BizTimes Milwaukee | April 1, 2019

BIG BUCKS:

FISERV’S $22 BILLION DEAL biztimes.com

APR 1 - 14, 2019 » $3.25

Presents:

WAUKESHA COUNTY 2035 April 26, 2019 | 7:00-11:00 am | The Ingleside Hotel

Register Today! biztimes.com/2035 “Competing in a New Era of Innovation” Join us on April 26th as author Greg Satell (1) shares his insights on how the new era of innovation is transforming connections and interactions with customers, partners, vendors and employees.

Greg is a popular author, speaker, and trusted adviser whose new book, Cascades: How to Create a Movement that Drives Transformational Change, will be published by McGraw-Hill in April, 2019. His previous effort, Mapping Innovation, was selected as one of the best business books of 2017.

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As an accomplished entrepreneur, executive and one of the foremost experts on innovation today, Greg speaks to audiences around the world and works with leading organizations to better compete in today’s disruptive marketplace. He was recently named by Innovation Excellence as #2 on its global list of “Top 40 Innovation Bloggers” and by IDG as one of “10 Digital Transformation Influencers to Follow Today.”

Following the keynote presentation, local CEOs will discuss how technology and innovation are changing their business and what they are doing now to stay relevant for the next two decades.

• W. Kent Lorenz, Retired Chairman, CEO - Acieta LLC (2) Topic: IoT Technology trends for manufacturers • Joel Quadracci, Chairman, President, CEO - Quad (3) Topic: From Disrupted to Disruptor

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• John C. Hill, Jr. (“Jay”), CTO and COO, Imaging, GE Healthcare (4)

Following the presentations, it’s time to roll up your sleeves as the program continues with 12 unique roundtable discussions. Attend any three. Each table will be led by an expert discussion leader. Topics include: • • • • • •

Best Practices for Building Expansions Creating Work Environments that Support Strong Cultures Disrupt or Be Disrupted: The Rise of Digital Ecosystems Economic Development – Planning for 2035 Investing in Leadership IoT Technology Trends for Manufacturers

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Rethinking Agility for a Post Digital Age Talent Attraction Trends & Tools The Future of Housing In and Around Waukesha County Three Retirement Questions You Should Ask Upskilling your Workforce for a Competitive Advantage Waukesha County Transportation Infrastructure Event Partners:

LOCALLY OWNED FOR 24 YEARS

» APR 1 - 14, 2019

BIG BUCKS:

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BizTimes Milwaukee (ISSN 1095-936X & USPS # 017813) Volume 25, Number 1, April 1, 2019 – April 14, 2019. 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 2019 by BizTimes Media LLC. All rights reserved.

Contents

FISERV’S $22 BILLION DEAL

4 Leading Edge 4 NOW

BY THE NUMBERS 5 FRESH DIGS 6 MY FAVORITE TECH COFFEE BREAK 7 JUMP START 8 THE GOOD LIFE 9 INNOVATIONS 10 BIZ POLL WHO’S ON THE BOARD

11 Biz News 11 THE INTERVIEW 14 MY TAKE

15 Real Estate 30 Strategies 30 DAN STEININGER 31 DAVID BORST 32 JOHN HOWMAN

COVER STORY

18

34 Biz Connections 34 PAY IT FORWARD 36 GLANCE AT YESTERYEAR COMMENTARY 37 AROUND TOWN 38 MY BEST ADVICE

Special Report 18 M&A

In addition to the cover story, coverage includes a look at the largest deals in the Milwaukee area during the past 12 months and a report on the BizTimes M&A Forum.

WE’RE PROUD TO BE

WISCONSIN’S BANK FOR BUSINESS ™

414-273-3507 | townbank.us JAY MACK President & CEO

JOHN JOHANNES Executive Vice President, Commercial Real Estate

DENNIS KRAKAU Executive Vice President, Commercial Banking

biztimes.com / 3

Leading Edge

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

NOW

The video board at Fiserv Forum, where the main 2020 DNC events will take place.

Milwaukee picked to host 2020 Democratic National Convention

By Maredithe Meyer, staff writer Milwaukee has been selected to host the 2020 Democratic National Convention, which will take place from July 13-16, 2020.

It will mark the first time the Democratic Party has held a national convention in the Midwest since Chicago in 1996, and it will be the first major national political party convention ever to be held in Wisconsin.

Milwaukee was selected over Miami Beach and Houston. The decision came after months of anticipation and talks between the city and the DNC, including two visits from party officials.

“This choice is a statement of our values, and I’m thrilled Milwaukee will host the 2020 Democratic National Convention,” said DNC chairman Tom Perez. “The Demo-

BY THE NUMBERS The 2020 Democratic National Convention is expected to have a

$

200

MILLION economic impact on the Milwaukee area’s economy, according to VISIT Milwaukee.

4 / BizTimes Milwaukee APRIL 1, 2019

cratic Party is the party of working people, and Milwaukee is a city of working people.”

Milwaukee’s bid committee throughout the selection process touted the implications of such an event, projecting it will attract about 50,000 visitors and generate about $200 million in economic impact to the area.

“Milwaukee is a first-class city, and we are ready to showcase Milwaukee on one of the largest stages in the world,” said Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.

The four-day convention will mainly take place at Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee, but there will be approximately 1,500 related events being held at venues throughout the area, impacting Milwaukee’s corporate, nonprofit and small business communities, the local bid committee said.

To land the DNC, Milwaukee needed to provide a minimum of 15,000 hotel rooms within 40 minutes of the city’s convention center district and Fiserv Forum. During the months leading up to the announcement, VISIT Milwaukee worked with the DNC’s housing team to secure 16,000 rooms at hotels throughout southeastern Wisconsin, including as far west as Waukesha and as far south as Racine.

Those 16,000 committed rooms will likely accommodate the party’s staff, delegates and their families,

but the four-day convention also brings in lobbyists, sponsors and national and international media who will also need a place to stay.

That’s why hotels as far as a twohour drive from Milwaukee are gearing up for July 2020. Visitors bureaus in Green Bay, Fond du Lac, Kenosha and Lake County, Illinois all confirmed hotels in those areas either have rooms on hold or have received reservation inquiries.

Similar confirmations also came from multiple outlying hotels, including The Edgewater in Madison, which said it had reserved rooms before Milwaukee was selected for the DNC, and the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa in Lake Geneva, according to operator The Marcus Corp.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee restaurants are already anticipating a huge surge in business during the 2020 DNC. Restaurants in the city could be calling each other to help accommodate the demand, said Omar Shaikh, co-owner and president of SURG Restaurant Group.

“This is going to be a situation where nobody is going to be fighting for business, where we’re going to be pulling our hairs out calling each other saying, ‘Can you get this party? Can you fit that party in?’” he said. “We’ve had a lot of large events in Milwaukee – nothing like this, nothing to the magnitude of this.” n

JAKE HILL PHOTOGRAPHY

FRESH DIGS

HORIZON RETAIL CONSTRUCTION OW N E R / DE V E LOPE R : Horizon Retail Construction A RC H I T E C T: Midwest Architects C ON T R AC TOR : Horizon Retail Construction C O S T: Undisclosed C OM PL E T E D : January 2019

HORIZON RETAIL CONSTRUCTION’S new office building, at 9999 E. Exploration Court in Sturtevant, is only about two miles from its old office. Yet it’s worlds away in terms of what it offers employees.

Patrick Christensen, president of Horizon, said the company needed a new office space that provided both more room for training and more amenities for workers. The new building also serves as a key recruitment tool, which is important when working in an industry that is dealing with a shortage of skilled workers.

“We’re always trying to attract a stronger crop of recent college graduates,” Christensen said.

The 40,000-square-foot build-

ing features large open-concept office areas, a private gym with locker rooms, plenty of meeting space, and an outdoor basketball hoop, among other things.

The office interior was designed

by Colleen Kekahbah, Horizon’s business operations manager. She said most of its features are custom-made, from the glass doors down to the signs on the locker rooms and bathrooms.

“Nothing by any means was a stock item,” she said.

The meeting rooms are all named after cities where Horizon does business. These include San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas, Miami and Milwaukee/Chicago. n – Alex Zank biztimes.com / 5

Leading Edge

BIZTIMES MEDIA – Like us

COFFEE BREAK

Anne Nowakowski Co-owner | Stefan Soccer Supply Inc. 2075 S. 170th St., New Berlin

LINKEDIN “I credit LinkedIn with helping me land my current job at Stowell Associates. Although I wasn’t looking for a new position, I was found on this site and the door was opened for an amazing opportunity with a top-notch company. LinkedIn helps me stay connected to other professionals and is also my daily go-to source for business updates.”

AUDIBLE “While curling up on the couch with a good book sounds wonderful, I just do not have the time for that. Luckily, I discovered a way to listen to books during my commute to and from work. Audible works on any device and has a huge business book library. My favorites would have to be ‘Powerful’ by Patty McCord, ‘Start with Why’ by Simon Sinek and ‘Fusion’ by Denise Lee Yohn.”

MESSAGES “Phone call or text? I hate to admit it, but I am a texter. There, I said it. I find that texting is the most efficient way to communicate and keep up with my family and friends. It’s convenient, to-the-point and helps me relay information quickly. This comes in very handy with my busy life and helps me look cool to my two teenaged sons who grew up texting and never making phone calls.” n 6 / BizTimes Milwaukee APRIL 1, 2019

• “We’re always looking to improve; we’re always looking for the next best thing,” Nowakowski said.

• She loves to travel. Because of the business she’s in, Nowakowski has been able to visit places like South Africa, Germany and Italy. “There’s nothing like a World Cup, especially when you travel to another country and you see fans from all over the world.”

• Nowakowski has two grandchildren, a 4-year-old and an 18-month-old. “They keep me busy,” she said.

• Nowakowski likes her coffee black. n

O

“Most of my free time is spent creating content for this social media giant. I have filmed, edited and uploaded over 350 videos to the YouTube channel called pink2paris. Here, people all over the world can see my luxury product reviews, beauty tutorials, fashion hauls and lifestyle vlogs.

I also spend a great deal of time on YouTube engaging with my channel’s 10,000-plus subscribers and learning from others who spark my interest.”

