BizTimes Milwaukee | March 5, 2018

auke w l i M ropel p d l u co

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plus VICTORY GARDEN TARGETS HARAMBEE 12 UW COLLEGE RESTRUCTURING TAKING SHAPE 20 UWM’S GROWTH IN CORPORATE RESEARCH 21

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PRESENTS:

MOST OWNERS ONLY EXIT ONCE – DO IT RIGHT Learn how disruption, market forces and other transformational issues are affecting the traditional strategy of timing the market to sell (or buy) a business.

Wednesday, March 21, 2018 | The Pfister Hotel The time comes when company owners and executives need to prepare for that next big move. Whether selling, buying or keeping your business, you need the right tools and knowledge to make this critical decision and maximize your outcome. Join BizTimes Media and our experts for this valuable session that addresses the key concerns of deciding your company’s future.

Keynote Presentation:

Lessons learned from buying and selling companies big and small • Tim Sullivan, President & CEO, REV Group (1)

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(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

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Panel Discussions: Motivators for a business sale: Lessons learned An in-depth discussion on reasons businesses are sold – positive and negative. Burn-out, retirement, physical illness, family problems, divorce, death of a partner, industry transformation, capacity, new opportunities, the perfect buyer...

Panelists: • Lawrence Burnett, Shareholder, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. (2) • Mike Graf, Former owner, Letterhead Press, Inc. (3) • John Lauber, Founder and former owner of Lauber CFOs (4) • Linda Mertz, CEO, Mertz Associates, Inc. (5) Moderator • Ann Hanna, Managing Director & Owner, Taureau Group (6)

Recapitalize or Sell? Know the Benefits and Pitfalls Before Deciding This in-depth, candid discussion with business owners and industry experts will share lessons learned, including transactions they’d like to “do-over” and the big wins.

Panelists: • Ron Beam, President, Complete Office of Wisconsin and Emmons Business Interiors (7) • Jonathan Eder, Former President, CEO and co-owner, In-Place Machining Company (8) • Steve McGlothlin – EVP, Chief Credit Officer, Old National Bank (9) • Paul Sweeney, Partner, PS Capital Partners, LLC (10) Moderator: • Molly Dill, Managing Editor, BizTimes Media

Concurrent Breakout Sessions:

Building Company Value - Timeline to Exit Value is a range and the target is constantly moving. Position your company for maximum value at the time of sale.

Behind the Curtain – Financing Options and Little Known Secrets of M&A This is a nuts and bolts, real-life breakout so bring your questions, everything is on the table!

The Sale Process: What to Expect When You’re Expecting to Sell Selling your company is a major life event, and it is never too early to start planning. Learn what to expect before, during and after a sale and what you can do now to prepare so are you are ready when the time comes.

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BizTimes Milwaukee (ISSN 1095-936X & USPS # 017813) Volume 23, Number 24, March 5, 2018 – March 18, 2018. BizTimes Milwaukee is published bi-weekly, except monthly in January, July and December by BizTimes Media LLC at 126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120, USA. Basic annual subscription rate is $42. Single copy price is $3.25. Back issues are $5 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 2018 by BizTimes Media LLC. All rights reserved.

Contents

4 Leading Edge 4 NOW

BY THE NUMBERS 5 BEHIND THE SCENES 6 BIZ COMPASS 7 QUOTE/UNQUOTE 8 REV UP 9 BIZTRACKER 10 FRESH DIGS 11 BIZ POLL ON MY NIGHTSTAND

12 News 12 V ICTORY GARDEN PLANS TO PUT DOWN ROOTS IN HARAMBEE 13 MY TAKE

14 Real Estate 22 Strategies

COVER STORY

16

22 LEADERSHIP Christine McMahon 23 INNOVATION Dan Steininger 24 TIP SHEET

MSOE’s AI initiative

could propel Milwaukee’s tech ecosystem

20 Higher Education and Research An update on the integration of local UW Colleges with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a report on the corporate partnerships UWM is leveraging in its research.

PHONE: (414) 449-4777 WEB: communityadvocates.net

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PHONE: (414) 475-5520 WEB: crohnscolitisfoundation.org/chapters/wisconsin/

Community Advocates’ mission is to provide individuals and families with advocacy and services that meet their basic needs so they may live in dignity.

F E ATU R E D NONPROFI T

29 AROUND TOWN

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Special Report

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26 Biz Connections

To cure Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and to improve the quality of life of children and adults affected by these diseases. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are collectively known as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). The Foundation sponsors basic and clinical research of the highest quality. We also offer a wide range of educational programs for patients and healthcare professionals, while providing supportive services to help people cope with these chronic intestinal diseases.

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Leading Edge

BIZTIMES MEDIA – Like us

NOW

J.C. Penney to close Wauwatosa distribution center, lay off 670

By Corrinne Hess, staff writer J.C. Penney Co. Inc. will close its Wauwatosa distribution center and call center at 11800 W. Burleigh St. beginning this summer and lay off a total of 670 employees.

The Plano, Texas-based retailer will sell the building and transfer its operations to facilities in Lenexa, Kansas, and Columbus, Ohio, according to an email from

J.C. Penney.

“The company’s supply chain network is oversized relative to its national store footprint, and can be optimized by transferring operations,” said company spokesman Carter English.

In 2017, J.C. Penney closed about 140 stores. The company recently announced plans to close

BY THE NUMBERS It would cost

195

$

MILLION

to add three additional daily roundtrips to the Amtrak Hiawatha line between Milwaukee and Chicago, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

4 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 5, 2018

eight more stores this year (none in Wisconsin). It currently has about 875 stores, including locations at Southridge Mall in Greendale, Brookfield Square in Brookfield, Crossroads Shopping Center in Menomonee Falls and Shoppes at Prairie Ridge in Pleasant Prairie.

The distribution center portion of the Wauwatosa facility will close on July 1 and the customer care center will close on Sept. 1.

“It’s never easy taking actions that directly impact our valued associates; however, we feel this is a necessary business decision,” English said in a written statement.

Eligible associates will receive separation benefits, including outplacement support and an on-site career training class.

The City of Wauwatosa has long eyed the distribution center site, given its 73-acre size and location along the western edge of I-41 with frontage to Burleigh Street.

The site is on the opposite side of the freeway from The Mayfair Collection development.

The property is assessed

by Milwaukee County for $22.8 million. The building was built in 1958 and later expanded. It was acquired by J.C. Penney in 1963.

“The current JCPenney furniture store and warehouse stands out as a key redevelopment site with enormous potential,” according to the Wauwatosa Comprehen-

sive Plan for the Burleigh Triangle and Mayfair Road North, developed in 2015.

At the time the plan was developed, the city was restricted by JCPenney’s plans for the building.

“The future is largely dependent on the company’s plans for the site, which may involve more profitable, non-industrial uses,” the plan said. “In this case, the site could be targeted for expanded commercial and retail spaces, complementing the Mayfair Collection to the east.”

The Mayfair Collection was built on a site formerly occupied

by Roundy’s and Kohl’s distribution centers. The Mayfair Collection has numerous stores, including Whole Foods Market, Nordstrom Rack and Sak’s Fifth Avenue OFF 5th; several restaurants, including Corner Bakery Cafe, Pizza Man, AJ Bombers and Smoke Shack; and a Homewood Suites by Hilton hotel.

Future phases include up to 1,000 apartments.

Paulette Enders, development director for the City of Wauwatosa, said the city has not received any communication from J.C. Penney.

“The city was fortunate to have J.C. Penney as a major employer in Wauwatosa, but we planned for the future in the event the company made a corporate decision to close, relocate or downsize,” Enders said. n

1

PHOTOS BY LILA ARYAN

BEHIND THE SCENES Floor conversion at BMO Harris Bradley Center

By Molly Dill, staff writer

T

he BMO Harris Bradley Center in downtown Milwaukee plays host to myriad events, and each has its own surface needs. A crew is on hand to convert the flooring between events, sometimes making the switch in as little as an hour for basketball double-headers, and often undertaking conversions in the middle of the night. Last month, once the ice from Disney on Ice had melted, the conversion was from concrete for a Bon Iver concert to the Marquette University men’s basketball court. It would be removed later in the week for a Mama Tried motorcycle race with Dr. Pepper soda syrup spread on the concrete floor. Derrick McElwee, director of event services, oversaw the process. n

1

The pieces of floor are stacked on rolling carts, with the painted sides facing each other and mylar sheets between layers.

They are stored in order so the team knows which stack goes down first.

2

Jason Allen and Eddie Edwards lift a piece of floor into place. Each eight-foot piece weighs about 165 pounds, and includes several wood planks, a base with rubber footings and pins that hold the pieces together.

3

Mike Richards and Carlos Bardwell use a mallet to hit the pieces of floor into place so they line up correctly. Spacer boards along the outside assure the proper distance from the seats to the edge of the floor.

2

3

4

5

4

The names of Marquette men’s basketball season ticket holders are printed on decals and placed over the letters of “We are Marquette” on the floor each season. The floor is stripped and re-stained each year.

