AzBusiness January/February 2021

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JANUARY // FEBRUARY 2021

Here’s how GPEC managed to increase its

closed deals

amid the pandemic LEADING THE WAY: Chris Camacho is president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC).

Page 89

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Table of Contents 6

Trendsetters

Need a good attorney?

12

Leadership Profile

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the world as we know it.

It changed the way we work. It changed the way we learn. It changed the way we socialize. It changed the way we consume sports and entertainment. And it changed the way we celebrate — or, in most instances, don’t celebrate.

In every January issue of Az Business magazine since I’ve been the editor, we have celebrated the accomplishments of the finalists for the Arizona Corporate Counsel (ACC) Awards. But, because the ACC Awards are always such an inspirational event that recognizes the state’s most effective corporate counsel, we shifted the ACC Awards from January to April, with the hopes that a return to normalcy will allow us to celebrate the accomplishments of these in-house attorneys in a manner that befits their status in the business community. So look for the finalists for the ACC Awards to be featured in the March issue of Az Business.

But that doesn’t mean we are ignoring the accomplishments of attorneys in this issue of Az Business. We have moved the Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona for 2021, a feature that has historically been published in the March issue of Az Business, to this issue. So we swapped one feature that spotlights attorneys with another feature that spotlights attorneys. Is it all making sense now?

The Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona for 2021 were selected from a pool of more than 2,000 of the state’s most talented and successful attorneys. The prestigious group is selected by using an algorithm that ranks them based on professional ratings, industry accolades, impact on the community, and impact on the legal profession.

So, in the midst of this pandemic that has changed the way we live, work, and play, at least you know where to find a good attorney if you need one: Inside this issue of Az Business. Enjoy.

14 Women in Healthcare 24

Law Outlook

26

Top 100 Lawyers

46

Banking

62

Young Leaders

66

Az Business Angels

68 Marketing

14

46

70 Dining 72

Real Estate Outlook

73 Arizona Mining Association 89 Greater Phoenix Economic Council

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On the cover: As president and CEO of Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC), Chris Camacho has helped facilitate the attraction of more than 280 companies that created 47,011 jobs. (Photo by Mike Mertes, AZ Big Media) 2

AB | January - February 2021

Michael Gossie Editor in chief michael.gossie@azbigmedia.com

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SHOUT-OUTS

President and CEO: Michael Atkinson Publisher: Amy Lindsey Vice president of operations: Audrey Webb

AMAZON OFFERS HELP TO VALLEY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTER New Life Center (NLC), the largest domestic violence shelter in Arizona, announced it received a donation of $30,000 from Amazon. The money will be allocated to several of the organization’s programs that support survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking. Funds will also be used for the development of NLC’s thrift store, Hope’s Closet, which serves two important purposes to the center. First, every child and adult seeking refuge NLC’s emergency shelter has access to all the clothing and furnishings offered at the store free of charge.

Additionally, all proceeds from Hope’s Closet are used to support the shelter’s operations. The center offers four core programs to help survivors in need: residential, children’s, outreach and lay legal advocacy.

Wilde Wealth Management brings cheer to children Wilde Wealth Management Group helped make the season a little more merry and bright for more than 600 children in need during the holiday season, with a donation of nearly 300 toys as well as a more than $5,000 in additional cash donations to Toys for Tots in December. This was Wilde’s 16th year supporting Toys for Tots through its Wilde for Arizona Community Outreach Program.

Fry’s donates $270,000 to fight food insecurity Fry’s Food Stores donated $270,000 to Arizona nonprofit organizations to address the urgent food needs of families struggling during the current COVID-19 pandemic. This effort is part of Kroger’s Zero Hunger | Zero Waste social impact plan to end hunger in communities and eliminate waste across the company by 2025. “The COVID-19 pandemic has placed an incredible amount of stress on families and on the nonprofit organizations trying to assist them,” said Monica Garnes, president of Fry’s Food Stores.

“Now more than ever, Fry’s is committed to strengthening our local communities and we hope these donations will help provide relief for Arizona families that are struggling to put food on the table.”

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AB | January - February 2021

EDITORIAL Editor in chief: Michael Gossie Associate editors: Steve Burks | Alyssa Tufts Interns: Kyle Backer | Troy Hill Contributing writers: Courtney Beller | Ashley Richards Erin Thorburn | Steven G. Zylstra ART Design director: Bruce Andersen Art director: Mike Mertes MARKETING/EVENTS Digital marketing specialist: Paul Schaum Marketing designer: Heather Barnhill OFFICE Special projects manager: Sara Fregapane Administrative assistant: Brandi Collins Database solutions manager: Amanda Bruno AZ BUSINESS MAGAZINE Senior account executives: David Harken | April Rice Account executive: Manessa Ochoa AZ BUSINESS ANGELS AZ BUSINESS LEADERS Director of sales: Sheri Brown AZRE | ARIZONA COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE Director of sales: Ann McSherry EXPERIENCE ARIZONA | PLAY BALL Director of sales: Laura Schwartz RANKING ARIZONA Director of sales: Sheri King Az Business magazine is published bi-monthly by AZ BIG Media, 3101 N. Central Ave. Suite 1070, Phoenix, Arizona 85012, (602) 277-6045. The publisher accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or artwork. Submissions will not be returned unless accompanied by a SASE. Single copy price $4.95. Bulk rates available. Copyright 2021 by AZ BIG Media. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from AZ BIG Media.

20 20 IN

MORE THAN 20 MILLION PAGE VIEWS IN 2020 CANNOT BE WRONG. Go to AZBigMedia.com and discover for yourself why BuzzFeed says it’s one of the websites “everyone in Arizona should know about.”

AB | January - February 2021 5

TRENDSETTERS 85253

85262

85266

85259

85255

Paradise Valley

Scottsdale

Scottsdale

Scottsdale

Scottsdale

$1,538,000

$915,000

$799,000

$740,000

$720,000

85377

85264

85018

85263

85254

Carefree

Fort McDowell

Phoenix

Rio Verde

Scottsdale

$688,000

$680,000

$608,000

$564,000

$540,000

HERE ARE THE

MOST EXPENSIVE

ZIP CODES IN ARIZONA IN 2020

PropertyShark recently released its annual ranking of the 100 most expensive zip codes in the U.S. by closed home sales. Arizona has one entry in this year’s national top 100 — Paradise Valley’s 85253, which ranked No. 89 nationally. Here are the 10 most expensive zip codes in Arizona.

How does a $300K property in Phoenix compare with the rest of the world?

What do a 1,807-square-foot property in Phoenix and a 144-square-foot property in Hong Kong have in common? Both can be bought for the price of the U.S. median home, which hovers around $300,000.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed space into one of the most valuable commodities, Point2 wanted to see how much space the median U.S. home price would get a homebuyer across the globe. Here’s how Phoenix

compares to other major cities in the world: • A $300,000-rich homebuyer would “snatch” 1,607 square feet in Phoenix – that’s 12 times more space than in Hong Kong (144 square feet) and three times less space than in Delhi, India.

• In North America, Houston offers the biggest bang for the buck (2,098 square feet), while San Francisco (unsurprisingly) offers the smallest space (274 square feet).

5 tips to boost home appraisal value The housing market is hot across Arizona and many homeowners are hoping to sell and get the most bang for their buck. One thing owners can do to boost their home value is properly prepare for a home appraisal. Ashley Bowers, president of Scottsdale-based HomeSmart International, shares these tips to boost your home appraisal: • Declutter and remove family photos • Make a list of all of the upgrades you’ve made to your home • Find an appraiser who knows your neighborhood • Provide your own comparables Ashley Bowers • Be as accommodating to the appraiser as possible 6

AB | January - February 2021

INNOVATION IN ARIZONA:

4 decades of patent activity Supporting innovation is essential to adapting through the challenges we face in the modern age, as well as to maintaining a dynamic and competitive economy. Drawing on U.S. Patents & Trademark Office data, CommercialCafe released a new study, which looked at more than four decades of national patent activity. Here are some highlights from the study: • A total of 24,580 U.S.-based assignee patents were filed and granted in Arizona between 1975 and 2019.

• T he section with most patent activity in the state was electricity, with a patent count of 9,244.

• T he most innovative class in Arizona was basic electric elements, followed by technical subjects covered by the former United States Patent Classification system, with 4,809 and 3,152 patents, respectively.

• T extiles and paper was the least innovative section in the state, with a patent count of 85.

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TRENDSETTERS

THE WRITE STUFF Here are the books that have inspired and entertained Arizona business leaders

F

or Kathleen Goeppinger, reading is a passion she developed at an early age, inspired by her mother, who was a librarian.

“I have often turned to the writings of Mother Teresa for inspiration and insight into the hearts and minds of my colleagues, knowing compassion and care is indeed a healing art,” says the president and CEO of Midwestern University.

But Goeppinger isn’t the only Arizona business leader who has been inspired by books. Here is what fills the bookshelves of Arizona’s most brilliant business minds.

RITA H. CHENG

president, Northern Arizona University:

“‘The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations,’ by James Kouzes and Barry Posner was an important book on my path to leadership.”

MICHAEL CROW

DEBBIE JOHNSON

President, Arizona State University: “Two standouts are ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,’ by Jules Verne, which ignited my imagination as a child, and ‘High Velocity Culture Change,’ by Price Pritchett, which I share often with colleagues.”

Executive director, Arizona Office of Tourism: “‘Rising Strong,’ by Brene Brown. It’s a great reminder that at some time in life we will all fail, get hurt or make mistakes, but it’s how we handle and accept those situations and then grow and rise from them that matters and makes us who we are.”

PETER S. FINE

President and CEO, Experience Scottsdale: “‘The Glass Bead Game’ and ‘Siddhartha,’ both

by Hermann Hesse, introduced me to new ways of thinking when I was in college.”

President and CEO, Banner Health: “My favorite book was ‘Shogun’ because I love books that take me to another time and another place.”

DON GARNER

CEO, Alliance Bank of Arizona:

“‘Instant Replay: The Green Bay Diary of Jerry Kramer,’ about the 1968 Green Bay Packers, reinforced how hard work, discipline, respect and cohesive teamwork plays a vital role in winning.”

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AB | January - February 2021

RACHEL SACCO STEVE SANGHI

CEO, Microchip Technology: “The best book I read was ‘Good to Great,’

by Jim Collins. I adopted the teachings in the book and they have impacted my career immensely.”

LONNIE J. WILLIAMS, JR.

Managing partner - Phoenix office, Stinson:

“‘Invisible Man,’ by Ralph Ellison. Written before I was born, but a milestone in American literature. I first read the book in high school and have read it many times since. I believe it should be standard reading for everyone, especially students of color.”

AB | January - February 2021 9

TRENDSETTERS

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM

TELEHEALTH IN 2021

The pandemic pushed telehealth to the forefront of healthcare delivery.

“Telehealth has reached an inflection point,” said Bill Goodwin, CEO of national telehealth provider MeMD. “Utilization has exploded, and we’re on the cusp of widespread adoption.” Goodwin shares his outlook for telehealth in 2021: • Telehealth will be the standard first step. As consumers grow accustomed to ease, convenience and immediacy in healthcare, telehealth will be their first stop for care, whether via video, phone or even text.

• Employers transition to holistic benefit packages. From urgent and primary care to mental health and wellness programs, virtual solutions will take center stage as businesses work to improve employee health while reducing costs. This will be especially true of mental healthcare.

accurate diagnoses, guide patients in the at-home use of historically complex diagnostic tools, and even deliver behavioral therapy as an adjunct to clinician-supervised treatment.

• Heightened attention toward data management. Telehealth’s expansion into primary care will arm family and internal medicine providers with the data they need to improve quality, care coordination and communication – all while bending the cost curve down.

• Artificial intelligence to play a greater role in new telehealth solutions. Among dozens of applications, AI can share patient information in advance to help providers make

6

MARKETING TRENDS TO KNOW FOR 2021

Video remains No. 1 in all forms, but particularly in short-form clips and GIFs. Reels and TikTok effective channels based on client audience.

• Federal policy will evolve to expand virtual care delivery.

At the onset of the pandemic, U.S. insurers quickly expanded coverage to include all telehealth visits and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services loosened restrictions on virtual care.

2021 is a year many are holding in their hearts for new opportunity, promise and positivity. Phoenix-based Commit Agency took a deep dive into some of the most prominent marketing trends that are expected for the new year. Here are a few of the trends they predict:

Growth in AR and VR enables customers to digitally try out products and services — a sign of the times in our COVID world.

The continued increase in interactive content such as polls, quizzes, Gifs and more.

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• Primary care to assume role of quarterback. In addition to solving access issues resulting from a critical provider shortage, telehealth will increase the number of touchpoints between doctors and patients, especially when managing chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes.

AB | January - February 2021

Design trends ranging from Art Deco with a twist, blooms, and muted colors.

Growth in brand activism — consumers today expect brands they like to take a stand on important social issues.

The “influencer economy” — Instagram continues to develop new ways to pay its content creators directly in the app and thus compete with other platforms. (i.e. badges, IGTV ads, sharing ad revenue).

AB | January - February 2021 11

LEADERSHIP PROFILE

INNOVATIVE TO HIS CORE

Dr. David Jacofsky looks to change the way patients are treated and the way they pay for care are partnering with payors, providers and hospitals to add true value to the healthcare system while transitioning from volumebased to value-based care strategies. He has been successful in improving clinical outcomes for patients while improving financial performance for stakeholder partners.

If that’s not enough, Dr. Jacofsky is also an inventor who is listed on more than 30 patents.

Az Business talked with the medical marvel to get his take on healthcare.

Az Business: How do you define innovation?

David Jacofsky, MD: For us, innovation is not about incremental changes. For us, it’s about fundamentally transforming a product or service or fundamentally transforming the way in which that product or service is delivered. And I think that in healthcare, the status quo is pretty strong. And so it’s very challenging to try and fundamentally change that system. But that’s really what we’ve always tried to do. Not really focusing on incremental improvements today, but truly fundamentally changing how healthcare is delivered.

AB: You practice medicine, you’ve created tech companies in an effort to change the way we pay for healthcare, and you oversee research. How do you balance it all?

DJ: I don’t balance any of it. My job is to be the dumbest person in the world. And so, we’ve developed a medical economics division.

We have, in our C-suite, our president of Insurance and Risk, who is the former CFO and president of Pacific Care for the West. He has, in his department, someone who is the former CEO of Aetna for the Mountain States. And we have actuaries and we have data scientists and we have a team that does everything we do.

By MICHAEL GOSSIE

D

avid Jacofsky, MD, epitomizes the phrase “game-changer.”

As the founder The CORE Institute, Dr. Jacofsky took an Arizona-based healthcare business that began in 2005 as a three-physician practice and built it into a thriving practice with 188 clinical doctors and providers treating patients at 27 clinics and locations across 27 states. The CORE Institute has been voted the No. 1 orthopedic practice in Ranking Arizona for the last eight years.

As the founder, CEO and chairman of HOPCo (Health Outcomes Performance company). Dr. Jacofsky has turned his attention to healthcare payor reform by focusing on aligning stakeholders in the healthcare space. Dr. Jacofsky and HOPCo

12

AB | January - February 2021

AB: What gives you the most pride about the practice and the business you’ve built?

DJ: The people. It’s all about the people. I think it’s great when we win awards. And it’s great to be the person that gets interviewed or get your picture in a magazine. But ultimately, if I got hit by the bus tomorrow and I didn’t show up to work, this place would still run. And the one thing that ultimately matters the most is our patient satisfaction. And that isn’t driven by systems or by a customized EMR. It’s driven by the people at the front desk that recognize this is somebody’s mom and I need to help them get to their chair. Or the person that returns their phone call right away. Or the fact that the person on the phone is able to give them a single call resolution. So at the end of the day, that’s what it’s about and the most important job.

AB | January - February 2021 13

EAST VALLEY WOMEN IN HEALTHCARE UPDATE

A SEAT AT THE TABLE Here’s how women healthcare leaders created their paths to success

By ALYSSA TUFTS

W

hile it hasn’t always been the case, women have increasingly become larger parts of leadership, earned C-suite and executive titles and done it with grace while overcoming unique challenges. Members of the Women in Healthcare Phoenix chapter, which promotes the professional development of women in the healthcare industry through networking, education and mentorship, have worked their way up in their respective fields in healthcare and share their journeys and advice for young women entering the industry.

Sarina Rodriques, FACHE, DLM, COO of Clin-Path Associates and Pathology Specialists of Arizona (PSA), moved to Arizona in 14

AB | January - February 2021

2019 to become COO after a nearly 30-year career.

“Being COO is the culmination of my experience to be able to run the largest pathology group in Arizona,” Rodriques says. “It’s basically the peak of my career to be able to give back everything I’ve learned in 29 years and there are great, focused leaders we work with in Arizona.”

Clin-Path Associates is a member of PSA, the largest pathology group in Arizona that primarily supports Banner Health hospitals, in addition to Dignity Health, Abrazo Community Health Network, the Steward Healthcare System and many ambulatory surgery centers.

process engineering, whose role is to consult with Banner’s leadership teams who are implementing change initiatives and how to make that change successful for their teams. “We’re focused on how we communicate these changes effectively to our teams, how we support them through the changes and how we make sure there’s alignment across the system with other changes that are impacting these groups at the same time.”

Since starting her career at Banner a little more than five years ago as an administrative assistant for the Banner Health Foundation, Thomas has worked her way up to her current position.

“I was new to the healthcare world and once I was exposed to it, I realized this is where I want to be and develop my abilities, so I earned my master’s in healthcare delivery,” she says. “Once I graduated with my degree, I had opportunities to work with amazing women leaders at Banner and took the initiative to build those relationships and volunteer for extra projects, which helped lead me to my current position.”

Quest for confidence Though Thomas is confident in her role, she initially struggled with imposter syndrome and trusting her intuition.

“When going into meetings, you feel like you have to act a certain way or know all the answers, so I struggled with that as I went from a coordinator to a program director, which is a pretty big jump,” Thomas says. “I felt like I had these expectations I needed to meet. In reality, I was setting those expectations for myself, and women I’ve talked to who have also advanced in their careers share that perceived expectation.

“One way I’ve tried to overcome that,” Thomas says, “is by taking Stepping up a step back and listening to those voices that I look up to and seeing Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, many women how they act in certain situations, how they respond in meetings leaders, including Rodriques, have had opportunities to or a stressful situation and keep that in mind when I build my own demonstrate their strengths. leadership style based off of what I’m seeing around me.”

“I think I’m extremely agile, so with COVID-19, I’ve been Thomas feels the most rewarding part of her role is seeing the extremely flexible and I’ve used a lot of my crisis management impact of her work. “Seeing the work I do come to fruition when skills as well; but what I have is the 30 years of broad-based we have a successful project go live brings me a lot of joy,” she experience, where I’ve ran all sectors of the pathology and says. “I’ve also had opportunities to experience all aspects of the laboratory space,” Rodriques says. “I get to bring those unique healthcare system and build my knowledge and skill set, which experiences to this role. I also have a fairly calming personality, has made me a better employee.” which helps with stability when there’s a lot of chaos going on.”

As stereotypes continue to be broken, Rodriques says women Caitlyn Thomas, senior change management program director may be seen as more emotional and not as flexible because of an for performance improvement at Banner Health, says she has assumption that women also have to take care of their children observed Banner’s proactive response to COVID-19, with many and families. women leaders in charge of that effort.

“I think that’s a big misconception because there’s much “We have so many strong female voices in the room and it’s more flexibility now with families and spouses who share the so inspiring to me,” Thomas says. “One is Dr. Marjorie Bessel, responsibilities,” Rodriques says. “I have a great relationship with Banner’s chief clinical officer. She has been the voice of how my husband and we’ve been able to share taking care of our kids, Banner responds to COVID-19 — internally to our Banner team members and externally in the community. That’s inspiring to see who are now adults, and there’s much better support available for young parents than there was when I had my children 20 years a woman in that position of power ... I think she’s making huge ago. It’s women like myself that have proved that they can be strides for women in healthcare.” executives and still be there for their families when they have a Thomas works in Banner’s Change Management Department, which is part of the Performance Improvement team that includes community that supports them.”

AB | January - February 2021 15

WOMEN IN HEALTHCARE

Sarina Rodriques

Caitlyn Thomas

Team player Amy Zitny, AIA, ACHA, associate and project architect at Corgan who also serves as membership chair for the Women in Healthcare Phoenix Chapter, is part of the leadership team in Corgan’s healthcare studio, whose responsibilities include managing healthcare clients, overseeing and managing projects and production staff.

