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2016 BIZTIMES BEST IN BUSINESS
RED HOT GROWTH MILWAUKEE BLACKSMITH
IS FAMILY BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
SMALL FAB COMPANIES IN SWEET SPOT FAMILIAR BRANDS POP IN WISCONSIN’S SODA SCENE TOSA PLANS FOR FUTURE OF I-41/WATERTOWN PLANK AREA
KENT KNAPP OF MILWAUKEE BLACKSMITH.
Thursday, January 26, 2017, 7:30 - 9:30 am Italian Conference Center
Presents:
16 th Annual
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2017
What’s next? How a Trump presidency could shape the economy The U.S. economy is headed for uncharted territory, with a new president-elect who is a political outsider challenging the status quo politically and economically. What policy changes lie ahead? How will they impact the global, national and state economies? Economist Michael Knetter Ph.D. and leading industry experts will provide their perspectives and answers to these questions and more at the 16th annual Northern Trust Economic Trends breakfast on January 26th. Seating is limited - register today at biztimes.com/trends.
Featured Presenters Include: • • • •
Michael Knetter Ph.D., Economist, President & CEO, University of Wisconsin Foundation (1) Cynthia LaConte, CEO and President, The Dohmen Co. (2) Ajita Rajendra, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, A. O. Smith Corporation (3) Debbie Seeger, Senior Vice President, Co-Founder, Patina Solutions (4)
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inside
December 19 - January 8, 2017 HIGHLIGHT S
S P E C I A L R E P O R T:
M A N U FAC T U R ING : FOOD & BE V E R AGE
Now 4
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New office tower planned downtown for BMO Harris.
Coverage includes an analysis of what has driven major success at several small food and beverage companies and a look at the operations of familiar brands on Wisconsin’s soda scene.
Political Beat
5
Made in Milwaukee
6
In the Neighborhood
8
Real Estate Spotlight
11
WisDOT head spars with lawmakers on funding. Green and lean helps Letterhead Press take on global competition. Milwaukee Courier Co. Wauwatosa plans for future of I-41/Watertown Plank area.
S TR ATE GIE S
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2016 BIZTIMES BEST IN BUSINESS
Generation Y Aleta Norris 29 Entrepreneurship 30
Former Angelic Bakehouse owners Jenny and James Marino pose with a platter of their baked sprouted-grain products.
John Howman
Leadership
Susan Marshall 31
COV E R S T ORY
Red hot growth
BIZ CONNECTIONS Nonprofit Spotlight 32 Personnel File 33 Commentary 36 BizTimes Around Town 37 The Last Word 38
Milwaukee Blacksmith is Family Business of the Year
ON THE COVER: Kent Knapp works on a project at Milwaukee Blacksmith. — photo by Kat Schleicher Photography
Baked sprouted-grain products move through the Angelic Bakehouse production line in Cudahy.
V I S I T B I Z T I M E S . C O M F O R A D D I T I O N A L S T O R I E S , D A I LY U P D AT E S & E - N E W S L E T T E R S Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . 414-336-7120 Advertising . . . . . . . . . 414-336-7112 Subscriptions . . . . . . . 414-277-8181 Reprints . . . . . . . . . . . . 414-277-8181
Founded in 1995, BizTimes Milwaukee provides news and operational insights for CEOs, presidents, owners and other top level executives at companies in southeastern Wisconsin (Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, Racine, Kenosha, Walworth and Sheboygan counties). Subscription Customer Service: BizTimes Milwaukee, 126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120, USA, Phone (414) 277-8181, Fax (414) 277-8191, circulation@biztimes.com, www.biztimes.com
BizTimes Milwaukee (ISSN 1095-936X & USPS # 017813) Volume 22, Number 20, December 19 - January 8, 2017. BizTimes Milwaukee is published bi-weekly, except two consecutive weeks in December (the second and third weeks of December) by BizTimes Media LLC at 126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120, USA. Basic annual subscription rate is $42.00. Single copy price is $3.25. Back issues are $5.00 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 2016 by BizTimes Media LLC. All rights reserved.
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MO Harris Bank will build a 25-story office tower next to its current office building on North Water Street in downtown Milwaukee and real estate development firm Irgens Partners LLC will take possession of the bank’s current building and refurbish it, likely for new uses. Irgens also will be the developer for the new building, which will be called the BMO Harris Financial Center. The $137 million, 360,000-square-foot building will be 335 feet tall and will be built at 780 N. Water St., a site currently occupied by a seven-level parking structure for the existing BMO Harris office building. About 700 employees from the bank’s existing office building at 770 N. Water St. and approximately 175 employees from the Milwaukee Center building at 111 E. Kilbourn Ave. will move to the new building when it is completed in December 2019. “Milwaukee represents a critically important market for us. This new tower – which will add to the beauty of Milwaukee’s skyline – exemplifies our commitment to the city, and to the state of Wisconsin,” said David Casper, president and chief executive officer of BMO Harris Bank. Law firm Michael Best & Friedrich LLP also plans to move to the BMO Harris Financial Center. Michael Best will
leave the 100 East building downtown. Its 235 employees will occupy the top three floors in the new BMO Harris building. The construction project will take place in phases. In summer 2017, the existing parking structure immediately north of the 770 N. Water St. building will be demolished; then, the new tower will be constructed on that site. The current BMO Harris building is a Class B, 280,511-square-foot, 20-story office tower built in 1967 as the headquarters for M&I Bank. The Godfrey & Kahn S.C. law firm moved out of the building earlier this year after leasing 92,000 square feet there since 1968. Godfrey & Kahn moved to the new 833 East office building downtown, also developed by Irgens. Irgens will begin work to refurbish the existing BMO Harris building in 2020, after the new building is complete and the bank has moved out of the existing building. Mark Irgens, CEO of Irgens Partners, said he is looking at various options for the building besides traditional office use, which includes hospitality and multi-family. “The building is in great shape and has been very well-maintained,” Irgens said. “But it was built in the 1960s, and its floor plates are not necessarily conducive to office uses in the current time.” Irgens is working with Colliers International | Wisconsin and architectural
CONTRIBUTED
New office tower planned downtown for BMO Harris
A rendering of the new office building planned for BMO Harris Bank.
firm Kahler Slater to examine alternatives to traditional office uses for the building. Kahler Slater also is the architect for the BMO Harris Financial Center. The 770 N. Water St. building likely will have retail, possibly in the form of restaurants, on the first floor, Irgens said. “I’m looking at the possibility of hospitality (at 770 N. Water) and also multi-
family and I also believe that there could be some creative office use involved that could be good for the smaller footprints,” said Irgens, who added that he also has hired consultants who specialize in hospitality and multi-family. “This is not necessarily my area of expertise and we want to make sure it works swimmingly.”
——Corrinne Hess
SOCI AL M E D I A S T R AT E GI ES
How to avoid paying for junk followers on social media I can understand why companies want to pay for followers on social media. They want to have as many people as possible to (maybe) engage with the brand organically on social media in the future. What companies may not be aware of is a good chunk of accounts they pay for on social media could be junk. In 2012, Facebook actually admitted that almost 10 percent of the accounts in its system were fake. If you still want to look into buying followers on social media, I have a solid strategy to make sure those users are legitimate. The solution is simple: remarketing. First, make sure you have the Facebook pixel or Twitter website tag properly installed on every page of your website. The pixel and website 4
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tag not only allow advertisers to set up conversion tracking, but the respective social platforms can also cookie users who visit your site. In both Facebook and Twitter, you can create audiences of just the users who have previously visited your website. These remarketing audiences should then be added to your social media campaigns as the main targeting option. Now you’re set up so when previous site visitors frequent one of the mentioned social platforms, you can show your “follow me” ads to users who have been to your site before. They’re already familiar with your company. No more wasting ad spend on people who have a lesser chance of interacting with your brand.
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And you can get even more specific with your targeting and upload your own lists of customer email addresses or phone numbers to create more custom audiences. If the user information matches what the social platforms have in their database, a robust customermatch audience can then be used as the only targeting option for your follower growth campaigns. You’ll now have 100 percent control of who sees your follower growth campaigns. Say goodbye to wasted ad spend on fake accounts.
——Joe Martinez is senior manager, paid media and community at Milwaukee-based Granular.
leading edge COFF E E B R E A K
POLITICAL BEAT
WisDOT head spars with lawmakers on funding BY WISPOLITICS.COM
“Makes grants to nonprofits. I work to develop integrated community plans, which could include making a grant or placing a senior executive on a nonprofit board. I manage not only Milwaukee, but also some of the company’s other markets.”
What frustrates you the most in your industry?
What community-wide efforts is BMO currently undertaking?
“I have the opportunity to witness firsthand all of the wonderful work being done by the nonprofit community to make our city a better place to live and work. When I see a student graduating from college who otherwise might not have the opportunity, I am filled with pride. If our grants can be just a small contributor to the success of that work, I consider it a job well done.”
“The reputational setbacks the financial services industry has suffered in the past decade.”
What drives you to succeed?
“BMO was the first corporate partner to invest in the United Way of Greater Milwaukee’s Healthy Birth Outcomes Initiative, an effort to help address the Milwaukee infant mortality rate. Our support invests in evidence-based programming to help United Way move the needle in the right direction to increase healthy birth outcomes.”
What is the hottest trend in corporate philanthropy? “In my field, you hear people talk about impact reporting and placebased philanthropy. What we at BMO recognize is that every situation is different. What might be a pressing issue here in Milwaukee or Chicago could be very different in Indianapolis or St. Louis. We are careful to listen to the specific needs of each community.”
What are your main challenges?
“Demand outweighs supply and the needs are great. There are so many worthwhile organizations doing important work in our community. We would love to support them all, but unfortunately we need to be targeted in our
Wisconsin Department of Transportation secretary Mark Gottlieb sparred with lawmakers recently as he defended the agency’s budget request. The sharpest exchange during Gottlieb’s more than three hours of testimony before the Assembly Transportation Committee came as Rep. Joe Sanfelippo (R-New Berlin) challenged the secretary on several design decisions made with road projects, as well as travel by agency employees. Sanfelippo questioned the agency’s decision to use stainless steel reinforcing bar for some ramps that are part of the new Zoo Interchange versus a coated rebar. He also questioned the agency’s current design standards for the stoplights used on road projects and employee travel costs. Gottlieb defended agency design decisions, saying the stop light standard, for example, has proven significantly safer. The stainless steel rebar, he added, will extend the life of the ramps. The hearing was the first on Gov. Scott Walker’s DOT budget request before the Transportation Committee. Lawmakers have been ramping up for a fight over whether to increase revenues in the next budget. Walker has vowed to veto any increase in the gas tax or registration fee without a corresponding tax cut. Gottlieb opened the hearing by saying it would be decades before the state completed so-called “megaprojects” in southeastern Wisconsin, which have an estimated cost of $4.3 billion. WisDOT asked for $122 million in the upcoming budget for megaproject work. At that rate, he said, it would take 70 years to complete those projects. Gottlieb also said completing I-94 east-west between the Marquette and Zoo interchanges is more of a priority than finishing I-94 north-south in Racine County. He defended the $31 million the agency included in the budget to do preliminary work on I-94 east-west. “It’s a kernel of money there that gives us the ability to keep that project marching forward,” he said.
approach given limited resources.”
What does a community affairs director do?
From a business standpoint, who do you look up to?
“I look up to leaders from all sides of the equation. Whether it’s public or private sector leaders coming together to make things happen, that’s what inspires me. The passion of the people working to make the city of Milwaukee a better place is real.”
As a working mom, what message do you give your children?
“I try to teach them to work hard and to have the determination to overcome any challenge they may encounter. I encourage them to strive to leave the world a better place. I’ve been fortunate to link my passion with work, and to show my children that it is possible to do what you love.”