5

Part of the conversion process involves putting additional folding chairs on movable risers that are added around the perimeter of the court.

biztimes.com / 5

Leading Edge

@BIZTIMESMEDIA – Real-time news

BIZ COMPASS

What do businesses GET WRONG IN TALENT

AT T R AC T I O N & RE T EN T I O N? MEYER

1 JORDON

Founder and president, Granular LLC

“The tactics are all wrong. Posting a job and sorting through dozens of random applicants takes valuable time and can lead to mediocre hiring results. At Granular, we network with potential employees year-round and curate a group of strong candidates that we can easily approach when we need to hire.”

2 PAUL KRAEMER

Vice president of commercial sales, The Starr Group

1 3

“Having a positive, healthy culture that attracts talent is imperative to building a successful team. While money is important, having a strong culture that connects with their beliefs is the long-term play. A culture that supports and nourishes employees on multiple levels will retain talent for years to come.”

3 STEVE MAAHS

President and chief operating officer, Alto-Shaam Inc.

“Many businesses do not provide and properly communicate professional growth and development opportunities to employees, which is crucial for talent attraction and retention. We have found various tools and processes, such as on-the-job training and career ladders, a successful way to educate and develop our employees.”

2

SCHEIBEL

4 MARY

Chief executive officer, Trefoil Group Inc.

“Businesses sometimes fail to see the value in building a robust website and careers page. When competing for talent, a website that’s engaging, easily viewed on mobile devices and optimized for search will drive the right first impressions.

Leverage your most valuable marketing tool to show recruits why they should choose you.”

4

5 JIM SJOBERG

President, Sjoberg Tool & Manufacturing Corp.

5 6 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 5, 2018

“You can’t just wait for qualified talent to find you; it’s important to make proactive recruitment efforts. Reaching out to candidates across multiple channels, we’ve increased our engagement with qualified, interested talent. We also engage, incentivize and involve existing employees to serve as an effective referral source for talented team members.” n

“ QUOTE

unQUOTE

EVE HALL

”

P R E S I D E N T A N D C E O, M I LWAU K E E U R B A N L E AG U E Eve Hall, president and chief executive officer of the Milwaukee Urban League, recently spoke at MUL’s 58th annual Equal Opportunity Day Luncheon. The organization works to provide workforce development and education-centered services and programs for Milwaukee’s African-American and other minority populations. Its annual luncheon celebrates MUL’s progress and honors community leaders who have actively worked for social and racial equality in Milwaukee. n

“With the unemployment rate so high and incarceration rates so disproportionate among African-American males, which is who we primarily assist, our work is critical.”

KE

MP

“Let’s work together to make a difference in our city, county and state. If not us, then who?”

“As my mother always suggests, be careful about making judgments.”

“We are intersecting in life in ways we never have – from personal tragedies of shootings to natural disasters that, in seconds, are wiping out homes and families; hurricanes; the firestorm devastations in California; and the drug epidemic, which has plagued minority communities for decades and has now expanded into majority communities.”

CR

T: EDI

YV

ON

NE

“Life has no barriers; only people do.”

“We’ve got to work together to increase the minority pipeline of teachers, to work with the media on more success stories about African-Americans, and to wrap our arms around students who have experienced gunfire or deaths in their families instead of expecting them to perform business as usual in their classrooms.”

biztimes.com / 7

Leading Edge

BIZTIMES MEDIA – Connect

REV UP

ROUTINE BASEBALL

LEADERSHIP: Michael DeGrave and Tony Knapton H E A D Q U A R T E R S: 9625 S. 54th St., Franklin WEBSITE: routinebaseball.com W H AT I T D O E S: Baseball lifestyle apparel F O U N D E D: 2011

LILA ARYAN PHOTOGRAPHY

E M P L OY E E S: Five N E X T G O A L S: Develop apparel line with Adidas FUNDING: Self-funded

Micahel DeGrave and Tony Knapton

Routine Baseball creates shoe with Adidas

By Molly Dill, staff writer

8 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 5, 2018

When baseball players travel for games, they often get from one place to another on a chartered Coach bus.

Franklin-based baseball apparel company Routine Baseball played off the colorful designs of those bus seats for a new shoe it created with sporting goods giant Adidas. The limited edition trainers, for indoor turf fields and workouts, sold out within 48 hours.

“We flew out to Portland, got to pitch it to (Adidas) and everyone really gravitated towards it,” said Tony Knapton, Routine co-founder.

“Anybody who’s played baseball, that bus seat pattern is very recognizable.”

A total of 1,000 units were sold on the limited edition run, and a second collaboration shoe and an apparel line are already in the works.

“The first run was to kind of see how people were going to react with both brands teaming up,” said Michael DeGrave, Routine co-founder.

It was a big win for the online apparel retailer, which has experienced a 14.6 percent bump in year-over-year sales since the collaboration launched in December. And other companies are knocking on the door.

DeGrave and Knapton founded Routine in 2011 because off the diamond, the pair found themselves wearing West Coast skate apparel since there was no stylish baseball streetwear.

Routine started with five T-shirts. By 2012, the company was outgrowing DeGrave’s basement and in 2014, it moved into its third commercial facility, the 16,000-square-foot warehouse and

offices it occupies today in Franklin.

The company now sells about 150 products, from T-shirts to hats, jackets to pants, for both men and women. The products are contract manufactured in China and the U.S., and distributed from Franklin. Some apparel items display stylized versions of the Routine logo, others baseball jokes.

A licensing agreement Routine secured in August with the Major League Baseball Players Association gave it the rights to use player faces on its apparel, which it does with tongue-incheek spoofs and nicknames. A couple of shirts poke fun at player bromances: a “Bryzzo” shirt for Chicago Cubs stars Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo and an image of Houston Astros players Jose Altuve and Justin Verlander hugging.

For Milwaukee, Routine partnered with Eric Thames to create a “Korean homers” tee, a nod to his time playing in Korea. The Thames shirt will be sold in the Brewers team store this season.

Working directly with a player on the design for a shirt can pay off, DeGrave said. Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals was an early fan, and the company got him interested just by tweeting at him to check it out.

“Once he started wearing it, that gave us immediate legitimacy,” Knapton said.

The pair attributes the collaborations to its work on growing the Routine brand online.

Routine has 95,000 Twitter followers, a testament to its cult following. n

The latest area economic data.

1.4% Metro Milwaukee’s

ERICH SCHROEDER

millennial population growth from 2010 to 2015 was seventh-lowest in the nation.

2.4%

Passenger traffic at General Mitchell International Airport rose

in 2017, to 6.9 million.

6.4% Only

of African-Americans aged 25 to 34 in metropolitan Milwaukee are college graduates, the lowest rate in the nation.

The Milwaukee-area manufacturing PMI for January was

63.40.

Any reading greater than 50 indicates growth.

TOP RESEARCH TOP TALENT

RIGHT HERE IN MILWAUKEE Recognized as one of the nation’s top research universities, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is proud of its world-class faculty. Our scientists and researchers partner with businesses to develop new products and services.

And, with more than 5,000 students graduating from

5.3%

Metro Milwaukee home sales increased

in November, year-over-year.

UWM every year, we provide top talent to keep your business competitive.

uwm.edu/uwmresearch uwm.edu/uwmresearch

biztimes.com / 9

Leading Edge

BIZTIMES MEDIA – Like us

LILA ARYAN PHOTOGRAPHY

FRESH DIGS

MSI GENERAL CORP. OW N E R / DE V E LOPE R : MSI General A RC H I T E C T: MSI General C O N T R AC T O R : MSI General C O S T S : N/A C O M P L E T E D : May 2017

10 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 5, 2018

WHEN THE FAMILY BUSINESS is designing and building state-of-theart spaces for clients, it makes sense to work in a state-of-the-art facility.

In early 2017, MSI General Corp. decided the 18,000-square-foot space at W215 E. Wisconsin Ave. in Nashotah it had been operating out of for the past 40 years needed an update.

The last renovation had been completed in the mid-1980s and the dated space didn’t reflect the design and custom build work MSI’s staff was capable of, said Jeffrey Packee, chief operating officer.

“We were celebrating our 60th anniversary in May, and wanted to complete this for our event,” Packee said. “And there was a big push to

modernize, incorporate technology and add collaboration space because we truly work in a team setting.”

The company’s architects and designers incorporated several design techniques to showcase ideas that customers could also use for their own projects. Some of those include Zintra acoustic ceiling panels used instead on the walls for both decoration and as a sound barrier; a white Dupont Zodiaq Quartz island in the café area where the team celebrates accomplishments; and Bradley Corp.’s WashBar sink in the bathroom.

“We like our clients to meet our team and see our space. Some have even walked away with ideas of their own,” Packee said. n – Corrinne Hess

BIZ POLL

on my nightstand...

A recent survey of BizTimes.com readers.

Which James Beard Award-nominated chef is Milwaukee’s best?

Justin Carlisle of Ardent:

Executive vice president of operations Kenall Manufacturing Co.

40%

Karen Bell of Bavette La Boucherie: Thomas Hauck of c.1880:

RANDY HERNANDEZ

24%

By Malcolm Gladwell

19%

Dan Jacobs and Dan Van Rite of DanDan:

“Blink”

17%

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

WHETHER LEADING a business or a sports team, the ability to see around corners is an important skill.

Randy Hernandez, executive vice president of operations at Kenall Manufacturing Co. in Kenosha, recommends the book “Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking” to those interested in improving their ability to skate to where the puck is going.