• Nowakowski thrives on change. She also runs the business to be as flexible to change as possible, so it can adjust when the time is right. This is exemplified through Stefans’ recent decision to purchase the former Fun World building in the Town of Brookfield, where Stefans plans to put a new flagship store, company headquarters and warehouse operations all under one roof.

PH

YouTube

• The family ties run even deeper than that. Nowakowski said both her children also hold prominent roles in the business. Craig works full-time on the retail side as a general manager, while Kate is fulltime on the institutional side with order processing and customer service.

YA N

Brook Mayborne is director of human resources at Stowell Associates Inc., a care management and home care provider based in Milwaukee.

Leading the company’s HR team, she oversees all areas of strategic HR planning, talent development and workplace culture. While balancing busy schedules both at work and at home, Mayborne relies on a few tech tools to tap into her creative side and to stay on task.

• “Basically, we run two businesses,” she said. “We run the retail soccer specialty and we also have the institutional side of the business that sells uniforms and soccer equipment.”

AR

BROOK MAYBORNE

• Nowakowski, who co-owns Stefans Soccer with her husband, Dan, represents the second generation of family ownership of the athletic apparel and equipment store.

L IL A

MY FAVORITE TECH

INDUSTRY: Retail EMPLOYEES: 47 during offseason months, 70-75 during the summer

TO

GR

A PH

Y

JAKE HILL PHOTOGRAPHY

LITEZILLA LLC LOCATION: Cedarburg FOUNDER: Adam Butlein Greenspan FOUNDED: 2013 PRODUCT: Interactive light boards WEBSITE: litezilla.com EMPLOYEES: One full-time, two part-time GOAL: Double the business to $1 million in revenue this year.

EXPERIENCE: Greenspan previously co-founded social enterprise clothing retailer Uniform, and was a partner at home electronics installer Techteriors in Mequon.

Adam Butlein Greenspan

Cedarburg company makes life-size Lite-Brites

By Molly Dill, staff writer

MANY KIDS have fond memories of playing with Lite-Brite toys as a kid. A backlit pegboard was the canvas, and tiny colored bulbs were the paint.

But imagine if the Lite-Brite was life-size.

“I built a giant Lite-Brite for my kids, my wife posted it on Facebook and it went viral,” said Adam Butlein Greenspan.

In 2013, Greenspan founded LiteZilla LLC around his innovation, and in 2016, it launched retail sales. So far, the company has sold about 120 of the light boards, which retail for $10,000 to $27,000. They come in five sizes, from 4 feet by 5 feet, to 12 feet by 6 feet.

LiteZilla, which is based in Cedarburg, has the light boards contract manufactured at Jonco Industries Inc. in Milwaukee using as many local components as possible.

The light board is sold online to general consumers, and even earned a spot in the Hammacher Schlemmer gift catalog. But it’s also marketed to dentist and pediatrician offices as an activity for waiting rooms. Children with neurological disorders and autism are particularly drawn to the LiteZilla, and some have seen

a positive impact from using it, Greenspan said.

For example, LiteZilla donated a unit to the radiation oncology waiting room at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Patients use the board to relax and express their creativity.

“This year is about continuing to be on the trajectory of growth that we have been, which is doubling each year, but also finding our foothold in one or two industries that are going to be most consistent,” he said. “We are in talks with some folks like Disney, we are in talks with a lot of hotel chains, we are in talks with some hospitals.”

This year, LiteZilla is launching two new products: A LiteZilla table that retails for $1,000 to $1,500, and a smaller 3-by-3 version of the wall unit at a lower price point around $5,500.

Greenspan has faced the challenge of reducing costs without compromising his design.

So far, he has self-funded the business and raised about $200,000 from friends and family.

“To maintain the current traction that we have in the business, it’s going to take some capital so we don’t slow ourselves down,” Greenspan said. n biztimes.com / 7

Leading Edge

Skiing across the world

By Madison Goldbeck, staff writer

T

odd Dunsirn, founder and former chief executive officer of Glendale-based software firm True Process Inc., was introduced to the world of competitive cross-country skiing about 10 years ago by a friend. His first race was the American Birkebeiner in Hayward, better known as the “Birkie.” As part of the Worldloppet series of races, the American race is in Wisconsin.

Dunsirn racing in Germany, where he skied over a foot of snow in the Alps.

the Dunsirn after finishing the 90 km Vasaloppet.

Good LIFE

“If you live here, it is something you should see at least once,” Dunsirn said. “Or even better, participate.”

The race is open to novice and professional athletes. Olympic gold medalist Kikkan Randall skied the Birkie this year. This year was Dunsirn’s seventh Worldloppet. He’s raced in the United States, Estonia, Norway, Sweden, Czech Republic, Germany and Italy.

“There are hills where you really get going 30 to 40 miles per hour,” Dunsirn said.

“We’ve skied in races where the temperature

is negative 10 degrees and even lower. Skiing 50 kilometers in these conditions is physically and mentally taxing.”

Dunsirn, who sold True Process last year, has turned his hobby into something he can do with his friends and family. His wife and three sons also ski the Birkie. This year, Dunsirn has made it into Wave 1 of the American Birkebeiner, an accomplishment he didn’t think was possible a few years ago.

“Being 47 years old, I don’t think I’ll ever win a race,” Dunsirn said. “But I do place pretty high in the smaller races and have placed in my age group in those. This year my oldest son placed 58th overall, which is incredible.”

Dunsirn plans on skiing his eighth Worldloppet in Iceland this May. “It’s about setting a goal, pushing myself, training and seeing what I can accomplish,” he said. n

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

8 / BizTimes Milwaukee APRIL 1, 2019

INN Vance draws on experiences to create patient engagement software

Alinea Engage LLC Fox Point

INNOVATION: Patient engagement software FOUNDER: Carol Vance FOUNDED: 2015 alinea-engage.com

VAT I CAROL VANCE formed the idea for her startup over the past 18 years. And for the past three-plus years, she has been iterating on the actual product.

Vance, founder of Fox Pointbased Alinea Engage, studied rehabilitation psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. During graduate school, she worked as a research assistant at the Medical College of Wisconsin, supporting individuals with diabetes in self-management of the disease. And her sister owns an occupational therapy practice in Chicago. There’s a lot of nuance that goes into health behavior change, particularly when it comes to chronic disease or physical therapy.

“I had a front row seat to seeing what private practice ambulatory care providers, such as physical therapists, occupational therapists, were up against,” she said. “They were seeking to provide high-quality care, make a difference, and they also have to manage their workflow, manage their margins. I recognized this opportunity to streamline the workflow for providers, add power to what they were trying to do and at the same time, increase the relief the patients had.”

Using Alinea Engage software, which is targeted to physical therapy practices, providers can digitize their intake forms and complete the onboarding process before a patient arrives for the appointment. In addition, the platform provides automated touchpoints between the provider and the patient before and after the appointment, with introductions to the providers and reminders to do exercises at home. The goal is to increase patient engagement.

Alinea recently raised an $860,000 seed funding round, led by Brookfield-based Golden Angels Investors, for the launch of its software platform. Vance plans

NS

to expand her staff from three to 15 this year as it builds out the technology.

When Vance had the idea for Alinea Engage, she approached a physical therapy provider to test the idea. Once it had created a minimum viable product, the Alinea Engage’s software platform can guide patients through startup tested it physical therapy exercises. with the practice and gathered feedback from therthem in to completing those forms apists, staff and patients to adjust in a way that feels much more its offerings. engaging than just completing a “I found one of the things we form.” do really well is we’re visionary, but In some instances, Alinea we believe in taking an incremenEngage has helped providers tal approach to development,” decrease the number of patient Vance said. no-shows. Visits are also more In that first phase, Alinea likely to start on time if patients learned it needed to start the have filled out information ahead communication process between of time, she said. provider and patient not with the Alinea Engage is currently patient’s first appointment, but rolling out to outpatient rehabilas soon as the appointment was itation practices because of the made. She found clients on the ongoing nature of those relationEast Coast, West Coast, in rural ships, Vance said. In the future, Wisconsin and in urban Chicago, she hopes to apply the platform to and tested the new version further. other areas of health care. n Now, Vance feels Alinea has gained traction and the market landscape is ready for the product.

“We use the psychology of health behavior change to identify what are some of those opportune points (to communicate) and then reflecting the patient profile, as well as who the provider is,” she said.

A communication from a provider to a patient using the Alinea platform can be customized messaging, with a different cadence based on the patient’s profile and behaviors, she said. The automaMOLLY DILL tion of that messaging can free up Managing Editor providers to focus on patient care P / 414-336-7144 and relationship building.

E / molly.dill@biztimes.com “We’re not just an online T / @BizMolly clipboard,” Vance said. “We draw biztimes.com / 9

Leading Edge BIZ POLL

Who’s on the Board?

A recent survey of BizTimes.com readers.

Milwaukee will host the 2020 Democratic National Convention. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Good thing:

Bad thing:

77%

23%

Adams

REXNORD CORP.

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

• Todd Adams, president and chief executive officer of Rexnord • Paul Jones, former president and CEO of A.O. Smith Corp.

• Mark Bartlett, former partner at Ernst & Young LLP. • Thomas Christopoul, co-founder and executive vice president of 54 Madison Partners.

• Theodore Crandall, senior vice president at Rockwell Automation Inc.

• George Moore, former chief financial officer of Rexnord.

• David Longren, former senior vice president at Polaris Industries Inc. • John Stropki, former president and CEO of Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc. • John Stroup, president and CEO of Belden Inc. • Robin Walker-Lee, former executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of TRW Automotive Holdings Corp.

A message from our sponsor:

The topic of leadership is what motivated us to sponsor this inaugural Executive Forum. As CEO of Park Bank, I am surrounded by a team of highly qualified leaders and bankers who are fully invested in our vision to be the best bank for growing businesses in southeastern Wisconsin. Their commitment and like-minded approach to building lasting relationships is a cultural tenet shared throughout the organization, and the foundation of our success.

Likewise, we are honored to personally work with thousands of local business leaders. Behind every high-performing company we partner with, we find a team of strong, dedicated leaders. In fact, many of the leadership qualities and practices outlined in John Lankford’s book, ”The Answer is Leadership. What is the Question?” are being applied by our customers - starting with their decision and commitment to be the best. It is extremely rewarding to have the opportunity to help support their vision.

We hope this Forum serves as a catalyst for new ideas and meaningful change in your company. If your plans call for a banking partner who works hard alongside you, we would love to hear from you.