Raquel Filmanowicz Director, U.S. community affairs BMO Harris Bank 770 N. Water St., Milwaukee www.bmoharrisbank.com Industry: Financial services Employees: More than 3,000 in southeast Wisconsin Family: Husband, Steve Filmanowicz. Children: Cassandra Berkel, Nick Berkel and Lily Filmanowicz. w w w.biztimes.com
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BY THE NU MBERS
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Chicago-based firms HSA Commercial and Innovative Capital Advisors purchased the Brookfield Fashion Center on West Bluemound Road for $43 million.
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Economic Trends 2017
Letterhead Press Inc.
Envelopes are fed into a machine that will fold them and apply glue.
16800 W. Ryerson Road, New Berlin Industry: Commercial printing and packaging Employees: 175 www.letterheadpress.com
Green and lean helps Letterhead Press take on global competition Some companies focus on producing a small number of products in high volumes, driving costs down by having expertise in particular processes. Others focus on shorter runs and custom work. New Berlin-based Letterhead Press Inc. manages to occupy both those spaces, producing everything from a short run of distinctive business cards to direct mail jobs with millions of pieces. The company, founded in 1984, specializes in adding value to commercial printing and packaging jobs. That includes foil stamping, embossing and creating unique constructed packages. Letterhead Press products include direct mail, packaging, point-of-sale displays and jigsaw puzzles.
ARTHUR THOMAS (414) 336-7123 | Twitter: @arthur8823 arthur.thomas@biztimes.com
“We can transfer what we’ve learned from the big Fortune 500 companies to a design company that wants to create a unique brochure that sets them apart from somebody else,” said Dick Reindl, vice president of sales. Reindl joined Mike Graf, Letterhead Press president, a few years after he started the company. Letterhead Press initially focused on business communication products but made a name for itself producing a magazine cover for National Geographic that featured a hologram skull. Letterhead Press’ capabilities offer customers more options beyond additional colors or specialty papers. While shorter runs can include the full range of capabilities and are more complex, the larger projects typically don’t include quite the same variety. The company also maintains a wide variety of machinery to handle the range of projects. “The beauty of the variety is when one area is slow, another area is busy,” Reindl said. But arriving at its current point took time. Reindl said the company and the industry have lost plenty of work to Chinese
6
competitors. Letterhead Press had to learn how to compete against China, and did so by implementing automation and cutting out inefficiencies. “A lot of packaging has gone over to China and now has come back. A lot of that has to do with the quality and good communications. There’s no surprises when you’re doing things here and we’re able to turn things in just-in-time fashion,” Reindl said. Letterhead Press sent a number of top executives through lean manufacturing training around 2010 and then brought the classes to all of its employees in a condensed fashion. The company hired a continuous improvement manager to handle initiatives and opted to pursue Safe Quality Food certifications, opening up new markets. “A year does not go by without us doing three or four major projects that make us more profitable, more efficient, cleaner, better,” Graf said. Some of the recent projects have focused on making the company’s 130,000-square-foot facility greener. Energy consumption has been reduced by 40 percent during a period of 25 percent growth, with efforts including lighting changes and recirculating heat from equipment. Letterhead Press also generates 25 percent of its energy from a solar array located behind the building. It’s the seventh largest array in the state and a display in the front lobby shows employees and visitors daily, monthly and yearly energy production totals. The goal is to become 100 percent self-sufficient for energy, Graf said. How to achieve that is a bit of an open question, but he said it could include battery storage and other power generation methods. About 30 percent of each year’s profits are invested back into Letterhead Press’ equipment. Graf said part of the challenge is to continue to search for more markets and more customers. While the shift to digital has hurt the commercial printing side of the business, the rise of online retailers has, in some ways, increased the importance of packaging. “Consumers still want catalogs, they still want to touch and feel something that’s not just an electronic image on a screen,” Reindl said. “Plus once they receive their products, say from Amazon, it needs to be packaged correctly so it conveys the branded message to the consumer.”
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BizTimes Media will host the Northern Trust Economic Trends 2017 on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017, from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. at the Italian Conference Center, 631 E. Chicago St. in Milwaukee. A panel of industry experts will discuss how the Donald Trump presidency could shape the economy and what kind of policy changes lie ahead for southeastern Wisconsin businesses. The panel will include: Michael Knetter, economist and president and CEO of the University of Wisconsin Foundation; Cynthia LaConte, CEO and president of The Dohmen Co.; Ajita Rajendra, chairman and CEO of A.O. Smith Corp. and Debbie Seeger, senior vice president and co-founder of Patina Solutions. Cost is $60 or $600 for a table of 10. For more information or to register, visit www.biztimes.com/trends.
BOOK REVIEW
‘Overcoming Your NegotiaPhobia’ Would you rather give in to a situation than negotiate? If the answer is “yes,” a new book from Wisconsin natives Larry Waldman and Cary Silverstein could help. In “Overcoming Your NegotiaPhobia,” Waldman and Silverstein use practical examples to illustrate how to negotiate for a salary increase, bargain with your teenager or make marital situations easier. Readers will no longer have to live in fear of having to negotiate and instead can feel prepared, confident and in control when entering a situation. Silverstein, of Fox Point, has an MBA, works in organizational behavior and is a BizTimes Milwaukee strategies columnist. Waldman, a graduate of Nicolet High School, earned his undergraduate degree at University of Wisconsin-Madison and his master’s degree from University of WisconsinMilwaukee. He has spent the past 40 years as a family therapist. “Overcoming Your NegotiaPhobia” is available at www.amazon.com for $15.95.
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leading edge NON P RO F IT N E W S
THE GOOD LIFE
Eternal Wish Foundation names Kanter director
Stumbling into a lifelong hobby
The Eternal Wish Foundation has named a new executive director. Raejean Kanter, a longtime nonprofit executive who has led multiple organizations in Wisconsin, has been hired to head the organization, effective immediately. Kanter has served as the director of Kanter the Forest County Potawatomi Community Foundation and March of Dimes. She also was the interim director of the American Diabetes Association and most recently served as director of community relations for The Falk Group, a Milwaukee public relations firm. “We are honored and humbled with the addition of Raejean Kanter as our new executive director,” said Tom Chirafisi, founder of the Eternal Wish Foundation. “Raejean, along with her passion and business ethics, brings a vast knowledge of nonprofit management, philanthropic spirit and the ability to form quality partnerships between for-profit and nonprofit entities.” The Eternal Wish Foundation is a Milwaukee-based nonprofit that fulfills wishes for adults with terminal illnesses.
One night in 2006 after a few drinks with her husband, Dan, and their close friend, Paul, while on vacation in Washington, D.C., Jayme Sisel decided to sign up for the Chicago Marathon on a whim. She didn’t know it at the time, but her impulse that night would open her up to a whole new world of hobbies. Sisel, a civil engineer at Graef, Jayme Sisel runs barefoot alongside had played sports all her life, including her five-year-old daughter. softball, rugby and soccer. “I was fast, but I was godawful when I got to the ball,” she said of her soccer days. Dan Sisel (left) and Jayme Sisel (top right) pose But she had never run as a hobby. Paul told her that night he with friends after participating in a mud run. thought she and Dan should participate in a marathon. She was so enthusiastic about the idea, she signed them both up right away. 2006. “When you pound the pavement for a few hours, you just In the morning, “We said, ‘Well, I guess we’ve got to train for do a lot of soul searching. My husband and I, when we go runit, because we already paid for it,’” she said, and laughed. ning, we have conversations, but you do have a lot of individual Now, 10 years later, they’re still runners who dabble in time where you are just kind of inwardly thinking. To me, it was marathons, triathlons, mud runs and ironman competitions. like a stress reducer and just something where you can dig within Sometimes, they even bring their kids along. The couple has fiveand kind of see who you can be. It was definitely a turning point year-old twin girls and a four-year-old boy. and I was so happy that it happened that way. As silly as it is, it’s a huge part of my life now.” “It was definitely a turning point where it wasn’t just group sports anymore,” Sisel said of signing up for that first marathon in ——Ben Stanley
——Ben Stanley
BEFORE
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leading edge IN T HE NE I GH B OR H OOD
BR EA K ING G ROUN D WALKER’S POINT OFFICE DEVELOPMENT Milwaukee-based developer Mandel Group Inc. is planning a three-building, 275,000-square-foot office development along the Milwaukee River in Walker’s Point. The preliminary plan incorporates two new buildings and a repurposed warehouse building on a 7-acre site near East Florida and South Water streets, including the former Wisconsin Cold Storage Co. property and river-fronting parcels on Water Street owned by Delaware-based Kurth Corp.
——Corrinne Hess
Milwaukee Courier Co. »» Neighborhood: Westown »» Address: 746 N. James Lovell St., Milwaukee »» Founded: 2009 »» Owner: Steven Feih
»» Employees: 6 »» Market: Bike and vehicle delivery service »»Service area: All of Wisconsin and northern Illinois
What kind of companies most frequently use a courier service and why? “The biggest probably percentage of customers we have is law-based; it’s usually
for law firms. We can have a package anywhere in downtown in 15 minutes and that’s something the traditional services (FedEx, UPS) can’t handle and probably never will.” How does Milwaukee Courier distinguish itself in the courier market? “It’s a small market. One of our biggest advantages we have is our online ordering. There’s really no margin for error once you have the online ordering. We’re probably more professional – we have uniforms.” What is the most difficult thing you’ve ever had to transport? “We had somebody wanting us to deliver dead dogs – that was pretty weird. It was some kind of research they do in Madison. We did it a couple times but no one was really having fun with that.”
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ON LIN E POLL
Re: Wisconsin’s transportation budget “And you may find yourself…living in Zoo Interchange traffic… and you may find yourself…with the highest amount of transportation debt service ever…and you may find yourself… behind the wheel of a large automobile…and you may find yourself on a gravel road…with a giant flat tire…and you may ask yourself, well how did I get here?” — State Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh
Re: Wisconsin’s future workforce “Unless current trends change somewhat dramatically, Wisconsin will be home to more adults who are retired than who are working within 15 years. Keeping more young people engaged and exploring careers close to home is part of the answer.” — Tom Still, Wisconsin Technology Council
Re: Trump on trade “The Trump people have bandied about a tax on U.S. businesses that move jobs out of the country. But what if those companies made those moves to survive or stay profitable? What if a presence abroad is necessary to enable job-creating exports?”
Milwaukee recently presented its Health Care Heroes Awards to West Allis Fire Department Captain David Bandomir and others.
— John Torinus, Serigraph Inc.
Are you glad the DOL’s new overtime rule has been delayed? Yes. I hope Trump repeals the rule when he takes office.
43%
No. The rule is the fairest way to pay employees overtime.
38%
No. I had already implemented a plan to comply with the rule.
11%
Yes. This gives me more time to plan for it.
8%
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innovations
Henry Medeiros in the lab at Marquette University.
