BizTimes Milwaukee | February 21, 2022

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Supporting our future workforce and high-quality education

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BizTimes Milwaukee

• B U S I N E S S

C A R E S •

Supporting our future workforce and high-quality education

College Bound. Character Strong.

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t i h w t r g a n d i k i t a i o e r

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A partial list of the 2020 Notable Women in Commecial Banking

NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN FOR NOTABLES & RISING STARS 2022 The leaders profiled in these categories are nominated by their peers at work and in the community.

Melinda Toy Vice president, commercial banking and director of treasury management, PyraMax Bank

NOTABLE

COMMERCIAL BANKING LEADERS The leaders on this list of local professionals manage hundreds of people and millions of dollars.

Nomination Deadline: March 4, 2022 Issue Date: April 11, 2022

Regina Levchets Vice president, commercial real estate, First Midwest Bank

Look for these Notable and Rising Stars sections in 2022!

Rising Stars in Real Estate Nomination deadline: March 25, 2022 | Issue date: May 9, 2022 Notable LGBTQ+ Executives Nomination deadline: April 22, 2022 | Issue date: June 6, 2022 Rising Stars in Technology Nomination deadline: May 6, 2022 | Issue date: June 20, 2022 Notable CFOs Nomination deadline: June 10, 2022 | Issue date: July 25, 2022 Notable Office and Operations Managers Nomination deadline: July 8, 2022 | Issue date: August 22, 2022

Inge Plautz Senior vice president and executive BDO, Old National Bank

Rising Stars in Law Nomination deadline: July 29, 2022 | Issue date: September 12, 2022 Notable Women in Manufacturing Nomination deadline: August 26, 2022 | Issue date: October 10, 2022 Notable Veteran Executives Nomination deadline: September 23, 2022 | Issue date: November 7, 2022 Notable Women in Health Care Nomination deadline: October 28, 2022 | Issue date: December 12, 2022

Danielle Clarke Executive Director, JPMorgan Chase

To view this year’s winners and nominate, visit biztimes.com/notable

LOCALLY OWNED FOR 26 YEARS

» FEB 21 - MAR 20, 2022

biztimes.com

BizTimes Milwaukee (ISSN 1095-936X & USPS # 017813) Volume 27, Number 17, February 21, 2022 – March 20, 2022. BizTimes Milwaukee is published bi-weekly, except monthly in January, February, March, July, August and December by BizTimes Media LLC at 126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120, USA. Basic annual subscription rate is $96. Single copy price is $5. Back issues are $8 each. Periodicals postage paid at Milwaukee, WI and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: Send address corrections to BizTimes Milwaukee, 126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120. Entire contents copyright 2022 by BizTimes Media LLC. All rights reserved.

Contents

6 Leading Edge 6 NOW

BY THE NUMBERS 7 IN FOCUS – URBAN SLOPES 8 JUMP START – THE PINK BAKERY 9 INNOVATIONS – HELLERMANNTYTON 10 BIZ LUNCH – KIN BY RICE N ROLL 11 COFFEE BREAK – ADRIAN LATIFI OF HARRY’S PROHIBITION BISTRO BIZ POLL

12 Biz News 12 T HE INTERVIEW – JOHN BORGEN OF CATHOLIC FINANCIAL LIFE

14 Real Estate 35 R ising Stars in Wealth Management

COVER STORY

16

Breaking with tradition

38 Strategies 38 39

40

What happens when the next generation doesn’t want the family business?

Special Reports

FAMILY BUSINESS David Borst CUSTOMER SERVICE Cary Silverstein A BRIEF CASE

44 Biz Connections

23 Wealth Management & Estate Planning Coverage includes a report on ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) investing and profiles of the Milwaukee area’s Rising Stars in Wealth Management.

26 Business Cares: Education

44 G LANCE AT YESTERYEAR COMMENTARY 45 PAY IT FORWARD 46 T HE LAST WORD – BRIAN ANDREW OF JOHNSON FINANCIAL GROUP

Coverage includes an explanation of the different types of schools in the Milwaukee area (choice, public charter and MPS), a look at Milwaukee’s high-performing schools and what they need to grow, and a feature on how the All-In Milwaukee program is addressing Milwaukee’s college completion crisis.

Fostering growth by building relationships. It’s not business.

For us, it’s personal.

262-363-6500

www.citizenbank.bank biztimes.com / 5

Leading Edge

BIZTIMES DAILY – The day’s most significant news → biztimes.com/subscribe

NOW

Amazon adding 400 jobs, leasing 1 million-square-foot building in Kenosha

By Arthur Thomas, staff writer Amazon will continue expanding its presence in Kenosha County, leasing a more than 1 million-square-foot building currently under development by Chicago-based Venture One Real Estate, the Kenosha Area Business Alliance

announced recently.

The 1,004,400-square-foot building at 10601 38th St. will serve as a regional distribution center for the e-commerce giant. It will be used to sort inventory, optimize inventory placement and store inven-

A 14,145-square-foot home on a 40-acre estate near Lake Geneva was recently sold for

$

36 MILLION

6 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 21, 2022

ANDREW MILLER, PROVIDED BY DAVID CURRY OF GENEVA LAKEFRONT REALTY

BY THE NUMBERS

tory for the network of facilities the company uses to deliver products as fast as the same day.

The building will be Amazon’s fourth in Kenosha. The company first built a 1.1 million-squarefoot fulfillment center southeast of I-94 and Burlington Road in 2013. Then it built a neighboring 500,000-square-foot distribution facility. In 2020, it opened a Kenosha delivery center in a 740,000-square-foot building at 4250 120th Ave., on the west side of I-94.

The company currently has more than 3,000 employees in Kenosha, according to KABA. The new distribution center could create 400 new jobs, according to the KABA announcement.

“Amazon has been a wonderful addition to our community and I am pleased to see the new distribution center will add further employment opportunities offering substantial benefits,” Kenosha mayor John Antaramian said in the KABA press release.

Work started on the building in the fall, and the project is expected to be complete in 2023.

In addition to its massive presence in Kenosha, Amazon has either opened or made plans for several additional facilities both in southeastern Wisconsin and other parts of the state.

It opened a 2.5 million-squarefoot, four-story fulfillment center in Oak Creek in 2020. That same year, it opened a 1.3 millionsquare-foot facility in Beloit.

The company is also working on plans for a 3.4 million-squarefoot facility in Cottage Grove, a village east of Madison. The $200 million, five-story project would be one of the largest Amazon facilities in the country and would have 1,500 employees.

Amazon’s investments in Wisconsin are eligible for $17.8 million in tax credits from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.

In exchange, the company is to create 5,000 jobs and make $255 million in capital investments. As of the end of September, the company had created 2,945 jobs in the state and invested $206 million, according to WEDC records. At that point, the WEDC had verified the company’s eligibility for almost $7.3 million in tax credits.

The company was initially awarded $10.3 million in incentives related to its facilities in Kenosha County and was trending ahead of its job creation and investment targets. In 2019, the state offered another $7.5 million in incentives for the company’s Oak Creek project, adding to the job creation and investment requirements in the process. n

inf cus

IN THE MIDST of selling his Greendale-based manufacturing company The Kinetic Co. Inc., Jared Masters stumbled upon an Instagram post that would set the course for his next career move. It showed someone using a downhill ski and snowboard simulator machine at a ski store in Vancouver.

An avid skier, Masters was immediately intrigued. He tracked down the maker, SkyTechSport, and in July 2020 he flew out to Los Angeles to visit the company’s headquarters. At the time, there were only a couple of simulators in the U.S. and they were privately owned. The U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team has since become SkyTech’s largest customer.

The following November, Masters opened Urban Slopes at N35 W23770 Capitol Drive in Pewaukee as the first business to offer the interactive experience to the public. The 4,800-square-foot space looks like a ski lodge, complete with a fireplace and bar serving beer and wine. But instead of a snow-covered ski hill, there are four, 20-foot-wide SkyTechSport simulators available for individual and group bookings as well as private parties.

“Whether you’re a beginner skier or an advanced skier, it’s different, it’s fun, and it’s warm – we’re not 20 below zero,” said Masters, who expects business to pick up once the outdoor ski season winds down.

Later this year, he plans to expand Urban Slopes into a market where outdoor snow skiing doesn’t exist: Florida. n — Maredithe Meyer biztimes.com / 7

JAKE HILL PHOTOGRAPHY

Urban Slopes

Leading Edge

LOCATION: Milwaukee

ANDREW FELLER PHOTOGRAPHY

THE PINK BAKERY

@BIZTIMESMEDIA – Real-time news

FOUNDER: Nubian Simmons FOUNDED: 2014 SERVICE: Allergen-free baking mixes WEBSITE: thepinkbakery.com EMPLOYEES: 2 GOAL: Continue to expand wholesale opportunities EXPERIENCE: Founded two prior small companies: The Graduate offered graduation invitations and stoles to historically Black colleges and universities, and 979 Agency was a brand management and graphic design firm.

Nubian Simmons

The Pink Bakery seeks to raise the bar for allergen-free dessert options

By Ashley Smart, staff writer

8 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 21, 2022

A SWEET TOOTH, an unwavering palate and a bit of luck led to Milwaukee native and entrepreneur Nubian Simmons opening a manufacturing facility for her business, The Pink Bakery, in the city’s Miller Valley. It officially opened last fall.

The Pink Bakery offers pre-packaged baking mixes that are allergen-free and are produced in a completely dedicated facility to ensure no contaminants make their way in.

Simmons created The Pink Bakery out of necessity. She is severely allergic to wheat and milk, responds negatively to cross contamination, and is also a vegan.

“I was just trying to figure out how to navigate that world. There were products out there that were honestly just disgusting. The bar is pretty low when it comes to taste for allergen-free desserts,” Simmons said.

With the help of her siblings, who do not have the same allergies as her, Simmons was able to closely match the taste and texture of several dessert favorites.

In 2016, Simmons was asked by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to move to Memphis, Tennessee, to share her allergen-free desserts with the children. But when the COVID-19

pandemic hit, she couldn’t deliver her desserts to customers. To stay in business, the idea to sell her desserts as mixes was born.

Right before the pandemic hit, Simmons had invested some money into buying land in Memphis for a bakery. That fell through when she found out the land had been contaminated. Simmons took it as a sign that Memphis may not be the right place for her.

In the summer of 2020, she returned to Milwaukee. She didn’t end up finding her ideal space until she started talking with the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp. WWBIC staff encouraged her to look one more time in Milwaukee, and she eventually received a loan from the organization that enabled her to set up her manufacturing facility.

The 2,600-square-foot Milwaukee location is entirely dedicated to the production of The Pink Bakery mixes, so no cross contamination can happen. There is no retail component, in order to keep anyone from bringing possible allergens into the space.

In the future, Simmons said she would like to get into more wholesale opportunities, including the possibility of having her products sold at Health Hut locations. n

INN

VAT I

NS

HellermannTyton collaborates with Ford on car part made of recycled ocean plastic

By Ashley Smart, staff writer MILWAUKEE-BASED HellermannTyton has collaborated with Ford to create an automotive part made completely of plastics harvested from the ocean, what is called ghost gear.

Ford Bronco Sport cars now use a wiring harness clip made from ghost gear, manufactured by HellermannTyton. This makes Ford the first automaker to use 100% recycled ocean plastics to produce car parts.

Anisia Peterman, product manager at HellermannTyton, said the company was immediately up for the task when approached by Ford on the potential collaboration.

“One of our key initiatives is to offer sustainable options for our customers, so this fit very well with what we’re trying to focus on here as a company,” Peterman said. “It went pretty quickly from there, and we wanted to make sure the material aligned with the right vehicle application.”

Invisible to those in the vehicle, the Bronco Sport’s wiring harness clips, which weigh about 5

grams, fasten to the sides of the second-row seats and guide wires that power side-curtain airbags.

Despite spending time in saltwater and sunlight, the material is as strong and durable as petroleum-based clips, Ford testing shows.

The HellermannTyton team was certain from the beginning they wanted to use the ghost gear on the harness fastener as opposed to any other part, Peterman said.

Production on the harness clips lasted five months, and they started being used in the vehicles within about eight months.

“We knew this was the perfect part for the application, in the perfect vehicle. The Bronco Sport is rugged and outdoorsy, so it was a good fit with that recycled product,” Peterman said.

The plastic material is collected from the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea by DSM Engineering Materials. The process begins with DSM harvesting discarded nylon fishing nets. The plastic is washed of saltwater, dried and extruded to

The inside of the HellermannTyton facility in Milwaukee.

HellermannTyton collaborated with Ford to create this wire harness mounting fastener made of ghost gear.

form small pellets, which are then injection-molded by HellermannTyton into the desired clip shape.

Up to 13 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean from land each year, threatening marine life and polluting shorelines, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts.

That’s the equivalent of a garbage truck emptying its contents into the ocean every minute. Plastic in the ocean also comes from the fishing industry, which has come to rely on plastic fishing nets and other equipment because of the durability, light weight, buoyancy and low cost of the material. Those same qualities contribute to creating ghost nets, a fatal and growing threat to marine life. Ghost gear comprises nearly 10% of all seabased plastic waste, entangling fish, sharks, dolphins, seals, sea turtles and birds.

Ford officials said this is the first step in their plans to continue to produce other automotive parts made from ghost gear. The company is planning to use recycled ocean plastics in transmission brackets, wire shields and floor side rails. These are all stationary parts with strength and durability demands that the material can meet or exceed.

“It is a strong example of circu-

lar economy, and while these clips are small, they are an important first step in our explorations to use recycled ocean plastics for additional parts in the future,” said Jim Buczkowski, vice president of research and Henry Ford technical fellow for Ford Motor Company.

HellermannTyton also makes a range of additional products from other recycled materials, including cellulose-based products and post-industrial recycled materials, and the company is working to expand that portfolio. New products will be unveiled sometime later this year.

“We are going to expand the ghost gear product line,” Peterman said. “This harness fastener is a small part, but this will lead to more fasteners and larger harness channels to further grow the amount of content in the vehicle that is from recycled ocean plastics.” n

HellermanTyton Milwaukee

INNOVATION: Harness fastener made of recycled ocean plastics FOUNDED: 1969 hellermannt y ton.us biztimes.com / 9

Leading Edge

BIZTIMES MEDIA – Connect

1

BIZ LUNCH

Lunch

Biz

A D D R E S S: 7484 W. State St., Wauwatosa

2

WEBSITE: kinbyricenroll.com CUISINE: Sushi and modern Asian C H E F: Tony Kora M O O D: Friendly and casual PRICING: Appetizers, $5-19; Entrees, $9-26; Sushi, $6-19 Family is in the name at Kin by Rice N Roll in the Tosa Village.

This modern-Asian sushi restaurant is a second concept for sibling duo Tammy and JJ Lert and their cousin Tony Kora. The Thailand natives have worked together for 14 years and for the past seven have co-owned and operated Rice N Roll on Milwaukee’s East Side. Kin opened in 2019.

Each has their own role within the business, which helps keep family dynamics in balance, said Kora. With a specialty in Japanese cuisine, he heads the sushi bar, while chef JJ oversees the kitchen and Thai offerings.

Tammy manages front-of-house operations.

Kin offers its extensive four-page food menu for both lunch and dinner.

During Milwaukee’s cold winter months, ramen and curry are top sellers.

Another favorite, the jumbo lump crabmeat fried rice, was recently added back on to the menu after a three-month hiatus due to pandemic-related supply shortages.

10 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 21, 2022

3

1 2 3

You’ll find the Clumsy Bueno roll under the “Trust Me Maki” section. It’s shrimp tempura and avocado-topped spicy crab stick, with tempura flakes, sweet soy glaze and spicy mayo.

One of Kin’s six flavors of ramen is the Tonkotsu Ramen: rich and creamy pork broth soup, with fresh egg noodle, chashu pork, black wood ear mushroom, bamboo scallion, corn, fish cake, nori and soft-boiled egg.