Before working at Corgan, Zitny worked with HCG Construction on a 1.8-million-square-foot hospital in Toronto.

She later moved to Shepley Bulfinch, where she worked on Banner University Medical Center in Tucson and was exposed to the overall design and construction process. Since being at Corgan for almost three years, Zitny has managed a lot of Corgan’s healthcare clients, a responsibility she attributes to her exposure in her previous roles.

“I’ve been extremely fortunate to be on some teams where I had the opportunity to be exposed to many aspects of the industry at such a young age,” she says. “Exposure is the key to gaining experience, so that’s really helped advance my career.”

Zitny also became a Board-Certified Healthcare Architect this year, making her the youngest (at 34 years old) Board Certified Healthcare Architect in Arizona.

“Healthcare is fast-paced, time is money, and every square foot is capable of producing more dollars,” Zitny says. “So I would say my strengths are my ability to stay focused on a task or a project while continuing to take on additional challenges and having the foresight to stay organized and build on developing other projects coming down the pipeline. I enjoy the challenge of healthcare. There’s a lot of operational aspects along with designing, so I definitely see that as being my career focus moving forward.”

In a leadership position, Zitny says she has found that it helps to be organized and prepared and helps to come across as confident in your abilities, especially as a young woman.

“I’m not only challenged with being a woman, but I’m being challenged with looking young and being young compared with a lot of other people who have a lot more experience under their belt. Nonetheless, I’m not afraid to speak up and I just need to be confident in my capabilities and showcase that if I’m 16

AB | January - February 2021

Amy Zitny

presenting or having a discussion with others in the industry.”

A 2020 study found that more than 60 percent of employees entering the healthcare industry are women. However, at the C-suite level, women comprise only 28 percent of the roles. The research also found women are more motivated than men to pursue a top leadership position to become role models for other women.

“I believe there’s more diversity,” Rodriques says. “I see greater diversity both in color and socioeconomic diversity. I see that women bring more compassion to their jobs and work very hard.

I think they go the extra mile and women are great at taking on responsibilities, being organized and getting things done.”

Advice for success If young women are interested in entering the healthcare field, Rodriques and Zitny have some sage, actionable advice.

Rodriques mentors high school students who are interested in the STEM/healthcare fields and recommends young women create a LinkedIn profile to start building a network, finding mentors and developing leadership skills. She also wants to learn more about how Arizona schools are engaging young people, especially women of color, to get them involved in internships or organizations.

“I want to see if there’s a way to create a pipeline for women leaders into the healthcare sector,” Rodriques says.

Zitny enjoys mentoring and being a resource for younger professionals to help them learn and grow as they start their careers.

“I would say speak up,” Zitny says. “Nobody’s going to hand you your career. Say, ‘This is what I’d like to get out of this role or position,’ because everybody is going to assume if you don’t speak up, that you’re fine doing what you’re doing.

“No. 2,” Zitny says, “is place yourself in a stretch role, a term we use a lot at Corgan, which means working smarter than peers to achieve that next level. If you want to be promoted, start taking on the responsibilities of that role now.

“No. 3,” Zitny says, “is to find a mentor in your company who you trust will help you grow your own career. You should want to work with this person and not necessarily for this person, and I think that’s so important. You want to feel that you’re on a team with that person and they believe in your success ultimately.”

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AB | January - February 2021 17

EAST VALLEY WOMEN IN HEALTHCARE UPDATE

CAN SELFISHNESS

BREAK THE GLASS CEILING?

I

n some industries the proverbial glass ceiling is tougher to crack than others.

We are often told that the pipeline of qualified women doesn’t exist. But what is the excuse for healthcare? According to a 2013 report from the American College of Healthcare Executives, women only account for 26 percent of executive level leadership in healthcare, despite making up more than 75 percent of the total healthcare workforce. How is it that so few women have made it to the C-suite in such a female dominated industry?

From its start, Women in Healthcare was a group of tenacious women who set out to change those statistics. And to do so, we had to understand, from their perspective, why are women not the majority leaders in healthcare? While some responses were specific to the healthcare environment, like the complexities of policy and clinical operations creating uncertainty, others were universal struggles of all women in the workforce, such as lack of mentorship, bias, and discriminatory hurdles. One response that reigned true for across all respondents is that, in an industry that is founded on caregiving, it is no surprise that the struggle many woman in healthcare face is their complete dedication to their jobs, their families, their communities and millions of other things that consume their available resources. Insistent on putting history behind us, collectively we seem to

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AB | January - February 2021

Ashley Schmidt Women In Healthcare

be trying to prove we can do it ALL. Our male counterparts are rarely asked “How do you balance work and life?” or “How do you do it?” because the insurmountable expectation is still falling on women’s shoulders. Women of every age and every level of their careers ARE TIRED. And while we are out there chipping away at that ceiling, we forget the most basic human attribute, self-preservation. Preservation, keeping something valued alive and intact, should be our minimum commitment to ourselves. But that is unsustainable when we need to be everyone.

The proposed solution seems to be “self care.” “Don’t forget to pamper yourself,” they tell us. The idea of selfcare often seems more stress inducing than it is anxiety relieving. But maybe we are thinking about it all wrong?

Self-care doesn’t need to be spa dates, yoga classes, and running marathons (although they all are nice) it can also mean saying no to something new, going to bed on time, building your tribe and community and practicing self-discipline.

It is communicating with your partner, your children and your employer about your dedications AND limitations. It is an environment in which we can encourage one another and remove the shame women place on each other around expectations.

Why don’t we encourage an environment where “selfish” is no longer a dirty word, and we appreciate the importance of maintaining a strong mind to support our ever changing and challenging roles?

Perhaps it is time all women set aside the guilt and shame associated with selfishness and recognize that preservation should not be the minimum. We owe it to ourselves and to future generations of women to not continue the burn out.

Find your support tribe. Women in Healthcare is a nonprofit organization dedicated to women in administrative, operations and facilities in the healthcare industry. To learn more about Women in Healthcare you can visit womeninhealthcare.org.

Ashley Schmidt is vice president of HKS Inc. and president of the national board of directors for Women In Healthcare.

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AB | January - February 2021 19

EAST VALLEY WOMEN IN HEALTHCARE UPDATE

BUILDING OPPORTUNITY

Women leaders help drive economic growth in healthcare

By TROY HILL

T

he healthcare industry is one of the biggest industries in the country and world. In Arizona alone, it is estimated to be a $30 billion industry.

With the difficult environment we are all living in right now, partly because of the ongoing challenges that have risen with the coronavirus pandemic affecting all areas of life, it is clear that the healthcare industry is one of the most important and impactful industries in existence — and women have been a huge part of that impact from the beginning.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women have driven 80 percent of the overall growth in the booming healthcare field since the turn of the century, and fill most of the jobs in the healthcare sector as a whole.

However, despite much of the progress that has been made in the last few decades, many in the industry still feel that the healthcare industry is still maledominated and that it can be challenging to get a foot in the door.

“I would say it’s definitely maledominated, and I have continued to be challenged and it’s not just in (healthcare) architecture — healthcare in general is male-dominated,” says Amy Zitny, AIA, ACHA, an associate and project architect at Corgan, a leading architecture and design firm. “I think that each of these is slowly changing and you definitely are seeing more and more women, but it definitely still exists.”

Zitny recommends women who are entering the healthcare field take their careers into their own hands by taking on additional tasks and responsibilities to develop leadership and management skills and to find a mentor who will help them grow their own careers.

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That’s where organizations like Women in Healthcare come in. Women in Healthcare is a national organization whose mission is to promote professional development among women in healthcare, and they formed a chapter in the Valley a couple of years ago.

“It’s a good opportunity for women in healthcare to provide an outlet for the sharing of information and support,” says Lori Aune, treasurer for Women

in Healthcare Phoenix Chapter and the director of operations for ARCHSOL, a local healthcare architecture firm.

Women in Healthcare has members from every angle of the profession, including clinical, professional, real estate, design, architecture, construction, and more.

Aune says having this eclectic mix of members shows how many other industries healthcare manages to touch.

The organization has a large emphasis on mentorship for younger healthcare professionals, such as those in or recently graduated from college.

“Through my professional career, I have had some amazing mentors, and I feel it’s important to give back and give back to the community and give back to those

individuals that may be looking to find their path or if they’ve already chosen their path — to help them grow,” says Aune, one of AZRE magazine’s Most Influential Women of 2019. Aune says the group of women that is Women in Healthcare is very supportive and collaborative. She also stresses that it’s a great place to network and learn about the industry, and members are there for one another, too. “(Women in Healthcare) is open to anyone — from a student level to an executive suite level,” Aune says.

Despite challenges many have faced in the healthcare industry, women in leadership and management positions have gained a much greater presence recently and have made significant economic impact.

“In Arizona, we’ve got a lot of great healthcare organizational leaders,” Aune says.

“I think how women have made an impact goes from leadership level right through the clinical service level and everything from research science and technology.”

Aune knows many women in high-level positions in many healthcare organizations across the state, and Zitny says she’s seeing more women in jobs across the industry.

“I would say women are definitely starting to step into more leadership roles and I’ve seen it on the Banner University Medical Center Tucson project, where our architecture team (Shepley Bulfinch) was almost all women — and that is extremely

rare,” Zitny says. Even Banner health had commented on the fact that it was rare, says Zitny, who is also membership chair for the Women in Healthcare Phoenix Chapter.

Aune’s own organization, ARCHSOL, is 60 percent female overall, and its leadership is 65 percent female.

Zitny says she thinks as time goes on and newer generations become more prominent, gender roles and challenges will begin to break down in the industry.

“You’re definitely seeing a lot more physicians come in that are female, who are leading the charge,” she says. “It’s been fun because, obviously, we know we’re fully capable and just as capable as men. It’s good to see that women are starting to break down those barriers and the glass ceiling is coming down a little bit more.”

Lori Aune

Amy Zitny

> WOMEN IN HEALTHCARE ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION: The purpose of the Women In Healthcare organization is to promote the professional development of women in the healthcare industry, to empower one another, support growth and mentorship, and support business through sharing successful techniques, leads, contacts, products, and services.

The group’s content is geared towards women in administration, operations and facilities and those who work with them. Women In Healthcare provides content that furthers the individuals’ knowledge of industry related fields and trends, enhances professional development tools, and gives a forum for personal growth.

The group focuses all the content it provides on the following tracks: > Mentorship > Education > Networking > Community > Self All programs, education, networking, and charitable events are rooted in these principals and promise to provide women in the healthcare industry with the community and tools needed to prosper. Women In Healthcare’s vision is to give women and organizations the tools needed to prosper and to allow them to have a seat at the table they want to be seated. Women in Healthcare gears its content towards women who are interested in a management or leadership track within the healthcare environment. The group is a diverse mix of individuals varying in experience from students to C-suite.

LEARN MORE: womeninhealthcare.org

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WOMEN IN HEALTHCARE

CALM AMONGST CHAOS Here’s how women in healthcare adapted amid COVID-19

By KYLE BACKER

T

he onset and spread of COVID-19 changed the way Arizonans work, play, and live. Some have lost their jobs or seen the nature of their work fundamentally change.

Others, like Dr. Alyssa Chapital, medical director of the Mayo Clinic Hospital, have faced the challenge of caring for patients during a pandemic.

“My husband has said that I was training for this role all my life,” says Dr. Chapital. “I was a trauma surgeon, I work in the ICU, and I’ve spent a significant amount of time doing volunteer work in the third world. I was absolutely not ready or expecting this disaster, but I was trained to do the work to lead our response.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how healthcare is coordinated and delivered in Arizona since the spring of 2020, and some of these changes are likely to stick around.

Necessity breeds innovation Like many in the healthcare industry, Ann-Marie Alameddin, president and CEO of the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association (AzHHA) and one of Az Business magazine’s Most Influential Women of 2020, has shifted the focus of her work because of COVID-19. Typically, AzHHA prioritizes policy and advocacy work on behalf of hospitals, but Alameddin started implementing the association’s emergency preparedness program once the pandemic took hold.

“We found ourselves procuring about $10 million worth of ventilators to purchase on behalf of the state,” Alameddin says.

“We’ve been trying to adapt to meet the needs of Arizona.”

Meeting the needs of Arizona has been the animating factor that led to unprecedented levels of coordination between hospitals, healthcare providers, and government agencies.

Ensuring hospitals have the necessary PPE has been a top priority due to the rates at which hospitals use and dispose of masks, gloves, and gowns.

“The hospitals have come together in partnership with community organizations when there were shortages of PPE, in terms of local production of masks and gowns, and I think we’ve been galvanized to take care of our community and we’ve done so in really innovative ways,” says Alameddin.

Having the proper levels of PPE is only one of the benefits of this heightened collaboration. The communication between

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hospitals and healthcare providers has enhanced situational awareness of the spread of COVID-19 throughout the state. The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) established the Arizona Surge Line in April 2020—a statewide system that facilitates patient admission, transfer, and discharge to keep hospitals from being overwhelmed by a spike in COVID-19 cases. “(ADHS) allowed the hospitals to participate in the conversation, to modify and mature some of these strategies,” Dr. Chapital says. “The Arizona Surge Line allows hospitals to see where beds are open, but capacity isn’t everything. You may have beds, but may not have staff, so we also (report) our staffing and PPE levels,” Dr. Chapital explains. “I’m proud of what Arizona accomplished.”

For Alameddin and the AzHHA, communicating with members about regulatory decisions helps hospitals navigate a quickly shifting landscape in a time of crisis.

“Part of our role is communication and education to our hospital members, whether it’s keeping them updated on state regulatory changes, new executive orders, or changes at the federal level with respect to CARES Act funding,” Alameddin says. “We’re constantly updating information and providing that in a succinct way for our hospitals so they can keep up with the changing regulatory pieces.”

Looking forward in 2021 In January 2020, no one knew that COVID-19 would spread across the globe, cause immense harm, and change the outlook for the entire year. As calendars have flipped over to 2021, COVID-19 is still the context in which families and businesses make decisions every day.

The healthcare industry in the new year will look like 2020 in some ways, but that isn’t all bad news. 2021 could cement some of the positive changes the healthcare industry has experienced as best practices.

“I think for the healthcare industry that there will be some things that are changed forever and that will be for the good.

We have pivoted to widespread implementation of telehealth and I think that will continue and be expanded. What we did in two weeks would have normally taken years to accomplish,” Alameddin says.

Ann-Marie Alameddin

Dr. Alyssa Chapital

The growth of telehealth, also known as telemedicine, is a bright spot from 2020. Telehealth gives individuals expanded access to healthcare from the convenience of their home. This is especially helpful for an elderly population who may have a harder time getting to a physician’s office.

For people with chronic conditions, there are telemonitoring services that allow healthcare providers to check blood pressure, weight, and other vitals without having the patient physically come to the office. This remote monitoring can be used to identify when a patient may need to go to an urgent care or the emergency department.

Another change that is likely to stay is the increased coordination in the healthcare system.

“I do think that we will continue to see this level of collaboration as we move forward, and it may be because there will still be resource constraints. Some supplies will still be distributed by [ADHS] so that in many ways forces that collaboration,” Dr. Chapital says. “I think that we may end up spreading some of the lessons of COVID-19 outside of COVID-19, like low levelling hospitals, which means getting the patient to the right facility at the right time.”

While no one can predict the future, one thing is for certain in 2021: adherence to public health recommendations is key to controlling the virus.

“Healthcare is dependent upon everybody acting in accordance with the public health recommendations that we have out there: wearing a mask and staying socially distant,” Alameddin says.

“The stakes are so incredibly high and there’s a need for constant vigilance until we have the widespread distribution of a vaccine. We need to focus on flattening that curve because it impacts all of us.”

AB | January - February 2021 23

LAW OUTLOOK

NEW RULES, COURT DELAYS AND ZOOM – OH, MY! Here’s how attorneys and their clients should prepare for 2021

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Courtney Beller Law

B

race yourselves. Expect the fundamental shifts that the legal community encountered this year to continue into 2021. My days, for example, have been filled with counseling clients about which rules and regulations will survive into February and beyond.

Other clients are asking questions about how, in light of the shift to work from

orders almost immediately upon Presidentelect Biden taking office.

Companies that operate in highlyregulated industries, such as healthcare, may feel a bit of whiplash come January.

In-house regulatory counsel must learn a stack of new rules governing their industry. Those without in-house counsel may spin off more work to outside counsel in an effort to keep up with the changes.

Continued court delays Jurors are opting out of jury duty citing COVID-19 concerns and courts are often illequipped to accommodate necessary social distancing. As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, parties will see more delays concerning in-person proceedings, especially jury trials.

Where trials are happening, courts will give priority to criminal cases. Expect increased pressure to opt for bench trials (especially via Zoom or other electronic means) and alternative dispute resolution. Las Vegas courts, for example, have suspended almost all in-person proceedings through at least January, a timeline that will likely be extended if COVID-19 cases continue to rise.

Barreling toward trial may no longer give parties much leverage, at least for the near future.

home, to cut costs by renegotiating their leases. What trends can companies and their legal teams expect to encounter next year? Here are some to prepare for.

All Zoom everything The hope of delaying depositions and court proceedings, allowing them to occur in person, is fading. Companies and their counsel will need to get up to speed on Zoom depositions and hearings and ways to effectively prosecute their cases over video.

Lots of regulatory changes The Trump administration is currently updating and implementing numerous regulatory changes and agency rules that will significantly impact companies and individuals alike. For example, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid recently implemented rule changes concerning physician self-referral regulations.

A new administration will roll back many of these actions. We will see new policies, agency rules and administrative

Upending legal norms Arizona’s Supreme Court recently entered two orders aimed at allowing nonlawyer ownership in law firms, non-lawyer representation of clients and the payment of attorney referral fees, among other things. Utah is in the process of making similar changes. As we have seen overseas, this may lead to consolidation between accounting and law firms, among others, allowing companies to consolidate outside service providers.

A shrinking footprint Companies and law firms alike are going to see increased pressure to give up square footage and shift operations to work from home.

Attorneys will drive some of that, having demonstrated they really can be just as productive from home. Some of it will be driven by pressure to cut costs to offset static hourly rates which also will lead to change. Although law firms and their clients may not be meeting over marble conference tables, clients will continue to demand responsiveness and the same high-quality work product they received while meeting in the office.

Companies will have a lot of leverage to renegotiate lease terms once they come up for renewal, as more tenants move toward a work from home platform.

How to prepare for 2021 These are just a few examples of what companies and their counsel can expect to encounter in 2021. So how can they prepare?

1. Identify the relevant agencies regulating their industries and sign up for alerts concerning any new or changing policies, procedures and rules. Understand policies likely can and will change well into the first quarter of 2021.

2. Approach litigation with a clear end goal in mind. Do you need a quick and early resolution? If so, consider whether you will be better served by teeing up your case for an early mediation.

3. Get training on how to effectively utilize Zoom for depositions, hearings and trial. The same skills that make a great litigator in person may not apply in the virtual world.

4. Evaluate your operating expenses and consider where and how you can make changes. Whether it is consolidating service providers or real estate, understand your options and get help to secure the best deal possible.

Attorney Courtney Beller serves as vicechair of the business litigation practice group at Fennemore. Her areas of practice include business litigation, healthcare and intellectual property.

AB | January - February 2021 25

By MICHAEL GOSSIE

I

f you’re wondering what it takes to be one of the Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona for 2021, experts say you might want to start thinking about what you can give instead of what you can get.

“Give 110 percent every day,” says Andrew Abraham, president and shareholder at Burch & Cracchiolo and the 2020 Az Business Angel of the Year, which was given to him for his philanthropic work. “Be available even when you think you are too busy.”

Abraham is among this year’s Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona. The prestigious group is chosen by Az Business magazine’s editorial team in collaboration with industry experts. The attorneys were selected from a pool of more than 2,000 of the state’s most talented and successful attorneys. Selections are based on each lawyer’s professional success and ratings, impact on his or her law firm, impact on the communities she/he serves and impact on the legal profession.

Do you know an attorney who should be considered for the 2022 list? Email Editor in Chief Michael Gossie at michael.gossie@azbigmedia.com.

