20150406-NEWS--1-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 4/3/2015 2:37 PM Page 1

$2.00/APRIL 6 - 12, 2015

Proposed bill that would allow open containers in certain areas has detractors — P. 5 SPECIAL SECTION: Crain’s Cleveland honors some of the region’s top CIOs — Pages 15-22 Governor’s tax cuts are painful Hotels digging in other areas local landscape Many small biz owners say plan’s positives are negated by hikes that would be costly Once-slow market has been booming in region

By JAY MILLER governor’s plan, a large segment of By STAN BULLARD [email protected] the small business community, [email protected] ADDING IT UP: judging from interviews and from You’d think small business own- testimony before the Ohio House Suburban hotel development in North- ers would be jumping on the band- Ways and Means committee, sees east Ohio, typically measured in one or two wagon to support a tax reform plan the increases in other taxes as a year, is kicking into a much higher gear. that broadly cuts the income tax negating the income tax cut. More than 10 hotels are under construc- 1, 078 and even exempts the owners of the Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols tion or scheduled to start this spring in the smallest of businesses from paying did not respond by presstime last region. Four of those are rising or are Rooms/suites proposed any Ohio income tax. Friday, April 3, to requests for com- scheduled to go up this year in western It hasn’t happened since Gov. ment. Cleveland suburbs and Lorain County. or under construction John Kasich rolled out his budget Even the Ohio chapter of the Na- Along with the just-completed Cambria Inn proposal in February. The reason? tional Federation of Independent in Avon, they are the first new West Side ho- While Kasich’s office says the plan Businesses, generally a supporter of tels since the 1990s. would save the owners of 971,000 business tax cuts, isn’t supporting this Capturing resurgent business travel and small businesses about $696 million bill. Instead, it’s neutral. Roger Geiger, growing leisure travel is the objective for $135M in income taxes over two years, it vice president and executive director this batch of inns, but the looming Repub- asks for large chunks of that back in of the 25,000-member NFIB/Ohio, lican National Convention in 2016 is giving Investment* other tax increases that businesses said the group has supported Kasich’s developers an extra reason to push their would end up paying for. past income tax cuts and might have projects through. Broadly, Kasich’s two-year, $72.3 supported this most recent cut had it Next to I-77 immediately north of Rock- billion general revenue budget pro- been a standalone cut. side Road in Independence, a line of trees posed a cut in the income tax for all “If that were it, we’d be ecstatic See HOTELS, page 24 taxpayers by an average of 23% over with what he’s doing,” Geiger said. the two years. Beyond that, it ex- “The problem is he raises about 13 empts from the income tax all in- different taxes, and those are taxes come for small business owners many small businesses pay.”

with gross receipts of less than $2 In particular, Geiger referred to RESEARCH million annually. the increase in the commercial ac- Those income tax reductions tivity tax, or CAT, which is levied would reduce tax collections by $5.7 against gross receipts regardless of CRAIN’S billion. But those cuts would be off- whether a business is profitable. set by nearly $5.2 billion in tax in- The Kasich plan increases the CAT creases, producing net tax cuts of to 0.32% from 0.26%. only $523 million. Those increases affect retailers While a number of business own- the hardest. ers and trade association represen- “We are a high sales, low margin tatives are offering support of the See TAX, page 26

Vol. 36, No. 14, Entire contents © 2015 by Crain Communications Inc. 14 7 NEWSPAPER 74470 83781 0 MAP: GOOGLE MAPS, FACTBOX: *USING INDUSTRY ESTIMATES (COST PER KEY), 20150406-NEWS--2-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 4/3/2015 2:16 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

RAISE YOUR VOICE Small Business Big Impact

COSE’s job is to raise your voice with poli- April 6 J`THRLYZHUKLSLJ[LKVɉJPHSZ[VLUZ\YL6OPV is a place your business can thrive. Every two years, we convene small business owners to set our priorities for the upcoming legislative By The Numbers sessions in Columbus and Washington, D.C. The experiences of those small business own- ers, the challenges they face and the issues they believe will be at the forefront, help us to form a hit list of issues and opportunities in the work we do advocating on your behalf. In addition to proactively reacting to issues 2,000 that surface without a lot of warning, we’ll also be working to push several important priorities State of Ohio to the top of the pile of issues and conversa- Business-Related [PVUHTVUNV\YLSLJ[LKVɉJPHSZ*6:,»ZSLNPZ lative and regulatory goals for 2015-2016 will Rules & Regulations focus on: Filed on Average Energy – More support for small businesses Annually that want to reduce their costs through energy LɉJPLUJ`"TVYLLULYN`JOVPJLZMVYZTHSSI\ZP [OL ILULÄ[Z ZTHSS I\ZPULZZ V^ULYZ NL[ MYVT ULZZ[OH[Z[HIPSPaLJVZ[Z"HUKTVYLVWWVY[\UP personal income tax reductions. Get on the Bus! ties for education, technical support and project Workers’ Compensation – Provide more Connection Calendar Join us for COSE Day at the ÄUHUJPUNMVYZTHSSI\ZPULZZLULYN`LɉJPLUJ` training program support for employers and Capitol on Tuesday, May 12 and Health Care – Achieve greater uniformity TVYLZHML[`LK\JH[PVUMVY^VYRLYZ"NL[YPKVM OHTEC PITCH NIGHT take advantage of the unique oppor- IL[^LLU Z[H[L HUK MLKLYHS OLHS[O JHYL SH^Z" rules that put a former building occupant’s tunity to meet with policymakers and Hear pitches on some of the coolest new tech support state payment reform initiatives that re- workers’ compensation liability on the new discuss ways in which we can work businesses, products and ideas in NEO. duce the total cost of health care claims. occupant of a building when there is no rela- together to enhance the small busi- MONDAY, APRIL 13 Rules and Regulations ¶ ,UZ\YL LɈLJ[P]L tionship between their businesses. ness climate in Ohio. Our day in Co- 5:30 – 8:30 PM implementation of the entrepreneur-in-resi- Workforce Development – Improve the lumbus includes meetings with legis- LockKeepers, Valley View KLUJLWPSV[WYVNYHT"JVU[PU\LKYLWYLZLU[H[PVU support that state workforce programs pro- lative leadership, presentations from on Ohio’s Common Sense Initiative (CSI) Small vide to small employers—especially as it LSLJ[LK VɉJPHSZ HUK H JOHUJL MVY PU Cost: OHTec (formerly NEOSA) )\ZPULZZ(K]PZVY`*V\UJPS"HUKJOHTWPVUUL^ relates to workers getting training and edu- formal conversation with other small HUK*6:,4LTILYZ " and proposed revisions to rules and regula- cation on the skills and support capabilities business owners, legislators and their Non-Members $40 tions that remove unnecessary barriers to doing small businesses need right now. RL`Z[HɈK\YPUNV\YLUKVMKH`JVJR[HPS Register at www.cose.org/events. business in Ohio. reception. Round-trip transportation and Taxes – Make taxes easier to understand i To view COSE’s complete Public meals are included. Save your seat on the LINKING IT TALENT and simpler to administer and comply with, Policy Agenda for 2015-2016, visit COSE bus by contacting Adina Magda TO OPPORTUNITY including simplifying the way small businesses www.cose.org/publicpolicyagenda at [email protected]. Presented by the Greater Cleveland OH]L[VYLWVY[SVJHS[H_LZ"LUZ\YLZ[H[L[H_YL or call 216-592-2392 to request Partnership (GCP), this event connects job forms don’t penalize small business or ignore a printed copy. seekers to opportunities in the tech space. THURSDAY, APRIL 16 1 - 4:30 PM COSE Volunteers: Leading the Way Since 1972 Independence Civic Center Cost: Free for GCP, OHTec (formerly NEOSA) In recognition of National Volunteer Week April 12-18, COSE would like to recognize the outstanding volunteers who dedicate their HUK*6:,4LTILYZ"5VU4LTILYZ  valuable time and enormous talents to drive the organization’s initiatives. Since 1972, Northeast Ohio small business owners have Reserve your space at served as the lifeblood of COSE. We thank you for your expertise, insights, and most of all, your passion for helping other small www.gcpartnership.org/events. business owners succeed. BEST OF TECH AWARDS DINNER Honoring the top technology companies in our region. THURSDAY, APRIL 16 52 TIPS FOR YOUR BUSINESS 5:30 – 9:30 PM Red Space at HotCards, Cleveland

#14 - Raise Your Voice Cost: OHTec (formerly NEOSA) and COSE Members $35, Now, more than ever before, there is intended public policy initiatives or forces ]VPJL QVPU [OL LɈVY[Z Non-Members $50 a recognition of the importance of the beyond what the market can address, limit of COSE advocacy in Reserve your seat at www.cose.org/events. contribution of the small business community the way small business owners can pursue making Ohio a better to the broad economic performance of our opportunity. place to do business. WEBED SERIES: CONTENT JV\U[Y` HUK [V [OL ZWLJPÄJ HIPSP[` VM V\Y When small business owners in Ohio band MARKETING - CREATE A most urban and rural communities to create together and raise their voice on common is- i E-mail COSE’s MINI-PUBLISHING EMPIRE jobs and build wealth. In many cases, a Z\LZ[OH[HɈLJ[[OLPYHIPSP[`[VY\UZ\JJLZZM\S Director of Presented by Kevin Cesarz, Thread Group small business owner’s ability to identify a I\ZPULZZLZ[OL`JHUTHRLHYLHSKPɈLYLUJL Government TUESDAY, APRIL 28 unique opportunity in the free market and Working with elected representatives, they Relations, Sante Ghetti 11 AM - NOON to respond to it with ingenuity, hard work, can collectively take action to support the at [email protected] to and dogged persistence is enough for them kind of environment in which these owners learn how you can get Register at www.cose.org/events. to achieve success. Often, however, well- and their employees can thrive. To raise your involved. Check out www.cose.org/events

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4 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM APRIL 6 - 12, 2015 SOLD MetroHealth is going ,1'(3(1'(1&(:22'6 ($673/($6$179$//(<52$' ,1'(3(1'(1&(2+,2 where customers are Health system’s expansion plans target areas poised for growth

By TIMOTHY MAGAW retail and compounding pharma- [email protected] cies and other services. When it Newmark Grubb Knight Frank opens, it will employ almost 100 is pleased to announce the sale of The dramatic, multimillion-dol- full-time-equivalent employees, Visit lar makeover planned for Metro- whereas the Middleburg Heights fa- the two-story, 40,441 square foot TerryCoyne.com Health’s aging campus on West 25th cilities opened with about 70. Also, RIÀFHEXLOGLQJDW(DVW3OHDVDQW Or Call Terry at to round out services in the area, 216.453.3001 Street has been the face of its reju- Valley Road in Independence, Ohio. venation, but the taxpayer-support- the health system recently brought Terry Coyne represented the buyer. ed health system already is deep on an ophthalmology practice in into an aggressive push to spread its Independence. reach further into Northeast Ohio’s Akron-based Signet Develop- 1350 Euclid Ave., Suite 300 Cleveland, Ohio 44115 suburbs. ment, which is heavily invested in So deep, in fact, that your next the wellness center space, has eyed doctor’s visit could be at Crocker the Brecksville and Broadview Park, the popular outdoor shopping Heights area for years and has been complex in Westlake. Moreover, the mentioned as a collaborator on the – health system is plotting small out- MetroHealth facility. At present Available 68K Sq. Ft. Streetsboro posts in Independence and there’s no formal relationship be- Brunswick, as well as staking a ma- tween the parties, and Signet has ROI Energy just converted 9450 Rosemont jor claim with a 60,000-square-foot “I’m sure they’ll notice acted more as a “project advocate,” health center and emergency room we’re in the same according to Mark Corr, Signet’s Drive at the Hammer Company building. straddling Broadview Heights and president and chief operating Brecksville for which it announced neighborhood with them. officer. Now 3 x brighter, using 53% less energy plans last year. It can’t get much more Less than a year after Metro- Health went public with its plans with T-5 lighting! “These moves fit with our overall convenient than walking strategy of taking services out to a block or two.” for the Brecksville-Broadview where people live,” said Dan Lewis, Heights facility, University Hospi- MetroHealth’s chief operating offi- – Dan Lewis tals, the region’s second largest Let us do the same for your facility. cer. chief operating officer, MetroHealth, health system, announced plans to While a small office overall — on the American Greetings build its own $28 million health roughly 8,500 to 8,700 square feet — employees who will soon be located center off the state Route 82 inter- at Crocker Park the Crocker Park location is per- change, not far from MetroHealth’s haps the most intriguing. The of- burgeoning facility. MetroHealth, CALL what it will do with the 11 acres it fices will be housed in space for- whose execs expressed frustration acquired off Center Ridge Road, merly occupied by the University of with UH upon its announcement, ROI Energy and MetroHealth hopes to consoli- Phoenix above the Italian eatery hasn’t backed down from its own date its other Westlake offices at the Brio in the central part of the foray. TODAY! new Crocker site. mixed-use complex in Westlake. “We’re so excited about these MetroHealth also is setting its The site, scheduled to open mid- plans,” Lewis said. “We’ve been sights, albeit slightly, beyond Cuya- 330-931-3905 summer, will boast primary care, studying this site for quite some hoga County. The health system www.ROI-Energy.com urgent care and a roster of special- time.” currently is renovating about 12,000 ty services. square feet of existing office space The Crocker Park outpost will in Brunswick on the northern edge ‘Hello, we’re Metro’ place MetroHealth at the heart of a of Medina County, just off Center bevy of expansion projects, which Road and Interstate 71. MetroHealth has worked dili- could help bring more patients into About 1,000 MetroHealth and gently over the last few years, par- the health system. Cuyahoga County employees and ticularly since the arrival of CEO Dr. Last September, construction of members of MetroHealth Select live Akram Boutros, to shed its image as Point A. the long-planned headquarters for in the area that will be served by the a hospital that only cares for Cuya- American Greetings Corp. got un- new site. MetroHealth said it won’t hoga County’s poor. derway at Crocker Park — a move use any portion of the subsidy it re- MetroHealth, of course, hasn’t that is expected to bring roughly ceives from Cuyahoga County to — and stresses that it won’t — turn 1,500 employees to the area. Also, support the new facility’s opera- its back on serving that patient de- MetroHealth officials say the health tions. The subsidy is used only to mographic. Still, the health system system’s commercial insurance pay for the cost of care of Cuyahoga has taken steps to bring more pa- product, MetroHealth Select, has County residents. tients with commercial insurance grown markedly over the last few “This is an example of us going into its fold as way to stabilize its fi- years, driving the need for more ac- where the population is going,” nances. cess points. Lewis said. So, as it has pushed into the sub- “I’m sure they’ll notice we’re in urbs, MetroHealth has had to ac- the same neighborhood with quaint itself with populations that them,” Lewis said of American The major claim might not be particularly familiar Greetings’ employees. “It can’t get Details are at last coming to- with the health system. To do that, much more convenient than walk- gether for MetroHealth’s roughly the health system is developing a ing a block or two.” 60,000-square-foot facility at the multifaceted approach to commu- Just last year, MetroHealth ac- intersection of state Route 82 and nity engagement targeting areas quired two parcels of land to form Interstate 77 in the adjoining sub- with new health centers. That ap- Point B. an 11-acre site two miles south of urbs of Brecksville and Broadview proach includes getting en- Crocker Park off Center Ridge Road. Heights. The health system an- trenched in local civic affairs, spon- Get there your way. MetroHealth officials had long eyed nounced plans for the facility in soring local events and deploying Reliable, safe, Classic Jet Charter. ARGUS Gold rated. Westlake for expansion, and the ac- fall 2013. The health system still is what MetroHealth describes as 440-942-7092. ClassicJetCharter.com. Willoughby, OH. quired site appeared ripe for a working with developers and has- community health advocates to sprawling health center akin to the n’t nailed down an exact cost for find out what services are needed 57,000-square-foot, $24 million fa- the facility, but MetroHealth offi- in an area. cility MetroHealth opened in 2013 cials say it will cost more than the “Whether or not you’re a Metro- in Middleburg Heights. Volume 36, Number 14 Crain’s Cleveland Business (ISSN 0197-2375) is published weekly at 700 West St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, $24 million Middleburg Heights fa- Health customer right now, know- Cleveland, OH 44113-1230. Copyright © 2015 by Crain Communications Inc. Periodicals postage paid at Cleveland, Ohio, and at MetroHealth, however, appears cility. ing that we’re there is going to be additional mailing offices. Price per copy: $2.00. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Crain’s Cleveland Business, Circula- satisfied with its modest Crocker The facility, slated to open some- tion Department, 1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, Michigan 48207-2912. 1-877-824-9373. REPRINT INFORMATION: 212-210-0750 really good for us,” said Elizabeth Park location, at least for the mo- Subscriptions: In Ohio: 1 year - $64, 2 year - $110. Outside Ohio: 1 year - $110, 2 year - $195. Single copy, $2.00. Allow 4 weeks for change of address. time in late summer 2016, is expect- Allen, MetroHealth’s vice presi- For subscription information and delivery concerns send correspondence to Audience Development Department, Crain’s Cleveland Business, 1155 Gratiot ment. Lewis said the health system ed to include an emergency depart- dent of marketing and communi- Avenue, Detroit, Michigan, 48207-9911, or email to [email protected], or call 877-824-9373 (in the U.S. and Canada) or (313) 446-0450 (all other locations), or fax 313-446-6777. is going to reassess at this point ment, ambulatory surgery center, cations. 20150406-NEWS--5-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 4/3/2015 2:15 PM Page 1