Sushi lovers can order an array of both vegetarian and traditional maki rolls from Kin’s fresh sushi bar.

CONTRIBUTED

KIN BY RICE N ROLL

COFFEE BREAK

BIZ POLL

Milwaukee has expressed interest in hosting the 2024 Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention. Which event will the city get?

Adrian Latifi Owner, Harry’s Prohibition Bistro 668 S. Pier Drive, Sheboygan harrysprohibitionbistro.com

Neither:

Industry: Restaurants Employees: Approximately 40

RNC:

•

Prior to taking over the family business in November, Latifi’s past restaurant experience included serving, hosting, bartending and kitchen experience. He was a cook at Harry’s Prohibition Bistro since 2013. Latifi has a Roman al Taglio pizza certification. He and his uncle are the only two Wisconsinites with this certification.

•

A Sheboygan native, Latifi attended Madison Area Technical College and graduated with an associate degree in Culinary Arts and Chef Training.

•

Latifi met his wife, Jusra, in 2018 while she was working at a fine dining restaurant near Macedonia. She relocated after they met, and the couple was married in September of 2019. Their daughter, Odessa, was born last June.

•

A recent survey of BizTimes.com readers.

47.3%

22.4%

Both:

12.4%

DNC:

17.9%

Share your opinion! Visit biztimes.com/bizpoll to cast your vote in the next Biz Poll.

Latifi calls himself a “car guy.” He loves to research different makes and models and compare them. He’s a big fan of Toyotas and the Audi RS Model. He also enjoys going to the gym. “But what I enjoy most is traveling to different countries simply to see what the world is like. It opens my eyes to different possibilities.”

Vivian Williams-Kurutz Class of 1986 First. Foremost. Forward.

•

He knew it was time to take over the family business when he found himself doing almost all the operations without being overwhelmed. “It was second nature thanks to my dad, Harry Latifi, and my uncle Al Latifi. Both are restaurateurs. They have mentored me all along.”

•

When it comes to working in the restaurant industry, he most enjoys its complexity. “I love the amount of skills owning a restaurant has taught me, from multitasking, communication, prioritization, time management, patience, and so much more.”

•

He likes his coffee simple. “It has to be black – no sugar and no cream. My favorite is our own signature blend we created with Torke Coffee: Harry's Blend Organic Torke Coffee.” n

LILA ARYAN PHOTOGRAPHY

Vivian Williams-Kurutz has been a pioneer in the wellness movement for years. You could say she found her voice in Carroll’s Theatre Program, and credits her training for her entrepreneurial spirit.

Her commitment to health justice and track record of providing empowering body, mind and spirit health and wellness programs for communities of color has helped move the needle toward health equity.

Today, Williams-Kurutz lives Carroll’s mission of service as founding director of the Harlem Wellness Center, continuing to focus on the intersection of racial, health and environmental justice.

• Learn more at carrollu.edu/175

Carroll University: Pioneering For 175 Years! biztimes.com / 11

BizNews

the

Interview

IN EARLY DECEMBER, Catholic Financial Life announced plans to sell its 18-story

office and residential tower near the Marquette University campus. Then in January, John Borgen took over as part of a planned leadership transition. Borgen joined BizTimes associate editor Arthur Thomas on the BizTimes MKE Podcast recently to talk about the decision to sell the building and about taking over the top job. Listen to their full conversation at biztimes.com/podcast.

From a process perspective, how did you reach the decision to sell the building?

“It wasn’t so much about the 'Well, you know we're thinking about this’ – we'll solicit input, even though that's generally how we approach decision making, very process driven. It was ‘Hey, there's demand, and we know it’s changing.’ I don’t pretend to have some crystal ball, but what I do know is maintaining maximum flexibility is in the organization and therefore our members’ best interest. And if we can take advantage of the robust demand for this type of a piece of real estate and couple that with preparing ourselves, giving us options, giving us maximum flexibility so that if the world of remote (work) continues and becomes more of a dominant trend, we can adjust accordingly.”

A little more than a year ago you were named the next CEO. How did you use the time knowing you were going to step into a bigger role?

“I've worked very closely with Bill (O’Toole, previous CEO of Catholic Financial Life) for 12 years, and so I've been at his right hand during that time and so some aspects of this were second nature to me. However, I would say focusing on board governance, working with regulators and rating agencies, things that I had done before, but now had a different degree of responsibility for, were areas of focus. … We met weekly, every Friday morning, and we would take a topic and we would just talk.

Sometimes it was tactical, other times it was very strategic or big picture, and I benefited immensely from that. .... There’s a lot of truth in what they say that you can't fully understand or appreciate the responsibility until you’ve sat in the chair, and that's been the case, but fortunately I’ve been able to go through a very smooth transition.”

“You talk to a lot of people, you read a lot, you get their perspectives.

You ask them one of the most powerful questions you can ask anybody: What do you think? And you do that throughout the organization. You pose a situation or question ... and you wait, and you listen. You take all of that and then in seeking to understand, you reflect on it, you sit with it.

In my case, and in the case of this organization, we're faith based, so the spiritual plays a role in our decision making, and then you do what you think is right.”

How do you go about thinking about building something internally versus looking externally, especially when large companies can out-compete with scale?

“They have scale advantages, but what we have are size advantages.

Now that sounds potentially contradictory, but what it takes to get some things done in a large organization, we can do much quicker. So how we approach that decision making kind of goes back to what I said at the beginning of our conversation about the building. Being a landlord is not our core business. Building technology, not our core business.

Integrating technology is something where we've had to invest and get good and get better. … That's been our approach to technology, so the folks that we hire and the skill sets that we seek to bring on board are those that lend themselves to integration.” n 12 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 21, 2022

ANDREW FELLER PHOTOGRAPHY

On decision making, a lot of CEOs will say they get the hard, 50/50 decisions.

What's your approach to decision making, especially on those tough ones?

John Borgen President and chief executive officer Catholic Financial Life 1100 W. Wells St., Milwaukee Employees: 80 Catholicfinanciallife.org

R EG I

ST E R

Thursday, March 31, 2022

TODA Y

!

2:00-2:30pm – Registration/Networking 2:30-6:30pm – Program followed by cocktails & hors d’oeuvres In Person - Brookfield Conference Center

presents the 15th annual:

The M&A Boom: Are We Nearing the End? Attention - Business Owners, CEOs & Executives of Growing Companies. If you’re thinking about selling your business or growing through an acquisition, now may be the best time to take action to make it happen.

Whether you’ve never sold or purchased a business or if you’re a seasoned expert, this program is for you. You’ll learn best practices, lessons learned and other actionable information that will help you navigate your way through these important issues which for some – is a once in a lifetime event.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Panel Discussions: Selling Your Business – From Strategy to Execution - Company owners will share best practices, lessons learned, biggest surprises and other experiences from the sale process • Shane Vaughn, President & CEO, KDV Labels, LLC [1] • John Topetzes, Former Owner, President, Sanborn Tube and Fab [2] • Nate Neuberger, Shareholder, Reinhart [3] • Steve Flynn, CEO / Owner, S. Flynn & Company [4] Moderator: Ann Hanna, Managing Director & Founder, Taureau Group [5]

Growth Through Acquisition – A Look at the Why of Buying a Business, Differences Between Needs and Wants and Insights on What’s Next?

• Kristin Dufek, President, Eppstein Uhen Architects [6] • Dan Druml, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, FirstService [7] • Keith Smith, President, Vonco [8] • Jake Hansen, Principal, Jacsten Holdings [9] Moderator: Inge Plautz, Senior Vice President and Executive BDO, Old National Bank [10]

Breakout Sessions: 1. Building Sustainable Business Value – Value drivers that endure despite market cycles and attract the most desirable buyers

2. Buying a business, how to start strategically and wisely funding the purchase: Process, risk management and funding the transaction including SBA options

3. Family succession: sale, recap or other alternatives – choosing the best option for creating liquidity and next generation involvement

— Register Today! biztimes.com/maforum — Sponsors:

Event Partner:

biztimes.com / 13

Real Estate

REAL ESTATE WEEKLY – The week’s most significant real estate news → biztimes.com/subscribe

JAKE HILL PHOTOGRAPHY

A kitchenette area in Landmark Credit Union’s office.

Remote work accelerating push to create residential-like workspaces

IT IS A STRATEGY in the war for talent. Companies increasingly have in their arsenal a list of office space amenities that foster the type of work environment younger employees are seeking.

Some tenants and landlords take things even further. They shape their office environments with residential-like comforts. The COVID-19 pandemic and rise of remote work have accelerated this so-called “resimercial” concept, according to industry experts.

Heather Turner Loth, business development practice leader with Milwaukee-based design firm Eppstein Uhen Architects, said “resimercial” represents a blend between work and life and can include concierge services, choice of furniture and fixtures, and more relaxed conference rooms or lounges.

Josh Jeffers, president and chief executive officer of Milwaukee-based development firm J. Jeffers & Co., said the office buildings his firm owns aren’t quite to the level of his apartment buildings by way of amenities of-

FEATURED DEAL: 84SOUTH RETAIL BUILDINGS A pair of retail buildings located along Layton Avenue in the 84South development in Greenfield were sold recently for $9.3 million, according to state records and a news release from Mid-America Real Estate Group.

The two buildings have a total of 17,805 square feet of retail space. They were built in 2018. Tenants include Men’s Hair House, Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa, MOD Pizza, FedEx Office and Café Zupas.

The buildings were sold by an affiliate of Milwaukee-based real estate development firm Cobalt Partners. They were purchased by Pleasant Prairie-based E&K Land LLC. Dan Rosenfeld of Mid-America Real Estate Wisconsin LLC represented Cobalt Partners in brokering the sale.

ADDRESS: 8775-8871 W. Sura Lane, Greenfield BUYER: E&K Land LLC SELLER: 84 South Small Shops LLC PRICE: $9.3 million 14 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 21, 2022

fered. For instance, an on-site pet spa is not a requirement for office tenants the way it is for some apartment dwellers. But more office environments are now incorporating spaces that feel more like a living room or hotel lobby.

“We are actually seeing some tenants wanting to incorporate even more what I would call residential-type soft seating spaces, or even hotel or hospitality-type environments within their office spaces,” Jeffers said at BizTimes Milwaukee’s annual Commercial Real Estate and Development Conference.

Turner Loth said her firm began seeing the resimercial concept seeping into workplaces a decade or more ago. Clients began asking for lounge spaces with couches and fireplaces. Others added bookshelves filled with knickknacks and greenery.

“That stuff has been accelerating more and more, and I think it’s been really pre-pandemic around the talent recruitment war that’s been going on,” she said. “I think now it’s heightened even more so because of employees’ expectation of more of that blend and a hybrid workflow that we’re going to be in.”

She said she expects more companies will seek to create “specialty spaces” that will encourage workers to come back to the office. Turner Loth cautions clients that these spaces must also align with the company’s values.

That starts with leadership.

If an employee who is used to the expectation that all of their work be done at a desk suddenly is offered a lounge space as an alternative, they might feel awkward using it, Turner Loth said.

“These resimercial spaces only work if employees are given permission to use them,” she said.

Turner Loth pointed to Landmark Credit Union’s new Brookfield headquarters as an example of a company incorporating resimercial spaces. The building has communal tables and kitchenettes on each floor. This offers employees an option to prepare and eat lunch in a smaller space versus

a large cafeteria area. There are also many areas with soft seating throughout.

Jeffers’ newest office property is the Huron Building. The downtown Milwaukee building opened in 2020 and has a Tupelo Honey restaurant on its ground floor. Jeffers said a restaurant or coffee shop in an office building has become an important amenity for office space users.

Other important traits include outdoor space and additional technology infrastructure.

“We’re adding additional IT so that people can have so-called Zoom rooms or other ways to connect with remote workers from their office space,” Jeffers said.

He said a driving force even before the pandemic has been company culture. Younger workers want more out of a company than a good salary, he said.

“They don’t want to just take a job for the paycheck; they want to be connected to a company that they care about,” Jeffers said. “They care about their coworkers, they care about the mission of the company, they care about what they do every day. I think what we’re seeing as office landlords, there’s a lot of tenants wanting to cater to that millennial and Gen Z demographic, amenitize their buildings more and make it more interesting for them to come back in.” n

UWM CHEMISTRY BUILDING University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee officials recently celebrated the start of construction for the university’s new fourstory, 163,400-square-foot, $118 million chemistry building.

It is being built just west of the Lubar Entrepreneurship Center at North Maryland Avenue and East Kenwood Boulevard.

When completed, the building will replace UWM’s 50-year-old chemistry building located at 3210 N. Cramer St. on the west side of campus.

Construction of the new building is scheduled to be completed in late 2023 or early 2024.

DEVELOPER: University of Wisconsin System SIZE: 163,400 square feet HEIGHT: Four stories COST: $118 million

TELLING YOUR STORY

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ALEX ZANK Reporter

THE STORYTELLING ARM OF BIZTIMES MEDIA

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STORY COVER

16 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 21, 2022

Breaking with tradition What happens when the next generation doesn’t want the family business?

W

BY ASHLEY SMART, staff writer

hen Kim Nichols was just a toddler, she would help her mom out at their family business. Nichols, the recently retired chief executive officer of Racine Metal-Fab, would sit in an office while helping fold, seal and stamp completed invoices. On Saturday mornings, after the family got their work done, they would walk across the street to a nearby diner to get chocolate milk.

Family business has always been a part of Nichols’ life, almost since the time she was born.

“We helped out after school, on weekends … whenever work needed to be done, we would help out,” Nichols said.

But when she started looking at retirement in her mid-60s, keeping the business in the family wasn’t an option. Both of her daughters had chosen different career paths.

“I think younger generations have much broader interests. When my generation was younger, or generations before that, you didn’t have exposure to so many other industries or career paths, yet you had a very intimate knowledge of your family business. That’s what you knew, so sometimes that’s just where you stayed,” Nichols said.

biztimes.com / 17

STORY COVER She ended up selling RMF, which was founded by her parents in 1968, to Milwaukee-based Midwest Products & Engineering Inc. in December 2021.

The difference in values between baby boomers and Generation X and millennials have been clear for several years. Some suggest the desire to choose one’s own career and maintain a better work/life balance than one’s parents is contributing to an increase in the number of family businesses being sold, rather than being passed on to the next generation.

Nichols started working full-time at RMF after college but ended up leaving after a decade to work in the banking industry, where she spent another 10 years.

“I can’t really say that it was always a goal (to take over the company), but I always loved the business and I loved the opportunity to create a great place for people to work,” Nichols said.

Her mother eventually asked that she return.

The transition between Nichols and her parents was a natural one that took place over several years. Nichols said she stepped more fully into a leadership role as the family navigated through two hardships: Her father, Jim Madson, passed away at a young age, and her mother, Marge Madson, was diagnosed with cancer.

“They founded the company, and she (Marge Madson) was always interested in what was going on,” Nichols said. “She may not have been in the office on a regular basis, but she always knew what was going on behind the scenes.”

Nichols said RMF was doing well and had significant opportunity for growth. During conversations with the company’s president, she said it became clear that to continue the company’s growth pattern, it needed to find a larger partner with greater assets.

Never a part of the plan For Michael Graf, founder and former owner of New Berlin-based Letterhead Press, having his kids take over the company was never part of his plan.

Graf began his company in 1984, using a single Kluge press in the back of an ice cream warehouse.

Letterhead Press quickly grew to become one of the largest graphic finishers in the U.S. and gained recognition for its use of 3D holograms and foil.

Graf said he always expected his children to go off and choose their own career paths, not continue at Letterhead Press.

“I told my kids from early on, ‘You’re going to create your own nightmare. You’re not going to be part of this business,’” Graf said. “They did work in it on and off through high school as teenagers.”

He said he did not want his kids to grow up and be unhappy. It was important to him that they chose jobs that interested them and that they did not feel forced to take over.

18 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 21, 2022

Above: Michael Graf (right) is pictured with Mark Mulvaney circa 1987. Mulvaney was a partner to Graf during the early years of Letterhead Press, but Graf bought him out in 1996. Below: Pictured is former governor Scott Walker speaking with Graf.