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Amy Abdo Director | Fennemore Craig PRACTICE AREAS: Business litigation, healthcare, employment and labor, professional liability Thomas H. Allen Member | Allen Barnes & Jones PRACTICE AREAS: Bankruptcy, bankruptcy trustee rights, business and consumer debtor bankruptcy, corporate reorganization, creditors’ rights in bankruptcy, mediation and arbitration, commercial litigation Ann-Martha Andrews Shareholder | Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart PRACTICE AREAS: Insurance coverage and bad faith litigation in state and federal courts throughout the Ninth and Tenth Circuits

Andrew Abraham President and shareholder Burch & Cracchiolo

PRACTICE AREAS: Real estate law, real estate litigation, commercial litigation BACKGROUND: Abraham, Burch & Cracchiolo’s president, is certified as a Real Estate Specialist by the Arizona Board of Legal Specialization and has been listed in Best Lawyers in America for Real Estate Transactions since 2008 and in every edition of Southwest Super Lawyers. In the 2011 and 20142020 editions, Abraham was voted among the Top 50 Lawyers in Arizona by his peers. He is included among Arizona’s Finest Lawyers and is an AV Preeminent 5.0 out of 5 peer review rated attorney in Martindale-Hubbell. Az Business Angels named Abraham as the 2020 Az Business Angel of the Year.

CONTACT: aabraham@bcattorneys.com

Shayna H. Balch Partner | Fisher & Phillips PRACTICE AREAS: Wage and hour law, employment discrimination and harassment, Americans with Disabilities Act, employment policies and procedures, appellate practice, labor and employment litigation, litigation of employment disputes Dorothy B. Baran Shareholder | May, Potenza, Baran & Gillespie PRACTICE AREAS: Real estate, business planning and corporate law, commercial landlord and tenant law, labor and employment law, mediation and arbitration Hilary L. Barnes Member | Allen Barnes & Jones PRACTICE AREAS: Corporate and consumer bankruptcy Kira N. Barrett Partner | Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani PRACTICE AREAS: Commercial litigation, construction, insurance, product and general liability, employment law Becky A. Bartness Shareholder | Wilenchick & Bartness PRACTICE AREAS: Real estate, commercial, banking and environmental law, and commercial mediation Timothy J. Berg Director | Fennemore Craig PRACTICE AREAS: Civil appeals, state constitutional and public law, public records law and public utilities regulation Steven N. Berger Shareholder | Engelman Berger PRACTICE AREAS: Bankruptcy and reorganization, creditor’s rights, loan workouts, business restructurings, business and real estate disputes, mediation

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Laurent

Badoux

Shareholder| Buchalter PRACTICE AREAS: Labor and employment, trade secrets and employee mobility BACKGROUND: Badoux focuses his practice on employment and labor law, with an emphasis on compensation and employee relations advice. He has a broad range of litigation experience that includes handling some of the largest collective and class actions in Arizona, collective bargaining agreement arbitration, discrimination lawsuits, restrictive covenant enforcement and injunction, and the defense of administrative charges involving various state and federal agencies across the United States. Badoux has advised domestic and international clients in a variety of industries, including retail and services, hospitality, transportation, trades, governmental affairs, financial services, mining, oil and gas, sanitation, technology, medical devices, health care, and defense contracting. He is also a member of the board of directors for Arizona Autism United.

CONTACT: lbadoux@buchalter.com

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deeply rooted in solid ground Melissa Ho and Paul Roshka Jr. have cultivated countless strong and long-standing relationships with colleagues, clients and community. As passionate champions of Phoenix and respected leaders within the profession, they symbolize the very definition of icons.

We proudly congratulate Melissa Ho and Paul Roshka Jr. for being selected as a 2021 Top 100 Lawyer in Arizona by the Arizona Business Magazine.

real challenges. real answers.SM Am Law 100 firm with 900 attorneys nationwide 21 offices from LA to NY 170+ services/industries polsinelli.com

The choice of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements.

Polsinelli PC, Polsinelli LLP in California.

AB | January - February 2021 29

development, financing, operation and sale of real estate developments of all types with an emphasis on master plans and mixed-use development

Steve Biddle Shareholder | Littler PRACTICE AREAS: Discrimination and harassment, workplace safety and health, labormanagement relations, wage and hour matters William D. Bishop Founder | Bishop Law Office PRACTICE AREAS: Family law Jodi Bohr Shareholder | Tiffany & Bosco P.A. PRACTICE AREAS: Employment and labor, civil litigation Daniel L. Bonnett Partner | Martin & Bonnett PRACTICE AREAS: Employment discrimination, retaliation, wrongful discharge and other issues Neal H. Bookspan Shareholder | Jaburg | Wilk PRACTICE AREAS: Employment, real estate and construction-related matters Max K. Boyer Attorney at law | Boyer Bohn PRACTICE AREAS: Tax law and trusts and estates James E. Brophy Managing shareholder | Ryley Carlock & Applewhite PRACTICE AREAS: Business transactions and legal compliance for for-profit and nonprofit businesses Stephen Brower Managing partner | Brentwood Law Group PRACTICE AREAS: Business, real estate, healthcare, securities, creditor and bankruptcy based litigation Garland Brown Co-founder | Weiss Brown PRACTICE AREAS: Start-up and emerging businesses, general counsel, intellectual property Rebecca Lynne Burnham Of counsel | Greenberg Traurig PRACTICE AREAS: Acquisition, planning, 30

AB | January - February 2021

Timothy D. Brown Shareholder Gallagher & Kennedy

PRACTICE AREAS: Federal tax law, with an emphasis on partnerships, limited liability companies, C and S corporations, real estate, and civil tax controversy BACKGROUND: Brown is a member of the Gallagher & Kennedy board of directors and head of the firm’s Tax Law practice. For more than 30 years, Brown has focused his practice in all areas of federal tax law, with an emphasis on partnerships, limited liability companies, C and S corporations, real estate, and civil tax controversy. He provides tax planning, structuring and documentation for business and individual clients, including joint ventures and tax-exempt organizations. Since 2007, Brown has been consistently recognized as a Best Lawyer by Best Lawyers in America, and has earned the Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating.

CONTACT: tdb@gknet.com

Brian A. Cabianca Partner | Squire Patton Boggs PRACTICE AREAS: Business litigation, with an emphasis on breach of contract, fraud, interference with business advantage, breach of fiduciary duty, trade secrets, securities, banking, noncompete agreements, defamation and intellectual property Flavia Campbell Partner | Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie PRACTICE AREAS: Trademarks and copyrights Sheila Carmody Partner | Snell & Wilmer PRACTICE AREAS: Complex litigation with an emphasis on defense of insurance companies and manufacturers in class action cases, multijurisdictional litigation and general commercial litigation John A. Conley Shareholder | Milligan Lawless PRACTICE AREAS: Representation of physicians, physician groups, and healthcare organizations in a variety of litigation matters such as contract-based claims, shareholder disputes, payor/provider disputes and business torts Shawn M. Cunningham Managing partner | Harris Powers & Cunningham PRACTICE AREAS: Medical malpractice, personal injury, wrongful death John E. DeWulf Partner | Coppersmith Brockelman PRACTICE AREAS: Contracts, business torts, trade secrets, real estate, securities, intellectual property, professional malpractice, officer and director liability, and products John Alan Doran Member | Sherman & Howard PRACTICE AREAS: Labor and employment, litigation, trials, appeals

Jennifer Cranston Shareholder Gallagher & Kennedy

PRACTICE AREAS: Condemnation and valuation, insurance, public utilities

Susan E. Chetlin Of counsel Burch & Cracchiolo

PRACTICE AREAS: Intellectual property, patent law BACKGROUND: One of Az Business magazine’s Most Influential Women of 2020, Chetlin is a registered patent attorney and intellectual property attorney with a Martindale Hubbell AV Preeminent rating – the highest rating available. She has worked at big firms, boutique firms, and as in-house counsel and draws on all that experience in approaching intellectual property protection from a business point of view. Before joining Burch & Cracchiolo, Chetlin had her own IP boutique firm which was recognized as a Tier 1 Best Law Firm after just three years. Chetlin has represented clients in a wide variety of businesses and industries, including mining, equipment repair and manufacturing, robotics, insulation, geospatial technologies, autonomous systems, materials handling and transportation, armor and online businesses.

CONTACT: schetlin@bcattorneys.com

BACKGROUND: Cranston focuses her practice in three primary areas: real estate disputes involving condemnation and valuation issues; insurance coverage analysis and bad faith litigation; and public utility regulation. Jennifer’s objective is to provide sound legal advice, exceptional service, and costeffective resolution for all her clients. She has successfully negotiated favorable settlements at hearings, in arbitrations, at trial, and on appeal. Cranston’s trial experience has resulted in two of the largest condemnation verdicts in the history of Arizona.

ATTRACTION TO INDUSTRY: “I think I watched too much TV courtroom drama as a child. What amazes me most is that the real life of a lawyer is nothing like the shows I grew up watching, but I love it anyway.”

CONTACT: jennifer.cranston@gknet.com

Susan DanaKobey

Shareholder Burch & Cracchiolo PRACTICE AREAS: Family Law and civil litigation BACKGROUND: Dana-Kobey handles all aspects of divorce and family law matters at Burch & Cracchiolo. Her approach with her clients is to advocate for you in the most positive and forthright manner. DanaKobey lived in Argentina as a child and is fluent in Spanish. While living in Argentina, she traveled often to Brazil to visit family and also learned to speak Portuguese. Her multilingual proficiency led Dana-Kobey to volunteer by assisting Spanish-speaking individuals at the Family Court Facilitator’s Office in Orange County, California. DanaKobey also worked as a Spanish translator in the telecommunications industry.

She also handles civil litigation matters, representing clients in cases involving serious personal injury, wrongful death, products liability, negligence, premises liability and construction matters.

CONTACT: sdana-kobey@bcattorneys.com

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William W. Drury Shareholder | Renaud Cook Drury Mesaros PRACTICE AREAS: Commercial and business litigation, medical malpractice and healthcare litigation, professional liability litigation, construction litigation, product liability litigation Matthew P. Feeney Phoenix firm chair | Snell & Wilmer PRACTICE AREAS: Mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, SEC reporting and compliance, and corporate governance matters Susan M. Freeman Partner | Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie PRACTICE AREAS: Business bankruptcy and on appeals of all kinds

J. Phillip Glasscock Manager Guidant Law Firm

PRACTICE AREAS: Business transactions, litigation and estate planning BACKGROUND: With more than 35 years of experience, Glasscock has a simple mission at Guidant: help clients make money and keep it. Rated AV-Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, Glasscock approaches business representation differently than many other attorneys. He typically starts with ascertaining the client’s exit strategy and other long-term plans so that all efforts are designed to achieve lasting success.

Likewise, Glasscock’s approach with estate planning clients is focused on expediency and efficiency with the goal of “making it easy” in all respects. His client roster has included public companies and three generations of family owners of private companies. He has worked with manufacturers, international distributors, professional services firms and family-owned businesses.

CONTACT: jpg@guidant.law

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Candace French Associate attorney | Sacks Tierney PRACTICE AREAS: Indian law, municipal law, government relations Paul D. Friedman Shareholder | Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine PRACTICE AREAS: Personal injury, wrongful death, ethics, and professional malpractice Garrick L. Gallagher Owner and director | Sanders & Parks PRACTICE AREAS: Personal injury, mass torts, insurance litigation and coverage Roxann Gallagher Shareholder | Sacks Tierney PRACTICE AREAS: Public and commercial finance, Indian law and tribal relations, business and corporate law Lauren L. Garner Partner | Jaburg Wilk PRACTICE AREAS: Probate and trust litigation and mediation Benjamin Gottlieb Founding partner | MacQueen & Gottlieb PRACTICE AREAS: Real estate, business, commercial cases Alisa J. Gray Shareholder | Tiffany & Bosco PRACTICE AREAS: Probate and trust litigation, estate administration, elder law and mediation H. Hughes Grehan Partner | Jones Walker PRACTICE AREAS: Commercial matters and contracts, and commercial and corporate finance transactions

Melissa S. Ho

Shareholder and practice co-chair Polsinelli PRACTICE AREAS: Antitrust; antitrust healthcare; compliance (fraud and abuse, stark); financial and securities litigation; financial technology (FinTech) and regulation; government investigations; healthcare litigation; internal investigations; international; litigation and dispute resolution; pro bono BACKGROUND: Melissa Ho is a trial attorney with a detailed understanding of government regulations and business litigation. A former prosecutor, she is sympathetic to the disruption and chaos a government inquiry and criminal investigation can cause. Ho defends individual clients against a wide variety of criminal allegations, including health care fraud, qui tam, RICO violations, bank fraud, real estate fraud, mortgage fraud, foreign corrupt practices, securities fraud, water and air quality violations, government corruption, procurement and public fraud, professional misconduct, civil and criminal forfeiture, licensing violations, parallel proceedings, and computer crimes.

CONTACT: mho@polsinelli.com

Congratulations to Burch & Cracchiolo 2021 Top 100 Lawyers honorees

Andy Abraham Real Estate Law & Litigation

Sue Chetlin

Intellectual Property

Burch & Cracchiolo, P.A. 1850 N. Central Avenue, Suite 1700 Phoenix, Arizona 85004

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602.274.7611

Susan Dana-Kobey Family Law

Susie Ingold

Employment Law & Litigation

Wendi Sorensen Personal Injury & Wrongful Death Law

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@bcattorneys

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Donald W. Hudspeth

Principal attorney | Law Offices of Donald W. Hudspeth PRACTICE AREAS: Corporate and business law BACKGROUND: Hudspeth has more than 25 years’ experience practicing business law and corporate litigation. Before attending law school, Hudspeth held a stock broker’s license at the age of 21 and owned his own businesses at the age of 23 until he went to law school at the age of 36. Hudspeth has published two books on law, “Inside the Firm, The Inside Story of Choosing and Using a Lawyer” and “Law on the Edge: Sex and the Constitution.”

PERSONAL QUALITIES NEEDED IN LAW: “The Chinese have a saying: ‘He who cannot smile should not own a shop.” Getting along with people is critical. People like to do business with someone they like.”

CONTACT: don@azbuslaw.com

Susanne Ingold Shareholder | Burch & Cracchiolo

PRACTICE AREAS: Employment law and litigation; and issues of workplace discrimination, employer policies, employee discipline and termination, and compliance with state and federal labor and employment laws BACKGROUND: Ingold, one of Az Business magazine’s Most Influential Women of 2019, regularly represents clients before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and in complex litigation matters in state and federal court. An experienced litigator and trial lawyer, she has successfully defended corporations, businesses, employers, executives and management in jury trials throughout Arizona’s state and federal courts. Ingold also practices in general liability defense and construction litigation and serves as co-chair of the firm’s Construction Defect-General Liability Practice Group. She has served as lead counsel for commercial and construction industry clients in multi-million dollar litigation matters, including developers, general contractors, subcontractors and insurers.

CONTACT: singold@bcattorneys.com Andrew F. Halaby Partner | Snell & Wilmer PRACTICE AREAS: Intellectual property and technology litigation, intellectual property and technology, commercial litigation, professional licensure Diane M. Haller Partner | Quarles & Brady PRACTICE AREAS: Real estate, highly complex transactions, land development deals, and portfolio transactions Mark Horne Partner | Degnan Law Group PRACTICE AREAS: Litigation regarding real estate and medical malpractice as well as appeals Todd S. Kartchner Director | Fennemore Craig PRACTICE AREAS: General and complex business litigation

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David C. Kresin Managing partner | Robaina & Kresin PRACTICE AREAS: Employment litigation matters including discrimination, retaliation, medical leave denial, restrictive covenant enforcement, unpaid compensation disputes, and wage and hour violations John C. Lemaster Shareholder | Ryley Carlock & Applewhite PRACTICE AREAS: Commercial litigation, managing and trying complex cases Tamalyn E. Lewis Shareholder | Engelman Berger PRACTICE AREAS: Bankruptcy and reorganization, creditors’ rights, commercial landlord tenant law, loan workouts, business and financial restructuring, real estate, loan documentation

Amy L. Lieberman Founder | Insight Employment Mediation and Insight Mediation Group PRACTICE AREAS: Arbitration and mediation Laura A. Lo Bianco Partner | Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie PRACTICE AREAS: Corporate law and transactional matters Rachel Love Partner | Struck Love Bojanowski & Acedo PRACTICE AREAS: Corrections defense, government liability defense, class action and complex litigation, civil litigation defense, insurance defense Patrick MacQueen Founder and partner | MacQueen & Gottlieb PRACTICE AREAS: Real estate transactional law and real estate litigation

Nicole Maroulakos Goodwin Managing shareholder | Greenberg Traurig PRACTICE AREAS: Corporate governance disputes, financial services litigation, real estate litigation, post-acquisition disputes, health care litigation, and franchise litigation Susan J. Martin Partner | Martin & Bonnett PRACTICE AREAS: Labor and employment class actions and individual case Michelle Matheson Managing partner | Matheson & Matheson PRACTICE AREAS: Employment law, represents management and employers, workplace investigations and training, insurance law

William J. Maledon Partner Osborn Maledon

PRACTICE AREAS: Alternative dispute resolution and mediation, antitrust and trade regulation counseling, antitrust and trade regulation litigation, appellate, commercial litigation, intellectual property litigation, securities defense, sports law, state and local administrative law BACKGROUND: Maledon is recognized as one of the leading commercial litigation and trial attorneys in Arizona and in the country. He has extensive experience in both federal and state courts in a wide variety of cases in Arizona and throughout the country, including antitrust and trade regulation, product liability, insurance coverage and insurance bad faith, class actions, securities, sports, and various other complex commercial cases. He also has extensive experience in handling appellate matters in both federal and state courts and he also has acted as mediator in numerous significant cases.

CONTACT: wmaledon@omlaw.com

Paul J. McGoldrick Attorney and owner | Shorall McGoldrick Brinkmann PRACTICE AREAS: Personal injury cases and has experience as lead counsel in complex business disputes Christopher J. Meister Office managing shareholder | Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart PRACTICE AREAS: Employment law, traditional labor relations Alexandra Mijares Nash Partner | Mijares Nash PRACTICE AREAS: Represents corporations and individuals in a wide variety of criminal and civil matters Tracy A. Miller Shareholder | Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart PRACTICE AREAS: Represents management in all facets of labor and employment law and civil rights Jason B. Morris Partner | Withey Morris PRACTICE AREAS: Land use, planning, zoning, and administrative law Mark Nadeau Co-managing partner, Phoenix office | DLA Piper PRACTICE AREAS: Television, aviation, real estate hospitality, energy, trade secret and unfair business practice matters Randy Nussbaum Attorney | Sacks Tierney PRACTICE AREAS: Bankruptcy, debtor and creditor rights, trustee representation, commercial litigation, real estate law, construction litigation

Shawn Oller Office managing shareholder | Littler PRACTICE AREAS: Represents management and companies in all aspects of employment litigation arbitration and mediation Gerard R. O’ Meara Partner Gust Rosenfeld PRACTICE AREAS: Civil litigation, insurance defense law, real estate, corporate and commercial transactions, probates, wills and trusts CONTACT: gustlaw.com Kristy L. Peters Shareholder | Littler Mendelson PRACTICE AREAS: Labor and employment matters arising under federal and state laws Steven D. Pidgeon Co-managing partner | DLA Piper PRACTICE AREAS: Mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and general corporate Frank M. Placenti Senior partner | Squire Patton Boggs PRACTICE AREAS: Corporate governance and mergers and acquisitions Pamela Overton Risoleo Shareholder | Greenberg Traurig PRACTICE AREAS: Product liability, pharmaceutical and medical device litigation, commercial litigation, business torts, breach of contract, cyber and data breach litigation, eminent domain Susan Plimpton Segal Partner | Gust Rosenfeld PRACTICE AREAS: Public law, municipal law, education law, employment law CONTACT: gustlaw.com

Stephanie Quincy Shareholder | Greenberg Traurig PRACTICE AREAS: Labor and employment, trade secrets and unfair competition, financial institutions litigation, trade secrets

AB | January - February 2021 35

Scott I. Palumbo

Founding partner | Palumbo Wolfe & Palumbo PRACTICE AREAS: Defending the rights of personal injury victims and those who have lost loved ones to wrongful death BACKGROUND: Palumbo is a trial lawyer dedicated to defending those who have been victimized by serious personal injury accidents and those who have lost loved ones to wrongful death.