“More than anything, ‘Blink’ has a lot to do with studying cognition,” Hernandez said. “Taking information and synthesizing that informa-

tion in a way that’s useful.”

While one may not have all the information, “Blink” shows how a person can still make good decisions without the complete picture.

“You listen to snippets and small amounts of information and you apply that to what the decision is,” Hernandez said. Having studied some of this, I think it’s helped me make better decisions over the course of my career, much better for the folks in the organization and for the business in general. Also, it helps in seeing this ability in other people.” n

We’re looking for businesses experiencing fast growth in the Milwaukee Region…and beyond!

MMAC/COSBE

Presenting Sponsor

Media Partner

THE COUNTDOWN IS ON. Apply or nominate a company today for the MMAC/COSBE Future 50 Award!

Go to www.mmac.org/F50.html to get started.

Application Deadline: March 23, 2018 For more information, contact Alexis Deblitz at 414-287-4130 or adeblitz@mmac.org Winners are based on objective criteria and all information is kept strictly confidential. If your company meets four basic criteria, complete the online application and put your company in the running for the 2018 Future 50.

The Future 50 Awards Program is a service of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) and its Council of Small Business Executives (COSBE).

biztimes.com / 11

BizNews FEATURE STORY

Victory Garden Initiative plans to put down roots in Harambee

By Lauren Anderson, staff writer THE INSIDE of the former pub on the corner of East Concordia Avenue and North Richards Street in Milwaukee looks like a disorderly estate sale.

The once-tavern, then church, now makeshift storage facility is stuffed with miscellaneous furniture, antiques and racks of vintage clothing, with artwork lining nearly every inch of wall space.

But Gretchen Mead, executive director of Victory Garden Initiative, sees the potential. Clear out the clutter, spruce up the space, install an outdoor patio and transform it into a community hub and headquarters for the urban agriculture organization.

Those are among Mead’s plans for the building at 249 E. Concordia Ave. in the Harambee neighborhood on the city’s north side.

It would position VGI’s staff across the street from its urban farm – a 1.5 acre-lot located in the middle of the block at 220 E. Concordia Ave, flanked on three sides by residential properties.

Currently, VGI’s headquarters is located at 1845 N. Farwell Ave., a co-working space for a group of sustainability-related organizations called the Milwaukee Environmental Consortium.

Mead has long dreamed of the organization occupying a space in the Harambee neighborhood, which would provide not only easy access to the farm, but also a gathering space for the community.

Plans include renovating the former pub into a space that can host classes and events and installing a garage door that would open up to an outdoor gathering space.

The upstairs, currently an unrented living space, would be converted into offices for the organization.

VGI plans to begin occupying the building this summer.

Plans for the second phase of the headquarters project would include installing a commercial 12 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 5, 2018

kitchen.

“We’re looking at creating more of a campus,” Mead said. “We have our 1.5-acre farm, a community garden and education site, and then the next step is to have an indoor site, where we’ll have a kitchen and where we can follow the food that we grow to the plate.”

Staff would prepare produce after it’s harvested across the street and hold community cooking classes.

“It seems like the next piece of the puzzle,” said VGI farmer Ian Powell. “Being across the street from the garden, as we harvest things, we will have a place to bring it, sort it, wash it, clean it, cook it. I’ve stumbled into the philosophy that just growing the food isn’t enough. That’s just half of the circle and the other half is turning it into food and getting it to people. So this is going to give us a chance to fill out the other half of the circle.”

VGI is now in the middle of a capital campaign, with a goal of raising about $130,000 for the purchase and initial renovations to the building.

“In terms of capital campaigns, it’s a relatively small cost with a really positive, impactful outcome,” Mead said.

The new headquarters comes at a time when the scope of VGI’s work is growing.

The recent closure of Growing Power, a nonprofit pioneer in the urban agriculture movement that dissolved late last year after operating for 20 years on Milwaukee’s north side, has left openings for organizations like VGI to fill in the gap.

VGI has already agreed to take over the operations of an 8.6-acre, Milwaukee County-owned fruit tree orchard in Oak Creek that was formerly operated by Growing Power as part of a county program aimed at combating food deserts in Milwaukee neighborhoods.

The interior of the pub at 249 E. Concordia Ave.

Farmer Ian Powell works in one of the farm’s hoop houses.

The outside of the former pub.

Victory Garden Initiative’s 1.5-acre farm on East Concordia Avenue.

The organization is also making a bid to take on 11 100-foot hoop houses behind Maglio Cos. on North Port Washington Road in Glendale that were formerly managed by Growing Power. VGI is submitting a proposal to Riverwest Food Pantry to operate the space, which would allow it to expand its growing capacity.

The headquarters project joins a growing number of redevelopment and new construction projects in the Harambee neighborhood, particularly along North Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

Bader Philanthropies Inc. is currently renovating the 90-yearold building at 3318 King Drive and enlarging it to become its new

headquarters. When completed, the building will replace its current office in the Historic Third Ward.

Meanwhile, a new mixed-use development project that includes 44 market-rate apartments, 1,400 square feet of retail space and a 17,000-square-foot library, which will replace the current Milwaukee Public Library branch at 310 W. Locust St., is planned to open this year.

Rick Banks, community engagement coordinator for Riverworks Development Corp., said those projects, paired with an increase in people buying homes in the neighborhood, illustrate the growing momentum in the area.

“There are a lot of positive things happening,” Banks said. n

s

on

MY TA K E

Should landowners be allowed to fill wetlands in urban areas without a permit?

or ll f a C st La

ti ina

m

No

The state Legislature recently passed a bill to make it easier for landowners to fill small, isolated wetlands in urban areas. The bill, authored by state Rep. Jim Steineke, was supported by business groups but opposed by some environmental groups, including the Wisconsin Wetlands Association. Some sporting groups dropped their objections after the bill was amended. n

JIM STEINEKE TRACY HAMES

Assembly majority leader (R-Kaukauna)

Executive director Wisconsin Wetlands Association

YES NO SIMPLIF YING REGUL ATIONS “Wisconsin’s wetlands play an important role in our state’s ecology, environment and our sporting communities. But our current wetland laws are in many ways overly complex and difficult to navigate.”

“Wisconsin Wetlands Association is strongly supportive of policies that reduce red tape, promote well-planned economic development and protect our wetland resources.

This bill achieves none of those goals.”

L ANDOWNERS AFFECTED “Our intent was always to provide a reasonable balance between preserving habitat and quality wetlands, while finding reasonable solutions to many of the problems plaguing homeowners, developers, farmers, local governments and other industries in Wisconsin.”

“The bill (contains) exemptions for impacts to isolated wetlands within a half-mile radius of every city and village in Wisconsin and in all towns served by a sewerage system…as communities grow and expand, the areas exempt from wetland protection will grow, too.”

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT “From the start, our goal was to remove unnecessary hurdles to development while still maintaining and protecting our high-quality, critically important wetlands. This bill… keeps our environment safe and our state moving forward.”

“The bill…clears the way for the destruction of tens, possibly even hundreds, of thousands of acres of wetlands important for waterfowl, trout, furbearers, and many other species of fish and wildlife. The wetlands threatened are also critical for reducing floods, recharging groundwater and protecting water quality.”

Bold Leaders.

Bright Ideas.

Apply Today.

Accepting nominations for the 14th annual

Ideal Bravo! Entrepreneur nominees are individuals who demonstrate the best traits of entrepreneurship, including willingness to take risk, drive, perseverance, and more! Ideal I.Q. (innovation quotient) nominees are companies who develop innovative products or services, or those with notably unique and innovative processes, operational structures and/or market strategies.

To submit your nomination visit: biztimes.com/bravo Nomination deadline: March 9th Past Bravo! Lifetime Achievement award winners have included: Carol Schneider, George and Julie Mosher, Gary Grunau, Michael Cudahy, Sheldon Lubar, Fritz and Debra Usinger, Stephen Marcus, George Dalton, Robert Kern and Harry Quadracci Past IQ award winners have included: Braise Restaurant Supported Agriculture, Classmunity, Color Ink Inc., Dynamic Solutions, Worldwide LLC, HaloVino, Lynch & Associates – Engineering Consultants LLC, OnKÖl, Stormwater Solutions Engineering LLC and True Process Inc. Presented By:

Sponsored By:

biztimes.com / 13

Real Estate

@BIZTIMESMEDIA – Real-time news

NEAR WEST SIDE PARTNERS

The Ambassador Hotel has been a consistent anchor in the Avenues West neighborhood for more than 20 years.

Putting the pieces together for a strong Near West Side

Three years ago, five companies with nothing in common except their location decided to work together to turn their Near West Side neighborhood into a thriving business and residential community.

As these things go, there was a lot of fanfare in the beginning.

Representatives from Aurora Health Care Inc., Harley-Davidson Inc., Marquette University, MillerCoors LLC and Potawatomi Business Development Corp. talked about the possibilities.

The Near West Side Partners have four primary goals: improving the commercial corridors of the neighborhood, branding the community, improving neighborhood safety, and housing.

An energetic leader, Keith Stanley, was put in place. And in the beginning, there were small victories.

Over the years, Stanley and his dedicated board of directors, made up mainly of business leaders working in the neighborhood, quietly started putting pieces into place.