APRIL 6 - 12, 2015 WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS 5 Fox Sports Ohio, SportsTime Ohio find new home Networks will be in one facility for first time after selecting 200 Public Square as future headquarters

By KEVIN KLEPS tion of SportsTime Ohio, one of his its headquarters on South Hills the Indians and Cavaliers. Being in HERE AND THERE [email protected] early missions was to get the two Boulevard in Broadview Heights, close proximity to them is good for networks under one roof and get and the network will be bringing its us.” Where they’re at Fox Sports paid a reported $230 them to downtown Cleveland. partner — SportsTime Ohio, which It’s also pretty darn favorable for ■ Fox Sports Ohio: 9200 South million for SportsTime Ohio late in That will become a reality later has been relying on WKYC-TV, Harbor Group, 200 Public Square’s Hills Boulevard, Suite 200, 2012, and the programming power this year, when Fox Sports Ohio Channel 3’s Lakeside Avenue pro- Norfolk, Va.-based owner. Broadview Heights with a vast collection of regional and SportsTime Ohio move into the duction space and talent for the last When the TV networks move in ■ SportsTime Ohio: At WKYC’s sports networks is shelling out al- former BP Tower building at 200 10 years — along for the ride. later this year, the building with headquarters, 1333 Lakeside most $70 million annually in rights Public Square. The networks will “We have two networks, but one more than 1.2 million square feet of Avenue East, Cleveland fees to the Cleveland Indians and lease a combined 23,000 square management team,” McGillicuddy office space will be at about 85% Where they’re going Cavaliers. feet of space on the second and 25th said. “So this move is providing us occupancy, said Brian A. Hurtuk, ■ 200 Public Square: The Thus, when Francois McGillicud- floors of the 45-story building that the opportunity to consolidate into managing director of Colliers Inter- networks will lease space on the dy was hired as Fox Sports Ohio’s is the third-tallest in the city at 658 one production facility and office. national’s Cleveland leasing team. second and 25th floors general manager and senior vice feet. People might ask, ‘Why down- In the last year, 200 Public Square president 10 days after the acquisi- Fox Sports Ohio will be leaving town?’ Our core is centered around See FOX SPORTS, page 23 Launching a different biz focus Shaker Heights-based program will now be aimed at helping high school entrepreneurs

By CHUCK SODER [email protected]

LaunchHouse has run its last startup accelerator program — for adults. Its new focus: Teach kids how to start companies and think like entre- preneurs. LaunchHouse aims to expand its annual accelerator program for high school students and other educa- tional programs that make up what is being called the LaunchHouse In- stitute. But it won’t bring back the LaunchHouse Accelerator, a four- month-long entrepreneurial boot

CODY YORK camp designed to help new compa- If legislation is approved by the state, bar or restaurant patrons would be allowed to carry a beer or glass from one place to another in designated areas. Busy nies, usually software or Internet re- areas in big cities, such as East Fourth Street in Cleveland, would be the likeliest targets for such a designation. lated businesses, get off the ground as quickly as possible. Why the change? LaunchHouse, which will contin- ue to rent out desks and offices to startups at its brightly colored head- quarters in Shaker Heights, could have continued the accelerator pro- BILL BRINGS HOT DEBATE gram, according to CEO Todd Gold- stein. He said they had the option to City doesn’t seem quick to accept possibility of open containers being OK in designated areas receive state funding that would’ve helped them finance another class. By JAY MILLER ages as they hop from bar to public tians who are calling it a way to pro- amendment may make it more at- But Goldstein argues that Greater [email protected] street or park to bar. mote tourism and economic devel- tractive here. Cleveland doesn’t need the program The legislation, if passed by the opment. “I don’t know which of the as much as it used to. Today, local The Ohio General Assembly is House and Senate and approved by In particular, they’re urging neighborhoods I represent would entrepreneurs can receive assistance considering legislation that would Gov. John Kasich, would allow bar quick passage so that imbibing advocate for this legislation,” said from a long list of organizations that allow cities to create “outdoor re- or restaurant patrons to carry a baseball fans who come to Cincin- Cleveland Councilman Joe Cimper- didn’t exist in 2008, when Launch- freshment areas.” beer or glass from one place to an- nati for this year’s All-Star Game in man dismissively. “I hear some House started informally mentoring While the term might conjure up other within designated half- July will be able to move around an people in the ’burbs say how great and investing in startups. Plus, two images of sunshine and shade trees square-mile areas. It would limit area called The Banks. The 18-acre it would be, and I say to them, similar accelerators, Bizdom Cleve- to some, for others it brings back un- the number of districts per city, development along the Ohio River ‘You’re welcome to consider it.’ ” land and Flashstarts, started training pleasant memories of a rowdy Flats with larger cities like Cleveland able is between Great American Ball Cimperman’s Third Ward in- their own startup companies a few on a sweltering Saturday night. to have two or perhaps three dis- Park, where the All-Star Game is be- cludes parts of downtown, Ohio years ago — right around the time That’s why Cleveland is not tricts and smaller cities allowed ing held, and Paul Brown Stadium, City and Tremont, and he remem- that LaunchHouse formalized its ac- jumping in as eagerly as officials in fewer. home of the Bengals. bers how flagrant outdoor drinking celerator program. Cincinnati and elsewhere to sup- One version of the bill passed the helped bring the once-thriving “The whole ecosystem in North- port legislation that would exempt House 81-11 on March 26. Senate Flats East Bank entertainment area east Ohio has really grown up,” people from the state law that for- Bill 95, a similar bill, is still under Not raising a glass to the idea crashing down. Goldstein said, adding that Launch- bids them from carrying around consideration. The idea is less captivating in Michael Deemer, vice president House still has the ability to invest in open containers of alcoholic bever- It’s being pushed by Cincinna- Cleveland, though a potential See DEBATE, page 26 See LAUNCHING, page 25 20150406-NEWS--6-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 4/3/2015 2:15 PM Page 1

6 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM APRIL 6 - 12, 2015

Offi ce Space For Lease - US Bank Centre Financial executive trusts Located in the Heart of Playhouse Square

• Dramatic 2-Story Lobby • Attached Parking Garage that he’s here for a reason • Convenient Access to all Major Highways Head administrator for nonprofit survived catastrophic auto • Located on Public Transportation Lines accident 40 years ago, now helps individuals with disabilities • 24 Hr Security & Access By JEREMY NOBILE • Full-Service Restaurant & Café [email protected] • Convenience Store For Kemper Arnold, every morn- • 74-Seat Amphitheater & ing is a gift. Conference Rooms Forty years ago, Arnold, a self-de- scribed invincible 24-year-old, was • Mens & Womens Locker Rooms pronounced dead following a cata- and Showers strophic car accident. He awoke weeks later from a 1350 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH coma. Months of recovery followed. Doctors told him he’d never walk For further information, please contact: again — a devastating prognosis for Gregory B. West David Horowitz 216.861.5379 216.861.5931 an accomplished football and rug- HannaCRE.com by player and diver. But today, Arnold, 65, a principal at Vantage Financial Services in In- dependence, channels his personal story of pain and perseverance dai- ly as he administers one of the largest pooled special needs trusts in Ohio and the entire country. “I’m no different than anybody WANT HAPPIER EMPLOYEES? else. I’ve just had some life experi- Cuyahoga & ences that not only challenged me, Lorain County Offer credit union membership but gave me a different perspec- companies: in your benefits package. tive,” Arnold said. “Like Tim Mc- Graw said, I hope you have the op- portunity to live like you were dying. And that’s how I approach life.”

Little things mean a lot Kemper is the head administra- tor for the nonprofit Community Fund Management Foundation, which is based in Strongsville. The foundation was created in It’s easy…call Jill at 440-892-6880 x231 1993 to develop and make available Free online and mobile banking and bill paysNationwide surcharge free several types of trusts, educational ATM networksLow fees/Super easy loans: mortgage, auto, signatures programs and other services for in- Direct deposit to employee accounts: employees receive pay one day early dividuals with disabilities, using private funds established in their MCKINLEY WILEY names for their benefit while pro- 30400 Detroit Road, Ste 101 586 Moore Road Kemper Arnold is a principal at Vantage Financial Services in Independence and Westlake, OH 44145 Avon Lake, OH 44012 tecting their accessibility to govern- the head administrator for the nonprofit Community Fund Management 440-892-6880 440-933-3181 mental programs like Supplemen- Federally Foundation. insured tal Security Income and Medicaid. lakeshoreccu.com facebook.com/lsccu by NCUA If a person receiving that assis- A person requests the release of alone. tance were left a sum of money funds from their trust for the use of So the foundation considered a greater than $1,500 by a deceased life-improving items government new protocol. Instead of working relative, for instance, that person assistance won’t cover, which could with the banks, what if different pri- would lose their governmental ben- be anything from a special, large- vate companies could provide a efits. Putting the money in the spe- button computer, a van with a lift to better service? cial-needs trust removes those dol- a large screen television. That’s when Vantage and Arnold lars from a person’s total assets, Ausprunk said some of the most entered the picture. protecting their eligibility for gov- common requests she sees are for “We just got tired of financial in- ernmental assistance. cable TV (to cover the bills) and stitutions. Every time a contract The purpose of the nonprofit pets. One individual asks for mon- came up, they’d want a heck of a lot group is to help pool trusts for dis- ey to buy candy and ribbons every more money,” Ausprunk said. “We abled people together, providing Christmas to give out to others as sought out Kemper because he was institutional management individ- gifts. one of the few interested in what we ually managed trusts would never “In their lives, these little things proposed.” otherwise see. can make a world of difference,” That proposition involved new Another benefit is collecting in- Ausprunk said. partners Equity Trust Co. of West- terest on the massive total sum of lake to serve as the trustee, Vantage all trusts combined together. The A new team as the third-party administrator group also educates families with and global investment firm Black- disabled individuals and bars of as- Up until 2014, the Community Rock Corp. The foundation itself sociation about the purpose of Fund Management Foundation acts as the trust adviser. All groups pooled trusts. partnered with large banks for trust began working together in January Today, the foundation has more management and advisory services, 2014. than 1,600 clients and $67 million which is a common standard with Working with three groups in- in managed assets, which is be- similar trusts in other states. It stead of one might intuitively seem lieved to position it as one of the worked with a couple banks, but like a step backward. But Ausprunk largest in the United States, said each charged high fees that ate well said the group provides services Karen Ausprunk, executive director into client’s dollars. Ausprunk said better than ever. Vantage’s fees are of the Community Fund Manage- the investments were predomi- at least one-third less than the ment Foundation. No single group nantly in mutual funds, providing banks’ were. Investments are grow- actually tracks the size of each and disappointing returns. At a large ing faster. And response times for every pooled special needs trust. bank, an individually managed the release of funds have been cut The average trust there is about trust at $25,000 would wither away down to five days. Working with the $25,000. in just a couple years from fees See EXECUTIVE, page 8 20150406-NEWS--7-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 4/3/2015 2:36 PM Page 1 20150406-NEWS--8-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 4/3/2015 2:45 PM Page 1

8 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM APRIL 6 - 12, 2015 EXECUTIVE OnShift moving into overdrive continued from page 6 banks, requests were often filled quarterly, and even emergency requests took undesirable Cleveland software company is landing larger clients, reeling in more employees amounts of time. “We do things efficiently and with complete By CHUCK SODER ones, he said. transparency,” Arnold said. “It’s how we were [email protected] In other words, the “teach a man to fish” able to garner the trust of the foundation.” strategy didn’t mean OnShift had a loyal Much of that Arnold attributes to a proprietary A few years ago, OnShift learned the hard customer for life. software system established by Vantage itself. way that you can’t rely on a fishing “The fisher people kept leaving,” Wood- “The reporting is improved. The communica- metaphor. ka said. “The person we taught to fish was tion is improved. They’re all extremely respon- But we’re going to use one anyway. gone.” sive to our needs,” said foundation chairman The Cleveland-based staff scheduling A few years ago, a pilot with a larger cus- Dick Dusterberg. “Our clients are very happy. software company has been going after big tomer didn’t go well for those reasons. Since We’re delighted with Kemper’s services.” fish lately. The kind that set records. then, OnShift has built a larger, more active “I never thought it could be this good. Every- At the end of 2014, OnShift reeled in a “customer success” team. It hired a new vice thing we hoped for conceptually has come to customer that runs 200 skilled nursing facil- president, Jim Rubadue, to lead that team at fruition,” Ausprunk said. “Today, a number of or- ities. It’s four times bigger than OnShift’s the end of 2013. Since then, the size of the ganizations are watching us who are having the next largest customer, said CEO Mark customer success team has increased by same problems with financial institutions.” Woodka, who would not name the new 65%, making it the largest department at On- client. Shift, which did not want to release more One step at a time Now OnShift — which focuses exclusive- specific data, for competitive reasons. ly on senior care facilities — is heading out Around that same time, OnShift also Arnold awoke in the hospital after a 45-day into deeper waters. The company should started providing consulting services to coma. His father was in the room. He recalls ask- Woodka land a few more customers in that same customers that wanted help using the soft- ing him for a beer at first, unaware of what had size range this year, Woodka said. A few years ago, the company thought it ware, managing overtime costs and hitting happened. To prepare for that growth, OnShift is could simply teach a handful of employees other goals related to staff scheduling. But Like anyone told their legs would never work staffing up now: It has hired more than 20 at any given facility how to use the software back then, customers who paid for those again, he became depressed. But while recover- people so far this year, mostly because of and circle back later, when it was time to re- services would get help for six or 12 months, ing in the hospital, observing others around him the projected growth. OnShift now employs new the contract. Woodka said. battle devastating injuries of their own. 90, and it’s looking to fill 11 more positions Just one problem: Turnover is high in the Customers didn’t want the services to “It’s that point my self-pity turned into caring,” now. senior care industry. The median annual end, Woodka said. So now OnShift offers Arnold said. Thus, the company needs more space. It turnover rate for U.S. skilled nursing facili- consulting services for the life of its con- Despite years of rehab and surgeries ahead of hasn’t yet signed any leases, but it has op- ties stood at 44% in 2012, according to the tracts. him, Arnold became empowered with motiva- tions on the 13th and 16th floors of the Keith most recent data from the American Health That higher level of service should help tion. A doctor’s prognosis he would never walk Building, which also houses Playhouse Care Association. By comparison, the OnShift win more big clients — clients who turned into a challenge. Square’s Connor Palace theater. OnShift al- turnover rate for the entire U.S. labor force “know why deployments fail,” Woodka “I was driven to prove them wrong,” he said. ready fills the 14th and 15th floors, about stood at 37.3% that year (though it has since said. He left the hospital in a wheelchair. Before long 23,000 square feet in total. gone up to nearly 40%), according to feder- Of course, OnShift has only won one of he was standing and using a walker. Then a cane. “Our pipeline of big deals is really, really al statistics. those big clients so far. Judging by its sales Eventually, all he needed was his own two feet. strong right now. Stronger than it’s ever Turnover also is high among hourly em- pipeline, however, Woodka said he believes “I’ve had successful legal and financial services been,” Woodka said. ployees who regularly use OnShift’s soft- the company can grow even faster than it practices, but there has to be something more Why? Though OnShift has grown rapidly ware — which is designed to help facilities has grown in the past. That’s also why On- than just collecting a paycheck,” Arnold said. over the years — it serves about 2,000 senior make sure they have enough employees on Shift’s board gave him the go-ahead to staff “This is the stuff I enjoy doing now. It’s part of my care facilities today, up from 1,100 in Feb- staff to meet the needs of residents, without up before those sales are on the books, calling to be a life planner for these families.” ruary 2014 and 500 in February 2012 — the racking up overtime, Woodka said. Some- Woodka said. “I have compassion for anyone with limita- company had been hesitant to go after par- times multiple people trained by OnShift “They’re basically saying, ‘The business tions because I was there,” he said. “I walked in ticularly large customers because it had yet would leave in quick succession, making it it out there. Get aggressive. Go get it,’” he those shoes. And every day I wake up is a special to solve a nagging problem. hard for existing employees to train new said. day.”