Dave Werner President and CEO Park Bank

10 / BizTimes Milwaukee APRIL 1, 2019

BizNews

the

Interview

THERE’S A LOT going on at GRAEF, including its recent decision to move its headquarters from the Honey Creek

Corporate Center to The Avenue in downtown Milwaukee. The engineering, planning and design firm will move in to the building’s third floor by the end of this year. Lori Rosenthal, who has been with GRAEF for nearly 25 years, says the move brings the company closer to a number of its clients and projects. GRAEF has also over the past year made some acquisitions, including Waukesha-based Czarnecki Engineering Inc. and Miami-based Consulting Engineering & Science Inc. BizTimes reporter Alex Zank spoke with Rosenthal recently about these developments and more.

How will the new headquarters impact the firm and what are its overall benefits?

“We are super excited about it. This space is going to be able to do a few things for us. One is, our current space doesn’t allow our full staff in Milwaukee to be all at one level. We’re split between floors, and to have a space where we could be all on one floorplate and collaborate better, we’re very excited about. Just having new vibrant space within this gorgeous, historic building with these great high ceilings, there’s just light infusing everywhere in this space. It’s just a fantastic, raw space. And then, being able to be a part of developing the space itself, with our staff along with a consultant, it’s fun to be able to work on something that’s going to be affecting us. There’s just a lot of amenities I think our staff is really going to enjoy. We’ll have our own direct parking, workout facilities, but really, I think the main highlight is just being in the middle of the city.”

GRAEF is one of several companies that has recently chosen to move downtown. What is the lure from GRAEF’s perspective?

“It’s fun to be able to leave the office for lunch and go walk to various venues, various restaurants. A number of us are excited about doing things after work right in the area. We do have a number of other clients that are down in that area. I think there’s just a lot of energy, and you can really start to see this develop. You’ve got the entertainment block, Fiserv Forum, (Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra), that whole area is really starting to grow.”

How have recent acquisitions impacted the company and what are the benefits?

“Those are two very different kinds of acquisitions, although both of them are really important. The acquisition in Miami is a very strategic one. GRAEF is looking to grow our water practice, and this is a firm that focuses in water engineering services and coastal engineering. So, it was really important for us to be able to make an acquisition of that type. It’s also in a key area for us. We have a focus in that southeast portion of the country, so that hit on that mark as well. That’s been a really great acquisition for us. We have our Orlando office that’s working with them closely. And the Czarnecki acquisition – Czarnecki Engineering is a small electrical engineering firm in Milwaukee – was a little different. It was really focused on trying to fill a gap in hiring. Right now, especially electrical engineering, but really all sorts of engineering, that market is very tight. So, we’re looking at what are other ways to fill those hiring gaps.” n

Lori Rosenthal GRAEF-USA Inc. 125 S. 84th St., Suite 401, Milwaukee Employees: 280 graef-usa.com

JAKE HILL PHOTOGRAPHY

Vice president and principal

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Gov. Evers’ proposal to reform state’s marijuana laws

Gov. Tony Evers recently announced proposals to reform the state’s marijuana laws, including: legalization of medical marijuana; decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use; and alignment of Wisconsin’s laws on CBD oil with federal standards. Some are concerned the moves would eventually lead to the full legalization of marijuana, even for recreational use. n

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MEDICAL USE “As a cancer survivor, I know the side effects of a major illness can make everyday tasks a challenge. People shouldn’t be treated as criminals for accessing a desperately-needed medication that can alleviate their suffering.”

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“Too many people, often persons of color, spend time in our criminal justice system just for possessing small amounts of marijuana. That doesn’t make our communities stronger or safer.”

“There is no chance Republicans are going to go to recreational marijuana. They’re not going to decriminalize it so people can carry around bags of weed all over the state.”

FULL LEGALIZATION “We should let the people of Wisconsin decide with a statewide referendum. If the voters of Wisconsin agree, I would sign a legalization bill into law.”

“When (Evers) came out in favor of legalization of marijuana, that’s one of the times when I said, ‘No way.’ That is not something the majority of the state has as its goal and its priority.”

Real Estate

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ALEX ZANK

The streetcar headed southbound along North Broadway. Behind it is 600 N. Broadway, the site of developer Charles Bailey’s proposed 62-room boutique hotel.

Several development projects in the works on streetcar route

LOCAL DEVELOPER Charles Bailey has put forward ambitious plans to redevelop the historic building at 600 N. Broadway in downtown Milwaukee into a 62-room boutique hotel with street-level restaurant or retail space.

Bailey says this site was chosen

in part due to its proximity to The Hop, the city’s new downtown streetcar system. In fact, the streetcar runs right past the property along North Broadway.

The development site is close to a stop near the intersection of North Broadway and East Wisconsin Avenue.

“It’s a really big deal, especially when the system is fully matured (and) it reaches all the areas it’s supposed to be,” Bailey said of The Hop. The new $128 million streetcar opened to the public in November. The controversial project has its share of critics, but also has attracted significant interest from real estate developers.

“The development community, the real estate community, is really starting to build up around the streetcar,” said Matt Dorner, economic development director of Milwaukee Downtown, Business Improvement District No. 21.

Dorner said that as prime development sites, such as those near the lakefront, begin to fill, the streetcar provides “the next roadmap” in the way of development opportunities.

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Walled Lake, Michigan-based real estate investment firm Etkin & Co. acquired its first Milwaukee area property when it recently purchased a major portion of The Shoppes at Fox River shopping center in Waukesha.

SBV-Fox River LLC, an affiliate of Etkin, bought the center for $55 million.

The retail development at the intersection of West Sunset Drive and Oakdale Drive was one of two properties sold recently by Farmington Hills, Michigan-based RPT Realty for a combined $68.5 million. The other shopping center sold was East Town Plaza in Madison.

Major tenants at the 55-acre Shoppes at Fox River include Target, Pick ’n Save, Hobby Lobby, T.J. Maxx, Petco and ULTA Beauty. Joanne Etkin, partner at Etkin, said there are only two vacant spaces in the shopping center; one is 7,500 square feet and another is 1,000 square feet.

The center was developed on a former Fleming Cos. property, and was one of the few retail developments built in the metro Milwaukee area during the Great Recession. biztimes.com / 15

The Mayer and Durner Building sits at the northeast corner of North Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and West Brown Street, located in a neighborhood filled with historic buildings just north of downtown Milwaukee. Built in 1891 and designed by architect Henry Messmer, the building serves as an “excellent example of the exuberant Victorian commercial architecture of the late 19th century,” according to a Historic Preservation Commission report.

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Real estate development projects in various stages near the streetcar line include, among others: The conversion of the Underwriters Exchange building at 828 N. Broadway into a 90-unit apartment building; the 25-story BMO Tower office building going up at 790 N. Water St.; the renovation of the Milwaukee Athletic Club at 758 N. Broadway; renovations of two retail storefronts at 219-227 N. Broadway; construction of the 11-story Huron Building at 511 N. Broadway; and The Couture, the long-planned 44-story apartment tower to be constructed at 909 E. Michigan St. The Couture project would include a transit concourse to be used by both The Hop’s Lakefront Line extension and Milwaukee County’s planned bus rapid transit service.

Dorner also noted that commercial real estate brokers have begun to incorporate the streetcar more into their marketing plans for available space in the area. He pointed to the recently renovated Two-Fifty office tower at 250 E. Wisconsin Ave. as an example, saying the owners have used the building’s proximity to the streetcar as a selling point.

When Kansas City-based engineering firm HNTB Corp. recently announced its plans to move its Milwaukee office into the Two-Fifty building this summer, it noted that access to The Hop and other transportation features played a role in this decision.

The streetcar even appeared to be a factor in the decision to locate the 2020 Democratic National Convention in the city. An agreement signed by city leaders calls for The Hop to offer free service during the convention.

In addition, the city is looking to add a line extension that would bring the streetcar to the doorstep of the Wisconsin Center, at the intersection of Vel R. Phillips Avenue and West Wisconsin Avenue. The planned extension is to eventually reach Fiserv Forum, but the city can only partially construct it with the money available.

Jeff Polenske, Milwaukee

Department of Public Works commissioner, acknowledged his department has set a goal to finish the extension to Vel R. Phillips and Wisconsin avenues in time for the DNC, but also cautioned that nothing has been finalized.

“Partial funding has been dedicated for this segment but additional local funding will need to be secured and logistical challenges addressed in order to implement the segment in time for the Democratic National Convention,” Polenske said.

Bailey, who also operates the Kinn Guesthouse on South Kinnickinnic Avenue, said he sees fewer people relying on cars for transportation. The streetcar, though its route is currently limited, offers another way for them to move about downtown and nearby neighborhoods.

“Increasingly, my clients aren’t really driving,” he said. “People are getting Ubers from the airport and very few of them have their own automobiles anymore. So, the ability of traveling through the city and not pay for a cab is pretty nice.”

City officials have identified the next places they would like to see the streetcar go. Besides the extensions that will take it near the lakefront and Fiserv Forum, plans call for the system to eventually reach neighborhoods like Bronzeville, Walker’s Point and the Lower East Side.

Bailey and Dorner said these future extensions should prove to make the streetcar even more valuable to the city. n

ALEX ZANK Reporter

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biztimes.com / 17

STORY COVER

BIG BUCKS: FISERV’S $22 BILLION DEAL

BY MOLLY DILL, staff writer

M

oney makes the world go ’round.

And Fiserv Inc. moves that money.

The Brookfield-based financial technology developer, which provides back-end processing for banks and credit unions, has quietly built itself into a global powerhouse and is poised to become the most valuable publicly-traded company in Wisconsin.

Fiserv was born out of an acquisition in 1984, and it has continued to grow by buying new technologies – about 180 small acquisitions over the past 35 years. But with its recent announcement that it would acquire New York City-based point-of-sale transaction giant First Data Corp., Fiserv made its biggest, boldest move by far.

The $22 billion all-stock deal, which is pending regulatory approval, would be the largest ever in the fintech industry, and create the No. 1 global card issuer and merchant processor. It would bring together two leading Fortune 500 firms with an expected $15 billion in annual revenue. Fiserv’s market capitalization would nearly double to about $60 billion.