FACES OF FAMILY BUSINESS

SPONSORED CONTENT

Greg Hazenfield (VP), Jay Campbell (President/Founder) and Matt Bautch (Project Manager / Safety Director)

DEVELOPMENT MINDED CONSTRUCTION COMPANY COMMITTED TO BEING A VALUED PARTNER WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START CAMPBELL CONSTRUCTION? Starting Campbell Construction in 2006 seemed the best path forward for our family and allowed me to foster my entrepreneurial spirit.

WHAT SETS CAMPBELL CONSTRUCTION APART FROM OTHER GENERAL CONTRACTORS? We have a development mindset at Campbell which is an asset to many of our clients. This interest in real estate resulted in the creation of a development company eight years ago. Dave Hazenfield and I formed H2C Commercial Real Estate, now Twelve2 Commercial Group. Family ties cross into the leadership of both businesses.

HOW DEEP ARE THE FAMILY CONNECTIONS AT CAMPBELL CONSTRUCTION? There are numerous levels of family ties at Campbell. From my wife and daughter to cousins, nephews, and longtime family friends, we have deep

personal connections to team members in the office and field. We also have team members who enjoy working for our company so much that they encourage their own family members to join the team. We are very proud of the culture we have built. It is also gratifying to know the immediate family is committed to the growth of the company and continuing the Campbell legacy.

volume and size, we are poised for continued growth.

With that said, we are committed to strengthening our local partnerships and serving businesses in southeastern Wisconsin as well. As a self-performing contractor partnered with a development company, we have the depth and capabilities to help clients with every aspect of a project. We look forward to being a valued partner on more collaborative teams.

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST LESSON YOU HAVE LEARNED ABOUT WORKING IN A FAMILY BUSINESS? We work very hard to maintain separation between business and family matters. I am a stickler about no business talk at home, although you may find me handling a few work items on the couch at night. We also work hard at not allowing personal issues to interfere with the work.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR CAMPBELL CONSTRUCTION? We are fortunate to have expanded our reach across the country. From our staff and services to our project

461 River Crest Ct. • Mukwonago, WI 53149 (262) 436-4760 • campbellconstructionbbg.com

STORY COVER

Above: Dick Vaughn, founder of KDV Labels in Waukesha, is pictured catching freshly printed labels. Middle: Karen Vaughn is pictured working in the office of KDV Labels in Waukesha. Bottom: Dick and Karen Vaughn are pictured at a company picnic.

“Every generation is different, and you just have to accept them for what they are,” Graf said.

When he first started thinking about selling Letterhead Press, Graf was in his mid-50s and looking to take advantage of the good position the company was in.

“When you leverage yourself, you borrow a lot of money and at one point in time (there was) maybe $10 million in debt with the company. You live with that hanging over your head,” Graf said. “At that point in time (when I started thinking about selling), I had just paid off all my debt and I’m thinking, ‘Well, is now the time to sell or do I take on another $10 million in debt and go in a dramatically different direction?’”

Graf sold Letterhead Press in July 2017 but was still running the company until January 2020.

Making sure his employees would continue to be treated well was a priority when Graf was considering sellers – so much so that after beginning the purchasing process with one buyer and realizing they weren’t the right fit, he pivoted to considering an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). Just before that plan was finalized, Graf was able to find a buyer who reflected his values.

“I think if it were an ESOP, I would still probably be involved with it at this point in time way more than I would like to be,” Graf said.

Graf said he feels he made the right move, and he has changed directions into different business endeavors. He is involved in real estate and is getting into the hydroponics industry, on a part-time basis.

His children have embraced their own career paths within the fields of engineering and accounting.

An increasingly complex process Shane Vaughn, chief executive officer and president of Waukesha-based KDV Labels, is the second generation of leadership within the company. He is still actively involved despite his parents making the decision to sell to Milwaukee-based Mason Wells in 2021. Dick and Karen Vaughn started KDV Labels in their garage in 1974, and Shane recalls from a young age being a part of the family business.

“When I was about 2 years old, I was helping my dad move a press. Growing up, our family days were Sunday (and we) came into work to help with cleaning up the shop or stuff like that. Just doing odds-and-ends type of work as both my parents were working many hours,” Vaughn said.

While he was attending college, returning to work at KDV Labels was always a strong possibility but never guaranteed. The more he considered different options, coming back made the most sense to him. Once he did return, he spent time working in each department.

“My parents were in a semi-retirement stage.

I was handling most of the day-to-day operations and they were working on some of the big-picture 20 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 21, 2022

FACES OF FAMILY BUSINESS

SPONSORED CONTENT

From left: Clifton, James and Jalin Phelps

THE PHELPS FAMILY IS BUILDING A NAME IN CONSTRUCTION WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START JCP CONSTRUCTION? Our family history is factory based. We have strong, blue-collar ties. Clifton, James and I went to trade school at Milwaukee Tech and continued to pursue different paths in the construction industry. We believed our collective knowledge and expertise could position us for success as a strong, business-minded construction company. This was an opportunity to change the trajectory of our family career path and create a new legacy for the family name. We grew up learning valuable lessons about hard work and commitment and have built a construction company committed to providing high quality construction on time and within budget.

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST LESSON YOU HAVE LEARNED ABOUT WORKING IN THE FAMILY BUSINESS? Internally, we know we have to have clear communication and trust each other. The good thing is that we are brothers and can speak candidly to each 6 / BizTimes Milwaukee JANUARY 20, 2020

other—which can sometimes be counterproductive.

Externally, we are fortunate to be able to observe other family businesses in the construction industry.

There are so many area construction companies successfully transitioning into the third and fourth generations of well-respected business ownership. As a first generation company partnering with some of these organizations, we can learn and grow based on valuable insights from these colleagues.

in 2022. We are also excited to be expanding our geographic reach beyond the City of Milwaukee into the southern portion of the state. More importantly, we are deepening our connections to other area businesses and developing solid partnerships.

WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE JCP MISSION? In addition to providing excellent construction services, we want to find and develop great talent. We want to build a diverse team who serves diverse and growing clients so we can positively impact the growth and development of our community.

WHAT’S DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR JCP CONSTRUCTION? Tremendous growth. From a financial perspective, we are positioned for an over 40% increase in revenue

1849 N Doctor M.L.K. Jr Dr • Milwaukee, WI 53212 (414) 372-7300 • www.jcp-construction.com

STORY COVER thoughts. I think the thought process for them in the retirement stage was looking at how we could take KDV Labels to the next level, from a growth perspective,” Vaughn said. “When we looked at that and looked at all the different opportunities that private equity was putting in place, it made the most sense to bring in a strategic partner.”

Vaughn said it was critical to his parents that the company’s leadership team stay intact through the acquisition process, as well as keeping the core benefits that were being offered to employees. The fact that Mason Wells is a Milwaukee company was also a strong benefit for the Vaughn family, as they were looking to keep alive a tradition of Midwest values. The transition process was slow, as Vaughn said he eased his way into different aspects of the business over the course of a decade.

Vaughn said to be successful, a family business must maintain open communication while making sure all parties remain as respectful as possible.

“It’s a tough situation because as companies get bigger and bigger, it’s harder to keep the family atmosphere involved,” Vaughn said.

He said one reason kids may not be interested in taking over a business from their parents is because of how complex the process has become over the years.

“All these different government regulations have come into place and your customers have started requiring more documentation for everything you do. It’s not about just making a product anymore or just servicing the customer, it’s about all these regulations and paperwork you need to fill out. It doesn’t sound quite as intriguing,” Vaughn said.

Why founding business owners sell David Borst, chief operating officer of Family Business Leadership Partners and former dean of business at Concordia University Wisconsin, said the decision to sell a family business goes both ways between the founding generation and the younger generation. In some cases, parents may feel that their children aren’t capable of taking over the family business, so they prefer to sell or shut down operations. Another common scenario is that a child does not want the family business or is simply not ready to consider taking it over at the time a parent is considering selling.

“I am definitely seeing people of the younger generation choosing to not follow in their parental footsteps. The reason for that, in my experience, is family businesses are a drain. They are all-consuming,” Borst said. “Many of the spouses of family business founders consider the business to be a mistress or someone that is vying for their attention. The children see this too and they ask themselves, ‘Do I really want to work as hard as mom and dad?’”

22 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 21, 2022

According to a 2021 North American family business survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers, 54% of first-generation business leaders expect to be controlled or owned by family within five years.

The survey examined the outlook of more than 230 family business leaders across Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. Thirty-nine percent of business leaders interviewed said they would like to see the next generation increase their current involvement in decision-making and involvement.

Financials are often Borst a key factor in deciding whether to pass on the family business. As younger generations generally experience less financial security than their parents and grandparents, it becomes difficult to compete with outside parties, such as private equity firms, which can provide more of a payout. It is increasingly less common for parents to simply gift their business to a child.

“You have to remember that for a family business, this is the bulk of their estate in most cases.

The vast majority of these people have all of their money tied up in this particular entity. Sometimes the child is not in a financial position to take over the business and give the parents the cash-out that they rightfully deserve,” said Borst.

Choosing their own path Ann Hanna, managing director and founder at Milwaukee-based Taureau Group, said she has noticed a “good number” of family businesses coming through for sale, and the most common reason owners choose to do so is because the younger generation has chosen a different career path.

Hanna agreed there is a different set of values between millennials and their parents, noting that the younger generation has more of an idea of what a true work/life balance looks like and view their lives more holistically. A lack of financial security can also make it difficult for children to take over the family business.

“The founding owners, they need some sort of financial event so they can retire. The next generation is just not able to provide that or secure enough funding to provide that,” Hanna said.

While not common, she has seen cases where parents do not want to pass along their business to the next generation. In a scenario like this, Taureau Group would help the parents find a buyer who is best suited to work alongside the next generation.

“That’s a very, very difficult decision to make and we don’t see it often,” Hanna said. “In the ones that we’ve been involved with, it’s been handled very well and the first generation has explained their motive and what their intent was.”

Management teams are also often considered as

buyers for family businesses. Hanna said this is often an ideal situation for business owners because they commonly seek to reward their employees.

“That sentiment is right at the top of what sellers are concerned about when they start a (selling) process. In today’s market, we’re getting a large number of buyers for each business. How they believe buyers will interact (with employees) and what opportunities they will bring to their employee base is a huge consideration,” Hanna said.

Hanna Some common signs that a family business founder might be ready to sell include not enjoying running the business anymore, lacking motivation and having a desire to do something different with their lives.

“The best time to sell your business is when you don’t want to sell it. When you’re in a growth pattern and profits are good is the very best time to sell the business,” Hanna said.

Keeping the tradition alive For those interested in passing their business along to the next generation, Borst said there are a few principles to follow. First, business owners should make sure to get their kids involved from a very young age, which can involve simple tasks such as helping take out the trash or cleaning up the building.

“Getting them in there on a regular basis just to see how hard mom and dad work, that makes them part of the business,” Borst said.

Another important principle for successful family businesses is having a shared religion or faith. Borst said family businesses are far more likely to succeed in passing things on to the next generation if there is a common religious core, regardless of what that religion may be. It becomes a common theme tying one generation to the next.

Nichols said the keys to having a successful family business include being able to realistically assess the strengths and weaknesses of all team members, finding opportunities for both individual and team growth, supporting that growth, and holding people accountable – whether they are a family member or not.

“I think on a personal level, it’s very important for the family members to spend time learning and working in all the areas of a business. It’s really the best way to earn respect and build understanding from the bottom up,” Nichols said.

She also found value in working outside of her family’s business for several years, which gave her a broader perspective on what it means to run a business.

“The younger generation really needs that time to gain that confidence and the understanding of how a business does work,” Nichols said. n

Special Report WEALTH MANAGEMENT & ESTATE PLANNING

Making sense of ESG investing

BY KAY NOLAN, for BizTimes Milwaukee WHEN QUINN SCHWELLINGER, 31, and his wife decided to start building an extra retirement fund to supplement their 401(k)s, they knew they wanted to invest in companies that supported their concern for the environment.

“My wife and I believe climate change is real, fundamentally,” said Schwellinger, vice president of Badger Ham, a third-generation family-owned business on Milwaukee’s south side. “I wanted to make sure our money wasn’t going toward things I didn’t want it to.”

The couple are part of a growing trend of millennials seeking so-called “ESG investment portfolios,” which direct money into companies chosen for their environmental, social responsibility and governance ratings.

“We’re starting to have buying power and we’re running businesses,” said Schwellinger of his generation. “We have social, governance and environmental expectations and we’re starting to ask

SCHWELLINGER

questions.”

Track records regarding fossil fuel use, carbon footprint and recycling programs are among environmental aspects sought by ESG investors. Diversity and inclusion, treatment of employees and transparency regarding financial matters are among “social” and “governance” metrics. Many investors eschew alcohol, tobacco and firearms companies.

Corporations in industries ranging from manufacturing to health care to hospitality are also engaging firms to audit their performance on ESG metrics. Some companies voluntarily request

MANKE

PECK

such audits in order to advertise strong performance in these areas; others are global firms doing business in countries that have enacted ESG regulations.

David Manke, a Milwaukee-based portfolio manager for Baird, says financial advisors and investment firms must offer ESG products “if they are to compete for millennial dollars.” Manke gives regular presentations on the topic to Baird financial advisors.

A 2021 Morgan Stanley survey regarding ESG found that 79% of investors surveyed – and 99% of

biztimes.com / 23

Special Report

the millennials surveyed – were interested in sustainable investing.

“Increasingly, baby boomers are also paying attention to it as well,” Manke said.

Schwellinger says his father, Badger Ham president Brian Schwellinger, “is of like mind” when it comes to embracing ESG standards, including within their own small business.

“We look for sustainable agriculture and meat-grazing practices,” said the younger Schwellinger. “We’re asking for efforts from suppliers – can you use a more sustainable feed? What are you doing to reduce fossil fuel emissions with your delivery trucks?”

To find an ESG portfolio, Quinn Schwellinger started by Googling “sustainable investing” and “green investing,” but was disappointed at first to find some financial advisors only gave lip service to ESG investing.

“It’s pretty hard to find companies that we can trust to invest our money in an ESG way,” he said.

“ESG funds aren’t all the same. They can be pretty watered down, definitions can be pretty loose, benchmarks can be pretty ambiguous.”

Schwellinger ultimately chose Riverwater Partners, a Milwaukee-based asset and wealth

management firm that focuses on ESG investing.

Founded in 2016 by Adam Peck, a portfolio manager, and his wife, Laura Peck, an attorney, Riverwater studies everything from a company’s annual report to its ranking in various ESG rating systems to employee reviews on social media sites, such as Glassdoor.

A particularly good sign is if the firm is a Certified B Corp, which Adam Peck likens to a building having a LEED certification for energy-efficient design. Riverwater itself earned a Certified B rating in 2018. Other sources he recommends are the European-based Global Reporting Initiative and the American-based Sustainability Accounting Standards Board.

Still, financial professionals admit that evaluating companies for ESG remains an inexact science.

The term “greenwashing” has been coined to describe the practice of claiming to have high environmental standards without substantiation or citing actions that are mostly for show – planting rows of trees on the company’s grounds or creating logos with pictures of leaves or the Earth, for example.

“Detractors point to a lack of common reporting systems,” said Peck. “My response is that, until the SEC mandates reporting, I don’t think it’s a

bad thing for companies to think about making the world a better place.”

Some investment firms, however, take a different approach, focusing instead on helping clients achieve the greatest financial returns for their investments, which they can then use to support worthy causes in their own way.

Milwaukee-based Artisan Partners, a global management investment firm, states on the sustainability/ESG portion of its website that the firm’s purpose is to generate and compound wealth over the long-term, which clients can direct toward retirement, education and charitable endeavors.

The firm’s website does detail its own commitment to sustainable practices in multiple areas, including promoting “paperless technology” and a “diverse and inclusive environment.”

