A CONVENTION Style” Is the Reason Why TCP Now See TCP, Page 17 How a Local Firm Took Action to Ensure the RNC Chose Cleveland by JOHN CAMPANELLI
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
20150309-NEWS--1-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 3/6/2015 2:56 PM Page 1 $2.00/MARCH 9 - 15, 2015 Trinity Cathedral has proven to be a unique — and magical — setting for concert series — P. 5 State’s new tax proposal for e-cigarettes could put some local companies out of business — P. 6 TCP’s minority shareholders have options Lawsuits can put pressure on board, but unseating Yan as CEO will be very difficult By CHUCK SODER has 7,000 employees worldwide and [email protected] $400 million in sales. And to some degree, he can do A lawsuit against TCP CEO Ellis things his way: He and his family Yan portrays him as a guy who runs own 70% of TCP’s shares, and the roughshod over his management family has agreed to let Yan choose team and, in the process, minority who gets elected to the company’s shareholders. As a guy who acts like board. he owns the place. Some board members apparent- Technically, he does not own the ly do want Yan to make changes: place. Technically. The lawsuit states that TCP’s audit But he still has a huge amount of committee told Yan he needs to control over the Aurora-based com- “promptly and substantially” pany — a major player in the light- change the way he runs the compa- ing products industry. ny. But it’s unclear if the entire So if you’re a minority sharehold- board will force Yan to do so, given er who agrees with the claims made that he sits on the board and de- in the lawsuit, know this: You have cides who sits next to him. options, but it might be hard to re- Even so, minority shareholders place Yan as CEO or make other big who want a company to make changes at the company. changes do have some options, ac- Two weeks ago, TCP general cording to local lawyers who aren’t GEIS COMPANIES counsel Laura Hauser filed a lawsuit affiliated with TCP. against Yan and the company itself. For instance, they could file more FROM THE PUBLISHER The suit alleges that Yan “physical- lawsuits. That’s already happening ly assaulted” her, threatened her in TCP’s case, though the share- and pressured managers to release holders aren’t leading the charge: mislabeled products. It also claims Law firms have filed at least seven class action lawsuits claiming that THE PLAN THAT SOLD that Yan barks orders, ignores com- pany policies and makes big deci- TCP misled investors about its sions without consulting other product certifications and other is- managers. sues. None of them had announced Yan issued a statement saying the a lead plaintiff as of last Thursday, lawsuit is “meritless,” but he argues March 5. that his “results-oriented leadership Or they could file a shareholder A CONVENTION style” is the reason why TCP now See TCP, page 17 How a local firm took action to ensure the RNC chose Cleveland BY JOHN CAMPANELLI You’d think the proposal would have made Greg media center or if they’ll choose the Convention Center Geis — or any developer — run away. option. That decision will be made by the party in the Vol. 36, No. 10 Design a temporary conversion of the Gateway next few months. But both are included in the bid. And Entire contents © 2015 by Crain Communications Inc. East parking garage into a 300,000-square-foot if a complete conversion of the garage is the choice, a de- office building to serve as the media center for the tailed plan exists on how to do it. 2016 Republican National Convention. How that plan was created is one of the best behind- 10 Do it without the benefit of specifications or the-scenes stories of Cleveland’s victorious bid to land 7 blueprints. the convention. It’s also an inspiring example of the kind Do it in 10 days. of collaboration that is fueling Cleveland’s rebirth. And, oh yeah, do it all for free. It took less than two minutes for Geis to agree. * * * After Cleveland’s unsuccessful bid to host the 2008 * * * GOP convention, Jon Pinney, the Kohrman Jackson & NEWSPAPER We don’t know whether the Republican National Krantz attorney who wrote the city’s bid, was chatting 74470 83781 Committee will end up using the garage, which sits next with party leader Bill Harris on an outdoor terrace at the 0 to Progressive Field and Quicken Loans Arena, as the See CONVENTION, page 22 20150309-NEWS--2-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 3/5/2015 2:43 PM Page 1 Small Business Matters i Want more information and resources on this week's topics, ideas and events? Go to www.cose.org/smallbizmatters. PRESENTED BY 52 TIPS FOR YOUR BUSINESS #10: Be Proactive to Ensure Workplace Safety Employees are the most important asset ¸7YL]LU[PVU PZ KLÄUP[LS` March 9 in any business, and owners have a