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APRIL 6 - 12, 2015 WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS 9 Numbers lend optimism to credit unions’ rebound

By JEREMY NOBILE year — the highest membership nology, like service delivery meth- only become more stringent and to catch up because of an observed [email protected] levels in the state to date. ods that have been set on the back has the hardest impact on the reluctance by people to make sev- While larger credit unions are burner during the past several years smallest institutions. But positive eral big-ticket investments. Cars If it were a weather forecast, the poised for the most growth, Ham- and the preceding “belt-tighten- indicators like lending growth have were being driven longer. Home Ohio Educational Credit Union’s pel said, the brighter outlook in- ing” phase, Toy said. lightened the burden. upgrades became afterthoughts. two-year outlook in 2010 was stormy cludes credit unions of all sizes. Parma-based Unity Catholic “My outlook is positive,” But that’s finally turning around at best. The Ohio Educational Credit Credit Union, a smaller credit Straight-Schervish said. “I think the today. But today, said Tony Toy, director Union, a midsize institution with union with a restricted member- economy is getting better here in about $121 million in assets and a ship, about $70 million in assets Northeast Ohio, and I think we’re of business development for the Two steps forward Cleveland-based credit union, the loan-to-share ratio of about 78%, and a 52% loan-to-share ratio, saw seeing people with pent up de- clouds are parting, and the future is saw loans increase by 39% in 2014 loan growth of about 7% in 2014. mand for buying cars and home re- A growing balance sheet means looking brighter — even if there’s al- with a growing appetite for auto fi- That’s expected to exceed 10% this pairs, and they’re able to do that Unity Catholic Credit Union will be ways a lingering chance of rain. nancing. An indirect auto leasing year, said president and CEO Tam- now.” planning facility improvements in With the economy rebounding, program was just introduced there lyn Straight-Schervish. Hampel said the recent recession the coming years. The institution consumer confidence slowly return- last year. About five years ago, the credit had the worst impact on consumer has a physical presence in three ing in the form of increased loan de- Revenues have been stagnant in union “struggled” to say in busi- confidence since the Great Depres- counties but serves members mand and the Federal Reserve eye- recent years, but the lending surge ness. The struggle continues, par- sion. Although the economy has across eight counties in and around ing an interest hike for the first time is expected to lift that. New funds ticularly with the heavy burden of been steadily recovering for several Greater Cleveland. since the financial crisis struck, cred- likely will be invested in new tech- regulatory compliance expected to years, loan demand has been slow See CREDIT UNIONS, page 14 it unions are seeing balance sheets improve after years of ailing revenue growth. And for most institutions, that’s expected to translate to investments upgrading facilities and services that have been put off since the econom- ic downturn due to lagging revenues and the rising costs of regulatory compliance. “We have seen profitability come back, and we project continuing moving forward, and a lot of that has to do with the economy improving,” It pays to tend Toy said. “Folks are feeling a little more comfortable making some larger purchases they maybe didn’t feel previously.” That consumer comfort is appar- to your fl ock. ent, said Bill Hampel, chief policy of- ficer and chief economist for the nonprofit Credit Union National As- sociation. The annual rate of credit union lending growth now is about 11%, he said, a level not seen since the mid 2000s. Over the past 5 years, employee And the pace is forecast to accel- out-of-pocket expenses have erate. “We are expecting loan growth risen nearly 40%1. rates now that are about as high as they’ve been for the last 20 years,” he said. According to Callahan and Associ- ates, a Washington, D.C.-based Afl ac can help protect your employees with agency that provides research and cash to cover their bills in the event of a covered analytics for credit unions, a record sickness or injury. And now they can get their $355 billion in loans were issued by credit unions in 2014, led largely by claims paid within a day when they submit using auto and first mortgage loans and SmartClaim®2. credit cards. The trend is mirrored in Ohio. Ac- Small businesses like how easy it is to add cording to data from the Ohio Cred- it Union League, credit unions, voluntary coverage to their benefi ts at no which today comprise an estimated direct cost. Especially when it is from Afl ac, 57 institutions in Greater Cleveland, the number one provider of worksite/voluntary are not only seeing demand grow, 3 they’re also diversifying their lending insurance sales for 13 consecutive years . Afl ac portfolios more than ever. may even be a pre-tax deduction, so when we Every major loan category grew say it pays to tend to your fl ock, it just might. for Ohio credit unions, according to data from the Ohio Credit Union League, led by 19% growth in new Call your local agent and visit auto loans and 7% in used auto afl ac.com/smallbiz loans. Loans outstanding increased by 7.4%, while loan interest income increased by 2.2% “Today, there’s an awful lot of op- timism that despite headwinds cred- it unions face, they’re still well capi- talized, and we think the cooperative model brings a unique opportunity into the marketplace, and we’re see- ing a strong response to that in terms of membership growth,” said Paul Mercer, president and CEO of the Ohio Credit Union League.

12014 Employer Health Benefi ts Survey, The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, September 10, 2014. 2One Day PaySM is available for most properly documented, individual claims submitted online through Membership has privileges Afl ac SmartClaim® by 3 PM ET. Afl ac SmartClaim® not available on the following: Short Term Disability (excluding Accident and Sickness Riders), Life, Vision, Dental, Medicare Supplement, Long Term Care/ Home Health Care, Afl ac Plus Rider and Group policies. Individual Company Statistic, 2015. 3Eastbridge Consulting Group, U.S. Worksite/Voluntary Sales Report. Carrier Results for 2002-2014. Avon, CT. More members means more Coverage is underwritten by American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus. In New York, coverage is underwritten by American Family Life Assurance Company of New York. loans and more deposits. There are Z150001 Worldwide Headquarters | 1932 Wynnton Road | Columbus, GA 31999 1/15 about 2.8 million credit union cus- tomers in Ohio today, and that num- ber is expected to top 3 million this 20150406-NEWS--10-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 4/2/2015 4:01 PM Page 1

10 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM APRIL 6 - 12, 2015

PUBLISHER: John Campanelli ([email protected]) EDITOR: Elizabeth McIntyre ([email protected]) MANAGING EDITOR: Scott Suttell ([email protected]) OPINION Right fight There’s a new civil rights battle brewing in Indiana, and it should be a wake-up call for Ohio. Indiana has been under the hot glare of public scrutiny since March 26, when Gov. Mike Pence signed into law a piece of legislation described as a religious freedom bill that would allow individuals and businesses to deny services to people if doing so violates their religious beliefs. The backlash was immediate. Major companies condemned Indiana’s law for opening the door for businesses to discriminate against gays, lesbians, FROM THE PUBLISHER bisexuals and transgendered people. Corporations from NASCAR and the NCAA to Subaru and Delta Faucet decried the decision. And Angie’s List halted plans for a $40 million expansion of its Indianapolis Blending learning and technology headquarters in the aftermath of the bill’s passage. Unlike Indiana, Ohio doesn’t have a so-called If two or three hall-of-fame business in any meaningful way.” by the side.” Students learn individually religious freedom law. We do, though, share leaders copy-and-pasted their accom- A year ago, Briggs became president on computers or tablets. Their lessons plishments into a single document, and CEO of the Northeast Ohio Council are personalized and paced based on something in common with our neighbor to the you’d have Rob Briggs’ résumé: Air Force on Higher Education, or NOCHE. Under their knowledge and performance. Feed- west. Both Ohio and Indiana — along with 27 other veteran, longtime CEO at his leadership, the organiza- back and test results are immediate. states — do not explicitly ban discrimination based Buckingham Doolittle & Bur- tion has begun focusing on a Teachers remain crucial as they monitor on sexual orientation or gender identity. That means roughs, co-founder of the completely different way of students’ progress and provide one-on- as an LGBT person, it is possible that you can be Fund for Our Economic Fu- educating kids, one that might one assistance and guidance. fired or denied a job in Ohio. And unlike those ture, president of the GAR finally solve that attainment If done right, the hybrid system allows discriminated against based on race or age, you Foundation, chair of the problem. It’s called personal- children to learn in interesting, com- wouldn’t have the law to protect you. Knight Foundation, 40-or-so ized blended learning, and pelling — even fun — ways. The curricu- That’s where Ohio’s civil rights battle should be board affiliations, scores of Briggs speaks about it with lum changes as the students learn. It is awards and at least two hon- contagious excitement. truly a personalized education. waged. It’s time for the state to enact statewide orary doctorate degrees. “There’s no silver bullet,” Several schools districts in Ohio, in- nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people by Briggs is 73. You’d think he says, “but it’s as close as cluding Mentor and Reynoldsburg, are adding sexual orientation and gender identity as he’d be itching to fill his calen- JOHN you can get.” ramping up blended learning programs. protected classes under its civil rights laws. dar with tee times, travel and Technology has revolution- Using a $300,000 challenge grant from We are not alone in espousing this viewpoint. We interesting books. Instead, CAMPANELLI ized almost every part of the the Fred A. Lennon Charitable Trust and recently joined other Ohio businesses — including he’s acting like he’s 33 — and world, except education. Stu- matching donations, Briggs is working to Eaton, Huntington Bank, Sherwin Williams and taking on a monumental new mission. dents, for the most part, still sit in class- create a blending learning program in Squire Patton Boggs, as part of the Ohio Competitive The way he sees it, one common rooms with a teacher standing up front, the Breakthrough Schools in Cleveland thread is woven into every problem in just as their great-great grandparents did Workforce Coalition — in calling for Ohio to — a “test case,” he calls it. society, from crime to poverty to the dig- a hundred years ago. It’s what Briggs Within three years, Briggs believes modernize its nondiscrimination laws. ital divide: the lack of educational attain- calls the “factory model” of education. he’ll be able to show Northeast Ohio the The majority of Ohio businesses favor federal and ment. Increasing and improving the ed- Students are taught at the pace and lev- same incredible results that educators state laws protecting gay and transgender people in ucation of our children should be the top el of the average student. around the world are seeing. When that the workplace, according to a 2013 poll done by the goal of our region, Briggs says. It’s a one-size-fits-all system for mil- happens, other school districts will have Small Business Majority. In fact, 57% of small busi- He sees local business groups, cham- lions of students who learn in a million no choice but to climb aboard, too. ness owners believe that laws protecting against dis- bers and economic development organi- different ways. The result? crimination “improve a business’s bottom line by zations talking about growth and jobs Blended learning mixes technology “It would give us, as a region, an eco- attracting the best and brightest employees, regard- and opportunity but not much about ed- with the traditional. Students are still in nomically competitive position com- ucation. classrooms, and teachers are still leading pared to our competition around the less of whether an employee is gay or transgender.” “Nobody’s focused on it,” he com- them. But instead of being the “sage on world,” he says. “The ramifications are If the issue of basic fairness doesn’t persuade, the plains. “They don’t talk about education the stage,” the teacher is now the “guide huge.” bottom-line argument should. If we as a state want to attract the best and brightest to live and work here, we need to make it a welcoming place. That doesn’t just mean a place where discrimination doesn’t happen, it means a place where people are TALK ON THE WEB protected in advance. Plexus, the chamber of Re: Intensa mixed-use all the other great places in University rent highly depressed condition? Or do commerce for the LGBT community, told us of a project planned Circle. the car sales remain hot and fill the void? young professional who moved to Cleveland for a — James Shellenburger Given that so much of the devastation big-firm job after working in San Francisco, Paris The development in University Circle was related to Americans’ largest loan, and New York City. But once he and his partner were has been wonderful to watch through Re: Auto sales picking up the home, I am betting against the auto expecting a child, they moved back to New York the years. recovery. — Jak because of the uncertainty created by Ohio’s lack of However, traveling there is a night- The big question is, will the auto pop- ulation recover or not? anti-discrimination laws for the LGBT community. mare, especially if you happen to hit the Re: Credit union lawsuit morning or evening rush. The timing of I read that post-2008, auto sales are The best and the brightest come in all colors, targets Skoda Minotto the traffic lights is terrible. I believe it is down some 5 million. Today, in 2015, the shapes, sizes — and, yes, sexual orientations. It’s meant to slow people down, but instead average age of the car on the road is still When two people in management are harder to recruit and retain talent when you fail to causes huge bottlenecks! — 185177 at an all-time high. Thus it will take complicit, it is extremely difficult to de- protect a class of people. many months of hot sales to fill the pri- tect fraud under an annual audit. As Apple CEO Tim Cook said recently in an op-ed Congratulations to Intensa and all the or void. Information provided to the audit firm in the Washington Post, “America’s business people involved. Let’s get this going. Recessions have been happening like is the responsibility of management as community recognized a long time ago that This will be a great addition to Univer- clockwork on eight-year periods. Well stated in a Representation Letter. Audi- discrimination, in all its forms, is bad for business.” sity Circle. What a great location next to here we are almost at 2016. Does the tors can be lied to. I bet it happens all the Little Italy and the new RTA station and economy take another dive from its cur- time. — Guest 20150406-NEWS--11-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 4/2/2015 2:35 PM Page 1

APRIL 6 - 12, 2015 WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS 11 PERSONAL VIEW Join the (Wi-Fi) network revolution

By CATHERINE BULES from analog to digital in the emerg- Bules directs OneCommunity’s and LEV GONICK ing Internet-connected device Internet of Things project work, economy, the next decade will rep- PROCEEDS TO BENEFIT THE AMERICAN CANCER and Gonick is the nonprofit’s In April 1994, Crain’s Cleveland resent the most exciting business SOCIETY RELAY FOR LIFE OF HILLCREST CEO. The first RIoT is scheduled Business interviewed Cleveland opportunity in the past century. for April 7 at the Global Center network pioneer Tom Grudner, the Much of the region’s $200 billion for Health Innovation. founder of Cleveland FreeNet and economy, employment and wealth the National Public Telecomputing comes from the unconnected econ- Network. tunately, too many bet that this was omy. Ten years from now, the world 4.10.15 “Internet primarily has been another passing tech bubble. And will divide into those regions who Friday used by scientists, researchers and when Cisco bought Aironet, there embraced and designed cluster REGISTRATION - 5:45 P.M. 5K RUN/WALK - 7:00 P.M. students,” Grudner said. “Business was relatively little upstream or strategies informed by a connected use has been limited. downstream value added to the re- economy DNA and those that do NORTH CHAGRIN RESERVATION ADULT $30 “This is not going away,” he con- gion’s tech economy. not. 300 N. COMMONS BLVD. CHILD $25 tinued. “We’re looking at a whole But the revolution has just be- We are world leaders in analog MAYFIELD VILLAGE, OH 44143 PRICE new generation who will take this to gun. The Internet begot the web. devices, controls, sensors and oth- WHERE the next level once they get out into The web begot Wi-Fi. er physically manufactured the business world.” These are still early decades in a “things.” Now is our moment. By May 1999, Oracle CEO Larry transformation of historic propor- By 2020, we will see that compa- Ellison was reinventing his data- tion. nies like Uber were among the first base company because, as he said, In a tradition worth reforming, native IoT economic giants. Already “the Internet changes everything.” Northeast Ohio has largely taken a we can see that cars are connected Much of the business community pass on the first two core technolo- to our smartphones, and the soft- REGISTER AT ELKANDELK.COM/GLOW4GOAL in Northeast Ohio chose to sit this gies of the digital age. ware mediating the experience cre- one out and bet that the World A third opportunity stands right ates a highly efficient economy. Wide Web was just one of those in front of us. Connected home-based health overhyped passing fads. Somewhere around 2009, for the will eclipse the clinical model mea- When the Peter B. Lewis Building first time in human history, there sured both by economic value and at the Weatherhead School of Man- were more devices connected to the measurements of health outcomes. agement opened in 2002, it was the Internet than people on the globe. Smart city technology platforms Business Succession Planning Series first academic building at Case By 2010, the globe’s 6.8 billion peo- will transform our daily experi- Western Reserve University to de- ple had about 12.5 billion connect- ences. Preparing ploy pervasive Wi-Fi connectivity, a ed devices. By 2020, streetlights will become t
Valuation relatively new technology that sup- Many of these devices were no fully integrated connected vertical Your Business t
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.BOBHFNFOU The project was featured in ets. Today, our homes, cars, work- ly known as streetlights will pro- NBUUFST Crain’s, The New York Times and on places, sporting venues, manufac- duce smart luminance, self-moni- for Sale CNN. turing facilities, and our cities, toring its own operational Early evangelists like Frank San- parks and lakes are all enabled by condition, and even measure the Wednesday, April 22, 2015 da of Japan Communications sensors, amplifiers and controls amount of snow on the ground be- Noon to 1:00 p.m. quipped that “God meant us to be connected to the Internet. low. wireless. The last cord we were con- We are calling this rapidly emerg- There is a growing coalition McDonald Hopkins LLC nected to was cut at birth.” Howev- ing eco-system the Internet of emerging on a regional IoT eco-sys- Fifth Third Center, 600 Superior Ave., East, Suite 2100, Downtown Cleveland er, more typical, was a briefing note Things (IoT). tem. from Forrester Research that stated By 2020, there are projections OneCommunity, the region’s Register at mcdonaldhopkins.com or call: 216.348.5400. that “although the widespread that suggest that there will be more leading fiber optic infrastructure availability of systems coming from than 40 devices connected to the provider, is committed to partner- familiar suppliers is at least five Internet for every person on the ing in convening and assisting the years off … the multi-network fu- globe. region in Realizing the Internet of ture is a must for enterprises look- Experts at Morgan Stanley be- Things. ing to realize returns on IT invest- lieve that this next phase of the rev- We call this the movement for a ments happening now and during olution may bring as much as $14 RIoT. The RIoT is a strategy to posi- McDonald Hopkins LLC the next five years.” trillion worth of value over the next tion Northeast Ohio for a design- 
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#FBDI commercialization of Wi-Fi was de- things. Always have. If we are pre- of the network revolution. mcdonaldhopkins.com veloped in Northeast Ohio. Unfor- pared to embrace the transition Please join us.