Financial advisors, however, say ESG portfolios do not necessarily mean lower earnings.

“The KLD 400 index has been around since 1990,” said Peck. “It takes the S&P 500, which is one of the best-known indices and screens for ESG factors. If you go back to 1990, it has outperformed the S&P 500.”

“You don’t need to give up returns to invest responsibly,” said Manke. n

Advertise in these upcoming special reports to get your message in front of area business executives.

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Special Report BUSINESS CARES: EDUCATION • B U S I N E S S

C A R E S •

Supporting our future workforce and high-quality education EDUCATION IS A SUBJECT with which we’ve been deeply connected for many years – as parents of four uniquely different students, as volunteers, and as a board member of SHARP Literacy.

We can all agree that the past few years have taken a toll on the well-being of students everywhere. Some continued their schooling seamlessly; some were able to attend in-person and many transitioned to online learning.

But the reality is that, still, many have fallen way behind or have dropped off and in a sense are missing. Circumstances beyond the control of teachers created an often impossible situation.

Associate editor Lauren Anderson’s coverage in this special section includes an explanation of the different education sectors in Milwaukee, and leaders from public, charter and

SUPPORTED SCHOOLS: All-In Milwaukee Augustine Prep Bruce-Guadalupe Community School City Forward Collective Cristo Rey Jesuit High School Milwaukee Dominican High School Downtown Montessori Academy Dr. Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy 26 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 21, 2022

choice schools contributed pieces making their case for more business support of them. Lauren also looked at growing schools, what they are doing to stimulate their growth and their ongoing funding challenges. She also spoke with All-In Milwaukee, a nonprofit engaged in mentorship of college students from the greater Milwaukee area. Their goal is to help students complete their higher education pursuits, but furthermore remain in Wisconsin post-graduation and be part of our local workforce.

We all can agree that our workforce is challenged. What will become of it in the years ahead? This is where the rubber meets the road. Are you willing to help, to get involved, to donate, volunteer or mentor? Increasing the number of high-quality school seats in Milwaukee, in any form, will require more from

HAPA - Hmong American Peace Academy Kingdom Prep Lutheran High School Lake Country Classical Academy Marquette University High School Milwaukee Academy of Science Milwaukee College Prep Milwaukee Excellence Milwaukee Public Schools Nativity Jesuit Academy

all of us. Our future workforce needs you now more than ever.

The logos on our front cover and on this page represent companies and organizations already engaged in supporting Milwaukee schools and the expansion of more high-quality seats in our city. We wish to thank them for their support. A portion of their logo investment will be reinvested in education efforts in the city. These companies also identified the schools listed below as those which they support.

This section is just part of a month of BizTimes Milwaukee coverage focusing on education. Look for more stories at biztimes.com/ highqualityseats.

Dan and Kate Meyer Co-owners, BizTimes Media

Notre Dame School of Milwaukee Rocketship Public Schools Saint Joan Antida High School Seeds of Health Inc. Seton Catholic Schools St. Joseph Academy St. Marcus School United Community Center

Public, charter, private: What’s the difference?

WITH A PUBLICLY FUNDED SCHOOL VOUCHER program dating back to 1990, Milwaukee is considered the birthplace of the modern private school choice movement. In addition to the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, which allows children to attend private – largely religious – schools for free, the growth of charter schools over the past 30 years and state laws allowing students to open enroll into neighboring districts offer parents several publicly funded options when deciding where to send their child.

Many see the availability of options as good for families, and high-quality schools have certainly emerged thanks to the proliferation of charter and private voucher schools. Still, the school choice movement has generated much controversy, and early claims that a free-marketstyle educational system would prompt improved outcomes within Milwaukee Public Schools have largely not panned out, research indicates. And, on the whole, school choice has resulted in MPS educating a higher percentage of students with special education plans and behavioral challenges, as private schools are not legally bound to make the same accommodations to meet the needs of students with special needs as public schools and in some cases are permitted to dis-

miss students with repeated behavior issues.

Proposals to improve MPS have been floated over the years, both by those within and outside the district. The most recent, put forth by Republican lawmakers last month, calls for the dissolution of MPS and replacing it with multiple smaller districts in the city. The fate of that plan will likely be determined by the governor’s election this fall.

So, what exactly are the differences among Milwaukee’s school sectors, and how many students are in each of them? Let’s break it down.

There are three main publicly funded options in the city: » MILWAUKEE PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Traditional public schools governed by the MPS superintendent and elected school board. Secular and free for all students; some specialty schools limit enrollment. Must follow all federal and state laws/regulations applicable to public schools.

This category includes instrumentality charter schools, which are staffed by MPS employees and serve students in facilities that are owned or leased by MPS. » PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS: Public schools operated under a special agreement with a chartering authority. Some area charter authorizers include the City of Milwaukee, Univer-

BY LAUREN ANDERSON, staff writer sity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, UW-Parkside, Milwaukee Area Technical College and Milwaukee Public Schools. They are secular, free for all students and are legally prohibited from limiting enrollment. They can obtain exemption from certain federal and state laws/regulations for public schools. Those exemptions allow flexibility related to curriculum, textbooks, testing requirements, school schedules and union contracts. The tradeoff, supporters say, is more freedom to pursue more innovative teaching methods. » PRIVATE CHOICE SCHOOLS: Private schools governed by an independent entity, which may be secular or faith based. Legally prohibited from limiting enrollment. Students receive publicly funded tuition vouchers. Schools are not public, and therefore not subject to most federal and state laws aside from health/safety regulations. Like charter school supporters, promoters of private choice schools argue the freedom from having to follow the same rules as public schools allows them to provide more tailored education to students.

Read reflections from leaders representing the public charter, MPS and choice sectors on page 34.

Milwaukee schools by the numbers A breakdown of enrollment by school sector, including traditional MPS, private voucher, public charter and open enrollment/Wisconsin’s Chapter 220 school integration program.

WHERE DO STUDENTS GO TO SCHOOL? Of Milwaukee’s 115,125 students receiving a publicly funded education:

 – 63,241 attend a traditional MPS school.  – 29,160 attend a private voucher school.

 – 16,411 attend a public charter school.  – 5,831 attend a public school outside the city of Milwaukee.

HOW MANY STUDENTS ATTEND HIGH-QUALITY SCHOOLS IN MILWAUKEE? 30%

36%

A look at school performance across the three main publicly funded sectors in Milwaukee, based on state report cards. High-quality schools “exceed” or “significantly exceed” expectations, per DPI. Low-quality schools meet few expectations or fail to meet expectations.

 – Across all sectors, Milwaukee has 87 high-quality  – 78 schools meet expectations, with 34,288 enschools, defined as exceeding or significantly exceeding expectations on the state report cards.

There are 35,518 students enrolled in those high-quality schools.

34%

rolled students.

 – 64 low-quality schools fail to meet expectations or meet few expectations, with 29,831 enrolled students.

School performance by sector A breakdown of the performance of MPS, private voucher and charter schools, based on state report cards and their share of student enrollment.

MPS PERFORMANCE

CHARTER SCHOOL PERFORMANCE

PRIVATE VOUCHER PERFORMANCE

High-quality

Meets expectations

Low-quality

High-quality

Meets expectations

Low-quality

High-quality

22%

37%

40%

44%

36%

20%

62%

Source: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, courtesy of City Forward Collective. Based on the 2020-’21 school year, the most recent available data.

Meets expectations

Lowquality

26%

12%

biztimes.com / 27

THE NONPROFIT

Wish List

Looking for a way to get involved this year? Featured below is a short list of how you can help the nonprofits featured in the 2022 Giving Guide. There are numerous ways for you and your company to volunteer, attend events, fundraise or make donations.

ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis »

Gift cards to national businesses and organizations (i.e. Amazon, Starbucks, etc.)

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Silent auction items and raffle baskets

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Our branded giveaways at inperson events

CONTACT: Ellen Schupper

ellen@abcdmentor.org

Acts Housing »

18V MKE Tool battery/chargers

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12V MKE Tool battery/chargers

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106-quart plastic storage totes

CONTACT: Janet Dolan

janet@actshousing.org

American Cancer Society »

Event volunteers

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State leadership volunteers

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Road to Recovery drivers

CONTACT: Laurie Bertrand

laurie.bertrand@cancer.org

American Heart Association »

Advocates for health policy

»

One-of-a-kind auction items

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Visual arts/media services

CONTACT: Tim Nikolai

tim.nikolai@heart.org

Archdiocese of Milwaukee »

Financial donations

CONTACT: Bob Pfundstein

bpfundstein@archmil.org

Artists Working in Education

Florentine Opera

Donations/workplace giving

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Corporate partnerships

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School show sponsors

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Estate planning/bequests/stock

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Fundraising event volunteers

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Student ticket underwriters

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Volunteering/in-kind donations

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Special event auction items

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Mainstage sponsors

CONTACT: LaShawndra Vernon

lashawndra@awe-inc.org

Bookworm Gardens

CONTACT: Leslie Del Ponte

CONTACT: Jennifer Schulte

ldelponte@crohnscolitisfoundation.org

jschulte@florentineopera.org

Eastcastle Place

Girls on the Run

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Corporate sponsors

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Guest speakers

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Program supplies, markers

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Annual fund operations support

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Musicians

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Volunteers

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Auction items

CONTACT: Heidi Krueger

heidi@bookwormgardens.org

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee »

Chromebooks

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Child-size face masks

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Toys or gift cards ($20 value)

CONTACT: Nicole Gulatz

CONTACT: Laura Wengler

lwengler@eastcastleplace.com

COA Youth & Family Centers »

Diapers

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Children’s books

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Winter coats

Easterseals Southeast Wisconsin »

Event tickets

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Donations for new IT equipment

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Donations for new van

CONTACT: Tabitha Whitmer

tabithaw@eastersealswise.com

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Funding

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Partnerships

CONTACT: Tim McMurtry II

timothy.mcmurtry@employmilwaukee.org

Community Advocates

Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin

bmitchell@coa-yfc.org

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High chairs and strollers

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Fundraising

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Pack ‘n plays

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Volunteer opportunities

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Cleaning supplies

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Food donations

jkavanaugh@communityadvocates.net

Cristo Rey Jesuit High School Van drivers

CONTACT: Kaylee Beck

kbeck@cristoreymilwaukee.org

Greater Milwaukee Foundation »

Early Childhood Education Fund

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Impact Investing Fund

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Community Grants Fund

CONTACT: Leah Fiasca

LFiasca@greatermilwaukeefoundation.org

Employ Milwaukee

CONTACT: Betsy Mitchell

CONTACT: Jeri Kavanaugh

CONTACT: Tina Jones

tina.jones@girlsontherun.org

donations@bgcmilwaukee.org

»

28 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 21, 2022

Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation

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Greater Milwaukee Urban League »

Mentors for students 11 to 17

CONTACT: Thomas McCreary

tmccreary@tmul.org

HAWS »

Pet food, basic care items

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Program underwriters

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Event sponsors/auction items

CONTACT: Jennifer Smieja

jennifer@hawspets.org

CONTACT: Lisa Endl

Lendl@FeedingAmericawi.org

Healing Warrior Hearts »

Donations/auction items

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Meals for veterans retreats

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Office and facility supplies

CONTACT: Patricia Clason

warriorheart@starfishfound.org

International Institute of Wisconsin »

Corporate sponsors

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Auction items

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Refugee resettlement donations

CONTACT: Alexander Durtka

aldurtka@iiwisconsin.org

JobsWork MKE »

Laptop computers

CONTACT: Bill Krugler

bill@jobsworkmke.org

Lynden Sculpture Garden »

Adopt-a-bench

CONTACT: Polly Morris

pmorris@lyndensculpturegarden.org

MACC Fund »

Auction items

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Event volunteers

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Donations to research

CONTACT: Danielle McNeill

dmcneill@maccfund.org

Marcus Performing Arts Center »

Event and program sponsorships

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Annual fund contributions

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Ticket underwriting for youth

CONTACT: Megan Huse

mhuse@marcuscenter.org

MATC Foundation, Inc. »

Donations to MATC Promise

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Donations to DACA Scholarship

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Donations to Healthcare Heroes

CONTACT: Sara von Hemert-Dachelet

vonhems@matc.edu

Milwaukee Academy of Science »

Basic school supplies

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Graphing calculators

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Recess equipment

CONTACT: Tresca Meiling

tmeiling@mascience.org

Milwaukee Ballet

SaintA

The Gathering

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Fundraising

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Pack and plays

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Disposable or cloth face masks

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Volunteer opportunities

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Car seats

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Bottled water

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Diapers

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Bag lunch items

CONTACT: Sam Kuhl

skuhl@milwaukeeballet.org

CONTACT: Caregiver coordinators

CONTACT: Lyn Hildenbrand

Scaling Wellness in Milwaukee

Salvation Army of Milwaukee County

GrowHope@SaintA.org

lyn@thegatheringwis.org

Milwaukee College Prep »

Holiday gifts sponsorship

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Event sponsorships

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Sponsors

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Uniform/athletic fee sponsors

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Donations

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Monetary donations

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Videographer

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Volunteers during the holidays

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Red Kettle match sponsors

CONTACT: Ali Schram

ali.schramm@milwcollegeprep.com

CONTACT: Eugene Manzanet

executive1@swimke.org

Milwaukee Film »

Sponsorships and donations

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In-kind services

CONTACT: Rachel Vander Weit

SecureFutures

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Men’s jeans

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Underwear-new, all sizes

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Children’s khaki pants

CONTACT: Brian Lenhart

brian.lenhart@milmission.org

Operation Dream »

Donations

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Auction items

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Laptops

CONTACT: Marco Morrison

marco.morrison@operation-dream.org

Prevent Blindness »

Auction items

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Event sponsorships

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Vision screening volunteers

CONTACT: Breanna Reckamp

Breanna@pbwi.org

Rocketship Schools »

Donations

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Student Chromebooks

CONTACT: Brittany Kinser

BKinser@rsed.org

sheree.dallas@usc.salvationarmy.org

»

Money Coach volunteers

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Money Coach scholarship funds

United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County

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Money Path education partners

CONTACT: Jayne Thoma

rachel@mkefim.rog

Milwaukee Rescue Mission

CONTACT: Sheree Dallas Branch

CONTACT: Annmarie Baumgartner

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Support for our diaper bank

jthoma@unitedwaygmwc.org

annmarie@securefutures.org

Wisconsin Hero Outdoors Seton Catholic Schools

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Sponsors for women’s events

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Fundraising

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Donations for meals

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Classroom supplies

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Volunteers for small events

CONTACT: Gina Styer

CONTACT: Tammy Sawyer

gstyer@setoncatholicschools.org

tsawyer@wiherooutdoors.org

SHARP Literacy

YWCA Southeast Wisconsin

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Multicolor construction paper

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Laptop book bags for students

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Model Magic

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Headphones for laptops

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White paper

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Volunteers to remove wallpaper

CONTACT: Mika Turner

CONTACT: Sarah Chojnacki

St. Coletta of Wisconsin

Zachariah’s Acres

mika@sharpliteracy.org

Communication@ywcasew.org

»

Donations

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Monthly donations

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Corporate sponsors

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Event sponsorships

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In-kind donations

CONTACT: Robin Baker

rbaker@stcolettawi.org

CONTACT: Terry Bartowitz

zacreskids@yahoo.com

St. Marcus School »

Grocery/gas/big box gift cards

CONTACT: Cecilia Davis

cecilia.davis@stmarcus.org

Zoological Society of Milwaukee »

Auction items

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Sponsors

CONTACT: Jenn Trissel

Ronald McDonald House Charities »

Monetary/gift card donations

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Unique auction items

jennifert@zoosociety.org

CONTACT: Julie Hahn

jhahn@rmhc-easternwi.org

biztimes.com / 29

Special Report BUSINESS CARES: EDUCATION

Hmong American Peace Academy’s new $30 million high school campus.