Marquette research looks to take robots mobile
P
More than 240,000 industrial robots were sold in 2015 – a record, according to the International Federation of Robotics. That figure included 34,000 units in North America, an 11 percent increase
over the previous year. Robots have long been used in the automotive industry, but the number of applications in other industries has been increasing. Automotive OEMs and component manufacturers accounted for 69 percent of North American robot orders in 2005. By 2013, that number was down to 56 percent, according to a 2014 report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and The Manufacturing Institute. Food and consumer goods, semiconductors, life science and plastics contributed to the decline. While costs have been coming down and the number of applications have been increasing, Henry Medeiros, a Marquette University assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, said most robots are still set up in large, stationary
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lenty has been made of the potential for automation and robotics to change how products are manufactured. They offer the chance to improve productivity or remove employees from repetitive or dangerous tasks. Use and adoption of robotics in manufacturing continues to grow. ARTHUR THOMAS (414) 336-7123 arthur.thomas@biztimes.com Twitter: @arthur8823
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Henry Medeiros Marquette University College of Engineering Innovation: Improved robot mobility www.marquette.edu
cells. These robots can be programmed to perform the same tasks over and over. While large companies can afford the necessary investment, Medeiros said smaller manufacturers can’t afford robotics or would need to use them in multiple situations to justify the cost. A 2014 PWC survey found 26 percent of manufacturers felt their use of robotics would be limited by the technology not be-
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ing cost effective, and another 27 percent said they didn’t see a need for robotics. Medeiros and a team of researchers at Marquette hope to expand the number of applications for robotics. They’ve received a $260,000 grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology to improve the accuracy of mobile robots in manufacturing. Robotic arms that move along six degrees of freedom are used frequently in manufacturing and automated vehicles that can move materials also are seeing increased adoption. Combining those two items – a robotic arm on a moving platform – presents a number of challenges when it comes to the accuracy required for manufacturing. If the platform stops to perform each task as it moves from point to point, the robotic arm can maintain its accuracy. But stopping at each task when a manufacturer is looking to have a robot perform a number of tasks, and have it easily retasked, is problematic. “What we want to do is take another step forward and do that with the robot in motion,” Medeiros said. One approach is to move the platform to a known point, but even small errors can accumulate from task to task, throwing off the accuracy of the robot. Another approach could call for a patterned search to locate the starting point for each task, but it would require the platform to stop to maintain accuracy. “It sort of breaks down,” Medeiros said. His approach calls for repeatedly calculating the probable location of the next task as the platform moves closer and closer. After developing mathematical models for this approach with simulations, Medeiros plans to begin real-world tests with a robot and platform in early January. The tests will allow him to quantify the errors with this approach and refine the models. The plan for the two-year project calls for full-scale tests with robots identical to those used by NIST. If his ideas prove correct, Medeiros said the technology could be used in certain robotics right away. Turning his development into an actual commercial application is a bigger problem and could take longer. Medeiros noted different companies may have different needs – one might need a robot to manipulate items while moving, another might just have it pick parts from an assembly line – potentially complicating the challenge. n
real estate
The Milwaukee Regional Medical Center water tower at 87th Street and Watertown Plank Road.
Wauwatosa plans for future of area around I-41 and Watertown Plank Road
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auwatosa officials have been meeting with a team from Milwaukee-based engineering firm GRAEF for more than a year to develop a master plan for the area around I-41 and Watertown Plank Road, which includes plans to reconfigure the University of WisconsinMilwaukee Innovation Campus into a mixed-use development. The robust plan, which has not yet been made public, envisions Watertown Plank Road, now a busy thorCORRINNE HESS P: (414) 336-7116 E: corri.hess@biztimes.com Twitter: @CorriHess
oughfare, becoming a central business corridor while connecting the neighborhood to Wauwatosa’s downtown Village area. The plan includes more density in the form of retail, restaurants and housing throughout the area near the I-41 and Watertown Plank Road interchange, which includes Innovation Campus northeast of the interchange, the Milwaukee County Research Park to the southwest and the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center to the southeast. It envisions this area of
Wauwatosa as a “metropolitan center,” that includes even more density than what is already there, and public transit. Overall, the master plan could allow for the development of up to 6,500 more housing units, 250,000 square feet of office space, 70,000 square feet of retail space, 120,000 square feet of restaurants and 24,000 more parking spaces in the I-41/Watertown Plank Road area. The estimated annual tax revenue generated by this additional development would be $40 million to $50 million, according to the plan. The plan also includes a road that would run north of, and roughly parallel to, Watertown Plank Road, that would connect the Innovation Campus to some nearby streets and the downtown Village area. A draft version of the plan, dated July 2016, was obtained by BizTimes. GRAEF officials who developed the plan referred all questions to the city. Paulette Enders, director of development for the City of Wauwatosa, said the plan will be rolled out with public meetings early next year before final adoption. Before that can happen, the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center, which includes Froedtert Hospital, the Medical w w w.biztimes.com
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College of Wisconsin and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, is working on its own master plan that will be incorporated into this one, Enders said. “We are adding more density, but we feel it is the right amount of density and the right location,” Enders said. “This is very preliminary. Once we have all of the information, we will put it on a website and can begin gathering public input and the adoption process.” A master plan is a blueprint that a municipality creates to depict current land uses and guidelines for future growth and development. The GRAEF plan proposes an updated vision for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Real Estate Foundation’s Innovation Campus, which was started in 2011 on a 60-acre site northeast of U.S. Highway 45 and Watertown Plank Road. The campus was launched as a collaborative effort between industry and UWM researchers, who hoped the site’s proximity to the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center and Milwaukee County Research Park would make it a significant catalyst for economic development in the region. In 2013, Milwaukee-based Zilber Property Group developed the first pri-
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vate sector building at Innovation Campus, a three-story, 95,000-square-foot office space for Zurich, Switzerland-based ABB Ltd. to house its business operations. A business accelerator opened in 2014, and Mandel Group recently opened the Echelon Apartments, 188 units in six three-story buildings on the Milwaukee County Grounds. The idea of Innovation Campus was to attract businesses that would want to collaborate with UWM researchers and health care researchers and resources at the Regional Medical Center. But the economic growth that developers hoped for at Innovation Campus has not come to fruition over the past six years. The master plan proposes a shift at Innovation Campus, toward a high-density mixed-use development that would include residential, office buildings and some retail. “Proposed footprints for new buildings to not go beyond the perimeter of earlier Innovation Campus plans, but the density and intensity of development increases,” according to the plan, which also proposes a new public plaza along Watertown Plank dubbed “Emerald Square, “Monarch Park,” or a similar place-related name. 11
real estate
The view of Froedtert Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin from Watertown Plank Road.
David Gilbert, executive director of the UWM Innovation Campus, said while a lot of details still have to be studied, he agrees with the general premise that the Innovation Campus parcel could be developed with more density than currently called for if done in a responsible and sustainable manner. “I don’t view the concepts proposed in the draft as a departure from our current plans,” Gilbert said. “It is more of an evolution of our Innovation Campus that warrants close examination.” The 147-page plan also proposes a
“circulator,” or transit system that would be similar to buses used in Washington, D.C. to connect people to their destinations and reduce traffic congestion. Various routes and scenarios are outlined and the system could increase in capacity if it were needed. Routes include Innovation Campus to the Milwaukee County Research Park, as well as the Wauwatosa Village to Mayfair Mall and the Mayfair Collection. Annual costs range from $187,500 for two vehicles operating 15 hours per day to $700,000 for eight vehicles operating 56 total hours per day.
Unlike the downtown Milwaukee streetcar, there would not be a fixed route, Enders said. “There is a desire of the city administration to improve traffic (flow),” Enders said. “This was a suggested concept by one of the consultants that has been researched. It all needs to be researched more heavily. At this point, it is just a concept.” The plan also looks at the possibility of more density at Milwaukee County Research Park, a 175-acre office park southwest of I-41 and Watertown Plank Road. The Research Park is primarily privately
Smart Enough to Know... It doesn’t have to be lonely at the top
owned, and about 95 percent of its 110 developable acres are developed, said Guy Mascari, executive director. A significant amount of green space has been left at the Research Park, in accordance with a master plan that was created 20 years ago, Mascari said. The proposed master plan for the I-41/Watertown Plank Road area calls for putting buildings on much of that green space, which would be a shift in the original plan for the Research Park. “Several studies done felt that (green space) would be attractive to technology companies and give this a feel of a college campus,” Mascari said. “If we add more density the stormwater system would need to be redone. And there is certainly an issue with traffic here.” Mascari has not yet seen the master plan GRAEF has created, but has written a letter to Wauwatosa expressing his concerns. “I hear they are calling for more density,” Mascari said. “Whether there is a market for that, it’s hard to tell.” n
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FIRST BUSINESS ECONOMIC SURVEY SIGNALS OPTIMISM IN 2017 IN A YEAR WHERE SO MANY OF THE NATION’S traditional norms were turned upside down, the economy continued to grow, albeit slowly. Here in the greater Milwaukee area, companies’ sales revenues saw a small overall decline but continued to be strong, with profitability reaching a new historic high. Key contributors to improved performance were increased sales efforts, improved internal efficiencies and investments in new talent. Optimism remains strong for 2017, with 74 percent of respondents expecting performance to improve even further. This is just a glimpse into the results of the eighth annual First Business Economic Survey for the Greater Milwaukee Region. Regional surveys were conducted of 350 total respondents for six market areas in Wisconsin, and compared with national data. Launched in 2008 to provide a data-driven snapshot of southeastern Wisconsin’s middle market business owners’ predictions for the year ahead, the survey results include the prior year’s and other historic data, creating a map of regional economic trends. As the survey approaches the decade mark, an accurate measurement of both sentiment and performance over time is taking shape. First Business Bank - Milwaukee president and CEO Dave Vetta stands behind the results. “Hearing from over 250 business owners through the survey, the Governor’s office and 5 experts in sepa-
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rate local industries provides wonderful insight into how to prepare for what lies ahead.” The release of the survey intentionally corresponds each year with the Waukesha County Business Alliance’s Key Industries panel discussion, held this year on December 8. “The Waukesha County Business Alliance is pleased to partner with First Business Bank - Milwaukee and BizTimes to provide our members with valuable industry insights and information on the economic trends in our region,” said Suzanne Kelley, the Alliance’s president and CEO. The data is also valuable as a planning tool for economic development agencies like the Waukesha County Center for Growth. Executive Director Tim Casey said the survey results align with what’s happening in his organization’s area. “A majority of firms surveyed project increased employment next year, and many are nearing capacity in their current facilities. We are working with other partners in Waukesha County to ensure we can assist those firms who will be looking for additional space and employees.” Consistent with prior events, the 2016 panel featured five business leaders representing different industries, each with his or her own unique perspective on the year to come.
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HIGHLIGHTS ON DECEMBER 8, 2016, over 250 business leaders gathered at Country Springs Hotel for a lively discussion of the economic year to come. The event included a keynote address by Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, a panel of business leaders who shared their own predictions for 2017, and the unveiling of the eighth annual First Business Economic Survey for the Greater Milwaukee Region. Conducted by a third party and underwritten by First Business, the survey polls 350 total and 100 regional executives on their predictions for their own companies in the coming year, and compares aggregated data year-over-year. Copies of the survey can be downloaded at firstbusiness.com/survey.
FREDERICK ANDERSON PRESIDENT/CEO WENTHE-DAVIDSON ENGINEERING CO.
Three years ago, the state of Wisconsin enacted a manufacturing tax credit to help companies lower their tax burden by as much as 7.5 percent. This helps to make our state as competitive as any out there in attracting new business and investment. The new federal government has said they intend to reduce the federal tax also. This will allow business to provide more dollars to invest in innovation and equipment. I am very encouraged that Wisconsin has positioned itself to be the manufacturing leader not only in the Midwest, but nationally.
DR. ASIF NASEEM PRESIDENT & CEO PDS
In the information technology industry, we expect to see accelerating value migration from products to solutions and services. Enterprises are looking to their suppliers to partner with them to solve their business problems and not merely provide products. Managed services, cloud-based offerings, and domain-specific applications – especially those that solve a particular problem end-to-end, not just a part of it – will enjoy significant revenue and margin growth. The move towards such vertically integrated solutions will strongly encourage the continued emergence of an ecosystems of vendors, suppliers, and customers to co-create value that can be shared by all the players involved.
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SCOTT HEBERLEIN
CARRIE NORBIN KILLORAN
VICE PRESIDENT, GENERAL MANAGER
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT CENTRAL REGION
MORTENSON CONSTRUCTION
AURORA HEALTH CARE
Both consumer and business confidence in the economy will lead to further investments and spending. With anticipated 2017 fiscal priorities leaning towards a pro-business atmosphere, including new investments in infrastructure, further economic growth can be expected. Generally, the construction industry tends to follow the strength of the economy. Growth of the economy should drive additional capital expenditures.