700 W. St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, Cleveland, OH 44113-1230 Phone: (216) 522-1383, Fax: (216) 694-4264, www.crainscleveland.com

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12 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM APRIL 6 - 12, 2015 TAX LIENS

The Internal Revenue Service filed tax Garfield Heights Type: Failure to file complete return Amount: $24,895 Date filed: March 13, 2015 liens against the following businesses ID: 20-8667298 Amount: $53,620 Type: Employer’s withholding LANIER & ASSOCIATES INC. in the Cuyahoga County Recorder’s Date filed: March 9, 2015 Amount: $14,147 POINT OF CARE PERFUSION LLC CLEVELAND BLACK PAGES Office. The IRS files a tax lien to Type: Employer’s withholding 19691 Lake Shore Blvd., Euclid 1814 E. 40 St., Cleveland MCKNIGHT & ASSOCIATES LTD. protect the interests of the federal Amount: $65,233 government. The lien is a public ID: 20-8273749 ID: 34-1696704 812 Huron Road E., Suite 421, notice to creditors that the NW MANAGEMENT INC. Date filed: March 6, 2015 Date filed: March 13, 2015 Cleveland government has a claim against a 5500 Walworth Ave., Cleveland Type: Employer’s withholding Type: Employer’s withholding ID: 30-0687506 company’s property. Liens reported ID: 27-2988639 Amount: $49,909 Amount: $20,306 Date filed: March 6, 2015 Date filed: March 13, 2015 Type: Employer’s withholding here are $5,000 and higher. Dates MERCHANTS TARR FINANCIAL SERVICES INC. Type: Employer’s withholding, Amount: $14,030 listed are the dates the documents TOWEL SERVICE CO. TARR ACCOUNTING & TAX SERVICE corporate income were filed in the Recorder’s Office. 10629 Berea Road, Cleveland 14327 Madison Ave., Lakewood M B ROACH INC. Amount: $63,333 ID: 34-0396620 ID: 34-1821159 6561 State Road, Parma LIENS FILED OHIO MILLS CORP. Date filed: March 9, 2015 Date filed: March 13, 2015 ID: 76-0719624 OHIO MILL SUPPLY Type: Employer’s withholding, Type: NA Date filed: March 13, 2015 SPECTRUM HOME 1719 E. 39 St., Cleveland unemployment, civil penalty Amount: $20,000 Type: Employer’s withholding, HEALTH CARE LLC ID: 34-1834555 assessment corporate income LAKE LAND EMPLOYMENT 12395 McCracken Road, Date filed: March 9, 2015 Amount: $45,198 Amount: $10,263 GROUP OF CLEVELAND LLC LAKEWOOD PHOENIX INC. P.O. Box 93446, Cleveland LANIER & ASSOCIATES INC. PHOENIX COFFEE ID: 34-1931042 CLEVELAND BLACK PAGES 15118 Detroit Ave., Lakewood Date filed: March 6, 2015 1814 E. 40 St., Cleveland ID: 34-1792124 Type: Employer’s withholding ID: 34-1696704 “The New” Date filed: March 6, 2015 Amount: $19,870 Date filed: March 9, 2015 Type: Employer’s withholding PRIMARY ROOFING INC. Type: Employer’s withholding Amount: $35,732 8189 Chestnut Blvd., Amount: $9,435 POST PAINTING INC. Broadview Heights KIDSMOBILE INC. 24816 Aurora Road, ID: 30-0658857 26314 Center Ridge Road, Bedford Heights Date filed: March 9, 2015 Westlake ID: 34-1700614 Type: Employer’s withholding ID: 34-1709825 Date filed: March 6, 2015 Amount: $16,200 Date filed: March 13, 2015 Type: Employer’s withholding BRANDON INTERIORS Type: Employer’s withholding, Amount: $30,986 4388 Adrian Road, South Euclid unemployment Amount: $9,371 MINOR CREATIONS ID: 46-3327987 LISTING OR BUYING, COLDWELL BANKER IS CREATIVE LEARNING Date filed: March 6, 2015 LINDSAY SOUL CUISINE INC. 5210 Northfield Road, Type: Employer’s withholding 16906 Harvard Ave., Cleveland AMERICA’S LEADING REAL ESTATE BROKER. Maple Heights Amount: $15,336 ID: 45-1183828 ID: 05-0566455 WONDER GRO INC. Date filed: March 9, 2015 Date filed: March 6, 2015 26041 Cannon Road, Bedford Type: Employer’s withholding, Type: Unemployment, corporate Heights unemployment income, civil penalty assessment ID: 34-1761991 Amount: $8,547 Amount: $26,256 Date filed: March 9, 2015 SJT ENTERPRISES INC. Type: Employer’s withholding, MARBLE BUILDER DIRECT 28045 Ranney Parkeay, Suite L, unemployment, corporate income 4100 Brookpark Road, Cleveland Westlake www.CBHunter.com Amount: $14,206 ID: 13-4303859 ID: 34-1638133 Now member of Coldwell Banker Schmidt Family of Companies Date filed: March 9, 2015 UNITED TOWING SERVICES INC. Date filed: March 9, 2015 www.SchmidtFamilyofCompanies.com Type: Unemployment, 3929 Superior Ave. E., Cleveland Type: Unemployment corporate income ID: 34-1873545 Amount: $8,145

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APRIL 6 - 12, 2015 WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS 13

GOING PLACES Send information for Going Places to [email protected] director of advancement. Swango to insurance coordinator; JOB CHANGES UNITED WAY OF SUMMIT David Rentz to credentialing BOARDS COUNTY: Sarah McBryer to vice specialist; Jessica Pavlik and EDUCATION president, major gifts. Stephanie Hasman to account care BENJAMIN ROSE INSTITUTE ON specialists; Bob Aber to vice AGING: Elizabeth F. Stueber to OBERLIN CONSERVATORY OF REAL ESTATE president, operations and strategic chair; Emily A. Drake to vice chair; MUSIC: Stephen Hartke to initiatives. Nancy A. Adams to past chair; professor of composition. BASS OHIO REAL ESTATE: Hilda Frigic, Ray Kleem and Traci Hermine Krasny to treasurer; Marcia J. Wexberg to secretary. Hartke Costantini CONSTRUCTION Maurer to sales associates. STAFFING MARCUS & MILLICHAP: Dan CHANDLER GROUP: GILBANE BUILDING CO.: Jessica Burkons to first vice president, Martin P. Hauser to partner. Henderson to marketing assistant. AWARDS investments. CONSULTING TECHNOLOGY YWCA GREATER CLEVELAND: SERVICE Julie Boland (Ernst & Young LLP); CENTRIC CONSULTING: Susan OECONNECTION: Ike Herman to FIVE LAKES PROFESSIONAL vice president, supply chain; Bill Linda Bradley, M.D., (Cleveland Paterson to manager, project SERVICES: Ashley Carnes, Jen Lopez to vice president, collision and Clinic); Trina Evans (KeyBank); Sally manager; Colin Skopinski to Nagy and Kim Helm to account OEM programs; Kyle Chesney to Wertheim (John Carroll University); technical architect, developer; representatives; Noel Kelly to sales vice president, account development; Sonali Bustamante Wilson Genevieve Afech to senior coordinator; Kayla Gholson to level John Palazzo to vice president, (Cleveland State University) received consultant, business analyst; Andrew Marblestone Kean II insurance coordinator; Cassie national accounts. 2015 Woman of Achievement Awards. Farmer to consultant, business anlayst. FINANCIAL SERVICE BOBER MARKEY FEDOROVICH: THE 3D PRINTING REVOLUTION Karen J. Costantini to senior manager, taxation services. CASCADE PARTNERS LLC: Ken Marblestone to managing director, Cleveland. WHAT EVERY BUSINESS VANTAGE FINANCIAL GROUP: Joseph Kean to chief compliance officer. MUST KNOW TODAY ABOUT FINANCE FIRST FEDERAL LAKEWOOD: Bruce Wenmoth to vice president, 3D PRINTING/ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING: business development and strategy, residential lending. HEALTH CARE METROHEALTH SYSTEM: MAY 6, 2015 Lourdes Negron-McDaniel to director, inclusion and diversity. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum SUMMA HEALTH SYSTEM: Valerie Gibson to chief operating Cleveland, Ohio officer. 1:00 p.m.: Registration INSURANCE OSWALD COS.: Mary Anthony to 4 HOURS OF 1:30 p.m.: Program senior property loss control 5:45 p.m.: Cocktails, networking, optional Museum touring consultant; Sarah Kennedy and CLE CREDIT Jacob Madigan to client service PENDING This half-day seminar will alert you to 3D Printing technology’s administrators; Janet Lukacs to senior client executive; Frederick APPROVAL game-changing opportunities and challenges: Daniel McLaughlin to sales • New, complex products manufactured in one build with less executive; Renee Rus Newman to HR generalist, payroll and benefits waste by-product specialist; James Unger to product • Increased supply chain efficiency, global digital factories design specialist. • Labor markets transformed LEGAL REGISTRATION • Manufacture over the Internet and print to order PORTER WRIGHT MORRIS • Print at home, sell/share over the Internet & ARTHUR LLP: Stephanie Duffy To register, please contact to partner. MEGAN PAJAKOWSKI at • Intellectual property and product liability issues MANUFACTURING [email protected]. • Challenges for spare parts businesses PMI INDUSTRIES INC.: Sean Berry to account manager, technical sales. On October 1, 1982, Billy Joel’s 52nd Street was the first commercially-released CD POLYONE CORP.: Scott J. Leffler We will be holding a webinar album. Beginning in June 1999, Napster allowed people to easily share MP3 files with to vice president, treasurer. to introduce and preview this topic each other. Digitization profoundly changed the music industry. Now digitization is MARKETING April 28, 2015 changing the way we make and sell almost everything else. To paraphrase Robert KARCHER GROUP: Jeff Palmer 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Johnson, we’re standing at the crossroads. to online marketing strategist. Please register at Speakers will include: MEDIA www.crainscleveland.com/webinars. NORTHEAST OHIO MEDIA GROUP: MARK AVSEC JENNIFER LAWTON Brandon Tidd to digital sales Vice-Chair of the Innovations, Information CEO of MakerBot, the manufacturer of the leading specialist. Technology and Intellectual Property Group desktop 3D printer of Benesch NONPROFIT BRETT CONNER JUMPSTART INC.: Tobin R. PETER MENELL Associate Professor of Mechanical & Industrial Buckner to entrepreneurial Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Berkeley Engineering and Director of the Advanced community manager, Akron. Center for Law & Technology Manufacturing Workforce Initiatives at NEW AVENUES TO Youngstown State University INDEPENDENCE: Lauren Burdett JOHN CHEEK to career transition liaison. www.beneschlaw.com Senior Corporate Counsel/IP of Caterpillar Inc. SALVATION ARMY OF GREATER CLEVELAND: Erin Lang-Jerro to 20150406-NEWS--14-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 4/2/2015 3:43 PM Page 1

14 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM APRIL 6 - 12, 2015 At Home opening first store in NEO

By STAN BULLARD ble competition in the region, but [email protected] not near Sheffield Village. HomeGoods, a unit of Framing- At Home, a home décor retailer ham, Mass.-based TJX Cos. Inc., al- new to Northeast Ohio, plans to ready operates five locations in open a large-format store this Northeast Ohio, including a combi- spring at Cobblestone Square shop- nation store with a T.J. Maxx loca- ping center in Sheffield Village in tion in North Olmsted. The nearest Lorain County. full-sized 25,000-square-foot Home- Plano, Texas-based At Home Goods stores are on the other side of stores stock some 50,000 items such town, in Aurora, Fairlawn and Men- as seasonal decor, home furnish- tor. Multiple discount-oriented re- ings, wall art, decorative accents, tailers also sell various items that rugs and house wares. The self-de- CONTRIBUTED PHOTO compete with Home Goods. scribed “superstores” employ 25 At Home’s first Northeast Ohio location Sales of home accessories have people and use an everyday low will be at Cobblestone Square in been increasing since 2011 as home pricing model, according to its Sheffield Village. sales and construction started re- website. covering from the housing bust. At Home plans to open the Sheffield Village Mayor John IBISWorld, a producer of busi- 125,000-square-foot store in May in Hunter is excited about the addi- ness intelligence forecasts, reports Sheffield Village, according to tional activity at the retail center. that U.S. spending at home furnish- Stacey Sullivan, the chain’s spokes- The new retailer will turn on the ing and décor stores rose 2.7% over woman. The store is larger than its lights at a former Super Kmart store the last five years and should grow typical 90,000-square-foot format, shut a decade ago. The space was at a stronger pace in the next five. she said. At Home has no plans at constructed in 2000 for a Super At Home operates 80 stores in 21 this time for additional Cleveland- Kmart that was shut in 2003. states, including four in Ohio. Its Akron locations, Sullivan said. The retailer already has formida- nearest existing store is in Toledo.

rain County last fall after Sun Cen- ter Federal Credit Union of La- CREDIT UNIONS Grange merged in, and Laurendeau JOIN US FOR continued from page 9 higher this year, said president and said other mergers are in negotia- A future strategy is opening addi- CEO Ben Laurendeau. tions. New revenue likely will be tional branches in areas outside Revenues there have been grow- used to bolster its latest branch lo- A NEW ERA Cuyahoga, Wayne and Medina ing slowly at about 2% to 4% since cation with facility upgrades as sev- counties. falling slightly in 2011. But the pace eral digital service methods for A Summit for employers and providers At its size, and with the costs of should pick up this year with lend- members are already being offered. to take action for smarter spending, regulations taking its toll, Straight- ing appetites growing among other The credit union wouldn’t have better care and healthier people. Schervish said the cooperative re- factors like an expected interest rate completed its recent merger, and Friday, April 17th mains open to mergers, though. hike. wouldn’t consider others as much, Firefighters Credit Union, one of “We were very optimistic, even if not for an improving outlook, 8 am – 4 pm the larger Cleveland credit unions during those (recession) years, but Laurendeau said, because of the as- Cuyahoga Community College with $232 million in assets and a we’re starting to gain some traction sociated overhead costs. Corporate College East growing loan-to-share ratio now at and positive energy,” Laurendeau “It’s one of those things where 90%, saw loan growth around 8% in said. you take one step back to take two 2014. And that level could be even Firefighters expanded into Lo- steps forward,” he said.