“The number of acquisitions that I’ve done in my … 14 years

18 / BizTimes Milwaukee APRIL 1, 2019

here has slowed down dramatically, but the quantum is much larger. We’re looking to take fewer and larger steps. Ways to help our clients keep up and jump ahead of the change that’s going on in the market,” said Jeffery Yabuki, president and chief executive officer of Fiserv.

companies are competing on the same scale,” he said. “It’s like saying if Amazon does Amazon Prime, does that affect Amazon Marketplace or Amazon Web Services? It’s quite different.”

Yabuki will continue to lead the combined company as CEO and chairman of the board. Frank Bisignano, chairman and CEO of First Data, will become president and chief operating officer.

Bisignano declined to comment for this article.

IN T E G R AT ING T W O GIAN T S

I

R E C O N F IGU RING T H E B U S IN E S S UK

The First Data acquisition is expected to close in the second half of 2019, most likely in the third quarter. Yabuki declined to point to a more specific completion date.

More than one-third of U.S. banks and credit unions use Fiserv core account processing. The company processes more than $75 trillion per year.

First Data specializes in commerce-enabling technology for merchants, securing and processing more than 3,000 transactions per second worldwide. Its Clover point-of-sale platform is used on more than 1 million devices globally.

Combining the companies gives Fiserv an end-to-end solution in the payments space – from the point when the customer inserts the chip card in a terminal, to the backend processing of the transaction.

Fiserv will also be able to offer the Clover merchant system through its bank customers in a cross-selling opportunity, said David Koning, a senior research analyst at Milwaukee-based Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. covering Fiserv.

And while the legacy Fiserv customers – financial institutions – are a loyal and reliable recurring revenue stream, the card transactions coming through Clover provide a fast-growing new segment, Koning said. As a result, Fiserv can up its earnings-per-share from 10 percent to 15 percent per year.

Terence Ow, associate professor of information technology in the management department at Marquette University, said the merger offers economies of scale, and the opportunity for Fiserv to enter a new market. It also smooths out the flow of the transaction from the moment a card is swiped to the moment the funds leave a bank account.

“If you can smooth out the flow, how much cost reduction will there be?” Ow asked.

While the transaction is massive, it will not likely have a long-term impact on the fintech industry, Koning said. The most serious impact will be the synergies gained via the combination – the cost savings from eliminating duplicative structures and employees, he said.

“You think about what typically happens in acquisitions. The management layer of the seller often gets displaced,” Koning said.

Fiserv has 24,000 employees worldwide, and First Data has 22,000 employees.

Because Fiserv is still in the planning phases of the companies’ in-

JE

RY FFE

B YA

tegration, Yabuki declined to say how many employees will be eliminated in the transaction, or which offices may be closed. He also hasn’t guaranteed Fiserv will keep its headquarters in the Milwaukee area.

“The beauty of this transaction is there’s not that much crossover,” Yabuki said. “We like the fact that it doesn’t rough and tumble the whole company.”

He pointed out the $500 million of revenue synergies Fiserv plans to gain from the transaction, which it will reinvest in product innovation and growth acceleration.

Aside from the technical aspects of bringing the companies together, the less tangible aspects, such as culture, can be crucial in a merger.

Fiserv emphasized its newly revamped aspiration (to move money in a way that moves the world), purpose and values, which it has displayed on a prominent wall in its Brookfield headquarters. The company prizes striving for excellence, has an internal company pride campaign called “I am orange,” and encourages volunteerism via Fiserv Gives Back.

“But let’s remember that First Data’s been around for 50 years. They’re not a fly-by-night company,” Yabuki said. “Frank Bisignano, the CEO, and I are going to operate as partners; we’re going to bring the company together and we’re completely confident and we’ve seen it already in the integration – the people are well aligned. We have big pockets of employment in Nebraska and Georgia …

“ The beauty of this transaction is there’s not that much crossover. We like the fact that it doesn’t rough and tumble the whole company.”

— Jeffery Yabuki, Fiserv Inc.

But Fiserv is also expecting $900 million of cost savings over five years following the acquisition, “driven primarily by the elimination of duplicative corporate structures, streamlined technology infrastructure, increased operational efficiencies, process improvements and footprint optimization,” the company said when it announced the deal.

“It’s a normal part of putting things together,” Yabuki said. “We won’t need duplicative CRM systems and we won’t need separate ERP systems, so there’s a lot of systemic opportunity there. We believe that we’ll be a larger purchaser, we’ll be a much larger company, we’ll be able to get more out of how we manage and negotiate with our vendors. And in some situations, we’ll absolutely have duplicative headcount.”

The company has created an Office of Mobility to identify new positions for affected employees within the company, Yabuki said.

Ow said the layoffs may not be too drastic because the companies have been operating in different segments and didn’t have a lot of overlap on clients.

“Redundancy usually happens when both

and other areas of the country.”

Because of the massive size of the companies, The Strawhecker Group, a payments industry consulting firm, estimated the Fiserv-First Data integration could take as long as 10 years.

“The integration of two companies of this scale will undoubtedly be a challenge – the short-term shock will take more than 18 months to recover from, with longer implications (culture, systems, etc.) possibly resulting in friction for a decade,” according to the report.

Yabuki pushed back on that characterization, saying the companies’ commitment to excellence means “it better not take 10 years.”

“We’re going to be very focused on getting it done as quickly as possible,” he said. “But I will say in fairness if we’re doing our job, we’ll continue to identify opportunities that exist between the two companies. So I’m hopeful that in 2045, we’re still talking about how the coming together of the companies has created something special.”

While they now pale in comparison to the First Data deal, Fiserv has been making some significant changes to its businesses in recent years. biztimes.com / 19

STORY COVER

The Fiserv headquar ter

s in Brookfield.

The company last year acquired the debit card processing, ATM managed services and MoneyPass unit of U.S. Bancorp division Elan Financial Services for $690 million. MoneyPass is the second-largest fee-free network in the U.S., encompassing 33,000 ATMs. And in February 2018, Fiserv sold its Lending Solutions business to private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC for $395 million.

The combination of two giants in the fintech industry could result in competitors seeking to do their own acquisitions, Ow said.

“There may be an increase in M&A activity due to both this as well as the continued pressure of nimble fintechs like Square, Adyen, etc.,” the Strawhecker Group report said.

Indeed, just after Ow’s prediction, Fiserv competitor FIS announced plans to acquire Worldpay in a $43 billion deal.

H E ADQ U AR T E R S S E AR C H It was a coin toss that brought Fiserv to Milwaukee when it was formed from the merger of a Milwaukee and a Tampa, Florida company in 1984.

Fiserv in recent years has been hunting for a new corporate headquarters and in August 2017 had narrowed the search to three locations in the 20 / BizTimes Milwaukee APRIL 1, 2019

Milwaukee area, but had not ruled out other states. Wisconsin offered $10 million in tax credits for the company to keep its headquarters in the state.

Fiserv has not given an update on the headquarters search for months.

And a $10 million incentive isn’t likely to sway a company as large as Fiserv, Koning said.

Asked about the headquarters decision in an interview, Yabuki said the First Data deal has pushed that conversation to the back burner.

“I feel quite confident that we’ll continue to have a presence in Milwaukee,” he said. “It’s a big job to decide to pick up and put your toys away and go to another city and we’re busy building value for clients, associates and shareholders and that’s our No. 1 priority. We will, over time, make determinations on where the right place is for us to be and when those decisions come up, we’ll do our best to make the best possible decision.”

N AT IO N AL VI S IBIL I T Y In July, Fiserv announced it would be the naming rights sponsor for the new $524 million Milwaukee Bucks arena in downtown Milwaukee.

With the 25-year deal, the terms of which were

not disclosed, the arena became known as Fiserv Forum.

Fiserv is not a consumer facing business, so its decision to become the naming rights sponsor for the downtown Milwaukee arena surprised some.

Yabuki said he was chuckling to himself as he watched the reaction to the announcement in the Twitterverse. Many consumers had never heard of Fiserv.

“The fact that a brand is not a consumer brand isn’t the reason why you do things,” he said. “For us, we thought it was the right time in our evolution to elevate our brand, to signify that we were different than the other companies that were out there, and that we were willing to invest in communicating that to the local communities, as well as the country and the world overall.

“We also believe in what’s going on in Milwaukee. We’re highly committed to Milwaukee.

We like what the Bucks and their ownership are doing, and we thought it was a good partnership.”

It doesn’t hurt that the Bucks have the best record in the NBA, led by superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. The arena has been selling out night after night, and Fiserv Forum has quickly become

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STORY COVER

Fiserv CEO Jef fer y Yab

uki speaks at the openi

ng of the Fiserv Forum

part of the local vernacular.

And now, the Democratic National Convention is coming to Milwaukee and will host its mainstage events at Fiserv Forum. The city, the arena and therefore the Fiserv brand will get national and international attention.

Yabuki said the arena is also a chance to show off Fiserv’s technology offerings, particularly for point-of-sale transactions.

The naming rights deal would seem to indicate Fiserv has a stake in Milwaukee, and may keep its headquarters here. On the other hand, Fiserv and First Data both have major operations in the Atlanta area.

“When they did the Bucks stadium (naming rights deal), it just seems much more likely, at least for a while, that they stay here,” Koning said. “I think it would be a little surprising if you have a big Milwaukee stadium and then move your headquarters to Atlanta, near term.”

While it wasn’t some grand plan to make all these big moves at once, Yabuki said Fiserv is capitalizing on this moment.

“It’s a combination of how the world is evolving, how Fiserv the company is growing. And as those forces intersect, looking for ways to make sure that we can cement and build a reputation as an industry leader, as a great employer and as a place that shareholders want to put capital,” he said.

22 / BizTimes Milwaukee APRIL 1, 2019

in downtown Milwauke

e in August 2018. Ins

et: A sign on the new

Over the years, Fiserv has certainly performed well for shareholders, with 33 consecutive years of double-digit earnings growth. Its stock price is up nearly 17 percent year-over-year.

Splashing its name across an arena presents an opportunity for Fiserv to get in front of a lot of potential eyeballs. Yabuki said that’s key for the company’s talent attraction efforts in the competitive technology field.