Uncertainty still pervades health care There is an incredible amount of uncertainty in health care right now: uncertainty in the state of the economy – which affects employers and how they purchase health care – as well as uncertainty in the regulatory/legislative environment, which affects how we providers get paid. While we anticipate change in 2017, we look forward to opportunities for discussion and education around principles that support integrated healthcare delivery, better health for populations, and excellent care for our patients and communities.
ERIC STEIMER CHAMPIONSHIP MANAGER 2017 U.S. OPEN
Golf to boost Wisconsin economy in 2017 Historically, the U.S. Open Championship generates more than $120 million in revenue to the host communities in which it is held. Southeastern Wisconsin will be the leading recipient of this impact as the United States Golf Association (USGA) and Erin Hills are set to host the State’s first U.S. Open in June 2017.
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SPONSORED CONTENT
ANNUAL
2016 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
FIRST BUSINESS
ECONOMIC
Profitability and hiring reached new historic highs and strong performance on sales revenue
SURVEY
66% of businesses reported increase in sales revenue for 2016 and 82% (a new historic high) expect an increase in 2017 - optimism has never been higher 51% of respondents increased their number of employees in 2016 and 56% expect the number to increase for 2017 A historic low 2% reported decrease in wages for 2016 and 71% expect an increase for 2017
NumberofofEmployees Employees --Projected Number Projected 80%
The number of respondents who saw an increase in total operating cost as a percentage of revenue for 2016 was 38% (continuing a downward trend) and 46% project no change for 2017
60% 40% 20% 0% 2013 2013
2014 2014
2015 2015
Decrease Decrease
Unchanged Unchanged
2016 2016
2017 2017
Increase Increase
Will youyou perform betterbetter or worse overall in Will perform or worse ovearllin 20172017 compared to 2016? compared to 2016?
Sales Projected SalesRevenue Revenue - Projected
74% 74%
100% 100%
17% 17%
80% 80%
9%
60% 60% 40% 40%
Worse WorseNo Change No ChangeBetter
20% 20% 0% 0%
9%
2013 2013
2014 2014
2015 2015
Decrease Decrease
Unchanged Unchanged
2016 2016
2017 2017
r
Improved Performance Attributed To
Increase Increase
Increased sales efforts Improved interal efficiencies
Profitability Projected Profitability -- Projected
Invested in new talent Increased marketing efforts
100% 100%
Expanded product offerings
80% 80%
Investment in technology
60% 60%
Reduced staffing Increased prices
40% 40%
Entered new geographic market
20% 20% 0% 0%
Other (please specify) Competitor closed doors or was acquired
2013 2013
2014 2014
2015 2015
Decrease Decrease
FULL SURVEY
AVAILABLE
Unchanged Unchanged
2016 2016
2017 2017
Introduced performance based compensation plan
Increase Increase
Get your free copy of the full report including industry specific data at firstbusiness.com/survey
0%
5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
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cover story
best
IN BUSINESS
2 016 2015 TOASTING BUSINESS GROWTH! As 2016 winds down, we take an opportunity to reflect on the change-makers who have driven the biggest business news in the Milwaukee area over the past year and honor them with the fourth annual BizTimes Best in Business Awards. This section honors staff selections for southeastern Wisconsin’s corporation, small business, family-owned business, CEO and community leader of the year. Past winners include: Milwaukee Bucks president Peter Feigin, WEC Energy Group, Gehl Foods, Steinhafels Inc., the Ramirez family of HUSCO International, Allen Edmonds CEO Paul Grangaard, Badger Meter Inc. CEO Rich Meeusen, Roadrunner Transportation Systems CEO Mark DiBlasi, MMAC president Tim Sheehy, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., Generac Power Systems, Uline, Bartolotta Restaurant Group, Colectivo and Super Steel. This year’s winners are: Milwaukee Blacksmith, a family business that was the subject of a national television show; Tim Sullivan, chief executive officer of Rev Group Inc., for moving two corporate headquarters to Milwaukee and for his ongoing civic and business leadership; Rinka Chung Architecture, which has done design work on numerous buildings making a major impact on Milwaukee’s skyline; Direct Supply, for its significant growth and commitment to its employees and its hometown; and the Baumgartners, for their commitment to the city and the future of the Milwaukee Art Museum. Read all about what these companies and leaders accomplished in 2016 in this special report.
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IN BU S INESS
Owned Business of the Yea
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KAT SCHLEICHER PHOTOGRAPHY
Fam i ly-
The Knapp family: Birdie, Miles, Shannon, Zoey, Kent and Ozzie.
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BY BEN STANLEY, staff writer
ent Knapp started his ironworking business, Milwaukee Blacksmith, 11 years ago. Back then, his workshop was his sanctuary. Most of the hours he spent working with iron were spent alone. He enjoyed the solitude. In the months since a national television show about his small, family-owned and -operated business aired on the History channel earlier this year, however, much has changed. Tucked away in a quiet section of Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward and surrounded by a patch of vacant lots and buildings lingering in the trendy neighborhood’s southern tip, the workshop is loud and buzzing with several employees at any given time – many of them Knapp’s own children. Their tools clanked, hummed and ground as Knapp sat on a leather couch
in a lounge area set up against the southeast wall of the workshop on an afternoon in late November and described how appearing on national TV has affected his business. “Business has definitely increased,” Knapp said. “I’d say correspondence has increased the most; emails, phone calls, Facebook messages, all kinds of wellwishers. And we really love to hear all that positive stuff, but at the same time, at the end of the day, it takes time. So it can be a little frustrating sometimes.” Over the past year, Knapp has received national attention for his blacksmith business, located at 518 E. Erie St., by getting something few small businesses have ever had: a reality show. He’s been able to expand his operations and put a national spotlight on Milwaukee in the process. For that, Milwaukee Black-
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smith has been named the BizTimes Best in Business Family-Owned Business of the Year for 2016. In fact, business has picked up so much for Milwaukee Blacksmith since the show aired, Knapp said he needs more space to keep production on pace with demand. “We’re looking at moving into a bigger shop,” he said. Milwaukee Blacksmith has seen a sharp increase in demand from businesses and private buyers for art pieces and other commissioned iron works, as well as a notable increase in the number of people signing up for its ironworking classes. “Historically, we’ve had six to 12 people per class,” Knapp said. “Now we have 12 to 24 people per class, so we need a bigger space for that. This whole summer, this
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whole fall, has been nuts. Ever since the show aired, it’s morning, noon and night. Everything is just coming at us full speed. It’s not unlikely for three or four people to walk in every day who just wanted to pop in and say hello. Buy a T-shirt.” Knapp would not disclose the specific space he’s looking at, but said it is within walking distance of his current location and it’s across the Milwaukee River in Walker’s Point. It’s roughly 15,000 square feet – about three times larger than his current space. It has 4,000 to 5,000 square feet of space he could use specifically to host ironworking classes, more offices and twice as much space (and ceiling height) for production. It’s also located in an area with more daily pedestrian foot traffic. “I also think it may be a little more suited to us,” Knapp said. “It’s more blue collar. The last five years here in the Third
FAMILY-OWNED BUSINESS OF THE YEAR:
KAT SCHLEICHER PHOTOGRAPHY
MILWAUKEE BLACKSMITH
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Ward have been great, but I think this building and all the vacant land around us is probably slated to become condominiums or new structures, and I get that. It’s a great location for it. Especially with the new Harbor (District) neighborhood they’re proposing and all the things that could happen there. I’d love to see that happen for Milwaukee, I think that would be huge.” Knapp says he hasn’t yet heard from History channel representatives about whether the show will be renewed for a second season, but he’d be willing to give it another go despite how challenging and demanding the filming schedule was for his business. The show focused on the
family dynamics among Kent, working to run his business, and his children who work there for him: his sons Miles, Birdie and Ozzie, and his daughter, Zoey. Shannon Knapp, Kent’s wife and the operations manager for Milwaukee Blacksmith, also was part of the show. Kent said he gave his entire staff a month off to recuperate after filming ended. “The show was really tough to make,” he said. “We did a year’s worth of work in four months. We were all physically and emotionally exhausted and drained. If they come back to us and want a second season, we’ll figure it out, but it’s going to be tough. If and when we get the new shop, that would be helpful.” n w w w.biztimes.com
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IN BU S INESS
CEO of t he Year
BY ARTHUR THOMAS, staff writer
T
alk to Rev Group Inc. chief executive officer Tim Sullivan about running a business and he continually returns to the stories that have helped shape his career. There’s the one about Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce president Tim Sheehy telling Sullivan how the loss of the Bucyrus headquarters would be a gut blow to the city. Or the one about the young boy named Robert on a tour of Bucyrus asking the chief executive officer (Sullivan) how much he made. Then there’s the one about a sermon Sullivan heard in the early 2000s involving a survey of people in their 90s. The respondents, who had lived through multiple wars and the Great Depression, said their biggest regrets were not taking more
risks and not doing more to help their fellow man. “It changed me as far as how I looked at the world,” Sullivan said. “Those two things hit me like a two-by-four.” It was at a point when Bucyrus was struggling, and inspired him to take actions to help save the company. It also pushed him to be more involved in the community. Fifteen years later, Sullivan hopes it’s his actions that inspire people. With Sheehy’s message about losing a headquarters echoing in his mind, Sullivan has brought the headquarters of Gardner Denver (in 2014) and now specialty vehicle maker Rev Group to Milwaukee. Not long after Rev Group made the
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headquarters move earlier this year, Sullivan publicly declared if the company could land a key contract with the U.S. Postal Service, he would put a manufacturing facility at the Century City complex in Milwaukee. The company’s partner made the short list for the project and Rev Group will be doing final assembly where Tower Automotive once operated. There’s minimal employment tied to the decision, but if the company lands the whole contract, there could be jobs for thousands. By moving two company headquarters to Milwaukee, his public vote of confidence in the Century City project and his combination of both civic and business leadership have earned Tim Sullivan the title of BizTimes Best in Business 2016 CEO of the Year. Rev Group is a fairly young company, having assumed the name just last year. It was previously known as Allied Specialty Vehicles and served as an umbrella for a number of vehicle brands. Together with Karsan, its Turkish partner, Rev Group faces stiff competition from companies with decades of experience, including Oshkosh Corp., in trying to land the U.S. Postal Service contract. Sullivan acknowledged some concern about raising hopes for bringing work to the area without it being a sure thing, but he also said it is important for people to be considering the possibility. “You don’t start getting people thinking unless you’re talking about the subject,” he said. “The fact that we’re talking about it, does it have other people thinking about, ‘Hmm, maybe we should consider that.’” “Maybe there’s one or two and before
Family Business Legacy Institute IT’S NOT JUST BUSINESS. IT’S FAMILY.
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you know it, you’ve got Century City starting to build out to be a real industrial park,” he said. It’s also not just about sending a message. Sullivan said the reality is manufacturers need to go where there is labor available. He said he should have done that by building a weld shop on the north side of Milwaukee while at Bucyrus. At Rev Group, Sullivan also is discovering the importance of meeting the needs of his workforce in other ways. At the company’s rural factories, that means structuring schedules and incentives to allow employees to come in early, get their work done and then spend the afternoon working on farms. In other cases, it means running multiple shifts, but not doing it back-to-back. “You have to adapt to their schedule and their desires,” he said. Even if Rev Group doesn’t get the full Postal Service contract, Sullivan may bring a factory to Milwaukee as the company grows. “The hat trick isn’t in my future,” Sullivan joked about the possibility of bringing Milwaukee another headquarters, “because (Rev Group) is something that’s like a startup.” It may be like a startup, but it already has 6,000 employees and plans to grow. The company will go public next year, providing an exit for its private equity ownership and the capital to expand. The move of the Rev Group headquarters to Milwaukee was intended to help
CEO OF THE YEAR:
TIM SULLIVAN
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87% Sullivan
facilitate that growth. While the management team in place when the company was based in Orlando was strong in individual disciplines like tax or accounting, they came from a variety of industries. Milwaukee has more professionals with
manufacturing industry experience who can anticipate the company’s needs. “You get ahead of the curve, rather than just being reactionary,” Sullivan said. n
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Advertise with BizTimes Media and connect with regional business leaders in print, online and at our must-attend events. Contact Linda Crawford to learn more: linda.crawford@biztimes.com or 414-336-7112
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CORPORATION OF THE YEAR:
BIZTIMES
CONTINUUM ARCHITECTS + PLANNERS
Corporation of the Year
BEN STANLEY
DIRECT SUPPLY
IN BU S INESS
Direct Supply’s technology center on MSOE’s campus is located at 1020 N. Broadway in downtown Milwaukee.