Leaders of high-performing Milwaukee schools say funding is biggest impediment to adding seats

BY LAUREN ANDERSON, staff writer

IN A CITY where roughly 30,000 students attend low-performing schools, nonprofit and business leaders have rallied around a goal of adding 5,000 seats in high-quality Milwaukee schools by 2025.

The ambition set forth by Milwaukee education nonprofit City Forward Collective to get more students into good schools – a plan that counts Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and Northwestern Mutual among its supporters – involves replicating and expanding the capacity of good schools, investing in schools that show potential and supporting the teacher workforce.

A recent building boom among several successful Milwaukee schools, funded in part by corporate donations, could get the city closer to that goal. But, despite the funneling of philanthropic dollars to help high-achieving schools expand their physical buildings, education leaders say structural funding issues threaten to stymie their sustained growth.

St. Marcus Lutheran School, a private 4K-8 school with three campuses on Milwaukee’s north side, is in the middle of a $17 million campaign that will cover the cost of purchasing and renovating its building at 110 W. Burleigh, where it currently serves 150 students. Its goal is to increase that number to 600 over the next five years as it gradually completes renovations on the building that once 30 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 21, 2022

housed Harambee Community School.

St. Marcus has largely been on a growth track for the past two decades: Its expansion era was ushered in by the adoption of the ambitious goal among its leaders of becoming the “best urban Christian school in America,” the replacement of its original 1894 school building in 2003, and the advent of Milwaukee’s school voucher program.

“The transformative years were 2000 to 2004.

And since 2004, it’s been a question of continual improvement, on the one hand, and building space to meet the demand, on the other hand,” said Henry Tyson, superintendent of St. Marcus.

The school’s main campus has about 600 students; its north side campus, which opened in 2016, has 350.

St. Marcus has “significantly exceeded expectations” on the past two rounds of state report cards issued by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, test results that reflect snapshots of student performance before the pandemic and during it.

Tyson notes the contrast between its outcomes and those of neighboring schools. Twenty schools located on Milwaukee’s north and northwest side – including traditional public, charter and private – failed to meet expectations prior to the pandem-

ic, according to state report cards. At five of those schools, no students were reading at grade level, state report cards show. According to City Forward Collective data, the two zip codes directly northwest of St. Marcus’s (53209 and 53218) have the most severe shortage of high-quality school seats in the city.

Word-of-mouth referrals among families is the biggest driver of growth at St. Marcus, Tyson said.

On Feb. 1, the first day of the six-month open enrollment season for private schools participating in the voucher program, St. Marcus had 113 applications from new students. Tyson says that number indicates the hunger among families for schools where students are “going to be loved and supported and safe and are going to learn.”

“There’s just really high demand for what we offer,” he said.

Tyson attributes St. Marcus’s academic gains to having a clear vision for success, hiring “exceptional” staff, training them, and maintaining an economic model that allows it to offer resources often found in better-resourced suburban schools.

Successful schools, like St. Marcus, often rely on philanthropic dollars to supplement state and federal funding allocations, Tyson said. His school raises an additional 15% on top of its per-student voucher funding, with those dollars being directed to athletics, art, music, technology and physical education and to provide more coaching for teachers, which helps with retention, he said.

“In the voucher sector, for the schools that work, it’s the voucher plus something,” he said of the economic model.

“You take away that (additional) money and it unravels,” he added.

Many in the voucher and public charter sectors consider the funding disparity between their schools and Milwaukee Public Schools an inhibitor of growth. MPS receives $16,700 in state, local and federal funding per student, compared to public charter schools’ roughly $10,637 and private voucher schools’ $9,000.

The MMAC is among those lobbying state lawmakers to implement funding parity among the three school sectors while it encourages its corporate members to help fill in the gap by financially supporting good schools in the meantime.

Sector debate Debates related to the funding of charter and voucher schools versus Milwaukee Public Schools are longstanding, but they take on new urgency as the city’s K-12 educational landscape nears a tipping point.

Currently, just over half of the roughly 115,000 publicly funded students in the city attend a traditional MPS school (meaning it is governed by the school board and its teachers are employees of the district). The remainder have

opted for private schools where they receive publicly funded tuition vouchers, public charter schools governed by an independent entity, or a neighboring public school district outside the city limits. If trends hold, growing enrollment in charter and private schools and open enrollment outside the district could mean less than half of the city’s students are attending conventional MPS schools.

Since the 1990s, parents in the city deciding where to send their child to school have had more publicly funded educational options available to them than nearly any other U.S. city. And as long as those choices have been available, arguments have followed. Opponents of the proliferation of voucher and charter schools say those sectors drain resources from the public school system; supporters of school choice argue those options wouldn’t be necessary if not for the low performance of many MPS schools.

Meanwhile, some nonprofit and corporate players in the city have taken a more agnostic approach to improving the education scene, pledging to invest in good schools regardless of sector.

Last school year, roughly 36,000 Milwaukee students (36%) were in high-quality schools, defined as exceeding or significantly exceeding expectations on state report cards, according to DPI data processed by City Forward Collective. Meanwhile, 34% of students were in schools that meet expectations, and 30% were in schools that meet few or fail to meet expectations.

Tyson said he’s confident that donors in the community recognize the need for better schools and are willing to fund successful models, regardless of sector.

He points to schools like Milwaukee College Prep, a high-achieving charter network of K4-8 schools with nearly 2,000 students; St. Augustine Preparatory Academy, the private K4-12 school backed by Husco International chairman Gus Ramirez and his family which could eventually serve 2,400 students when it completes a planned $42 million expansion of its south side campus; and MPS’s Montessori and language immersion schools as bright spots in Milwaukee’s education scene.

At St. Marcus, the school’s long history and successful track record has helped retain loyal donors who are willing to help fund its daily operations in addition to larger projects, like its building expansions, said Tyson.

“There are a lot of people in southeastern Wisconsin who realize that southeastern Wisconsin can’t thrive until Milwaukee thrives, and Milwaukee can’t thrive until Milwaukee has great schools,” he said. “There are a lot of people who are willing to support private schools and public schools.”

But fund development requires an investment of time and money, and for many newer schools, courting new donors is perceived as

siphoning away resources from the day-to-day work of teaching kids.

Growth plans Hmong American Peace Academy, a public charter school authorized by MPS, has grown steadily from when it opened in 2004 with 200 students to now serving 1,800 students in grades K4-12.

This school year, it opened its new 99,000-square-foot high school building in the Lindsay Park neighborhood. HAPA has 400 high school students currently. With capacity for 900 students, the building offers the school room to grow.

HAPA, which serves a largely bilingual and low-income Hmong student population, has also grown thanks to family referrals. Prior to the new building opening, the school had to limit its new enrollments to K4 students because of space constraints across all grade levels, said Chris Her-Xiong, the school’s founder and chief executive officer.

“My board members would say, ‘Chris, I’ve been serving on the board five years and every year there’s an issue with space,’ and they finally said, ‘We have to build,’” Her-Xiong said.

Within the next five years, Her-Xiong hopes to build a new elementary school on the same property as its new $30 million high school and consolidate all students onto one campus. Currently, the elementary and middle school grades are split across two campuses, at 4601 N. 84th St. and 8202 W. Denver Ave. HAPA will move forward with expansion as financing allows. The recent high school project was financed via bond funding.

As part of the school’s strategic plan, HAPA recently added a chief academic officer to its leadership team, allowing Her-Xiong to shift her focus to fundraising. She said the school is making progress, but competition for philanthropic dollars is strong, especially as resources continue to be directed toward COVID-19 mitigation and recovery efforts.

“It’s a new area for us,” she said. “We’ve been focused on the growth and the expansion but not so much on fund development. … The gap is so great, so my job is to close that gap in terms of funding. It’s a new chapter for me.”

The school has consistently exceeded expectations, according to state report cards over the past five years, and it reports a 97% average attendance rate among its students, Her-Xiong said.

She attributes HAPA’s success in part to its investment in instructional coaching, allowing new teachers to get the help they need from the start.

“That has paid dividends in terms of our student achievement and in terms of the overall academic success of our school,” Her-Xiong said.

San Jose, California-based elementary charter school network Rocketship Public Schools entered

the Milwaukee market in 2011 with ambitious plans to open as many as eight sites and serve 4,000 children in the city. Current enrollment between the two campuses is around 700 and is expected to grow to roughly 1,000 in the next two years.

The network’s emphasis on parental involvement – including regular home visits, parent coffee meetings with principals and monthly community meetings – along with personalized instruction for students and an investment in professional development of its teachers are among the strategies that have helped school performance. Its Southside Community Prep campus exceeded expectations, according to 2019 and 2021 state report cards.

The school network is in the process of completing renovations to a former Catholic school building at 5501 N. 68th St., where it established its north side campus in 2019.

Funding is the single biggest barrier to the network’s expansion, said Brittany Kinser, executive director of Rocketship Wisconsin, which oversees the network’s Milwaukee schools.

The school network currently fundraises to sustain its operations, and it used financing to purchase and complete initial renovations on its new building. But Kinser said structural funding disparities, including low per-pupil funding and reimbursement rates to support students with special needs, prevent it from expanding beyond those two campuses.

“We won’t be able to grow until we get more money per kid,” she said.

Leaning on philanthropic dollars alone to make up the gap for schools across the city isn’t a sustainable solution, Kinser said.

“You have all these (charter) schools that are doing well … and private schools too, but … you have a limited number of funders,” Kinser said. “If everyone is asking those same foundations and organizations and people, there’s just a limited amount, and we’re all asking for that same bucket of funding.”

Tyson said he is often asked why his school doesn’t replicate its model and incubate more high-performing schools across the city. He says that would require structural changes to the way schools are funded.

Money isn’t a silver bullet, and it won’t by itself turn around a low-performing school, he acknowledged.

“But it would dramatically move the needle,” he said. “… Because when you adequately fund schools, more often than not you’ll get great results.”

Meanwhile, incremental growth among good schools in Milwaukee gives reasons to be hopeful, Tyson said.

“One way or another, we’ve figured out how to get (thousands of) students into really decent schools,” he said. “So, it depends which way you look at it – there’s reason to despair, and there are reasons to be incredibly optimistic.” n biztimes.com / 31

Special Report BUSINESS CARES: EDUCATION

All-In Milwaukee takes aim at Milwaukee’s college completion crisis

BY LAUREN ANDERSON, staff writer FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS, All-In Milwaukee has been working to address what it calls “the completion crisis”: Too few Milwaukee students are going on to earn their college degrees, precluding them from many good-paying jobs in the city.

The nonprofit’s goal is to see more high-achieving, low-income students complete college with minimal debt. Its strategy is to provide wraparound support from a student’s senior year of high school through their matriculation into the Milwaukee workforce.

Before the pandemic, 12% of Milwaukee’s high school graduates went on to receive a two- or fouryear degree within six years, according to data provided by All-In Milwaukee and certified by the University of Wisconsin-Madison SSTAR Lab. And that rate could drop further in coming years, as education leaders say COVID-related disruptions have disproportionately affected low-income and minority students’ enrollment and persistence through college.

Milwaukee’s pre-pandemic college completion rate mirrors national completion rates among low-income students. According to the Pell Institute, just 11% of students from the lowest-income quartile earn bachelor’s degrees within six years, compared to 58% of students in the highest-income quartile.

“We have a lot of work to do if we really want to increase the diverse future talent pipeline of our city. We have to get those same amazing students who excelled through high school through college,” said Allison Wagner, executive director of All-In Milwaukee.

All-In’s team works to address the roadblocks that stand in the way of students making the transitions from high school to college, from one semester to the next, and, ultimately, from the graduation stage to their first professional job.

So far, the program has seen promising results: 93% of the 200 college students it supports remain enrolled full-time at their university this spring, with 83% maintaining a 2.5 or higher GPA. All of its students come from limited-income families and all are students of color; 94% are the first generation in their family to attend college.

All-In Milwaukee is the first to replicate a model developed by Minneapolis-based Wallin Education Partners, which has provided support to help students in the Twin Cities complete college over the past 30 years. With more than 5,000 alumni, that program reports a 90% college completion rate, 80% regional retention rate and 40% no-debt graduation rate.

32 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 21, 2022

All-In Milwaukee students attend one of eight partnering colleges, with which the organization negotiates affordable tuition and housing packages. Partner institutions include the University of Wisconsin’s Milwaukee, Madison and Whitewater campuses; Marquette University, Carroll University; Alverno College; Milwaukee School of Engineering; and Wisconsin Lutheran College. The All-In scholarship works as a match grant, with the university contributing the balance of the nonprofit’s contribution. Ninety percent of All-In’s students currently do not have debt because of the reduced rates and scholarship money.

A $1 million lead gift from the family foundation of Darren Jackson, retired chief executive officer of Advance Auto Parts and a Marquette University alumnus, helped launch the program locally in 2018. Baird executives and its foundation were early supporters. Other corporate partners include Husco’s Ramirez family, Associated Bank, the Brewers Community Foundation, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, HellermannTyton, the Milwaukee Bucks, Northwestern Mutual, Weyco Foundation and others. Last year, the program expanded to serve students in Racine thanks to a gift from Fisk Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer of S.C. Johnson & Sons Inc. When its next class of high school seniors is selected in May, All-In expects to be serving 315 students in total. Spots are limited, Wagner said. Over three years, the program has received nearly 600 applications for the 200 current spots.

“We lose sleep at night because we know there are hundreds of students on our waitlist that we won’t be able to serve,” she said. “… There is a misconception in this town that some kids will be just fine. No one will be just fine, especially through the pandemic.”

Financial assistance is a key component of the program, but All-In leaders stress the importance of providing academic, social/emotional and career readiness support to first-gen college students as well.

“Equity is so much more than just money,” Wagner said.

Once a student is accepted into the program in the spring of their senior year of high school, All-In advisors begin working with them on the transition to college, helping them complete financial aid forms, sign up for housing and enroll in classes.

“Often times in high school counseling, it sort of stops after (students) get accepted and they decide where they’re going,” said Irving Ibarra, an All-In Milwaukee scholar advisor. “A lot of first-gen stu-

dents have to go through a lot of financial aid verification and paperwork they need to turn in, and we’re advocating for them to get the most amount of financial aid.”

Once students arrive on campus, All-In advisors help them tap into the support network available at their colleges, while also helping address the particular barriers that first-gen and low-income students often face, said program director Tiffany Tardy. That could look like helping a student cover the cost of a parking pass or streamlining the book-buying process through the university bookstore. For students who have less financial security, those small expenses and logistical hurdles could be the difference between staying in school or not.

“When there is a need, we have to act and we have to act fast because that’s how you retain students,” Tardy said.

Eibar Robledo, a Marquette University sophomore and graduate of University School of Milwaukee and Bruce-Guadalupe Middle School, said he often turns to his advisor, Ibarra, when making decisions.

“I’m always talking to Irving about how classes are going. If I need anything, like any meal plans or books or really anything, Irving is there to help me out,” Robledo said.

All-In students also often connect with one another on their campuses.

“We see our students living together. We see our students joining organizations and extracurriculars together. That’s all part of the value-add that we provide to these institutions, where not only are we helping to recruit and matriculate students, but we’re actually retaining them and making sure they feel a sense of belonging,” Wagner said.

All-In also helps students explore possible careers through aptitude assessments, personal advising and quarterly professional development sessions that focus on the basics of writing cover letters and resumes as well as navigating difficult conversations in the workplace and dealing with imposter syndrome, said Tardy.

“We really want them to be young, strong professionals of color in this community and then be an agent of change,” she said.

Baird leaders were quick to support All-In’s launch because of the success Wallin Education Partners has seen in Minnesota, said Mary Ellen Stanek, managing director and chief investment officer of Baird Advisors and president of Baird Funds.

“It was a proven model,” said Stanek, who sits on All-In’s board of directors and personally supports three students through the program.

Baird provided six paid internships for All-In students last year and plans to have as many as a dozen this summer. The wealth management company is one of 30 area companies that work with

An All-In Milwaukee cohort of students at UW-Madison.