“I think everyone knows that Milwaukee can be a challenge to recruit to,” he said. “For people who want to be in the Midwest, this is a great location for that. We’re close to Chicago, we’re close to Madison, we’ve got three universities that basically border downtown. So from that standpoint, it’s all great. It is a challenge, though, because there are so many pockets of technological capability around the U.S. and the world, so when you compare us to the Silicon Valley or you compare us to what’s going on in Massachusetts, I mean, that makes it a little bit more difficult.”

If a technology professional sees Fiserv’s name on the arena during news coverage of the DNC convention or a televised Milwaukee Bucks game, and then three years down the road is searching for a job, Yabuki wants the name to sound familiar.

A 2007 study by Michael Leeds at Temple University found naming rights do not have a long-

arena.

term impact on the profitability of the firms that buy them. But Yabuki feels confident in the decision.

“We’re a pretty quantitatively based firm. We took a look at all of these things when we made our decision and we believe that the combination of the brand value, the partnership that we have with the team and ownership, and where we think the transformation of financial services is going, all of that together makes this a good return for our clients, associates and shareholders,” he said.

“Well the Bucks have the best record in the NBA. Milwaukee just won the DNC. So everything that Jeff Yabuki touches turns to gold,” Koning said. “I don’t know how you justify it but my guess, some of the stuff that’s come out later’s been they went through a long-term discussion it sounds like and Fiserv probably got a pretty good deal.”

A L O NG -T E R M L E AD E R At 14 years, Yabuki is well beyond the average 7.2-year tenure for CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.

He joined Fiserv in 2005 from H&R Block, where he was chief operating officer and worked for six years. Earlier in his career, Yabuki was a public accountant at Ernst & Young/KL & Co. and held various positions over 12 years at American Express.

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STORY COVER “This is nowhere near a job for me. It’s something that I’m excited to get up in the morning, I don’t like to go to bed at night when I’m thinking about this, but it is an industry that is in the midst of change,” Yabuki said.

Fiserv keeps a deep bench of leaders on hand for its succession planning, he said, joking that he doesn’t plan to leave for 40 or 50 years.

“Back in the days of George Dalton and the founders of the company…I was blessed to be handed a company at the end of 2005 that had

even better than it was when we got it and on a good road to continued future success.”

In 2017, Yabuki earned a base salary of $840,000 and total compensation of $10.4 million. His employment agreement has been in place since 2008.

Bisignano earned a $1.3 million base salary and $13 million in total compensation in 2017.

F U T U R E T E C H NO L O GIE S Among the next wave of technologies Fiserv will integrate are blockchain and artificial intelligence.

Blockchain has proven to be the most secure

“ It’s a combination of how the world is evolving, how Fiserv the company is growing. And as those forces intersect, looking for ways to make sure that we can cement and build a reputation as an industry leader, as a great employer and as a place that shareholders want to put capital.”

— Jeffery Yabuki, Fiserv Inc. done really well,” Yabuki said. “And we try every day to keep up with the legacy that we were offered and we also get a lot of energy knowing that when we eventually hand it off to the next generation of leaders, we hope that the company will be

way to move high-value transactions, so Yabuki expects it will continue to play a role in cross-border or large-dollar-value transactions in the next decade.

“We were actually one of the first companies to move money from banks using a blockchain, and

so we’re quite familiar with it,” he said. “And we’re watching. But for the technology to work, it has to proliferate across a number of institutions. And as that happens, we’ll continue to stay involved.”

“This blockchain technology or Bitcoin… has been around for a while already,” Ow said. “But that’s only one technology. There could be other technologies coming in and with a full integration from end to end (in payments), this is where the savings come in.”

Artificial intelligence is already an integral part of Fiserv’s platforms, but the company is always looking for new ways to use it, Yabuki said.

Right now, that’s through Robotic Process Automation for billers and financial institutions.

Harnessing big data is a key part of the merger, with Fiserv now gaining access to the data at the front and back ends of millions of transactions.

“They get to see both sides of payment transactions now in a way that almost nobody else can,” Koning said. “They’re getting to see a lot of data that others don’t see.”

“One of the things that we’ve talked about in the context of the First Data transaction is we together have an incredibly robust set of data,” Yabuki said. “And so the ability to use the artificial intelligence and deep learning to create new tools and new ways for our clients to operate, we see as being in the nearer term horizon given where technology has advanced over the last few years and where we believe it’s going.” n

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M&A deals are complex events...

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Special Report M&A

M&A deal sizes continue to increase

By Molly Dill, staff writer THE MILWAUKEE MARKET saw the announcement of some megadeals over the past 12 months that were among the largest in years.

Public corporations drove the majority of the largest area mergers and acquisitions, with Brookfield-based Fiserv Inc.’s $22 billion planned acquisition of New York City-based First Data Corp. leading the way (see cover story).

The second-largest deal announced in the past year was Johnson Controls International plc’s planned $13.2 billion sale of its Power Solutions division to Toronto-based private equity firm Brookfield Business Partners L.P. The deal is expected to close by June 30.

Power Solutions is a major segment of JCI, with $8 billion in revenue and about 500 employees in the Milwaukee region. Through a series of M&A transactions over the past several years, the company has narrowed its focus to only building

Decades of Experience in Mergers and Acquisitions

solutions and technologies. The Power Solutions separation is expected to take some time, with the division retaining its headquarters in Glendale.

Sussex-based Quad/Graphics Inc. is also working on a large transaction – a $1.4 billion all-stock bid to acquire Chicago-based LSC Communications.

The acquisition, set to close in mid-2019, could nearly double the printing company’s revenue to $8 billion, while helping to further its strategy to mitigate industry disruption.

With the addition of LSC, Quad would also dou-

has been sold to

ble its manufacturing and distribution plant count.

But Quad plans to gain $60 million in cost savings through capacity rationalization, $50 million in savings on administrative efficiencies, and $25 million from supply chain management.

In August, the parent company of Fond du Lac-based outboard motor manufacturer Mercury Marine, Brunswick Corp., bought the global marine and mobile business of Menomonee Fallsbased battery and power management manufacturer Power Products LLC for $910 million in cash.

It was the largest acquisition Brunswick has ever made, and is expected to strengthen its parts and accessory business.

Parts and accessories accounted for about $1.3 billion in revenue for Brunswick in 2017, and Power Products was expected to add about $230 million in revenue for the company. In the end, Brunswick reported nearly $3 billion in 2018 sales for the segment.

The addition of Power Products’ global marine and mobile business added 11 new brands to Brunswick, and the company expects its Marine Engine segment will increase revenue at a rate of low-to-mid-teens percent as a result.

a product line of

has acquired

has acquired has been sold to

a portfolio company of

TRANSPORTATION

has acquired

PET WELLNESS

INDUSTRIAL FILTRATION

PRECISION MACHINING

has acquired

has acquired

THERMOFORMED PLASTICS

AEROSPACE & DEFENSE

has been sold to

CEI Acquisition Group an affiliate of

FOOD EQUIPMENT

CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT

See deal case studies and M&A whitepapers on our website bridgewoodadvisors.com Strategic Acquisition Searches • Private Company Sales • Corporate Divestitures • M&A Negotiations

DOUG MARCONNET Managing Director

ROBERT JANSEN Managing Director

ANNETTE KNOLL Vice President

WARD WICKWIRE Senior Advisor

The size of these recent Milwaukee-area deals could be explained by the current state of the M&A market overall. Over the past several years, deal size and number of deals have been steadily accelerating to record levels nationally.

About 70 percent of corporate executives and private equity firms expect larger deals this year than in 2018, according to a recent report from Deloitte. And 76 percent of the executives and 87 percent of the private equity leaders expect to close a greater number of deals in 2019.

“In 2018, the average deal size for U.S. deals with a disclosed value was $509 million, a new record and up from $380 million in 2017,” said Joseph Packee, co-head of Global Industrial Investment Banking at Milwaukee-based Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. “Of course, large deals pull up the average, but deal sizes were also higher in 2018 versus 2017 in the middle market (which we define as deals with disclosed value below $1 billion).”

It’s a seller’s market, with more buyers than sellers on the market, said Tom Kintis, president of CGK M&A Advisors in Milwaukee.

“I guess calling it a seller’s market is in the eye of the beholder, but sellers have done quite well

in the recent M&A market environment,” Packee said. “Buyers have also been aggressive in kicking open doors and unlocking strategic add-on opportunities – many of which have done very well.”

Companies seeking growth are turning to acquisitions, Kintis said.

“The market is still very strong,” he said. “When the economy is not growing at 3 or 4 percent and headed for a 2 percent year, the only place to get growth is acquisitions.”

Investors have started to include not just stocks and bonds, but also real estate and private equity in their portfolios, he said, which has driven a large influx of capital into private equity firms and family offices.

“The amount of buyers out there for us is exponential,” Kintis said.

Baird has seen a wave of capital being raised by traditional private equity funds, family offices and sovereign funds, Packee said.

“We’ve seen a continuation of this strong capital raising environment continue in 2019, and, as this capital needs to be invested, we’ve seen a high level of activity of these financial sponsors in our M&A processes,” he said. n

Corporate Transactions

aggregate value of approximately

$10.2 billion

ANNOUNCED IN PAST YEAR

22 billion

$

13.2 billion

$

1.4 billion

Fiserv Inc.-First Data Corp.

Johnson Controls International plcBrookfield Business Partners L.P.

$

Quad/Graphics Inc.LSC Communications Inc.

910 million

Mercury Marine Inc.-Power Products LLC

690 million

Fiserv-Elan Financial Services Inc.

500 million

OnCourse Learning Corp.Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA (reported)

419 million

Fiserv-Warburg Pincus LLC

$

$

$

$

$132.5 million

Quad/Graphics-Periscope Inc.

Marcus Corp.-Movie Tavern Inc.

126 million

$

$64.1 million

TCI LLC-Allied Motion Technologies Inc.

*Includes only deals with announced prices.

Buying or selling a business?

2018 Deals

104

LARGEST MILWAUKEE M&A DEALS

63

M&A transactions for a combined purchase price of over

$2.5 billion

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biztimes.com / 27

Special Report M&A

LaConte to discuss Dohmen reinvention at M&A Forum

By Molly Dill, staff writer SINCE 2006, The Dohmen Co. has made nine acquisitions and sold three divisions. And the 161-year-old company is gearing up to make more acquisitions as it transforms itself again.

Cynthia LaConte, chief executive officer of Dohmen, will give the keynote address at the 12th annual M&A Forum presented by BizTimes Media.