In June of 2017, Sendik’s announced it would open a 4,800-square-foot store in vacant space on the northeast corner of North 16th and West Wells streets, on Marquette’s campus. Several areas of the city’s west and north sides are in food deserts, where there is a lack of full-service grocery stores stocking fresh and healthy food options. The Sendik’s announcement was an amazing win for the Near

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The company is adding 18,000 square feet of space, and will have a total of 96,000 square feet in the building. The expansion is driven by von Briesen’s addition in January of 70 employees from two Milwaukee law firms, Peterson, Johnson & Murray S.C. and Levine & Bazelon S.C. “This agreement allows us space to grow while consolidating all of our downtown Milwaukee lawyers,” said Randall Crocker, president and chief executive officer of von Briesen. “Our location is the center of Milwaukee’s commercial and legal district with convenient parking, access to the federal courthouse, the Pfister and the historic Milwaukee Club.” von Briesen now has 192 attorneys at 11 offices in Wisconsin, Illinois and New York. The Wisconsin offices are in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Mequon, Hartland, Madison, Manitowoc, Appleton, Green Bay and Oshkosh.

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West Side, Stanley said.

Milwaukee developer Rick Wiegand, who owns the Ambassador Hotel, has spent the past 25 years working to revitalize the Avenues West neighborhood.

He purchased the former Wisconsin Avenue School at 2708 W. Wisconsin Ave. late last year and is currently redeveloping it into a 23-room extend stay hotel.

The $15 million project, to be called Ambassador Suites, will also include meeting and banquet space, a restaurant and an outdoor beer garden.

In 2016, Wiegand purchased the three-building City Campus complex south of West Wells Street, between North 27th and North 28th streets, for $272,000 from Milwaukee County. The campus includes two storefronts occupied by a Chinese restaurant and a clothing store, a two-story office building, and a nine story building that was formerly Family Hospital.

Wiegand, who is the board chair of Near West Side Partners, has been renovating the nine-story building into office space. The property has 160,000 square feet of leasable space. FaB Wisconsin is planning an industry center of excellence that will be known as The Future Food Center in the space.

Wiegand said Shelley Jurewicz, FaB Wisconsin executive director, has recently brought 20 different companies into the space that could become possible tenants.

“It takes a few years to put all of the pieces together,” Wiegand said. “You can’t turn things around until you control property so you can determine necessity. And that is what we have been doing.”

Most recently, Near West Side Partners gained control of the block southwest of North 27th Street and West Wisconsin Avenue by purchasing the final two parcels from the City of Milwaukee for $40,000.

The intersection of North 27th Street and West Wisconsin Avenue is critical for the Avenues West neighborhood and a catalytic development at the site will be key to improving the west side of 27th Street, Stanley said.

“That block is so valuable to the west side,” Stanley said. “For any developer looking at it, there are high traffic counts, access to the freeway, density, public transportation, the new Ambassador Suites.

So many good things happening.”

There are currently two large projects in the works that could be located at the site.

The Department of Administration issued a request for proposals in early February to acquire land for a new state-owned office building. The DOA is planning to replace its 54-year-old downtown Milwaukee office building at 819 N. Sixth St. with a new 163,400-square-foot state office building and a 690-stall parking structure or surface lot.

The RFP stipulates the new office building will be built within the City of Milwaukee, with preference for a site somewhere between West Hampton Avenue on the north; West Mitchell Street on the south; Highway 32, Milwaukee Street, North Holton Street, Shorewood and Highway 57 on the east; and Highway 175 on the west.

Meanwhile, over the past 18 months, the Medical College of Wisconsin has discussed the idea of a “community front door” to address health disparities in the central city. MCW has issued an RFP for a 100,000- to 150,000-square-foot medical facility near downtown Milwaukee or the near north side.

Stanley said he could not comment on responding to either RFP, but said he would be interested in both projects for the North 27th Street and West Wisconsin Avenue site.

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The Yards would be similar to Linden Street’s other Milwaukee development, The Quin MKE, currently under construction at the northeast corner of West Florida Street and South Second Street, just southeast of the site for The Yards.

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STORY COVER

e v i t a i t i n i I tem A s y s o s ’ c e E h c e t O s ’ MS uld propel Milwaukee co

A rendering of MSOE’s computational science facility on North Milwaukee Street, viewed from the north.

16 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 5, 2018

An ex teri

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uth.

BY LAUREN ANDERSON, staff writer

When Milwaukee School of Engineering students learned last fall that the school would be getting a supercomputer, the announcement elicited audible gasps of excitement.

News of the addition to their campus – a graphics processing unit-accelerated supercomputer from Silicon Valley tech giant Nvidia Corp. – had the wheels in students’ heads already turning about its computational capabilities.

“This is definitely where the future is heading,” said freshman Jonathan Cobb.

It was part of a larger announcement, as officials unveiled plans to build a new computational science hall in the center of campus, thanks to a $34 million gift from alumnus Dwight Diercks and his wife, Dian.

UIHLEIN/WILSON — RAMLOW/STEIN ARCHITECTS

Expectations for the new building, which will house the school’s new computer science degree program set to launch this fall, are high. Officials are aiming for nothing short of preeminence among MSOE’s educational peers in the exploding field of artificial intelligence.

More than a standard academic building, the new 64,000-square-foot Dwight and Dian Diercks Computational Science Hall will be outfitted with a state-of-the-art datacenter, the supercomputer that will be used by students and companies, as well as designated office spaces for corporate partnerships. Other features of the new building, which is expected to be completed by fall 2019, include eight classrooms, 13 labs, 28 offices for faculty and staff, a 250-seat auditorium and 18,000 square feet of underground parking.

The gift also tethers the school to Diercks, the vice president of Santa Clara, California-based AI leader NVIDIA, best known for its GPUs that have pushed advancements in video gaming graphics.

If the project lives up to the hype and indeed positions MSOE as a national leader in AI education, the school will be in the company of larger, well-established tech programs including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of California-Berkeley and the University of Washington in Seattle.

The implications for the region, historically

Dwight

Dierck s

clumped in with the rest of the Midwest as a flyover state when it comes to the technology industry, could be significant as it seeks to position itself as a tech hub.

The future of engineering Founded in response to the need for engineer and technician training at the turn of the 20th century, MSOE has been producing engineers ever since. Now, Diercks said he wants his alma mater to be ready for the newest wave of technological capabilities that could affect “every engineering job in the next 10 years.”

He would know.

Diercks graduated from MSOE in 1990. After getting his start at Houston-based Compaq Computer Corp., he moved to California for a startup venture before eventually joining the then-nascent Nvidia Corp. as its 22nd employee in 1994.

Diercks took over its six-person software engineering team in 1997, the year the company began seeing significant growth thanks to the release of a new product design of its graphics accelerator chip biztimes.com / 17

STORY COVER

A B O V E:

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for PCs. Today, that team has swelled to about 3,600 employees. In total, the company employs some 11,000 workers.

In recent years, Nvidia’s GPUs have fueled advancements in machine learning across various applications, including deep learning, image classification, speech recognition and natural language processing.

Diercks, who has served on MSOE’s board of regents since 2005, wanted to help MSOE transition into the space where his company has found its success, using GPUs for high-performance computing. He knew the school would benefit from having access to a supercomputer, but recognized it wouldn’t be capitalized upon without a computer science

or.

dents want it and recruiters of MSOE’s graduates want it, too, he said.

Diercks began conversations with the former MSOE president, the late Hermann Viets, and they continued as Walz took the school’s helm in 2016.

What resulted was the $34 million gift to the university for the new hall, and the development of a computer science degree program with a targeted focus on AI. “Dwight convinced us of the importance of artificial intelligence,” Walz said. “We realized we could make our degree focused on AI – that’s what our niche can be, because there is a huge demand for that.”

A few factors will tee up MSOE’s program for success, Walz said.

For one, AI has long been a

Karl Gou Derek R J o h n Wa

iley

lz

degree program in place. Up until now, MSOE has boasted having one of the first software engineering programs in the country, but had no designated computer science degree.

MSOE officials, meanwhile, have been interested in adding a computer science program for several years, president John Walz said. Stu18 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 5, 2018

verneur

topic of research at universities, but only recently have academic institutions begun the shift to hands-on practical instruction in applying AI. There’s an opening for a school to fill that training need.

“What is going to be unique about the MSOE program is we will be focused on educating undergrad students in AI tools, how to use AI and how to apply it,” Walz said. “We’re not the high-level research school.

VIDIA HT: The N LE TOP RIG D ID M r. te mp u tive superco c ra te n in RIGHT: A M RIGHT: O T m. B OT classroo ium from of the atr floor. w ie v A nd co the se

We’re going to get into educating nurses, computer scientists and engineering students on how to use AI.” In Nvidia, the school will also have a partnership with an established tech company, with representatives from the company serving on the school’s industrial advisory committee for the program.

And then there’s the supercomputer, a piece of equipment that will be used not only by students, but also by those in industry.

“It’s a unique resource because most companies that are getting into AI don’t have a resource like this,” said Derek Riley, program director of the new bachelor of science in computer science program. “Most of the time, if you’re going to be doing large data analytics, you’re probably going to be buying time on the cloud and can rent time on a supercomputer.