A rendering of Direct Supply’s planned $60 million campus expansion along North Industrial Road on Milwaukee’s northwest side.
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BY BEN STANLEY, staff writer
mployee-owned Direct Supply Inc. is a quiet giant in the senior living industry that has recently doubled down on its commitment to Milwaukee. The 31-year-old senior living community supplier, which employs roughly 1,100 people at its 10-building headquarters campus along North Industrial Road on the city’s northwest side and another 100 at its technology center on the Milwaukee School of Engineering campus, announced plans in March to expand its headquarters and add as many as 800 employees over the next seven years. Plans call for a $60 million, 280,000-square-foot building to be constructed in place of an existing singlestory building on its campus. The company also is in the process of expanding its technology center in the four-story German-English Academy Building at 1020 N. Broadway at MSOE’s downtown campus. Direct Supply opened
the center in 9,000 square feet of space on the building’s top floor in 2012 as a way to connect MSOE computer engineering and business students with internships and work experience, while also serving as a talent pipeline for the company. Now, Direct Supply is planning to lease the entire 48,000-square-foot building from MSOE. It already has begun recruiting technology startups and entrepreneurs who are developing ideas or technologies related to the industry to participate in an incubator program it is running at the center. In recognition of the company’s growth, its commitment to its employees and its home town, and its ability to recognize and capitalize on market opportunities, Direct Supply is the BizTimes Best in
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Business Corporation of the Year for 2016. The company’s moves are coming at a time when U.S. demographic trends indicate Direct Supply may be positioned for rapid growth. By 2029, every member of the baby boomer generation will be 65 or older and together will account for roughly 20 percent of the U.S. population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And that bodes well for Direct Supply. That sector of the population – those ages 65 or older – is the backbone of its business. Bob Klein, senior vice president and chief administrative officer of Direct Supply, told BizTimes in an email he credits the company’s success to three things: maintaining a “single-minded focus” on senior care and living, providing “outrageous” customer service, and hiring excellent employees. When chief executive officer Bob Hillis founded the company in 1985, the oldest baby boomers were only 39 years old.
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But over the past 31 years, the company he built has become so integrated in the senior living market, Direct Supply director of development and innovation Tom Paprocki estimates that the company sells to roughly 39,500 of the nation’s 43,000 senior communities. That puts Direct Supply in a dominant position right as its core customre demographic is expected to grow dramatically. “We want to continue to be an innovative partner with our customers as we help them care for seniors; to be a great neighbor to our Havenwoods neighbors; and to be a great citizen of Milwaukee and Wisconsin,” Klein wrote. “We’re very proud of our Innovation & Technology Center at MSOE, and are committed to using it as a centerpiece in Milwaukee as we continue to help bring innovative ways for seniors to have fulfilling lives and get the care that they need, want and deserve.” n
best
SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR:
BIZTIMES
RINKA CHUNG ARCHITECTURE
I N B U S I N E SS
CONTRIBUTED
Small Bus
BY CORRINNE HESS, staff writer
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f a catalytic project is underway in the city of Milwaukee, odds are good that Matt Rinka and his firm have touched it. Rinka’s firm, Rinka Chung Architecture, is part of the design team for the Live Block of the Milwaukee Bucks arena development, which will transform Fourth Street into a mixed-use development that will include a year-round beer garden, outdoor media wall and covered pedestrian link from the sports venue to Old World Third Street. Rinka Chung also is working on The Couture and the Lakefront Gateway project, both in downtown Milwaukee, and mixed-use projects in the suburbs, including Oak Creek’s Drexel Town Square,
A rendering of the Milwaukee Bucks’ planned Live Block.
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White Stone Station in Menomonee Falls and 84South in Greenfield. And that’s not including the dozens of bars, restaurants and businesses Rinka has helped design in the 11 years since he launched his firm. “I think part of the success is we try to think larger and RINKA pursue projects that are not only going to be the most successful for us, but for the business involved and the community at large,” Rinka said. .......................SMALL BIZ continued on page 24
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best
COMMUNITY LEADER OF THE YEAR:
BIZTIMES
THE BAUMGARTNER FAMILY
IN BU S INESS
it y Leader of t he Yea
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onald and John Baumgartner explored the possibility of finding a strategic buyer for Milwaukee-based Paper Machinery Corp., but the fatherson team never really gave the idea serious consideration before they turned the company over to employees. “It’s not always about making the last buck,” said John. “If we’re giving back to the community, a good place to start is giving back to the employees that helped build the business.” The Baumgartners sold the company through an employee stock ownership plan in May, citing a desire to ensure the business stayed in Milwaukee. Just a few weeks later, Donald and his wife, Donna, announced an $8 million donation to the Milwaukee Art Museum’s endowment fund to help pay the salary of future museum directors. The couple has long supported the arts, but this year’s commitment to the city and the future of MAM combined to earn the Baumgartner family the
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“We really want to take a look at the big picture and try to exceed expectations of what the project will be.” Rinka, 43, was born in Seoul, South Korea. Chung was his birth name, which he incorporated into the name of his company. When he was five years old, he was adopted by Jon and Michele Rinka, who raised him in Oconomowoc. Rinka attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and graduated in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in architectural studies. He worked for Kahler Slater for about two years and then moved to Seattle to attend graduate school. He received a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Washington in 2000. Joel Lee, president of Milwaukeebased Van Buren Management Inc., 24
BY ARTHUR THOMAS, staff writer
BizTimes Best in Business 2016 Community Leader of the Year award. “We gave what we could give and gave of our time and our energy as well, because we’re strong believers that the arts help make a community,” Donald said. The couple’s involvement in the arts dates back to the 1980s. Donald is a past president of the Milwaukee Art Museum, chaired the building committee during the construction of the Calatrava addition and was on the committee that selected the addition’s architect. He’s also a life director at Milwaukee’s Florentine Opera Company. Donna is on the board of the Milwaukee Ballet and has been involved for decades. Together, the couple also serves on the board of the Milwaukee Film Festival. The organizations the Baumgartners support are on good footing and looking to grow, Donna said. “It’s not just about donor money, you have to have the audience, you have to build that,” she said.
one of the largest commercial property owners in downtown Milwaukee, was Rinka’s first client when he started his own firm in 2006. Lee hired Rinka to design Washington Square, an office tower in the middle of the central business district in the vacant lot just east of the Pfister Hotel. Lee has not yet developed the tower. “It goes without saying he is a talented architect, but there are a lot of talented architects around town that I have worked with in 50 years,” Lee said. “What sets him apart is the personal attention. When you meet some people they have a sense of unique sincerity in your interests, that they are listening and that they are going to put their talents toward accomplishing what you are telling them. That is what Matt does.” For its impact on Milwaukee’s skyline, Rinka Chung Architecture
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Donald, Donna and John Baumgartner
But even as they look to grow, Donna said those organizations also need more involvement from the wider community. She noted many arts organizations don’t have the same development staff as other nonprofits and it can be a struggle to
has earned the BizTimes Best in Business Small Business of the Year award for 2016. Despite his accomplishments, Rinka is very modest. He credits the staff of 35 for the work. His favorite project to date is The Moderne, a 30-story residential building at the southwest corner of Old World Third Street and Juneau Avenue downtown, because the project was able to keep people working after the recession. The Moderne was the first major project Rinka completed with developer Rick Barrett after leaving Kahler Slater Inc. to launch Rinka Chung. “It’s really one of the most gratifying things we do,” Rinka said. “Our projects touch a lot of lives, sometimes an entire community, and I’m very proud of that.” n
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attract support. “The companies and businesses have backed off the arts a lot and they’re all focused on social services and education, so you can get support through your education means, but just to support, it’s a big struggle,” she said. “One of the reasons we support the arts is because so few others do. I mean, they really need it; they need that support,” Donald added. “We weren’t planning on being at the top of the list, but we find ourselves there,” Donna said. Donald said young business people should get involved in local organizations, whether it’s the arts or something else. “They should be volunteering their time and energy to some cause that they believe in,” he said. “Their time is extremely valuable to these organizations.” John noted his father had brought a United Performing Arts Fund campaign to Paper Machinery Corp. a number of years ago. While the company’s blue collar manufacturing workers likely wouldn’t have thought of writing a check to UPAF or attending the ballet, it encouraged them to get involved. “These guys probably wouldn’t have thought of doing it without a little push,” John said. n
special report
manufacturing
food & beverage
Small FaB companies in sweet spot Consumer shift creates opportunity for local food manufacturers BY BEN STANLEY, staff writer
T
CONTRIBUTED
he food and beverage industry is dominated by global conglomerates with annual sales that have reached dizzying heights. In 2015, Mars Inc. posted $33.5 billion in sales; General Mills: $17.6 billion; and ConAgra Foods Inc.: $15 billion. But in recent years, the changing tastes of American consumers toward certain types of specialty food items, such as nonGMO, organic and whole grain products, have opened a window of opportunity for
Former Angelic Bakehouse owners Jenny and James Marino pose with a platter of their baked sprouted-grain products. Inset: Sprouted-grain products move through the Angelic Bakehouse production line in Cudahy.
small food manufacturers to scale or make themselves attractive for acquisition. These types of specialty food items make up a growing niche that massive food corporations, because of their large, well-established supply chain and production infrastructures, have been slow to penetrate.