“Our goal is to continuously apply innovative thinking to how best to realize our vision,” LaConte said. “That means we stay vigilant about monitoring what business models can move the needle and which ones can’t.”

Dohmen has thrived over the years by bringing innovative solutions to market by either buying or building them, she said.

“The other side of that coin is to acknowledge that some business models reach a mature phase of their life cycle or they may need a different level of capital investment,” LaConte said.

Most recently, Dohmen sold its Life Science Services business; launched a new subsidiary, Dohmen Constellations; and transitioned to being a benefit corporation owned by a private foundation.

“We have a long tradition of innovation at Dohmen, and we’ve been successful staying focused on the future while staying true to our vision and values,” LaConte said.

Following LaConte’s address, there will be two panel discussions: “Buy Side Preparation: How to Seize the Moment” and “Sell Side Readiness: How to Prepare for Your Moment.”

The Buy Side Preparation discussion will cover opportunities and risks associated with buying a

Cynthia LaConte, CEO, The Dohmen Co. business; implications of mistiming the market; and managing the before-and-after of a purchase. Panelists will include: Brian Baker, president and CEO of Sentry Equipment Corp.; Sequoya Borgman, managing director of Borgman Capital LLC; Jim Frings, president of G3 Industries Inc.; and Derek Smith, commercial bank executive and senior vice president at Old National Bank. BizTimes managing editor Molly Dill, who covers financial services news for BizTimes, will moderate the discussion.

Before a potential buyer can even get to the point of making an offer, there are many candidate companies to consider, and patience is a virtue, the Buy Side panelists said.

“When I bought G3, it took me three years to find and acquire the business,” Frings said. “In the process, I looked at over 100 companies and I put in offers on eight.”

When considering buying a business, it’s key for the acquirer to conduct very thorough due diligence and make sure the business is a good fit financially and culturally, Smith said.

“I would really think through: is this core to your business? What’s the strategy and plan?” he said. “Make sure you’re adequately capitalized and you have the working capital needed to bring this into your business.”

Baker learned firsthand the level of due diligence required when an acquisition failed and Sentry had to abandon it – along with a larger sum than the transaction price.

“You can just basically make blocking and tackling mistakes where you misjudge something or you don’t do all your homework and it can have bad consequences,” he said.

Frings has experienced acquisitions both as a

strategic buyer at G3 and now as co-founder of a private equity firm, Wisconsin River Partners.

“As a principal of course you can blow it and lose all your money and all that,” he said. “As a private equity person it’s less personal, but the challenge there is that you have investors and having those fiduciary responsibilities is the daunting piece.”

As a private equity buyer, Borgman has learned the importance of not making changes too quickly.

“We find one of the biggest risks besides the leverage on the company…is really the transition from the owner-operated or owner-bound business to more of a professional management like we would normally put in place, and that’s a very high risk proposition,” he said.

“It’s hard for the seller, oftentimes, to operate under conditions other than the ones he sets for himself or herself,” Frings said. “So it sometimes can be a struggle to have a different strategy and a different feel and culture of the company.”

If you’re buying a business in a cyclical industry, it might make sense to put an earnout agreement in place to protect yourself, Baker said.

“There’s upside for the seller so if it’s really successful, the seller’s going to make more money than if they had just locked in the price and paid that,” he said.

It’s also insurance for the buyer, such as when Sentry bought a business that was was heavy in oil and gas and then a year later, the bottom fell out of the oil market. With the earnout in place, Sentry ended up paying less for the company.

The “Sell Side Readiness” panel will focus on personal readiness versus market readiness; driving value through business readiness; and considerations after the sale. Panelists will include: Rick Blaha, president of Pak-Rite Ltd.; Dr. Aly Gamay, president and CEO of DreamPak; Steve Peterson, managing director and co-founder of Bel Air Growth Partners; and Nate Neuberger, shareholder at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren S.C. Ann Hanna, managing director and owner of Taureau

Buy Side Preparation: How to Seize the Moment

|| Baker

|| Borgman

|| Frings

|| Smith

|| Dill

moderator

Sell Side Readiness: How To Prepare For Your Moment

|| Blaha

|| Gamay

|| Neuberger

Group, will lead the discussion.

Blaha sold Milwaukee-based specialty packaging manufacturer Pak-Rite to Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Universal Forest Products Inc. in October.

In her work with business owners, Hanna has found health considerations often force a sale.

“Business owners tend to intellectually focus on market readiness, but at the end of the day they end up generally choosing to move forward due to personal reasons,” she said.

Sellers should plan ahead to give themselves the opportunity to choose the timing, and drive the best possible valuation, Hanna said.

“They should make sure the business is not dependent on them. They should be in a situation where sales is growing and EBITDA is steady or growing,” she said.

And since it’s a seller’s market, business owners

|| Peterson

|| Hanna

moderator

should consider taking advantage of it, Hanna said.

Following the panels, attendees will have the opportunity to attend one of three concurrent breakout sessions: “Maximizing Company Value – Beyond EBITDA,” led by Hanna and Corey Vanderpoel, managing director and owner of Taureau Group; “An Honest Discussion about Financing the Deal,” led by Baker, Smith and David Bartelme, managing director at Borgman Capital; or “Avoiding Deal Killers…There’s Always Something,” led

by Carl Kugler, shareholder at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren S.C. The M&A Forum will be held on Wednesday, April 3, from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. at The Pfister Hotel, 424 E. Wisconsin Ave. in Milwaukee. The theme is, “Selling or Buying a Business? Don’t Miss Your Moment!” For more information or to register for the event, visit biztimes.com/maforum. n

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Strategies INNOVATION

Creativity starts with curiosity Foster an innovative culture in your company CAN A JOURNALIST BY TRAINING ever lead an advertising company that prides itself on creative solutions for clients? Remember journalists uncover objective facts and report them; hardly an exercise in creativity.

But Jeff Young, the chief executive officer of Milwaukee-based marketing firm Bader Rutter, who has a background in journalism, feels one of his strengths is his curiosity about everything. Why? The brain is hardwired to think in a structured, logical way through the left hemisphere. But current science about the brain has also established that the right hemisphere is the normal source of creativity.

Curiosity, as its origin, is in the right side of the brain.

So how do we make sure as individuals and as employees we can tap the creative right side of our brain?

The key is to encourage and promote curiosity throughout the organization.

In the book “Nikola Tesla: Imagination and the Man That Invented the 20th Century,” the author, Sean Patrick, points out that it is critical to expose ourselves to an abundance of ideas, facts, art and stories that in turn bring our imagination to life.

Therefore, creativity begins with curiosity and in our personal life. The author argues that the more material grist we’re exposed to in this world, the more our imagination will grow. Tesla fully immersed himself in the world of electricity. He read 30 / BizTimes Milwaukee APRIL 1, 2019

hundreds of books. He conducted thousands of experiments and took copious notes. Thanks to Tesla, we all use alternating current – far superior to the direct current used by Thomas Edison.

The more varied our knowledge and experiences are, the more likely we are to be able to create new associations and fresh ideas. Our mind has an incredible ability to cross-pollinate – that is, to connect disparate things to solve problems in unique ways when envisioning new creations. Einstein attributed many of his physics breakthroughs to his violin, which he believed helped him connect ideas in a very different way.

There’s a lesson for all of us in this. Expand your interests in life. Seek new, interesting experiences – no matter how mundane or inconsequential they might seem to others. Read books, watch documentaries and discuss your ideas with others. No subject, no matter how specialized or esoteric, is off-limits.

You never know where your imagination will find a way to connect different pieces of a puzzle.

The job of a business leader is to restore the natural curiosity of his or her employees by creating a culture of exploration of new and different approaches to the challenges of any organization In an article by professor Francesca Gino in the October 2018 issue of the Harvard Business Review titled, “The Business Case for Curiosity,” she identifies some dramatic statistics about how corporations view curiosity.

“After surveying 3,000 employees from a wide range of firms and industries, only about 24 percent reported feeling curious in their jobs on a regular basis and about 70 percent said they face barriers to asking more questions at work,” Gino wrote.

But in fact, ironically, she points out most current research suggests that organizations that put a premium on curiosity by and large produce greater creativity and solutions in solving organizational problems. She also found that greater curiosity has the byproduct of reducing conflict among employees because they get more curious about learning from each other.

Jeff Young has hardwired curiosity into the culture of Bader Rutter. Here are some of the practices he has encouraged: »» Create a physical environment that encourages

»»

»»

»»

»»

»»

creative interaction among employees through an open layout, multiple teaming spaces and cross-functional teams.

Insist on a process that encourages ideation that can lead to not just a few ideas, but maybe hundreds of new ideas.

Tolerate failure, and in fact, encourage it so that employees are not reluctant to come up with the weird, the unusual and the different.

Take a lesson from improvisation and deploy all-staff creative events (Bader Rutter hosts a spring Open Concept Week) to get all employees involved in the process.

Get inside the buyer’s journey by studying their behavior to generate new ideas, otherwise known as “ethnographic” research.

Encourage data and analytics gathering to verify creative ideas and concepts so they connect to reality. And don’t forget – data can inspire creative ideas, too.

Obviously, an advertising/marketing agency is rewarded for creative breakthroughs for its clients. But whatever industry you’re in you must put creativity at the front of the line to succeed in the world we now live in, which rewards the innovative companies that delight their customers. n

DAN STEININGER Dan Steininger is president of Milwaukeebased Steininger & Associates LLC, which helps companies drive innovation. He is also an author, and a national and international speaker. He can be reached at: Dan@BizStarts.com.

FAMILY BUSINESS

Examining the Medici family legacy What are you doing that will stand the test of time?

BIZTIMES LIKES IT when I write about family businesses rather than historical legacies, but sometimes it is difficult to ignore what history shows us about both.

In Milwaukee, we are blessed to have enduring names like Cudahy, Marcus, Bradley and Pettit. While these names are etched into the fabric of our community, with the toppling of a building, such as the Bradley Center, the names can disappear as quickly as the edifice.

I wonder if any of these family names will be remembered 700 years from now, like the Medici family of Florence?

The Medici family businesses had humble beginnings in the wool industry. In 1397, they began a banking practice, branching out from textiles, and are credited with developing the first double-entry form of accounting, widely used in accounting throughout the world today.