All-In to provide internship opportunities.

Northwestern Mutual committed $1.6 million to All-In in 2020 to provide scholarships to more than 80 Milwaukee-area students through 2024.

By this summer, the life insurance company will have worked with 15 interns from the program.

Steve Radke, president of the Northwestern Mutual Foundation, said the low college comple-

tion rate for Milwaukee students moved the company to act.

“Simply put, we aim to change the trajectory for students in our hometown and boost our city’s diverse talent population, helping us contribute to the growth of Milwaukee,” Radke said.

In light of Milwaukee’s 12% college completion rate, Wagner said an investment in All-In is more than educational philanthropy. With an estimated 35% of jobs in the city requiring a college degree and over 60% requiring some post-secondary education, the credentialing mismatch threatens to thwart efforts by the region’s business community to increase diverse representation in its workforce and managerial ranks.

“We’re not just a charity. (Companies) are looking at us as a pipeline partner,” Wagner said.

“They’re investing in our students and our program but then providing them opportunities for internships, they’re providing them career mentors, and soon they’ll be hiring them.”

In a tight labor market, internships are a major part of Baird’s recruitment strategy. Last year, the firm had nearly 200 interns in total, and its longterm goal is to convert 40% of its interns into fulltime hires.

“We’ve continued to increase our commitment to the internship program and increase the number of available internships with the whole philosophy that we’re going to help build our own pipeline,” Stanek said.

Wagner said it’s imperative that Milwaukee companies look locally for diverse talent.

“Utilize your HR dollars, your DEI dollars, your internship dollars,” she said. “It is so expensive to recruit diverse talent to Milwaukee. We have this whole pool of students in our own backyard. That’s who we should invest in. We have to rethink how we allocate those funds.”

Robledo completed an internship last summer with Core Creative, an advertising and branding agency in Walker’s Point, and this summer will intern with Baird in its public relations department.

He is discerning where he wants to land in the industry after graduation, whether that be agency work or a more corporate setting. Either way, he sees himself staying in Milwaukee.

“I feel like there’s still work to do here in Milwaukee, both for me as an individual and overall, socially, and what I want to contribute to this city,” he said. n

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*Vistage CEO member companies who joined in 2006-2008 and were active members in Feb, 2010. CAGR for Vistage member companies calculated for period covering year prior to joining Vistage through 2009. CAGR for D&B U.S. companies based on 2005-2009 revenues, weighted to match Vistage company distribution per year during same period. All companies had >=$1M annual revenue, >=5 employees.

Vistage: 1,265 companies. D&B: approximately 1M U.S. companies.

Special Report BUSINESS CARES: EDUCATION

What are the greatest strengths of your education sector, and why should businesses support it?

MILWAUKEE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Wendell Willis Executive director MPS Foundation “MPS is Milwaukee. There is not one other institution you can look to that represents our city more authentically. MPS educates 70,000+ students who come from every background you can imagine.

Students deserve no less than the best we have to offer when it comes to investing in their future.

Eighty-two percent of MPS students are economically disadvantaged, 20% are enrolled in special education, 15% speak English as their second lanPUBLIC CHARTER

Anthony McHenry Chief executive officer Milwaukee Academy of Science “Public charter schools are a critical part of Milwaukee’s education ecosystem. Unique attributes of the charter school model unlock important opportunities to successfully serve students.

“Here are three of the most significant ways charters are unique: 1. Public charter schools have autonomy and flexibility to respond to the changing needs and interests of students and families – without bureaucratic systems that can stall progress.

2. Public charter schools may incentivize high-performing teachers and hold others PRIVATE CHOICE

Vanessa Solis President Nativity Jesuit Academy “As an eighth grader growing up in Chicago’s Little Village (La Villita) neighborhood, I learned through personal experience a civics lesson that I never forgot. After grade school, my dream was to continue my education at a Catholic high school. The school’s faith component and academic rigor was the best fit for my family, but as I began to navigate the admissions process, I realized that this dream was out of reach. My family could not afford my school of choice.

“Thankfully, Milwaukee students and their families have a different narrative than I ex34 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 21, 2022

guage, and 89% identify as Black, Indigenous and people of color. In recent years, MPS graduates have gone on to work for NASA, serve as elected officials, play for the NBA and NFL, star in movies and film, and even become one of America’s most famous businessmen.

“Milwaukee business community, take note: This is the immediate and long-term solution for your workforce challenges.

“As executive director of the MPS Foundation, an MPS alum and a father of three MPS kids (two MPS graduates), I am intimately aware of the equity challenges facing our district – staff shortages, infrastructure issues, funding constraints, and most importantly, the compounding effects of systemic trauma due to poverty. Yet, in the

face of those issues, we are tasked with educating and supporting, to the best of our ability, every student that comes through our doors. MPS does not have the ability, or the desire, to turn away students based on X, Y or Z criteria.

“The business leaders we work with acknowledge that many challenges we face as a district are rooted in larger, systemic problems faced by our city, but are willing to roll up their sleeves to ensure the equity our students deserve.

“Is MPS perfect? No. Can it be? It can certainly get close, if every business and community leader joins in the work as others have. Then we can truly drive the economic engine of Wisconsin to deliver a region and state that is thriving for all.”

accountable for unsatisfactory performance – both of which are difficult in traditional school districts. And unlike private schools, charter teachers are legally required to be licensed by the state.

3. Public charter schools are the most accountable type of publicly funded school.

“Like many public charter schools locally and nationally, Milwaukee Academy of Science was created in response to the challenges encountered by traditional school districts in serving vulnerable populations, particularly in urban communities.

Today, MAS is the largest single-site charter in the state, serving a population that is 96% economically disadvantaged, including a significant and increasing number of homeless students. We couldn’t do what we do without the unique advantages explained above.

“The flexibility offered to charters allows MAS

to do things like create, within a single year, engaging partnerships aimed at high-demand careers with some of our area’s largest employers, like Milwaukee Tool and Northwestern Mutual.

“Increasingly, corporate leaders are seeking a diverse and skilled labor force, and a vibrant and safe city for their employees. To meet these goals, corporations should prioritize supporting and partnering with schools – of any sector – which are high-performing, tuition-free and accept all students. State data show the schools which most often fit that definition are charter schools, especially when considering outcomes for low-income students.

“Bottom line: supporting charter schools means more children in Milwaukee, particularly children of color from low-income households, will have improved life outcomes because their schools have the ability to give them hope, opportunity and a brighter future.”

perienced. Milwaukee’s education landscape is strengthened because of its distinct sectors – private choice, charter and public schools. Each family deserves a choice, regardless of income, when it comes to something as important as educating their children.

“Nativity is in the heart of the Latino community on the south side of Milwaukee. Currently, 100% of Nativity students are Latino and 99% identify as Catholic, so having a school which celebrates these aspects of their identity is highly valued by parents. As a private school, we have the flexibility to provide a unique educational model that is different from a typical K-8 school and is tailored to the needs of our students and their families. Coupled with a safe learning environment and strong parent engagement, Nativity has developed a reputation for academic excellence. As

evidence of our students’ academic success, Nativity’s eighth graders consistently score on-par with their peers from neighboring suburban districts including Wauwatosa and Shorewood.”

“By shaping exceptional educational opportunities for Milwaukee children, the business community can strengthen the workforce and leaders of the future. Nativity’s mission is to educate our students for lives of Christian leadership and service. As emerging leaders in Milwaukee, we consistently see our alumni building careers in our city, pursuing advanced degrees and reaching back to the neighborhood that raised them.

This critical formation cannot wait; instead, it needs to begin in K-8 education. The daily work of high-quality schools will lead to the habits and talents our city needs to thrive in the years ahead.” n

These responses have been edited for length. Read their full Viewpoints at biztimes.com/highqualityseats.

JULIE NIZNANSKY VICE PRESIDENT, PRIVATE BANKER

ASSOCIATED BANK

in wealth management

Julie Niznansky, vice president and private banker at Associated Bank in Milwaukee, works to help her high net-worth clients reach their goals through financial planning, custom lending solutions and estate and legacy planning.

BizTimes Milwaukee presents its inaugural showcase of Rising Stars in Wealth Management showcasing young, talented

In 2019, Niznansky was ranked the No. 2 private banker at Associated for achieving 131% of her goal and earned a spot in the bank’s President’s Club. She subsequently ranked No. 6 in 2020 and No. 3 in 2021.

professionals in southeastern

Wisconsin

providing

ethical, honest and pro-

“I’m continually impressed by Julie’s drive and enthusiasm to build relationships with her clients,” said John Utz, executive vice president, head of corporate banking and Milwaukee market president for Associated Bank. “She focuses on their needs and adds tremendous value. I am repeatedly told of their appreciation for her.”

ductive financial management and financial planning advice to their customers.

Niznansky also devotes time to various nonprofit organizations, including Make-A-Wish Wisconsin. She became the first young professional sought out to join the executive board.

METHODOLOGY: The honorees do not pay to be included.

Their profiles are drawn from nomination materials. This list features only individuals for whom nominations were submitted and accepted after a review by our editorial team. To qualify for the list, nominees must be based in southeastern Wisconsin and be serving in a wealth management position with their firm.

She is an active member of Associated’s Women’s Network colleague resource group and actively encourages colleagues to support Make-A-Wish.

CONGRATULATIONS, JULIE NIZNANSKY! All of us at Associated Bank would like to congratulate Julie Niznansky, who’s been named to the BizTimes 2022 Rising Stars in Wealth Management.

Julie prides herself in delivering concierge-style banking services to her highnet-worth clients. She proactively helps them reach their goals through financial planning, custom lending solutions, and estate and legacy planning. Her clients have recognized her for providing “white-glove service” and “going above and beyond.”

Julie Niznansky Vice President, Private Banker 815 N. Water Street | Milwaukee, WI 53202 414-347-2042 Julie.Niznansky@AssociatedBank.com

Member FDIC. (1/22) P05706

biztimes.com / 35

in wealth management BERENT KOWARICK

BRIAN KLEIST

CASEY BERRALL

VICE PRESIDENT, BANKER

PRINCIPAL

PARTNER AND FINANCIAL ADVISOR

CLIFTONLARSONALLEN WEALTH ADVISORS LLC

J.P. MORGAN PRIVATE BANK Berent Kowarick is a vice president and banker with J.P. Morgan Private Bank in Milwaukee. In this role, Kowarick and his team focus on advising high net-worth clients and their families on wealth planning, investing, lending and banking. He oversees $250 million in assets and has helped grow the business by increasing revenues 11% over the past year.

“Berent has worked hard and built a strong network as an advisor in southeastern Wisconsin,” said Andy Keller, executive director and market manager for J.P. Morgan. “He’s shown a strong desire to serve clients and help them succeed in achieving their goals.

Berent also understands that it’s imperative to be passionate about giving back to the communities that help him grow. I’m excited to watch Berent continue to grow as a leader in Wisconsin.”

Kowarick also has been involved in several nonprofit organizations, including Young Professionals for the American Cancer Society, Hunger Task Force, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee and the Riverwest Food Pantry.

Brian Kleist, principal at CliftonLarsonAllen Wealth Advisors LLC in Wauwatosa, works to understand each client’s personal goals, according to colleagues.

“Clients receive thoughtful feedback on how to accomplish their goals by reducing costs, taxes and risk while still fostering investment growth. Brian understands the importance of collaboration with clients, wealth advisory team members and other advisors across CLA,” according to Karin Gale, principal at CLA. “As part of the leadership team charged with growth across Wisconsin and Minnesota, Brian moves the CLA team to new levels of service.”

Casey Anderson, managing principal of wealth advisory with CLA, agrees.

“Brian’s collaborative style has allowed him to grow CLA’s wealth advisory practice in southeast Wisconsin,” Anderson said.

Outside of the office, Kleist worked with other young Milwaukee-area professionals to launch Young Wishmakers of Wisconsin to promote Make-A-Wish and raise awareness and funds to support wishes for children.

BKM WEALTH MANAGEMENT Casey Berrall, partner and financial advisor at Brookfield-based BKM Wealth Management, has spent the past 19 years working with clients to achieve their long-term financial goals. Berrall focuses on helping implement comprehensive strategies for retirement and income planning, portfolio construction, investment selection, wealth preservation and corporate retirement plans.

“Over the last 12 years, Casey has become a trusted advisor to my family and my business,” said client Art Flater, owner of Central Office Systems. “When I have a crazy investing idea, like ‘mirror Fortune 1000 insider stock purchases,’ Casey showed me that that was a historically unsuccessful strategy of some investment firms.”

“His planning process has given me confidence that I am on track to reach my goals, while his service and execution of the plan has given me more time to focus on my business and my family. Casey is exactly what a financial advisor should be,” Flater said.

Berrall is a member of the National Association of Plan Advisors and the Financial Services Institute.

Congratulations to Banker Berent Kowarick on being named to BizTimes Milwaukee’s inaugural Rising Stars in Wealth Management list CONNECT WITH BERENT AND LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR TEAM IN MILWAUKEE

Berent Kowarick Vice President, Banker milwaukee.privatebank@jpmorgan.com https://privatebank.jpmorgan.com/milwaukee PLAN INVEST BORROW BANK

36 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 21, 2022

PJ COX

ROBERT SCHNEIDER

LUKE KASTEN

INVESTMENT ANALYST

DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL PLANNING

VICE PRESIDENT, PNC PRIVATE BANK SENIOR ADVISOR

OPEROSE ADVISORS LLC PJ Cox joined Milwaukee-based Operose Advisors in 2021 as an investment analyst after graduating from Marquette University with a double major in finance and accounting. While at Marquette, Cox managed a portion of the university’s endowment as a student analyst in the Applied Investment Management program.

At Operose Advisors, Cox is responsible for leading the firm’s internal research process, which includes identifying alternative asset investment opportunities, investment manager due diligence, asset allocation modeling, trading and performance reporting. In addition, he is a member of the firm’s investment committee.

“PJ has been a fantastic contributor to Operose from day one,” said Skip McGregor, managing director. “For a young person, he has a tremendous understanding of time management, which I am sure was cultivated during his time at Marquette managing being a Division I athlete (Cox played on the Golden Eagles men’s lacrosse team) and rigorous course load.”

Cox is also a level II candidate for CFA Institute’s Chartered Financial Analyst program.

JOHNSON WEALTH INC. Last year, Robert Schneider was asked to lead Racine-based Johnson Financial Group’s efforts to focus on customized client advice.

“While Bob had the authority to dictate the change in how our advisers behaved, he knew that clients would only benefit from a culture where we could also impact and influence what advisers believed,” said Joe Maier, senior vice president and director of wealth strategies for Johnson Financial Group.

“Bob did that through seeking first to understand and then be understood. It has been an inefficient process, but it has also been an effective one,” added Maier. “He defines what it means to be a leader. Leadership, at the end of the day, is about influence.

Bob found a way to grow his influence from his clients to all of our clients.”

Schneider has also volunteered as a money coach with Milwaukee-based SecureFutures, which works to empower teens through financial literacy. He also is a member of the Milwaukee Estate Planning Forum and the Financial Planning Association of Wisconsin.

Congratulations to PJ Cox for being selected as one of the BizTimes Rising Stars in Wealth Management!

What’s your

PNC FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP INC. As a senior banking advisor for PNC Private Bank in Milwaukee, Luke Kasten assists high-net-worth clients with complicated lending, business exit strategy and multi-generation legacy-building needs.

As one of the youngest team advisors in Wisconsin, his expertise in short-term credit, cash management and wealth management has helped bring in tens of millions of dollars in deposits and investments in the past 18 months, according to Lori Craig, senior vice president and market leader for PNC Private Bank.

“Luke’s ability to think outside the box has helped the team create thoughtful client solutions, particularly when the pandemic evolved the way PNC delivers a hybrid approach to customer service,” Craig said.

Kasten has earned multiple PNC recognitions, including the recent PNC AMG PEAK award, which recognizes employee performance.