In Wisconsin, a few companies have been taking advantage of that opportunity. Among them: Gorilly Goods, Angelic Bakehouse and Kangaroo Brands. Gorilly Goods is an organic snackmaker based in the Village of Jackson in Washington County that was launched in
2012. Cudahy-based Angelic Bakehouse, a non-GMO sprouted grain bakery, was founded in Waukesha in 1969 as Cybros Inc., but underwent a name and product line change after it was purchased by new owners in 2009. Milwaukee-based Kangaroo Brands Inc. has been making and sell-
ing pita bread since 1979, but launched a successful new product line of pre-made sandwiches called Sandwich Bros. of Wisconsin in 2012. Each of these three companies is in the midst of a major expansion, and two of them were recently acquired by much
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larger companies with deep enough pockets and distribution networks to help them scale. “The trend is our friend in a lot of the specialty areas,” said Brad Rostowfske, director of innovation and finance at FaB Wisconsin. “Gluten-free and non-GMO, predominantly. The millennials are starting to vote with their dollars. There’s a lot of positive energy around these unique, new craft brands.” FaB Wisconsin, formerly FaB Milwaukee, is a cluster organization formed by the Milwaukee 7 and the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce in 2010 to stimulate growth in the food and beverage industry. The organization launched an accelerator program in 2015 for small-to-mid-sized food companies to help them scale and has been keeping a close eye on industry trends and opportunities to facilitate growth. Rostowfske said Wisconsin’s history of dairy and agricultural production have put it in a unique position to accommodate growth among both new and old food and beverage industry companies. “Just look at the vertical of dairy,” Rostowfske said. “We’ve got the infrastructure, not just of the milk plants and cheese plants, but of enzyme manufacturers, legal structures, technology, accounting, logistics … We are uniquely positioned to keep leveraging that business model we have with dairy across brewing, across meat, across organics.” Family-owned Kangaroo Brands, located at 7620 N. 81st St., has added 70 employees over the past 12 months, and plans to convert another 30 to 40 temporary positions to full-time. The company also is searching for a second, 75,000to 100,000-square-foot manufacturing plant to use in addition to its current 55,000-square-foot facility that will help facilitate its recent growth, driven primarily by its Sandwich Bros. line. “There’s a lot of food manufacturers in Wisconsin,” said Kangaroo Brands president Salem Kashou. “A lot of dairy, a lot of cheese. We have tons of food partners really close to our facility. It reduces our food miles. It’s beneficial across the board, not just for our business – for the world at large. Another benefit: it’s centrally located in the country, so it’s easier to ship to both coasts.” Gorilly Goods, founded by husband and wife Stephen and Chris McDiarmid, has nine employees in a 6,500-square-
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foot facility and recently sold a 51 percent stake in its company to Canadian firm Nature’s Path, the largest organic food company in North America. “Consumers are getting much more savvy to reading labels,” Stephen McDiarmid said. “There’s been such a great movement on getting better and cleaner nutrition.” McDiarmid said he thinks increased access to information through social media and the Internet have changed the business model of the food industry, particularly in terms of marketing, by flipping the flow of information. Instead of large food corporations telling consumers which products they should buy, consumers are telling food corporations what they should sell. “They have two choices,” McDiarmid said of the larger food companies. “Either try to adjust and stay abreast of things, or they acquire and work with smaller companies already in those spaces.” He said being located in Wisconsin has a lot of pros; namely, its strong logistical infrastructure for food distribution, its geographic location in the center of the country near an abundant source of freshwater and its vast food industry network. “Wisconsin is really positioned well to capitalize on our strengths in the food and beverage industry,” he said. Angelic Bakehouse was purchased by husband and wife James and Jenny Marino in 2009, who moved the company from Waukesha to Cudahy and over the past seven years, expanded it from eight employees to 55 full-time and 20 temporary employees with an annual revenue of about $12 million. The Marinos sold the company in November to Ohio-based Lancaster Colony Corp. “We never thought of this as a legacy business,” Angelic Bakehouse chief executive officer Jenny Marino said. “It was not something we were building to pass on to our children. The exit came significantly earlier than we thought it would’ve. We were on a 10- to 15-year plan and we did it in seven.” Jenny Marino is a member of the FaB Wisconsin executive board. “Anecdotally, just from our peers in this space, natural and organic foods and great entrepreneurial brands are being acquired constantly,” she said. “There’s a huge demand for it. It’s easier for these (large) companies to do an acquisition than to start from scratch.” n
manufacturing
Familiar brands pop in Wisconsin’s soda scene Jolly Good being reintroduced to market
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t wasn’t quite as simple as dusting off the recipes and working Jolly Good soda into production at Krier Foods when John Rassel decided to relaunch the Wisconsin brand known for a multitude of flavors and the jokes at the bottom of its cans. But it was close. “Everything kind of aligned,” said Rassel, president and fifth-generation family owner of Random Lake-based Krier Foods. Krier had long produced Jolly Good with dozens of flavors and the ability to mix-and-match different cans at retail outlets. But sales declined over time and the company stopped production in the 2000s. Rassel was approached a few years ago by someone interested in purchasing the trademark to the brand. At the time, the company wasn’t doing anything and Rassel knew he would need to make some product available to keep the trademark registered. He’d also talked with his uncle,
ARTHUR THOMAS, staff writer
the company’s fourth-generation owner, over the years about relaunching the soda. All of those factors, combined with the rise in popularity of craft beverages that fill a particular niche, convinced Rassel to give it a try. “We just thought it might be a good opportunity,” he said. It is an opportunity Glendale-based Sprecher Brewing Co. has been taking advantage of for years. Randy Sprecher started making root beer not long after starting the company to offer something for those people on tours not interested in beer. The company found it was actually easier to ship root beer to stores and the product helped build its brand. Today, Sprecher ships five times as much root beer as it does beer, selling in more than 40 states. “It’s become a big part of our business,” said Jeff Hamilton, Sprecher president. w w w.biztimes.com
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Krier started its relaunch journey last year by distributing Jolly Good to a few local retail outlets in Sheboygan and Ozaukee counties. Then in July, Krier partnered with Piggly Wiggly to test market the product on a wider scale. Rassel said he wanted to get a lay of the land, understand potential price points and see if there was still brand recognition. The six-month trial is coming to an end and Rassel said he hopes to open up to more distribution, additional flavors and other products in the spring. “I’m cautiously optimistic,” he said. As Jolly Good eases back into the marketplace, Sprecher remains a significant player across the country. In the beer industry, craft beer has experienced a boom at the same time large brewers like Miller, Coors and Budweiser have declined. It’s a trend Hamilton said is playing out in sodas as well.
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“We do see the specialty beverages continuing to grow,” he said. Changes in consumer attitudes – with more people opting for healthier choices – and government regulations – six cities passed taxes on sugary drinks in the most recent election – mean that when people do have soda, they’re looking for something unique or different, Hamilton said. That trend plays right into Sprecher’s hands. The company brews using a gasfired method instead of the steam many others use and incorporates Wisconsin ingredients, including ginseng, cherries and honey. The recipes have remained largely the same over the years, with the exception of taking some bite out of the ginger ale and focusing the Raven Red on cherries instead of cranberries. Hamilton said he expects the industry to continue following the beer market’s trends. 27
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“I think you’ll continue to see innovation in both flavors and ingredients as it follows more the trend of craft beer,” he said, although he also said it won’t produce the same boom in new breweries. For Krier Foods, the reality is Jolly Good only represents a very small portion of its business. The contract beverage manufacturer counts brands like Minute Maid, Monster Energy and Ocean Spray among its clients. Its 300,000-square-foot production facility has produced roughly 20 million cases of beverages in a single year. Rassel acknowledged there are limited resources for the company to put towards the Jolly Good project, but he feels Krier has “done a pretty good job of spending where we need to spend.” One benefit was the company already had the recipes for the six flavors – fruit punch, grape, orange, cherry, sour pow’r and cream – it has reintroduced. Rassel said the goal was to use the same formula or be as close as possible. In some cases, certain flavor ingredients just aren’t available, but for the most part, Jolly Good is the same as it was when it disappeared from store shelves. “The marketing part was a little tougher,” Rassel said. Being a contract manufacturer means Krier knows the production side of the business well. The responsibility for marketing the drink and securing distribution generally falls on someone else. Rassel said he’s gone outside the business to get
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help and having contacts in the industry helped ease the transition. The reality is Krier’s competition for Jolly Good is not big international players like Coca-Cola or Pepsi. Instead, it’s smaller, local players in the flavored beverage segment that have carved out a niche, as well. To stand out on crowded retail store shelves, Jolly Good is now packaged in a taller, skinnier can to help differentiate it from the competition. One of the marketing features most tied to the Jolly Good brand remains, but in a new format. Rassel said the way the cans are made today prevents the company from including jokes at the bottom of the can. “It seems that a lot of people remember them,” he said, noting demand for the jokes – sometimes good, sometimes bad one-liners – was one of the things that surprised him about the relaunch. The company has taken to tweeting the joke of the day instead of printing it at the bottom of the can. Rassel said dealing with people’s memories of how Jolly Good used to be is one of the challenges of having a nostalgic brand. While the marketing portion has been the toughest part of the relaunch, Rassel said he has been approached by companies looking to expand distribution. He’s opted to push those conversations off until spring, taking a walk before you run approach and finishing the market test first. n
strategies A tale of two companies Where do you think millennials want to work?
O
ver the Thanksgiving weekend, while hanging out in Vail, Colorado for a couple of days, I had a casual conversation with a young professional couple who happened to be sitting next to us in the lodge. Both were millennials. It was interesting to listen to the things that matter to them. And the things that are potential deal breakers.
Her: The summary of her story: “I am 31 and the oldest of our sales team. My boss is 28, and she’s awesome. She knows how to lead. The VP of sales is very challenging, and if I leave, he is the reason.” She elaborated. Let’s start with the boss. “She leads five of us, and she is really good about helping us learn the things that she’s done to be successful so early in her career. She meets with us individually every Monday. She has mentored us on how to generate leads, how to have conversations with people we’ve never met, how to adjust our style to our audience, how to track our opportunities (though in fairness, she does this for us, most effectively). She holds each person on our team accountable for progress, she is available to help us when we need it, she joins us on sales calls, entertains prospects with us when it’s important, and then… she stays out of our way.” “The VP of sales swoops down (uninvited) and inserts himself into our opportunities with no interest in learning about the opportunity, the prospect or the situation. He sends emails and text messages directly to our prospects because he thinks we need him to advance the deal and, ultimately, close the deal. He shows up at prospects’ offices unannounced, he over-talks during sales calls with these prospects and asks questions that we already know the answer to. It is worth noting that his emails, subject lines and text messages usually have typos in them. The most recent subject line said ‘Out progress to date.’ When I have asked for time to meet with him to brief him on opportunities, a common answer is, ‘I don’t have time for that. We’ll just figure it out as we
go.’ When I tried (on one occasion) to talk with him about the ways in which he participates in my opportunities and the
willing to move me, allowing me to work remotely. I am working on interesting projects as a project manager and have ac-
A LETA N O R R IS
“ The primary responsibility will fall on the organization and its leaders to create the environment that will attract and retain these talented young professionals.” concerns I have, his reply (was), ‘Listen, I’ve been in sales for 30 years; I don’t need you to tell me what to do or how to do it.’” This woman struck me as being very sharp: articulate, methodical, organized, professional, hardworking and passionate about being successful in her role. She added that she is fairly convinced she has lost deals because of the VP of sales, though she has not confirmed this. Her boss has tried to help and has the same struggles with the VP (whom she reports to directly). She and her boss have had a couple of brief conversations about how long they think they can endure this. Unfortunately for them, the CEO is wired similarly to the VP. The culture likely will not change, and the VP will not be held accountable for creating an environment that is more appealing to a high-performing millennial workforce. Since both the culture and the executive are likely to remain as described above, my bet is that the millennial sales team will turn over in 18 to 36 months. Just like the one that preceded this one.
cess to my leader whenever I need. I don’t envision going anywhere soon.” It will remain as I’ve shared before:
GENERATION Y The primary responsibility will fall on the organization and its leaders to create the environment that will attract and retain these talented young professionals. n Aleta Norris is a co-founding partner of Brookfield-based Living As A Leader, a leadership training, coaching and consulting firm. You may send questions to her at anorris@livingasaleader.com. To read all of her columns, visit the knowledge portal at www.livingasaleader.com.
Him: The summary of his story: “I’m very fortunate. I work for a company that would be difficult to leave. I’ve been here for about six years. After working in a role that I did not find particularly fulfilling, the company took a chance on me and moved me to an entirely new function. When I got engaged to someone who lives across the country from me, they were w w w.biztimes.com
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strategies
Why are you in business?