the key to avoiding costly OWNER RESOURCES fundamental responsibility to provide a claims,” says Young. safe work environment. The best “And there are a lot of COSE Workers’ Comp Program way to safeguard your workplace great resources available and Safety Plus By The Numbers is to be proactive in developing to help businesses estab- www.cose.org/workerscomp and maintaining safety lish safe workplaces.” Do you expect to increase programs. “Taking steps to One such resource is Safe Cleveland (Safety Training) employee compensation over the prevent accidents and COSE’s Safety Plus pro- http://safecleveland.org next 12 months? illness should be on gram, which provides every employer’s safety audits, OSHA Northeast Ohio Safety Council mind,” says John inspection consulta- Young, Owner of Speed tions and assistance O[[W!^^^ULVZHML[`JV\UJPSVYN Exterminating in Cleveland and former chair in developing workplace safety policies. Safety of COSE’s Workers’ Compensation Product Plus is free to participants in the COSE Work- Occupational Safety & Health Committee. ers’ Comp Program. For more helpful work- Association Ensuring a safe workplace can help to avoid place safety tips and tools, see the Owner Re- https://www.osha.gov costly workers’ compensation claims, cut down sources on this page. YES on lost-work hours, and improve employee mo- i 0M`V\^HU[[VÄUKV\[OV^T\JO*6:, Ohio Bureau of Workers’ rale. Implementing proactive safety programs JHUZH]L`V\VU^VYRLYZ»JVTWWYLTP\TZ Compensation can also have a huge impact on workers’ com- YLX\LZ[HX\V[LI`JHSSPUN https://www.bwc.ohio.gov 55% WLUZH[PVU JVZ[Z HUK OLSW V^ULYZ H]VPK ÄULZ VY]PZP[^^^JVZLVYNJVTWX\V[L0[VUS` for safety violations. [HRLZHTPU\[LHUKP[PZMYLL Up 15% from July 2013 SOURCE: NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS ASSOCIATION Have a Teen Who’s Into Tech? 2014 YEAR-END ECONOMIC REPORT CoolTech Challenge, a design compe- Since 2008, OHTec (formerly NEO- tition intended to spark interest among SA) and its partners, have awarded more Connection Calendar high school students to pursue careers in than $65,000 to area high school student the Northeast Ohio tech sector, is actively participants through the CoolTech Chal- 1 MILLION CUPS CLEVELAND recruiting students and teams for its 2015 lenge. Prizes include scholarship funds, contest. If you have a high school-age fam- t-shirts, gift cards and more. New this year -LH[\YLK)\ZPULZZ!.PNÄUP[` ily member or friend interested in technol- are project mentors and fundraising activi- WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18 ogy or are active as a mentor or alumnus of ties for school use. Teams can register now 9 AM, FREE a local high school, help spread the word at www.cooltechchallenge.org. Submissions i -VSSV^[OL*VVS;LJO*OHSSLUNL*VU[LZ[VU RED Space at HotCards about this fun and challenging opportunity. are due March 27. ;^P[[LY'JVVS[LJORPKZ SMALL BUSINESS BOOT CAMP #1 “MONEY MATTERS” WHAT’S HOT Featured Speaker: Claude Booker, :PTWS`:V\[OLYU:PKLZ WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11 BoxCast HD-Quality Live Streaming 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM Crop Bistro Dubbed a “TV station in a box,” Box- Cost: $25 COSE Members, Cast is a breakthrough technology that TIP $40 Non-Members, Lunch Included offers a simple and reliable way to deliver live, HD-quality streaming video to the For more ideas how 1 TECHFUTURES: PROMINENT masses. “There is nothing more compel- TECH TRENDS ling than live video,” says Gordon Daily, BoxCast technology might THURSDAY, MARCH 12 President and Co-Founder of BoxCast. work for your business, “BoxCast allows anyone with a camera, 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM power source and an internet connection log on to www.boxcast.com. LockKeepers, Valley View to easily broadcast an event to an unlim- 2 Cost: OHTec Member $20, Non-Member $40 ited audience. events, creating a new revenue stream. Can’t make it to LockKeepers? The event will Viewers can watch live or review ar- From townhall meetings to sales or train- also be streamed live at the Burntwood Tavern chive content on-demand via a perfect- ing events, to sporting or church events, in Cuyahoga Falls. ly-sized picture on any device, including you can broaden your audience by bring- smartphone, tablet or computer.” ing your message or event directly to 3 Register for the live or streaming event at Pre-scheduled broadcasts, seamless where your customers and spectators are www.cose.org/events. viewing with no buffering or ads to dis- – either online or at another venue. tract from your content, and easy to man- Launched in Cleveland in May 2013, GOLDMAN SACHS 10,000 SMALL age archives are just a few of the game- BoxCast technology is now being em- BUSINESSES INFORMATION changing features of BoxCast.