7 minute read
Trendsetters
TRENDSETTERS PANDEMIC
LESSONS LEARNED
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted everyone in the business community — from CEOs to cleaning crews. And while the pandemic brought immeasurable losses for many, it also was an opportunity for some of Arizona’s most influential business leaders to learn lessons. Here are a few.
Ed Bull, shareholder, Burch & Cracchiolo
Randy Nussbaum, shareholder, Sacks Tierney: “The pandemic illuminates Martin Luther King Jr.’s quote: ‘The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.’ The COVID-19 pandemic has allowed many of us to prove our ultimate measure.”
Sandra Watson, president and CEO, Arizona Commerce Authority: “The pandemic changed how we communicate and highlighted the importance of adaptability. I emphasize a servantleadership style with our team that focuses on helping others grow and succeed, and this approach became especially important in light of last year’s many challenges. Our team’s continued focus on collaboration and communication drives our efforts to grow and strengthen Arizona’s economy.” Peter S. Fine, president and CEO;
Banner Health: “Staying totally focused on the task at hand and tuning out unrelated noise requires focusing on the most critical issues.”
Heather Kane, CEO, Arizona and New Mexico,
UnitedHealthcare: “Even in the face of such an unprecedented challenge, our team was able to rally and find new ways of conducting business virtually, deliver on all business commitments and in many ways find some lasting improvements to the way we work and interface with our customers.”
David J. Jacofsky, MD, chairman and CEO, The CORE Institute and
HOPCo: “The pandemic further strengthened our commitment to the community. Through the HOPCo platform, The CORE Institute provided aid to the community by offering an urgent orthopedic program to provide walk-in orthopedic care to help ease the burden on hospitals. We also offered COVID antibody testing as well as vaccines. Adapting to the community’s needs makes us all stronger and more resilient.”
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TECH TRENDS FOR 2022
Building on resilience from the initial response to the COVID-19 crisis — which expedited digital transformation initiatives from years to months and, in some cases, even weeks — the 13th annual “Deloitte Tech Trends Report” finds that pioneering organizations are continuing to challenge orthodoxies by automating, abstracting and outsourcing business processes to increasingly powerful technology such as cloud, security and data in an environment of extreme uncertainty. Here are seven tech trends the Deloitte report says to watch in 2022.
Data-sharing made easy
New technologies give rise to innovative business models and products by simplifying the mechanics of data-sharing across and between organizations — all while preserving the veil of privacy.
Cloud goes vertical
Cloud and software vendors now offer vertical-specific solutions that modernize legacy processes and jump start innovation. Deploying them is a process of assembly, thus freeing organizations to focus resources on competitive differentiation.
IT, disrupt thyself: Automating at scale
Future-forward IT organizations are modernizing the “IT back office,” moving away from humans reacting to tickets and assignments to a proactive model of self-service and engineered automation.
Cyber AI: Real defense
As organizations struggle with security breaches, cyber AI can be a force multiplier, enabling security teams not only to respond faster than cyber attackers can move but also to anticipate these moves and act in advance.
Blockchain: Ready for business
Blockchain and other distributed ledger technology platforms are fundamentally changing the nature of doing business across organizational boundaries and helping many companies reimagine how they make and manage tangible and digital assets.
The tech stack goes physical
The explosion of smart devices and increased automation of physical tasks is extending IT’s remit to include networkconnected smart factory equipment, industrial robots, drones, sensorembedded devices and countless other business-critical assets.
// Plaza Bar
This little piece of heaven located on the patio of the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess is equal parts swanky, sleek and endlessly chic. The centerpiece of the venue is a massive square outdoor bar, which is elevated a few steps above the main fire pit seating, making it standout day and night. The cocktail menu offers something for everyone, all divided into chapters, making it exceptionally easy to digest (or swallow).
Love potionsWith Valentine’s Day coming up,
these hotspots turn up the heat on Arizona’s cocktail industry
// The Americano
With celebrity chef Scott Conant in the kitchen, you better believe the talent behind the bar is all about setting the bar for fine dining drinks in the desert. Always changing, there are only two things that remain on the menu as constants: quality and craftsmanship. The most recent menu was one for the record books, complete with black lights and translucent skeleton leaves.
