Biz News

from BizTimes Milwaukee | October 24, 2022

Strategies

FEATURE

Representation of women on Wisconsin corporate boards surpasses Milwaukee Women inc’s 2025 target

By Maredithe Meyer and Arthur Thomas, staff writers

THE LATEST annual report by Milwaukee Women inc shows that women hold 26.3% of board seats at Wisconsin’s top 50 public companies.

That’s an all-time high, up from 23.3% in 2021, and surpasses MWi’s goal of 25% by 2025.

Created in 2002, the local nonprofit group is focused on achieving balanced representation of women on corporate boards of directors and has produced research on board gender diversity of the 50 largest Wisconsin-based public companies since 2004.

“MWi has come a long way since the late Betty Quadracci and other forward-thinking executive women recognized the need for an organization dedicated to changing the face and quality of leadership in the Wisconsin business community,” said Kim Stoll, MWi board chair and vice president of sales and marketing for Badger Meter. “We have made progress in furthering our mission to place more women and underrepresented minorities on boards, but there is still work to be done, as we shared in today’s report.”

Companies adding to the number of women on their board included Alliant Energy Corp., Brady Corp., Artisan Partners Asset Management, Bank First Corp., Generac Holdings Inc., The Manitowoc Co., Modine Manufacturing Co., Citizens Community Bank Corp., Enerpac Tool Group, Physicians Realty Trust, Twin Disc Inc., and Strattec.

First Business Bank was the lone company on the list in both years that saw its number of women directors decline.

In some cases, comparisons from year to year can be complicated by mergers. Combined, the businesses now known as Regal Rexnord Corp. and Zurn Elkay Water Solutions, formerly Regal Beloit and Rexnord, continued to have five women as directors.

Rev Group Inc. is the only company among the 50 largest public companies in Wisconsin to not have a woman on its board.

According to MWi’s 2022 report, women of color hold 5.7% of board seats at Wisconsin’s top 50 public companies, up from 4.5% in 2021. While this year’s research showed an overall increase, progress remains slow, particularly for Hispanic and Latino women.

Also notable, the number of public companies in the state with three or more female directors saw a record-setting year-to-year increase, jumping from 34% in 2021 to 44% in 2022. MWi points to research indicating that women need to hold at least three seats for boards to realize the benefits of gender diversity, such as better financial performance and more innovative ideas.

When it comes to company leadership, 26.8% of Wisconsin top 50 public company executives are women, up from 23.4% last year.

Over the past two decades, the number of women holding board seats at Wisconsin’s public companies has increased from 30 to 120, while the number of companies with at least three women on their boards has increased from three to 22.

For the second consecutive year, Menomonee Falls-based Kohl’s Corp. topped the Wisconsin 50 with six of its total 13 board seats held by women (40%), including two women of color. WEC Energy Group, with three women on its 10-person board, is the only other company of the Wisconsin 50 with two women of color on its board. Twelve companies have one woman of color on their boards.

The report also points to the percentage of women on boards at Wisconsin’s top 50 private companies. Women currently hold 20.5% of board seats at those companies, largely unchanged from 20.7% in 2021. However, Wisconsin exceeds the national average for private company female board representation of 14%.

“As evidenced in our research, companies across our state are taking deliberate action to further diversify their boards of directors,” said Stoll.

She applauded a 2021 move by Nasdaq to adjust its listing rules, requiring all Nasdaq-listed companies to annually disclose board-level diversity statistics using a standardized template and have – or explain why they do not have – at least two diverse directors by 2025/2026.

Stoll called the new requirement a “game-changer in corporate governance that will change the face and quality of board leadership for future generations.”

Toni Townes-Whitley, independent director on Nasdaq’s board and former president of U.S. Regulated Industries at Microsoft Corp., provided the keynote at MWi’s 20th anniversary celebration on Oct. 11. See what she had to say in “Quote/unQuote” on page 7. n