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APRIL 6 - 12, 2015 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS 15

Brad Nellis expects this year’s Tech Week, which runs from April 9 to 18, to attract roughly 4,000 to 5,000 participants — more than double the numbers logged in 2014. This will be the fifth year for the annual OHTec event, which includes the CIO of the Year program, held in partnership with Crain’s Cleveland Business. Nellis is director of OHTec, COSE’s Technology Network and an industry-led, industry-driven membership organization dedicated to furthering the growth and development of tech- nology-based businesses. The organization recently changed its name from NEOSA. Nominations for CIO of the Year are open to the top corpo- rate executive at any company, organization or wholly owned subsidiary based in Northeast Ohio who provides technology- related strategy and leadership. “Innovation and leadership are key traits we see through all the finalists and winners,” Nellis said. This year’s finalists were selected by an independent panel of judges made up of Jane Alexander, CIO, Cleveland Muse- um of Art; Mark Hogan, vice president of information technol- ogy, United Way of Greater Cleveland; Fred Franks, CIO, FIT Technologies; and Ron Kerensky, CIO, AVI Food Systems. Winners and finalists will be honored during an event from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on April 14 at LaCentre Conference & Banquet Facility in Westlake. In addition to the awards presentation, a discussion during the event moderated by Darin Haines, chief technology offi- cer, MCPc, will address the question: “How can CIOs push change?” Participating panelists will be Dr. Marco A. Costa, vice pres- ident and chief innovation officer, University Hospitals; Sean Gallagher, CIO, NASA Glenn; George K. Mehok, CIO, Safe- guard Properties LLC; and Esther Potash, CIO, Olympic Steel. Other highlights and additions for this year’s Tech Week in- clude Yuri’s Night Space Party on April 11 at the Great Lakes Science Center and the Goodyear STEM Career Day for high school students. Nellis said he anticipates that partnering with these pre-ex- isting events will help drive this year’s participation jump, as will events being held on six of the region’s college campus- es. For more information on the full slate of activities for Tech Week or to register, go to www.neosatechweek.com.

ALSO OF NOTE: „ Post-event coverage, along with video interviews with the final- ists, will be available after the April 14 event at www.CrainsCleve- land.com/CIO. „ Don’t forget to register for “Hoverboard Innovation,” a free April 10 Crain’s Cleveland Business webinar being presented in conjunction with Tech Week. Three innovation experts — Charles Stack, CEO, FlashStarts; Bill Nottingham, principal, Nottingham Spirk; and Joe Joyce, creative director of digital greetings and experience, American Greetings In- teractive — will talk about what you can learn from the 1989 movie, “Back to the Future II,” which predicted we’d have flying cars and dehydrated pizzas by 2015. Information is available at www.CrainsCleveland.com/CIO 20150406-NEWS--16-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 4/2/2015 9:41 AM Page 1

16 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM APRIL 6 - 12, 2015 CRAIN’S CIO OF THE YEAR BRIAN KELLEY, Portage County IT Services MIKE MCMANAMON, Brian Kelley has been the brains be- local government representative on hind Portage County’s information sys- the Ohio Next Generation Telephony Cleveland Sight Center tems for almost 25 years, but that Service Steering Committee. The Cleveland Sight Center, creat- does not prevent him from keeping He serves on the state’s Open Data ed to educate, empower and employ the county on top of its computer Advisory Group, which will recom- people with little to no vision, may not game. While doing it he’s also earned mend to the governor state stan- be what it is today without the efforts a state and national reputation as an dards. A part-time instructor at Kent of CIO Mike McManamon. expert in information technology and State University and the University of It was McManamon’s innovations making it work in the public sector. Akron, Kelley also helps lead trade that enabled the nonprofit a few The most recent project at the groups, including as a board member years back to launch its call center, county is the implementation of a and first vice president — president where the staff is 90% composed of nearly $2 million upgrade to its com- next year — of GMIS international, an work-disabled individuals. puter system embracing everything association of government IT leaders. Besides enhancing the group’s own from desktops to servers, including In 1991, Kelley helped found the mission of assimilating individuals VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). Ohio County/City Information Technol- with sight impairments into the work- Janet Esposito, Portage County au- ogy Association. Besides the execu- force, that call center, which has a ditor, knows where Kelley will be at tive level work, Kelley aids the public suicide hotline, also brings in more critical points in the process: on the at a basic level. He presents pro- than $1 million in annual revenue via scene. “He’ll work 20 hours a day if political silos as barriers to implement- grams on Internet safety and cyber- contracts to the agency. it’s needed,” she said. “He works ing IT in county government,” Kelley’s bullying to as many as 1,000 stu- His programs help employees con- hard. He’s committed.” nomination said. “He has successfully dents, teachers and school duct calls. His systems make data en- A key attribute for Kelley is people built business relationships with all administrators annually. try for the visually impaired possible. skills that allow him to get things done elected officials, department man- Kelley landed at Portage County in a His software streamlines billing down in a fragmented government. Portage, agers and end users in our county. simple way. When Esposito was a to nearly two steps. transcends his work with Cleveland like most Ohio counties, has three His endeavors have been of immea- county commissioner, in 1990 she He’s even developed a work-at- Sight. county commissioners, eight other surable benefit to Portage County.” asked nearby Kent State University to home model managed through a se- McManamon, a Carnegie Mellon elected administrative offices and, all Kelley’s accomplishments have been recommend a bright student for a po- cure teledata link. University alum and a member of the told, 18 elected officials who may con- acknowledged by awards the county’s sition writing job descriptions. She And those are just some of the Geauga Growth Partnership, is work- trol their own data systems. IT systems have received as well as hired Kelley and he soon stepped into ways McManamon has shaped the or- ing on the collaborative Big Gig Chal- “Since he started in 1990, he has his becoming a statewide voice on IT. the information technology role. ganization into the institution it is to- lenge initiative to expand high-speed failed to recognize these traditional He was chosen in 2014 to serve as a — Stan Bullard day. broadband services across Northeast “He has really brought a level of ex- Ohio. pertise to the creation of our infra- He’s also involved with the Chagrin structure and our hardware network,” Valley Chamber of Commerce and said CEO Steven Friedman. the Council of Smaller Enterprises, McManamon strives for innovative where he has led sessions on IT secu- and streamlined IT practices that rity in home offices. have increased efficiencies signifi- He’s also a member of Executive cantly and saved hundreds of thou- Advisory Council of the Society for In- sands of dollars at the nonprofit, formation Management and St. Helen Friedman said. And that’s most criti- Parish in Newbury and sits on the cal for a nonprofit with limited re- midTECH advisory council. sources employing 145 people. McManamon is involved in Health- The call center is not only function- Care Benefits Inc. and the Inland al because of McManamon, it’s see- Seas Boat Co., designing and deliver- ing “explosive” growth today thanks ing humanitarian relief to the needy to his work. around the globe, among other ef- His long-term efforts include the on- forts. going consolidation of swaths of data “I can’t say I’ve worked with anyone and replacing systems with the cloud- more devoted to achieve the mission based system Compulink. of an agency like ours as Mike,” “Delivering the impossible and at- Friedman said. taining what nobody thinks can get “And no matter what, he does it done is a regular accomplishment,” with a smile on his face and the according to his nomination. phrase ‘no problem’ — even when the But McManamon’s impact in the servers crash.” group, and the community at large, — Jeremy Nobile

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APRIL 6 - 12, 2015 WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS 17 CRAIN’S CIO OF THE YEAR STEVE LUBOWICZ, White Hat Management LLC CHRIS MANCHEN, 1 EDI Source

When Steve Lubowicz went to work two years When it comes to IT, Chris Manchen is an A-1 ago for Akron-based White Hat Management, he CIO who knows EDI technology from A to Z — schooled them on how to get up to speed on just ask his CEO! What? We’re talking tech here new technology. — things move too fast for whole words! No small feat, considering White Hat is an on- Fine, we’ll spell it out for you: Manchen is a mas- line and bricks-and-mortar charter school cur- ter at helping businesses to communicate with riculum provider, with 33 schools, 8,000 stu- each other, and with their own divisions and de- dents, 700 employees and 100 full-time partments, using technology known as Electronic contractors. Data Interchange. As such, he’s an invaluable part All of them use the company’s online educa- of the team at Solon-based 1 EDI Source Inc., tional programs, its back-office systems, or which works with businesses to integrate and bet- both. ter use the technology. He’s helped the company “He’s had the ability, in the time that he’s to compete, usually with much larger firms, says 1 been here, to really leapfrog us,” said White Hat EDI chief executive David Lowman. CEO Thomas Barrett. “And figure out how to get “There’s always the blocking and tackling of us on the latest technology without increasing how things work … but where I see real value in our costs,” he adds. a CIO is how can you innovate? That’s where I Barrett said the computer systems at the think Chris has excelled,” Lowman said. company and its schools were behind the times CEOs have long known the value of informa- before Lubowicz arrived two years ago. tion, and systems that give them on-screen He took a system that had been struggling dashboards, by which they can monitor a variety too. Not only does he have more than a decade with old hardware and antiquated operating sys- of business performance measures, have long of experience as an EDI expert, but before com- tems and converted it to a cloud-based system been a tool. But, thanks to Manchen, 1 EDI is ing to 1 EDI 11 years ago, he was using the that is easy to update, and which keeps staff, greatly expanding on the use of such technolo- company’s systems as a client. So he knows students and parents all connected, all the time, gy. Now, instead of just the CEO having such a what clients need and how to get it to them. He Barrett said. duties that any CIO would have in terms of keep- powerful tool, vice presidents, business line played a critical leadership role in the creation of Lubowicz also has proven himself in a crisis ing things like back-office accounting and bene- managers, department heads and even plant the company’s flagship software, EDI | HQ, as situation. When the provider of White Hat’s edu- fits systems up and running. Lubowicz does managers are getting them as well. well as its latest offering, IntelligentXchange, cational platforms announced it was going to that, too, Barrett said — it’s just sometimes The company prides itself on working with which just launched this year. discontinue much of the technology it was pro- tough to notice the mundane stuff while he’s businesses to integrate their information into All of the company’s efforts are aimed at help- viding, White Hat had to act fast to find and inte- knocking his CEO’s socks off on big projects. systems that empower their employees, and ing clients to better use their data and informa- grate a new platform. “But every CIO doesn’t have to deal with Manchen is the in-house EDI expert who helps to tion, but Lowman says Manchen gives 1 EDI a “That was a huge undertaking. It was actually 8,000 students and at least one or two parents make that information accessible, relevant and leg up that will help it become a “disruptive a lightning-fast change. … It was a six-month each,” Barrett said. timely — with each employee getting cus- force” in its industry. project that normally would have taken 18 “I should get him to change his name,” Bar- tomized information tailored to their specific “Our mission statement as a company is ‘un- months,” Barrett said. rett jokes, “before someone recruits him away.” tasks and needs, Lowman said. leash the power of EDI,’ ” Lowman said. “And All of this, of course, is on top of the normal — Dan Shingler Manchen might be uniquely suited to his role, that’s what Chris does.” — Dan Shingler 20150406-NEWS--18-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 4/2/2015 9:55 AM Page 1

18 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM APRIL 6 - 12, 2015 CRAIN’S CIO OF THE YEAR PETAR BOJOVIC, BlueBridge Networks GREG FLANIK, No one walks through BlueBridge ny’s customers to use, but last year Networks’ downtown Cleveland data Bojovic pushed the company to start Baldwin Wallace University center without a badge. At least not offering a platform based on Citrix’s You can thank Greg Flanik for there while Petar Bojovic’s around. CloudStack technology. And now, not being a computer printer around Bojovic isn’t just the technical ex- about half of all of BlueBridge’s new every corner at Baldwin Wallace Uni- pert who has helped BlueBridge over- cloud customers go with the new plat- versity in Berea. haul its lineup of services over the form, which provides more features, And that’s a good thing. past several years. He’s also the en- according to Goodman — who origi- Flanik, who is BW’s CIO, helped forcer who makes sure everyone fol- nally was opposed to the idea of spearhead the school’s recently imple- lows the many rules and regulations adding a second option. mented print management system, that the Cleveland-based company has “I’m very grateful I listened to him. which eliminated nearly all desk jet/ink to follow. “Everyone” includes manag- I’ve won deals that I would’ve lost oth- jet printers from the campus and in- ing director Kevin Goodman. erwise,” Goodman said. stead positioned multifunction devices Bojovic has a sense of “control and BlueBridge originally hired Bojovic in key areas of campus. ownership” over BlueBridge’s data as a sales engineer. The Brook Park The move has resulted in significant centers, and he protects them like a native previously lived in Las Vegas, savings in printing and consumables, shepherd protects his sheep, accord- years, however, a growing number of managing a data center for NextWave encouraged get-up-and-move wellness ing to Goodman, who knows what it’s companies have been getting rid of Broadband, a 4G wireless technology initiatives and reduced the need for IT like to get hit upside the head by the their own servers and moving those company that eventually sold off its technical support, according to the shepherd’s cane. computing functions into the cloud. assets and became part of AT&T. nomination. “He has indeed at some point cor- Recognizing that demand, in 2011, When he returned to Northeast And, according to Richard L. Fletch- rected everybody — including me,” the company began letting customers Ohio, the region gained “a terrific hu- er, senior vice president at BW, the Goodman said. run their computing functions on hard- man being,” Goodman said. print management program is just one BlueBridge hired Bojovic about six ware owned by BlueBridge. Bojovic, who now lives in Brunswick, example of Flanik’s ability to collabo- able staff rather than accepting any years ago. Since then, he’s helped Bojovic served as one of the “key also sits on the board of Tinker’s rate and obtain buy-in from those with credit for himself,” the nomination stat- steer BlueBridge through a time of up- architects” through the course of that Creek Watershed Partners, a nonprofit whom he works. ed. “The success of his team, howev- heaval in the data center industry. shift. For instance, it was Bojovic’s that aims to protect the water quality “He’s really a terribly collaborative er, is without question a direct reflec- When he was hired, BlueBridge’s cus- idea to offer customers two cloud and habitats tied to the creek, which is person,” Fletcher said. “He’s not one tion of Greg’s vision, leadership, and tomers owned all of the computer computing platforms. BlueBridge al- the Cuyahoga River’s largest tributary, who dictates where we are going. He support. Greg sees the potential in equipment housed in the company’s ready offered VMware’s vCloud plat- according to the group’s website. generates consensus.” each of his staff and nurtures those data centers. Over the past several form, which was easier for the compa- — Chuck Soder Fletcher said that Flanik’s “attitude strengths. With confidence, he chal- and approach of not having all the an- lenges and empowers each individual swers” has helped him engineer an in- to realize their potential, thus providing credible amount of support for his pro- benefit to the department and organi- grams and initiatives, including gaining zation.” approval for an aggressive new $3.5 Outside of BW and the world of in- million strategic plan for IT, according formation systems, Flanik is a certified to the nomination. flight instructor. He speaks and trains Additionally, the nomination points on behalf of the aircraft industry and is to a slew of other advancements and on the board for the Cleveland Nation- accomplishments, including the virtual- al Air Show. He has participated with ization and consolidation of BW’s net- the Kids in Flight organization as a pi- work storage infrastructure; the imple- lot who helped provide air transporta- mentation of a monitoring system for tion for terminally ill children and their geothermal and solar panel arrays in- families. stalled on campus buildings; the ex- Additionally, Flanik, a former colle- pansion of the school’s help desk sup- giate track athlete, remains involved in port network; and the beginning of a the track and field arena and is a USA campuswide transition to voice over IP Track & Field master level official, ac- (VoIP). cording to the nomination. He runs Flanik, who received his bachelor’s electronic timing systems for events degree and MBA from BW in 1997 and such as the Senior National Champi- 2010, respectively, is not one to take onship, Big 10 and Ohio Athletic Con- all the credit, however. ference meets, the NAIA National “He views all of his achievements as Championship and youth athletic being the result of teamwork and he events. quickly offers the credit to his remark- — Amy Ann Stoessel

Congratulations to our own Kathy Golovan on her nomination for Crain’s 2015 Chief Information Officer of the Year.