From the Medici line, four popes rose through the cardinal ranks. While it is unlikely that any of our local family legacies will include even one pope, one thing can be gleaned from this heavenly rise. Families in business with a strong faith connection – Christian or otherwise – have a greater likelihood of surviving in business longer. The reason? A common underpinning, and a shared ethical perspective.

The Medici were also known for their patron-

age of the arts. Donatello, Fra Angelico, Michelangelo and DaVinci all had patrons from the Medici family. What does this say to our community benefactors today?

The Medici aimed high. They did not look to have naming rights, but aimed to support those things that would stand the test of time. The Medici name lives on because they supported works that were bigger than themselves.

As we quibble about whether the Hoan Bridge should have lights and whether Am Fam Park has the same cache as Miller Park, remember this is not the Acropolis we are building here. We need to aim higher. What can we build here that will stand the test of time?

Another important aspect of the Medici family was diversification. They started in one business but branched out to others, including the mining of alum, a mineral used in the dyeing process for clothes. A natural integration for a business that started in textiles, the Medici diversification allowed the family to monopolize the industry.

One interesting note is that the Medici never served in government or the political class, as it is referred to today. Make no mistake, they greatly influenced politics; but they did not directly serve.

They favored a republic-style government similar to our own. In fact, our forefathers, in planning our own national form of government, could easily have drawn from the republic style of governance favored in the Italian city-states. We are a democratic republic, a fact frequently lost on our own citizens when describing our government.

One last element to note from the Medici… Like so many family businesses today, the height was reached by Lorenzo the Magnificent, only to see it flounder and fail under his ill-equipped son Piero II. Too often in our present day family businesses, the company is inherited by a child ill-prepared to handle the reins. Passing along a business is not enough. The true building of a legacy includes preparing the next generation for the ascension to the throne, or in most cases, the keys to the company.

Making the wrong decision on who carries those keys can lead to disaster. That disaster is often not realized immediately and languishes with the business for generations. With time, the error is re-

vealed, and by then it is too late to reverse.

By most accounts, the Medici lasted until 1737.

Close to a 400-year run for a family business – I think most of us would be pretty content with that.

It did come to an end, but what a magnificent family to emulate.

I had an opportunity some years back on a trip to Florence to see the legacy in person. Driving through the myriad of one-way streets and small alleys, I made my way through the maze that is Florence. Speaking no Italian but believing my understanding of European signage was up to par, I drove right up to the Duomo, the Cathedral of Santa Maria Del Fiore. Parking at the main entrance, I was shocked at the crowd I was drawing. Little did I know that the Duomo is off limits to automobile traffic six blocks around the perimeter to help keep the legacy safe from pollution.

Sorry, Lorenzo! My mistake! n

DAVID BORST David Borst Ed.D., 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. biztimes.com / 31

Strategies HUMAN RESOURCES

How to build your ‘A Team’ To take your business to the next level, choose wisely

“Look for real-life situations in which your potential future team member actually exhibited and embodied your core values”

IN MY LAST COLUMN, I asked if your employees who are “better than nothing” might be doing more harm than good.

It’s clear we accomplish more together as a team. So, as owners, we must learn to lead teams, not just direct individual members.

About 29 million small businesses exist in the United States today. About 89 percent have fewer than 20 employees.

I think the reason the vast majority of businesses never break the $1 million revenue mark is because the owner or founder never developed the skills needed to create and manage a team.

Now, absolutely nothing is wrong with that kind of revenue. But if your goal is to go beyond that mark, you’ll need a team to power you and your company through it.

32 / BizTimes Milwaukee APRIL 1, 2019

CORE VALUES AS HIRING AND TEAM-BUILDING FILTERS It’s all about selection.

I enjoyed dinner recently with Adam, a young entrepreneur. His annual revenues are about $750,000 and he wants to break the $1 million mark. I asked him to share his personal and business core values.

It turns out, they’re identical: work hard, play hard, have fun and treat everyone the same.

He’s concerned that Paul, a salesman, isn’t working out.

“Does Paul share most of those core values?”

I asked.

Adam said he didn’t think Paul shared any of those values. So, as I often hear from early-stage entrepreneurs, Adam said he was going to make “fixing” Paul his spring project. I told Adam his time would be better spent moving Paul to another company where he could make a positive contribution, and finding someone who was a better fit with his company.

In Patrick Lencioni’s book “The Ideal Team Player,” he describes the three “virtues” which make up his personal and business core values: hungry, humble and smart. He uses those values as filters for hiring. To learn more about this, I recommend you read his book.

UNUSUAL INTERVIEW TECHNIQUES You’ve accurately identified your core values.

But now, how do you use them for effective hiring and firing?

First, you must spend time – carefully and thoughtfully – further defining and dissecting your values. What do they look like, day-to-day and every day, in your organization?

Then develop and consistently create a set of interview questions based on behaviors. Look for real-life situations in which your potential future team member actually exhibited and embodied your core values. Beware of people who provide only hypothetical examples. It might mean they can’t recall ever living your core values.

Another great idea from Lencioni’s book is to use unconventional interview techniques. For example, ask each candidate to go for a ride or run

errands with you. How do they interact with you and with strangers along the way? How do they treat service people?

How do they handle unusual situations? One famous CEO would ask the restaurant to ruin an interviewee’s dinner so the CEO could watch the reaction.

Finally, gather all pertinent background information. I’m always shocked at how few companies do any type of rudimentary, pre-employment assessments. I wouldn’t hire a dog-sitter without at least doing a personality assessment. And I’d never hire a “C” level executive without having an industrial psychologist do an in-depth interview and analysis.

Unfortunately, in my career, I have plenty of experience hiring somebody who was not the ideal team player. The cost of those hiring mistakes can be astronomical. Sometimes they break a small business beyond repair, sometimes they even destroy a big business, like Enron.

We will never be perfect at selecting members for our teams. But, if you truly want to break through and blow past the other side of whatever business goal you’ve identified, you’ll need an “A team” as your power engine. Start building it! n

JOHN HOWMAN As a serial entrepreneur, business and community leader since 1983, John Howman has led a variety of businesses, from technology to consumer products companies. He leads two groups for Vistage, a professional development group for CEOs, presidents and business owners. He can be reached at JHowman@AlliedCG.com.

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LILA ARYAN PHOTOGRAPHY

PAY IT FORWARD

Scott Wrobbel, chair of Boys & Girls Clubs of greater Milwaukee, plays pool with Miles Wesley and Chad Thomas at the Pieper Hillside Club.

Scott Wrobbel lends board expertise to Boys & Girls Clubs SELECTING A NEW LEADER for an organization is one of the biggest tasks a nonprofit board undertakes.

Scott Wrobbel, Milwaukee managing partner at Deloitte LLP, stepped into his role as board chair of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee right in time to take on that challenge last fall.

Wrobbel was appointed just months before Vincent Lyles, the organization’s president and chief executive officer of seven years, announced his resignation in September 2018.

The Boys & Girls Clubs quickly launched a national search for Lyles’ successor.

“As one of largest clubs in the country and the largest youth-serving in Milwaukee, it’s an important role,” Wrobbel said. “We joked when we first started that we needed (to find) a unicorn because we have such high expectations. (The president and CEO) needs to lead a strong team of an 800-person organization; be a great manager 34 / BizTimes Milwaukee APRIL 1, 2019

who has the ability to connect with our constituents, kids and families, and guardians; be an external face of the clubs in the marketplace; and actively work with the board chair in terms of managing and governing the trustees. It’s a long list of attributes and characteristics.”

Wrobbel has seen the leadership transition as an opportunity for him to help further the organization’s mission of serving the city’s youth.

Wrobbel grew up on Milwaukee’s northwest side, attended Milwaukee Public Schools during his grade school years and has spent his entire professional career in the city. Boys & Girls Clubs’ mission drew him to the organization’s board nine years ago.

“It’s focused on children,” he said. “Some will say we’re actually saving lives every day, when you look at the at-risk population we serve. We are providing safety, a safe place for children, especially during the critical after-school hours, a healthy environment, meals, a

Scott Wrobbel Milwaukee managing partner Deloitte LLP Nonprofit served: Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee Service: Board chair

focus on building character and development, and helping kids with their academic success … All of that draws me to the organization.”

Chairing the board is no small task, Wrobbel said. So far, it has involved working with donors, searching for a new leader, and continuing the ongoing work of charting a future that balances the organization’s long heritage, while also maintaining its relevance.

“It’s been kind of a whirlwind first seven months,” he said.

In February, the organization completed one of those tasks when it named retail executive Kathy Thornton-Bias as its new president and chief executive officer.

“We were very fortunate to have had a tough choice to make among our candidates, but we knew (Thornton-Bias) was the right choice to lead us,” Wrobbel

said. “In all of our conversations, her past experiences were never about her, they were all about the organization she worked for and its people. She will very quickly be seen as a respected voice for our people and the kids in the City of Milwaukee.” n

LAUREN ANDERSON Reporter

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

BizPeople

Advertising Section New Hires, Promotions, Accolades and Board Appointments

To place your listing, or for more information, please visit biztimes.com/connect, email advertise@biztimes.com or contact Linda at 414-336-7112.

CONSULTING

EDUCATION

LAW

LAW

Lorne Tappa, Milwaukee

Laura Schmidt, Milwaukee

Jeff Costakos, Milwaukee

Kadie Jelenchick, Milwaukee

Lorne Tappa has been promoted to NRC’s VP of Finance & Administration.

Since 2008, Lorne has been instrumental in NRC’s 300% growth, as well as our automated on-boarding process, training reimbursement program, and competitive healthcare benefits.

Laura Schmidt is the director of corporate relations at MSOE, where she will build and maintain strategic relationships for the university while exploring ways in which faculty, staff and students can complement the needs of interested organizations.

Jeff Costakos has been named chairman of the Intellectual Property Litigation Dept. at Foley & Lardner, LLP. He previously served as vice chairman of the practice group.

Kadie Jelenchick, a partner at Foley & Lardner LLP, has been named vice chairperson of the firm’s IP Litigation Practice Group.

She previously served as chair of the IP Department in Foley’s Milwaukee office.

LAW

Dave Luettgen, Milwaukee David Luettgen has been named chairman of the Intellectual Property Dept. in the Milwaukee office of Foley & Lardner LLP.

New Hire?