It’s expensive, it takes a lot of expertise, there can be privacy issues and it takes time. So having it here will eliminate those drawbacks.”

Plans for the new building also include designated “corporate partnership” spaces, where companies can rent offices and meeting spaces, collaborate with students and faculty and use the machine. It could look similar to the school’s established arrangement with Milwaukee-based Direct Supply Inc., an emerging giant in the senior living equipment and supplies industry, in which the company occupies two floors of the German-English Academy building at 1020 N. Broadway on the MSOE

campus for the company’s technology center. The center opened in 2012 as a way to connect computer engineering and business students with internships and experience working for Direct Supply.

Officials envision the building serving as a bridge to companies, providing new inroads to internships, externships, independent studies and research opportunities.

“Artificial intelligence has the potential to impact a lot of different companies in a lot of different ways,” Riley said. “And our expertise isn’t in necessarily understanding how it can impact their company – it’s in looking at problems and figuring out if there is an AI or machine learning solution to that problem. So hopefully we’re going to be a place where we can answer those questions, or at least dive deeper into them, and give students experiences to solve real-world problems.”

Building a tech ecosystem MSOE’s AI push marks one of the latest developments as Milwaukee grows its tech-based ecosystem.

Leaders of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. have spoken with urgency on the need to shake Milwaukee’s old mindsets and rally around building up a tech hub. As its industry undergoes a digital transformation, the 160-year-old insurance and financial services company

itself has undergone a shift in recent years – one that has included putting resources into consumer-facing digital tools and creating corporate venture funds to back fintech efforts.

Meanwhile, eclipsing many other regional business developments thanks to its sheer size and scope is the arrival of Foxconn Technology Group in Racine County.

The project has generated high hopes among its supporters, who say the Taiwanese multinational electronics contract manufacturer will transform the region from its manufacturing roots to being on the leading edge of electronics technology.

Once the operation is up and running, the company will begin pumping out liquid-crystal display panels from its Mount Pleasant campus. The manufacturing giant recently announced it plans to invest $342 million over five years to recruit talent and deploy AI at all of its manufacturing sites.

The ecosystem that will develop from Foxconn’s presence, Gov. Scott Walker has said, could have an impact on the state similar to Silicon Valley in California, in which tech workers flock to the West Coast for job opportunities. With an expected 13,000 jobs created at Foxconn alone, along with growing tech-based activity in the region, it’s prompted the question: Where are the workers going to come from?

The resounding answer from regional leaders has been welcoming in-migration from other states and ensuring higher education institutions make a concerted effort to produce ready workers.

Every higher education and workforce training institution in the seven-county region will be called upon to supply tech workers over the next few years, said Julie Huls, a Texas-based economic development consultant who is active in regional discussions around growing southeastern Wisconsin’s tech economy.

“There’s no question that MSOE has an incredible opportunity to fill what we know is an existing talent gap, not to mention they will play an absolutely critical role in filling the future gap that is going to happen as a result of organic growth in innovation-based economic activity in the region, and particularly as it relates to the talent crunch we know the region will feel as a result of Foxconn,” she said.

Karl Gouverneur, vice presi-

dent and chief technology officer for Northwestern Mutual, said his company has seen the growing tech climate draw in young people who might have previously moved for those opportunities.

“We’ve seen some amount of talent move to the coast because the opportunities here in Milwaukee recently weren’t there,” he said. “But we’re seeing many more stay here now. Some grads from (the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) and Marquette are participating in startup ecosystems here. These students want to stay in town.”

The state has also thrown some money behind the effort to capture millennial workers. A $1 million marketing campaign developed by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. made its debut in Chicago earlier this year with messages aimed at attracting Midwest millennials to the state. Walker has further proposed deploying a $6.8 million national marketing campaign aimed at attracting millennials, alumni from the state’s universities and veterans to the state.

Companies, meanwhile, will need to grow their own talent by opening up opportunities to two-year degree holders and investing in training, Huls said.

“Industry is going to have to invest a lot more in training employees and getting them ready for success in innovation economies,” she said. “...

Twenty or 30 years ago it was commonplace to invest more in employee training, but we’ve been through a couple of recessions and companies have had to cut costs on every level, so it’s understandable that they would let go first of training investments in favor of profitability.

“But I think we’re coming into a new era where it won’t be possible for companies to get through their own digital transformations and for us to be competitive economically as a country unless they begin to reinstate that habit of investing in talent.”

Milwaukee: A tech hub?

Huls, who was president of the Austin Technology Council during the formative years of the city’s development as a tech hub, said there are plenty of lessons to be learned from cities that are farther along in the process.

Milwaukee, she said, finds itself in a similar position to Austin in 2009.

Now seen as a hotbed of tech and startup activity, the metro Austin area – home to about 2 million people, compared to metro Milwaukee’s roughly 1.6 million – was bogged down by “Silicon Valley envy” back then.

“While it’s natural for any market to have Silicon Valley envy, Austin had it in a big way,” Huls said. “They felt they were being passed over, entrepreneurs were being passed over.

‘Flyover country’ was used regularly in 2009. I think there was a sense that we were missing out on all the great stuff, the great funding opportunities, the talent recruitment opportunities because we were a smaller market in the middle of Texas.”

In 2010, the region made an intentional decision to shake off its low self-esteem and rewrite its narrative, Huls said. It began taking inventory of its talent and available venture capital and promoted those assets more widely. Within a few years, the region had attracted startup activity and large tech brands.

This could be Milwaukee’s future, she said.

Efforts are already underway to take inventory of the region’s graduates, workers and available capital.

Once word gets out, she said, the region could be happily surprised with the results.

“There is a tendency for folks to think Milwaukee is not yet a tech hub,” Huls said. “I’m going to argue that when we understand the economic impact that is already happening in Milwaukee, when we put dollars and numbers to those things, you’re going to find Milwaukee is stronger than you think you are.”

MSOE leaders see the school’s AI initiative as building on those assets.

“The Berkeleys, the Stanfords, the MITs – those types of places have head starts on us, and that’s driven by having high-end research schools there,” Walz said. “I think we have potential to get there. Having this type of capability, this type of computer will allow us to move us there.

I think there is a desire to be a hightech city that will keep young people here and keep them from moving to the coasts. That’s what everyone wants to do. I like to think we’re doing our part to help do that.” n

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Special Report HIGHER EDUCATION & RESEARCH

UW College restructuring taking shape at UWM

Enrollment headcount 4,000 3,500

By Arthur Thomas, staff writer

3,000

THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN System projects 2,276 students will be enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha and the University of Wisconsin-Washington County in the fall of 2018, a decrease of more than 25 percent over the past decade.

But technically, those students won’t actually be enrolled at either of the institutions that have been part of the 13-school University of Wisconsin Colleges system. Instead, they’ll be considered students at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee starting July 1 as part of a restructuring plan that converts colleges into branches of nearby four-year UW schools.

“That being said, all of the functions that go on at those campuses will continue to go on without a hitch,” said Ron Perez, interim dean of the Zilber School of Public Health at UWM and chair of its regional campus transition committee coordinating team.

The restructuring plan was first announced

by UW System president Ray Cross in the fall.

Cross pointed to demographic challenges, budgetary constraints and the need for alignment of research and practice in calling for the restructuring.

The goals of Cross’ plan are: to expand access to higher education by offering more courses at two-year campuses; to keep the two-year campuses as affordable options by maintaining current tuition levels for existing courses; to reduce barriers to transferring credits; to further regional administrative operations; and to take advantage of shared talent at the UW System’s institutions.

The UW System Board of Regents gave the go-ahead in November for restructuring planning to begin and since then, teams at the system level and at individual campuses have been racing to figure out how to seamlessly incorporate the UW Colleges budget and employees into the seven four-year schools taking on new branches.

At UWM, the task is being led by Perez and Paula Rhyner, with help from more than 100 committee members and just as many ad hoc participants who chime in on specific issues.

The Waukesha and Washington County campuses bring with them a combined $15 million budget and more than 100 full-time equivalent employees.

“As you can imagine, it’s a big project,”

2,500

20 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 5, 2018

2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0 ‘08 – ’09

‘09 – ’10

‘10 – ’11

‘11 – ’12

‘12 – ’13

UW-Waukesha

‘13 – ’14

‘14 – ’15

‘15 – ’16

‘16 – ’17

‘17– ’18

‘18– ’19*

UW-Washington County SOURCE: UW SYSTEMS DATA *PROJECTED DATA

Perez said.

Early on in the process, Perez and Rhyner, the committee’s vice chair and a UWM professor emerita, embarked on a listening tour to identify potential issues in the restructuring.

What emerged is a set of complex topics including academic affairs, governance, accreditation, enrollment, student affairs, finance and communications. Functional teams have since been established to identify issues and opportunities in each area.

Potential issues range from different policies for faculty, staff and students at each campus; to merging athletic programs; to addressing differences in student service fees.

The teams will make recommendations to Perez’s committee, which will eventually forward the ideas on to UWM chancellor Mark Mone for additional review and discussion.

“In the end, the decisions will be his,” Rhyner said.

Given the size and complexity of the undertaking, the UW System and regional teams are focusing on a two-phase approach.

The goal is to have everything in place by July 1 to make the change official, even if there is not much that changes practically. Then, over the next year, the regional campuses will work to integrate the two-year campuses into the receiving schools.