Congratulations Mike McManamon 2015 CIO of the Year Finalist! Ohio’s Health Insurance Choice Since 1934

© 2015 Medical Mutual of Ohio MedMutual.com 20150406-NEWS--19-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 4/2/2015 11:27 AM Page 1

APRIL 6 - 12, 2015 WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS 19

CRAIN’S CIO OF THE YEAR MINORITY OWNED BUSINESS DIRECTORY KATHY GOLOVAN, Medical Mutual

Kathy Golovan isn’t so much a tech ness-to-business model to a hybrid Crain's Cleveland Business has created maestro or master of the mother- model that included business-to-con- this directory to help raise the profile board. sumer. It was a daunting IT challenge, minority owned businesses in In fact, she’s a lawyer with a back- but she led a process to refine the of ground in economics. technology to enhance the customer Northeast Ohio. Companies listed have But for Medical Mutual CEO Rick experience. 51% or greater minority ownership. Chiricosta, those are just the qualities For example, she led the develop- needed in a chief information officer ment of a treatment value estimator, for a powerhouse insurance compa- which helps consumers understand ny. He wanted a business person, not the cost and quality of certain service just someone who was good with providers. computers. And as if managing the IT unit of a “Most companies have a person major insurer isn’t enough for one running IT who has been a lifetime IT person’s plate, Golovan recently took person, and then they bring them up on the responsibilities of overseeing to speed on the business side,” Chiri- Medical Mutual’s re-entry into the costa said. Medicare Advantage Market. “But in today’s world, at least for Every Medicare Advantage plan is us, it’s important to know the busi- assigned a “stars” rating, and it’s ness and be able to lead IT rather Golovan’s responsibility to ensure than just know IT and trying to get Medical Mutual’s gets a good rating caught up on the business side of — something that will have an enor- things. mous financial impact on the compa- “She completely understands the ny and the future, according to the end purpose of it all.” nomination. The Affordable Care Act has thrown Given the amount of security issues — and continues to throw — curve- regarding patient data in the health BE A PART OF THIS LIST. balls at the insurance industry, and care industry, Golovan recommended Chiricosta said Golovan has been Medical Mutual purge its customer CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM/MINORITY able to handle each challenge with database of old data — a project that poise. Chiricosta said cost a “fair amount of The law’s implementation, for ex- money.” ample, tested the health insurance in- It was an unusual request at the dustry’s IT infrastructure in adapting time, he said, but very forward think- to the changing regulatory reforms, ing. compliance and cost pressures. “I love that kind of thinking,” Chiri- She’s also been particularly astute in costa said. carefully allocating resources to the “She’s not just doing her day job. right projects, Chiricosta said. She’s thinking outside of the box and “She’s got the emotional resilience thinking ahead. I really need in that job right now,” “If (a security breach) ever became The Baldwin Wallace Chiricosta said. an issue, we’ve planned for it as well community congratulates Golovan, for instance, helped move as we could.” Medical Mutual from a mostly busi- — Timothy Magaw Greg Flanik

on his well-deserved nomination as the Crain’s Cleveland Business CIO of the Year. 20150406-NEWS--20-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 4/2/2015 11:27 AM Page 1

20 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM APRIL 6 - 12, 2015

LONNY LAWRENCE, Applied Industrial Technologies Lonny Lawrence is skilled at bring- ing the information technology per- spective to the broader business initiatives at Applied Industrial Tech- nologies in Cleveland, said president and CEO Neil Schrimsher. He knows how to connect the company’s vari- ous support services to best serve customers. “He understands the business,” Schrimsher said. Lawrence, the company’s vice president of information technology, joined Applied Industrial in 2008 from Bearing Distributors Inc. One of the projects the nomination for Lawrence highlighted was the im- plementation of a new SAP ERP (en- terprise resource planning) system. Schrimsher said the new system for the industrial distributor is just being finalized, and the system will bring more real-time data to the company and be its “business backbone” for a “His strategic approach and willing- couple of decades. ness to bend with the shifting de- “Through this process, Applied re- mands of business demonstrated a placed the core technology platform pragmatic nature. with new technologies that required “He always keeps an eye on the fi- the rebuilding of the information tech- nal objective and delivers. It was a nology team and processes,” the pleasure to work with him as a col- nomination said. league given his talent and his ethical “This was a holistic change of skill approach. sets, hardware and software. His “I always found working with Lonny dedication to IT talent and the focus to be a win-win,” Brezovec said in the on continuous improvement through letter. the development of people illustrates The nomination also pointed out AT HOME. IN THE OFFICE. Facebook.com/CrainsCleveland the benefit Lonny brings to his orga- Lawrence’s involvement in preparing Twitter.com/CrainsCleveland nization, his community, and the em- the next generation of IT workers. He ployees. He believes that being a ‘life is a member of the University of AT THE GYM. ON THE GO. Instagram.com/CrainsClevelandInstagram.com/CrainsCleveland long learner’ is how to attain success Akron’s CITe (Center for Information and through people is how great Technologies and eBusiness) board STAY CONNECTED. things happen.” and takes part in its Executive Ex- Daniel T. Brezovec, who recently change. retired as the company’s corporate He also is involved in getting SAP, controller, said in a letter included in a popular ERP software, into college the nomination that Applied Industri- curriculums so that “graduates enter al’s systems were in need of an up- the workplace with knowledge of a date when Lawrence joined. very common business system in The company was at the time Northeast Ohio,” the nomination said, “heavily dependent on outdated inter- mentioning the SAP initiative at the nally developed systems which were University of Akron. Winners are everywhere – costing increasingly more to maintain “This strategy intends to produce and were delivering increasing less of better entry level workers and pro- what the business needed to com- vides the candidates with experience especially in our CIO’s office. pete effectively — a very bad path,” related to a commonly known busi- he said. ness system,” the nomination said. Lawrence was able to convince the “The goal is to promote technology leadership team of the investment oriented workers in order to retain and operational changes needed for jobs in the USA.” the overhaul. — Rachel Abbey McCafferty

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APRIL 6 - 12, 2015 WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS 21 CRAIN’S CIO OF THE YEAR MIKE PETRO, CHRISTOPHER DOHERTY, Clark-Reliance Corp. Christopher Doherty originally was Toms River, N.J., when Christopher Ohio Lottery Commission hired by Clark-Reliance to improve the was working as a New York-based in- Strongsville manufacturing company’s dependent consultant for such heavy- According to his boss, Ohio Lottery website and give its e-commerce a weight financial firms as J.P. Morgan, Commission director Dennis Berg, boost. Eight years later, Doherty has Goldman Sachs and The New York Michael Petro “lives and breathes IT.” helped the company transform how it Mercantile Exchange. The bagel busi- In an interview, Berg said he is espe- does business. ness is still in operation, and Doherty cially impressed with his chief informa- “If I would put one mantel around his said when he visits his family he loves tion officer’s memory, his ability to shoulders, it’s that he’s very con- “to spend hours there and get behind keep the status of the lottery’s diverse cerned about his internal and external the counter.” IT projects in his head. customer base and makes sure he lis- Solon believes that type of drive “What I like about Mike is that tens very closely to what they need prepared Clark-Reliance’s CIO for a there’s never any dropping of balls,” and they want,” Clark-Reliance CEO successful career in manufacturing. Berg said. Rick Solon said. “That whole ‘techie’ “Anybody who’s been around that “He understands all of our projects type person, and I use the term very work ethic, those are lessons that and our expectations. He’s got all the fondly, who tends to be in the CIO sometimes can’t be taught anymore,” projects in his head.” role, sometimes they get fairly re- — changes that helped Clark-Reliance Solon said. “A lot of that comes from Petro has been the lottery’s IT direc- moved from the real action on an ex- record triple-digit growth in a three- his parents.” tor since 2002. He started at the lot- ternal customer relations basis in year span and hit its five-year sales And while Doherty has a keen sense tery in 1978 as a statistician while still terms of understanding the business goal two years before the target date. for the needs of his co-workers and an undergraduate at Cleveland State and who is buying the product. Doherty also built a portal that allows Clark-Reliance’s customers, Solon said University. “What we found out very quickly,” customers and sales representatives Doherty still has the strong fascination Petro left for the private sector in Solon said, “was he has all of the skill to view the live status of orders, along with technology that is common 1985, working as a software engineer sets that we were looking for from a with the estimated ship dates and among many CIOs. until returning to the lottery commis- first four state lotteries to achieve technology perspective, but he also tracking capabilities after shipment. “If he could, he’d wear two Apple sion in 2002. those certifications. has a good way with people, a very “We have virtually eliminated order watches, have three phones and two Berg also said Petro is great at mul- All this has been done while reduc- strong work ethic and he’s very com- status calls, so our sales team can iPads,” Solon said. “But he’s always titasking, which is important at an or- ing the size of the IT staff through attri- mitted to his work environment.” better serve our customers,” the nom- trying to think about how we can use ganization that maintains a network tion. The IT staff now numbers 38, a According to the nomination, Doher- ination said. that technology to grow the business. tied to more than 9,000 retail outlets little more than 10% of the lottery ty led an e-commerce strategy that Doherty and his brother started That, fundamentally, is a little different and that is constantly adding new elec- commission’s overall staff of 370. added products and features in 2014 Broadway Giant Bagel and Deli in than most.” — Kevin Kleps tronic products. It even appears that Petro is well- “IT plays a very important role in the liked by his staff, despite the pressure lottery,” Berg said. “We could not exist imposed by the often very public dead- without IT.” lines imposed on things like the intro- A Greek-owned contractor, Intralot duction of new electronic games. SA, creates the lottery’s game soft- “He’s easy to work with, and he ex- ware. But since December 2013, pects you to get things done,” said IT Petro has overseen the installation of manager James Brown. 750 terminals at fraternal organiza- “He has a way of working with peo- tions and veterans’ posts for its new ple on deadline — he’s able to drive EZ Play game as well as the opening those deadlines without being too of the last three of seven racinos, crazy about it.” where the lottery commission now op- Despite the high-tech nature of his erates a total of 7,350 video lottery work, Berg said Petro strives to main- game terminals. tain a human touch. His department also has developed “In this world of email, you might mobile phone applications that allow think that’s the way an IT director game players to check to see if their would operate,” Berg said. “But (Mike) tickets are winners and made major takes a whole different approach — upgrades to the lottery’s website, he’ll track me down or pop in my office www.OhioLottery.com. and keep me informed on anything This work has earned two certifica- that’s burning or more critical. That’s tions for quality assurance from the easier for me, because we can talk it North American Association of State through.” and Provincial Lotteries, among the — Jay Miller

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22 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM APRIL 6 - 12, 2015 CRAIN’S CIO OF THE YEAR RAYMOND FINK, Wingspan Care Group WILL LAZZARO, Dakota Software Wingspan Care Group provides ad- dramatically improved Wingspan’s abili- Will Lazzaro is known for innovating ministrative and management organiza- ty to provide care in remote places — the innovations. tion services to affiliated nonprofits in- for instance, using telehealth technolo- Lazzaro is the vice president of soft- cluding Applewood Centers and gy to offer psychiatry services in rural ware development for Dakota Soft- Bellefaire JCB, which, as Wingspan parts of Lorain County where they ware, which has specialized in soft- CEO Adam G. Jacobs puts it, help kids don’t exist — and to analyze and im- ware for environmental health and “who have drawn the short straw in prove patient outcomes. safety compliance for large industrial life.” The nomination stated, “Outcomes companies since 1988. The services provided by the non- data was moved from a separate data- With such a long history, putting a profits to children contending with base into the client database, allowing spin on innovation at the company and physical or sexual abuse, autism, for close correlation of client data pushing it to the next level is quite the homelessness or other issues are through outcomes data through dimen- creative task. made considerably more efficient, Ja- sional modeling, thus facilitating cre- Lazzaro is largely behind much of cobs said, by the technological exper- ative end-user queries that will provide the company’s success today, said tise of people like Raymond Fink. new insights toward improving out- Dakota CEO Reg Shiverick. “It’s truly a mission from the heart, comes.” “We’re really in a fast-growth indus- providing these services,” Jacobs said. computers, 117 iPads, 25 “augmenta- Nonprofits that Wingspan services try, and we have a lot of competition,” “Ray’s work is critical to making it pos- tive communication devices,” 38 virtu- have counselors working in 155 Shiverick said, “and he has helped sible.” al servers and 49 physical servers, the schools through the region, the nomi- guide our company technology to im- Fink joined Wingspan in 2003 and nomination states. In short, Jacobs nation stated, and Fink has implement- portant new levels.” found “an outdated and unsophisticat- said, “He makes sure everyone has ed “electronic progress notes, treat- But a friendly, enthusiastic and in- ed network vitally in need of modern- the right tools to do their job right to ment plans and electronic signatures ventive management approach is be- ization,” according to the nomination. serve kids.” (that) increased efficiencies and im- hind Lazzaro’s own achievements, He has spent the last 12 years mak- When there are tech issues any- proved time-to-treatment perfor- which are many in just three years with ing that modernization happen. Fink where in the organization, the directive mance.” the company. and his nine-person department now is always the same: “Just ask Ray,” Around the office, Fink, an Air Force Among Lazzaro’s more unique ef- enue growth achieved just from the are responsible for the technology in said Beth Pollack, director of organiza- veteran, “is very modest, Mr. Under- forts is a tweaking of the approach to prior year, it seems Lazzaro’s efforts 25 buildings across seven locations in tional advancement at Wingspan. She stated,” Jacobs said. Fink also is “a sprints, which are like hackathons dur- already are paying off. His ultimate Cuyahoga and Lorain counties. By the said he always inspires the IT team “to great photographer,” Jacobs said, and ing which programmers converge for goal will be turning Dakota’s program- numbers, Fink oversees more than do work that goes above and beyond.” he does the photography for some software development projects. ming team into a full research and de- 550 desktops, about 280 notebook To that end, Jacobs said, Fink has Wingspan events. — Scott Suttell Not only did Lazzaro first implement velopment outfit, and he’s getting those to push software innovation, he there. carves out time within those sprints Lazzaro’s leadership also translates for everyone to work on whatever pro- into the community. ject they want, fostering a creative at- He has served as vice president of mosphere. operations for the local chapter of the “So it’s not just working on cus- nonprofit Project Management Institute tomer requests, but also interesting and even established the Project Man- technology to handle challenges in agement Institute Northeast Ohio Edu- these areas, giving people a way to cational Foundation Scholarship pro- follow their own interests in ways that gram while he was there, according to may not be immediately beneficial to his nomination. us, but could in the long term,” Shiver- He also offers regular talks at re- ick said. gional schools and colleges on topics “He encourages participation of the ranging from agile development to big team and continually provides opportu- data projects. He also was once a fire- nities to work on projects and be cre- fighter for the Arlington Volunteer Fire ative in their own ways, allowing them Department. to grow as well.” While Dakota would likely be driving Lazzaro also spearheaded refactor- toward similar innovations today with- ing efforts, which involves rewriting out Lazzaro as a leader, they likely software to make it compatible with wouldn’t see the same innovations and modern technology. success they’re enjoying today. With constant developments to “He’s really made a big impact on niche, industry-leading software, and what we’re doing,” Shiverick said. expanded market reach and 26% rev- — Jeremy Nobile

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195560 YEARS 2015 www.recres.org 20150406-NEWS--23-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 4/3/2015 2:18 PM Page 1

APRIL 6 - 12, 2015 WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS 23 FOX SPORTS continued from page 5 Fox Sports Ohio and SportsTime Ohio will has landed three major tenants — Fox Sports, take up even more room in the upper levels of Frantz Ward LLP and Vorys, Sater, Seymour the building. and Pease LLP — that will occupy more than The networks’ 14,000-square-foot office 110,000 square feet. “wraps a little more than half” of the 25th floor, Hurtuk called the move a “triple play” — a Siemborski said. The space will have excellent transaction that’s good for the networks, the views of the city, plenty of meeting space and building and downtown. the open feel that Westlake Reed Leskosky “Harbor Group, their first rule is always brought to the Browns’ facility. keep the tenants that you have happy,” Hur- Fox Sports’ timeline is “aggressive,” tuk said. “But when you get a tenant the cal- McGillicuddy said, but the FSO and STO GM iber of Fox Sports Ohio, you need to do what said he’s hopeful the move will be completed you can to bring them in.” by the end of the year.