Since 2016, Kasten has served on the board of Pearls for Teen Girls, a local nonprofit that works to empower young women in underserved neighborhoods. Since 2018, he has also devoted time to coaching youth baseball and basketball in Germantown and Wauwatosa.

w hy?

PJ COX

Investment Analyst I W A N T T O K N O W T H AT I H AV E A PROVEN PROFESSIONAL ON MY SIDE. In Milwaukee, that’s Luke Kasten.

(414) 209-3280 | operoseadvisors.com 735 N. Water Street, Suite 1440 | Milwaukee, WI 53202 Operose Advisors LLC is a Wisconsin-based investment adviser working in partnership with independent investment consulting firm, Marquette Associates, Inc. Our purpose is to deliver an institutional approach to individuals, families, trusts and closely held businesses with planning, execution, and feedback of investment programs. For more information, please visit operoseadvisors.com.

Congratulations, Luke, on being named one of BizTimes Media's 2022 Rising Stars in Wealth Management.

“PNC Private Bank” is a service mark of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. Investments: Not FDIC Insured. No Bank Guarantee. May Lose Value. ©2022 The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

PNC Bank, National Association. Member FDIC INV PB PDF 0122-0118-1988401

biztimes.com / 37

Strategies FAMILY BUSINESS

Hollywood’s take on the family business

YOU KNOW YOU HAVE ARRIVED when others start to mimic you … or so the saying goes. Perhaps family businesses would have preferred to fly under the radar to never be discovered, if Hollywood’s take is any indication.

I must admit I do enjoy the newest family business shows, “Yellowstone” and “Succession,” in spite of the portrayals. But come on, Hollywood, really?

Skin branding, murder and family corporate takeovers?

Perhaps I took it even more personally when my eldest over Christmas pointed out that Yellowstone reminded him a lot of me and my take on family and business.

Really? Really? I think we need some family counseling.

For the uninitiated, Yellowstone takes place on the Dutton Ranch. The patriarch is Kevin Costner, who portrays the father, John. The ranch is being attacked externally by the government, other ranchers and big business looking to develop the pristine wilderness, not to mention the Native Americans looking to recapture the land that the Dutton Ranch currently occupies. Internally, the family is under siege from an adoptive son, a randy daughter and the memory of an eldest son and a wife taken too soon. And if you work for the family business and want to leave, don’t let them take you to the train, as the bodies are stacked up like cord wood on the border leading to the depot. To jump into this menagerie requires a brand. Son, remind 38 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 21, 2022

me again how this reminds you of our family?

Succession is another show portraying a heavy-handed father and the Roy family. The family business is largely newspapers, but is diversified into travel and tourism, among other areas. Skin is saved in this show for sexual debauchery rather than tattoos, and I find myself wondering how a father as feared and ruthless ended up with kids that are so afraid and yet loyal to the end. Even the white-knight son looking to wrest the business away from the patriarch (played by Brain Cox) is devastated by the father having a heart attack right in the middle of tough negotiations. The daughter, named Shiv (isn’t that something you stick in someone’s back?), and youngest son equally loathe their father and love him all in the same breath, proving that blood is thicker than … well, money, power, you name it.

As smitten as I am with both these shows, I am also saddened that this is what Hollywood thinks of the family business. True, family businesses can be dysfunctional, and I frequently write in this column about the challenges associated with keeping family businesses together. It is also true that many times family businesses do not end well, with father/founders being fired from their own companies, holiday gatherings being ruined by family corporate feuds, and children being alienated by a parent too condescending to turn over the keys.

But I have also seen many family businesses succeed for generations to rival dynasties. Further, I have seen the customer reward those businesses handsomely, as statistics and surveys show we prefer a family business over any other kind.

So, why is this the narrative being painted?

My answer is that Hollywood hates capitalism, and the family business is the bedrock of that system. Going after an evil conglomerate does not have the cache of going after the family unit. Targeting the nebulous corporate board of directors is not nearly as personal as going after the father or mother head of household. I do believe Hollywood has an agenda, and that narrative is being played out on the grand political screen. If they can chink the armor of the family business, they can make inroads into less wholesome business ventures.

The good news is that the conspiracy theorist in

me has been around long enough to know this does not always work. Growing up with shows like Dynasty and Falcon Crest, I have seen this anti-family business bias portrayed before. It hits a fever-pitch with who shot J.R., followed by a tussle between the Carrington wives, and then the series is pulled.

Perhaps the family business owners among us should be honored by the recognition. To emulate is the sincerest form of flattery. It may even be possible these television portrayals encourage families to go into business together despite the abhorrent way they are being portrayed.

Who among us can say they aren’t a bit enamored with being mobbed up like the Sopranos? We know how it’s going to end – Tony, don’t sit there – even if it is a big bang followed by silence. We still watch train wrecks and car chases knowing full well they often end badly.

The good news is the family business is still worth it, for the legacy it leaves and the financial stability it promotes both inside the family and out.

Now, son, where would you like my initials tattooed? Can’t wait for Father’s Day. n

DR. DAVID BORST Dr. David Borst is executive director and chief operating officer of Family Business Leadership Partners, a regional resource hub for family business. He can be reached at David.borst@cuw.edu.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Three generations of sundaes ON THE TASTIEST CORNER in Scottsdale’s Old Town neighborhood is Sugar Bowl, an ice cream parlor and restaurant with strong ties to Wisconsin.

For three generations, the Huntress family, originally of Whitefish Bay, has served cool treats to thousands of seasonal visitors and residents of Scottsdale, Arizona.

In 1958, Jack Huntress started this business.

Then, his nephew Carroll, who also grew up in the Bay and eventually went to Arizona State University, bought the business in 1985.

This past year, Sugar Bowl ownership transitioned to the third generation when Carroll’s son Bob took over and now runs the business.

When you enter the restaurant, you are greeted by a classically uniformed waitress and are immediately transported back into the 1950s with the pink and white décor and the shiny aluminum stools covered in pink vinyl at the fountain counter. Ice cream sodas and sundaes of every variety are served along with burgers, sandwiches and other treats. There is an adjacent game room, where the younger generation shoots baskets and indulges in other fun classic arcade games while enjoying a cone of their favorite flavor of ice cream.

Each year when my wife and I winter in Scottsdale, our daughter, nieces, nephews and friends insist we make our annual visit to Sugar Bowl. During the season, the snowbirds flock to Scottsdale from their northern residences and can be found sitting patiently on benches outside the doors waiting to be ushered into a table or stool.

This icy oasis in the Sonoran Desert was discovered by the award-winning cartoonist Bill Keane, who lived in nearby Paradise Valley, and he featured Sugar Bowl in his cartoon series, The Family Circus. Many of his original cartoons are

mounted on the walls at the checkout counter.

There are other connections to Wisconsin.

Carroll Huntress enjoyed curling while living in Wisconsin and took that love with him to Arizona. He started curling with his parents at Riverside Park in Shorewood at age 10. He is in a local Arizona club that formed after the 2002 Winter Olympics and now has 125 members, many of whom are from Canada.

So, how did Sugar Bowl maintain its position as a destination in Old Town for sweet treats even though there is a national competitor across the street? Service and quality set them apart from the competition. From my visits and observation, quality, service and consistency drive the business. When you sit by the old-style soda fountain and watch them build a sundae or a banana split, you are transported back into the 1950s. Each tasty delicacy is assembled with care, from the nuts, sprinkles and fresh whipped cream, which is spooned onto the sundae and topped with a cherry. As soon as it is served, you can’t wait to dig your spoon in and enjoy the journey.

So, when you tire of the snow, cold and shoveling your driveway, come to Scottsdale and join us for a cool treat with ties to Wisconsin. n

CARY SILVERSTEIN Cary Silverstein, MBA, is a speaker, author and consultant, a former executive for Gimbel’s Midwest and JH Collectibles, and a former professor for DeVry University’s Keller Graduate School. He can be reached at csilve1013@aol.com. biztimes.com / 39

Strategies A BRIEF CASE

When did you know it was time to return to the family business?

Louie Gentine Chief executive officer Sargento Foods Inc. Third generation “Around my sophomore year of college, I saw the impact that my family was having in Sheboygan County. I saw what we were providing for our employees and how that in turn helps strengthen our community. My grandfather’s Stakeholder Philosophy of sharing our success with those who contribute to that success is really what helped make my decision to return. And it truly was my decision because my parents always encouraged my siblings and I to pursue whatever would make us happy.

“I worked in the banking industry before I decided to return to Sargento 22 years ago. When I came back, I immersed myself in every aspect of the business, from production and procurement to sales and marketing. As a teenager in high school, I washed our big semi-trucks, but this time I really wanted to understand how my father and uncles carried on my grandfather’s legacy. It all comes from wanting to create long-term stakeholder value – making peoples’ lives better with the work that we do. How we measure success is if our employees, customers and communities are winning together.

“Being part of the third generation comes with a great sense of responsibility. I constantly think about the impact our decisions have on our 2,000plus employees and our community. I’m grateful for what we have at Sargento because it’s very special. My hope is that everyone – including myself – shows up every day in a way that’s consistent with our culture and my grandfather’s philosophy.”

40 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 21, 2022

Leah Steger

Stacey Walthers Naffah

Vice president Winkie’s Hallmark & Gifts Third generation

President Wm. K. Walthers Inc. Fourth generation

“Growing up in a family business that was initially led by my grandparents and then by my parents and aunt and uncle, I had a good sense of what it took to be a small business owner. One thing that I always admired was the harder you work, the more you are rewarded. The payout is essentially in your hands based on your personal ambition.

“Upon college graduation and later completion of my MBA, I achieved a steady climb in the corporate world at two locally based international companies. But in May of 2020, during the height of COVID-19 uncertainties, my position as the director of marketing was suddenly and unexpectedly eliminated. I was devastated to mourn a career that I had put so much passion into, but I quickly knew that something truly beautiful was about to unfold.

“As I began interviewing with new companies, I also helped my parents reopen their doors after being shut down for seven weeks due to state mandate. Something sparked again in my heart, and it did not take long for me to realize that I was being called back to the family business.

“I love the fun and flexibility in trying new things for our business. I love that it never feels like ‘work,’ rather a dream that my family is fulfilling together. But more than anything, I feel so proud to carry on this legacy and am touched every day by our amazing and loyal customers.”

“Walthers celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2007, and the company hosted a celebratory dinner in late 2006. I was working in Chicago at the time and had two very young children. My husband and I were contemplating our lives – how to be good parents and professionals, whether to move to the suburbs or stay in the city and how to balance it all.

“At that dinner, my grandfather was featured in a video in which he shared: ‘One of the greatest joys of my life was working with both my father and my son.’ This struck me in a very powerful way, one that I noted and filed away. He passed away not long after, which made me think seriously about my own involvement.

“The following summer, I visited the Illinois Railway Museum with my ‘train-crazy’ fouryear-old son. It was there where I saw a true opportunity for my passions, skills and my family business to intersect. I saw a neat opportunity to work with my dad and introduce our great hobby to the next generation of kids and families.

“That spark compelled us to move to Milwaukee in 2009 and continues to get me excited to come to work. I can confidently say that the opportunity to work closely with my dad has truly been, and continues to be, one of the greatest joys of my life. This year, Walthers will celebrate 90 years in business, and I am so proud to be part of that great legacy.” n

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BizConnections BIZ PEOPLE

Advertising Section: New Hires, Promotions, Accolades and Board Appointments

ARCHITECTURE

BANKING

BANKING

BANKING

HGA has hired Terri Howard as Associate Vice President and inaugural Director of Equity. In this newly created executive role, Howard will serve as a thought leader to drive equity initiatives, develop hands-on programming, organize firmwide resources, and build external partnerships that position the firm as an industry model in workplace equity, recruitment and retention, and client relations. “The Director of Equity position is an important opportunity to further champion our strategic plan focused on three pillars of research, equity, and collaboration,” said Tim Carl, CEO of HGA.

Marquita Hicks was promoted to vice president and relationship manager for PNC Community Development Banking in Wisconsin. Based in Milwaukee, she will support community and economic development efforts through loans, investments and educational programs in underserved neighborhoods in the region.

Hicks has more than 12 years of banking experience, including financial wealth management, business credit, credit analysis and business development. Most recently, she served as a PNC Business Banking relationship manager, assisting clients and businesses in the greater Milwaukee area.

Allen J. Prochnow, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Concordia University Wisconsin, has been elected to the Board of Directors of The Equitable Bank S.S.B. and its affiliates effective February 1, 2022. Mr. Prochnow brings 50 years of business experience to the role including the last 20 years of overseeing the operations at Concordia. Prior to Concordia, he spent 20 years in the manufacturing industry, overseeing 5 divisions at Stevens International/ Zerand Corporation, located in New Berlin, Wisconsin.

RETAILING & RESTAURANTS

LEGAL SERVICES

LEGAL SERVICES

LEGAL SERVICES

BAYSHORE is pleased to announce that Mary L. Mokwa has been appointed as its new senior general manager.

She will lead and provide oversight of day-to-day operations of the property, including asset management, leasing, security, operations, marketing, and customer and tenant relations for both BAYSHORE and the newly renovated BAYSHORE Place apartments.

Mokwa earned a B.A. in Business Management from the University of Wisconsin with an emphasis in accounting. She achieved designation as a Certified Property Manager (IREM), is a Licensed Wisconsin Real Estate Broker and former Board Treasurer of the Greendale Chamber of Commerce.

42 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 21, 2022

Ken Flitz Joins Lauber Business Partners, Inc. as a Relationship Manager

Mark Wiesman and Julie Tolan, the owners of Lauber Business Partners, announced today that Ken Flitz, Relationship Manager, has joined Lauber.

Ken comes to Lauber with over 15 years of sales and business development experience in the Human Resources and Staffing industries. He will be responsible for relationship management in the greater Milwaukee area, Fox Valley, and Madison. Ken graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater in 1996 with a Bachelor of Business Administration.

Samantha J. Emro joins von Briesen & Roper, s.c.

Samantha J. Emro is an Associate in the Neenah office. Emro focuses her practice on mergers and acquisitions, real estate and corporate matters. Prior to joining von Briesen, Emro worked as an associate commercial appraiser.

LEGAL SERVICES

Sarah L. Laughlin joins von Briesen & Roper, s.c.

Sarah Laughlin is an Associate in the Milwaukee office.

Laughlin focuses her practice on structuring and documenting commercial finance transactions, loan workouts, and restructurings.

The Equitable Bank is pleased to announce that John Udvare has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer.

Mr. Udvare joined The Equitable Bank in November of 2021. He has over 36 years of banking experience and previously served as President and Chief Financial Officer of Sunset Bank and Savings.

Mr. Udvare has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Cardinal Stritch University, a Master’s Degree in Financial Institution Management and Finance from Boston University and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in Wisconsin.

Alexander R. Karana is an Associate and focuses his practice on intellectual property law. Prior to joining von Briesen, Karana worked for a blockchain development firm where he focused on licensing and agreements in the carbon credit markets.

LEGAL SERVICES Anthony S. Wachewicz is a Shareholder with significant experience as a leader and governmental attorney in northeast Wisconsin.

He focuses his practice on government law matters, including municipalities and schools, as well as labor, employment, and health law

BIZ PEOPLE

Advertising Section: New Hires, Promotions, Accolades and Board Appointments

FINANCIAL SERVICES

FINANCIAL SERVICES

FINANCIAL SERVICES

TOURISM

Marit Harm joins the firm as Fund Administrator & Marketing Manager.

Harm’s responsibilities will include overseeing office operations, firm marketing and events, and investor relations.

Previously, Harm spent six years at TEMPO in various roles.

Operose Advisors names Caroline Jankowski Partner

Chortek Promotes Eric Neuman to Principal

Operose Advisors is pleased to announce Caroline Jankowski has become Partner. Jankowski serves as the Chief Compliance Officer and is also responsible for overseeing the day-to-day business management of the firm.

Chortek named Eric Neuman Principal. He will be responsible for managing the operations of the Assurance & Accounting department and an active participant in determining the strategic direction of both the department and the firm.

