Time Magazine” by Isaiah Wilner, puts the strained relationship of Time’s young founders, Henry Luce and Briton Hadden, in objective perspective. This essay by Dottie McNulty is warmer, but no less insightful. McNulty worked at Time and Sports Illustrated for seven y... Wizards of Wal-Mart
Nottingham-Spirk creates the kind of innovative, but practical consumer products loved by customers, as well as the largest corporations in the world. Consider the paint can. The paint can was ignored for a century. It was round, metal and messy with a lid you needed to pry off with a screwdriver. That was until Nottingham-Spirk Design Associates invented a plastic paint container with a pouring spout and a screw-top lid. Common sense? Maybe, but why did it take more than 100 years to make it better? Now... |
Showstoppers
The computer industry sure has changed. Comdex used to be the big show for the tech world. Comdex, which stood for Computer Dealer Exhibition, evolved into the one huge gathering place (in Vegas, of course) for everyone involved with PCs. But as computers became more mainstream, hardware became a commodity and non-techies used PCs as much as the hardcore IT guy, the consumer became more significant. Oh yeah, this thing called the Internet happened, too. So Comdex ended and the Consumer Electronics Show ... |
First Female President Elected at Case
Barbara R. Snyder has been tapped as the next president of Case Western Reserve University, the first woman in university history to hold the top position.Snyder, who currently serves as executive vice president and provost of The Ohio State University, will take the helm July 1.“I am honored to be chosen to serve as president of one of the nation’s finest research universities,” says Snyder, who started her higher education profession at Case. “My time here on campus early in my ... Vantage Financial Promotes President To CEO
Martin J. Uhle, president of Vantage Financial Group, an insurance and financial services company, was named the firm’s chief executive officer. He succeeds Vantage’s founder, George G. Szeretvai, who transitioned management duties to Uhle. Szeretvai will remain with the firm as chairman of the board and a principal working with his portfolio of clients.“I look forward to continuing the legacy for which George has laid the foundation,” says Uhle. “Vantage is positioned for c... YSU establishes $1 million trust for scholarships
The estate of the late Robert G. and S. Ann Berich Maigetter has established a more than $1 million trust to provide scholarships for Youngstown State University students in geography, economics, philosophy and political science. Scholarships will be awarded to third-year students studying in these areas. The award, part of YSU’s Centennial Capital Campaign, will be rotated annually, with the first to go to the geography department in the fall. Before his death in 1995, Robert Maigetter was part-ow... |
A Reader Disservice
I was disappointed to read Michael Robert’s recent column (“Bad Blood,” February issue) about The Cleveland Clinic. It inaccurately depicts the institution, its accomplishments and its core mission of providing patients with world-class medical care. Throughout its 86-year history, The Cleveland Clinic has built a global reputation by providing the most advanced medical care by continuously innovating, finding cures and new treatments that dramatically improve the quality of life for t... |
Breaking Free
During much of her engineering and construction career, Tari Rivera was the only one. She was the only woman majoring in engineering (class of 1982) at the University of Akron where some professors inquired why she was taking their class. And during the 12 years she worked for construction companies as an engineer, she was the only woman at project meetings. Finally, in 1994, she found herself alone once again, this time without a job after the company she worked for went out of business. Because ... Demand for Suppliers
Andrew Jackson would frequently drive from Shaker Heights to Detroit for his previous job with consulting firm Accenture. “My commute is much shorter now,” says the 45-year-old Jackson, who is in his first year as executive director of the Commission on Economic Inclusion, an initiative of the Greater Cleveland Partnership to increase participation of minority professionals and businesses in an effort to create jobs and investment in Northeast Ohio. Jackson’s job includes working with M... Fuel to the Fire
For Developers Diversified Realty Corp. CEO and Chairman Scott Wolstein, success starts with people, and a willingness to boldly make contrarian business decisions. “Everything starts with people, of course,” reflects Wolstein from his Beachwood office. “We have an excellent management team and strong employees in every discipline. In addition to that, we’ve also been rewarded for our contrarian strategy.” Developers Diversified (DDR), a self-managed real estate investment ... In the Fast Lane
When a business is growing significantly faster than its competitors, it must be doing something right. Beachwood-based Brulant was ranked as the 36th-largest interactive marketing firm in the United States in 2005 by Advertising Age, and President and CEO Len Pagon believes the 2006 industry rankings will place them in the top 25. The firm is currently the largest in Ohio and, according to Pagon, the second- or third-largest in the Midwest. Not bad for a company he founded in the spare bedroom of his h... Legendary Leader
“It takes a little foresight and a little luck,” says Samuel H. Miller, when asked what makes a company successful. On March 22, he’ll address hundreds of businesspeople who’ve had both as the keynote speaker at Inside Business’ 2007 NEO Success Awards. Miller, co-chairman of the board and treasurer of Forest City Enterprises Inc., is amply qualified to share his thoughts with the top-performing companies in Northeast Ohio. For 50 years, he’s helped Forest City grow i... Man of His Word
In the construction business, it takes a lot of strength for a general contractor to be honest and straightforward with clients who want their projects completed quickly and as close to cost as possible, with little room for profit margin. Basically, you know that you’re going to lose jobs to companies who promise the world in five days for a song, then end up coming back to the client with myriad change orders. “I will not promise you that we can get something done for a price or on a sched... Philosophy for Success
One benefit of a family-founded business is that it’s sometimes easier to pass wisdom through the generations. Sixty years after his grandfather started RPM International Inc., Frank C. Sullivan, president and CEO, still fosters the founder’s philosophy to the more than 9,000 associates worldwide in the now public company. Labeled the “Value of 168,” the philosophy emphasizes the number of hours in a week as a reminder of the two important gifts we all receive: life and the time ... The Cruelest Season