‘Cool’ addition ‘Spectacular’ partnership ends The whatever-it-takes approach includes By finally bringing the networks to the what Damon M. Taseff said will be a “very same location, Fox Sports is ending what unique space” that overlooks 200 Public McGillicuddy said has been a “strong part- Square’s atrium. nership” with WKYC. “It’s a very cool dynamic, unlike what we’ve Cleveland’s NBC affiliate will soon begin its seen traditionally in that area,” said Taseff, a 10th and final season as the provider of back- principal with Allegro Realty Advisors, which ground and production services for Sport- represented Fox Sports in what McGillicuddy sTime Ohio’s Indians broadcasts. called a “substantial” transaction. WKYC senior VP Brooke Spectorsky said Westlake Reed Leskosky, a renowned the station produces every Indians game, and KEVIN KLEPS Cleveland architectural firm that led the 2013 its Lakeside Avenue headquarters is home to The second-floor studios of Fox Sports Ohio and SportsTime Ohio will overlook the atrium at 200 transformation of the Cleveland Browns’ SportsTime Ohio’s 18-to-20-person combi- Public Square. training facility in Berea, is designing 9,000 nation of full-time employees and free- square feet of production and studio space on lancers. years old and it’s not our core business. It’s 200 Public Square’s lobby will undergo a ren- the second floor of 200 Public Square. The “We insert all of the commercials and run production business.” ovation later this year, and the building’s op- front of the Fox Sports Ohio and SportsTime all of the programs,” Spectorsky said. “We But, Spectorsky said, the relationship with erators are attempting to land a “white table- Ohio studios will face the atrium, and West- provide all of those services.” SportsTime Ohio has been “spectacular for cloth restaurant.” lake Reed Leskosky managing principal and STO’s staff produces the remainder of its both sides. We’re going to miss them. It’s that Hurtuk said he believes the addition of the lead designer Paul Siemborski said he hopes programming — the Jimmy Hanlin golf simple.” two sports networks will help that cause, and to “have a graphic wrap that shows off the shows, high school sports broadcasts and McGillicuddy expressed a similar senti- he “can’t wait” to listen to a Cavs or Indians brand of Fox Sports Ohio.” Bruce Drennan’s show, for example — using ment, and added that he hoped the relation- game and hear the announcers say they are Behind those doors, Siemborski said, “the WKYC’s equipment and staff “as necessary,” ship would continue in some manner. producing the program from 200 Public heavy lifting happens. You have the on-air Spectorsky said. Fox Sports Ohio public relations director Square. and TV talent, and the editing and production Asked about the impact of SportsTime Kate Zelasko said the networks’ stable of free- With Fox Sports Ohio and SportsTime Ohio rooms for the Cavs and Indians (broadcasts).” Ohio’s exit at the conclusion of the 2015 Tribe lancers will help fill the production void left now joining the Browns, Cavs and Indians To make room for the marquee tenant, season, the longtime WKYC executive didn’t by WKYC, and no additional hires will need to downtown, Westlake Reed Leskosky’s Siem- Hurtuk said longtime 200 Public Square oc- mince words. be made as the result of the move downtown. borski calls the area “the living room of the cupant SS City Convenience is moving to the “Is it a financial hit? Well, it’s business that That shift, Allegro Realty Advisors’ Taseff city.” opposite end of the atrium, and the Building we are losing,” Spectorsky said. “And we said, has been in the works since McGillicud- “With the investment happening at Public Owners and Management Association is haven’t replaced that business. We still have dy was hired early in 2013. Square,” he said, “this is another wonderful shifting from the second floor to the high rise. the infrastructure that will be left, and it’s 10 Hurtuk, Colliers’ managing director, said dynamic for the city of Cleveland.” DATA CENTERS F'F

Name Local full-time # of data Address employees Data center Year centers Top local executive Rank Phone/Web site 1-1-2015 square feet opened Other Ohio locations companywide Services Title

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24 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM APRIL 6 - 12, 2015 HOTELS continued from page 1 2015 in the devil strip of Rockside Place LEADERSHIP was recently cut down and tiny yel- DEEP DIVE low flags put in to mark the site of a As our company continues to planned 121-suite Springhill Suites by Marriott. expand, Leadership Deep Dive Ed Cury, the West Palm Beach, Fla.-based developer of the has been a major instrument Springhill in Independence, said in helping our executive team his project was planned to accom- modate business travelers, but con- align around a core philosophy, struction will be on a fast track to define the culture and engage finish it by May 2016 so it’s ready for the GOP convention. our growing workforce. We will “It might have been later, but we continue to send our executives got our orders in and reached a number of milestones to have it to this program. ready before the RNC,” Cury said. “It’s great that it will be in Cleve- CONTRIBUTED PHOTO BILL DOWNEY land.” Cury’s project is going in on The planned Springhill Suites in Independence (shown is a rendering of the a portion of the excess parking at Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs hotel, combined with a picture of the surrounding land on Rockside Road) could the Holiday Inn Rockside, whose The Kenan Advantage Group, Inc. be open for business in May 2016. Cincinnati-based owner, JAGI Cleveland, is his client for the ment the first Hyatt Place in the Sahley, Atlantic project manager, Visit weatherhead.case.edu/deepdive for more registration, pricing and Springhill Suites because they felt Cleveland suburbs, the one in Inde- declined comment. discount information. the market was ready for more pendence that began life as an A Wallhouse Hotel, a concept rooms. Amerisuites Inn. homegrown in Ohio, is proposed Springhill has a contemporary for a site at Brunswick Town Center in Brunswick. The first Wallhouse design and other features to make it Going vertical attractive to young business and opened 21 months ago in Walnut professional travelers, Cury said. Moreover, Hyatt likes locations Creek, Ohio, as a six-story boutique The Independence Springhill Suites where it can benefit from multiple hotel with a modern design serving will be Cleveland’s second, joining demand generators, Younadam Amish country. one in Solon. said. The strategy is to serve as a desti- At the Crocker and Legacy Village nation hotel emphasizing service properties, it can accommodate and shy away from areas with high Lending a hand business and leisure travelers who corporate traffic, according to David Sangree, president of may patronize restaurants and Robert Schlabach, president of Lakewood-based Hotel & Leisure stores at the centers. Cleveland- business development for Wall- Advisors LLC, said a combination of based Stark Enterprises long pur- house Hotel LLC and Winesburg factors has produced the flurry of sued a hotel that the Hyatt Place is Builders based in Millersburg. new suburban hotel proposals. realizing at Crocker Park because it With just one existing hotel in Nationally, hotel occupancy and fits its concept as a mixed-use com- Brunswick, Schlabach said his firm revenue are up, Sangree said, which munity with offices, apartments believes there is support for a 70- to encourages hotel development. and retail. 80-room hotel focused on serving “The lending community is very The attraction was the same for guests of area residents and local much interested in lending for ho- retail-focused Legacy, which has a businesses in a family atmosphere. tels again,” so developers see an op- small amount of office space, but He would do six stories in portunity, he said. also because the six-story hotel will Brunswick, but the city’s height re- Although suburban hotel devel- enhance the property. striction confines him to four. opment is up in the region, it is not Mitchell Schneider, CEO of Lyn- dhurst-based First Interstate Prop- as busy as some other regions Franchise tags which have stronger job growth. erties Ltd., said that since a hotel “In Cleveland, we really haven’t operates 365 days a year, it can have Hotel franchises also are interest- had much hotel development for a a “significant synergistic effect. The ed in covering holes in their cover- long time, so it looks like a lot,” San- uses support the occupancy and vi- age of the area or capitalizing on ar- gree said. ability of each other.” eas with population growth thanks New hotel flags also prime the The hotel and associated parking to new-home development. That pump for hotel development. garage will occupy just a two-acre helps account for a 96-unit Home- “Every new hotel franchise is site at Legacy. wood Suites in Sheffield Village and looking for a new site,” Sangree “Even if an exciting retail concept a 76-unit Fairfield Inn & Suites that said. “Every franchise wants to have were available, the parcel is too Fremont-based Sunrise Hospitality as many sites as possible so they small to accommodate it and the Inc. is constructing. can arrange to serve as wide a range structured parking required for it Holiday Inn Express also is grow- of followers as possible. A new fran- are too small to be economically vi- ing in the region. Columbus-based chise will also tell developers what able,” Schneider said. “Hotels are Alliance Hospitality Inc. is finishing areas it wants to be in and award vertical properties so they fit the a 91-suite Holiday Inn Express on them franchises for specific sites, site. The square footage and invest- Clemens Road in Westlake and Does your parking lot which helps them gain financing. ment of capital that goes with it dri- Wadsworth-based American Hos- Likewise, Springhill Suites is well ve the economics for the project.” pitality Group plans to start build- look like this? known as a good brand so hotel real ing one of similar size this spring in Montville Township. estate investment trusts and Thinking conceptually Then it’s time to make a call to: lenders are interested in backing Meantime, a 116-unit Residence them.” The other concept new to Cleve- Inn by Marriott is under construc- For example, Chicago-based Hy- land suburbs is from Hilton World- tion at the I-90 interchange with att Hotels Corp. is expanding rapid- wide — the Home2 Suites extend- Nagel Road in Avon, and a 800.PAVE.NOW ly its 200-location Hyatt Place ed-stay brand, which the company Chardon-based investor group is brand with contracts for another 45 bills as pet-friendly and casual. planning a yet-to-be flagged 70- locations this year, according to The city of Beachwood has ap- room hotel in Chardon. Mark Younadam, director of real proved a 91-room Home2 Suites for Several sites yielding hotels today estate and development for Hyatt a site next to I-271 near Chagrin are on locations originally planned, Place. Boulevard. The suite hotel will often by other developers, prior to Two factors led to the addition of complete a plan by Beachwood- the 2008 recession and its long a Hyatt Place at Crocker Park in based Atlantic Hospitality that wake. Westlake and a proposed one at trimmed the size of an existing John Hunter, the mayor of Quality and Excellence in Asphalt Paving Since 1939 Legacy Village in Lyndhurst. Clarion Hotel to accommodate its Sheffield Village, said a group he “We have an increased focus on redo as new, smaller Clarion and declined to identify because they franchising in North America,” accommodate a Hotel Indigo, have not yet filed applications with • Asphalt Paving • Pavement Milling Younadam said. “An increased which opened last year, and make the city wants to pursue a Holiday • Pavement Marking • Hot Mix Production Facility franchised hotel presence will help additional land available for devel- Inn on a site in his community. But • Concrete and Excavating Services us gain access to capital from devel- opment. he’s not counting on it until con- opers and property owners that The four-floor Home2 Suites struction ramps up. Why the cau- specifically target franchising busi- with an indoor pool will go in at tion? The same idea, he said, was www.RonyakPaving.com ness opportunities.” The Westlake 3589 Park East Drive, according to discussed eight years ago, but the and Lyndhurst locations supple- Beachwood city records. Ted Alec project never proceeded. 20150406-NEWS--25-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 4/3/2015 2:20 PM Page 1

APRIL 6 - 12, 2015 WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS 25 LAUNCHING continued from page 5 He immediately felt at home when promising startups. he first paid LaunchHouse a visit in ANATURALSETTINGFORSUCCESS But what about aspiring entre- 2012, during his senior year at Solon preneurs who have yet to grow up High School. So LaunchHouse themselves? Goldstein said that few asked him and his friends to figure local high schools have the re- out what local high schools are do- sources to help them get a real en- ing to give students hands-on entre- trepreneurial education — by start- preneurial experience. ing a real business. They didn’t find much. Thus, LaunchHouse aims to fill that Schwartz and his friends — Samir gap. Goldstein expects that parents Amrania and Vibhu Krishna — will pay for it: Summer camps in the worked with LaunchHouse to start United States, including day camps, LEAP (which stands for the Launch- generate about $15 billion in rev- House Entrepreneurship Accelera- enue annually, according to a 2012 tor Program). 22,000SqFtofMeetingSpace.OneExceptionalLocation. report from the American Camp As- When asked about the impact of sociation. And LaunchHouse’s new the program, Schwartz did eventu- Hack-A-Thing immersion courses ally mention a few businesses that  Training,meetings&specialevents added to last year’s total. For $500 are generating some revenue, in- each, 10 students spent five sum- cluding Shaker Mowers, a landscap-  271-roomWilsonLodgefeaturing59premiumrooms&The mer days working on product ideas ing firm that now has more than 50 WestSpa and prototypes. Six more paid $100 clients. each to attend a one-day version. But first, he described an “ex-  Creativecuisineservedinbanquetroomsorcatered “It validated that there was a tremely shy” student who was hav- throughouttheresort model here. A model people were ing trouble functioning in a tradi- willing to pay for,” Goldstein said. tional classroom. He couldn’t look  Versatilemeetingspacetoaccommodateupto400 The LaunchHouse Institute pro- people in the eye when he arrived at grams are owned by the nonprofit LEAP, but Schwartz and his friends  Legendarycustomerserviceandpersonalattention Shaker Heights Development Corp., forced him to give improvised but they’re run by LaunchHouse, speeches almost daily. It worked,  1,700acresofyear-roundrecreation which is technically a for-profit Schwartz said: He gave an “awe- Resort & Conference Center business called Goldstein, Caldwell some speech” about his web design Wheeling, West Virginia & Associates. and hosting business in front of Call 800-972-1991 or email The flagship program is LEAP, a about 150 people during Launch- four-week-long summer accelera- House’s Demo Day in 2013. [email protected] tor program for high school stu- His parents were blown away, ac- dents. That program — which was cording to Schwartz, who now at- free but now will cost more than tends Columbia University in New www.oglebay-resort.com $1,000 for students who don’t qual- York City. ify for scholarships from Launch- “They said, ‘We’ve never seen House — has helped students him like this before. This is amaz- An easy 3 hour drive from Cleveland! launch 19 businesses over the past ing,’” he said. two years. That student’s business is gener- Among them were cell phone re- ating revenue, but Nick Fedor, exec- pair companies, organic snack utive director of Shaker Heights De- makers, video game developers and velopment Corp., says he’s most clothing designers. Seven compa- interested in the businesses stu- nies ended up generating revenue dents will start down the road. And by the time they graduated. if that future business is located in Granted, some of the businesses another part of Northeast Ohio, it PRESENTED BY 13&.*&3
410/403 CO-PRESENTED BY never really got off the ground. And will still create opportunity for peo- LaunchHouse isn’t expecting a big, ple in Shaker Heights, Fedor ar- home run company to emerge from gued, citing the old “rising tide lifts Hack-A-Thing or an after school all ships” axiom. program being piloted at The Lillian The development corporation and Betty Ratner School. and LaunchHouse have worked to- If a viable company emerges, gether to attract a long list of grants great. If not, students still learn all to support the LaunchHouse Insti- sorts of skills, according to Katie tute programs. Over time, however, Connelly, director of entrepreneur- LaunchHouse hopes that program ARCHER AWARDS ial education for the LaunchHouse fees will cover the costs of every- Institute. Among those skills: How thing but scholarships for low-in- to make a plan and change a plan. come students. How to vet an idea before plowing Another long term goal: Launch- DO YOU KNOW AN HR PROFESSIONAL WHO resources into it. How to speak in House is studying how it can repli- front of crowds. And basic stuff, like cate the LaunchHouse Institute how to craft an email and tie a tie. programs so they can serve schools HITS THE MARK? “The skills you need to be an en- all over the region. And perhaps trepreneur are probably among the other regions as well, Goldstein most transferrable skills out there,” said. Connelly said. “In five years, there could be stu- Nominations for the 5th Annual Archer Awards are open dents throughout the country ‘This is amazing’ teaching their own LEAP programs t
NEW CATEGORY - Excellence in Talent Management Zach Schwartz can attest to that. in their own communities,” he said. t
NEW CATEGORY - HR Team or Department Award A DIFFERENT TYPE OF OFFICE t
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4UBS to its headquarters in Shaker business incubator and programs Heights. The Shaker-based Arminius related to entrepreneurship. Foundation is buying three contain- Each office would be big enough Deadline: Friday, May 1 ers that will be combined into a for a company with up to 10 single, 800-square-foot office. employees. Though the city-owned Questions? Contact Kim Hill at 216-771-5182 or [email protected] If it goes well, the foundation could incubator building houses dozens of put two more container offices into small businesses and startup compa- the garage, which used to be the nies, it has no good space for com- CrainsCleveland.com/Archer service bay of an Oldsmobile panies that size. The private office dealership. And it could put even market often can’t provide them with more of them outside, according to flexible terms and high-speed fiber */
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410/403 SUPPORTED BY Craig Stout, a Shaker Heights Internet service, Stout added. SPONSOR resident who started the foundation. “Once you get to the next level, Stout said revenue from the there’s no place to go,” he said. offices would be split between the — Chuck Soder 20150406-NEWS--26-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 4/3/2015 2:34 PM Page 1