One area of particular concern is student enrollment. While all three campuses use similar systems, there are enough differences that it won’t be as simple as merely transferring the data to UWM. Beyond admissions, there’s also

financial aid, student internships and course enrollment.

“We do all those things in Milwaukee, Waukesha (and) Washington County. The thing is we do them slightly different,” Perez said.

While the goals of the restructuring include expanded access and continued affordability, the plan has also generated fears that it will bring an end to what has already been an affordable option for students to complete general education courses.

The UW Colleges have seen declining enrollment, with fall 2017 headcount down more than 25 percent over the past decade.

Combined, UW-Waukesha and UW-Washington County were in better shape in 2017, down about 19 percent, but still well below the almost 1 percent growth at the UW System’s four-year schools. The trends are expected to continue, as the number of Wisconsin high school graduates is projected to fall another 6.5 percent by 2032, according to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.

“Change is hard and change can be scary, but I think people are beginning to realize there’s some upside,” Perez said. “It’s in no one’s interest that enrollment goes down in Waukesha and Washington County.”

He said UWM will be able to bring programs and resources to the suburban campuses that were previously out of reach, and he’s also been impressed with the two-year schools’ capabilities in online and distance education.

“I think it will be a mutually beneficial relationship,” Perez said. n

Graduate students in the UWM battery lab built with support from Johnson Controls.

Connected Systems Institute draws on UWM’s growth in corporate research

By Arthur Thomas, staff writer A $1.7 MILLION contribution doesn’t amount to much compared to the nearly $350 million Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation Inc. spent on research and development last year, but for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, it will help kickstart the latest research center on a campus that has seen corporate support for its work grow in recent years.

Rockwell’s donation will provide funding for the Connected Systems Institute, a new entity focused on helping companies navigate the arrival of Industry 4.0. Going beyond automation and robotics, Industry 4.0 incorporates data, communications, controls and sensors to bring together the cyber and physical spaces.

Even before the announcement, Rockwell had been supporting the institute, which grew from a January 2016 meeting between UWM leadership and Microsoft chief executive officer and UWM alumnus Satya Nadella.

Rockwell provided a planning grant to help develop a vision for the institute and allow a team to travel the world to see what’s being done in similar centers.

“We came back with a plan,” said Adel Nasiri, associate dean for research and a professor in UWM’s College of Engineering & Applied Science.

The plan includes an institute that focuses on applied research, creating state-of-the-art

facilities and developing talent for the region.

One element of the plan calls for the institute to have an end-to-end approach that looks at Industry 4.0 from the machine or device level, to the production line, and up to the entire factory or company. When fully built out in the Golda Meir Library, the institute will have equipment allowing companies to simulate their factories, visualize their data networks and try different placements of sensors and equipment.

“Data by itself, of course, means nothing.

You’ve got to convert that data to some sort of knowledge,” Nasiri said.

He said there are many companies that have moved into automation and robotics, but many have not taken the next to step to capture or analyze data in a meaningful way.

“A lot of companies don’t know how to start,” Nasiri said. “One person handling things is not going to be the answer.”

The CSI’s physical space will initially be 3,000 square feet, but will eventually expand to 10,000 square feet. It will allow companies with complex problems to work directly with UWM faculty on proprietary work to address their challenges. But beyond the applied research, a major mission of the institute is to develop a talent base for companies to tap.

Nasiri said the CSI will develop everything

from a certificate to a master’s degree program and that there is already interest from students.

One initial program will be a four-day course through the Lubar School of Business called the Connected Systems Challenge. Business and engineering faculty will help attendees, ideally executives, understand where their businesses could apply connected systems.

UWM chancellor Mark Mone has said the institute will ultimately need a $5 million to $10 million endowment. Nasiri said he feels good about fundraising as work continues on the institute’s structure and governance.

Research has been a growing priority at UWM, with the university receiving a top-tier designation in 2016. Corporate involvement in research has also been growing, averaging $2.75 million in annual funding over the past five years, accounting for about 9 percent of external research awards.

UWM’s rise in the world of research began a little more than a decade ago under then-chancellor Carlos Santiago. At the same time, Johnson Controls International plc began to increase its interest in working with universities to develop battery technologies, said Craig Rigby, advanced market and technology strategist at Johnson Controls.

The relationship with Johnson Controls has been one of the more high-profile corporate partnerships at UWM. The company funded an endowed chair position in 2010, participated in the search for someone to fill the position and helped build out lab space on the UWM campus. The company has also funded millions of dollars in research projects, including just last year when the UW System Board of Regents approved work statements for two additional projects worth nearly $600,000.

One project focused on different techniques for manufacturing lead grids in batteries. A longer project is focused on electrolyte additives in absorbent glass mat batteries.

AGM batteries allow for start-stop functions in car engines and JCI is working to triple its U.S. AGM production capacity to 50 million by 2020.

Rigby said the assumption might be that university research is focused on theoretical ideas or developments that may not come to market for years. The reality is much of the work JCI does with UWM translates into the company’s products, whether it’s in AGM batteries or even the traditional lead-acid battery.

“There’s still ways to make those batteries better,” he said. n biztimes.com / 21

Strategies INNOVATION

Innovate or Die Tell me your company’s innovation story

Over the years, I have chosen to illustrate stories of successful innovation. I write about companies that I personally know have done something highly creative and innovative to grow new revenue or solve some other major barrier to success, from hiring to legal issues.

But now I’m opening this opportunity to all readers who are interested in having their company featured in my column.

All you have to do is send me a one-paragraph description, of less than 500 words, of what your company did innovatively that successfully grew new revenues or solved a major challenge.

If your company is selected, I will interview you in-depth and then feature you in my column. Feel free to submit your paragraph to me at dan@bizstarts.com; my cell number is 414-4302204 if you have any questions.

Now, here as an example that illustrates the single most important step in innovation: clearly identify the problem or challenge/opportunity that needs to be solved.

On Oct. 4, 1957, the Soviet Union’s Sputnik was launched into orbit. It was the first manmade satellite.

It stunned Americans and created demand to keep up with the Soviets. The biggest worry was the military advantage that came with the USSR owning the space above us.

President Dwight Eisenhower used the crisis 22 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 5, 2018

as an opportunity to launch an American effort to compete with the Soviets in the space race.

According to Walter Isaacson in the book “The Innovators,” the president assembled a team of scientists to work on a plan to launch satellites into space under the auspices of the Pentagon.

The scientists made it clear that this goal could not be accomplished without collaboration among some of the greatest research scientists in America and leading manufacturing companies in the private sector.

So in 1958, MIT’s Joseph C.R. Licklider recruited a team to create the possibility of time-sharing and real-time activity among scientists, industry and the military.

It led to the invention of connecting electronically through the Intergalactic Computer Network.

But researchers were reluctant to join the network because they were worried about sharing their computer research with anyone. That led to the creation of ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), which was a series of minicomputers that would do the routing, at the same time erecting a wall to all the research.

In order to send large amounts of research information, they created a method of breaking messages into small units dubbed “packets.”

That invention could be credited to Paul Baran of Rand Corp. Breaking large information into transmittable size led to the notion of bits, and we are familiar with that concept today.

Despite all that progress, the ARPANET was still not the internet.

It took the collaborative research of Harvard’s Bob Metcalfe to create a coaxial cable that provided the high bandwidth for a system he named Ethernet. Step-by-step, the internet was being built. At some point, they realized that every computer needed to adopt the same method and template for addressing the incoming pack-

ets of information.

The result was the internet protocol (IP) and it can be recognized by the https:// that precedes websites.

Bottom line is that the internet then became a reality. It was built partly by the government, partly by private firms, partly by scientists and loosely interacted through the network finally called the internet.

It took until the 1980s for the internet to move from basically a “gated community” open to primary researchers at military and academic institutions to civilian counterparts across the United States and then the globe. You can relax, your creative breakthrough that helps your company does not have to be as dramatic as the creation of the internet!

I look forward to hearing about your creative breakthroughs and how they led to disruptive services or technology. n

DAN STEININGER Dan Steininger is the president of BizStarts and the president of Steininger & Associates LLC, which helps companies drive new revenues through innovation.

He can be reached at dan@bizstarts.com.

Strategies LEADERSHIP

Mastering organizational change Steps to get your team to buy in Change is woven into the fabric of today’s business landscape. Years ago, it was the next BIG thing; today, it’s the constant next thing.

As such, both executives and managers must understand how to effectively lead and manage change. Change initiatives that are poorly thought through, rolled out too fast or implemented without adequate preparation can lead to employee frustration, cynicism, disengagement and turnover.

Too often, leaders interpret the emotions that result after announcing a change initiative as resistance, when in fact employees are struggling to understand what exactly they are expected to do and why.

In most situations, when given an opportunity, employees closest to the change can provide insights and ideas that will result in a smoother, easier change process.

To facilitate a smooth change process, follow these five principles: 1. Leverage culture Understand how people think, behave and work together. Focus on the elements that will support a successful change initiative to gain early buy-in and momentum.

Explain what needs to be modified to create better alignment with the new way of operating. Describe how things operate now and what the future can be. This gives people a 3D view

of the desired future so they can support a better tomorrow.