COMPANY | TOTAL DIRECTORS | WOMEN DIRECTORS Kohl’s Corp. | 13 | 6 Alliant Energy Corp. | 10 | 4 Brady Corp. | 10 | 4 Exact Sciences Corp. | 9 | 4 ManpowerGroup Inc. | 12 | 4 MGIC Investment Corp. | 13 | 4 Sensient Technologies Corp. | 10 | 4 A. O. Smith Corp. | 10 | 3 Artisan Partners Asset Management, Inc. | 8 | 3 Associated Banc-Corp | 10 | 3 Bank First Corp. | 10 | 4 First Business Bank | 10 | 4 Fiserv, Inc. | 10 | 4 Generac Holdings, Inc. | 10 | 4 COMPANY | TOTAL DIRECTORS | WOMEN DIRECTORS Johnson Outdoors Inc. | 9 | 3 Lands’ End, Inc. | 8 | 3 Manitowoc Company, Inc. (The) | 9 | 3 Modine Manufacturing Co. | 9 | 3 Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. | 15 | 3 Regal Rexnord Corp. | 10 | 3 Rockwell Automation, Inc. | 11 | 3 WEC Energy Group, Inc. | 11 | 3 Badger Meter, Inc. | 9 | 2 Citizens Community Bancorp, Inc. | 8 | 2 Douglas Dynamics, Inc. | 7 | 2 Duluth Holdings, Inc. | 8 | 2 Enerpac Tool Group Corp. | 9 | 2 Fathom Digital Manufacturing | 10 | 2 COMPANY | TOTAL DIRECTORS | WOMEN DIRECTORS Harley-Davidson, Inc. | 10 | 2 Marcus Corp. (The) | 9 | 2 MGE Energy, Inc. | 9 | 2 Oshkosh Corp. | 10 | 2 Physicians Realty Trust | 9 | 2 Plexus Corp. | 10 | 2 Schneider National, Inc. | 10 | 2 Snap-on, Inc. | 10 | 2 Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. | 7 | 2 Twin Disc, Inc. | 8 | 2 Waterstone Financial, Inc. | 7 | 2 Zurn Elkay Water Solutions | 9 | 2 Blackhawk Bancorp, Inc. | 10 | 1 Green: added to total number of women directors on board

Palermo’s brings the ‘Stranger Things’ Surfer Boy pizza to life

MILWAUKEE-BASED Palermo Villa Inc. has teamed up with Netflix and Walmart to bring a product from the hit series “Stranger Things” into customers’ kitchens.

Palermo’s has the exclusive license to manufacture the “Surfer Boy Stranger Things Hand Tossed Crust Pizza,” just one of dozens of products that was launched as the fourth season of the wildly popular show was released this past May. The pizzas were also nominated in this year’s Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin contest.

Palermo’s was able to get the license to make the pizzas thanks to its already-strong existing relationship with Walmart. When Walmart learned that Netflix was looking to recreate the Surfer Boy brand of pizzas, Walmart recommended Palermo’s.

John Leonardo, senior director of marketing for Palermo’s, said the turnaround time between learning the company got the license and getting Surfer Boy pizzas on Walmart shelves was incredibly quick.

“This thing was on an accelerated timeline. The discussion really started taking place in December of 2021, and it was on the shelves in May of 2022,” said Leonardo. “We had to agree to the terms of the agreement, develop each of the pizzas and then develop the packaging. … There was a lot that had to happen in that timeframe.”

The Palermo’s team was mostly in the dark about season four of “Stranger Things” when developing the Surfer Boy pizza line. In fact, only a small group of people even knew about the license, and that group referenced the project with a code name.

“That was a challenge, obviously trying to provide guidance when you can’t quite share exactly what it is you’re trying to do,” Leonardo said.

Surfer Boy pizzas come in four varieties: pepperoni, supreme, multi-meat, and pineapple jalapeño, which is a favorite of “Stranger Things” character Argyle. The variety uses a milder jalapeno so those who are spiceaverse might be willing to give it a try.

“When we looked at this, we wanted to make it as authentic to pizzeria carryout pizza as possible,” said Leonardo. “One of the things that we used is a handtossed style crust to replicate that whole idea that this came from

Pinapple Jalapeño Surfer Boy Pizza from Palermo’s. Pictured on Palermo’s manufacturing floor are Robert Garcia, vice president of manufacturing; Saul Velasquez, production trainer; and Zar Jaw, production operator.

PALERMO VILLA INC.

3301 W. Canal St., Milwaukee

INDUSTRY: Food manufacturing EMPLOYEES: 912 palermospizza.com

takeout. It’s thinner in the middle but has this thicker edge.”

Everything that goes onto a Surfer Boy pizza is made on site at Palermo’s, except for the crust. Due to high demand, another supplier provides the crust, but Palermo’s does have the capability to make the crust in-house. Freshly cut Wisconsin cheese and pepperoni are placed onto each pizza on the manufacturing floor. The sauce has a sweeter profile to appeal to a younger demographic. The design of the Surfer Boy pizza box was also done internally.

“The line is doing exceptionally well. We are in about 3,500 Walmarts across the U.S.,” Leonardo said. “In only a couple of months, we have about a 1% market share of the entire category off of just four items and one retailer.”

The taste of the product was a high priority for Palermo’s. The company didn’t want Surfer Boy pizza to just be a gimmick but a brand that consumers truly consider when doing their shopping. The company was able to follow up with consumers who purchased the product via an online survey. Leonardo said 80% of people who bought a Surfer Boy pizza and ate it said it was as good as, or better than, carryout pizza.

“It’s reassuring to hear that consumers are having a good experience,” Leonardo said.