26 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM APRIL 6 - 12, 2015 TAX DEBATE continued from page 1 “Generally, the idea of a con- Borderline unfair continued from page 5 and charging Loren Naji with pro- business, hoping to have between sumption tax is generally positive of the Downtown Cleveland Al- viding alcohol without a license. Retailers along the state borders 1% and 1.5% left at the end of the from our perspective,” he said. “We liance, said his group is not dismiss- Until the raid of the Naji gallery, also oppose the tax plan because year,” Dan Saltzman, president of just don’t like the way he got there.” ing the idea, though he was not ad- art galleries had operated under the they expect the sales and cigarette Cleveland’s Dave’s Markets Inc., Millard added, “The problem is vocating for what some call “open liquor agents’ radar, giving away tax increases to send customers to told an Ohio House committee in the governor has said we’re going to container districts.” beer and wine to patrons of gallery Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, late February. Dave’s Markets oper- give (income tax) relief to small “We feel this would be a valuable openings. Current state law pro- Pennsylvania and West Virginia. business owners and we’re going to tool in our toolbox,” he said. hibits businesses and nonprofit or- ates 14 supermarkets in Northeast The Kasich plan raises the tax on pay for that by adding to the CAT DCA is mindful of the Flats expe- ganizations from even giving away Ohio. cigarettes from $1 a pack to $2.25. tax,” which hits larger businesses rience, but Deemer said with vigor- alcohol, much less selling it, with- “The CAT tax at its inception un- Pat Gilligan, CEO of Cincinnati- the hardest. “Not only are you play- ous enforcement and strong local out a permit. But the liquor control fairly burdened our industry, and the based Gilligan Oil Co., told the ing different-sized businesses control in deciding the location of division can issue temporary per- thought of increasing the rate 23% is House committee how that tax in- against each other, you’re shifting the districts, it could work. In fact, mits for the sale of alcohol, but only another cost we just cannot bear,” crease will affect business at the 26 who is paying the tax and that does- Deemer sounded as though part of by nonprofit organizations and only Saltzman said. “Dave’s Markets paid convenience stores and 42 quick- n’t necessarily create a net benefit the problem is that the planned lim- $620,000 in CAT taxes in 2014, with serve restaurants his company op- for short periods of time. for the economy.” its on the number of districts might the proposed increase meaning erates. State Rep. Bill Patmon of Cleve- In testimony on March 11 before be too few for Cleveland. $145,000 in additional taxes.” “Kentucky’s tax on cigarettes is land told the House committee that the Ohio House Ways and Means “In a city the size of Cleveland, 60 cents a pack,” he said. “(A)n he has been working with a network Committee, Andrea Ashley, vice pres- with the number of vibrant neigh- The shift is on Ohio resident can drive to Kentucky of art gallery owners who would like ident of government relations with borhoods and entertainment dis- to be able to legally serve beer and the Associated General Contractors and purchase a 10-pack carton of Small business owners also are cigarettes for a price with $16.50 tricts, we’d need more than the two wine at art walks and other events. unhappy about the plan for in- of Ohio, questioned the expansion of less in tobacco tax” districts allowed in the current leg- “Art galleries are quickly becom- creasing and expanding the sales the sales tax to include business ser- islation,” Deemer said. ing a key component in the resur- vices that its members offer, includ- He calculated for the committee tax. The House bill allows the Divi- gence of many communities,” he ing construction management, value that if that customer is making a Kasich’s plan includes a half-per- sion of Liquor Control to issue two told the committee. “The (tempo- engineering and project consulting weekly cigarette run for friends and centage-point increase in the state outdoor refreshment area permits rary) liquor permit will allow art gal- services. AGC Ohio has nearly 600 buys 20 cartons of cigarettes per sales tax, to 6.25% from 5.75%. It in cities with more than 50,000 peo- leries to lawfully provide hospitality member businesses in seven region- trip, he loses $6,000 a year in gross also includes an expansion of the ple. Cities with between 35,000 peo- to patrons who are vital for the eco- al chapters statewide. profit and Ohio loses $23,400 in lost sales tax to cover a variety of con- ple and 50,000 people could have nomic growth of our communities.” “Few states have such a broad tobacco tax and another $4,215 in sumer and business service trans- one permitted district. sales tax on services, which could lost sales tax. Bar owners are the most visible actions, including management Valarie McCall, Cleveland Mayor put Ohio businesses, including Both the NFIB’s Geiger and opposition to an open container consulting services. Frank Jackson’s chief of govern- law. Jacob Evans, general counsel of “The new definition (of what is construction companies, at a com- COSE’s Millard wondered if part of ment and international affairs, did the Ohio Licensed Beverage Associ- covered by the sales tax) really petitive disadvantage,” Ashley told the income tax cut couldn’t be offset not respond to requests for com- ation, told the House committee broadens that base to a lot of busi- the committee, adding, “The sales by less state spending. Both noted ment as of presstime. that his group is concerned with ness-to-business transactions,” tax increase and expansion will in- that the state’s general revenue bud- Geiger said. “That is particularly crease the cost of many services get has risen steadily under Kasich. how the districts will operate, and difficult for small businesses that and products contractors need to Geiger believes that spending A creative twist the fact that bars in an open con- contract out for a lot of business operate their businesses.” cuts and a more optimistic, but still tainer district would have an unfair What would make the legislation services like accounting services, fi- Ashley added that many con- realistic, forecast of revenue to the advantage over those outside the nancial planning services, advertis- struction companies have affiliates state from a rising economy could more attractive to Cimperman and zone. ing — the list goes on and on. It also that offer their services to other be substituted for some of the tax others is if it were to include a pro- He also said that the needs of art puts them at a disadvantage going members of the consolidated group increases. vision that created a new type of galleries can be solved by linking up against larger businesses that have and that the new sales tax would “I think what you’re going to see liquor permit — a D-9 —which with nonprofits. those services in-house.” apply to transactions within the is less of 13 different tax increases would allow art galleries to serve al- The changes sought in the House Steve Millard, president of the group. Without naming the compa- and more of a focus on finding $1 cohol. bill, he said, “seek to provide an un- Council of Smaller Enterprises in ny, she said the tax on management billion or $1.5 billion (in spending Last year, state liquor agents raid- due benefit to a select few to the Cleveland, said his members also services between affiliated compa- cuts or revenue increases) and ap- ed an opening show at the Loren detriment of the vast majority of are uncomfortable with the sales nies would cost one member com- plying it to an income tax reduction Naji Studio Gallery on West 25th businesses in the area and across tax increases. pany $108,000 a year. of some sort,” Geiger said. Street, confiscating wine and beer the state.” REAL ESTATE CLASSIFIED Phone: (216) 522-1383 Fax: (216) 694-4264 Copy Deadline: Wednesdays @ 2:00 p.m. Contact: Denise Donaldson E-mail: [email protected] All Ads Pre-Paid: Check or Credit Card

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APRIL 6 - 12, 2015 WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS 27 REPORTERS’ NOTEBOOK THE WEEK BEHIND THE NEWS WITH CRAIN’S WRITERS A lesson in textbook rentals: Cleveland. She has the 411 MARCH 30 - APRIL 5 A Shaia-connected affiliate recently They’re on the rise bought the building housing the downtown on libraries’ future The big story: Chances are you still might have some of Ambassador Lanes, 1500 Superior Ave., for A Kent State University assistant profes- The Cleveland- your college textbooks stowed away, but for $1 million, according to Cuyahoga County sor is getting some help from the John S. and Cuyahoga Coun- today’s students, hoarding may become a land records. James L. Knight Foundation to re-imagine ty Port Authority thing of the past. The status of the bowling alley, which the future of libraries. approved a loan College students increasingly are taking operated seasonally in the fall and winter, is Karen MacDonald, assistant professor, package for up to advantage of renting their course materials, unclear, though it closed March 31 for the business and entrepreneurship outreach $60 million to fi- with 40.4% of students renting at least one summer. The Aftoora family had operated librarian, recently was chosen as a Knight nance Phase I of piece of material last fall, according to new the bowling alley for more than 40 years. News Challenge on Libraries prototype Intesa, a development that eventually will be a data from OnCampus Research, the Nick Hill, a family member, said the fam- winner. four-building, 450,000-square-foot, mixed-use research arm of indiCo LLC, a division of ily sold the property for estate planning rea- Her research project, “Information for project on a 2.2-acre parcel near the triangle the Oberlin-based National Association of sons. Remaining competitive in today’s Innovation,” explores ways “to provide formed by Euclid Avenue and Mayfield Road. College Stores. That figure represents a bowling environment would have required information services to local entrepreneurs The $68.3 million first phase will be an 11-story 100% increase over figures from fall 2011. substantial investment in the operation, he and business counselors to see what building with 196 apartment units, a 412-space Also, many students, 31.5%, still prefer said. services they might need to reach their parking garage and 14,000 square feet of com- the printed page, but the use of digital con- Shaia’s interest in the place is easy to goals,” according to a news release from mercial space. Coral president Peter Rubin ex- tent is on the rise. understand. The parking company owns Kent State. pects the building to open in December 2016. A According to the research, 33.7% prefer several buildings and parking lots down- MacDonald will receive $35,000 through second phase, with a 10-story office building, either digital materials or bundles that town, including lots near the bowling alley. the Knight Prototype Fund, which the should begin construction sometime before include both print and digital materials. The property includes two floors of in- university said “helps innovators take media Phase I is complete. Those preferring digital materials cite ease door parking for about 140 cars, according and information projects from idea to of transport and use as well as the limited to Mac Biggar, president of the Hanna Com- demo.” impact on the environment as reasons for Work to do: The Global Center for Health In- mercial brokerage, who handled the deal for She will have six months to research and forgoing the printed page. Plus, students novation is beefing up its staff with someone the sellers. The 36 bowling lanes and a bar test core assumptions before building out who prefer digital spend, on average, $43 whose job will be to make the “Innovation” in its are on the third floor, he said. Biggar said the project. less on course materials. name a reality. SMG, which runs the center and there were multiple suitors for the property In a statement, MacDonald said the grant Worth noting: According to Crain’s the adjacent Cleveland Convention Center, for a variety of potential uses. Neither he nor “will allow me to conduct focus groups and research, $43 equates to almost seven hired Fred DeGrandis, a long-time hospital ex- Hill were certain of the new owner’s plan for interviews with nascent and early-state (chicken, vegetable or tofu) Chipotle burritos ecutive, to be its managing director and chief ad- the pins. entrepreneurs, as well as the counselors in — a favorite meal of today’s college students ministrative officer. DeGrandis said his job will Paul Shaia, president of Shaia’s Parking, various programs such as COSE, JumpStart, (and this reporter). — Timothy Magaw be “to move the Global Center from where it has did not return two phone calls by deadline Small Business Development Center and been elegantly built and organized and planned, on Friday, April 3. the Akron Global Business Accelerator that to being activated as a center that will convene That’s just Ambassador Superior LLC, the investor support these new companies.” and increase collaboration among the partners how Shaia rolls group which acquired the property, direct- The goal, she said, is that the research and participants that are in the building as well ed the county to send future property tax “will result in clear outreach and instruction as the health care community overall.” Strike! That’s a strike as in bowling, bills to Shaia’s Cleveland office. models for helping entrepreneurs meet not baseball, for Shaia’s Parking Inc. of — Stan Bullard their goals.” — Scott Suttell Long time coming: University Hospitals fi- nalized a deal to take over Robinson Memorial Hospital in Ravenna. UH announced plans to roll Robinson into its growing enterprise in Jan- WHAT’S NEW BEST OF THE BLOGS uary 2014, but the deal had apparently been held up by claims that Robinson had engaged in im- Excerpts from recent blog entries tempts and cybercrime so customers know proper financial relationships with referring on CrainsCleveland.com. the website is legitimate, not one created by physicians. The U.S. Department Justice an- a hacker trying to steal information,” ac- nounced March 31, Robinson had agreed to pay Talk to ‘Chuck’ cording to the story. $10 million to settle the claims. The agreement Firms can begin registering dot-bank do- with UH still must be approved by the state, but The auto industry is looking up. How do mains in May. the transaction is expected to close in June. we know that? “Chuck” said it is. Dollar Bank, which has about 60 branch- Bloomberg reported that Morgan Stanley es in western Pennsylvania and Northeast River of dreams: The Cleveland Rowing auto analyst Adam Jonas recently published Ohio, will begin using the dot-bank domain Foundation plans a series of land transactions the latest installment of his periodic conver- once it goes live this summer, Market- that will allow it to enhance its operations at sations with “Chuck,” an uncle of his who’s Watch.com reported. The bank plans to redirect that address to its existing dot-com Rivergate Park in the Flats. The nonprofit agreed a Chevrolet dealer in Canton. website while it migrates content, said Al to sell just over an acre of its property to the In their most recent conversation, Williams, its chief operating officer. Cleveland Metroparks. The move expands on COMPANY: The Malish Corp., Bloomberg said, “Chuck had some very The company will use either dollar.bank the rowing foundation’s sale of almost three positive things to say about car sales.” (The Willoughby or dollarbank.bank. acres to the Metroparks, which the park system title of Jonas’ note is “Uncle Chuck: A Mag- used to add Merwin’s Wharf restaurant on the PRODUCT: The Ultimate Grill Brush ical Month Where Everything Came To- Cuyahoga River. Cleveland Rowing Foundation gether.”) Sounds right After the winter we had, who doesn’t look The news service offered this sample of also said it recently agreed to purchase another Two Northeast Ohio institutions earned forward to firing up the grill? their conversation: parcel north of its current property that will al- spots on a College Degree Search list of the Malish, which makes janitorial, foodser- Jonas: How are March sales looking? low it to increase its riverfront control by 250 feet, country’s 50 most beautiful conservatories vice and floor preparation brushes, says its Chuck: Just great. ... It has been one of the to 1,300 feet. The property will allow the rowing and schools of music. new product is part of the Brooms & Brush- most consistently good months we’ve seen in foundation to expand its docks and to beautify its At No. 35 was Baldwin Wallace Universi- es International product line it recently ac- a long, long time. Sales started out good and campus. ty’s Boesel Musical Arts Center. quired. remained good. “There’s something mysteriously attrac- The Ultimate Grill Brush features a steel Jonas: How’s used going? tive about mirrors; it’s almost impossible to End of the line: Regency Hospital of Akron, a hang-a-blade scraper that attaches to a 7¼- Chuck: We’re getting a nice supply of good walk past them without looking,” College for-profit specialty hospital in Barberton, will inch by 2¼-inch wooden block and a 14- used cars these days. And when we get them, soon close its doors — a move that will result in Degree Search said. “Such is part of the ap- inch handle. It features brass trim and is de- we turn around and sell them fast – they peal of the striking Boesel Musical Arts Cen- the layoffs of 85 employees, according to a notice signed for use on porcelain, stainless and don’t stay more than 30 days. It’s just been filed March 30 with the state. The hospital, at 155 ter. … Like a wide mirror stretched between cast iron grill grates, the company said. one of those magical months where every- frames of brick, the gradually slanted panes 5th Street NE, is owned by Select Medical, a pub- Fred Lombardi, vice president of sales thing came together on used cars. licly traded health care company in Mechanics- of glass reflect the rest of the campus mea- and marketing for Malish, said in a state- There was one thing that didn’t sound so sure by measure, repeating the view with burg, Pa. The facility is expected to close May 29, ment that products like The Ultimate Grill hot. Jonas asked his uncle about the Chevy or within two weeks of that layoff date. Select staccato-like rapidity.” Brush “are a big reason why we added these Volt, to which Chuck replied, “I don’t want And way up at No. 5 was Oberlin College’s said it was closing the hospital “due to business products to our line.” to even want to waste your time talking reasons.” Select operates several hospitals with- Bibbins Hall, home of the Oberlin Conser- Malish in February acquired the assets of about it.” vatory of Music. in Ohio, including another in the Akron area on Brooms & Brushes International, based in East Market Street. “At first view of … the spectacular Bibbins Corona, Calif. Terms of that purchase were Bank on it Hall, eyes widen and the brain stutters as it not disclosed. tries to process the art that is the Oberlin Taking shape: Cleveland business law firm The Brooms & Brushes product line in- “.bank” is coming to financial institu- Conservatory of Music,” according to the Benesch reached an agreement to join the nu- cludes grill brushes, pizza oven brushes, tions’ URLs as soon as this summer, Mar- story. It adds that the building’s creator, Mi- CLEus project in downtown Cleveland, which is counter dusters, floor squeegees and more. ketWatch.com reported, and Dollar Bank is noru Yamasaki, “designed it in a manner in development by Stark Enterprises. Benesch’s For information, visit www.malish.com. among the first gearing up to take the that brings to mind another of his later pro- Cleveland office of 220 employees will occupy plunge. jects: the World Trade Center. Although this two-and-a-half floors of the eight-story office Send information about new products The new, exclusive domains “offer a building isn’t dark, has no twin and isn’t a tower, approximately 70,000 square feet. to managing editor Scott Suttell higher level of security than .com address- skyscraper, it’s easy to see the similarity be- at [email protected]. es — a change designed to foil phishing at- tween it and the fallen towers.” 20150406-NEWS--28-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 4/3/2015 2:22 PM Page 1

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