SOURCE OF PRIDE: “I represented a young man who was terribly brain injured in a crash. We went to trial and obtained a verdict on his behalf. The funds from that verdict have been used for therapy and rehabilitation. I am very happy to report that 10 years later, that young man is now a happy adult living a much better life. To know that we played a large part in his recovery is very rewarding.”

CONTACT: spalumbo@palumbowolfe.com

Cynthia A. Ricketts Founding partner | Sacks Ricketts & Case

PRACTICE AREAS: Complex contract and commercial litigation, consumer class action defense BACKGROUND: In her 30 years of practice, Ricketts has handled more than 200 diverse complex contract and consumer-related matters. Prior to founding Sacks, Ricketts & Case, Ricketts was the most senior woman partner in the Phoenix office of DLA Piper, the largest global law firm. Ricketts is a recognized NITA instructor who has taught both trial and deposition skills.

ATTRACTION TO INDUSTRY: “The legal industry is a mecca for constant learning — both of industries and legal issues. Most surprising are the lack of women in leadership positions and the number of talented women lawyers who leave the profession. This is particularly surprising because 53 percent of my ASU law school class were women.”

CONTACT: cricketts@srclaw.com

David B. Rosenbaum Partner |Osborn Maledon

PRACTICE AREAS: Complex commercial litigation in state and federal courts BACKGROUND: David B. Rosenbaum’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation in the state and federal courts. He has represented public companies and their officers and directors in numerous securities fraud class actions, represented Fortune 50 companies in a wide range of complex commercial litigation matters, including matters involving intellectual property disputes, represented a major telecommunications company in an array of commercial litigation matters, represented companies in sales and use tax disputes, and represented national and local companies in employment controversies, including class-action discrimination lawsuits. As past president of the Federal Bar Association and Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, Rosenbaum has developed knowledge and experience in the finer points of prosecuting complex litigation in the federal courts.

CONTACT: drosenbaum@omlaw.com 36

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WE’VE SEEN A THING OR TWO, TOO. THROUGH RECESSIONS, DOWNTURNS AND DISASTERS, OUR INSOLVENCY ATTORNEYS HAVE RESOLVED ALMOST EVERYTHING.

WE ARE Sign up to receive daily news in your inbox.

EBLAWYERS.COM 602.271.9090

2800 N. CENTRAL AVE. SUITE 1200 PHOENIX, ARIZONA 85004

BANKRUPTCY • REORGANIZATION • LIQUIDATIONS RECEIVERSHIPS • LOAN WORKOUTS AB | January - February 2021 37

Paul J. Roshka, Jr.

Dana Stagg Belknap

PRACTICE AREAS: Financial regulatory enforcement; financial and securities litigation; financial technology (FinTech) and regulation; government investigations; internal investigations; corporate directors and officers liability litigation; class action and multidistrict litigation; commercial litigation; litigation and dispute resolution

PRACTICE AREAS: Land use, real estate development and governmental affairs

Shareholder Polsinelli

BACKGROUND: Known for his thorough preparation and persistence, Paul Roshka has a national practice representing companies, their directors, officers, and employees during investigations and enforcement/disciplinary proceedings involving potential violations of the federal and state securities laws, and other financial regulatory statutes and rules. He has handled matters initiated by virtually every SEC regional office and FINRA district office, and their home offices in Washington, D.C. He is also a recognized bet-the-company litigator. Roshka has defended securities/financial claims in federal and state court, including class action defense.

CONTACT: proshka@polsinelli.com

Shareholder Gallagher & Kennedy

Wendi A. Sorensen Shareholder Burch & Cracchiolo

PRACTICE AREAS: Personal injury and wrongful death litigation, mediation and arbitration BACKGROUND: Sorensen is an Arizona State Bar practicing attorney and mediator who is a certified specialist in personal injury and wrongful death law and has been practicing for more than 30 years. She specializes in complex and catastrophic injury claims including those involving trucking law, worksite injuries, products liability, professional liability and insurance coverage. In her growing mediation practice, she offers an effective approach that is both logically predictive of the eventual result at trial and at the same time compassionate to the claimant, allowing him his “day in court” at a fraction of the cost. Sorensen also serves as a Judge Pro Tem and as a member of the Executive Board of the American Board of Trial Advocates.

CONTACT: wsorensen@bcattorneys.com

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BACKGROUND: Stagg Belknap practices in the areas of land use, real estate development and governmental affairs. She has represented various regional and national developers and landowners in the planning and development of mixed-use, master-planned communities by assisting in a broad range of issues, including master planning and land use entitlements, negotiating annexations and development agreements, and advising on archaeological issues, infrastructure financing and development, analysis of water rights, and environmental protections. She is skilled at the representation of commercial developers in negotiating economic incentive agreements with municipalities and in the representation of developers in the lease and purchase of State Trust Land.

CONTACT: dsb@gknet.com

Wilenchik & Bartness, P.C. Celebrating 30 years Wilenchik & Bartness, P.C. provides highlevel civil litigation services to a select group of clients in the real estate, business, construction, and government sectors.

Dennis I. Wilenchik co-founded the firm in 1991, when he left a senior partnership at Squire Patton Boggs.

2810 North Third Street Phoenix, Arizona 85004 602.606.2810 | wb-law.com

(photo by Jason Black)

Congratulations on being recognized among the Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona for 2021.

Gerard R. O’Meara

Susan P. Segal

Charles W. Wirken

602.257.7422

■ gustlaw.com ■ Results. Relationships. Reputation.

Phoenix, Tucson, Wickenburg, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Albuquerque & Denver

AB | January - February 2021 39

Brian J. Schulman Head of Litigation Group | Weiss Brown PRACTICE AREAS: Securities litigation and regulatory compliance, financial services litigation and regulatory compliance, real estate litigation, franchise law, Indian law Bradley D. Shwer Co-founding partner | Thorpe Shwer PRACTICE AREAS: Business and commercial litigation, personal injury torts, and products liability Gena L. Sluga Shareholder | Christian Dichter & Sluga PRACTICE AREAS: Insurance coverage analysis Christopher D. Thomas Partner | Perkins Coie PRACTICE AREAS: Environmental and natural resource permitting and related federal, state and administrative litigation

Paul M. Weiser

Managing shareholder, Arizona office Buchalter PRACTICE AREAS: Commercial real estate BACKGROUND: Weiser’s practice encompasses all aspects of commercial landlord/tenant law, from document preparation, negotiation and interpretation to dealing with such issues as defaulting and bankrupt tenants, brokerage disputes, construction related matters and the day-to-day issues facing office, retail, industrial and medical owners and property managers.

PERSONAL STRENGTHS: “Being organized, and driven by the desire to help others navigate the complicated world of commercial real estate. Being organized is essential to the preparation of legal documents, regardless of their complexity. The desire to help others is a far better driving force than the desire for wealth or fame.”

CONTACT: pweiser@buchalter.com

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William L. Thorpe Co-founding partner | Thorpe Shwer PRACTICE AREAS: Represents both large and small enterprises in complex commercial and tort matters E. Jeffrey Walsh Shareholder, commercial litigation Greenberg Traurig PRACTICE AREAS: Commercial litigation, construction law, real estate litigation, trial practice, arbitration and mediation Nancy Williams Bonnett Attorney and shareholder Pietzsch, Bonnett & Womack PRACTICE AREAS: Employee benefits and executive compensation Michael B. Withey Partner | Withey Morris PRACTICE AREAS: Handles larger, complicated re-zonings; negotiates the differing development and re-development agreements with municipalities and counties throughout Arizona Charles W. Wirken Partner | Gust Rosenfeld PRACTICE AREAS: Alternative dispute resolution, appellate practice, commercial litigation, franchise litigation, real estate litigation CONTACT: gustlaw.com Susan M. Wissink Director, management committee member, chair of Fennemore Craig Foundation Fennemore Craig PRACTICE AREAS: Corporate and mergers and acquisitions

Dennis Wilenchik Member and manager Wilenchik & Bartness

PRACTICE AREAS: Complex civil litigation, business and real estate law, contract and business disputes, criminal law, civil and criminal appeals BACKGROUND: Wilenchik is a civil litigation attorney practicing more than 40 years in business and real estate litigation. He is a certified civil trial advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and past chairman of the State Bar Civil Trial Practice Section.

Wilenchik is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale Hubbell. Wilenchik is an Arizona Bar Foundation Fellow and was elected a Fellow to the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys.

ATTRACTION TO INDUSTRY: “I was attracted to the idea of helping others to achieve simple justice, and that is truly why I became a lawyer.”

CONTACT: DIW@wb-law.com

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TOP 100 LAWYERS We’re proud that David Rosenbaum and William Maledon are among the honorees.

David Rosenbaum drosenbaum@omlaw.com 602-640-9345

William Maledon wmaledon@omlaw.com 602-640-9331

(602) 640-9000 • OMLAW.COM • 2929 N CENTRAL AVE, 21ST FL, PHOENIX, AZ 85012

AB | January - February 2021 41

Jonathan Frutkin

Principal | Radix Law

PRACTICE AREAS: Business law and commercial litigation BACKGROUND: As the founder and principal of Radix Law, Frutkin has significant experience as an attorney, a business executive, and business owner.

Over the course of his career, he has owned a website design business, a software company, a real estate development company, and served as the developer for a national ice cream chain.

ATTRACTION TO INDUSTRY: “The most surprising thing I have found throughout my career as a business attorney is that you have highly intelligent business owners — but they struggle to understand certain legal concepts. This is where the Radix Law firm comes in as a general counsel for hire. We can help businesses with not only legal challenges, but also business opportunities.”

CONTACT: jfrutkin@radixlaw.com

John T. Gilbert

Partner | Radix Law PRACTICE AREAS: Commercial litigation, business and real estate law and business acquisitions BACKGROUND: Gilbert has decades of experience in negotiating complex transactions, contracts and leases, especially in the field of real estate. He has represented clients from every area of the real estate market, including owners, developers, general contractors, and bankers. Gilbert is an “AV” rated attorney under Martindale-Hubbell’s peer review process. He previously was active in the Maricopa County Bar Association’s Continuing Legal Education Committee, which he chaired in the late 1980s. He also was a co-editor of the Arizona Litigation Guide, Second Edition, published in 1993. He is a member of the State Bar of Arizona, the Maricopa County Bar Association, the Scottsdale Bar Association and the American Bar Association.

CONTACT: gilbert@radixlaw.com 42

AB | January - February 2021

Did your world change too?

The way the world functions has dramatically changed. You need a firm that adapts under any circumstance. Here at Radix Law we have evolved the way we do business to help with your professional and personal legal needs over the last year – and we will continue to do that as the legal landscape changes. We are plugged in, dialed in and available to help you not only handle challenges – but also to seek new opportunities.

15205 N. Kierland Blvd., Suite 200 | Scottsdale, Arizona 85254 | 602-606-9300 radixlaw.com AB | January - February 2021 43

John J. Balitis

Norma C. Izzo

PRACTICE AREAS: Employment and labor relations, business litigation, construction, healthcare litigation and regulation, mediation and arbitration

PRACTICE AREAS: Family law and domestic relations, pre/ post-nuptial agreements, co-habitation agreements and domestic partnerships, adoptions and guardianships, asset division, collaborative divorce

Chair, Labor & Employment Jennings, Strouss & Salmon

BACKGROUND: Balitis is a labor and employment law practitioner with over 30 years of experience representing clients in Arizona as well as in Colorado. He regularly represents parties in a broad range of administrative proceedings and litigates in both federal and state courts, where he has bench, jury trial, and appellate experience.

Balitis also serves as an arbitrator and mediator for the American Arbitration Association.

Chair, Family Law and Domestic Relations Jennings Strouss & Salmon

ATTRACTION TO INDUSTRY: “I wasn’t bright enough to handle pre-med, so law seemed like a good alternative at the time. The most surprising aspect of the practice is that it involves just as much collaboration and partnering with clients as it does providing legal advice.”

BACKGROUND: Izzo concentrates her practice in the area of family law and domestic relations matters, including complex litigation and asset division, business dissolution, collaborative divorce, mediation, arbitration, parent coordination, child custody, child support, and spousal maintenance. She perceives practicing in the area of family law as a three dimensional experience: legal, financial and emotional. Izzo serves as a parenting coordinator and mediator for family law matters of all levels of complexity. She has served as past president of the Maricopa County Bar Association and president of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts – Arizona Chapter.

CONTACT: jbalitis@jsslaw.com

CONTACT: norma@jsslaw.com

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AB | January - February 2021 45

EXCELLENCE IN BANKING

Here’s a look at the financial institutions that have provided stability to Arizona’s business community during unstable times

By MICHAEL GOSSIE

T

rying to figure out the fitter of the banking industry is like looking into a crystal ball that has been painted.

We know there’s a clear picture in there somewhere, but we cannot see it right now.

According to Mike Brown, president of WaFd Bank Arizona, looking into what lies ahead in 2021 is a challenge for banks for two reasons: •E conomic uncertainty related to COVID-19 and all of the unknowns. What will be the impact of the vaccine? Will we have more shutdowns? Can there be large gatherings? Will the unprecedented level of government assistance continue?

• Th e near zero interest rate environment makes it very hard for banks to generate normal returns.

“Acknowledging the challenges, we are bullish on banking looking at 2021 because banks learned valuable lessons in the great recession that are benefiting all of us today,” Brown says. “(In addition), this crisis is not centered in real estate.

In fact, real estate has actually strengthened, which will be a source of strength for both banks and consumers.”

Brown says the banking industry has also empowered its workforces to work when, where and how they want which

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will drive increased productivity and connection with clients.

“Banks – and bank leaders – are in a unique position in times of crisis,” Brown says. “Many times, a crisis can — or will — have a financial impact … We were privileged to have the capital to provide liquidity to the markets we serve and provide stability in uncertain times.”

Two ways WaFd helped provide stability in unstable times were by implementing a Small Business Lifeline program through its Community Banking Group that provided liquidity through business lines of credit up to $200,000 with 90 days of zero percent interest; and by establishing WaFd Bank PPP Contact Reservation List that allowed the bank to notify customers as soon as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans were made available.

But WaFd Bank Arizona isn’t alone in its impact on Arizona’s continued economic health. Over the next several pages are the banking leaders and institutions that have achieved levels of excellence that help drive Arizona’s business community.

Mike Brown AB | January - February 2021 47

National Bank

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in AZ

We’re proud to be recognized as the #1 SBA lender among credit unions in Arizona1.

We’re also the only Arizona-based credit union designated as an SBA Preferred Lending Partner – which means expert advice and a streamlined decision process.

Now more than ever, we’re here for Arizona’s small business community. Let us know how we can help.

(480) 609-0055 | ArizonaFederal.org/Business Federally Insured by NCUA | Equal Housing Lender AB | January - February 2021 49 1 As of fiscal year 2020 based on Small Business Administration 7a and 504 loan volume.

BANKERS [ of the Year ] >> CALVIN COLE First vice president and regional business banking manager AmTrust Bank

Cole’s community impact is impressive.

He is chair of the board for Terros Health and has also served on the boards for one-n-ten, Keogh Health Foundation, Black Board of Directors, Boys and Girls Club of the Valley, and Fans Across America Charitable Foundation. Cole is first vice president and regional business banking manager for AmTrust Bank, a division of New York Community Bank, for whom he has worked for 13 years. >> JEFF FRIESEN President, Arizona region Enterprise Bank & Trust

Friesen is responsible for overseeing the fulfillment of current clients’ business and personal banking needs.

Strengths: “I am a planner. I learned if I did not plan and put a strategy in writing, then the big picture would become overwhelming. Writing down what my goals are, when I will complete them, detailing my plan to execute and always referring back to the plan, has allowed me to be much more productive.”

>> KYLE KENNEDY Phoenix president, Arizona banking director Bell Bank

Kennedy brings nearly three decades of experience in the Arizona banking community to his position at Bell, where he’s working to grow the bank’s presence in the Southwest. During his career, Kennedy has specialized in commercial and industrial lending, treasury management, small business banking and private banking. He has served on the boards of the Tempe YMCA, Chrysalis, Peoria Diamond Club and Trout Camp (New Pathways for Youth) and chaired the CoBiz Financial BizBash. >> DAVE RALSTON CEO, Arizona market BOK Financial

Attraction to banking: “I have an accounting degree but had no desire to pursue public accounting as a profession,” Ralston says.

“What attracted me to banking was an opportunity to utilize my degree and have the ability to work with so many different businesses and industries. To this day, the most enjoyable part of my job is learning about new companies and getting to know the owners and/or executives of those companies.” >> CATHLEEN WALKER Regional president and head of Corporate Banking PNC Bank

Walker says she is privileged to be a part of the vibrant, collaborative culture that is the Phoenix business community, where PNC can positively impact the landscape by providing resources, long-term investments and meaningful contributions. PNC’s approach to business allows it to provide top-notch service, scale and capabilities with a community focus. PNC’s investment in Phoenix will grow at a more rapid pace with the completion of its acquisition of BBVA USA in mid-2021.

WHEN YOU GET A WIDE RANGE OF EXPERTISE AND A FOCUSED SOLUTION,

YOU’RE READY FOR TODAY. _

CORPORATE & INSTITUTIONAL BANKING | The right team can be a valuable asset to your business. As the seventh-largest bank in the country,1 PNC is raising the bar in Phoenix by delivering intelligent solutions that are tailored to your ongoing and complex business needs for banking, capital markets and advisory services. And through relentless collaboration, we can help you be ready today for your vision of tomorrow.

We are expanding in Phoenix. For more information, visit pnc.com/phoenixcorporate or contact Cathleen Walker, Regional President, at cathleen.walker@pnc.com.

FINANCING | TREASURY MANAGEMENT | CAPITAL MARKETS | M&A/IPO ADVISORY INTERNATIONAL SERVICES | ASSET MANAGEMENT 1 Federal Reserve Statistical Release, Large Commercial Banks, as of June 30, 2020 PNC and PNC Bank are registered marks of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (“PNC”). Bank deposit, lending and treasury management products and services, and investment and wealth management services are offered

by PNC Bank, National Association, a wholly owned subsidiary of PNC and Member FDIC. Products and services may also be offered by or conducted through other subsidiaries of PNC. Lending, leasing and equity products and services, as well as certain other banking products and services, require credit approval.

Investments: Not FDIC Insured. May Lose Value. No Bank Guarantee. ©️2020 The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

CIB ENT PDF 1220-064-1755305

AB | January - February 2021 51

EXCELLENCE IN BANKING

BANKS [ of the Year ]

>> ALLIANCE BANK OF ARIZONA In 2020, Alliance Bank committed more than $900,000 to help mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on local communities across Arizona and strengthen those communities as they worked to emerge from the crisis. Contributions in Arizona helped address shortages of personal protective equipment for first responders, address food insecurity, invest in technology to aid online learning, aid struggling small businesses, support pediatric care and provide assistance to some of the most vulnerable in the communities Alliance Bank serves. >> BOK FINANCIAL BOK Financial Corporation contributed $1 million as part of its efforts in support of COVID-19 relief. The company directed donations to programs addressing food insecurity and reemployment of laid off and furloughed workers. The company’s COVID-19 response also includes assistance for its clients and employees. In Arizona, BOK supported COVID-19 relief efforts included a $50,000 donation to the Foundation for Senior Living and $15,000 to the Valley of the Sun United Way COVID-19 Relief Fund.

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>> FIRSTBANK FirstBank, one of the nation’s largest privately held banks with a focus on “banking for good,” entered the year’s final quarter in a strong financial position. Across FirstBank’s Arizona branches, deposits grew 27.6 percent from $559.1 million to $713.4 million.

Arizona loans also increased by 5.3 percent from $878.5 million to $925.1 million, while assets increased by 5.1 percent from $928.5 million to $975.9 million. >> US BANK U.S. Bank gave customers a way to spread goodwill and festive cheer during the holiday season with eCards, which were made available to U.S. Bank customers when they sent money through Scottsdale-based Zelle in the U.S. Bank Mobile App. The eCards, launched in collaboration with Zelle and fintech startup Vouchr, provide gift senders with a choice of more than 200 card designs including not only holiday but also birthday, graduation, a simple thanks or congratulations, and more. >> WaFd BANK ARIZONA Very early in the pandemic, before any other relief efforts had started, WaFd Bank – including all 31 WaFd Bank branches across Arizona – started offering small business lines of credit up to $200,000 interest-free for 90 days to businesses affected by COVID-19. WaFd Bank committed up to $100 million in lines of credit to help the business community weather the financial disruption.