By ALISON BAILIN BATZ
The perfect drink is like the perfect date. First, its visual beauty strikes you. Then, you are entranced by its perfume. Finally, you are delighted to find it equal parts sweet, tart and spirited from start to finish. Looking to fall in love? These slingers of spirits are changing the game when it comes to perfect drinks. Allow us to be your mixology matchmaker:
// Francine
This new Scottsdale staple tells the story of the French Riviera, where the owner was born and raised, through cocktails while complementing each dish. It also takes exceptional pride in offering seasonal ingredients in each cocktail, including those under the radar like papaya, sumac, plum and even Fresno chili shrub.
// Don Woods’ Say When
Perched atop Rise Uptown, a locally owned boutique hotel from the mind of Bitter & Twisted founder Ross Simon, Say When diverges from tradition by offering a menu themed around Spritzes and High Balls. Each has a retro-era presentation to help make you feel more 1972 than 2022 for a drink or two.
// Jade Bar
Under the leadership of Christiaan Röllich, Jade Bar at Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort is back at the forefront of cutting-edge cocktail couture in the Southwest. The Bar Chef: Handcrafted Cocktails author brought in his signature homemade syrups, bitters and wild mixes when he took over, marrying them to the resort’s high-end collection of spirits in a truly special way.
// Bitter & Twisted Cocktail Parlour
Since opening in 2014, the radical bar has won both critical and popular acclaim for its innovative, from-scratch cocktail program that is presented in a whimsically packaged in an illustrated “Book o’ Cocktails” that changes annually. How high concept is it? There are five types of house-made ice alone, from hand-carved ice balls and punchbowlready “super cubes” to shaved ice and crushed nuggets.
SPONSORED BY
Bioscience drives economy
A new report shows that the total annual economic impact on Arizona by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is $426 million, a more than 300% increase from 2017. Including TGen’s business spinoffs and commercialization of its research technologies brings that total to $658 million. “TGen’s growth is among the greatest increases we have witnessed over 1,000 projects spanning 30 years of measuring economic impact,” says Paul Umbach, the founder and president of Tripp Umbach, which authored the report.
INNOVATIVE •••• YOUTH
Levi Conlow and Robby Deziel, the 25-year-old co-founders of Lectric eBikes were recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30 for launching one of the fastest growing electric bike companies in the nation.
Quick rise to the top
In its short five-year history, MacQueen & Gottlieb has been recognized locally and nationally for its exceptional practice, including being voted the No. 1 real estate law firm in Ranking Arizona. ““I’ve been fortunate to work with many great attorneys throughout my career, but I’ve never been part of a team like the one Patrick MacQueen and Ben Gottlieb have built at M&G,” says Pam Molnar, M&G’s director of firm administration.
>> MedTech jobs coming
Stryker, one of the world’s leading medical technology companies, has leased a new 104,000-square-foot manufacturing building in Chandler and production at the site is projected to start in mid-2022.
>> The puck stops here
Ed Robson, an icon in the home building industry, has had a hockey arena named in his honor at Colorado College. The founder of Robson Communities, Inc. played hockey for the Colorado College Tigers in the 1950s and is a key donor for the state-of-the-art complex.
>> Sky’s the limit
AvAir, earned the No. 1 position on Airline Economics’ Aviation 100 “Parts Supplier of the Year” rankings. This ranking is judged on several criteria including parts stocked, clients, number of employees – all areas that AvAir continued to focus on throughout the year.
>> Champions of diversity
Geneva Financial has been ranked among the Top 100 Best Companies for Women and the Top 100 Best Companies for Diversity in America for 2021 as published in Business Insider Magazine.
>> Game-changing development
Phoenix-based OncoMyx Therapeutics, a privately held immuno-oncology platform company, closed $50 million Series B financing to support the further development of OncoMyx’s pipeline of multi-armed myxoma immunotherapies for the treatment of solid tumors and hematological malignances and the advancement of the company’s lead candidate into clinical trials.