Everybody’s least favorite time of year is here again: tax season. While our friends at the Internal Revenue Service don’t have too many surprises for taxpayers this year, one viscous beast from years past is growing larger: The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). “AMT continues to hit people more and more every year,” says Paula DiVencenzo, senior tax manager with Bober, Markey, Fedorovich & Co., an accounting firm in Akron. “… It’s the number one complaint we hear.... The Thunder Rolls
Thunder has a way of demanding attention. And thunder::tech is no different. The full-service marketing firm has been grabbing the attention of many clients — 170 to be exact. Not bad when you consider the company has been in business for only eight years. Actually, for the first three years, thunder::tech was working only on a part-time basis when Jason Therrien, 28, began creating Web sites professionally during his junior year at John Carroll University. The North Royalton native, who maj... Youth Movement
James Griffith knows manufacturing has an image problem, primarily with the future of his workforce. Griffith, president and CEO of Canton’s The Timken Co., which makes highly engineered bearings and alloys, is fearful that his industry will be wiped out, not by foreign competition, but by a lack of technically skilled workers who see manufacturing as a dead end. “People read or hear about the departure of low-level, manufacturing jobs to China and India and believe ... |
Money Talks
Throughout his 38-year career, Tom Bennett always had an eye on retirement. After spending 19 years at The Plain Dealer and 19 years at Painesville’s Lubrizol Corp., respectively, Bennett, 66, was ready to begin planning for retirement. “We had been planning an early retirement for quite a while,” explains Bennett. He and his wife, Carol, 65, talked to a number of financial advisors and Bennett even attended financial planning seminars conducted at Lubrizol, but nobody seemed knowledge... Truly a Family Affair
At their Chagrin Falls headquarters, the four Shibley siblings gather around a large wooden table and taste test pita pizza varieties they are thinking of adding to the menu, and no one is shy about voicing their reviews. “There’s too much pesto on that one.” “It needs more marinara sauce.” “We should try slicing the olives next time.” It’s not a normal family conversation, but this is not a typical family meal. For brothers Art, Lawrence and Jeffrey Shibl... |
Star Player
Andy Halko, 26 CEO, Insivia andy@insivia.com Born Leader: Originally from Pittsburgh, the “secondhand native” graduated from John Carroll University in 2002 with an urge to start his own business. “It’s something in the family,” says Andy Halko, whose dad owns his own company. “I like the action and stress of it all.” So after working for a small tech company designing and programming Web sites, Halko started Cleveland-based Insivia in 2003. The Low Down: As wit... |
Breaking Free
During much of her engineering and construction career, Tari Rivera was the only one. She was the only woman majoring in engineering (class of 1982) at the University of Akron where some professors inquired why she was taking their class. And during the 12 years she worked for construction companies as an engineer, she was the only woman at project meetings. Finally, in 1994, she found herself alone once again, this time without a job after the company she worked for went out of business. Because ... Fuel to the Fire
For Developers Diversified Realty Corp. CEO and Chairman Scott Wolstein, success starts with people, and a willingness to boldly make contrarian business decisions. “Everything starts with people, of course,” reflects Wolstein from his Beachwood office. “We have an excellent management team and strong employees in every discipline. In addition to that, we’ve also been rewarded for our contrarian strategy.” Developers Diversified (DDR), a self-managed real estate investment ... In the Fast Lane
When a business is growing significantly faster than its competitors, it must be doing something right. Beachwood-based Brulant was ranked as the 36th-largest interactive marketing firm in the United States in 2005 by Advertising Age, and President and CEO Len Pagon believes the 2006 industry rankings will place them in the top 25. The firm is currently the largest in Ohio and, according to Pagon, the second- or third-largest in the Midwest. Not bad for a company he founded in the spare bedroom of his h... Legendary Leader
“It takes a little foresight and a little luck,” says Samuel H. Miller, when asked what makes a company successful. On March 22, he’ll address hundreds of businesspeople who’ve had both as the keynote speaker at Inside Business’ 2007 NEO Success Awards. Miller, co-chairman of the board and treasurer of Forest City Enterprises Inc., is amply qualified to share his thoughts with the top-performing companies in Northeast Ohio. For 50 years, he’s helped Forest City grow i... Man of His Word
In the construction business, it takes a lot of strength for a general contractor to be honest and straightforward with clients who want their projects completed quickly and as close to cost as possible, with little room for profit margin. Basically, you know that you’re going to lose jobs to companies who promise the world in five days for a song, then end up coming back to the client with myriad change orders. “I will not promise you that we can get something done for a price or on a sched... Philosophy for Success
One benefit of a family-founded business is that it’s sometimes easier to pass wisdom through the generations. Sixty years after his grandfather started RPM International Inc., Frank C. Sullivan, president and CEO, still fosters the founder’s philosophy to the more than 9,000 associates worldwide in the now public company. Labeled the “Value of 168,” the philosophy emphasizes the number of hours in a week as a reminder of the two important gifts we all receive: life and the time ... The Thunder Rolls
Thunder has a way of demanding attention. And thunder::tech is no different. The full-service marketing firm has been grabbing the attention of many clients — 170 to be exact. Not bad when you consider the company has been in business for only eight years. Actually, for the first three years, thunder::tech was working only on a part-time basis when Jason Therrien, 28, began creating Web sites professionally during his junior year at John Carroll University. The North Royalton native, who maj... |
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