ARCHITECTURE

LEGAL SERVICES

Dan Michaud joins HGA as Associate Vice President and Principal and will lead the Building Technologies department based in Milwaukee. He will build client connections nationally to implement a range of digital solutions for the built environment.

NONPROFIT

Scott T. Reigle was named a Shareholder of Meissner Tierney Fisher & Nichols S.C.

Meissner Tierney Fisher & Nichols S.C. is pleased to announce that Scott T. Reigle was named a shareholder of the firm on January 1, 2022.

PEAK Initiative names new Executive Director

Miranda Allison joins VISIT Milwaukee as digital marketing manager

Miranda Allison joined VISIT Milwaukee as its digital marketing manager. Allison is responsible for the management of VISIT Milwaukee’s website, paid social media efforts, and email marketing. She has previous digital marketing experience.

To place your listing, or for more information, please visit biztimes.com/bizconnect

A new chapter for the Kellogg PEAK Initiative begins under new Executive Director, Demetria Smith. PEAK is excited for her extraordinary vision after five devoted years of inspiring Milwaukee youth as PEAK’s Senior Director of Programs.

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BizConnections VOLUME 27, NUMBER 17 | FEB 21, 2022

GLANCE AT YESTERYEAR

126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120 PHONE: 414-277-8181 FAX: 414-277-8191 WEBSITE: www.biztimes.com CIRCULATION: 414-336-7100 | circulation@biztimes.com ADVERTISING: 414-336-7112 | advertising@biztimes.com EDITORIAL: 414-336-7120 | andrew.weiland@biztimes.com REPRINTS: 414-336-7100 | reprints@biztimes.com

PUBLISHER / OWNER Dan Meyer dan.meyer@biztimes.com

SALES & MARKETING

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Mary Ernst mary.ernst@biztimes.com COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT / OWNER Kate Meyer kate.meyer@biztimes.com

EDITORIAL EDITOR Andrew Weiland andrew.weiland@biztimes.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Lauren Anderson lauren.anderson@biztimes.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Arthur Thomas arthur.thomas@biztimes.com REPORTER Maredithe Meyer maredithe.meyer@biztimes.com REPORTER Ashley Smart ashley.smart@biztimes.com

A new use after 130 years

USPS vehicle work would benefit state DEMOCRATS WERE QUICK to criticize Sen. Ron Johnson recently when he said he would not try to persuade Oshkosh Corp. to build vehicles for the U.S. Postal Service in Oshkosh.

The company plans to build them in South Carolina and will create more than 1,000 jobs there for the $482 million contract.

If it’s more efficient for the company to spend the federal dollars for the project in another state, Johnson said, he didn’t have a problem with it. He also said Wisconsin has enough jobs, and the biggest problem in the state is not a lack of jobs but employers here not being able to find enough workers.

He may have a point.

Wisconsin’s unemployment rate is at a record low (2.8%), the number of job openings is near a record high, manufacturing employment has fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels, and employers, in and out of the manufacturing sec44 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 21, 2022

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Paddy Kieckhefer paddy.kieckhefer@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Christie Ubl christie.ubl@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Dylan Dobson dylan.dobson@biztimes.com SALES ADMIN Gracie Schneble gracie.schneble@biztimes.com

ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR Sue Herzog sue.herzog@biztimes.com

PRODUCTION & DESIGN GRAPHIC DESIGNER Alex Schneider alex.schneider@biztimes.com ART DIRECTOR Shelly Tabor shelly.tabor@biztimes.com

This drawing shows the Lindsay Brothers building at what is now 126 S. Second St. near Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood. The cream city brick building was built in 1892 for Lindsay Brothers Agricultural Implements. BK Development, an affiliate of Icon Capital and Vanguard Development, recently submitted plans to the city to transform the building into 118 apartment units along with 64 units at the adjacent Walsh building.

COMMENTARY

DIRECTOR OF SALES Linda Crawford linda.crawford@biztimes.com

tor, regularly bemoan the challenges of hiring.

So, on the list of things Wisconsin needs, 1,000+ jobs building the next generation of USPS delivery trucks is not exactly high. Some engineering work will be done in Wisconsin, so the state hasn’t completely lost out on the benefits of the contract.

Of course, some of the debate over where the trucks should be made is about politics.

Typically, politicians want to bring projects to their home state. It gives them something to point to as a benefit of electing them.

Let’s set the politics aside for a second.

Should we want 1,000+ jobs brought to the state in an already tight labor market with demographic and population trends suggesting hiring won’t get any easier?

The answer is yes, absolutely.

In addition to the jobs benefit, the USPS project would add to Oshkosh Corp.’s significant supply chain in the state, and that’s a huge economic benefit. It would mean more business, and more jobs, at other Wisconsin companies.

Here’s another reason to want to attract more jobs: Almost every state is dealing with tight labor markets. It is a problem that economic development projects everywhere face.

Independent & Locally Owned — Founded 1995 —

Solving it requires attracting more people to the state, which is a major challenge borne out by the state’s slow population growth. As much as we may love the chance to experience all four seasons, not everyone does and so we’re at a disadvantage to sunnier, warmer locations.

Having more economic opportunity is one way to overcome that.

Finally, we should consider that some percentage of these vehicles will be EVs. Take a look at the valuations of Tesla or Rivian (even after recent dips) or see the attention major automakers are paying to EVs and it is clear the industry is moving in that direction. We may not be Michigan when it comes to auto manufacturing, but to the extent we do supply the industry, we need to evolve to meet the future of the industry.

So yes, we should want Oshkosh to build USPS trucks in Wisconsin. n

ARTHUR THOMAS ASSOCIATE EDITOR

P / 414-336-7123 E / arthur.thomas@biztimes.com T / @arthur8823

LILA ARYAN PHOTOGRAPHY

PAY IT FORWARD

Foley partner and business lawyer Nick Welle (center) leads a team of volunteers with the firm’s Street Law Legal Diversity Pipeline Program. He’s pictured with legal administrative assistant Lauren Osborn, Street Law graduate and Foley legal assistant Brandon Pope, senior counsel Andy Meerkins, senior counsel Amanda Beggs and associate Tim Patterson.

Foley’s Nick Welle leads diversity pipeline partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs Nick Welle Partner, business lawyer Foley & Lardner LLP Nonprofit served: Street Law Legal Diversity Pipeline Program, in partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee Service: Coordinator

OVER THE COURSE of the spring semester, students from Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee have the opportunity to try their hand at practicing law in the top office of Milwaukee’s tallest building.

Foley & Lardner LLP hosts students over six weeks in its 40th-floor downtown office as part of the Street Law Legal Diversity Pipeline Program, a partnership with BGCGM designed to expose high school students from low-income families and diverse backgrounds to the legal profession.

Nick Welle, a business lawyer and partner at Foley, coordinates the program, acting as a liaison between the firm and BGCGM

and helping recruit about 25 lawyers, both those from within and outside of Foley, to volunteer as mentors.

Welle had the idea several years ago to bolster the firm’s existing Street Law program and build it into a “mini law school,” including a six-week program culminating in a mock trial. The first week is dedicated to teaching students about contract law; after that, students get hands-on experience.

“We say, ‘OK, we’ve given you the tools, we’ve given you the techniques, we’ve given you the law – now it’s your turn to put on your attorney hat,” Welle said.

One exercise divides the group of students in two – half

representing a fictitious NBA player looking to develop his own shoe brand, the other half representing the shoe company.

The challenge is for them to negotiate a contract, with volunteer attorneys serving as coaches.

The program culminates in a mock investigation into an allegation of workplace sexual harassment.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the program hosted about 50 students; this year, the program is expected to have 25 students, mostly juniors and seniors who plan to pursue legal studies.

At the end of the program, students can apply and interview to become paid interns at Foley and receive mentorship as they enter college. Prior to the pandemic, Foley hired three interns coming out of the program. The ultimate goal is to have students pursue law and return to Foley as associates after graduation from law school.

“The only reason this works is because the students are so active and they want to learn, they participate and they’re eager to learn and they want to have an internship,” Welle said. “It’s great to work with the club and see the kids really thrive.”

Welle personally stays in touch

with Street Law grads, providing letters of recommendation, going out to lunch with them and mentoring them through their college and internship decisions.

The first intern to be hired through Foley’s program, Brandon Pope, completed his political science degree at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in under four years, graduated in December and is now a legal assistant at Foley with plans to attend law school.

“That was a really cool moment for me,” Welle said. “I won’t be fully satisfied until one of our Street Law alumni comes back as a lawyer at Foley, but it’s a nice stepping stone.” n

LAUREN ANDERSON Associate Editor

P / 414-336-7121 E / lauren.anderson@biztimes.com T / @Biz_Lauren

biztimes.com / 45

BizConnections

BRIAN ANDREW |

JAKE HILL PHOTOGRAPHY

the LASTWORD

CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER

Planning to make a lasting impact Brian Andrew is chief investment officer at Johnson Financial Group. With billions of dollars in wealth set to pass from one generation to the next in the coming decades, he says the greatest impact can be made by people planning for the long-term.

“EVERYONE HAS THE OPPORTUNITY to use their income and assets to make an impact on the people they love, the charitable interests they support and the world around them. In fact, while impact investing is a hot topic, it seems more focused on where to invest than how to invest.

“When thinking about how to use assets and income to bring life to your legacy, people often focus on where their investments are made rather than how their plan is designed. As an example, ESG investing has grown in popularity. It refers to investing in companies that are working to make the world a better place using principles around environmental, social and governance issues.

46 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 21, 2022

However, starting with where you want to invest rather than how your legacy goals are designed is putting form over function. ESG investing can be impactful; doing it in conjunction with legacy planning can be much more so.

“It is a gift to understand how to use assets and income to impact future generations. Parents should teach children about investing for impact.

They can also impart financial values. I’ve worked with a client whose grandparents established a family foundation in the 1950s after the sale of a family business. It was established with $1,000.

Today, that family foundation continues to teach subsequent generations about giving. Each year during a family reunion, children as young as seven

Johnson Financial Group Racine Industry: Wealth management, banking Employees: 1,200 johnsonfinancialgroup.com come before the family council to make a presentation about why the family should support something of interest to them. It could be charity, an art project, or a gift for someone in the neighborhood.

“Imagine the benefits of council members representing several generations hearing that presentation, telling stories about past gifts and talking about their family’s most important values.

“Assets can have multigenerational impact – if legacy planning is done before investing decisions are made.” n

IS YOUR COMPANY CELEBRATING A MILESTONE ANNIVERSARY IN 2022?

ANNIVERSARIES

Sponsored Content

The Horton summer picnic

ANNIVERSARIES

Sponsored Content Left: Julie Tolan (Co-Owner) and Jane Schroeder (Business Partner/Coach)

Above: a mural in the Waukesha office Left: Horton ‘Big Brother’ volunteers

celebrating

YEARS in business

THE HORTON GROUP, one of the largest shared the same hardworking, service-oriented to expand toWiesman (CEO/Coprivately-held insurance brokers in the United values as Illinois, and were inspired Above left: Mark States, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. more areas in the Midwest.

Owner) and Julie Tolan (Co-Owner) Above right: The company will commemorate this milestone “Our strong culture keeps us together as Mark the Wiesman (CEO/CoOwner) and Scott“It Rasmussen (President) by celebrating the past, and using it as a reason economy ebbs and flows,” Dan Horton said. to transform and make the changes to align the is certainly a challenge to maintain a sense of company with their future goals. ‘togetherness’ during these unprecedented times, PROVIDES A BROAD RANGE SERVICES TO DRIVE CLIENT SUCCESS “Fifty years is a remarkable feat, considering many LAUBER but we were able to make it work through newOF apps, businesses barely make it 10 years,” said Dan Horton, websites and virtual gatherings.”

Since 1986 Lauber has provided experienced for its own growth planning. Fundamentally, business Chief Executivecelebrating Officer. “We are excited to use our The Horton Group expanded their digital footprint leadership in times of growth and change for its is about talent – how to provide it, how to attract it, how ‘golden anniversary’ as a ‘golden opportunity’ to by hosting a wider variety of webinars and rolling out clients. John Lauber founded the firm as Lauber CFOs to retain it and how to optimize it. Sometimes Lauber celebrate everything we’ve accomplished while a new digital program for open enrollment. Internally, and sought to bring the value of an experienced CFO provides talent on an outsourced basis, like it ushering in change.” they’ve made training resources easily accessible to businesses of any size by providing part-time CFO does in finance and HR. Other times it helps clients The company was founded in 1971 as an eight- online, and implemented new communications services. Over time, Lauber added interim services as build out their internal talent pool. Recently, Lauber person agency as a single location in Orland platforms to keep everyone connected. And most well as executive search for permanent full-time senior launched several coaching offerings and a recruiting Park, Illinois. Since then, The Horton Group has impressively, despite an economically challenging financial leaders. process insourcing (RPI) service line. in business successfully transitioned from being a founder-run year, they experienced significant growth in 2020: Lauber has always sought to help clients grow their The battle for talent is only becoming more organization to a scalable enterprise. Today, there they welcomed 79 new hires, promoted 45 employees organizations and navigate challenges by bringing intense. One way to deal with this is to grow your are approximately 400 employees located in six and secured hundreds of virtual insurance renewals deep insight and expertise that can make an organization’s talent to be more effective, both states across the Midwest, specializing in insurance, and benefit open enrollments for customers. immediate impact on their organizations. In 2017, individually and as a team. Lauber provides coaching “This is a special place to work because everyone employee benefits and risk advisory solutions.

Julie Tolan and Mark Wiesman acquired Lauber CFOs. expertise through various delivery models to align The Horton Group has had a presence in prioritizes our community and our clients,” Dan They rebranded the business as Lauber Business talent development needs with organizational goals, southeastern Wisconsin since 1998, after acquiring Horton said. “Even in a year as challenging as 2020, Partners, Inc. to allow for expanded service offerings. creating a competitive advantage with increased the Laub Group in Waukesha. After conducting we were still able to come together and think of They added human resource services and productivity and job satisfaction, and a healthy and business in the Milwaukee area, the owners innovative ways to achieve success. I look forward to expanded the executive search services to include engaged culture. observed that many Wisconsin-based businesses seeing what lies ahead for us.” n other c-suite positions beyond finance.

Lauber saw its clients struggling to find the right “We immediately recognized the tremendous talent and in February 2021 added the recruiting reputation of the firm, its experienced consultants and process insourcing service line. Lauber manages the the many strong relationships it enjoys,” said Wiesman. recruiting process on its client’s behalf by offering “While many still see Lauber as a ‘finance firm’, HR now a scalable, fixed-fee and flexible RPI model that Year of Founding: 1986 represents almost 20% of our business and we also provides organizations a dedicated recruiter that works Number of consultants: 50 have several other rapidly growing service lines.” exclusively on filling its positions. Like its fractional As Lauber listened to clients and prospects, they consultants, Lauber becomes a part of its client’s team.

924 E Wells St #408 continued to hear clients asking, “How can we grow?”

“Bringing critical expertise and insight to our clients Milwaukee, WI | 53202 This led to the development of a growth planning to help them optimize their success through times of service line that helps its clients put strategic growth growth and change is our mission,” said Tolan. “We are L AU B E R - PA RT NE R S.com plans in place for their organization. Lauber is excited to be able to do this now with such an integrated 414.273.8060 deploying the same methodology it offers its clients offering of services.”n

YEARS

The Horton Group N19W24101 Riverwood Dr. Waukesha, WI | 53188 TheHortonGroup.com 800.383.8283

With a little bit of creativity, you can turn your anniversary from just another date on the calendar into an opportunity to share your story – and celebrate your success with BizTimes’ exclusive audience. It’s a chance to talk about why you started your business in the first place, where you’ve been, what you do, what makes you different, and what your plans are for the future. You can thank your employees and clients who’ve helped you reach this milestone.

Reserve your space today!

Space Reservation: March 2, 2022 Publication date March 21, 2022

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