Be sure to manage your company to the end game purpose
M
y best motorcycle buddy is Tom Myers, a partner at the law firm Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, headquartered in Milwaukee. I met him more than 25 years ago. In my first meeting with Tom as his client, he asked me a crucial question: “John, what is your goal for the business?” I didn’t really understand the question and replied, “To make money?” “No, no, no,” Tom said. “All businesses make money or should make money. There are only three types of businesses. A lifestyle business, which simply means cash flow for the owner. A legacy business, which implies a multi-generational business, passed down to the next generation of family members. Or a build-to-
sell business, which means exactly that. And the biggest mistake you can make as a business owner is to have one goal in mind while acting on a different goal.” I asked Tom to explain. He said it’s important to manage the business to the end game purpose. An owner will make a very different decision if the business is going to be sold, versus passed on to the next generation, versus funding a desired lifestyle. Tom told me he encounters many clients who have great lifestyle businesses that throw off a lot of cash. However, often one of those owners wakes up and decides it’s time to sell the business, but soon realizes it has little to no value. At that point, there are only two choic-
es. Milk the cash cow until it dies, or take less money out and build up the assets, which will include the balance sheet and the people. If you try to buy one of these businesses before it’s truly “built,” the owner usually wants to get what’s needed to live on, not what the business is worth – often two starkly different numbers. Or say there’s a multi-generational business, but the next generation is 30 years younger than the current “owner” generation. That owner will need to build out a different, non-family management structure, sourcing managers and executives who can bridge the generational difference. Those bridge leaders will definitely need to have a “servant leader” mentality, usually accompanied by suffi-
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JO H N H OW M A N ENTREPRENEURSHIP cient financial motivation, to work with the family and stick with the business while it’s being built out. “But what if my goal all along is to sell the business?” I asked Tom. “Well, then you have added yet another stakeholder to your strategy,” he said. “In addition to your employees, custom...... ENTREPRENEURSHIP continued on page 31
strategies
Too busy to be better? Drop this lame excuse
H
ow many times have you heard, “I’m too busy”? How many times have you said it? Isn’t it funny how often people who say they are too busy are the same ones who complain they need to make a change in their lives? Here’s a department manager: “I’m disappointed with my department’s results and I really need to find a way to improve. But frankly, I don’t have time to think about changing anything right now. We’re too busy.” Here’s a dad: “My son is struggling with identity and behavior issues. He’s basically a good kid, even though he’s had a couple of run-ins with the cops and his guidance counselor is concerned. I just don’t have time to babysit him right now and he knows what I expect of him.” Here’s a mom: “My family doesn’t communicate well at all. It worries me, but we don’t have time to work on it. We’re all too busy.” Too busy. What a lame excuse for staying unhappy. What a scary pattern for the future. Who will stop to think about what might work better? Who will dare to get off the fast-moving train to make a purposeful decision about what’s next? Will you?
Leadership in all walks of life is about taking time to acknowledge that the current state of things is undesirable and making a decision to change it. Only then can you begin to consider alternative behaviors. This takes time and courage, but the first new steps, however small, can pave a magical trail to something better. Of course there is nothing magic – or easy – about this.
Here’s what won’t work: The department manager goes offsite to create a strategic plan for his department. He comes back, announces it, changes a few job titles, buys some new equipment and expects people to “get it.” Dad sits down with his son for a heartto-heart talk. He explains why the bad behavior is unacceptable and says he knows
ery Tuesday morning. They talk about school, sports, the weather and occasionally, family vacation plans. But pretty soon schedules fill up and the breakfast meetings fall apart. The cost of being too busy is incredibly high. It results in disappointment, cynicism and, sometimes, institutionalized resistance. But trying to fix a prob-
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into a business like that and have a nice lifestyle business.” Of course, instead, I focused on building a business to sell. And while we ultimately sold my company, Allied Computer Group, which I founded in 1983, I still dream about that business to this day. Sometimes they’re nightmares, sometimes not. But I wasn’t any happier the day after we sold than I was the day before. Thanks to the counsel of my trusted business advisor (make sure you have a trusted advisor and coach like Tom in your business life, too), I’ve decided to build the long-term value of my current business, Allied Consulting Group. So today, we have a professionally satisfying, ultimate lifestyle business in our consulting practice. We also have inter-
esting, motivated clients working on big solutions in great locations like Montana, Arizona, Canada, Italy and, of course, Wisconsin. No payroll or personnel worries. Major flexibility. All good. But I’ve come to realize I’m not really wired in a solely “lifestyle” way, so we’re now working hard on building the consultancy into a practice with long-term value that can someday be sold. I do know why I’m in business. Do you? n
ers and vendors, you’d better add potential buyers to your stakeholder list. And always keeping them in mind will definitely impact your decision-making. If the potential buyer is going to pay you on a multiple of revenue, you’d better optimize top line sales. If the multiples in your industry are based on net profit, then focus on maximizing profitability.” Tom’s comments have had a profound impact on my career, as well as how to approach and consult with businesses. And there’s one bit of advice from Tom I didn’t take, much to my chagrin. “John, there are many very unsexy businesses that are extremely profitable,” he said. “You may want to consider getting
his son can do better. He reassures his son that he loves him and trusts him to do the right thing. They exchange meaningful looks; the son expresses remorse and promises to do better. As the talk ends, they shake hands feeling happy with each other and life returns to normal. Mom decides she wants more communication with her family so she initiates family breakfast meetings ev-
“ Too busy. What a lame excuse for staying unhappy.”
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As a serial entrepreneur, business and community leader since 1983, John Howman has led a variety of businesses, from technology to consumer products. He leads two groups for TEC, a professional development group for CEOs, presidents and business owners. He can be reached at JHowman@AlliedCG.com.
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S US A N M A R S H A LL LEADERSHIP lem in one big effort won’t work, no matter how well intentioned or carefully considered it may be. Although everyone involved may feel better after a discussion, and some might privately resolve to work on the issue at hand, few follow through. They are too busy. “Too busy” are throwaway words. When intention is not followed by action, it softens into wishful thinking or worse, remorse and self-deprecation. Negative self-talk is at the core of many disappointments and springs from this cycle of wanting to improve something but being so caught up in everyday routine, it is literally impossible to try new behaviors. What’s the remedy? Feedback. Stopaction review. Setting a new goal – painting a new picture – and working in incremental ways every day to achieve it. Having success acknowledged and, when significant enough, celebrated. In this effort, challenge and support are twin bookends that must be present. If you are the one seeking improvement from others, it is your responsibility to provide support. It is not enough to point, speak and disappear. We all find ways to adjust to the chaotic environment in which we live and work. We make these adjustments part of our daily routine, almost as touchstones to sanity. We don’t change them easily or often. But when our routines create barriers to growth, they need to be challenged. Is there an area of your life you’d like to improve? Stop for a moment to consider a new way. Start small and keep going. Replace “too busy” with “determined.” n Susan A. Marshall is an author, speaker and the founder of Backbone Institute. (www.backboneinstitute.com). She can be reached at (262) 567-5983 or susan@backboneinstitute.com.
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biz connections CA L E NDAR The Greater Brookfield, West Allis/West Milwaukee and Wauwatosa chambers of commerce will host Active Business Leads Exchange on Wednesday, Dec. 21, from 7 to 8:30 a.m. at Dave and Buster's, 2201 N. Mayfair Road in Wauwatosa. The event allows professionals to expand their leads referral base and enhance the success of their businesses through professional relationships, lead development, problem solving and the exchange of ideas. Cost is $14 with advance registration and $18 for members who are not pre-registered and first-time guests. For more information or to register, visit business.brookfieldchamber.com/events.
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SPOTLIGHT
The Sheboygan County Chamber of Commerce will host Focal Point: Where Has All the Mojo Gone? When the Engaged Become Disengaged on Wednesday, Dec. 21, from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at the chamber, 621 S. Eighth St. in Sheboygan. Management and organizational behavior expert Michelle Madl-Soehren will discuss how employers can re-energize and re-engage employees that have become disengaged. Cost is $10 for chamber members and $20 for non-members. For more information or to register, visit business.sheboygan.org/events. The Kenosha Area Chamber of Commerce Connect for Success Networking Group will meet on Monday, Jan. 9, from noon to 1 p.m. at Baker Street Restaurant & Pub, 6208 Green Bay Road in Kenosha. The event offers networking, referral and relationship-building opportunities and includes a guest speaker. The event is free to chamber members and first-time guests. For more information or to register, contact Carrie Webber at carrie@tempsnow-employment.com. The Waukesha County Business Alliance will host a Young Professionals Luncheon on Wednesday, Jan. 18, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at BlackFinn Ameripub, 95 N. Moorland Road in Brookfield. An individual financial wellness panel will present and young professionals will have the opportunity to network. Cost is $25 for members and non-members should call the See the complete calendar of Alliance office to register. For more information or to register, upcoming events & meetings. visit www.waukesha.org/events.
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BIZ NO T ES Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce The Human Rights Campaign Foundation has named 15 members of the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce among the “Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality” on the 2017 Corporate Equality Index. That’s up from 10 chamber members earning the designation, which requires a score of 100, in the 2015 index. The Wisconsin LGBT Chamber members receiving the honor this year are: American Family Insurance Group; AT&T; Foley & Lardner LLP; GE; Husch Blackwell LLP; ManpowerGroup; MillerCoors; Morgan Stanley; Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance; Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart; PNC Financial Services Group; Quarles & Brady LLP; Rockwell Automation; S.C. Johnson & Son. Inc.; and Wells Fargo. Chamber members that scored significantly higher on this year’s Corporate Equality Index were: Alliant Energy, 90; BMO Harris Bank, 90; The Bon-Ton Stores Inc., 85; Caterpillar Inc., 90; Johnson Controls Inc., 75; Kohl’s Corp., 95; and Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc., 95.
Association of Equipment Manufacturers Maxx Lebiecki of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers has been named a “20 Under 30” honoree by International Association of Exhibitions and Events, recognizing growth potential of 20 young professionals annually. Lebiecki is a trade show account executive with the AEM, a
Milwaukee-based international business trade group. AEM shows include CONEXPO-CON/AGG for the construction industries, one of the largest of its kind in the world, held every three years in Las Vegas. Lebiecki attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Cedar Home Health West Bend-based Cedar Home Health, a division of Cedar Community, was recently recognized as a top-performing home health agency in the U.S. Ability Network, a leading health care information technology company, and DecisionHealth, a provider of education and tools to maximize the financial health of heath care organizations, recently announced the 2016 HomeCare Elite winners, acknowledging the best of the home care profession. HomeCare Elite identifies the top 25 percent of all Medicare-certified home health agencies throughout the country. Agencies are identified and analyzed on performance measures in quality outcomes, best practices, implementation, patient experience, quality improvement and consistency, and financial performance. Agency performance is compared against other organizations in the state and nationwide with greatest importance on quality of care. Cedar Home Health was not only recognized in the top 25 percent of agencies, but also it is the only home health agency in Washington County recognized and one of 26 home health agencies in Wisconsin.
To have your business briefs published in a future issue of BizTimes Milwaukee send announcements to briefs@biztimes.com.
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Gift of Adoption
416 Oakwood Drive, Theinsville | 262-305-0675 http://giftofadoption.org/get-engaged/wisconsin-chapter/
Year founded: 1996 Social media channels: »» Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ GiftofAdoptionWisconsin/ »» Twitter - @GiftofAdoption »» Instagram - @GiftofAdoption Mission Statement: Gift of Adoption is a volunteer-driven charity that provides adoption assistance grants to complete adoptions for vulnerable children born in the U.S. and around the world. Primary focus: Our goal is to make more adoptions possible and give as many children without families a life they otherwise may not have known. We offer grants of up to $7,500 to provide families – regardless of race, religion, age or marital status – the financial support needed to bring their child home. Other focuses: Through Gift of Adoption, everyone can make an impact. You don’t have to adopt to give a child a family. A donation to Gift of Adoption gives a child a permanent family and a chance to thrive. We provide donors a direct line of sight between their generosity and the trajectory of a child’s life changed for the better. Employees at this location: There are 14 Wisconsin residents that serve on the Gift of Adoption Wisconsin chapter board of directors. Key donors: »» Quaker State Motor Oil »» Robert W. Baird and Co. »» Modern Woodmen of America »» Jockey International »» Dorothy Inbusch Foundation »» U.S . Bank »» CPI(Crisis Prevention Institute)
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Executive leadership: »» Deb Holtorf - founding board member, U.S. Bank Board of directors: »» Ben Banasik, Modern Woodmen of America »» Jim Bauman, Milwaukee Capital, Inc. »» Pratikshya Bhandari, Northwestern Mutual »» Steve Hayes, Grady, Hayes & Neary LLC »» Linda Buczynski, president »» Cathy James, marketing consultant »» Jeff Krygiel, Northwestern Mutual »» Lola Lawal, AGT Consulting LLC »» Christine Loyola, New Berlin Dental Group »» Pia Oreskovich, Milwaukee Tool Corp. »» Elizabeth Prestine, U.S. Bank »» John Teevan, Home Care Medical Inc. »» Chaitanya Yaramada, Robert W. Baird and Co. Is your organization actively seeking board members for the upcoming term? Yes What roles are you looking to fill? Board members are needed to fill five open board seats. Board members' roles and responsibilities include raising funds, building awareness and participating in the grant selection process in order to decide which children and families we can serve with a grant. Ways the business community can help your nonprofit: »» Identify leaders in your companies who might wish to serve on the Gift of Adoption Wisconsin Chapter Board. »» Consider sponsoring an upcoming event. »» Engage your employees in a Giving Circle to raise $3,500 in funds, which will help complete one child’s adoption. Key fundraising events: »» Spring Event in first quarter of 2017 »» Fall Event in November 2017
biz connections PER SO NNE L F I L E
Submit new hire and promotion announcements to www.biztimes.com/submit/the-bubbler
in assets under management. Both come to Ameriprise from Morgan Stanley.