Palermo’s is currently discussing the possibility of extending the length of the license agreement with Netflix. It currently runs for one year. n

ASHLEY SMART

Reporter

P / 414-336-7144 E / ashley.smart@biztimes.com T / @Biz_Ashley

the Interview

SHARAD CHADHA led a group of local investors in buying Glendale-based Sprecher Brewing Co. from founder Randy Sprecher in early 2020. A little more than a month later, he was a panelist at the BizTimes Media M&A Forum, discussing his vision for the company at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic was just taking hold in the U.S. Recently, he joined BizTimes Milwaukee managing editor Arthur Thomas on the BizTimes MKE Podcast to discuss how he and Sprecher have navigated, and grown, during the pandemic, with the brand now reaching customers in more than 40 states. Listen to the full conversation at biztimes.com/podcast You embarked on this journey at a unique time. What has it been like over the past 30 months or so?

“Quite honestly, it’s been a tough journey, a challenging one, but very exciting and a lot of fun at the same time, if all those can be true. I remember that M&A Forum you all did ... and how wrong I had it at the time. I was one of the panelists and I said, ‘Well, COVID, we’re going to get over it, it’s not going to be that big of a deal,’ or that’s what I thought and how wrong I was. It hit our business really hard. ...

“Fortunately, we have a great soda, the best root beer in America, the best craft soda in many categories as rated by different companies ... so we’ve leaned in heavy on that in bottles and cans and grew, and we’ve been growing tremendously. We’ve more than

Sharad Chadha

Chief executive officer and president Sprecher Brewing Co. Inc. Employees: 125 Sprecherbrewery.com

doubled, almost tripled the business, we are growing at a 40%, 50% pace year-over-year and it’s been an exciting journey, very difficult with the supply chain disruptions, pricing, costing, people issues, machines, you name it, we’ve had every challenge thrown at us ... and the team has come together and succeeded so far.”

You wanted to grow nationally. Sprecher is one of the Milwaukee area’s best kept secrets, but you wanted to take that national. How’s that process been going?

“That’s the fun part, that’s the exciting part. A lot of people call Sprecher a hidden gem of Milwaukee and Wisconsin, and that truly has shown. The gem is being polished by us and shining bright. We’re in 40-plus states now ... through beer and soda distributors and also direct through customers like Costco and Walmart ... that’s what helped us grow. We have put our product on more shelves in 10-, 15-, 20,000 retail outlets and as we do that, more consumers and more Americans and people all over the world get a taste of Sprecher ... and they love it and they come back for more.”

I’d imagine getting that much additional distribution has to be a challenge. Food and beverage is very competitive, so breaking into additional spots, how have you gone about doing that?

“That is hard. Craft beer and craft soda or soda is highly competitive. They’re huge markets. ... IRI and Nielsen, third-party scan data on retail shelves ... tracks I think 200 brands or companies, 180 maybe, just for root beer and craft soda, so it’s not easy, and each region and each city has their own big players, of course, the big boys and girls, Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, and of course lots of little ones and regional ones and generational ones, and we have to, as I tell my team, tell our story, show it with data and numbers but also with taste and quality and paint a great picture for the buyers and show how we outsell all of the others two to one ... once we are positioned on the shelf ... that’s what’s helped us. We’ve done blind taste tests, we’ve done taste tests, we’ve done samplings ... just putting ourselves out there and getting a chance.

“Luckily, because I had experience working with large companies, we painted a good picture with numbers but also with product and taste and we’ve been able to tell our story. ... Now, it’s not going to be easy, people are talking about recession, are we in it, there’s inflation, the supply chain disruption is real, and to overcome all that and to continue to grow is extremely challenging and so far, we are up for the challenge, let’s see what happens.”

How have you navigated your cultural background from the corporate world with the family business aspect Sprecher had, while driving toward your national ambitions?

“It’s a tightrope walk every day. I tell people the story: I was born and raised in India, I came here for graduate school 25, 30 years ago, so I’m a first-generation immigrant and from there always worked in large corporations ... never been in a small company, never been an entrepreneur, and I really swung for the fences when I put all my money into this and took a huge debt and raised money and bought Sprecher from the founder, and it’s a different world. It’s a different world. I am personally responsible, and it weighs on my shoulders to carry the weight of 125 people and our extended family. … It’s been one of the most challenging, difficult, toughest jobs I’ve ever done but the most rewarding, most gratifying and most fun at the same time.”

What advice would you have for others starting down an entrepreneurial journey?

“I think my biggest learning has been that the challenges are going to be continuous as an entrepreneur and if you want to remain independent and continue to grow, and they’re going to change, you have to be adaptable and resilient and be open to failure and embrace failure, not that you want to fail, but it’s OK to fail. I tell my team ... it’s OK to fail, it’s not OK not to try, and then learn from it, adapt, pick yourself up and go try again. Nobody gets into trouble for trying something and not succeeding, but they do if they don’t try. ... It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Things take longer than you think, they cost more. These are all cliches, but they are true, and I have learned it and felt it. And tomorrow, I don’t know what will be the next problem, it will be something. ... The beauty of it is some good things will happen, too, you’ll get lucky somewhere, you know.” n