WaFd Bank, a national bank with headquarters in Seattle, has 234 branches in eight western states.

HARD WO RK

BU I LT ON T RUS T.

Photo courtesy of VKW Construction, Tempe, AZ

We hear a lot about connectivity to funds, accounts, and transactions, but human connections are what sustain you through the ups and downs of your company’s journey. We provide the technology your business needs, but we also get to know your company so we can help you in any business environment.

See how partnering with Alerus helped VKW Construction at Alerus.com/VKW. AB | January - February 2021 53

EXCELLENCE IN BANKING

CREDIT UNION LEADERS [ of the Year ] >> G. VERNON BABILON CEO Tucson Old Pueblo Credit Union

The year 2021 marks 32 years that Babilon has been a top credit union executive. Babilon has focused on making TOPCU more progressive as well as identifying potential niches that would better serve the Tucson community. Today, TOPCU is the leader in financing affordable solar loans, provides reasonably priced services and lending solutions for area businesses, while its members utilize the latest technology to accomplish their banking needs. >> CATHY GRAHAM Executive vice president Desert Financial Credit Union

Graham says her job is to show up every day, prepared to help people be their best.

Industry outlook: “I think that the banking world overall is shifting,” Graham says.

“We are seeing fewer community banks, fewer smaller credit unions. And so I think that that definitely provides an opportunity for other credit unions to step up and provide that service that people who traditionally would go to a smaller institution want to have.”

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>> TODD PEARSON Regional president Alaska USA Credit Union

Pearson has spent more than 20 years in the industry, most recently 11 years as president and CEO of an Arizona-based credit union.

Industry appeal: “I’ve always had an affinity for the financial services industry, and was sure that would become my career path. Once inside the credit union movement, I knew it was where I belonged. The cooperative structure isn’t just an arbitrary tax status, but the backbone of an industry-wide model of collaboration.” >> KAREN ROCH President and CEO Credit Union West

Roch has more than 30 years of experience within the credit union industry.

Industry appeal: “I started in the credit union industry as a high school student through a cooperative education program. I quickly learned how important financial success was to an individual’s own success and how much credit unions care and are there to help. I have been enamored ever since and am very passionate about our strong philosophy of people helping people.” >> RONALD L. WESTAD President and CEO Arizona Federal Credit Union

Since 1996, Westad has been the president and CEO of Arizona Federal Credit Union. He began with the credit union in 1987.

Business advice: “No matter the industry you choose, take responsibility for how you present yourself to the world — no one and no thing causes or makes you act, speak, or think the way you do, those are your choices. Make your choices, and own them.”

Calvin Cole

First Vice President, Regional Business Banking Manager

A 2021 Banker of the Year,

and all Honorees for your Commitment to Leadership, Customer Experience, Innovation, Philanthropy and Culture. myNYCB.com • (877) 786-6560

Š2021 New York Community Bank

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VantageWest.org/Business All loans are subject to approval. Certain restrictions may apply. Federally insured by NCUA.

AB | January - February 2021 55

EXCELLENCE IN BANKING

CREDIT UNIONS [ of the Year ]

>> ARIZONA FEDERAL CREDIT UNION In September, Arizona Federal Credit Union was designated an SBA Preferred Lending Partner (PLP) by the U.S. Small Business Administration, and is the only Arizona-based credit union with SBA PLP status. As an SBA preferred lender, Arizona Federal has the authority to approve its SBA-guaranteed loans, which simplifies and expedites the SBA-loan approval process for borrowers. Nonpreferred lenders must submit loan applications to the SBA for approval, which can extend the loan decisioning process. >> DESERT FINANCIAL CREDIT UNION Desert Financial has provided affordable financial solutions and personalized service to help members achieve their goals for more than 80 years. With nearly 50 branches Valleywide and a full line of online and mobile solutions, Desert Financial is the Valley’s most convenient credit union. At Desert Financial, leaders say members are more than a number, they are financial partners. When Desert Financial is successful, it can give back more to members, employees and the community.

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>> OneAZ CREDIT UNION OneAZ Credit Union and OneAZ Community Foundation awarded $200,000 in emergency COVID-19 Community Impact Grants to Arizona nonprofits impacted by COVID-19.

“OneAZ has a longstanding commitment to the community and worked as quickly as possible to get the $200,000 in emergency COVID-19 Community Impact Grants awarded.

We’re proud to help these nonprofit organizations continue their work, providing what in many cases are life-saving services,” says Kim Reedy, President and CEO for OneAZ Credit Union. >> TRUWEST CREDIT UNION TruWest Credit Union topped the Forbes list of America’s Best Credit Unions, ranking No. 1 in the state of Arizona. Forbes partnered with Statista, a market research firm, to survey nearly 25,000 individuals across the U.S. Scores for the financial institutions were based on overall recommendations and satisfaction, as well as five subdimensions (trust, terms and conditions, branch services, digital services and financial advice). >> VANTAGE WEST CREDIT UNION Vantage West is Arizona’s third-largest credit union with nearly 500 employees who operate 19 branches, serve more than 161,000 members and has $2.2 billion in assets. Vantage West won the Louise Herring Philosophy-in-Action Award in 2019 from the Mountain West Credit Union Association. The award is given to a credit union for its practical application of the credit union philosophy “People helping people” within its operations. Vantage West won for its digital banking conversion project.

BEHIND EVERY ARIZONA BUSINESS IS A PASSIONATE LEADER. Behind Them, There’s BOK Financial.

Helping Arizona Grow. We are proud to stand behind our Arizona customers to make their business growth possible. As a top 30 U.S-based bank*, we have the strength and stability to accomplish projects of any scale. And, with dedicated local expertise and a commitment to the community, we build long-term relationships focused on the smallest details. See what heights your business can reach with a true financial partner at bokfinancial.com.

Dave DeCero

Chris Barone

Lesley Malmstrom

Ron Parker

Senior Vice President Arizona Market Manager Commercial Banking

Senior Vice President Market Manager Commercial Banking

Senior Vice President Market Manager Commercial Banking

Senior Vice President Market Manager Commercial Banking

ddecero@bokf.com

cbarone@bokf.com

lmalmstrom@bokf.com

ron.parker@bokf.com

ABnationally | January - February 2021 57 BOK Financial® is a trademark of BOKF, NA. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender . BOKF, NA is the banking subsidiary of BOK Financial Corporation and is among the top 30 chartered U.S.-based commercial banks based on assets as of March 31, 2020. ©2020 BOKF, NA.

EXCELLENCE IN BANKING

COMMUNITY IMPACT >> DESERT FINANCIAL CREDIT UNION A $67,000 donation made by Desert Financial Credit Union to Laptops 4 Learning helped to bridge this “digital divide” for 300 students and their families. Desert Financial was founded by schoolteachers more than 80 years ago. As a tribute to their legacy, the credit union has always supported teachers and education. “At Desert Financial, we believe that Random Acts of Kindness go a long way toward helping improve our wider community,” said SVP, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer, Cathy Graham. >> FIRSTBANK In addition to being one of the driving forces behind Arizona Gives Day, FirstBank set up a $1 million fund with Trellis, an Arizona housing services organization, to offer qualified homebuyers up to $45,000 for a down payment towards a new home. Impact Development (formerly known as Funding Partners) is also a FirstBank partner that helps first-time homebuyers and small businesses by providing up to $20,000 in down payment assistance.

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>> NATIONAL BANK OF ARIZONA National Bank of Arizona processed and obtained approval for more than 5,000 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans totaling just over $730 million before May 21. National Bank of Arizona was able to help small businesses in nearly 170 cities and municipalities across Arizona, from as far south as Yuma and Nogales, to as far north as Page and Kayenta. This funding helped protect paychecks for over 60,000 Arizona workers, based on applicant data. >> WESTERN ALLIANCE BANK Western Alliance Bank donated $150,000 to the AZ Coronavirus Relief Fund, supporting Arizona’s medical professionals and families in need. Western Alliance Bank’s donation was part of a larger $2 million commitment that will go to nonprofit and community organizations that are working to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on local communities. Arizona’s portion totals more than $900,000 and will expand access to personal protective equipment for first responders, combat food insecurity, aid struggling small businesses, support pediatric care and assist some of the state’s most vulnerable. >> WaFd BANK ARIZONA Through its WaFd Bank Foundation, WaFd Bank Arizona’s 31 branches donated $40,000 to both the Central Arizona Shelter Services, based in Phoenix, and the Primavera Foundation, based in Tucson, to help them continue their critical operations amid COVID-19. “Our purpose through the Foundation is to facilitate direct giving to community-based nonprofits serving low- and moderate-income individuals’ needs,” says Mike Brown, WaFd Bank Arizona president. “We’ve been very proud to invest over $250,000 in direct giving across Arizona through it.”

I DEAS Cultivating CONNE CT IONS Empowering PE OPLE Igniting

At Bell Bank, we understand that Excellence in Banking starts with our people. We’re real people who love what we do – using our work to build relationships and make a difference. We don’t just work in the community, we’re committed to creating opportunities here.

With Kyle leading our efforts to expand Bell’s commercial banking presence in the Southwest, we’re dedicated to helping you grow your business and find the financial guidance you need along the way.

Kyle’s inspirational leadership style has helped bring some of the best bankers in the Valley to Bell, as he carries out the bank’s overall goal of creating a great place for people to work and do business.

CONGRATULATIONS, KYLE, on being named an honoree for Arizona Business Magazine’s Bankers of the Year 2021!

Member FDIC

28269

bell.bank

AB | January - February 2021 59

EXCELLENCE IN BANKING

SMALL BUSINESS LENDERS [ of the Year ]

>> ALERUS “In the Arizona market, we picked up over 200 new customers through the Paycheck Protection Program because we were prepared to help them,” says Rob Schwister, Arizona market president for Alerus. “So it really worked to our advantage to be working from home (at that time) and have the technology and be able to help and support those people. So we took a lot of pride in the fact that we’re able to help a lot of these business owners through that process.” >> AMERIFUND From its start in 1995, Amerifund wanted to stand out as a relationship-driven company based on integrity that provides businesses with financing across the United States. The company’s passion is to help businesses grow and do what is best for each of its customers – even if at times it means turning away business or referring business elsewhere. Because it’s not a traditional bank, Amerifund offers quick approvals and tailoring strategic funding solutions specific to your business’ needs.

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>> MEADOWS BANK “Our team has been committed to helping our business clients through the current economic crisis. We processed 986 Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans for a total of $193.6 million,” said Arvind Menon, president and CEO of Meadows Bank. He added, “We know that our customers continue to rely on Meadows Bank to provide the services they need and we will be here, working side by side with our neighbors to make sure our community is strong and standing tall when this crisis passes.” >> PACIFIC PREMIER BANK Founded in 1983, Pacific Premier Bank has grown to become one of the largest banks in the western region of the United States, with approximately $20 billion in total assets.

Pacific Premier Bank offers a wide array of loan products, such as commercial business loans, lines of credit, SBA loans, commercial real estate loans, agribusiness loans, franchise lending, home equity lines of credit, and construction loans.

Pacific Premier Bank offers commercial escrow services and facilitates 1031 Exchange transactions through its Commerce Escrow division. >> WELLS FARGO Wells Fargo, one of the largest small business lenders in Arizona, created a campaign to aid small businesses and people in need during the COVID-19 pandemic called Many Hearts.

One Community. The bank committed $50 million to help small businesses, and encouraged its customers and employees to shop at small businesses, “because they really are the backbone, and they’re hurting,” a Wells Fargo executive says.

You deserve more than

blah, blah, blah.

Where Business Meets Opportunity™ Kevin Cutter

Ranked the Top Bank in 2020 Member FDIC

EVP / Regional President 602.445.6568 PPBI.com/Arizona

Š2020, Forbes Media LLC. Used with permission.

AB | January - February 2021 61

YOUNG BUSINESS LEADERS

10

YOUNG BUSINESS LEADERS TO WATCH IN 2021

Meet the up-and-coming — or already here — innovators who are changing Arizona’s landscape and the way we approach business

By MICHAEL GOSSIE It hasn’t been easy to navigate the business landscape — or any landscape for that matter — in the past year. But the individuals on this list have all distinguished themselves as leaders of the future — and leaders of the present. While they come from a wide range of backgrounds, they all have pushed boundaries and come up with visionary ways to progress their businesses. Here are 10 young business leaders to watch in 2021.

Ray Damm CEO / ACCEL Damm is the CEO of ACCEL, a nonprofit organization that provides innovative, individualized and comprehensive educational, therapeutic, vocational, behavioral and life skills training for children and adults who have special needs. He has been working with ACCEL since March of 2016, starting as CFO and chief development officer, and transitioning to the role of CEO in June of 2018.

Adam Finkel Principal / Tower Capital Prior to founding Tower Capital, Finkel began his real estate career with Levrose Real Estate and Investments, a boutique commercial brokerage firm located in Scottsdale, Arizona. At Levrose, he negotiated more than 300 commercial real estate transactions which included office, industrial, and retail properties. In 2014, he earned the designation of Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), a title held by only a small group of elite commercial real estate investment professionals. He is actively involved with the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP).

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Alissa McDowell Senior corporate counsel / Axon McDowell says the greatest challenge in her seven years as in-house counsel was, “Coming into a role at Axon that had no processes in place. Deals were slowed down while we waited for approval, or we accepted terms that negatively impacted revenue in order to keep things moving. After learning Axon’s risk tolerances, I created a negotiation playbook that fit our risk profile and allows us to negotiate effectively and efficiently.”

Lindsey Moellenberndt Chief business development and marketing officer / Fennemore Since joining Fennemore, Moellenberndt has launched the Elevate program that helps the law firm’s associates reach their desired outcomes and enhance their overall human experience through career road mapping, one-on-one consultations and strategy sessions and through monthly educational programs.

Burch & Cracchiolo is proud to congratulate Bucky Slomski for being named one of “20 Young Leaders to Watch” in 2021.

Bucky is a top-rated trial advocate and emerging leader in his field. He focuses his practice solely on serious personal injury, medical malpractice and wrongful death claims.

He is a Southwest Super Lawyer “Rising Star” and a National Trial Lawyers Association “Top 40 Under 40.”

Burch & Cracchiolo, P.A. 1850 N. Central Avenue, Suite 1700 Phoenix, Arizona 85004

bcattorneys.com

602.274.7611

Arizona • California • Nevada

@bcattorneys

AB | January - February 2021 63

YOUNG BUSINESS LEADERS Breanna Naegeli Associate dean / Grand Canyon University After nearly 11 years working in various roles at Grand Canyon University, Naegeli became a graduate of the educational institution in May of 2020 after successfully defending her dissertation, “The Influence of Fan Engagement Through Social Media on Performance Anxiety and Male, NCAA Division I Athletes,” and earning her her Ph.D. in performance psychology from the College of Doctoral Studies.

Anna Ortiz International program director / Esperança Ortiz has been with Phoenix-based Esperança in varying capacities since 2013. Ortiz was raised by immigrant parents in a small town outside of Yuma. Her father volunteered with AmeriCorps, Ortiz often went with her dad to service projects. She believes her dad wanted to make sure her head and heart were always working together – finding ways to be of service to others. While attending ASU, Ortiz worked at Chicanos Por La Causa, where she provided afterschool assistance to at-risk students, and later serving in an administrative role over the entire program.

Danae Presler Sustainability officer / City of Avondale Presler moved to Avondale from the City of Chandler, Arizona where she worked in various positions, most recently serving as a Neighborhood Programs Administrator and leading that city’s sustainability efforts through interdepartmental collaborations and new partnerships with universities, businesses, and nonprofits. Presler represents Avondale as a member of Arizona State University’s Sustainable Cities Network Steering Committee and the Rio Reimagined and El Rio projects.

Ryan “Bucky” Slomski Associate / Burch & Cracchiolo

Stanton Shields Senior financial advisor / Alerus Shields is a senior financial advisor and leads wealth management activities for Alerus clients in Arizona. He has more than 12 years of experience in the financial industry and has served in a variety of roles, including portfolio advisor, analyst, controller, and trader. Shields holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Arizona State University and a certificate of finance from Stanford University.

He is a Certified Financial Planner, a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor, and holds Series 7 and Series 66 investment licenses.

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Slomski is a top-rated trial advocate and emerging leader in his field. He focuses his practice on serious personal injury, medical malpractice and wrongful death claims, and he provides muchneeded representation and support to clients across Arizona who have suffered an injury or lost a loved one as a result of someone else’s negligence or wrongdoing. Slomski has a broad range of clients as he is fluent in Spanish and has a deep understanding of the Hispanic culture.

Kevin Walsh Partner / Quarles & Brady In his practice, Walsh partners with his clients to help them create new value in their businesses.

He concentrates his practice in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, private equity, early-stage and emerging growth companies, equity and debt financing, crowdfunding, and general business counseling.

GARDEN ART

AZ TOTEM ART aztotemart.com | 602.677.5999 View more than 25 studio art pieces on site

By Appointment Only AB | January - February 2021 65

SELFLESS SERVANTS Here are the winners of the Az Business Angels Awards

By MICHAEL GOSSIE

Animal-focused Nonprofit of the Year:

Arizona Animal Welfare League AAWL visits other shelters that might euthanize their animals and bring them to their own facilities and connect with people and have them adopt the pets so they can have a home.

Healthcare-focused Nonprofit of the Year:

Valleywise Health Foundation

With all the challenges our communities faced in the last year, nonprofits — and those who support their efforts — have never been more important.

The Az Business Angels Awards casts a spotlight on the nonprofits, individuals, business leaders, and organizations that impact our communities. Here are the winners of the 2020 Az Business Angels Awards, which are sponsored by WaFd Bank Arizona.

Freddie Dobbins, Jr., has volunteered at the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Valley for thirty years, also volunteering at Gregory’s Fresh Market and the African American Cultural Committee. He received the RP Karl F. Abel Volunteer Recognition Award in 2019.

Fundraising Event of the Year:

Outstanding Corporate Responsibility:

Volunteer of the Year:

Freddie Dobbins, Jr., SRP

M3F Fest

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona

Valleywise Health Foundation is the nonprofit partner of Valleywise Health and lately focuses on raising funds for a few of its key programs, such as a burn survivor’s program, community programs and education for health professionals.

M3F Fest donated all of its proceeds to charity, and recently have been supporting the Music Therapy Program at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, which can help children in a variety of impactful ways.

BCBSAZ’s public health movement — Mobilize AZ — focuses their volunteer efforts on projects related to substance use disorder, mental health conditions, diabetes and social determinants of health.

Social Services Nonprofit of the Year:

Collaboration of the Year:

Az Business Angel of the Year — Business:

Payson Senior Center Since the beginning of the pandemic the Payson Senior Center has expanded its meal program to serve over 900 meals a week, provided essential toiletries, gifted goody bags and made frequent happy check phone calls to their seniors who were homebound.

Youth-focused Nonprofit of the Year:

Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona Free Arts helps children who have experienced trauma, neglect or homelessness. Free Arts equips kids to overcome and cope with their past experiences in a safe environment through their mentorship program, professional artists class series, collaborative art days and summer camps.

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CHASSE Building Team and Heidi’s Village

Desert Financial Credit Union

Last year, CHASSE Building Team collaborated with the Virginia B. Jontes Foundation to break ground on Heidi’s Village, a $20 million specialty animal shelter. The shelter has room for up to 250 dogs and 200 cats.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Desert Financial Credit Union has invested nearly $700,000 to various COVID relief programs including four food banks, Valley of the Sun United Way, the family hardship fund at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and Flagstaff Medical Center.

Nonprofit Executive of the Year:

Az Business Angel of the Year — Individual:

Jeri Royce, president and CEO, Esperança Royce has been able to inspire confidence in her team through her collaborative, positive and decisive leadership, which has also led to Esperança creating innovative and sustainable new programs.

Andrew Abraham, Burch & Cracchiolo Abraham has led his firm’s spirit of community volunteerism and support through the B&C Star Teacher Program, which awards a teacher with $500 to spend on anything they need. He has also had his firm support numerous nonprofit organizations.

AZ Business Angel of the Year Individual Award Winner 2020 Burch & Cracchiolo Star Teacher Winners Andy Abraham President

Under Andy’s leadership Burch & Cracchiolo made a firm-wide commitment to honor and reward teachers by establishing the “Star Teacher Award” where a teacher is honored every month with a check for $500 and a certificate of recognition.

The onset of COVID-19 has only served to further our resolve to continue this program as teachers find their way teaching online, in-person or a combination of both. They are charting through new waters and need our help and support more than ever.

Recently B&C sponsored a virtual 5K for employees and friends to benefit the Million Dollar Teacher Project, a non-profit organization that further supports teachers in their quest to provide the quality education we hope for our children.

Chris Hamlin

Jennifer Weworski

Silver Valley Elementary School

St. Louis the King School

Melanie Liddy

Debra Grobmeier

Mitchell Elementary School

Horizon High School

In addition, B&C has supported the following organizations in 2020:

Ralph Crudup, Sr.

New World Educational Center

Congratulations to Andy and all the employees of Burch & Cracchiolo for their tremendous contribution to our community!

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

The Anti-Defamation League Arizona Builders Alliance Arizona Humane Society Arizona Justice Project Brokers for Kids Central Arizona Shelter Services Local First Arizona Luke AFB Fighter Country Golf Tournament Peoria Diamond Club Phoenix Indian Center St. Vincent de Paul Salvation Army Scottsdale 20-30 Club TGEN Valley Partnership

To nominate a teacher for the Star Teacher Award go to bcattorneys.com/teacher-awards Burch & Cracchiolo, P.A.

bcattorneys.com

1850 N. Central Avenue, Suite 1700 Phoenix, Arizona 85004 602.274.7611

AB | January - February 2021 67

@bcattorneys

EXCELLENCE IN BANKING MARKETING

SOCIAL TRENDS YOU CAN EXPECT TO FIND IN #2021 T

he new year is finally here! One thing we know for sure that will remain constant in 2021 is our time on social media. It has become an integral part of our lives and daily routines.

Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok have changed the way we consume content, therefore its important to stay ahead of the game with the latest trends. These are the top projections of what we think you will see more of in 2021 across all social platforms: All about video: Video has already taken social media by storm, but there are no signs of it stopping. With new features such as Instagram Reels, videos are highly encouraged and generally perform well on all platforms. Living in the moment: With time restrictions on displays such as stories (since they are only available for 24 hours unless you archive them), these platforms are encouraging content that is more day in the life and keeping audiences more engaged with that sense of urgency. Once travel restrictions are lifted, traveling and experience driven content is going to be through the roof.

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Ashley Richards Marketing

Virtual events: Virtual Events took over in 2020, and they will continue on in 2021. Platforms such as Facebook released new features this year for events, such as selecting if an event is virtual or in person.

There is also a plethora of apps to plug into Facebook and Instagram to create live streams and events for your online audience. Organizations have shifted and learned to become pros online, so we project these will still play a critical role in the new year.

Influencer partnerships: Brands, including our clients, are focusing heavily on influencer partnerships in 2021. When working with the right ones, this could be a game changer

when it comes to brand awareness and marketing. We are finding more people are at home, thus they are scrolling away on these platforms- using this type of strategy brings a fun and playful side to your business as well, which is always welcomed on social, no matter what year it is!

Shopping online: No surprise to many, online shopping continues to lead the way when it comes to social media, and COVID-19 just enhanced this need.

Instagram and Facebook continue to release new features for online shopping, such as Instagram Checkout and Facebook Page Shops. If you have a product to sell, get it online as fast as possible. That’s where shoppers are!

And that leads me to the final trend, or thing to keep in mind. Your client is online NOW! The pandemic and closures have really forced your ideal audience online. Average log in times, browse times, and interactions are higher than average in 2020, and we project to see this trend continue into the new year.

Ashley Richards is the owner of Phoenixbased E Squared Marketing.

Start your day with AZ Big Media!

BIG News is your daily source for business, real estate, home and travel. Let us know your interests, and we’ll deliver the latest news directly to your inbox. Subscribe today and stay in the know!

AB | January - February 2021 69

DINING

MANGIAMO! S & V Urban Italian Scottsdale creates dishes and an atmosphere that would have made Grandma proud

By MICHAEL GOSSIE

M

ichael Corleone says it best in “The Godfather.” Don’t ever take sides with anyone against the family.

That is very true when it comes to food. Especially Italian food. The tough thing about growing up in an Italian family is that every bite of Italian food you take that comes from a source outside of the family is always compared with the deliciousness of Sunday dinners. Those are the meals Grandma started cooking the day before. You could taste every drop of love — along with the vibrant flavors from her garden-grown ingredients — in every memorable mouthful.

So to say that I am discriminating when it comes to Italian food would be like saying Donald Trump had a “slight issue” with the election results.

That’s why S & V Urban Italian Scottsdale is such a treat. It brings all the traditions and tastes of classic Italian dishes to the table, but brings a modern twist that separates it from other Italian restaurants will never compare with Grandma Gossie’s cooking.

Grandma Gossie would have loved S & V Urban Italian Scottsdale. And that’s high praise, indeed.

S & V Urban Italian Scottsdale began in 2011 with the mission to create a memorable food and drink experience for every guest, every time. S & V selects traditional family recipes to compliment its modern dishes and innovative twists on traditional recipes. The design and ambiance of the restaurant offers a casual vibe and amazing views from the expansive patio.

But it’s the food that is the star of the show. Be sure to start

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your meal with homemade garlic knots (amazeballs!), meatballs, calamari fritti, or one of seven bruschetta options. But save room for the main courses. Highlights of S & V’s homemade pasta dishes include Tuscan spinach pasta (mouthwatering), ravioli, linguini and clams, and lasagna (it rivals any on the planet). Other must-try dishes include eggplant, chicken or veal parmigiana; wood-fired pizzas (be sure to try the prosciutto and fig pizza); and authentic Italian entrees (the Chianti beef will melt in your mouth). The mouthwatering meal is complemented by a large selection of wine and specialty drinks.

One added treat is that S & V also serves brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with breakfast classics that include French toast, bacon and eggs, Benedicts and omelettes; plus specialties that include zucchini squash skillet, short rib hash and blue corn blueberry pancakes with strawberries and caramel popcorn. S & V also has a selection of crafted drinks, including an espresso martini, bloody Marys, mimosas and bellinis.

S & V has created a warm, cozy and inviting ambiance that encourages guests to sit back, relax and stay awhile. Just like Sunday dinner at Grandma’s house: You’ll feel like part of the family.

S & V Urban Italian Location: 9343 E. Shea Blvd., #100, Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Menu: svurbanitalianscottsdaleaz.com Phone: 480-451-1850 Delivery: S & V offers delivery with Doordash through online ordering.

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COMING NEXT ISSUE Featured topics include:

• Meet the finalists for the Arizona Corporate Counsel Awards • A look at the impact of Luke AFB as it celebrates its 80th anniversary • An analysis of the innovative growth of the East Valley’s economy • Check out the places to go and things to see in San Diego • How diversifying your workforce will improve your bottom line

For additional information call 602.277.6045 or visit azBIGmedia.com AB | January - February 2021 71

REAL ESTATE OUTLOOK

RECORD YEAR

Here’s why the local luxury real estate home market is booming

RECORD SALE: A home in Silverleaf in Scottsdale sold for $24.1 million in September, setting a record as the highest-priced home sale in the state’s history. (Photo courtesy of Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty)

By ALYSSA TUFTS

T

he local luxury home market is booming right now, part of which can be credited to Launch Real Estate, one of the premier boutique luxury brokerages in Maricopa County, which had 38 closings in September 2020 alone that were more than $1 million and doesn’t show signs of slowing down. Az Business spoke with Sean Zimmerman, president of Launch Real Estate, about this growth and what he anticipates for 2021.

Az Business: Why is there a boom in the local luxury home market?

Sean Zimmerman: There’s an element of the growth that’s being driven by out-oftown buyers who are coming from markets where home values are significantly higher than ours. And there are others who realized they can work remotely since Arizona has a great lifestyle, that they get a lot of value for their dollar if they move out here.

I think year-over-year, our market has become stronger. After the COVID shutdown in March-May, we started to experience a significant increase in milliondollar-plus home sales. From June until

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November, we’ve seen the best second half of any previous year in million-dollar-plus home sales.

AB: What is the price threshold for these homes?

Sean Zimmerman SZ: As our market has matured and we’ve seen some values return, $1 million is still a fair price to say it’s luxury, but we’re seeing a lot more at the $2 million-plus range, and we’ve seen some record-breaking sales prices this year.

I think it’s a combination of area, square footage and acreage. Luxury isn’t defined by just an area, it isn’t just in Paradise Valley or Scottsdale.

You’re seeing luxury sales happen in Queen Creek and Gilbert, Chandler and Ahwatukee. So when you look at more expensive homes like $2 million-plus, you’re probably going to be in a couple key geographic locations and be on more than half an acre.

AB: What are some trends you’re seeing?

SZ: What’s trending or changed in 2020 is the increase in home offices and home gyms and that’s a direct result of COVID. We’re also seeing more than one home office if there’s two individuals working from home.

People are needing more space in their home for offices, gyms and for kids returning from college because of the change in lifestyle.

You’re also seeing a lot more built-out entertaining space like swimming pools, outdoor barbecues and kitchens.

AB: What is the outlook for the local luxury home market in 2021?

SZ: We’re very bullish on a great opening 2021, and I say that with a caveat that supply is tight, so where it’s great with demand, we’re going to have some restrictions on what we can actually get.

I’m looking forward to it. I think people are expecting the first quarter to be as busy or even busier than what we’ve seen the last several months. I think we’ll see our best quarter ever. After that, my general guess is that we’re going to continue to have a great and then stable 2021 in the luxury market here in Phoenix.

Arizona Mining Association Minerals Make it Possible

2021

Mining industry capitalizes on increased demand for minerals and innovative ways to train its workforce

DIGGING IN FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE

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We are optimizing, innovating and expanding

PROUD TO BE PART OF ARIZONA MINING

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Learn more at capstonemining.com

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Instilling True Confidence. Delivering Success.

AB | January - February 2021 75

ARIZONA MINING ASSOCIATION

ROCK STAR

From the growing need for copper to use in wind and solar farms to consumer market electronics and housing, Arizona’s mining industry is stepping up to meet the skyrocketing demand for minerals

By ERIN THORBURN

I

t has the highest recycling rate of any engineering metal, every child born today will use about 1,500 pounds of it, between 500 and 600 pounds of it were used to make billions of doorknobs in the United States, and the Statue of Liberty is plated with upwards of 179,000 pounds of it.

“It” is copper.

From consumer goods to crafting American icons to operating power plants and sustaining green energy, the demand for copper is growing at greater rates than ever.

Recent reports demonstrate that the global need for copper is anticipated to rise by as much as 50 percent over the next two decades. And, guess which corner of the world holds 27.1 percent of the global market size in copper? The United States. Zooming in closer, you’ll see that Arizona accounts for 75 percent of the copper mined in the U.S.

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So, the million-dollar question — or perhaps, more appropriately, the 28-million-tonnes question (28 million tonnes is the annual amount of copper in demand) is — will Arizona rise to meet the growing demand for copper?

Arizona’s mining experts collectively say yes. After all, the state hasn’t earned the moniker “Copper State,” without reason. As the need for minerals grows, Arizona’s mining industry is not only poised to fulfill current and future demand, but to also benefit from it.

Mineral mining economic impact “Mining has always been a large contributor to Arizona’s economy and I see that contribution growing larger over time,” says Brock Johnston, general manager at Carlota Copper Co. “With the increased demand for minerals, there will be an

increase in the number of direct and indirect jobs associated with the mining industry in Arizona.”

Johnston predicts that the local economy will benefit, in particular, from the increasing demand for copper to produce electric vehicles and possibly lithium for batteries used in both EVs and electric utility storage.

Steve Higgins, senior vice president and chief administrative officer for Freeport McMoRan, agrees. “Freeport-McMoRan’s Arizona operations had a $2.9 billion direct and indirect economic impact to the local economy (in 2019), according to the L. William Seidman Research Institute at Arizona State University,” he says.

Additionally, Freeport-McMoRan employed 9,482 people last year. The ripple effect of that employment created another 17,926 jobs in Arizona (yielded from these employees’ wages and

taxes, plus the services purchased), according to Higgins.

It’s also important, Higgins explains, to understand the Arizona mining industry’s position as an export business in benefitting the state’s economy.

“Most people might be surprised to learn that metal ores were the third-largest Arizona export of goods after semiconductors and aerospace in 2018, according to the Business Roundtable,” Higgins says, “bringing in money from outside our state to generate local economic activity and jobs.”

Renewable energy and mineral demand And that economic impact is only expected to fluorish.

“Major forecasted shifts, such as the transition to a low-carbon future and development of green technologies, will only increase our need for copper mining over the coming decade in order to AB | January - February 2021 77

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Steve Higgins

Brock Johnston

collect and store energy sourced from renewable resources,” says Carson Richardson, senior research scientist for the Arizona Geological Survey for the University of Arizona. “Not only will we see an increased need for mined copper, but also a myriad of other mineral resources.”

One of the other coveted minerals for which Richardson refers is molybdenum. Molybdenum is a versatile element with diverse applications in the chemical, engineering and petroleum industries. Molybdenum and its alloys are key components in chemical and metallurgical applications.

“We produce molybdenum at three of our Arizona operations as a copper byproduct,” Higgins says, “and our company is the world’s leading producer and supplier of the metal.”

Carson Richardson

Brad Ross

Following copper and molybdenum, Arizona’s top-mined minerals include crude perlite, silver, and zeolites.

But, because of its versatility and value across multiple industries, copper remains top-tier in mineral demand.

“Copper is key,” Higgins says, “in enabling material for decarbonization.”

In terms of renewable energy generation for wind and solar, four to six times more copper is used compared with what’s required for traditional energy generation. Additionally, according to Higgins, electric vehicles can consume as much as four times more copper than traditional internal combustion engines.

“I think green energy is going to increase the demand for copper even more,” says Dr. Brad Ross, director of the

COPPER DEMAND: PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE To better understand the copper demand of today, it’s helpful to examine the patterns of the past

“Today, the world uses 10 times as much copper per year than it did in 1950,” says Dr. Brad Ross, director of the Geotechnical Center of Excellence at the University of Arizona. “That’s an incredible change. And, it comes from two things.

No. 1: There’s about three times-plus as many people in the world today than there was in 1950. No. 2. On average, every person in the world uses more than three times as much copper, as compared to 1950.”

According to Carson Richardson, senior research scientist for the Arizona Geological Survey for the University of Arizona, Arizona’s role in copper mining has been a slow burn, with the state annually producing less than 10 percent of U.S. copper beginning in 1888, more than 50 percent of annual U.S. copper production starting in 1960, and 60-70 percent since the mid1970s.”

But despite the steady growth of mining in the Copper State, it was around the “1970s or so that we started importing copper into the United States to meet our needs,” according to Ross.

More recently, the U.S. has also turned to recycling scrap to help meet the copper demand. In fact, upwards of half the copper consumed in America is derived from recycled material.

“Much of the copper mined to electrify the major metropolitan areas such as New York City, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., in the 19th century may still be in used in old buildings or has been recycled,” Richardson says. “Globally, we ultimately recycle about 50-60 percent of mined copper, and closer to 70 percent in the US and Western Europe.”

These percentages, according to Richardson, only account for about 35 percent of the annual U.S. copper supply. “Even with perfect, efficient recycling, we could not meet our current needs without continued copper mining and should expect that more mining will be required in the relatively near-term future,” he says.

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Geotechnical Center of Excellence at the University of Arizona.

“And, we should expect the demand for copper from Arizona to continue, and even increase. Mines like Resolution, Rosemont and others are essential because our society demands more copper, and will demand more copper because of the clean energy issues.”

Copper in consumer markets It’s important to remember that while macro applications and utilities like wind and solar renewable energy will continue to require high copper yields, so will consumer goods and products like electrical vehicles (which we briefly touched on), electronics (phones, laptops, and more), and the infrastructure of most homes.

“Within our homes today, we’ve gone wireless as far as our networks, but the energy part of it hasn’t,” Ross says. “My home, when we built it, was fitted with special lines to put in solar panels. All these add up in terms of (the demand for) copper.”

An average 2,100-square-foot house, for example, contains the following amount of copper: • 195 pounds of building wire • 51 pounds of plumbing tube, fillings, and valves • 47 pounds in built-in appliances • 24 pounds of plumbers’ brass goods • 12 pounds in builders’ hardware • 10 pounds of other wire and tubing “Nearly 70 percent of copper is used in electrical applications across construction, automotive, and power markets, and virtually all consumer electronics,” Higgins says.

“Copper is crucial to our modern way of life since it’s used in everything that has any kind of wiring in it,” Johnston adds.

“A few examples include electric motors, power generators, wiring for buildings, marine vessels, aircraft, vehicles, and every electronic device you can think of.”

Meeting demand “To the extent these technologies are increasingly adopted,” Higgins says, “the demand for copper will grow — perhaps slowly initially, but much more rapidly over time. In addition, building renovations, motor and transformer upgrades, 5G installations, and the expected U.S. and global infrastructure programs will further add to copper demand.”

For example, Richardson points out that “trends elsewhere, such as the UK’s recent announcement of a ban on sales of new combustion-engine vehicles starting in 2030, may be predictive of what we can expect in the U.S. over the next decade.”

Experts says this is a major opportunity for Arizona mines to support the demand. And the favorable market, according to Higgins, will help support mining in Arizona going forward and be a huge catalyst for Arizona’s economic expansion.

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ARIZONA MINING ASSOCIATION

INNOVATIONS IN

MINING Here’s how today’s industry in Arizona is driven by data, advanced analytics, and a focus on the environment

By ERIN THORBURN

H

ave you ever put on someone else’s eyeglasses, or perhaps put on an old pair of your own? Chances are, your vision was skewed. Things simply don’t look the way they should. To see properly takes quite a bit of effort with the wrong set of lenses. Innovations in mining invite us to transform our vision of what we think the industry represents. Although mining practices and environmental regulations have vastly improved — in the United States, in particular — over the past few decades, the industry is often still scrutinized because of “expired lenses.”

Today, innovations in mining involve artificial intelligence that can predict when haul trucks are in need of maintenance, and virtual mining — operating autonomous and auxiliary vehicles and machines and drones that survey mine sites to ensure the safety of workers. In addition to appraising mining day-to-day operations with outdated notions, the safety and environmental implications associated with mining are also mostly archaic.

“We are fortunate to have the most advanced technology companies for mining located in Arizona, a world-class minerals program at the University of Arizona, and a large skilled workforce,” says Dr. Mary M. Poulton, professor emerita of mining and geological engineering and co-director of the Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources. “When you couple all of these assets with an emphasis on environmental protection

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and conservation of water, Arizona is one of the areas with the most responsible mining on earth.”

Today’s industry “Mining is now a highly technical industry driven by innovation, data and advanced analytics,” adds Steve Higgins, senior vice president and chief administrative officer for Freeport McMoRan. “In late 2018, a pilot program initiated at our Bagdad mine in Northwest Arizona was successful in using data science, machine learning and integrated functional teams to address bottlenecks.”

The result of which, according to Higgins, provided cost benefits and drove improved overall performance.

“The program has now been implemented across other operations,” he says. “Significant advances have been made in environmental, sustainable and responsible mining practices.”

In its commitment to environmental responsibility, Freeport-McMoRan is a member of numerous industry associations and holds leadership positions in various organizations that provide a platform for advancing sustainability. In fact, because of its leadership, Freeport-McMoRan was instrumental in the development of the Copper Mark, an assurance framework developed to demonstrate the copper industry’s responsible production practices and contributions to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Steve Higgins

Mary M. Poulton Additionally, Freeport-McMoRan is a founding member of the International Council on Metals and Mining, an organization dedicated to a safe, fair and sustainable mining and metals industry.

Fueling growth While innovation in the mining industry continues to support sustainable practices, it’s also helping to fuel the growth and demands of renewable energy.

“As a technology hub for mining, Arizona is becoming the ‘Silicon Valley

of mining,’” Poulton says. “And, as more technology companies are attracted to Arizona, more jobs are created. These companies serve a global mining industry. The University of Arizona helps develop the technologies that are being commercialized by these companies and also helps supply the workforce necessary to use the technologies.”

Poulton provides the example of ASARCO’s designation of land by the Santa Cruz River near the Mission Mine for a massive solar farm. The solar energy not only helps provide

some of the power for its Mineral Discovery Center, but also puts energy on the grid to supply Tucson homes with power.

“Most companies have programs to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions ranging from renewable energy to energyefficient vehicles, pumps, motors, etc.,” Poulton says. “Faculty at the University of Arizona have had research programs on using different kinds of solar arrays on mine tailings — solar arrays that float and can reduce evaporation (these two were done by Dr. Moe Momayez).”

University of Arizona faculty have also looked at low-temperature geothermal energy to generate power and then use the residual heat for things like heating greenhouses or fish farming, also facilitated

by Dr. Momayez, according to Poulton.

As the demand for minerals continues to rise, experts can likely predict the advent of more innovative mining technologies and practices, and, as they come, perhaps those old eyeglasses — and old perceptions of the industry — will finally be retired.

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ARIZONA MINING ASSOCIATION

JUST THE FACTS Gallagher & Kennedy expert shares details you need to know about Arizona’s mining industry

By ERIN THORBURN

D

avid P. Kimball, III, a shareholder at Gallagher & Kennedy, has been connected with Arizona’s mining industry for upwards of 35 years. His expertise in environmental and natural resources law — including litigation, lobbying, advocacy, legislation, and more — helped him secure a place among the “Best Lawyers in America” for more than three decades. His knowledge and experience continue to make him an asset to his firm, clients, and the mining industry. To gain insight into the industry, Az Business talked with Kimball about the most topical — yet often misunderstood — mining issues going into 2021.

Az Business: Why is mining so valuable and essential to Arizona’s economy and job market growth?

David P. Kimball, III: Arizona produces 60 percent of the nation’s copper output. The Arizona mining industry

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contributes billions of dollars each year to Arizona’s economy and generates tens of thousands of jobs with average wages that are double that of all other Arizona industries.

Copper contributes to every aspect of our daily lives, well-being, safety and security (e.g., cell phones, laptops, cars — especially electric cars — appliances, life-saving medical devices, microbial disinfectants, and national defense systems). The adage, “If it’s not grown, it’s mined,” underscores how essential mining is to our standard of living and quality of life.

AB: We have discussed how mining operations have improved in environmental safety due to some of the most strict regulations and restrictions in the world. What should people know about how much mining safety has evolved?

DK: Because hard rock minerals are internationally traded commodities that are priced and sold on international markets, Arizona-produced minerals are competing against other internationally produced minerals that are not subject to the voluminous, strict and costly environmental and safety regulations of the United States. These significant additional regulatory costs for U.S. and Arizona mines and minerals make it difficult to compete in the international markets.

Accordingly, the survival of the U.S. and Arizona mining industry (and the irreplaceable benefits of the domestic mining industry to the U.S. and Arizona economies) is contingent on continuous technological improvements that will reduce other costs of domestic mineral production to offset these heavier U.S. and Arizona regulatory costs.

To remain internationally competitive, Arizona mining companies have invested tens of millions of dollars in modern mining technologies. These technologies have increased mineral recovery, achieved greater production efficiency and reduced the human and natural resources (e.g. water and electrical power) needed to produce copper and other hard rock minerals.

Additionally, these technologies reduce the impact and footprint needed to effectively produce copper and maximize reclamation to restore the land for productive future use. Most importantly, there have been significant technological improvements to protect the health and safety of miners.

AB: What do you feel is the most misunderstood aspect of mining?

DK: Mining has dramatically changed over the last 50 years. The general public is not aware that modern mining employs highly sophisticated and technologically advanced mining techniques and procedures. Nor is the general public, aware of the extensive public health, safety, environmental and reclamation regulatory programs that ensure the protection of public and worker health and the environment. Remarkably, the general public also fails to understand the fundamental principle that mining has to occur where the minerals are located, and cannot be simply moved to a different and more acceptable or favorable location as with other businesses.

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NEW-SCHOOL APPROACH A $2 million donation from alumni will help the University of Arizona prepare a new generation of mining industry innovators

By ERIN THORBURN

W

hile much of the nation has lamented over what feels like an overabundance of misgivings in 2020, one corner of the Copper State received some excellent and hopeful news.

The University of Arizona learned that a family of two alumni donated $2 million to help grow the University’s mining and geosciences programs, and to also help create a foundation for an interdisciplinary school of mining engineering and mineral resources.

The donation comes from two alumni who are members of the Lundin family that owns the Canadian-based Lundin Group, a global metals empire of 14 publicly traded companies that operate in more than 25 countries. In addition to committing to a $2 million donation, the Lundin family extended a “challenge grant” for up to an additional $2.5 million to match any funds raised by the end of December 2020.

New program coming This well-received gift will help fund new faculty hires in economic geology and mining engineering, as well as building a new program focused on the social and governance aspects of mineral resources, according to Dr. Mary M. Poulton, professor emerita of mining and geological engineering and co-director of the Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources.

“The faculty hires in mining engineering will help launch a focus area on mining automation and technology,” Poulton says.

“The funding also supports our outreach efforts to the public about the importance of mineral resources. We launched a working group to plan the school in the 86

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spring and the group has put together a very compelling mission, vision, and goals for the new school.”

The expansion will also include a set of courses to enable any University of Arizona student to receive a minor in mineral resources. The minor’s structure centers on students gaining a better understanding of how minerals are used, as well as how mineral deposits are discovered, developed and reclaimed.

Satisfying a demand Suffice it to say, the Lundin family’s contribution comes at an opportune time for Mary M. Poulton the University of Arizona and its students majoring or minoring in mining as the talent and resources demanded for the mining and renewable energy sectors continue to rise exponentially. According to The World Bank, it’s predicted that 3 billion tons of minerals and metals will be needed to satisfy the demands of wind, solar, and geothermal power, in addition to energy storage.

“More students will have the opportunity to learn about the vital role of mineral Robert C. Robbins resources in their lives and in our local and global economies,” Poulton says. “This is particularly important when we think about expanding renewable energy production and all the technology minerals we need to support cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, and all the aspects of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We want to provide a mining knowledgeable, workready workforce for Arizona.”

Poulton adds her belief that the Brad Ross interdisciplinary approach across curricula

will “lead to new discoveries, a better understanding of how to use mineral resources efficiently and responsibly, and a larger and more knowledgeable workforce.”

Dr. Brad Ross, director of the Geotechnical Center of Excellence at the University of Arizona, agrees with Poulton’s assessment of interconnected approaches and how the Lundin family donation will help further connectivity and progress in mining and geosciences.

DEEP STUDY: Workers enter the University of Arizona San Xavier Mining Laboratory, 23 miles south of Tucson. (Photo courtesy of University of Arizona Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources)

Building talent pool “Mining has kind of been pushed down in the academic world for the past several decades, and the University of Arizona is actually making a change to that through the generous donation from the Lundin family and others,” Ross says. “We’ve had the mining and geological engineering department, but we also have a global mining law program and agriculture program. While each has been connected to some degree, creating this new school focused on mining will help us better integrate all these different programs and work on mining issues.”

Currently, ranked third in the nation for its mining engineering program, the expansion of the University of Arizona’s mining and geosciences programs is poised to not only help supply Arizona’s local mining workforce, but to also produce talent needed to fulfill the growing global need for mined minerals.

“Mining has been an important part of the University of Arizona since its very beginning as a land-grant institution,” says Robert C. Robbins, president of University of Arizona. “We have been preparing students for mining careers for 130 years and our alumni occupy leadership positions at mining operations across the globe. With this generous gift from the Lundin family and the possibility of even more through the challenge, we have an opportunity to significantly advance our world-renowned efforts to ensure safe and sustainable extraction of the important materials we rely upon every day.”

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2021

CREATING A

PIPELINE OF PROSPERITY Despite challenges of the past year, GPEC builds a knowledge-based economy that attracts nearrecord level interest from major companies looking to relocate to Greater Phoenix

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GREATER PHOENIX ECONOMIC COUNCIL

RELENTLESS SUCCESS Here’s how GPEC continued to attract and grow business throughout the pandemic and is looking to keep Phoenix rising for years to come 92

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By ERIN THORBURN

I

f Chris Camacho was Wall Street, he would be a constant bull market.

During his tenure as the president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC), the economic development association has led the attraction of more than 414 companies creating more than 74,000 jobs and $11 billion in capital investment.

Some of the more notable projects include Apple, Deloitte, Infosys, Creighton Medical School, Silicon Valley Bank, Zenefits, GoDaddy, Yelp, Amazon, Garmin, General Motors and Microsoft.

But, like every business leader, Camacho faced challenges in 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic created many unanswered questions, particularly in the business world.

Az Business talked with Camacho about how the pandemic impacted economic development efforts and what we can expect from GPEC in 2021.

Az Business: How did the pandemic impact economic development efforts for GPEC? Chris Camacho: First and foremost, I would say that in the second quarter of 2020, GPEC, just like everyone across the country, took a deep breath with the uncertainty that the second quarter provided. But as we sit here today in early December, we’re 15 percent over last year in terms of net new deal activity, evaluating the market. So COVID naturally led to some very scary healthcare concerns and outcomes, but for our world on the economic front, our cities are actually doing very well financially.

And our interest activity in Greater Phoenix is very strong.

That’s on the positive side. There’s still work we have to do.

Small businesses took the brunt of the negative economic impact with the pandemic and most of these small businesses have limited cash reserves. We tried to steward all the resources we could during the Paycheck Protection Program and work with our communities, our chambers, a lot of our peer organizations, to ensure that we were really focused on our small and mediumsized enterprises’ survival.

All in all, I would say we’re in a really unique time. I’m hoping our businesses can continue to weather the storm. I just encourage everyone, as best they can, to spend locally here in Arizona.

AB: You mentioned you’re 15 percent over the previous year’s performance. Did you have to modify your approach during the pandemic to reach that success?

CC: Certainly. What I would say is this is the era of going digital, and the irony is we were working with Zoom about this time last year, not knowing Zoom was going to become a household name, during their project expansion into Arizona.

In our world, where you are constantly on the road, you’re at conferences, you’re at trade shows, you’re on sales missions pitching companies: we’re not doing any of that.

What’s changed is the digital side. I can only think of the analogy of going analog to digital. With all the digital tools we have today, you can do so much more. You can be so much more productive by doing half hour interval Zoom meetings versus an all-day’s worth of traveling for sales missions.

Continued on page 96 AB | January - February 2021 93

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GPEC Continued from page 93

So we’re accomplishing, or covering, a lot more ground. You’d be shocked, but in this quarter, we’re hitting tens of thousands of companies in California. The California blitz is something that we probably wouldn’t have done without the pandemic.

AB: What are some of the economic development wins GPEC has had in the last year?

CC: We strive to become a global hub for semiconductor leadership, which has been anchored by Intel since 1979 and Motorola before that. Many leading companies in the U.S. performing research and development on chips — a lot of that’s being done here. With the latest announcement that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) selected Arizona for its new U.S. advanced semiconductor factory, that further crystallizes our position as a leading semiconductor manufacturing hub. And that’s a huge deal.

You’ve got politics, you’ve got geopolitics, and you had concerns over healthcare. Yet, our projects continue to move forward.

We had companies like Bright Health decide to put a healthcare technology operation here. You had others like PennyMac Mortgage put 400 people more in the market. We still have some really positive corporate decisions that came in 2020, but unfortunately a lot of that was overshadowed by the healthcare concerns that a lot of people have.

AB: A lot of economists think that Arizona is going to rebound faster than other states. Do you agree?

CC: With markets, there’s three things that happen in markets.

First of all, I do agree, but three things have happened. Markets have momentum, markets are flat, or markets are contracting.

And I do expect the calendar year 2021 — from a Gross Domestic Product perspective — we should be one of the leading markets in the United States in GDP growth and GDP recovery. A lot of things that will contribute to that, including the fact that a lot of companies will continue to move here. We’re going to continue to grow our base of companies, but also, people from around the country are continuing to relocate here in big waves, consistent with what we saw pre-recession.

AB: How does GPEC plan to aid the state as we do recover?

CC: We’re going to continue to work with our communities on how we’re utilizing the CARES Act dollars. The feds provided money for specific purposes, in terms of helping small business. We’ll continue to support those efforts. In addition, we’re going to continue to put Greater Phoenix on the map in many global markets, including California and New York, and in many other global locations, because that will obviously induce economic activity.

I think the third thing that’s really important is we’ve got strong regional continuity with the cities, and the county.

We’re all in it together and we have a “rising tide lifts all boats” mentality and are really ready to address major issues that are forthcoming, in things like transportation investments, infrastructure, education, and equity. These are the big things that we’re tackling, but we’re doing it together. I think COVID has, I won’t say forced, but definitely encouraged, unity for the entire region to work together.

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AB: One other thing COVID has done is sending people home to work. Post-pandemic, do you think that we’re still going to have a large portion of our Phoenix population working remotely?

CC: I think there’s going to be a blend. I think there’s going to be a new return-to-office model, and I would expect that there’ll be more flexibility in terms of working from home and working from the office. There’ll probably be more of a blend of that because we’ve seen productivity gains in this kind of format as we’ve been forced to move to digital and how we communicate and how we reconcile the fact that we can’t be in an office environment.

AB: Are you surprised by the productivity upturn?

CC: I definitely was one that was. Maybe I’m old school, but, I like the face-to-face because I like the interaction. I like the creativity exchange. I was probably one in the camp that I couldn’t wait to get back into the office. Bu because this has persisted so long, instead of it being a three-week pandemic, it’s a more like a nine-month or longer pandemic, I think, work styles will change, but I’m still optimistic about the long-term on office use. I’m not a believer that we’re going to be working from home forever. I think there’ll be just more flexibility in this new model of working, probably some days at home and some days in the office.

AB: Will the pandemic create any other long-term changes in the workplace?

CC: I would say in addition to a hybrid return, there’s a big onus now placed on workforce culture. There was some of that before, but I think every company is going through that now. How can corporations, tech firms, and even small business, induce productivity, but also have better workplace outcomes for their employees? So, I think the employee-centric focus coming out of this is going to be something where we’re all learning about together. I think more placement will be emphasized there, in terms of “how do we ensure employee wellness coming out of this?”

AB: How could this shift to remote work bode for Greater Phoenix?

CC: You’ve probably seen a little bit of media coverage on these kind of tech teams. I call them engineering pods, or maybe tech teams out of Silicon Valley or New York or elsewhere, that are able to be mobile now, and they’re choosing places like Phoenix to hub up with other entrepreneurs and other tech minds.

What that’s going to breed, I believe, in the longer term, is you might have a tech company that’s homegrown in San Francisco, or San Jose, but their teams, their elite design teams, development teams, IT teams, they may be building products from a location in Scottsdale, or a location in Goodyear. I think that’s going to be more of a common theme — a decentralized approach to the workplace — and I think it’s going to open up the door for remote hiring in a big way.

So instead of defaulting to my in-person, in-body interview process, I may be going out nationally to find the best programmer. That programmer could live in Austin, Texas, or could live in Bulgaria. But I think there’s going to be a much different philosophy going forward of remote working, which I do

LEADING THE WAY: Under the leadership of President and CEO Chris Camacho, the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) was named the top economic development organization in the U.S. (population more than 500,000) by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). (Photo by Mike Mertes, AZ Big Media)

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GPEC think will play to Arizona’s benefit, largely because we have very affordable housing, high quality of life, and great recreational amenities. And that’s what a lot of these people want, is more of that freedom to not be burdened by taxes, and death, and have that freedom.

AB: Can you talk a little bit about nerve centers, what they are and how they impact economic development in Phoenix?

CC: We just produced this nerve center report, which is really about 30 years worth of reviews of the corporate services evolution of Greater Phoenix, from call center hub of the 1980s to now, truly a nerve center hub of today.

Nerve centers, by our definition, are these mission critical functions to corporate America. They might be a major business unit in cybersecurity, or in computing or data storage. What we’re finding is a lot of corporate America has multiple levels of these units. While we might not have the headquarters of the company — the headquarters may be in New York or Chicago or San Francisco — we have a lot of the nerve center. The old model was having a headquarters in New York with 10,000 people, but today’s model is going to be more like your headquarters might be in New York with 1,000 people, but 9,000 people are going to be somewhere else, like in Phoenix, and they’re going to be building products, or projecting products.

We believe the future is going to be about scalable optimized hubs, and we have a lot of those here. We want to study top-down, looking at JP Morgan Chase, Charles Schwab, Discover Card, to understand how the evolution of call centers has now become this massive, high-end, back office hub of really interesting business units housed here.

AB: You’ve helped the region become a hub of innovation and technology. How do you maintain that momentum and growth in attracting businesses?

CC: From a leadership perspective, we must remain relentless,

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and not become complacent because when you look at markets, most of them rise and most of them fall. We’re going through a rising moment in our history right now. But if you look at places across the country that have risen, like St. Louis, which was larger than Chicago in the early 1900s, what I think about from a legacy standpoint is that 25 years from now, Phoenix is going to be the place that continues this trajectory because we’re building the foundation today.

As I work with the mayors, Gov. Doug Ducey, the Arizona Commerce Authority, and all of these partners we work with, our goal is to position the region to become a Top 10 college hub.

We’re going to need continued investment from the Arizona State Legislature and extreme innovation coming from our universities.

Coupled with that, we need to focus on equity — jobs equity and education equity — so we’re ensuring that there’s prosperity for all Arizona citizens. And those are things that, again, we are looking at with our short-term transactional work with all the companies, but we’re also looking at establishing that long-term vision so that the market is sustainable and that it creates this dynamism that doesn’t exist anywhere else. We have that chance to harness this unique opportunity, and that’s what we’re lucky enough to do every day.

AB: What is GPEC’s focus in 2021?

CC: We want to continue to be the public/private leadership voice on the economy. What I love about this organization is we’re relentless, we’re fearless, and we’re optimistic about the future of the region. While we’re continuing to do the base things, like putting Greater Phoenix on the map of global markets and tell the story, we want to make sure there’s the right strategic investments in the areas that will enable us to produce skilled labor, build the necessary infrastructure, and create world-class communities and world-class innovation assets. If we do those things, this place is unstoppable. That’s what we’re going to continue to focus on.

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GPEC

ARIZONA’S TECHNOLOGY ECOSYSTEM OUTLOOK FOR 2021 Steven G. Zylstra Technology

I

f I were asked to describe Arizona’s technology ecosystem in one word today, I would say “resilient.” Despite the pandemic, the leaders of our state have continued to focus on innovation and technology to improve lives. In fact, many Arizona companies have directly impacted the fight against COVID-19. Contributions include building and improving digital tools to help people connect during the lockdown, and shifting production at manufacturing facilities to make masks, ventilators, testing units and more. I couldn’t be prouder of our technology community.

What has been most impressive is the technology sector’s continued growth over the past year. In the Arizona Technology Council’s latest quarterly Arizona Technology Industry Impact Report, we reported 201,207 technology jobs in Arizona, a rise in technology wages to $22.35 billion (up 2.74 percent over the past year) and a technology jobs multiplier of 2.52, meaning 252 new jobs were created in other industries for every 100 technology positions added.

I say it each year and each year the data improves to drive the point home even further: Technology has become a key driver of our economy. Despite the challenges we’ve faced, Arizona is still on the rise and can be compared side by side with the most influential and powerful technology hubs across the nation and even the world.

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There are many technology sectors that will continue to push Arizona’s explosive growth forward in 2021. What follows is my list of emerging technologies expected to impact our economy in the coming year and beyond.: Augmented reality and virtual reality Two of the most intriguing technologies that have grown in scope over the last few years are augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). At the University of Advancing Technology (UAT), one of its key degree programs teaches students how to apply these innovations to gaming, where the technology was founded, as well as other industries such as medical and therapeutic, military and education. AR and VR platforms developed by UAT graduates will help professionals receive onthe-job training for difficult tasks, provide teachers and students with a new tool for learning, and enhance gaming experiences.

Arizona has become somewhat of a center for education in the AR and VR space and has even attracted new business in this sector. The VOID co-founder James Jensen recently unveiled a new VR startup called JUMP, which simulates wingsuit diving.

The Utah native is currently raising money in Arizona. In addition, organizations like Phoenix-based LearnBrite are using VR as an education platform. Also, Baltu Studios in Mesa is helping to implement and train organizations on using AR and VR as tools to improve business outcomes.

HIT THE ROAD: Customer-ordered production cars from Lucid Motors will start coming off the Arizona line in spring 2021, with an initial capacity of up to 30,000 units annually growing to 400,000 units in 2028.