2. Secure input at all levels Change should be a collaborative process. Invite team members to the conversation from the onset – early enough so they can participate in defining the change itself.

While change is often initiated at the top, implementation typically happens at the midand frontline levels. Include personnel from each level as part of the design process. Potential roadblocks and hurdles can be identified and plans put in place to resolve them.

Serve as the facilitator, or hire someone who will gather the ideas, help people process and prioritize, and review the consequences and risks of each option. Then, decide on the course of action.

Enlisting the hearts and minds of team members through inclusion and participation enhances people’s self-worth and overall engagement.

3. Explain the ‘why’ Leaders can inspire people, but for them to commit, they need to buy in for their own reasons. This means that you may need to “slow down to go fast.” Take time to frame “why” the change is needed. Describe the value and desired outcomes of the change initiative, as well as the consequences of doing nothing.

When people have a compelling “why,” an emotional shift happens that is palatable and sustaining. It’s the difference between saying, “The company needs to make this change so we can grow at 15 percent a year for the next five years,” or “These changes will allow us to create a significant differential between us and the competition. When clients understand how we can contribute to their business success, the conversation shifts from a focus on product features and price, to output and profit. Illustrat-

ing how we simplify their business processes, shrink their lead time and generate more output demonstrates quantifiable value and return on investment.”

4. Set realistic expectations and be accountable At first, change isn’t easy because people are adjusting to the new way of working. Communicating clear, realistic, and measurable expectations helps people feel empowered to take action.

Stay close to your team, answer employees’ questions, debrief their experiences and strategize their action plans so they’re on target with the corporate plan. It’s not uncommon for people to initially engage, and then feel the weight of having to “learn so many new things” that they become overwhelmed. Be understanding.

Provide encouragement. Let them know that together, you will all get through the challenges that arise with change.

LEADERSHIP...continued on page 27

CHRISTINE M c MAHON Christine McMahon offers strategic sales and leadership training, conference keynotes and executive coaching. She can be reached at (844) 369-2133 or ccm@christinemcmahon.com. biztimes.com / 23

Strategies

Tip Sheet What you need to expand to a different city

F

or businesses ready for an expansion to a new city, state or country, the U.S. Small Business Administration suggests a few ways to fully prepare.

UPDATE YOUR MARKETING PLAN Your business is expanding and so is your target market. Update your initial marketing plan based on the new market and its competition. Expanding to a new location might also require an updated sales plan. Don’t forget to add up the additional marketing and sales costs after the changes are made.

REVIEW BUSINESS FINANCES Make estimates on costs and revenue for the new location. Carefully examine your balance sheet to ensure you can cover all expansion costs and if you can’t, take steps toward gaining more funds.

GET A LICENSE The legal requirements of an expansion start with registering your business with the necessary government departments and eventually, paying the required taxes. License, permit and

zoning rules vary by state and by city, but following these regulations is crucial to legally operating a business. Visit the state’s website to confirm your business is licensed and up to code.

FILE FOR FOREIGN QUALIFICATION This applies to businesses that are expanding beyond state lines. A foreign qualification notifies the new state that your business is operating there. A Certificate of Authority, a filing fee and, in many states, a Certificate of Good Standing from your company’s home state is required to receive foreign qualification.

PAY THE TAXES If the business expanded to a new state, you will have to pay taxes in that state and in your business’ home state. Verify that the new location has a sales tax and if so, become familiar TIP SHEET...continued on page 27

INNOVATE WISCONSIN

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Innovate Wisconsin will focus on today’s innovators: those fostering business growth, those daring us to dream bigger, reach farther, and work harder for the betterment of Wisconsin’s future.

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BizConnections PAY IT FORWARD

Heiman helps veterans transition to civilian careers Matthew Heiman Vice president and assistant general counsel Johnson Controls International plc Nonprofit served: American Corporate Partners Service: Career mentorship for veterans

26 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 5, 2018

ployments to Afghanistan, had his eye on graduate school, but also the possibility of a full-time job.

“We would talk about how do you manage competing priorities,” Heiman said. “It was a really easy assignment for me.

Matt’s a bright guy who has a ton of options.”

Mainzer, meanwhile, found it helpful to have a sounding board while navigating post-college decisions. “(The mentorship) was a short time commitment and I got an immense value out of our conversations,” Mainzer said.

“I can say that there are some things I wouldn’t have been as successful with if not for our conversations and without advice from Matthew.”

In the fall of 2017, Mainzer moved to Novi Pazar, Serbia to begin a nine-month stint of teaching English through the Fulbright Program. This fall, he will begin studying at Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies.

After that, he plans to join the U.S. Foreign Service. n

LAUREN ANDERSON Reporter

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

LILA ARYAN PHOTOGRAPHY

IN THE FALL OF 2016, U.S. Marine Corps veteran Matthew Mainzer was in his final year at Pace University in New York City and, like many undergraduates with graduation on the horizon, wasn’t sure what his next professional step should be.

“I had ideas of what I wanted to do, but it was a blank space between now and then,” Mainzer said. “I mainly wanted help bouncing ideas and having someone to help me focus my plans.”

Around that time, Mainzer was paired with a mentor, Matthew Heiman, vice president and assistant general counsel at Johnson Controls International plc, to help him with the transition.

The two met through American Corporate Partners, a national nonprofit organization that pairs post-9/11 veterans with corporate professionals for year-long mentorships. Mentors help their protégés with resume building, interview preparation, career exploration, networking and leadership development.

Heiman has been mentoring veterans through the program for four years, initially while working for Tyco International PLC and now with Johnson Controls, following the companies’ merger.

Heiman, who is now in his fourth mentor partnership, said he’s motivated by an appreciation for veterans’ service and for the mentoring he received early on in his own career.

For a year, Heiman and Mainzer spoke for about an hour on the phone every two weeks, discussing Mainzer’s goals and plans. Mainzer, whose five years of military service included two de-

PERSONNEL FILE ACCOUNTING

BANKING & FINANCE

LEGAL SERVICES

Chortek LLP, Waukesha

The Equitable Bank, Wauwatosa

Probst Law Offices, Wauwatosa Probst Law Offices has hired Ryan Ogren as an associate family law attorney.

Albrecht

Campbell

Schroeder

Radtke

Chortek LLP has hired Mark Albrecht as managing partner. It has also promoted Julie Schroeder and Troy Campbell to partner in the firm’s assurance and accounting practice, and Michael Radtke to partner in the firm’s tax practice.

Reese

Lewanovich

Rieboldt

The Equitable Bank has promoted Cara Reese, Gary Rieboldt and Wendy Lewanovich to assistant vice president, senior

LEGAL SERVICES

Quarles & Brady, Milwaukee Quarles & Brady has hired Meghan O’Connor as a partner in its Health Law practice group.

loan officer.

BANKING & FINANCE

WaterStone Bank, Wauwatosa

LEGAL SERVICES

Foley & Lardner LLP, Milwaukee

BANKING & FINANCE

Ellenbecker Investment Group, Pewaukee Ellenbecker Investment Group has hired Sandra Geisler as director of the newly formed tax planning and accounting services division.

BANKING & FINANCE

Marietta Investment Partners, Milwaukee Marietta Investment Partners, Milwaukee, has named Jonathan Smucker partner.

BANKING & FINANCE

Partnership Bank, Cedarburg Partnership Bank promoted Katey Nichols to relationship banking officer.

Provancher

Gordon

WaterStone Bank has promoted David Provancher to senior vice president, chief lending officer and Ryan Gordon to vice president, chief credit officer.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Riverworks, Milwaukee Riverworks has named Ylonda Glover director of operations.

Fleming

Malaney

Foley & Lardner LLP, Milwaukee, has named Casey Fleming and Kevin J. Malaney as partners.

NONPROFIT & PHILANTHROPY

LISC Milwaukee LISC Milwaukee has hired Beth Haskovec as commercial revitalization program officer.

LEADERSHIP...continued from page 23 5. Assess and adapt People want to make a meaningful difference and do the right thing. Knowing what options are available and how to decipher the best from the worst can sometimes be difficult for frontline people.

Your assistance to help them work through the possibilities, as well as the struggles, of retooling and recalibrating provides much-needed support and understanding.

For team members who were successful under the old system, they may now feel vulnerable about being equalized with others and retreat, wanting to preserve the “old way of doing things.”

Acknowledge the difficulty. Be encouraging. Communicate how confident you are in each individual’s ability to succeed.

Change requires that we abandon what we know for the promise of a better future. This can feel risky or even frightening for people. It is our responsibility as leaders to engage team members and help them find the courage to move forward by working together and testing new ways of operating. The journey is sometimes as valuable as the outcome. n

TIP SHEET...continued from page 24 with any tax exemptions for the area.

HEALTH CARE

Wisconsin Academy of Physician Assistants, Menomonee Falls Wisconsin Academy of Physician Assistants has named Lori Rathje Conaway executive director.

RESTAURANTS & HOSPITALITY

Marcus Restaurant Group, Milwaukee Marcus Restaurant Group, operator of the SafeHouse Restaurants in Milwaukee and Chicago, has hired Nick Dillon as the new general manager of SafeHouse Milwaukee.

FRANCHISING? The two primary routes to expand your business through franchising are buying into a franchise or establishing your own. Buying a franchise costs more upfront, but it is less risky than starting from zero.