■ Architecture Milwaukee-based Quorum Architects Inc. recently announced the promotions of Natalie Strohm and Matthew Edwards to senior associate, and Melissa Muller, Kate Edwards, Cory Romenesko and Jennifer Current to associate.
Melan Mitchell MSI General Corp., Oconomowoc, has promoted Tim Melan to vice president, director of construction and Julie Mitchell to vice president, director of select projects. Melan is an 18-year member of the MSI General team and member of the Associated General Contractors of America. Mitchell was previously manager of select projects. She is a registered architect in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, and oversees a team of project directors focusing on construction projects under $300,000.
■ Banking & Finance
■ Building & Construction Brian Kowalke, a remodeling professional with more than three decades’ experience in carpentry and project management, has joined Butler-based Wallner Builders as its project manager. His primary responsibility is managing and expediting the firm’s trade partners to keep remodeling projects on schedule and ensure on-time completion. Greenfire Management Services LLC, Milwaukee, promoted Josh Bruesewitz to project manager. He has been with Greenfire for more than a year, and has more than 12 years of experience in all facets of the construction industry, from purchasing to project development and budget analysis.
■ Hospitality & Entertainment
■ Legal Jonathan T. Luljak and Katherine Hinkle have joined Michael Best & Friedrich LLP as associates in the firm’s real estate practice group. Luljak represents real estate developers in the Hinkle acquisition, entitlement, financing and construction of commercial real estate projects. Hinkle helps clients navigate real estate matters, including financing, leasing and acquisitions and dispositions. Foley & Lardner LLP has hired Jennifer Van Wie as special counsel and an environmental business attorney. She will advise clients on state and federal environmental regulations and laws concerning air, water and land pollution. Prior to joining Foley, Van Wie served as assistant attorney general with the Environmental Bureau of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.
Marketing & ■ Public Relations Leah Melichar has
Laura Lutter Cole has
Filla
Latzke
Mark Filla and Scott Latzke have joined the Brookfield office of Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. as financial advisors and managing directors of the Filla Latzke Group. Together, they have more than $340 million
joined the staff of VISIT Milwaukee as convention sales manager. In her position, Lutter Cole will focus on corporate business sales in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. She comes to VISIT Milwaukee after six years with Marcus Hotels and Resorts, where she served as director of restaurant sales, and later as senior account executive, focusing on East Coast-based national associations and key corporate accounts.
■ Manufacturing
been named project manager at West Bend-based EPIC Creative. She will be responsible for managing clients’ projects and budgets, along with serving as a liaison between clients and the agency. Prior to joining EPIC, Melichar held several positions with Guarantee Digital, where she led, managed and executed digital marketing campaigns for more than 100 clients.
Royce Hix has been hired as the new controller for Snider Mold Co. in Mequon. He will oversee all accounting, finance and HR functions for the company. He has five years of experience in agriculture, manufacturing and hospitality, as well as three years of IT experience, prior to his work in the accounting field. Jecora Cockerham has been hired as a designer by TLX Technologies, a Pewaukee-based manufacturer of electromagnetic solutions. Cockerham recently graduated from Milwaukee Area Technical College with a degree in mechanical design engineering, and was a recipient of the S.T.E.M Scholarship.
■ Nonprofit Amber Tenpas, vice president-retail and business banking manager for Wisconsin Bank & Trust, Sheboygan, was recently named chair of the Girl Scouts of Manitou board of directors.
■ Professional Organizations Sharron Smith, banking center manager at Wisconsin Bank & Trust’s Glendale location, was recently appointed to the Greater Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce board of directors and named treasurer of the Rotary Club of Mequon-Milwaukee Afterhours.
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n GLANCE AT YESTERYEAR VOLUME 22, NUMBER 20 DECEMBER 19 - JANUARY 8, 2017
126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120 PHONE: 414-277-8181 FAX: 414-277-8191 WEBSITE: www.biztimes.com CIRCULATION E-MAIL: circulation@biztimes.com ADVERTISING E-MAIL: ads@biztimes.com EDITORIAL E-MAIL: andrew.weiland@biztimes.com REPRINTS: reprints@biztimes.com PUBLISHER / OWNER
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Dan Meyer dan.meyer@biztimes.com Mary Ernst mary.ernst@biztimes.com DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
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EDITORIAL
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Molly Lawrence molly.lawrence@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
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Molly Dill molly.dill@biztimes.com Corrinne Hess corri.hess@biztimes.com REPORTER
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Pipe storage yard This photo, taken circa 1938, shows a pipe storage yard at Traser and South 16th streets in Milwaukee. A sign for Milwaukee Western Fuel Co. and the Milwaukee skyline can be seen in the background. — This photo is from the Milwaukee Public Museum’s Photo Archives collection. Additional images can be viewed online at www.mpm.edu.
Independent & Locally Owned — Founded 1995 —
COMME NTA R Y
BMO makes big commitment to Milwaukee
arshall & Ilsley Corp. was one of Wisconsin’s most iconic companies. Based in downtown Milwaukee, the parent company of M&I Bank was founded in 1847 and grew to become the largest bank based in the state. But M&I suffered heavy losses during the Great Recession, and changes
had to be made. Toronto-based BMO Financial Group, the parent company of Harris Bank, acquired Marshall & Ilsley Corp. in 2011. M&I was combined with Harris Bank to form BMO Harris Bank, based in Chicago. The loss of yet another major corporate headquarters was seen as a massive blow to Milwaukee. With BMO Harris based in Chicago, many wondered what the company’s commitment would be to Milwaukee. Would the company really need to keep an office here at the old M&I headquarters in downtown Milwaukee? After M&I was acquired, many of the bank’s competitors saw an opportunity to grab market share, and had some success doing so. Still, BMO showed that despite its Chicago base it was, in fact, still committed to Milwaukee. The firm continued to provide major support to civic institutions, most noticeably by its sponsorship of the BMO Harris Bradley Center and the BMO Harris Pavilion at the Summerfest grounds.
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Rendering of building planned for BMO Harris.
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And now, the company is making its most significant statement that it is committed to Milwaukee for the long haul. BMO Harris recently unveiled plans for a new 25-story office tower in downtown Milwaukee. The bank will move 700 employees from the former M&I Bank headquarters building downtown, built in 1967, and 175 employees from the Milwaukee Center to its new building. The project is a $137 million investment, which speaks volumes about how important Milwaukee and Wisconsin remain to the company. “Milwaukee represents a critically important market for us,” said David Casper, president and chief executive officer of BMO Harris Bank. In addition, the project creates more construction jobs and will immediately add to the city and county property tax base because no TIF subsidy is being sought. That’s great news for taxpayers. The new building, to be called the BMO Harris Financial Center at Market Square, is just the latest of numerous big develop-
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ANDREW WEILAND Editor BizTimes Milwaukee
ment projects occurring in downtown Milwaukee and represents a huge vote of confidence in the future of downtown. Similar to Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.’s decision to build a new $450 million, 32-story office tower at its downtown headquarters, a major investment downtown by a large corporation gives others the confidence to invest in downtown Milwaukee. Hopefully that confidence continues to fuel the development boom downtown and helps attract more apartments, hotels, restaurants and retail. “This is a tremendous day for our city,” said Rocky Marcoux, commissioner for the Department of City Development. “Not only to have this tremendous office building built, but a recommitment to Milwaukee and this great city.” n
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MBBI of Wisconsin’s 6th Annual Private Equity Connection Midwest Business Brokers and Intermediaries’ Wisconsin chapter hosted its 6th Annual Private Equity Connection conference on Tuesday, Dec. 6, at the Milwaukee Athletic Club. The event brought together mergers and acquisitions professionals from across the country. Attendees heard from John Canally, chief economic strategist at LPL Financial, networked and saw a panel of experts conduct a “Shark Tank” style business acquisition exercise.
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William Harrison of Lubar & Co. and Nick Jackson of The Mendota Group.
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Nick Kozik of TKO Miller, Sean Cahill of Monroe Capital and Michael Rockhold of Villhard Growth Partners.
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Austin Smith and Daniel Decker of BMO Harris Bank and Peter White of von Briesen & Roper s.c.
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Mark Albrecht of Chortek and Steve Janke of Brelie Gear.
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Peter Musha of Franklin Douglass and Brandon Liu of
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Christopher Balcerzak and Tim Itzin of Vrakas CPAs and Advisors with Derek Schoenborn of Byline Bank.
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Mark Kuether of Sunbelt and Christopher Grancher,
Sitzberger Hau & Co. S.C.
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Frank Johanek of The Johanek Group and Frederick Sitzberger of Sitzberger Hau.
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Thomas Campion of Merit Capital Partners, Scott Gilbertson of Pfingsten Partners, J. Matthew Lane of Gen Cap America and Joe Katcha of High Street Capital sit on the “Shark Tank” panel, which was moderated by Tom Kintis of CGK M&A Advisors.
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Stephanie Chedid
Taking stock before taking action In 2014, Stephanie Chedid stepped into the role of CEO for one of Wisconsin’s largest retirement and assisted living communities, Luther Manor. In moving from for-profit to nonprofit leadership, Chedid prioritized understanding the organization’s fundamental identity before ushering in immediate change. “Successful transformation within any organization, for-profit or nonprofit, depends on discovering who and what the institution is at its core – you have to uncover its DNA. If you have the necessary DNA, whether it’s care and compassion or innovation and risk-taking, you can teach, inspire and evolve your organization. “For Luther Manor, having ‘heart’ at the core of our 38
organization gives us the necessary DNA – the strength – to thrive in change. But that’s something I couldn’t know straight away; we all needed some time to figure that out. “I recognized that coming into Luther Manor, an organization with more than 50 years of tradition, I was an outsider to its specific dynamics. Part of a new leader’s on-boarding is assessing the situation. Before leaping into making decisions or introducing change, it’s critical to understand institutional history and the prevailing culture. Missing that could topple the best-laid plans. “Despite some pent-up demand for immediate action, I stood firm in requiring more research and thoughtful analysis to support important recommendations or decisions. Properly communicating priorities and managing
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President and CEO Luther Manor 4545 N. 92nd St., Wauwatosa 11340 N. Cedarburg Road, Mequon 1193 Lakefield Road, Grafton Industry: Retirement and assisted living Employees: 572 employees, 363 volunteers www.luthermanor.org
expectations for the pace of change was, and continues to be, important. “By taking the time to immerse myself in the ethos of the organization, I became armed with enough knowledge and experience that pathways forward began to emerge. By surrounding myself with strong leaders and field experts and by empowering our senior staff, necessary and meaningful change continues to develop organically – making it more readily-accepted and well-received.” n
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