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GPEC Electric vehicles In the electric vehicle sector, the pro-technology, proadvanced manufacturing stance of Arizona’s state government has done a great job of cutting the red tape to better facilitate the creation of carbon-free, zero-emissions vehicles here. This has led to significant investments from companies like Nikola Motor Company and Lucid Motors. Nikola—a hydrogenpowered, electric-vehicle manufacturer developing a variety of zero-emission electric trucks—opened its new headquarters and R&D facilities in Phoenix in 2019, and has piqued wide interest nationally with its successful initial public offering.

The company recently broke ground on its multi-product manufacturing facility in Coolidge, which represents a capital investment of approximately $600 million. Nikola has the potential to completely change the electric-vehicle industry with revolutionary battery advancements and is expected to bring thousands of jobs to Arizona’s technology sector. Lucid Motors, a company introducing a state-of-the-art luxury electric sedan, has built a manufacturing facility in Casa Grande. Lucid Motors reported an investment of $1 billion and will create approximately 4,800 direct and indirect jobs in Arizona by 2029.

Being proximate to the automotive supply chain based in adjacent Mexico was an important factor for both companies in locating operations here.

Semiconductor Capital Equipment and Manufacturing The semiconductor capital equipment and manufacturing sectors represent some of Arizona’s strongest and longesttenured technology segments. Our state hosts numerous leaders with headquarters and manufacturing facilities across Arizona, including Intel, Amkor, ON Semiconductor, Rodgers Corporation, Marvel, ASML, Freescale, MicroSemi, ASM America, Cirtec Medical, Texas Instrument and Microchip Technology. While the semiconductor industry has certainly had its ups and downs, it continues to remain one of Arizona’s most stable technology sectors. However, the biggest news in the past year came in May when Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), supplier of chips for everything from iPhones to fighter jets, announced plans to build a $12 billion factory in Arizona. The facility is expected to create more than 1,600 high-tech jobs and produce more than 20,000 semiconductor wafers a month. Beyond just creating jobs in Arizona, the plant should increase economic independence in the United States and bolster our international competitiveness in the high-tech manufacturing space.

Smart cities Smart cities are not just one traditional technology sector, but a collection of industries and companies involved in the development of hardware and software solutions with the goal of making city living safer, more efficient and less wasteful.

Some of the technologies involved in smart cities include internet of things (IoT), autonomous vehicles, sensors and telecommunication hardware. Arizona has built up proficiency and leadership in all these areas with entities like Benchmark, Intel, Waymo, Avnet, Cox Communications, CenturyLink and a multitude of others contributing to the technology growth. In 102

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addition to the Council, organizations like Arizona Commerce Authority and Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) and even the state government are leading programs, initiatives, and marketing campaigns to attract talent and improve our leadership in smart cities technology. We’ve also worked hard as a state to develop framework around improving public policy related to smart city initiatives.

Telecommunications and 5G 5G is also a major factor in smart cities development but has much farther-reaching applications. Fully realized 5G infrastructure will open up exciting possibilities across a wide range of applications, including remote surgeries, enhanced autonomous vehicles, entertainment and more. Arizona also has developed a strong telecommunications industry, which consists of a combination of service and technology solutions providers. Our state has leading service providers in Cox Communications, CenturyLink, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, FreeFall 5G and Vonage—all with significant investments in the development of infrastructure for 5G. We also host companies like Benchmark, which is contributing to the development of complex hardware necessary to enable 5G in commercial, military, industrial and medical applications. From a public policy standpoint, one of the key initiatives the Council and its community partners in technology, education and business have been working on since well before the pandemic is expansion of broadband access. Our goal is to enable broadband availability for everyone but especially rural, semi-rural and low-socioeconomic urban K-12 schools and libraries, as well as higher education.

Wearables Economic development, technology and educational institutions are working to grow Arizona’s presence in the wearables market. According to industry analyst firm CCS Insight, the global wearables market is worth $25 billion, with more than 245 million wearable devices sold. In 2019, the Arizona Legislature appropriated a $750,000 grant with a local match of more than $1.2 million to build the 5,000-square-foot WearTech Applied Research Center at Park Central Mall in Phoenix as part of a public/private collaboration of the Partnership for Economic Innovation, GPEC, Arizona State University and the state government. The goal of the facility is to create a hub for wearables innovation, as well as provide a center for startups in the industry with resources and opportunities to grow. According to GPEC, the project estimates 45 new ventures and 223 jobs will be created over the three-year grant period.

Arizona’s technology ecosystem is progressing through one of the most difficult times in recent history and continues to show its ability to remain resilient, flexible and future-focused.

I’m looking forward to what 2021 will bring in terms of the expansion of these emerging industries. Arizona is primed to continue its explosive growth fueled by innovation.

Steven G. Zylstra is president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council.

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ARIZONA GRADUATES

MAKE THE GRADE

From explosive expansion in the tech and healthcare sectors to other innovative industries, Grand Canyon State students are jumping in to meet the demand of a labor pool that happily awaits (and needs) them

BY ERIN THORBURN

W

e have the sun, the fun, favorite desert escapes, sports teams, amazing restaurants and resorts, innovative career opportunities — and the list of what attracts people to Arizona goes on and on. And new reasons to relocate to Greater Phoenix grow daily, as does the talent needed to support and nurture the region’s growth.

That’s where the state’s education institutions have stepped up to help drive that economic development and growth.

Grand Canyon University, Arizona State University, the University of Arizona, the University of Phoenix, and Maricopa Community Colleges are a sampling of another growing list — a catalog of higher education institutions that are supplying talented, forward-thinking and dynamic graduates to fuel innovation and entice new businesses to the state.

Key to growth “After infrastructure, the labor supply and labor production of a market is its second most critical ingredient,” says Chris Camacho, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC). “What I’ve observed in the last decade with the manifestation of our engineering capacity within ASU, UArizona, GCU, University of Phoenix, and a lot of the regional university systems and community colleges, is we’re constantly iterating and modernizing the way that we induce curriculum to meet industry needs.”

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The local markets for which Camacho refers range from healthcare and bioscience to software and cybersecurity to advanced business services and financial services to startups and advanced manufacturing, to a host of operationsbased industries — and then some. And, to ensure these business sectors and others receive the talent they require, higher education leaders are remaining attuned to the pulse of growing industries.

“Our Phoenix campus director, Jeff Hendrickson, currently serves on the Next Committee for the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC), which helps to guide and provide input on economic development for the region,” says Kevin Wilhelmsen, dean of the College of Business and Information Technology for University of Phoenix. “Having our central offices located in Phoenix also provides the opportunity for other leaders to collaborate in the local Phoenix market.”

Unity drives success Collaboration among Arizona’s leaders (both in the educational realm and out) has — and continues to — flourish. The proof is clearly demonstrated in expanding markets — the technology sector in Metro Phoenix is a perfect example. According to the Office of Governor Doug Ducey, the tech market in Arizona is increasing 40 percent faster compared with the rest of the United States overall. Tech-job wages have risen by 5.1 percent in Metro

Phoenix, with an average yearly salary of $80,000-plus — which is welcoming news for graduates entering the market from Arizona’s universities.

“To keep up with the needs of the tech sector, the University of Phoenix College of Business and Information Technology works closely with the Arizona Technology Council, and its president and CEO (Steven G. Zylstra) serves on our college’s academic advisory council,” Wilhelmsen says.

But, the tech market isn’t the only booming area to demand skilled graduates.

“We continue to invest in our engineering schools, business schools, and medical schools, because those create the future workforce that all of these jobs we’re supporting integration of are going to need,” Camacho says. “I’ll give you one example: Arizona State University’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering has more than 24,000 students and nearly 60 degree options on two campuses and online.”

Kristen Stephenson, vice president of research and analytics for GPEC, says ASU does a good job training its engineering students to work in the Metro Phoenix technology sector, which now includes about 500 software companies and an estimated 85,060 high tech — a 12.3 percent increase over five years.

“The skills training ASU provides, especially in engineering, is critical to these companies, because in order for a company to grow and find success in an area they need to attract a talented workforce,” Stephenson says.

Preparing today for tomorrow Another innovative institution filling the workforce demands of a knowledgebased economy is Grand Canyon University.

“As a comprehensive liberal arts university, GCU is producing graduates in a wide variety of job fields including business, engineering, technology, computer science, Christian studies, and counseling-behavioral health,” says Brian Mueller, president of GCU. “Two other notable job fields where GCU is producing AB | January - February 2021 105

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Doug Ducey

Paul J. Luna

a large number of graduates are in healthcare and education, where there are significant workplace shortages for nurses and teachers. GCU is the largest provider of nurses in Arizona and our pre-med program is also very strong.”

But it’s not just universities that are guiding Arizona’s future innovators. Helios Scholars at TGen provides undergraduate and some medical and graduate students a paid internship that aims to prepare the next generation of Arizona bioscience researchers and physicians.

Since 2007, more than 500 students have participated in Helios Scholars at TGen. TGen scientists share research expertise and technical skills, bioethics, experimental design, and the translational process of quickly moving laboratory discoveries into new therapeutics to benefit patients with neurological disorders, infectious diseases and many types of cancer.

“By immersing them in the ultrahigh-tech world of modern biomedical science, TGen challenges these students to become their very best,” says Paul J. Luna, president and CEO of the Helios Education Foundation. “These real-world laboratory experiences at TGen prepare students for success in college and career as well as help strengthen our state’s future knowledgebased workforce.”

Both Wilhelmsen and Mueller point out that a majority of graduates do remain in the state to fulfill labor supply gaps.

“On our ground campus in Phoenix, over half of our students come from out of state, which creates a significant economic impact in Phoenix,” Mueller says. “A large number of those out-of-state students remain in Arizona after they 106

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Brian Mueller

Kevin Wilhelmsen

graduate, contributing to the workforce and economy.”

Wilhelmsen says the University of Phoenix has an alumni base of more 1 million graduates, many residing in Arizona.

In an effort to continue cultivating talent, Camacho says that there is no place for complacency.

“Today, we are winning these semiconductor companies, these research and development operations, these next

Steven G. Zylstra

generation cyber companies because we have a very strong base of engineering talent,” Camacho says. “If I were King for a day, I would be doubling down on engineering capacity, the STEM, and the P-20 education system because that will create dividends for us massively down the road, as more and more companies flock here to take advantage of our wonderful climate, our livability, our cost of living, and then obviously, creating the job space the future.”

PHOENIX IS THE NO. 1 HOT SPOT FOR TALENT Maricopa County ranks first among large U.S. counties for talent attraction, according to a report by labor analytics firm Emsi. Here’s a look at other highlights from the report: oM aricopa County topped the 2020 list, based on data collected right before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. oM aricopa County ranked in second place in 2019, according to Emsi’s Talent Attraction Scorecard. o Maricopa County recorded an 18% increase in skilled jobs from 2015-19. o P hoenix is one of the few large cities in the country that is not residents leaving in droves. Manhattan, Brooklyn, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles ranked highest for population losses from February to July 2020, with 110,978 people moving out of Manhattan during that time period. o P eople moving to Arizona from California represented 23 percent of all incoming residents over more than a decade, according to a CBRE report.

From 2006 through 2018, 52,251 people moved from California to Arizona each year on average, compared with 32,361 people who moved from Arizona to the Golden State.

WWW.HELIOS.ORG

Helios Education Foundation is grateful for the Greater Phoenix Economic Council as they help build an economy that will help individuals succeed and communities thrive. We are proud to partner with GPEC in elevating the connection between education and the economy and ensuring all Arizonans have the opportunity to have a high quality of life.

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HEALTHY ECONOMY

Business community gets a shot in the arm as Greater Phoenix becomes an innovative leader in healthcare and bioscience

By MICHAEL GOSSIE

C

urious about the strength of the Greater Phoenix bioscience game?

Look no further than the BIO International 2020 Startup Stadium, a competition between bioscience startups from around the world for venture capital, strategic partnerships and collaborative opportunities.

“Think about the thousands and thousands of bioscience startups around the world,” says Christine Mackay, director of Phoenix Community and Economic Development. “Then out of all those

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companies located in hundreds of different global cities, only 30 were selected as the best to compete in the Startup Stadium. Of those 30 companies, three — BioMedical Sustainable Elastic Electronic Devices, Equus Innovations and i-calQ — are from the City of Phoenix. That is an incredible accomplishment for the three companies and the Phoenix bioscience ecosystem.”

When the Arizona Bioscience Roadmap was originally commissioned by the Flinn Foundation in 2002, the goal was to help Arizona become globally competitive and a

national leader in the biosciences by 2025.

That long-term vision is paying off — with a skyrocketing number of jobs, facilities, companies, and innovations.

“As the fifth-largest city in the country and one with a diverse population, Phoenix is a prime location for both clinical trials and life science innovators,” says Joan Koerber-Walker, president and CEO of the Arizona BioIndustry Association (AZBio).

“Investments made in the public sector have attracted private sector investments.

Global leaders including BD, BMS/Celgene,

become major innovation and delivery partners during the pandemic, helping to meet our growing need for accurate and timely test results. At the same time, researchers at our universities have continued to work to find solutions for COVID-19 and a wide range of health challenges that did not go away when the SARS-CoV-2 virus began to spread.”

But well before social distancing and mandatory masks became a thing, the bioscience boom was already underway in midtown Phoenix, making healthcare and bioscience among the fastestgrowing industries in the greater Phoenix marketplace, primarily because economic development leaders like the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) have helped create an ideal ecosystem for healthcare innovation.

“This is the highest density of bioscience healthcare workforce in Arizona, and sits among the West’s leaders,” Mackay says.

“Quality, experienced workforce is one of the first reasons life and bio-science companies are selecting Phoenix.”

on the campus tap into science assets via sponsored research partnerships, can tap into a skilled talent pool being trained on site, and can collaborate in a myriad of ways.”

Add to this the business-friendly climate in Arizona, and the result is that projects such as Park Central are actually adding office tenants in the pandemic instead of losing them. The project is seeing tremendous activity from health-related tenants seeking a place in this magnet of innovation.

Numbers tell a story Some of the numbers are staggering, as Arizona is ramping up its overall healthcare infrastructure.

• Construction is underway or about to begin inside the city of Phoenix for bioscience healthcare facilities with a COMING SOON: Currently under capital value of more than $3 billion, construction, Creighton University’s according to the data compiled by Phoenix new $100 million, 180,000-square-foot Community and Economic Development Health Sciences – Phoenix Campus at • More than 4.5 million square feet of new Park Central is expected to create new Phoenix bioscience healthcare facilities are knowledge opportunities for students under development. and to broaden Metro Phoenix’s •

More than 7,000 new bioscience capacity to generate positive and healthcare jobs will be created in Phoenix Center of innovation meaningful healthcare outcomes for during this time.

The area is home to Creighton Arizona residents. (Provided photo) • Midtown Phoenix has 10 major healthcare University’s new $100 million Health and education centers, including a Sciences Campus, which is currently university, two large hospital campuses under construction. At the core geography and several new bioscience centers. is a major health system — Dignity • Venture capital funding in greater Phoenix Health’s headquarters on site at the iconic Dexcom, Medtronic, and W.L. Gore all have redeveloped former outdoor mall and now for bioscience healthcare is growing at one expanded in the Greater Phoenix Area and of the fastest rates in the country. multi-use hub, Park Central. Next door is are delivering life-saving and life-changing • As a result, construction of supporting the prestigious St. Joseph’s Hospital and innovations. Entrepreneurial ventures are residential, lodging and retail uses are Medical Center, and 800 yards away is also spurring growth as young companies booming in the area.

Banner Health System’s headquarters. are created from our foundation of life • In November 2020, there were more than Just two miles to the south of this science institutes and universities.”

20 cranes on the Downtown Phoenix core lies the 30-acre Phoenix Biomedical skyline, more than any other time in its Campus, where all three major Arizona Emerging hub history. Rider Levett Bucknall’s “Crane public universities — Arizona State Look no further than the Central Count” placed Phoenix fourth in the U.S. University, University of Arizona and Corridor in Phoenix, where a unique hub for Northern Arizona University — along with and one of only five cities with an uptick in healthcare and bioscience industries is rising the Dignity Health Cancer Institute at St. mid- and high-rise development in the third in a revitalized part of the community. That Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, the quarter 2020 compared with a year earlier. hub has become increasingly critical as a “Arizona’s bioscience industry is growing Translational Genomics Research Institute result of the pandemic. rapidly and reached nearly 30,000 jobs (TGen) an affiliate of City of Hope and “The COVID-19 pandemic was not spanning 2,160 business establishments Exact Sciences are a few of its tenants. something envisioned 20 years ago, but “Growing life science companies draw in 2018,” Koerber-Walker says. “Industry these investments and the people and from a broad range of skill sets to discover, employment has grown by 15 percent since resources they created were put to use in a develop and deliver these innovations,” 2016 — twice the growth rate of the nation time of great need,” Koerber-Walker says.

Koerber-Walker says. “With all three state — with each of the five major sub-sectors “Today, the Biodesign Institute at Arizona universities and TGen co-located on the adding jobs during the period. Arizona’s State University and the Translational Phoenix Biomedical Campus (PBC), growing universities conducted nearly $580 million Genomics Research Institute (TGen) have and established companies that make a home in research and development activities in AB | January - February 2021 109

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Chris Camacho

bioscience-related fields in 2018, fueled in part by steadily increasing National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards to Arizona institutions since 2016.

Venture capital investments in Arizona bioscience companies increased in 2019, and during the 2016-19 period totaled $349 million. Arizona inventors have been awarded 2,178 bioscience-related patents since 2016, among the second quintile of states in patent activity.”

Broadening the economy All of this growth and innovation in healthcare, bioscience and medical devices has created a critical mass for Phoenix that is cementing its place as a healthcare destination for institutions, healthcare professionals, patients and all business that support them.

“The healthcare and bioscience industries are really pacing economic growth in Arizona,” says Chris Camacho, president and CEO of GPEC. “Not only are they creating jobs and investment, the overall quality of the healthcare provided in Arizona is world-renowned and is an economic development tool in itself.

Healthcare is making our entire state a more desirable place to live and work.”

Camacho is quick to say that despite all the current success the state is seeing in the bioscience sector, this is not an overnight success.

“This has been intentional investments from universities, from the Arizona State Legislature and from Proposition 301, that induced applied research in our state,” Camacho says.

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Sharon Harper

Christine Mackay

All those investments and steps the state has taken, Camacho believes, will keep this wave of innovation and success rolling.

“This ecosystem plays on itself and that’s why I think we’re in the early stages of this success story for the healthcare and bioscience community,” Camacho says. “You talk about momentum and you have to have some wins and we’ve had some wins that were built here in Arizona. Those wins are all steps that are critical for us to become a true national leader in biosciences.”

The site of many of those wins and one of the busiest locations for healthcare construction centers around Park Central in midtown, where several key initiatives are taking place. Along with the new Creighton University Health Sciences Campus, which is scheduled to open in 2021, it is home to a new facility for West Coast Ultrasound Institute and the new WearTech medical device lab. Park Central is already home to Dignity Health’s regional headquarters and is adjacent to the St. Joseph’s Hospital complex — where a new tower is being built for Barrow Neurological Institute.

Sharon Harper, chairman and CEO of Plaza Companies, one of the co-developers of Park Central, said that the growth in the area is the result of a purposeful effort to broaden the regional economy.

“It is critical to have broad-based economic growth if we truly want to maximize Phoenix’s potential,” Harper says.

“Healthcare and bioscience are important industries in that they have a long-term, positive impact on our communities in many ways. They enable growth in other industries and create the kind of economic

Joan KoerberWalker

impact that has a huge ripple effect on other industries.”

Ripple effect Mackay said that the overall growth in healthcare and bioscience has created a ripple effect throughout the community in industries that are also benefiting from the increased investment.

“We’ve already seen a significant uptick in construction activity in general in the midtown and downtown areas, and healthcare has played an important role in that,” she says. “But the healthcare boom is also leading to a boom in residential construction, retail, service industries, education and much more.

It’s a leading indicator for a broader base of economic growth.”

And the healthcare boom is not just about quantity, it’s about quality. The healthcare and bioscience organizations that are growing and expanding in the midtown Phoenix area are among the most highly regarded in the country and the world, further enhancing Phoenix’s reputation as a medical hub.

“When you see Creighton University make a commitment as they have to Phoenix, and when you see the growth and expansion of Barrow Neurological Institute and Banner Health in the area, it’s clear that Phoenix’s reputation for quality health care is growing,” Camacho says. “We look forward to seeing this trend continue in the future and the positive impact it will have on our overall quality of life.”

Tom Evans and Erin Thorburn contributed to this report.

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