Some businesses are better suited for franchising than others. If your business produces superior products or services attractive to business owners, has teachable concepts and operations, and is easy to duplicate in new markets, it is a good candidate for franchising. n biztimes.com / 27

BizConnections VOLUME 23, NUMBER 24 | MARCH 5, 2018

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 | ads@biztimes.com EDITORIAL: 414-336-7120 | andrew.weiland@biztimes.com REPRINTS: 414-336-7128 | reprints@biztimes.com PUBLISHER / OWNER Dan Meyer dan.meyer@biztimes.com

SALES & MARKETING

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Mary Ernst mary.ernst@biztimes.com

EDITORIAL EDITOR Andrew Weiland andrew.weiland@biztimes.com MANAGING EDITOR Molly Dill molly.dill@biztimes.com REPORTER Lauren Anderson lauren.anderson@biztimes.com REPORTER Corrinne Hess corri.hess@biztimes.com REPORTER Maredithe Meyer maredithe.meyer@biztimes.com REPORTER Arthur Thomas arthur.thomas@biztimes.com

— Photo courtesy Glorioso’s Italian Market.

COMMENTARY

Play ball!

I GET THE SAME FEELING every year around this time. After about three months of winter, I’m absolutely sick of it. Spring weather can’t come soon enough.

Looking forward to spring also means looking forward to baseball season! Spring training is underway, and I can’t wait to see how the Milwaukee Brewers do this year.

But area baseball fans have options other than just the Brewers to enjoy the national pastime. And there’s good news and bad news on that front.

First, the good news: ROC Ventures announced that an American Association of Independent Professional Baseball team will play in a 4,000-seat ballpark that will be built at The Rock Sports Complex in Franklin. The ballpark, which will also be home for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team, will anchor the mixed-use Ballpark Commons development, which will also include apartments, restaurants and retail.

28 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 5, 2018

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Molly Lawrence molly.lawrence@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE David Pinkus david.pinkus@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Maggie Pinnt maggie.pinnt@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Christie Ubl christie.ubl@biztimes.com SALES INTERN Amanda Bruening amanda.bruening@biztimes.com SALES INTERN Tess Romans tess.romans@biztimes.com

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

Glorioso’s Italian Market This photo, taken circa 1950, shows Glorioso’s Italian Market at 1020 E. Brady St. on Milwaukee’s East Side. The family business, founded in 1946, moved across the street to 1011 E. Brady St. in 2010. The grocer is currently renovating the building shown into its culinary center, which will have cooking classes and a commercial kitchen. It is expected to open in June.

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

PRODUCTION & DESIGN GRAPHIC DESIGNER Alex Schneider alex.schneider@biztimes.com

Independent & Locally Owned

ART DIRECTOR Shelly Tabor shelly.tabor@biztimes.com

— Founded 1995 —

Mike Zimmerman, the chief executive officer of ROC Ventures, transformed the Crystal Ridge ski hill into The Rock, improving the skiing facilities, adding tubing, upgrading food and beverage offerings, and building several ball fields there, creating a year-round center of sports activity. The Ballpark Commons project will take The Rock to the next level with a ballpark that will draw bigger crowds, additional sports facilities, residences, shopping and dining. The ballpark will be a new community attraction and the entire development could become the activity center of Franklin, a community that has never had a downtown.

Now, the bad news: Plans to convert the ball field at Frame Park in Waukesha into a ballpark for a Northwoods League team have been put on hold.

The Northwoods League is a summer league for college baseball players. It’s quality baseball and includes the Lakeshore Chinooks in Mequon and the Kenosha Kingfish.

Big Top Baseball, which operates the Northwoods League teams in Madison, Wisconsin Rapids, Kenosha and Green Bay, wants to bring a team to Waukesha. Big Top would have made an annual lease payment that would have covered most of the cost for the ballpark.

Frame Park is a great park on the Fox River and near downtown Waukesha. The park also has a good ball field.

But a proposal to convert the ball field into a 2,500-seat ballpark for the Northwoods League raised concerns in the community, including parking and traffic. Some said a ballpark would wreck the aesthetic feel of the park But an amenity that attracts more people to the park, and the downtown Waukesha area, should be considered a good thing. Don’t you want that activity and excitement in the heart of your community?

Similar concerns were raised in Franklin about The Rock Sports Complex and its Ballpark Commons project. The ballpark project faced several setbacks there before finally gaining approval and moving forward.

Hopefully the same thing happens, eventually, in Waukesha. n

ANDREW WEILAND EDITOR

P / 414-336-7120 E / andrew.weiland@biztimes.com T / @AndrewWeiland

BluTender Battle for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

AROUND TOWN

Marcus Hotels & Resorts held a BluTender Battle event to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at The Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee.

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1.

BECKY CURRAN of the United States Business Leadership Network and DEB WOLNIAK of March of Dimes.

2.

LAINA TRUSS, DANA JOHNSON and CASSY SCRIMA , all of Marcus Hotels & Resorts.

3.

BRIAN PETERS of Marcus Hotels & Resorts and CHRISTINE PETERS of Waterstone Mortgage Corp.

4.

BRUCE SPANN of Spann & Associates LLC and LAURIE RAPPA, ADRIANA CHESSMAN and CHELSEA METZGER , all of Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

5.

BAILEY JOHNSTON and SYDNEY WAISANEN, both of Marcus Hotels & Resorts.

6.

MEREDITH PRESTI and LAURA ULRICH , both of US Foods.

7.

DAVID CARUSO of Dynamic Events

by David Caruso and ADAM STEFFAN of the Wauwatosa School District.

8.

KIRK BOKNEVITZ and BOB FISHER , both of Edward Don & Co., with RYAN NORMAN of Alto-Shaam and HOLLY PRICE of Bon-Ton.

9.

JEN UTTKE of MPI Connect and MALLORY DAVIS of Mungo Creative Group.

Photos by Maredithe Meyer

IBAW Meet the Candidates The Independent Business Association of Wisconsin recently hosted a Meet the Candidates breakfast event at the Wisconsin Club in downtown Milwaukee.

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10. JIMMY HANSEN of Mathison Manufacturing and JOHN HUBER of Waukesha State Bank.

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11. JEFF O’CONNOR of CJM Lighting and RICK FESSENBECKER of Northwoods Web Solutions.

12. KARL METZGER of Guardian Business Solutions and ROBERT GROSS of Gross Automation LLC. 13. CODY ZIEGLER of The Boerke Co. Inc. and JAKE HANSEN of Jacsten LLC. 14. SUE KOHLMANN of Kohlmann Management Group and JEANIE BROWN of Quality Resource Group.

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15. JOHN HUBER of Waukesha State Bank and GREG LYONS of O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong & Laing S.C. 16. MICHAEL POLUDNIAK of Merrill Lynch and MICHAEL RITT of CTaccess.

17. DEBBIE WICK and JERRY WICK , both of Custom Data Too Mail, and JEFF O’CONNOR of CJM Lighting.

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18. ANN BARRY HANNEMAN of von Briesen & Roper S.C. and JEFF HOFFMAN of The Boerke Co. Inc. Photos by Maredithe Meyer biztimes.com / 29

LILA ARYAN PHOTOGRAPHY

BizConnections

5 MINUTES WITH…

MARTY BROOKS

Chief executive officer, Wisconsin Center District MARTY BROOKS was named Wisconsin Center District chief executive officer in December, where he will oversee operations of the Wisconsin Center, the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, the Miller High Life Theatre and the new arena for the Milwaukee Bucks. Brooks comes to Milwaukee from St. Louis, where he was most recently the senior vice president and general manager for the Edward Jones Dome and the America’s Center Convention Complex.

In a recent interview with BizTimes reporter Corrinne Hess, Brooks discussed his ideas for the WCD. MILLER HIGH LIFE THEATRE “We need to become aggressive in identifying artists, shows and special events that can increase the activity of the Miller High Life Theatre. Quite simply, we need to book more events. We believe the 4,000-seat theater and the other unique event spaces in the building are an asset to the community and WCD’s responsibility is to make sure the public has a chance to use them. We will be immediately intensifying our efforts to attract entertainment and sports events to the Theatre and UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.”

WISCONSIN CENTER EXPANSION “Last year, the convention center brought nearly 300,000 people to down30 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 5, 2018

town Milwaukee and our goal is to increase that traffic in the coming years.

The Center District board has worked over the past year to improve the convention center business at the District. This includes increased cooperation between the boards of the Center District and VISIT Milwaukee; operational improvements to better utilize our current space; and an expansion feasibility study evaluating the need for additional hotel rooms, additional square footage and new types of event space. I look forward to meeting with the authors of the study to better understand the process they followed, then review and ask questions about their observations and recommendations.”

FOURTH AND WISCONSIN SITE “The recommendations for convention center expansion make it clear: to attract more conventions, there need to be more blocks of hotel rooms.

The development of the (vacant) Fourth and Wisconsin (site) needs to be considered as part of the Wisconsin Center expansion process, which will include an analysis of existing – and potential increase to – the number of hotel rooms around the city. There is not one area or proposal that stands out, but in order for convention center expansion to have an impact on the types of conventions Milwaukee is able to host, it needs to happen in conjunction with new hotel rooms.” n

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