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Announce new hires, promotions, accolades, and board appointments with BizPeople.

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BizConnections VOLUME 25, NUMBER 1 | APR 1, 2019

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

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

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Molly Lawrence molly.lawrence@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Maggie Pinnt maggie.pinnt@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Christie Ubl christie.ubl@biztimes.com SALES INTERN Tess Romans tess.romans@biztimes.com

ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR Sue Herzog sue.herzog@biztimes.com

PRODUCTION & DESIGN

INTERN REPORTER Madison Goldbeck madison.goldbeck@biztimes.com

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

This photo, taken by James Conklin circa 1936, shows a view of Milwaukee from the roof of the Schroeder Hotel, which is now the Hilton Milwaukee City Center at 509 W. Wisconsin Ave. In the foreground is the Randolph Hotel, which was built in 1927 and demolished in 1985.

— This photo is from the Milwaukee Public Museum’s Photo Archives collection.

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Paddy Kieckhefer paddy.kieckhefer@biztimes.com

ADMINISTRATION

REPORTER Alex Zank alex.zank@biztimes.com

Downtown view

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

Independent & Locally Owned — Founded 1995 —

COMMENTARY

Milwaukee’s time to shine IF YOU’RE A GEN XER, like me, or younger, you don’t remember Milwaukee’s glory days as an industrial powerhouse.

We have to read about that era in John Gurda’s book, “The Making of Milwaukee,” and wonder what the city was like back then.

Ever since Pabst, Schlitz, Allis-Chalmers, and many other major manufacturers either moved out of Milwaukee or went out of business, the city has struggled to transform its economy for a new era. Other regions, especially on the coasts and in the Sun Belt, have boomed while the Milwaukee area has seen sluggish growth for decades.

But finally, it appears Milwaukee is making a comeback. Milwaukee still has significant problems, especially with central city crime and poverty, but in recent years the city has gained new momentum. Downtown and some nearby neighborhoods have boomed with new development as 36 / BizTimes Milwaukee APRIL 1, 2019

millennials and empty nesters have moved to new housing developments, embracing the urban lifestyle. Several businesses have moved downtown.

Northwestern Mutual expanded its downtown presence with a new $450 million office tower. The city’s restaurant scene has exploded. The new $524 million Fiserv Forum has been packed night after night since its opening.

And then we find out…the circus is coming to town. The 2020 Democratic National Convention will be held in Milwaukee. It will be the first time the city has ever hosted a major political convention. It will be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, events in Milwaukee’s history.

About 50,000 people are expected to come for the DNC, making an estimated $200 million economic impact.

Even bigger for Milwaukee will be the national and international media attention the city will get during the DNC. Milwaukee will truly be in the spotlight.

Some Americans were surprised when they heard that Milwaukee was selected over Miami and Houston to host the DNC. Those are much larger cities that are more accustomed to hosting huge events like this. There has been considerable debate about whether or not Milwaukee can handle this event. A frequently

cited concern is the number of hotel rooms in the area, which met the DNC requirement but is far less than the hotel inventory in cities like Miami or Houston.

Led by Alex Lasry of the Milwaukee Bucks, the group that worked to bring the DNC to Milwaukee deserves kudos. Now they need to work ever harder to pull it off and show the world that Milwaukee is indeed a big time city, deserving and capable of hosting major events. They need to raise millions of dollars, attract thousands of volunteers and make sure all of the logistics are taken care of and everything runs smoothly.

With the spotlight on Milwaukee, it will be a unique opportunity to change the city’s image and tell its story as a great place to live, work and play.

The DNC will truly be Milwaukee’s opportunity to shine, and we need to take full advantage of it. n

ANDREW WEILAND EDITOR

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

AROUND TOWN

Sneaker Soiree Girls on the Run of Southeastern Wisconsin recently hosted its annual fundraising gala, Sneaker Soiree, at the Italian Community Center in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward.

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ANNE KRUG of Girls on the Run and MICHELLE COUNSELL.

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MICHELLE KITSON and KATY MATOLA, both of Girls on the Run, and STACY LYNCH of Froedtert Hospital.

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ANGEL ROMAN and ELLEN EVANS, both of Milwaukee Public Schools - Riverwest Elementary School.

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KATIE LOTT of Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, TRICIA GORBY of UWExtension Cooperative Extension and TRACI SCHWARTZ of MyOm Wellbeing.

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MAGGIE GEBOY and JESSE GEBOY, both of Joints in Motion LLC.

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DAVID MCDONALD and LORI MCDONALD, both of Brilliance Business Solutions.

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SAMANTHA GRIES of InStep Physical Therapy, LIZ BART of TriVigorate Massage, Nutrition & Coaching and JAN OCHSENWALD and MUIR MULHOLLAND, both of InStep Physical Therapy.

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Photos by Maredithe Meyer

Milwaukee Urban League annual meeting

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Milwaukee Urban League recently hosted its 2019 annual meeting at Froedtert Hospital’s Helfaer Auditorium.

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SEAN BOSTON of Johnson Controls and KAREN HUNG of Silver Rock Consulting.

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ASIA CARTER and KOFI ABAIDOO, both of Milwaukee Urban League Young Professionals.

10. PERCY DORSEY JR. and WANDA MONTGOMERY of the Brown Deer village board.

11. MARK SAIN of the Milwaukee Public Schools board and SHANNON REED of United Way. 12. DANIEL ARTONE of WI Group Enterprise Holdings and DARYL HUDSON of UPS.

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13. State Rep. DAVID BOWEN and HYACINTH NEMBHARDT of Wells Fargo.

Photos by Lauren Anderson biztimes.com / 37

BizConnections MY BEST ADVICE

be creative; don' t be afraid to think differently.”

PAUL WOELBING President

Carma Laboratories Inc. Franklin Industry: Lip care products Employees: 225 mycarmex.com

“I WENT TO FRANKLIN HIGH SCHOOL ... and I was big on art. I was an art nerd. I spent all my time in the art studio and my teacher ... told me, ‘Why don’t you think about going into art education for your career?’

“I taught for 10 years at two terrific private schools on the East Coast and then finally Whitefish Bay High School here. In the late ’80s, early ’90s I started thinking, maybe they could use me in the family business.

“In some ways, the art education was the perfect prep for my job. I don’t know anybody’s job here as well as they do it ... what gives me an advantage and what has been helpful to me is having taught for 10 years. Teachers are very good at putting their own egos on hold and building other people up.

“I think looking backwards if I knew I was going to wind up here I probably would have availed myself to some of the business classes at UW-Madison ... but in some ways, I think I did it just right for my position.

“If you just go to college and you learn how to think and you learn how to be creative, you’ll probably do just fine. “(Going into art education) really influenced the direction my life took and really how I operate the company and really, how I operate in my life in general. Just be creative; don’t be afraid to think differently.”

38 / BizTimes Milwaukee APRIL 1, 2019

JAKE HILL PHOTOGRAPHY

“ Just

AGE: 63 PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Woelbing holds a bachelor’s in art education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master of Fine Arts from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University. After 10 years of teaching art, he joined Carma Laboratories, the company behind the Carmex brand of lip balm. His grandfather Alfred Woelbing started the company, and Paul is the third generation to lead the business.

IN THE NEWS: Under Woelbing’s leadership, Carma Labs has been shifting from an emphasis on its role as a manufacturer to focus on its position as a brand. The latest addition to the brand’s lineup is SuperCran, a natural lip butter that uses Wisconsin cranberries to help moisturize lips. n

FEATURED MAIN STAGE EVENT AT BIZEXPO

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MAY 30, 2019 | 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM | POTAWATOMI HOTEL & CASINO Congratulations to the 2019 Bravo! Entrepreneur and I.Q. Award winners!

This year’s featured speaker is Brad Hollister, co-founder and CEO of SwanLeap. Brad will tell the story of launching the Madison tech firm and share key moments of SwanLeaps’s meteoric rise to the top of the 2018 Inc. 5000 list, which ranks the fastest-growing private companies in America. From Hollister’s Elkhart Lake basement to $400 million in revenue, the company has managed to bring real-time analytics to the logistics sector, resulting in huge cost savings -and major customer demand.

Meet the 2019 Winners: The 2019 Bravo! Entrepreneur Award recipients are:

The I.Q. (Innovation Quotient) Award recipients are:

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Joe Fazio, Commerce State Bank

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Chasing Paper

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Madan Kandula, ADVENT

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DeltaHawk Engines

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John Kissinger, GRAEF

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HellermannTyton

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Trueman McGee, Funky Fresh Spring Rolls

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Jason Inc./Janesville Acoustics

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Stacy Peterson, Connoils

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John Rinaldi, Real Time Automation

Marquette University/the University of WisconsinMilwaukee/Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.

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Paul Stillmark, 7Summits

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MARS IT Corp.

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Richard Yau, Bright Cellars

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PartsBadger

Lifetime Achievement Award: Donald Baumgartner

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Riverwater Partners

Regional Spirit Award: Que and Khalif El-Amin, Young Enterprising Society

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TAI Diagnostics

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TechCanary Price: $55/person or $440/table of 8

REGISTER TODAY! biztimes.com/bravo Presented By:

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FEATURED MAIN STAGE EVENT AT BIZEXPO

MAY 30, 2019 7:30 AM - 9:30 AM Presented By:

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REGISTER TODAY! biztimes.com/women

REINVENTING YOURSELF Choosing a new vision for your future

Join us on May 30th as we kick off the 15th annual BizExpo. BizTimes Managing editor Molly Dill will lead a discussion with four of the region’s business and community leaders on the various paths each has taken in her career.

You’ll hear about the drive, curiosity and leadership skills they leveraged to choose new roles that have allowed them to continue to grow and have fulfilling careers.

From corporate to entrepreneur to nonprofit, each of the panelists made a conscious decision to change her career path. Listen as they discuss the opportunities, setbacks and lessons learned from changing industries and careers.

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Panelists: Deborah Allen, President & CEO, DNA Network LLC (1) Maggie Fernandes, Software Developer, MacGregor Partners (2) Kathy Thornton-Bias, President & CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee (3) Julie Waterman, Owner, Indulgence Chocolatiers (4) Moderator: Molly Dill - Managing editor, BizTimes Milwaukee (5) Price: $45/person or $360/table of 8

Sponsor:

Supporting Sponsors:

Partners: