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READY TO RETIRE FROM THE COMPANY YOU BUILT? PLAN YOUR…
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STRATEGY Jeff Kerlin succeeds Mike Erwin as CEO of Tailored Label Products.
CONVENTION BUSINESS REBOUNDING IN MILWAUKEE PRIOR PLANNING ALLOWS FOR A PROPER EVENT ESCAPING THE OFFICE CAN MAKE MEETINGS MORE PRODUCTIVE
Agenda 7:00 - 7:30 | Registration and Networking 7:30 - 10:30 | Breakfast and Program 7:00 - 11:00 | Interactive Wellness Fair Keynote: Greg Schramka, Psy.D., Director, Behavioral Health Therapy Services, Aurora Behavioral Health Services “Building a psychologically healthy workplace” Learn to identify stress in the workplace and where to focus your efforts to reduce employee stress levels and enhance motivation.
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THE HIGH COST OF HIGH STRESS
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Panel Discussion: Back to the basics In an age of fast food, fad diets and quick-fix diet pills, the path to a healthier life is still good old-fashioned healthy eating, exercise and sleep.
How employee anxiety can bring down your business – and what you can do to fix it Nobile
Life in the workplace – and in general – moves exponentially faster than a generation ago. Today, about half of all Americans feel stressed out, and their anxiety takes a toll on their health, well-being and their employers’ bottom line. Join us March 18 to learn how to identify stress in the workplace and help your employees overcome it for increased productivity, real cost savings and improved retention.
Friday, March 18, 2016 | 7:00 – 11:00 AM Potawatomi Hotel & Casino
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Takeaways: • Identify sources of stress in employees’ lives at work and home. • Become aware of how high levels of stress affect job performance and the workplace. • Understand the basic psychological needs that play a role in improving employees’ mental health and motivation.
Moderator: • Paul Nobile, Interim President, Anthem Blue Cross Wisconsin Panelists: • Jennifer Smith-Hulbert, General Manager and WorkingWell Director, Wisconsin Athletic Club • Sleep specialist • Nutritionist
Presentation: Opportunity costs of an unhealthy workforce If your employees are not getting healthier, you’re costing your business in numerous ways. Fostering a culture of wellness is a recruiting and retention tool, a cost savings tool and a productivity tool. Speakers: • Paul Shekoski, CEO, Primex Family of Companies • Carrie Phelps, PhD, BCC, CWWS, Director of Membership, National Wellness Institute • Jerry Curtin, President, Cultivate
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Takeaways • Understand the business benefits of better employee care. • Learn skills to benefit employees and businesses. • Find out how collaboration plays a crucial role in executing those skills throughout a business. • Receive insights into how local corporations are leading with wellness.
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February 8 - 21, 2016 HIGHLIGHT S
S P E C I A L R E P O R T:
ME E TING S A ND CON V E NTION S
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Coverage includes a look at the increased convention activity in Milwaukee, a report on escaping the office for meetings and tips on planning a corporate event.
Now 4 Johnson Controls to acquire Tyco, shift global HQ to Ireland.
Political Beat
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Walker touts ‘Wisconsin comeback.’
The Good Life
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Layton Boulevard West Neighbors’ Will Sebern runs marathons.
Innovations 10 Nobo sees the light on hydration.
Real Estate Spotlight
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Chick-fil-A plans to add more locations in Wisconsin.
S TR ATE GIE S
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Leadership George Satula 26 Insight Susan Wehrley 27 Human resources 28 Cary Silverstein
COV E R S T ORY
BIZ CONNECTIONS
Ready to retire from the company you built? Plan your…
Biz Notes Nonprofit Spotlight Personnel File Glance at Yesteryear The Last Word
EXIT STRATEGY
ON THE COVER: Mike Erwin, partner/director and Jeff Kerlin, president and chief executive officer of Tailored Label Products. — photos by Troy Freund Photography
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BizTimes Milwaukee (ISSN 1095-936X & USPS # 017813) Volume 21, Number 23, February 8 - 21, 2016. BizTimes Milwaukee is published bi-weekly, except two consecutive weeks in December (the third and fourth 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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Johnson Controls to acquire Tyco, shift global HQ to Ireland
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lendale-based global multiindustrial firm Johnson Controls Inc. announced recently that it plans to acquire Irish fire protection and security solutions company Tyco International plc, and revealed that the combined company’s global headquarters and legal domicile will be in Cork, Ireland, a city of about 120,000 residents. “This is a transformational transaction that will help us both serve our customers comprehensively and innovatively,” said Johnson Controls chairman and chief executive officer Alex Molinaroli in a call with analysts. “The new Johnson Controls will be a highly attractive industrial leader.” Molinaroli By locating its global headquarters in Ireland, Johnson Controls said it expects to save $150 million annually in taxes. The combined company’s primary
North American operational headquarters will be in the Milwaukee area. Johnson Controls revealed few details about how the merger with Tyco will impact local operations. “We have no plans to change operations (in the Milwaukee area),” Johnson Controls spokesman Fraser Engerman said. “We have made no decisions on future possible expansion in Milwaukee.” About a year ago, BizTimes Milwaukee reported that Johnson Controls was working on plans for a 50-story, 1.2 million-square-foot building near the lakefront in downtown Milwaukee. The company would not comment on those plans, but later agreed to split the cost of a feasibility study for the lakefront site, which will be freed up for development after the Lake Interchange is reconfigured. It remains unclear how the merger with Tyco will impact Johnson Controls’ potential plans for a downtown office tower. “The city would be eager to have
Johnson Controls as a partner (to develop the site near the lakefront), but we are by no means in an exclusive relationship with them,” Department of City Development spokesman Jeff Fleming said. “At this point, we have approved a joint funding mechanism and we are both interested in examining the potential of the site. We are not chatting about specific work being done.” The companies will be combined under Tyco International plc, and the new company will be called Johnson Controls plc. Johnson Controls shareholders will own 56 percent of the equity of the combined firm, for aggregate cash consideration of about $3.9 billion. The total transaction price was not disclosed, but a Reuters report pegged it at $16.5 billion. Johnson Controls said in a release that the deal is expected to create $650 million in synergies for the combined firm. The transaction is expected to close at the end of 2016, and the new company’s
shares will continue to trade under the JCI ticker on the New York Stock Exchange. Molinaroli will serve as chairman and CEO of the merged company for the first 18 months. After that, he will serve a one-year term as executive chair. Tyco CEO George Oliver will serve as president and chief operating officer for the first 18 months, then will become CEO. After another 12 months, he will become chairman and CEO. The board of directors of the combined firm will be composed of six Johnson Controls directors and five Tyco directors. Oliver will serve as a director until he takes over the chairman role. The merger is still subject to shareholder approval and regulatory review. “This combination of Johnson Controls and Tyco, it will create a better company and I cannot be more excited about this new company and the opportunities that lie ahead,” Molinaroli said.
——Molly Dill and Corrinne Hess
SOCI AL M E D I A S T R AT E G IES
Social media marketers replaced by Google? Not so fast. Into a world filled with technology and automation designed to maximize efficiency and streamline our daily schedules comes the news that Google was just issued a patent to develop a system that could eliminate the need for social marketing professionals. Oh Google, I love you, I really do. But you’re out of line here. The search engine giant excels at maximizing the reach of content shared across the Internet – in the form of both organic and paid distribution models, keyword optimization and good ol’ fashioned website development. Google’s proposed system – an attempt to become a prominent player in social media marketing – seeks to predict the engagement drivers from a link shared in an email. Once the recipient clicks on the link, Google’s system would provide the user with social sharing options relevant to the content of the original email and link. In theory, this would 4
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replace the need for skilled social marketing professionals and their writing talent. Here’s the inherent problem with Google’s vision – social media marketing is not cookie cutter. One size does not fit all. Strategies differ, platforms shift based on targeted audiences and demographics, and most importantly: branding nuances are so specific that relying on an automated system such as this robs a user of the opportunity for real brand-customer relationships. The art of branding is intricate and specific—right down to the words used in cross-media communications. Traditional ads are now being replaced with expressive storytelling, because that’s what drives response and builds an emotional connection. Social media is a crucial part of that online
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storytelling. Trying to replace that with a few algorithm-generated content blocks isn’t going to drive engagement or bottom-line results for any company. Sorry Google, but no. You won’t be replacing me or my social marketing peers anytime soon.
——Katie Klein-Murphy is social media marketing manager at Milwaukeebased Boelter + Lincoln.
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POLITIC AL BEAT
Walker touts ‘Wisconsin comeback’ BY BEN STANLEY, staff writer
What do you think the community isn’t aware of about the St. Josaphat Basilica Foundation? “The foundation was chartered 25 years ago to save the basilica. This grand edifice had fallen into serious disrepair and several business leaders in the community pulled together and created the Basilica Foundation. As a non-religious 501(c)3, our mission is the preservation and restoration of the Basilica of St. Josaphat as a national historic landmark, center of spirituality, and an arts and culture destination. We also focus on expanding awareness of the basilica’s importance and contributions to the community. Our goal is to ensure this historical treasure remains viable for this community and the thousands of visitors from around the world who walk through its doors every year.”
What was the smartest thing the foundation did in the past year? “Commit to significant preservation and restoration totaling $7.5 million.The founding members of the board made a promise to the community that we would not let the basilica fall into serious disrepair again. Today, we hold true to that promise. We also engaged in a marketing campaign.”
Basilica Foundation means an investment in the culture, history and community of Milwaukee.”
Do you plan to make any significant capital investments in your company in the next year? “Since our mission focuses on the preservation and restoration of the basilica, we are moving forward with a small exterior restoration project this summer.”
Are there any trends that you’d like to share? “I am seeing an increase of interest by the local community in the basilica’s importance, particularly with regard to arts, culture and the educational impact it offers. For example, the number of tours from all over the world has steadily increased over the past few years. Schools, both private and public, regularly tour from all over the Midwest. Visitors travel the globe to visit. There is a reason the basilica is a top U.S. tourist destination and educational site, and ranked as one of the top visitor attractions by TripAdvisor.”
Do you have a mantra? “Step up!”
Who do you look up to?
What will be the foundation’s main challenges in the next year? “Raising awareness that the foundation is supporting significant needs for the basilica. We need the community’s help to preserve this national landmark for future generations and preserve our community’s history. The basilica hosts hundreds of artistic and cultural events throughout the year. Supporting the
“With gratitude, it is the 12,000 Polish immigrants who came together to build the basilica. They had nothing, except trust, faith and a passion that could not be deterred. They created a legacy of selflessness. Each time I walk through the doors, I am touched by their grace and energy, and reminded how lucky Milwaukee is to have this incredible icon in our midst.”
Susan A. Rabe President and CEO St. Josaphat Basilica Foundation 620 W. Lincoln Ave., Milwaukee thebasilicafoundation.org Industry: Nonprofit, arts and culture Employees: Board of 25 and two staff members Family: Spouse, Greg; Dogs - Lucy and Sesi w w w.biztimes.com
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In the wake of his failed presidential bid, Gov. Scott Walker emphasized Wisconsin’s economic recovery and favored describing past accomplishments over proposing future plans while briefing state lawmakers in his recent “State of the State” address. “State finances are stable; our school students are doing well overall; college tuition is frozen; and Walker property and income taxes are down from 2010,” Walker said during his speech. “The Wisconsin Comeback is real.” Walker cited several employment and economic figures to make his case, including a labor force participation rate of 67.8 percent, which would put Wisconsin more than 5 points ahead of the national average, and what he referred to as the state’s “lowest unemployment rate since 2001.” Wisconsin’s unemployment rate in November was 4.2 percent, which was the lowest it has been since April 2001. It ticked up to 4.3 percent in December. “Not only are more people working, new business formations were up 3.6 percent last year,” Walker said. The governor said owners of a median valued home in Wisconsin paid $116 less in property taxes in 2015 than they did in 2010. He also said median income families will receive a four-year income tax reduction of $916. But Democratic leaders said Walker’s policies have hurt the state’s economy. “Over the last five years, we’ve seen deep cuts that have limited economic growth, stifled innovation and denied thousands of families the opportunity to get ahead,” said State Senate Democratic leader Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse). “Democrats continue to believe that the best way to move our state forward is by restoring investments in our schools, infrastructure and worker training programs.”
BY TH E NU MBERS
$40
Aurora Health Care will provide $40 million toward Marquette University’s $120 million Athletic Performance Research Center project in downtown Milwaukee.
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leading edge ON TH E C ALEN D AR
MADE I N M I LWA U K E E
Growth a balancing act for Scátháin
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ARTHUR THOMAS
giving the world total customer service,” McWilliam said. Scátháin describes itself as “artisans proving that the world once again needs well-crafted objects.” The company’s 20 employees work out of a 40,000-square-foot shop in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood, creating custom furnishings with metal, wood and mirrors. Some of the pieces are closer to art than something you’d use in a bathroom. The list of clients is impressive and includes Lambeau Field’s 1919 Kitchen and Tap, Harley-Davidson, Milwaukee Electric Tool and more, including custom pieces for individuals. McWilliam said he learned the value of pleasing customers while working as a high-end painting contractor. There aren’t a lot of people in that line of work and word travels quickly. Being a painter also taught McWilliam attention to detail, but it was as a musician that he learned more about opportunism, leadership and teamwork. As the Great Recession hit, McWilliam found himself with a young family and in search of opportunities. He found one through some last minute finishing work for the Iron Horse Hotel. That work led to more, and a truck bay to do it in. He got another opportunity trying to match a mirror for a high-profile condo in New York. It took months and hundreds of samples, but he found a match. “That one opportunity really built this whole mirror collection that I then offered to Ann Sacks,” he said. The chance to work with Ann Sacks itself was the result of a chance encounter and an overheard conversation by McWilliam’s cousin, a photographer doing work for Kohler. Fast forward to the present and McWilliam’s company has evolved. There are custom corporate and hospitality projects that last longer than work for individuals and offer a more consistent revenue stream. Individual clients offer a chance for the company to build its portfolio and potentially create pieces for the retail store, although in some cases the client purchases the intellectual property behind the piece, making it truly one-of-a-kind. The retail store is the latest addition and has been slowly building. The items aren’t cheap – a set of three forged steel dishes goes for $165, a tasting table is listed at $3,795 – but McWilliam says there is potential based on what he sees people doing similar work selling it for. “We know there’s a market out there for retail,” he said, adding that the possibility of the retail side taking over the company would be nice since it would allow McWilliam and his employees to focus on producing their own designs. The work with Ann Sacks represents another segment of the busi-
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Chinese New Year Celebration
ABOVE: Chris Leslie works on a piece in the Scátháin metal shop.
(414) 336-7123 | Twitter: @arthur8823 arthur.thomas@biztimes.com
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It can be hard to find a balance between what has made a company successful and what can help it grow moving forward. It is a dilemma Scátháin founder John McWilliam knows all too well. It took him months to create the mirror samples that landed him work with Kohler’s Ann Sacks line. He has other potential customers, but instead of spending the 60 hours he could each week creating new samples, he’s working on the day-to-day challenges of running a business. “Right now, what is keeping us busy is we’re
BELOW: Scátháin’s mirror production setup allows for multiple pieces to be in the works at once.
The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce’s World Trade Organization will host its annual Chinese New Year Celebration on Thursday, Feb. 18, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Foley & Lardner LLP, 777 E. Wisconsin Ave., Suite 3800, Milwaukee. The event will include Chinese cuisine and entertainment, as well as an address from national China speaker and consultant Dan Joseph, president of The China Learning Curve. Cost is $35 for members, $50 for non-members and $17 for students. For more information or to register, visit web.mmac.org/events/.
For a complete listing of all area events, visit the event section of our website.
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“The Shift” Scátháin 422 S. Fourth St., Milwaukee Industry: Custom furnishings/design Employees: 20 www.scathain.com ness and McWilliam believes there are more lines to pursue. He said producing those items offers consistent revenue. “It gives the company a solid base and everybody gets confidence from that,” he said. He said many employees come from being subcontractors where they were focused on themselves as a business. Bringing everyone together into a team presents a challenge, but McWilliam said that when everyone rallies together to finish a project, it leads to future success. McWilliam plans to outsource or train others on some of the tasks of running the business so he can focus on getting samples to the companies interested in his work. “It comes down to me spending that one night here producing those six different recipes that I want that company to have,” he said. Get the latest manufacturing news delivered to your inbox every Monday. Sign up for BizTimes’ Manufacturing Weekly at biztimes.com/subscribe.
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In the span of 12 hours in a hospital cancer ward, practicing nurse and New York Times columnist Theresa Brown shows us lives can be lost, life-altering decisions made, and dreams fulfilled or stolen. Every day, Brown holds lives in her hands. On this particular day, we learn about four. There is Mr. Hampton, a patient with lymphoma to whom Brown is charged with administering a powerful drug that could cure or kill him; Sheila, who may have been dangerously misdiagnosed; Candace, a returning patient who arrives with her own disinfectant wipes, cleansing rituals and demands; and Dorothy, who after six weeks in the hospital may finally go home. Prioritizing and ministering to their needs takes the kind of skill, sensitivity and humor that enable a nurse to be a patient’s biggest advocate in a medical system marked by dysfunction, as well as success. “The Shift,” is available on www.800ceoread.com for $19.96.
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——Corrinne Hess
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THE GOOD LIFE
Collectors planning bobblehead museum hold exhibition
Long runner When Will Sebern isn’t running Layton Boulevard West Neighbors, a community development organization in southwest Milwaukee, he’s running marathons. In 2011, Sebern, executive director of Layton Boulevard West Neighbors, decided to run the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon, a 26.2-mile race along Lake Michigan that starts in Grafton and ends at Veterans Park in downtown Milwaukee. He’d never been consistently involved in a particular sport, but running a marathon was something he wanted to try. Now, it’s a passion. “There were two people who inspired me,” Sebern said. “One was my sister. She ran the Boston Marathon when she was at school out there. The (other) was a friend who was doing the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., and asked friends to come out and watch. It was my first time in a marathon environment … witnessing all the excitement. I thought this was something I definitely wanted to try sooner rather than later.” Sebern has run in several marathons and half-marathons since, including the Portland Marathon in Oregon, the Humboldt Redwoods Marathon in California, and a second shot at the Lakefront Marathon. He achieved a personal best running time, 4:08:09, at the Portland Marathon in 2014. That year, the median
A pair of Milwaukee collectors have amassed a hoard of more than 5,000 bobbleheads ranging in likeness from former Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez to the cast of “Duck Dynasty,” and a portion of their collection is now on display for the public. Phil Sklar and Brad Novak plan to eventually open a permanent museum near downtown Milwaukee called the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum. But while they search for a suitable location, they’ve decided to give Brew City bobblehead lovers a taste of their collection with a temporary exhibit at RedLine Milwaukee, a nonprofit art gallery and workshop at 1422 N. Fourth St. The exhibit, on display now, will run through April 30. The two are searching for a permanent location with the help of local entrepreneur Jim Lindenberg, former owner of World Class Wire & Cable and of the Milwaukee Wave. Lindenberg currently owns Master Z’s, a rec room products retailer in Waukesha, and Legends of the Field, a sports memorabilia shop in Delafield. Lindenberg, who said he has been consulting Sklar and Novak, said the three of them are looking at locations near Milwaukee’s Haymarket and Brewer’s Hill neighborhoods, the former Pabst Brewery complex and The Shops of Grand Avenue.
——Ben Stanley
Will Sebern after finishing the 2014 Portland Marathon in a personal best 4:08:09. marathon time for runners in the U.S. was 4:19:27, according to Running USA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the sport. “There are better runners out there,” Sebern said. “It’s more of a competition with myself. It’s not the world’s fastest time, but I’m proud of it because it’s my fastest time.”
——Ben Stanley
Proud to Announce
HIRE PERFORMANCE NATE DOSCH JOINS THE FIRST BUSINESS TEAM Nate Dosch has joined First Business Trust & Investments with nearly 10 years of combined experience in private legal practice and in public accounting focusing on tax, estate and succession planning strategies for high-net worth individuals and families. He earned his JD from Marquette University Law School, his M.S. in Taxation from UW-Milwaukee and his B.S. in Business Administration from North Dakota State University. Be sure to congratulate Nate on this recent move: Nate Dosch Vice President First Business Trust & Investments Office: 262-792-7118 ndosch@firstbusiness.com
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BR EA K ING GR OUN D
Lessons from commercial real estate purchase and build-out =We started looking at commercial office buildings shortly after the financial crisis of 2008. I viewed buying a building during down times as an opportunity to make up for heavy investment losses during the tech crash earlier that decade. Owning our own building would support our rapid growth and make clear our commitment to serving clients as an independent firm. Through the seven-year process, I learned how much discipline it takes to stay focused on business strategy first and foremost—rather than something that looks like “a deal.” We almost bought a building at the far reaches of the metro area. If that transaction had gone through, even at an attractive valuation, our business operations would have suffered. For financing the purchase, I initially presumed we wanted a long-term, fixedrate loan, so we started down a path toward an SBA-backed loan. But along the way we learned that for our particular situation, the fees associated with an SBA loan didn’t make sense. Instead, we selected a commercial mortgage with a 10-year guaranteed interest rate and that fit together with our construction loan in a savvy way. We discovered that local and regional banks may be able to offer creative solutions tuned to a particular business. We were also able to maintain our excellent existing banking relationships while building new ones, too. Over time, we’ve come to see that it’s the banker—even more than the specific bank—that’s the main relationship asset. That makes sense given what I’ve learned in the technology industry about specialization: the way to avoid problems and move forward strategically is to obtain truly
MARQUETTE ATHLETIC COMPLEX Marquette University plans to build a 250,000- to 300,000-square-foot Athletic Performance Research Center in downtown Milwaukee. The facility will be built on a 12-acre site bordered by Sixth Street, 10th Street, West Michigan Street and the Marquette Interchange, extending to the Marquette campus to the east. Aurora Health Care announced recently that it would contribute $40 million to the $120 million project. Groundbreaking is expected in 2017.
——Corrinne Hess expert local advice. When choosing a broker, banker, architect, general contractor and designer, we sought client-focused firms with deep local experience who had specific expertise relevant to our project size of 32,000 square feet. Also like the technology industry, we found value in paying upfront for design work that gave us a roadmap to success. Here, that meant paying an architect for a plan that we could then shop to general contractors. In this way, and by seeking bids from three of each type of vendor, we saved in the long run.
——James Savage is founder and president of Concurrency Inc. in Brookfield.
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Top 10 Businesses of the Year Awards Luncheon Thursday, June 23, 2016 | 11:30am - 1:30pm Country Springs Hotel & Conference Center - 2810 Golf Road, Pewaukee
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ON LIN E POLL
Re: The State of the State “There are more people working in Wisconsin than at nearly any other point in our history; state finances are stable; our school students are doing well overall; college tuition is frozen; and property and income taxes are down from 2010.” - Gov. Scott Walker
Re: Autonomous vehicle regulations “Perhaps the greatest threat to the health and welfare of the citizens of the United States is not man-made global warming or the Islamist State after all. The greatest threat may well be the increasing involvement of the federal government in the development of autonomous vehicles.”
- Dennis Ellmaurer, TEC chairman
Are you concerned about the U.S. stock market’s bad start to 2016?
Yes No
56% 44%
Re: Campus entrepreneurism
Marquette University recently opened its water research facilities on the sixth floor of the Global Water Center in Milwaukee.
“A larger nationwide trend has expanded the notion of campus entrepreneurism from a relative handful of enterprising faculty to thousands of students.” - Tom Still, Wisconsin Technology Council
For additional stories and daily updates, visit our website at...
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your working capital can work harder for you.
CORPORATE BANKING | At PNC, we know that cash flow is the lifeblood of your business. That’s why we offer insight-driven treasury management solutions that look ahead to help you accelerate receivables, optimize payables, enhance liquidity management and maximize performance — online and on the go with our mobile apps. And we do it all with a focus on relationships, because when our teams work seamlessly together, we can help accelerate your business’s growth. For more information, visit pnc.com/ideas or contact Chris Goller, Regional President, at chris.goller@pnc.com DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL TREASURY MANAGEMENT SERVICES | CARD SOLUTIONS | LIQUIDITY MANAGEMENT | ONLINE AND MOBILE ACCESS PNC and PNC Bank are registered marks of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (“PNC”). Banking and lending products and services, bank deposit products, and treasury management products and services are provided by PNC Bank, National Association, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PNC and Member FDIC. Certain banking and lending products and services may require credit approval. Investments: Not FDIC Insured. May Lose Value. No Bank Guarantee. ©2016 The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. All rights reserved. CIB ENT PDF 0116-0106-223011
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innovations Nobo sees the light on hydration
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he number of wearable fitness devices seems to be ever-increasing. Whether it’s devices that track the number of steps walked, your heart rate or how you slept, there are plenty of choices. A Pewaukee-based health care technology startup hopes it can build a business measuring users’ hydration levels. Many of those involved ARTHUR THOMAS (414) 336-7123 arthur.thomas@biztimes.com Twitter: @arthur8823
at NoBo have a background in medical devices and health care information technology. With the development of new
sensors, the company’s goal is to better understand the human body. The first product, B60, is a wearable hydration monitor the company launched in January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The device uses optical technology to continuously monitor a person’s hydration levels. Different light wavelengths are projected into the body and the device can tell whether someone is over- or under-hydrated based on how the light is absorbed by tissues in the body. “Fundamentally, it actually lends itself to a fairly small, low-power device, which is what you need for a wearable,” said Russ Rymut, Nobo founder and chief executive officer.
What does success look like to you?
Bill Ford, President of PM Plastics – customer since 2013
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For Bill Ford, success is continually redefining the standard for world-class customer service. Two years ago, when mega-retailer Target approached PM Plastics to accomplish its largest product roll-out ever, Ford made the decision to switch from a larger bank to Park Bank to gain the flexibility needed to successfully ramp-up operations. By truly understanding the company’s goals and strategy, Park Bank stood behind PM Plastics, enabling it to deliver complete customer satisfaction and earn Target’s distinguished supplier award in the process. Learn more about their story at ParkBankOnline.com/success.
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LEFT: The B60 is going to initially be targeted toward high-level athletes, but developers see a number of possible uses. RIGHT: The B60 wearable hydration monitor from Nobo uses light to measure a person’s hydration level.
There are a number of potential applications for a wearable hydration device, but Rymut said the inspiration was an observation his mother made a number of years ago. She was helping an elderly couple in their 80s and noticed the couple and their friends just didn’t consume a lot of food or liquids. She saw them continually going to the hospital and felt their hydration levels may be an underlying cause of some of their issues. Part of the problem was there wasn’t an easy way to monitor their hydration. The traditional methods include urine or blood analysis, or tracking changes in body mass. Rymut thought he had an idea of how to measure hydration on an ongoing basis. He said he “literally bought some parts off of eBay” and built a prototype. He’s now validating data from his thirdgeneration prototype and hopes to have a model delivered to targeted clients by the middle of the year. Beyond the elderly, Rymut sees a number of potential applications for the device, including hospitals, armed forces, firefighters and athletes. “One of the things we’ve had to work through is which of those markets do we want to look at,” Rymut said. He ultimately settled on high-level athletes, including college and professional teams. Part of the reason was the ability to sit down with a training staff and see how the device is performing in real-time. The athletes will be able to monitor their own fluid intake, but the staff will also be able to track it through mobile devices. Rymut said the idea is for the device to have a simple display that tells the user if
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Nobo Pewaukee Innovation: B60 hydration monitor www.nobo.io
he or she is over- or under-hydrated. He wants to get into the other markets where he thinks there is potential, but right now it is a matter of prioritizing. “We certainly want to create a solution just for recreational athletes,” he said. One area in which Rymut is confident the device will be able to perform is accuracy. He said that because the monitoring is continuous, he’s been able to watch as users approach the threshold of 2 percent body weight lost. “That’s kind of when the bad things start to happen,” he said, noting he’s able to see the correlation between the device’s reading and what the user is experiencing. Rymut said he returned from CES energized by the experience and is now looking to secure funding and make hires both in technology and on the customer side. He said one of the hardest parts of launching the company was taking the leap to go for it. He credited his family for its support in the endeavor. “It’s just not going to happen unless you have the support,” he said. n Get news headlines from around the state delivered to your inbox first thing Monday through Friday. Sign up for BizTimes’ Morning Headlines at biztimes.com/subscribe.
PHOTO CREDIT: CORRINNE HESS
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LEFT: Construction of the Chick-fil-A in Oak Creek. RIGHT: Danica Anderson outside of her Chick-fil-A restaurant at Drexel Town Square in Oak Creek.
Chick-fil-A plans to add more locations in Wisconsin
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omesick in Chicago in 2011, Danica Anderson went to eat at Chickfil-A because it reminded her of growing up in the South. While eating a breaded chicken sandwich on the restaurant’s patio, her husband, Thad, who had recently moved the family to the city so he could pursue a teaching job, suggested she fill out a job application. “Two months later, I was the director of operations,” Anderson said, “I guess you CORRINNE HESS P: (414) 336-7116 E: corri.hess@biztimes.com Twitter: @CorriHess
could say it was an advantageous meal.” Fast forward another two years, and Chick-fil-A’s corporate office was approaching Anderson about becoming a restaurant operator. Having grown up with a single mother who started her own residential cleaning company, Anderson, 26, loved the idea of being an entrepreneur. On March 10, Anderson will open Wisconsin’s fourth standalone Chick-fil-A in Oak Creek’s Drexel Town Square. A Chickfil-A in Mount Pleasant is also scheduled to open in March. Currently, there are
standalone Chick-fil-A restaurants in Brookfield, Greendale and Madison. Chick-fil-A is also planning stores on Highway 100 in West Allis and second locations in Brookfield and Madison. “We’re not pros at the real estate market in Milwaukee, but we develop relationships with the brokers who are,” said Stephen Goins, a former Chick-fil-A operator who now helps new owners launch their restaurants. “Ultimately, the sweet spot is high residential, high business and high retail – if we hit two of the three, that’s a spot we want to be in.” Goins said the company does not want to saturate the market, but hopes to open two Chick-fil-A restaurants in Wisconsin each year for the next 10 years. “Two a year may sound slow, but there are a couple of dots on the map where we would still like to go,” Goins said. “We would like to expand to La Crosse, Oshkosh and Green Bay.” While Anderson was still looking at those potential “dots on the map,” she and her husband spent the weekend in Milwaukee. After that trip, she contacted Chick-fil-A and said Oak Creek was her first choice for a restaurant. Thad got a job with the HOPE Christian schools network in July, and w w w.biztimes.com
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Danica moved to Oak Creek in December – marking the first time in four years Danica has had a five minute commute and owned a car. But becoming a member of the Chickfil-A family wasn’t easy. Although Anderson was chosen after two years of service, it took another two years of interviews and training before she signed her operating agreement in September. Part of the interview process is to make sure potential operators fit the Chick-fil-A mold. S. Truett Cathy, the company’s late founder, incorporated Christian values into his business, which included closing the entire chain on Sundays. Dan Cathy, the CEO of the company and S. Truett’s son, came under fire from gay rights supporters in 2012 for openly opposing same-sex marriage. Over the past several years, the company has made an effort to separate personal opinion from corporate policy. Goins compared the process of hiring restaurant operators to a long courtship before marriage. Because of the work done on the front end, the turnover rate for store operators is in the low single digits, Goins said. “Our founder felt like going into business with an operator was like becoming
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family members; usually before you marry someone, you date for a while,” Goins said. “It’s a slow process and some people get frustrated.” Anderson said the process—which included six weeks of training at Chickfil-A’s home office in Atlanta and another week of shadowing in Greenville, S.C., with a “support operator” who will continue to follow her progress over the next year with frequent visits to Oak Creek— was rigorous, but necessary. “Chick-fil-A does a great job of protecting the brand and making sure both sides understand the agreement they are entering into,” she said. There is also a significant amount of competition – about 18,000 people a year apply to be a Chick-fil-A restaurant operator and fewer than 90 are chosen, Goins said. The restaurant chain is so popular from prospective franchisees because it is significantly less expensive to own a Chick-fil-A franchise than any other brand. Operators pay $10,000 in full when they sign their operator’s agreement. A new Chick-filA restaurant costs the company about $3 million to open, Goins said. By comparison, a McDonald’s franchise fee is $45,000, plus the operator pays 11
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The Oak Creek resraurant will open March 10. It will be the fourth standalone location in the Milwaukee area.
40 percent of the total cost of the new restaurant, which ranges from $944,000 to $2.1 million, according to the McDonald’s website. There is also a monthly service fee of 4 percent of monthly sales. On the flip side, McDonald’s operators own the building after 20 years. With Chick-fil-A, the $10,000 only buys the right to operate the restaurant – there is no ownership of the property.
Goins said the franchises were set up this way so money was not a barrier for people who wanted to become involved in the business. “It’s a great partnership,” Anderson said. “When the business needs upgrades, they are there for you, so it feels like a partnership the whole time.” At 26, Anderson knows she will not likely spend her entire career operating
the Chick-fil-A in Oak Creek. When she’s ready to move on, she anticipates going the same route Goins did and moving over to the corporate side of the business. Until then, Anderson is looking forward to serving her customers and being a strong leader for the 75 employees she will have in Oak Creek. “I think my story can be a fun one for my team members, whether it is their first
job or their career,” she said. “The restaurant industry is coming back around for young people to develop careers out of. This doesn’t have to be a long-term career, but it can be.” n Get the latest commercial real estate news delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign up for BizTimes’ Real Estate Weekly newsletter at biztimes.com/subscribe.
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FEBRUARY 24-25, 2016 – MANUFACTURINGMATTERS.ORG
TAKING THE LEAD! WEDNESDAY, FEB 24TH 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM | Pre-Conference
C-SUITE ESSENTIALS TRACK
THURSDAY, FEB 25TH
Differentiating WI Manufacturing National Innovations in Manufacturing Technology The Future of Making Things
8:30 AM | Keynote Speaker - Remarks from Giacomo Fallucca, CEO of Palermo’s Pizza
WISCONSIN MANUFACTURING ECOSYSTEM TRACK
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State of the State Update The Water Crisis: Regional Issue - Global Impact Wisconsin Clusters Working for Manufacturers
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WORKFORCE & CULTURE TRACK Talent Sharing with Competitors Establishing a Culture of Engagement Interviewing Candidates as if Your Company’s Survival Depended On It
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• TAKING THE LEAD! FEBRUARY 24-25, 2016 – MANUFACTURINGMATTERS.ORG
SPECIAL EVENT COVERAGE
Innovation a key ingredient to success at Palermo’s Pizza
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ong-term success in the frozen pizza business isn’t just a matter of a proprietary sauce and tasty toppings. Innovation is crucial, even in a mature market. “Relevancy is key,” said Giacomo “Jack” Fallucca, president of Palermo Villa Inc., better known as Palermo’s Pizza. “We have to find out what products we can develop that are relevant in the minds of consumers. It’s all about what our conFallucca sumers want.” Fallucca will deliver the keynote address at the Wisconsin Manufacturing
Extension Partnership’s Manufacturing Matters! conference on Feb. 25 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Milwaukee. Palermo’s keeps tabs on popular trends in the restaurant industry in order to determine consumer preferences, Fallucca said. “We buy a lot of syndicated data to see where consumers are moving to. We also listen to consumers and simply ask them what they are looking for,” he said. Palermo’s employs a full-time innovation team led by Fallucca’s eldest son, Nick, to develop new products to meet consumer demands. “We have a team of food scientists and chefs that work on a variety of projects ranging from really great new innovations
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to making an exceptionally good cheese pizza,” Giacomo Fallucca said. Palermo’s brands include Primo Thin, Pizzeria, Screamin’ Sicilian, P’mos and Mission Pizza. In addition to the company’s popular branded products, Palermo’s is the nation’s leading producer of premium private label frozen pizza for the retail and club industries. Palermo’s has had considerable success with one of its more recent innovations, the Screamin’ Sicilian brand, which Fallucca described as a craft frozen pizza with a proprietary crust. “That is a brand that has really taken off,” Fallucca said. The brand has grown from about $1 million in sales in 2013, the year of its introduction, to $75 million in 2015. Fallucca projects that Screamin’ Sicilian could generate as much as $100 million in revenue in 2016. “We decided we’d go back to a more hand-produced, locally sourced frozen pizza with the Screamin’ Sicilian brand,” he said. “We can leverage our buying power to buy the ingredients and we could make a safe and consistent product that we have the ability to market nationally.” Palermo’s plans to introduce a number of new products this year, he added. “The challenge is how we continue to bring value to our customers in such a way to win in the marketplace, whether it’s private label or with the Palermo brand, and continue to win with our employees. That’s the key,” Fallucca said. In December, Palermo’s announced the formation of another new venture, Mission Pizza Co., which launched, in part, as a means to fight hunger. For every five Mission pizzas sold, Palermo’s will donate another pizza to a local hungerfighting organization. Palermo’s hopes to donate as many as 500,000 pizzas in the Midwest this year. “Pizza is a food that unites people and families who may be suffering from hard times, so it’s a food we can share,” Fallucca said. Palermo Villa’s roots date to 1964, when Fallucca’s late father, Gaspare, who
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came to the United States from near Palermo, Sicily, started a bakery. Gaspare Fallucca ran the bakery until 1969, when he opened Palermo Villa restaurant on Milwaukee’s East Side. “The restaurant was very successful. He did phenomenal business,” Giacomo Fallucca said. At peak hours, the restaurant would be packed with patrons and Gaspare Fallucca often would send trays of his homemade French bread pizzas to the bar. The popularity of the pizza led Fallucca to sell the restaurant and open a pizza production plant on Milwaukee’s south side, at first focused solely on making handmade French bread pizzas. ”I think we did about $700,000 in sales that first year,” Giacomo Fallucca said. “We sold our products to anybody and everybody. Bars, taverns, restaurants, hotels, movie theaters, hospitals, you name it. We branched out to sell frozen pizzas a year later.” During the company’s early years in operation, it sold its products regionally, mainly to grocery stores and taverns. It later began to sell its products nationally, with much of the growth stemming from the addition of large national accounts. “From a business standpoint, we were fumbling around as a regional company for a long time,” Fallucca said. “I’m a college dropout and my dad was a dropout, and I’m not saying that proudly, but I think we had to learn from other people.” Palermo’s eventually appointed a board of directors to bring accountability and structure to the organization and oversee a formalized plan for growth. ”That changed our company dramatically,” said Fallucca, who has served as president since 1985. “We put our pride aside and said we don’t have all the answers so let’s bring in some folks that might have the skills. We were restaurateurs, not manufacturers. My father was a ready, shoot, aim kind of guy. He didn’t have a plan and didn’t know our competition. He just made a really good pizza. ..................... PALERMO’S continued on page 16
FEBRUARY 24-25, 2016 – MANUFACTURINGMATTERS.ORG
Sharing talent to meet workforce needs
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any businesses, manufacturers in particular, continue to struggle to address workforce shortages. The sharing of talent pools could provide a much-needed solution. It’s a novel concept, but many employment experts agree that a new approach to hiring is needed—one focused on providing employees with the opportunity to develop and work in agile environments while assisting businesses in filling their employment pipelines. “More employers and business partners need to stop talking about it and simply take action,” said Janice Lemminger, executive vice president of Milwaukee-based global staffing firm ManpowerGroup for the Chippewa Valley, Central Wisconsin Lemminger and the Coulee Region, which includes nine offices throughout Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota. ManpowerGroup has been exploring the concept of shared talent pools as companies continue to struggle to meet growth objectives and competition for talent intensifies. “It’s an employee market,” said Lemminger, who has spent more than 31 years with ManpowerGroup and has served on the Governor’s Council on Workforce Investment since 2013. “You need to provide multiple opportunities to define an employee’s career trajectory.”
BY RICH ROVITO, for BizTimes
The talent-sharing model can work especially well with manufacturers that have off-setting production schedules, she said. “You have to decide if it is better to go week after week with less than full production or have a talent pool that changes from day to day,” Lemminger said. To embrace the talent-sharing concept, employers must recognize that the concept of loyalty has changed among employees, she said. Employees will exhibit loyalty while they are employed by a certain company, but are highly unlikely to stay with one employer for 20 to 30 years, as occurred with regularity in past generations. Companies owe their employees the opportunity to improve their employability, even if they aren’t going to be on staff for an extended period of time, Lemminger said. An underlying concept of talent sharing is that employers, through a collaborative effort, are preparing their workforces not only for themselves but for other companies, perhaps even competitors, she said. Lemminger will be part of a panel discussion on sharing talent with competitors at the WMEP’s Manufacturing Matters! conference on Feb. 25 in Milwaukee. Other employer panelists will include Todd Filter, market vice president for ManpowerGroup, and Alan Petelinsek, CEO of Power Test Inc., a Sussex-based dynamometer manufacturer. Employee panelists will include Ryan Lemminger, senior electrical engineer at GE Healthcare in Milwaukee. n
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Area Manufacturing sector grows for first time in months Milwaukee area manufacturing activity recently showed growth for the first time since March, according to data released by Marquette University. The Marquette-ISM Report on Manufacturing Milwaukee-area PMI was 50.36 for the month of January. Any reading above 50 indicates growth while a reading below 50 suggests the market in contracting.
The index has been in the 40s or even lower in recent months as manufacturers confront a number of issues including the strong U.S. dollar, a weaker economy in China and falling commodity prices. While some industries have done well—including the automotive market, which set a record for sales in 2015—others, like mining, have struggled.
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Featured in Entrepreneur, Forbes and INC. magazines FEBRUARY 24-25, 2016 – MANUFACTURINGMATTERS.ORG
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Additive manufacturing proving to be game-changer for industry
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dditive manufacturing is changing the face of the industrial sector. “It’s such a pivotal technology for changing the game in manufacturing,” said Ed Morris, director of America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute. “Additive Morris manufacturing has a whole new set of rules.” America Makes is the flagship institute for the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation. Structured as a public-private partnership with member organizations from industry, academia, government, nongovernment agencies, and workforce and economic development resources, America Makes is working to innovate and accelerate additive manufacturing to increase the nation’s global manufacturing competitiveness. “The economic engine of the U.S. isn’t as robust as it once was,” Morris said. Additive manufacturing, often referred to as 3D printing, allows for more
effective use of materials by manufacturers, among a host of other benefits, said Morris, who also is president of the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining. Additive manufacturing involves slicing a digital image of an object into layers, which printers then recreate one layer at a time in materials such as plastic and metal, among others. Under Morris’ leadership, America Makes has been focused on accelerating the adoption of additive manufacturing design and production technologies. Additive manufacturing is having an “incredibly ubiquitous impact” in medical applications and other areas, including aerospace, he said. The adoption of additive manufacturing can lead to new products, job creation and the formation of new businesses, Morris said. Morris will take part in a panel discussion on additive manufacturing and the benefits of the National Network of Manufacturing Innovation centers at Manufacturing Matters! He will appear with Jacob Goodwin, director of membership engagement for the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute. n
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PALERMO’S................................... from page 14
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He then realized the size and the magnitude of the competitors he was going up against and I think it scared him a bit.” Palermo’s moved into a new facility in the reborn Menomonee Valley industrial area, just east of Miller Park, in 2006. About 650 employees currently work at the site, which includes a pizza production plant and corporate offices. “I have to say, we were the pioneers,” Fallucca said. “But some people make it seem like we were doing the city a favor by moving to the Valley. For us, it wasn’t a risk. We wanted to be in Milwaukee. We loved the location and never really had reservations about it.”
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Fallucca’s keynote address will kick off the daylong Manufacturing Matters! conference, which features 18 breakout sessions in six tracks and is expected to attract more than 450 manufacturing leaders. Panelists and presenters include America Makes director Ed Morris; Janice Lemminger, executive vice president at ManpowerGroup; Mark Hogan, secretary, Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.; Water Council CEO Dean Amhaus; and many more. n For more information or to register, go to www.wmep.org/events/ manufacturing-matters-conference/
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EXIT
READY TO RETIRE FROM THE COMPANY YOU BUILT? PLAN YOUR…
STRATEGY
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TROY FREUND PHOTOGRAPHY
Mike Erwin recently retired as CEO of Tailored Label Products.
Jeff Kerlin succeeded Erwin as CEO of Tailored Label Products.
Y
BY MOLLY DILL, staff writer
OU DID THE RESEARCH, WROTE THE BUSINESS PLAN, obtained the funding, completed the paperwork, opened the doors and christened your business. You planned and executed, analyzed and steered that business. You hired employees, created a culture, fostered an environment of success. All along the way, you tracked its progress and watched it grow. It’s your baby. Suddenly, it’s time to retire. Time to loosen the reins to find out what all those long hours and all that hard work have amounted to. Now what?
A CLEAR PATH Several months ago, Mike Erwin began allowing his second-in-command to run employee meetings while he sat in the front row and quietly mentioned points to cover. He moved further back in the room at each successive meeting until he was loudly heckling Jeff Kerlin from the back row. That’s when he knew it was time for him to leave the room. Erwin, who recently retired from his role as chief executive officer of Menomonee Falls-based label manufacturer Tailored Label Products Inc., planned the move many years in advance. “I wanted to retire in kind of a normal cycle of 63 to 65, and be able to have the energy and enthusiasm to do other things,” Erwin said. w w w.biztimes.com
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cover story About 10 years ago, he began aggressively expanding the size of the company both organically and strategically. In 2005, TLP acquired Engineering Label Products, a company started by Kerlin and Tracy Tenpenny. Both Kerlin and Tenpenny came on board at TLP and in 2013, Erwin and his co-owner sold part of TLP to them. Kerlin moved up the ladder over the years, and he and Erwin communicated often about the succession plan. “You’ve got to have the hit-by-a-bus option,” Erwin said. “For years, it was described as ‘If Mike got hit by a bus, Jeff’s there.’” About four years ago, the two started the leadership transition process, seeking the advice of peers and bringing in a highlevel executive coach to guide them. “It’s just healthy to have a third party behind the scenes to facilitate discussion,” Kerlin said. “We agreed as much as we disagreed, but we did it in a healthy way.” In May 2013, Kerlin was appointed chief operating officer. In February 2014, he added president and partner to his job title. And on January 1, Kerlin was named CEO as Erwin retired. Through the succession planning process, Erwin strengthened his bench to include three potential successors, one of which is an early successor to Kerlin after his tenure ends.
quently, and serves as an on-call advisor for Kerlin as he forges ahead.
PLAN CAREFULLY An owner’s retirement should be planned well in advance – maybe as far out as 10 years, like at Tailored Label, said Shawn Govern, an attorney at DeWitt Ross & Stevens in Milwaukee. GOVERN Among the considerations to take into account: Tax implications; family dynamics; business liquidity concerns; business owner payout; relationships with customers, suppliers and employees; and corporate governance. It can be difficult to decide when would be the best time to retire. There’s a psychological aspect to letting go of the company you built and associate closely with your identity, said Dave Vetta, president at First Business Bank-Milwaukee. “Getting something out there in terms of a timetable or some objectives they want out of retirement or from the business, that’s an important point,” Vetta said. The business could be sold to management, to the next generation of the owner’s family, to a strategic buyer or to a
said Paul Griepentrog, an attorney at Godfrey & Kahn S.C. in Milwaukee. With several years’ notice, the company can get its house in order and GRIEPENTROG the business owner can create an updated estate plan, he said. The owner should clean up internal and corporate records, locate critical contracts, and shore up customer and employee relationships. Then, after the pre-planning and preparation phase, the actual sale process can really begin. People don’t like to think of their own mortality, so it can be a challenge to sit down and write out a succession plan, but it’s a good idea, Govern said. Many people plan for retirement or death, but they often do not account for disability or separation of employment. A carefully evaluated succession plan can clearly lay out the procedure if one of these events occurs, Govern said. “The whole process of succession planning is much better to be done when they control the circumstances, rather than the circumstances controlling their decisions,” he said.
“ The whole process of succession planning is much better to be done when they control the circumstances, rather than the circumstances controlling their decisions.” — Shawn Govern, DeWitt Ross & Stevens The pair spoke monthly about whether Kerlin was ready to take over and which work could be taken off Erwin’s plate and put on his. “It’s hard. He’s been chief poobah a long time,” Kerlin said. “I said, ‘Don’t confuse my loyalty to you to not wanting to take the reins of this company.’” Eventually, they set an official date and began working with attorneys to modify the ownership documents and employment agreements. They got the board’s consent, and then informed employees of the transition date. They were mostly unfazed, since Kerlin had gradually and explicitly been taking on Erwin’s duties. Erwin’s still around the office fre20
financial buyer. It could be that the business closes and the assets are sold. Maybe the employer forms an Employee Stock Ownership Plan to pass the company on to all of its employees. Or perhaps the leader remains part owner, and either recapitalizes the business or transitions out of the company and into retirement. There are a variety of options available, but the best one won’t be clear without careful evaluation, Vetta said. Leaving time to sort things out is critical. If a sale is involved, it can take more than a year to complete the due diligence and acquisition, let alone the time the owner should put into preparing the business to be put on the market, B i zT i m e s M i l w a u k e e
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If the owner or his spouse were to receive a serious health diagnosis, the timeline could be accelerated, said John Emory, Jr., president of investment bank Emory & Co. in Milwaukee. But the owner will need to keep working for at least another 12 months before exit if a sale is in the works. If current managers will be a key part of the business after the sale, having a few years of lead time can allow the business owner to develop the leadership team and help it rise to the occasion, Vetta said. “You might want to explore who might be potential buyers,” Vetta said. “How closely does it align with the owner’s objectives and what’s the right avenue?”
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PREPARING TO SELL It’s important to be realistic about the value of the business, and engaging an advisor such as a banker, broker or lawyer can help set expectations, said Kent Velde, president of private equity firm Lakeview Equity Partners LLC in Milwaukee. “For most owners, when they sit down, they’re looking for a cash deal,” Velde said. “Normally, an offer would include minimal cash and can often include a note and potentially an earnout.” A sale to a private equity firm can provide immediate liquidity, and can also offer an opportunity to remain a minority owner and/or a member of the board or management team. “The continuing minority ownership provides the potential for further value creation for the business owner when and if the private equity firm exits – normally four to seven years,” Velde said. Planning is an important aspect of getting the best value, he said. “There’s no question that if somebody’s thinking about this, they should be doing a lot of advance planning,” Velde said. “They should be working with an advisor to prepare the company for sale. This is not just something that happens overnight.” It should be possible for the owner to extract herself and for the company to continue functioning in her absence with a strong management team. That gives buyers confidence, Emory said. If the business is being passed on to a family member, the owner should consider how much money she needs to finance her retirement, and balance that with giving the family member a good deal, he said. “Our view is always that you want to have a good mix of strategic buyers and financial buyers that you’re talking to,” Griepentrog said. “We think it gives you the clearest sense of value. It gives you a good range where you can really get an understanding of the true value of the company.” “If it is going to be a family member, how do we set up the corporate governance so that they can grow into their responsibilities?” Govern asked. “That can be very critical. Otherwise you can have upheavals of management.” Often, a business owner will transition into a chairman role while the child becomes president or chief executive officer, so they can set up an advisory relationship as the owner heads toward retirement, he said.
WEIGHING THE OPTIONS Let’s say the business owner doesn’t have children or his children are not interested in taking over the company. At the same time, there isn’t a clear leader in the current management team. In such a case, an Employee Stock Ownership Plan or an asset sale can make sense. “An ESOP in that circumstance is likely to be a very effective way for those key employees who have been with the business to take over the business and then fund his retirement as he departs,” Govern said. At Milwaukee-based Hatco Corp., an ESOP was the best way for the former owner, David Hatch, to retire. His parents started the company, he bought his brother out years ago and he had no children. Hatch wanted to retain the family legacy, keep the company where it was and reward the employees when he ROLSTON retired in 2004, said David Rolston, president and chief executive officer. “He had made up his mind 10 years before that this is what he wanted,” Rolston said. “He considered us family and he really was a great guy to work for. He had developed a tremendous culture to begin with, so we didn’t really need anything fixed or turned around.” Hatco’s 470 employees purchased 49 percent of the company in 2004 through the ESOP plan, and in 2007 bought the remaining shares, Rolston said. “Selling to someone who would move the factory or not treat the employees well is just something that (Hatch) would not even want to consider,” Rolston said. “There’s tax benefits selling to an ESOP and a lot of that’s complex, but the result is that you get a fair market value.” An asset sale comes into play with small businesses that don’t necessarily have a high value to a third party, Emory said. “Sometimes a small service provider, when you retire, you may try to transfer your existing client relationships to another small firm and maybe get some kind of fee over time,” he said. “One thing to think about is, is your business saleable to a third party or do you need to sort of groom your internal buyer?” Deb Teglia, owner of Oak Creekbased asphalt company Black Diamond Group Inc., succeeded her father in lead-
ing Black Diamond. She spent 40 years working in the business, and one day in June 2015, she realized she wasn’t having fun anymore. “As an entrepreTEGLIA neur, you work hard on your business. You’re in it to win it,” Teglia said. “I was reaching a realization that I, and I saw in some of our employees, we didn’t have the same passion for what we did.” In the construction business, there aren’t a lot of total company sales since there has been a lot of consolidation and the equipment is usually the most valuable asset. After consulting with trusted advisors, she decided to complete an asset sale and close the business. Black Diamond completed the construction season in November, informed customers and its 28 employees, collected its receivables, paid its bills, and sold the real estate assets in December and about 200 pieces of equipment in January. Teglia, 61, is now the only employee, and plans to close the doors in late summer or early fall. Then, she’ll take a much-needed vacation and evaluate what to do next. “I also had the care of a loving family and great friends to put it all in perspective, because your business is your baby and after nurturing it all these years, it’s hard to let it go,” she said. “The stress was at the beginning. The stress was making the decision and confirming with myself that it was the right decision. If you’re going to decide to do it, just do it and move on.”
COMMON CHOICES There are several benefits to selling the business to an internal candidate, such as a family member or an existing employee. It’s the most confidential transaction, and the transition is usually easier, Emory w w w.biztimes.com
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said. Due diligence is much easier, as well. There’s also the moral benefit of helping a family member or rewarding a loyal employee, Emory said. On the other hand, the internal buyer does not usually have a large store of cash, so the purchase price will likely be lower and the transaction is not likely to be all cash. The owner can train that person and prepare him for the transition, gradually releasing control. “If you have a lot of time, you get enough ahead of this and the company is on a growth trajectory, then all of these things work in your favor,” Vetta said. From the bank’s perspective, the new manager needs to be vetted and the updated business plan needs to be evaluated before the transition, he said. It’s important that the new owner is not overleveraged, and has some of her own skin in the game. “That new leadership team has to be evaluated very closely and almost like it’s a new deal,” Vetta said. “There’ll be elements of a new business plan, there’ll be projections, they will have some changes in mind.” A strategic buyer, on the other hand, usually pays a higher premium, which may be competitive with a private equity firm’s offer. The strategic deal has the most confidentiality risk, because of the in-depth due diligence process that could open up the company’s inner workings to competitors. There’s also the matter of the business owner’s legacy, if that is a concern, Emory said. Selling to a private equity group is most likely to result in a large influx of cash. An owner could choose to sell 100 percent right away, or sell a portion of the business and then come back for a “second bite of the apple” once the private equity firm resells it in five to seven years. The seller should consider an operations consultant if there’s enough time, as well as an M&A attorney, a size-appro-
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priate investment banker and a respected accounting firm. “The most important single factor is your trailing 12 months’ profit before sale,” Emory said. “So really protect and try to grow those profits. Do not do something that is going to hurt those profits.”
THINK OF YOUR FAMILY If a business owner passes away without having created a succession plan, the company passes into probate, which can be a lengthy process for family members. “A sale of an asset out of probate is not going to be the best way to maximize the value of that business,” Govern said. “It’s kind of like a sheriff ’s sale in some regards. It’s a distressed sale.” In some cases, the process is not as cut and dry. If the deceased leader only owned part of the business, her shares may not be saleable, and the surviving family member could end up in an unplanned business partnership with another owner, Govern said. Or, it may not be clear who the business owner would have designated as the beneficiary of his shares, which could open up the door to litigation among his surviving relatives. Rarely does anything good happen from an owner dying without a succession plan, Vetta said. “What happens is if they’re not prepared for that, the company could suffer, the valuation could suffer, the family or the leadership could have infighting and not be on the same page to be able to extract the value of the company,” he said. “You end up having a fire sale. The equity that the owner worked so hard to grow over 40 years, it’s a shame when that’s not maximized.” n Get the day’s top headlines delivered to your inbox, Monday through Friday. Sign up for the BizTimes Daily at biztimes.com/subscribe.
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special report
meetings&conventions
Convention business rebounding in Milwaukee Officials say Wisconsin Center expansion needed
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onsumer confidence in the group travel industry appears to be improving. Visit Milwaukee saw a 49 percent increase in event bookings in 2015 over the previous year, and more groups are scheduling their conventions five to seven years in advance. Still, Paul Upchurch, president and chief executive officer of Visit Milwaukee, said until the city expands its convention center, it can’t compete with other markets of its size. In fact, as it stands now, Milwaukee’s convention center is on the same scale as Grand Rapids, Mich., Upchurch said. “We’ve got a ways to go to keep up with cities that have similarly-sized populations and similarly-sized economies,” Upchurch said. “We don’t want to fall into competing with cities that are much smaller.” The smaller exhibit space means Milwaukee misses out on a large segment of potential business in two ways: The city can’t go after certain business; and the city misses opportunities to stack conventions on top of each other, Upchurch said. “It’s a pretty common selling strategy to fit two medium-sized conferences in at once – we can’t do that,” Upchurch said. “There are also corporate events, even in our region, that are too large for us. We knew when we built this it wasn’t large enough, but the plan was to expand in phases.” The expansion would cost about $200
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BY CORRINNE HESS, staff writer
million and would be built just north of the current Wisconsin Center, in the area bordered by West Wells Street, West Kilbourn Avenue, North Fourth and North Sixth streets. The center, which was built in 1998, is about 266,000 square feet, with about 189,000 square feet of exhibit space. By comparison, Cincinnati has 196,800 square feet; Columbus has 373,000 square feet; Minneapolis has 475,000 square feet; and Indianapolis has two venues totaling 749,000 square feet of exhibit space. An expansion would give Milwaukee about 250,000 square feet of exhibit space, Upchurch said. In 2014, the Wisconsin Center District, which owns and operates the convention center, the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and the Milwaukee Theatre, hired a Chicago consultant to look at expanding the convention center. Chicago-based HVS Convention, Sports & Entertainment Facilities Consulting concluded expansion would be most successful if planned simultaneously with the new Milwaukee Bucks arena. A state law passed in summer 2015 gave ownership of the new Bucks arena to the Wisconsin Center District and required the district to provide $93 million for the arena. That financial obligation for the arena project left some people believing expansion of the convention
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center would be put on hold for years, if not indefinitely. But Upchurch believes the consultants are correct and now is the perfect time to take action, although the question of where the money will come from is still unanswered.
Half of the $500 million Bucks arena will be paid for with public financing that will come from state, Milwaukee County, City of Milwaukee and Wisconsin Center District funding sources. In addition, a $2 surcharge will be charged on all tickets sold for events at the arena. The ticket
Convention center exhibit space 2015 Competitive set cities
Size of center (square feet)
#1
Louisville - both venues
KICC - 200,000; KEC - 1,300,000
#2
Cleveland
CC - 225,000; IX - 1,200,000
#3
Indianapolis - both venues
749,000
#4
St. Louis
502,000
#5
Minneapolis
475,000
#6
Kansas City
388,800
#7
Columbus
373,000
#8
Pittsburgh
313,400
#9
Portland
255,000
#10
Cincinnati
196,800
#11
Milwaukee
188,695
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The Wisconsin Center
surcharge revenue will be split by the Wisconsin Center District (getting 75 percent) and the state (getting 25 percent). “It’s no different than the past, when we had to get creative on how we get this
funded; now we just have to get a little more creative,” Upchurch said. “If you look at the Bucks’ development, the entertainment center and all of the development they are putting around the arena,
this is a once in a lifetime chance to do something really special. We can have an impact on having demand for this area year-round.” Alderman Robert Bauman, who is on the Wisconsin Center District board, said the only way the convention center can be expanded is if the state Legislature increases one or more of the taxes that fund the district. Those funding sources are the rental car tax, the Milwaukee County food and beverage tax, and hotel taxes from the city and the county. “Thanks to the legislation the state passed on the arena, convention center expansion is not possible,” Bauman said. “I do believe it is needed – they made their case and have convinced me.” Large conventions are typically defined as those that use a Milwaukee venue, such as the convention center, and fill at least 1,000 hotel rooms in a minimum of two Milwaukee hotels. Large conventions ultimately provide more revenue for hotels, restaurants and area retail. In 2015, Visit Milwaukee had 567
overall bookings, compared to 380 in 2014. Several of those events were small; however, there were some notable large events, including the annual Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. conference that draws 10,000 and two new events The Water Council has brought to the area. In 2015, the convention center had a total economic impact of $97 million, said Marco Bloemendaal, senior vice president of sales for Visit Milwaukee. Major 2016 conventions include the International Cheese Technology Exposition in April, 3,200 attendees; American Society for Quality international conference in May, 3,000 attendees; National Main Street Center’s conference in May, 1,600 attendees; and Bombardier Recreational Products’ convention in June, 2,200 attendees. “2015 was a crossroads year for us,” Bloemendaal said. “It was strong, economy wise, but the meetings were smaller and short term. Then on the flip side, we saw a lot of groups looking at cities like ours for 2020 and beyond.” n
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meetings & conventions
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he best laid plans won’t always survive contact with reality, but event planning experts say not having one is the best way to ruin a corporate event. “There’s a lot of different timelines involved; to make sure you have those all mapped out is only going to save your company money,” said Trina Moynihan, associate director-meetings and events at Destination Kohler. But the planning of a successful event must go beyond meeting deadlines. Whether the event is to recognize sales staff, launch a new product or show customers your appreciation, understanding the purpose of the event and how it aligns with a company’s mission is critically im-
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CREDIT: DESTINATION KOHLER
Prior planning allows for a proper event BY ARTHUR THOMAS, staff writer
portant, experts said. “Understanding the objective is going to really lay the foundation for where you go next,” said Rochelle Rupnick, meeting and event management instructor at Milwaukee Area Technical College. Rupnick said many larger companies will have their own event planners, but that isn’t the case at smaller companies. She said the responsibility for planning an event often falls to someone in an assistant or secretary role. Her advice for planning an event is to turn to experts whenever possible, including the local convention and visitors bureau. Having a budget is also incredibly important, experts said.
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Destination Kohler recommends mapping out a timeline to save money on a corporate event.
“You can really nail things down and be realistic about it,” said Stephanie Wagner, a hospitality and culinary arts management instructor at Waukesha County Technical College and owner of O2M Productions. Wagner said in a fast-paced business environment, there is temptation to plan events at the last minute, but companies will save money by planning ahead. With a budget set and a clear purpose in mind, it is then time to turn to actually planning the event. MATC’s Rupnick said before booking a venue, it is important to actually see the space where the event will be held. “You cannot rely solely on what their website shows,” she said. Rupnick said that when planners tour a venue, they should try to think of themselves as an attendee. Pay attention to details and nuances, she said. Are there lights out? Is there a strange smell? Is a garbage can overflowing with trash? She said it is important to ask a lot of questions. The goal should be to create a positive, memorable experience, Rupnick said. That means taking the meeting design to another level when possible to incorporate all the senses and leave attendees with a great impression. Timing, logistics and even transportation are important considerations for an event, Moynihan said. Also, consider the demographics of the attendees, Rupnick said. A younger audience may allow for incorporating more technology, while an audience with deep knowledge on a topic will alter the content of presentations. It is vital to gather demographic information in the registration process, she said. Before inking a deal to hold an event at
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a certain venue, it is important to check all the aspects of the contract. It is crucial to look at attrition clauses and what would happen if you fall short of the number of guests, along with cancellation clauses, Rupnick said. “It’s really risk management is what it is,” she said. Because there can be so many moving parts, it is important to have open communication between the planner and the venue event director, said Becki Jump, events and program coordinator at Waukesha County Business Alliance. Jump and fellow Business Alliance events and program coordinator Shelby Myszka plan more than 150 events each year. They both said the communication has to continue through the day of the event and beyond. “You have to learn to smile and go with the flow,” Jump said. “Being flexible— if it’s not your personality, it needs to be quickly.” All of the experts stressed the importance of gathering feedback after the event. Whether the event is a monthly occurrence or won’t be held again, gathering opinions from attendees will help make the next program better. Comprehensive feedback can be difficult to obtain, Rupnick said. Attendees who had a negative experience are more likely to offer feedback than those who enjoyed themselves. “It’s really a challenge in the industry to get that solid, concrete, honest feedback,” she said. One option the experts suggested was listening to those who were working the event. They may overhear things that don’t show up on the comment cards. n
meetings & conventions
Escaping the office can make meetings more productive
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reating focus and productivity in the workplace can be a challenge for some employers. Online distractions loom and cold Milwaukee winters can make office dwellers feel stir crazy. However, solitaire home screens and ice-covered streets aren’t the only explanations for those daily 9 a.m. meeting interruptions. According to a 2015 survey from FlexJobs, 76 percent of the 2,600 respondents said they avoid the office when completing important tasks. Employees reported fewer interruptions from colleagues, fewer distractions and minimal office politics when escaping the office to work. With only 24 percent of respondents saying they are most productive in the office, companies are faced with a challenge that can become an opportunity when planning business meetings. In some cases meetings are more productive when held offsite, venue operators say. “A change in environment can help our brains think differently, open the door for new information to process or ideas to take shape,” said Erin Hochevar, director of community at Hudson Business Lounge. She suggested employers can increase office productivity by taking their employees—and hopefully not the office politics—elsewhere. Located in Milwaukee’s Third Ward, Hudson Business lounge provides workspace for small business owners or freelancers without personal offices. But it
also provides private meeting space for companies needing a change of scenery. Hochevar said that the new environment needs to be conducive to comfort and human necessity. She said Hudson has comfortable chairs, workplace technology and a café to fully meet its clients’ needs. Hudson is just one of many venues in and around Milwaukee that companies use for offsite meetings to escape office distraction. Colergét Conference Center in Kenosha takes a different approach to meeting productivity. Its outdoor scenery and decorative Asian-inspired architecture aims to create a zen-like atmosphere for its clients. “Every room has a view of our gardens outside. The beauty lends itself to daring to dream bigger and being creative,” said Kathy Barker, facility manager at Colergét. Barker said the only downfall of the center is its limited space, which does not allow for bigger meetings or social events. LMI Packaging Solutions in Pleasant Prairie uses Colergét for its quarterly board of directors meeting. Megan King, program developer, said the center’s peaceful environment helps employees avoid distractions and break away from their daily routines. “You don’t walk in (to Colergét) thinking you have to do work today,” King said. “You walk in thinking you are going to do great work today.”
BY MAREDITHE MEYER, staff writer
The Ambassador Hotel in Milwaukee, regularly hosts meetings and conferences for both large and small companies. The hotel has seven meeting rooms and space for large team-building activities, according to Amy Schneider, general manager. She said one company set up a mini-golf course during a conference at the hotel as a way to strengthen teamwork. “Experiencing something different sparks ideas. It also breaks down barriers and lines of hierarchy within the company,” Schneider said. “It’s a breath of fresh air.” Like many Milwaukee hotels, the Ambassador’s location and lodging capabilities allow for extended conferences or retreats. It also attracts companies from all over the state. Schneider said the hotel’s central location is an important asset. Asian gardens and mini-golf at an offsite oasis might boost employee focus for a day or two, but what happens on Monday morning when it’s time to return to the cubicle? Perhaps this quest for workplace relief hints at a greater issue. In a 2012 Right Management survey, 81 percent of respondents reported they do not take a legitimate lunch break during their workday. According to the survey, the findings indicate high stress levels in employees—
Colergét aims to create a zen-like atmosphere.
so high that they cannot find just 30 minutes in their day to refuel. Companies are stuck between two unhealthy extremes: employees avoid the office, but when they are there, they are unable to take necessary breaks from their workload. “The employee is a huge asset for the employer,” said Jennifer Walkowiak, director of commercial growth at Aurora Healthcare. Workplace wellness is her passion. Aurora’s employee wellness program helps employers create healthier work environments, Walkowiak said. The plan includes a health risk assessment and biometric screening to identify areas of health concern for employees. Aurora’s health coaches then work with employees to meet those concerns and work toward a healthier lifestyle at home and at work. “We try to find a solution to help (employers) reduce health care costs,” Walkowiak said. n
Situated on Milwaukee’s Lakefront War Memorial Center is the perfect location for your event or meeting. With a modern banquet hall, unique meetings rooms, built in AV capabilities, downtown location, extensive catering list, indoor and outdoor event spaces, and on-site parking; your event will be the one that everyone is talking about.
25% Seasonal Discount December – March Milwaukee County War Memorial Center 750 North Lincoln Memorial Drive | Milwaukee, WI 53202 414-273-5533 | events@warmemorialcenter.org
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strategies Choose wisely
How to make better decisions
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s what you see all there is? Let’s face it: All of us, regardless of position or authority, face difficult decisionmaking. It’s the result of increasingly complex business dynamics, less certainty, a faster tempo and market disruption. That means higher risk assumptions and decisions. First, let’s recognize that there are several pervasive temptations that lie in the way of clear thought and direction. Chief among these are overconfidence, confirmation bias, myopic perspective, and what can be called emotional hijack.
Live by poor assumptions, die by bad decisions Overconfidence is self-explanatory. We’ve all been there. For example, hiring the wrong employee or ignoring the rise
of a competitor. The list goes on. A scorecard of early business successes that embolden us toward riskier decisions makes matters worse. Confirmation bias may be a bit trickier because it’s the unconscious behavior that places more credibility on information consistent with our own beliefs, yet discounts contrarian information. Another way of describing this is “group think.” A classic example was the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, where a small army of some of the brightest minds in the world decided to launch with little regard to the outside concerns over the booster rocket O-rings. A myopic perspective on an issue will be just as problematic as the above two. More often than we might think, we find
people with leadership responsibilities falling prey to a narrow perspective. We have a tendency to be so close to a problem that it clouds important insight leading to a panoramic understanding of the challenge at hand. The tyranny of the emotional hijack is difficult to quantify, but easy to observe. Put another way, these are decisions made from the heart first, with logic trailing far behind. An example might be buying that new car because it just “speaks” to you, only to find that you end up with ownership costs that strain your budget.
What’s the fix? Assuming that we all will make bad de-
GEO RGE S ATULA LEADERSHIP
cisions at times, there has to be a way to do things better, particularly when decisions are made during extreme uncertainty. Challenging decisions can benefit from the premortem technique. This is a devil’s advocate thinking exercise, with nothing off-limits, to vet out a decision before it occurs. The key is to “bake in” disagreement and be honest about po....................LEADERSHIP continued on page 27
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strategies
The brain in your stomach How to improve the use of gut instinct
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surprising number of business leaders use their gut instinct to help them make business decisions. In a poll conducted by PRWeek and BursonMarsteller, the majority of the CEOs surveyed said they were likely to rely on their intuition when making business decisions. Business decisions like taking their company in a new direction because their gut had an “a-ha” even though their accountant says it would mean risk. Movies like “Joy” remind us of the importance of following our dreams and trusting our guts to help us meet our goals. Our gut instinct is an intelligence that has been used as far back as Albert Einstein, but was not nearly as recognized until Steve Jobs acknowledged it himself, saying, “Have the courage to follow your intuition. It somehow already knows what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” Up to now, we have recognized our
IQ (Intelligent Quotient), and our EQ (Emotional Quotient). It’s now time to recognize what I term our GQ (Gut Quotient) as an intelligence. Our gut is an intelligence that manages risk for us
LEADERSHIP................................. from page 26
questions, find clarity, and bring fresh perspective without an inherent bias. This is a team environment in which everyone included is comfortable with full disclosure about what’s really going on. They accept the team’s wisdom and advice, and they’re committed to selfimprovement. The TEC organization has modeled and mastered this approach for nearly 60 years.
tential downside risks that may have been overlooked or underestimated. Another debiasing technique is to conduct a more formal scenario-planning exercise, in which executives put themselves in their competitors’ shoes. The beauty of this role-playing is to find ways to effectively put your own company out of business, without incurring the consequences. Greater success will evolve out of this exercise when the participants involved don’t have an internal bias favoring a presumptive decision. A third technique is to reality-test assumptions in which you put some distance between you and the problem, collect trustworthy data and talk to people who have “been there, done that.” This can open up rich veins of opportunity never before considered. A fourth alternative is peer review, which folds in the best parts of the three “fixes” above. The most elegant model centers on a team of experienced, battletested peers. And without the political spin or bureaucracy, they are free to ask tough
fective decisions. Here is how our three brains help us make decisions: »» Brain in our gut: The enteric nervous system alerts us to help us manage risk. »» Brain in our heart: The intrinsic
S US A N W EH R LEY INSIGHT
“In order to increase your Gut Quotient, you must integrate your gut knowing with the intelligence of your heart and head.” and gives us a pit in our stomach when something feels “off ” and an “a-ha feeling” when it feels right. Our gut-brain has 100 million neurons, more than in the spinal cord, to alert our other two brains to help us make ef-
Don’t drink your own Kool-Aid As with most things in life and business, we need a system or process to guide us toward well-reasoned, logical decisions on important matters. And researchers have compiled significant evidence that indicates a process counts more than analysis by a factor of six. Knowing this, intellectual curiosity and respectful confrontation become an improved pathway for finding the truth. n George Satula is an executive leadership coach working primarily as a TEC chairman, leading three CEO mastermind groups in southeastern Wisconsin (TECmidwest. com). He is also a speaker and leadership development consultant. He can be reached at (262) 786-7400 or GSatula@TECbuildsLeaders.com. w w w.biztimes.com
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nervous system manages emotional buy-in. »» Brain in our head: The autonomic nervous system manages expression, reason and strategy.
How can you improve your Gut Quotient? In order to increase your Gut Quotient, you must integrate your gut knowing with the intelligence of your heart and head. To do this, I teach the following 60-second S.T.O.P. Technique to quiet the mind and get your three brains in sync. Here’s how the 60-second S.T.O.P. Technique works: 1. Slow down and breathe.
When we slow down and breathe we become more present and change our physiology. By breathing more deeply and slowly, we change our brainwave from beta to alpha. This gets our brainwave and heart wave in sync. It also opens up the corpus callosum in our brain, the bridge that connects the left and right hemisphere, and allows us to pass the amygdala, which is our pain and pleasure center. Repeat activity of breathing deeply can shrink the amygdala and create a neuropathway that propels us past a “fight or flight” reaction (caused by pleasure and pain), and connects us to an intuitive and innovative response. 2. Tune in within.
After we have calmed our mind, we
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can now focus on our problem-solving question so intuition can come to us. Begin your problem-solving question with, “How might I…?” This alerts your gut, heart and head to sync to solve your problem statement. Depending on your learning style, you will “hear” your gut “speaking” to you in one of these ways. 3. Observe what is happening
with pure curiosity. Say to yourself, “Hmm…isn’t that interesting …I wonder what I need to know?” Saying the words, “I wonder…” propels us to curiosity and opens our mind, allowing intuition in. 4. Perceive a new possibility.
Let go of analysis paralysis and trust intuition will come to you, making sense of that gut knowing you had all along. By opening your mind, you allow your intuition to synthesize the pieces of the puzzle. Most of us have had this experience by accident. We strive and drive to find an answer to a problem we analyzed to death! Then one day, we decided to slow down, relax and let go of trying so hard to figure out what our gut was trying to tell us. When we stopped the analysis paralysis, we suddenly got that “a-ha” knowing. Can you think of a time when that happened to you? Of course you can! And, yes, you were brilliant! Challenge: When your Gut Intelligence is flashing that yellow light to get your attention, use my S.T.O.P. Technique to sync your gut with your heart and head. Ask your problem solving question, “How might I…?” and allow that “a-ha” knowing to come to you! n Susan K. Wehrley has been an intuitive goal alignment coach for more than 25 years. She is the founder and CEO of BIZremedies.com and the author of six books, including her recent book, “EGO at Work.” You can reach her at (414) 581-0449 and susan@solutionsbysusan.com.
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strategies
Know who you are hiring Extensive due diligence is a must
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question I frequently have asked my clients is, “Do you really know who you are hiring?” That same question could be posed to the management of the Cleveland Browns after they selected Johnny Manziel, a quarterback nicknamed “Johnny Football,” from Texas A&M in the 2014 NFL Draft. Manziel was a talented and entertaining player in college, but he also had a well-known reputation as a party animal. The Manziel situation is an example of knowing there is a maturity problem and still taking a chance on his ability to consistently lead the team to victory. Did the Browns ignore the fact that Manziel dropped to 22nd in the draft of the first round? What did the other teams who passed on him know that they did not? Current NFL statistics indicate that over the past 10 drafts, only 30 percent of the quarterbacks drafted made it to the Pro Bowl. Will Manziel fall into the 70 percent who do not succeed? So far, his performance on the field for the Browns has been nothing to write home about. And he has been involved in numerous off-field incidents. Manziel was fined by his team for missing a scheduled medical treatment on Jan. 3, the day of the Browns’ final game of the season. Browns management did not know where Manziel was prior to the end of the season.
When a company considers hiring an executive with some red flags in his or her background, a leader should ask key questions. Do you have sufficient information to make the hiring decision? Will the individual’s past dictate his or her future behavior? Do people really mature and change over time? These questions need to be addressed
tion and academic records. After an indepth review, you should have a number of questions that need to be posed to the applicant. I have found that focused questions will reveal information that is not on any resume. Any gap in employment should be challenged, in addition to educational achievements. During one interview I
“When a company considers hiring an executive with some red flags in his or her background, a leader should ask key questions.” prior to making a contract or offer of employment. There is homework that needs to be completed prior to the first interview. Using the Internet to gather information on a prospective employee has become the norm for many employers. You can access the applicant’s LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and other social media accounts, read their posts and view pictures of social gatherings, friends and events. Even with this information, you still will need to perform the basics: the careful review of the resume, letters of recommenda-
conducted, a respondent was asked about his experience at UW-Madison. The applicant said he went to UW-Parkside, not Madison, even though he listed UW on his resume. I continued to probe other elements in the resume and found further misrepresentations and inconsistencies. That applicant was eliminated. The moral of that story is, “don’t take anything on face value.” If you are interviewing a management candidate, how much importance are you going to put on his or her past experience and performance? The questions in
C A RY S ILVER S TEIN HUMAN RESOURCES your mind should be: Will he change his behavior? Will she fit into your culture? What impact will he have on your organization? Finally, has she demonstrated good judgment online and is she the best candidate for the position? Johnny Manziel’s off-field activities were known to the Browns, so his recent partying should not be a surprise to their management. Based upon the latest news coverage, it appears Manziel will not be in a Browns uniform next fall. Where he ends up will depend on who wants to take a chance on him. The rumor at this time is that the Dallas Cowboys are that team. Based on their current record, is he worth the gamble? Can Cowboys owner Jerry Jones rope in this maverick? Only time will tell. n Cary Silverstein, MBA, is the president of SMA LLC and The Negotiating Edge. He leads a group that provides services in the areas of strategic planning, negotiation training and conflict resolution, with offices in Fox Point and Scottsdale, Ariz. He can be reached at (414) 403-2942 or at Csilve1013@aol.com.
Health Care & Wellness
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NONPROFIT DIRECTORY
88Nine Radio Milwaukee will host SoundBites 2016 on Thursday, Feb. 11, from 5:30 to 11 p.m. at the Iron Horse Hotel, 500 W. Florida St. in Milwaukee. The fifth annual event features chef-hosted tasting stations pairing small plates and songs chosen by the 88Nine DJs. From Bartolotta’s Lake Park Bistro to Balzac to Irie Zulu, a host of restaurants will create a unique tasting menu. Cost is $125, and all proceeds benefit 88Nine. For more information or to register, visit radiomilwaukee.org/soundbites.
SPOTLIGHT
The Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center will host The Art of Me at the JCC, 6255 N. Santa Monica Blvd. in Whitefish Bay, on Thursday, Feb. 11, at 6:30 p.m. The program includes a photography exhibit and improvisational performance by members of the organization’s adult special needs group. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.jccmilwaukee.org/news/2016/01/25/the-art-ofme. The St. Francis Children’s Center will host its 23rd annual Wine, Beer and Chocolate Tasting on Friday, March 18, from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Center, 6700 N. Port Washington Road in St. Francis. The event will include a variety of fine wines, craft beer and gourmet chocolate, as well as appetizers, a large silent auction, exiting raffle prizes and live music. Cost is $50 and benefits the SFCC. For more information, visit www.sfcckids.org.
Eastbrook Academy 5375 N. Green Bay Ave., Milwaukee (414) 228-7905 | www.eastbrookacademy.org Year founded: 1998 Mission statement: Eastbrook Academy exists to support families from diverse backgrounds in the academic and spiritual development of their children for college preparation and life. The Academy is founded to impart a rigorous classical education in a loving environment committed to Christian living.
The Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp. will host Start SmartThe Essential Business Plan at WWBIC, 1533 N. RiverCenter Drive in Milwaukee, beginning Wednesday, March 30 at 6 p.m. The nine-week course will help students hone the skills needed to create, manage and grow a small business. Cost is $325. For more information or to See the complete calendar of register, visit www.wwbic.com/classes. upcoming events & meetings.
Primary focus of your nonprofit organization: To provide a unique model of classical and Christian education with the mission to equip not just suburban children, but also children from Milwaukee’s inner city with a superior education and the skills needed to excel at the next level of higher education and life.
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BIZ NO T ES Medical College of Wisconsin The animal care program at Wauwatosa-based The Medical College of Wisconsin has again been fully accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International.
Remodeler of the Year Awards on Friday, Jan. 15.
This is the 27th consecutive year S.J. Janis has received an award in the Milwaukee/NARI awards.
In its report, the AAALAC recognized MCW “for providing and maintaining an exemplary program of laboratory animal care and use.” Among the areas it singled out for praise were the program’s facilities and equipment maintenance, sanitation, collegial atmosphere among staff, well-qualified and well-trained staff, and high level of veterinary care and husbandry.
Kenosha-based Kenall Manufacturing’s Indigo-Clean product has been named to the ECRI Institute’s Top 10 Hospital C-Suite Watch List for 2016.
S.J. Janis Co. Wauwatosa-based home remodeling company S.J. Janis Co. received four gold awards at the Wisconsin Home
Eastbrook Academy serves 400 racially and economically diverse students grades K4-12 from 30 zip codes in and around Milwaukee. Test scores rank in the 90th percentile and above nationally and the five-year average ACT score of 26 is equal to some of the top schools in Wisconsin. In addition, 100 percent of Eastbrook Academy high school graduates have been accepted into college. Our staff is deeply devoted to each student and his or her success.
They were: Residential Kitchen $60,001-$100,000; Residential Kitchen $100,001-$150,000; Residential Addition $100,001-$250,000; and Residential Addition Over $250,000.
Through the voluntary accreditation, AAALAC completed a thorough internal review and a site visit. MCW has been continuously accredited by the organization since 1968.
Other focuses of your nonprofit organization: Creating unity through diversity. We focus on upholding our excellent reputation as being one of the most diverse, academically rigorous and challenging schools in Wisconsin, as reported by The Washington Post the past two years in a row.
Kenall Manufacturing
Number of local employees: 54
The Indigo-Clean is a light fixture that uses special LEDs to kill harmful bacteria that can cause hospital-acquired infections. It is under clinical evaluation at several U.S. hospitals, including Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa.
Key donors: The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, The Brewers Community Foundation, The Kaztex Foundation Inc., G.L. Miller Christian Mission, Lato Family Foundation, Florence E. Brown Trust and Swick Technologies. Executive Leadership: »» Jay Wriedt, head of school »» Alex Huggard, high school principal »» Amy Ziegler, middle school principal »» John Pruzina, dean of students »» Elizabeth Walter, business director »» Cassandra Eder, development director
The ECRI Institute is a nonprofit organization devoted to applying scientific research to health care to learn which medical procedures, devices, drugs and processes enable improved patient care.
Is your organization actively seeking board members for the 2016 term? Yes What roles are you looking to fill? General directors with expertise in finance, fund development, networking and marketing Ways the business community can help your nonprofit: Raise public awareness of the school’s success in changing the lives of deserving children who would not normally be able to afford this level of private education. Eastbrook Academy is in the process of funding its own scholarship program to expand the amount of deserving children it can admit to the academy and philanthropic financial support from the business community of greater Milwaukee would be of great help in achieving our funding goals. Key fundraising events: Annual Unity through Diversity Gala Saturday, March 12, 2016; 5-9 p.m. Wisconsin Club, 6200 W. Good Hope Road, Milwaukee An entertaining, fun- filled night showcasing the impact, love and diversity that is the Eastbrook Academy way. Golf Outing Monday, Sept. 12, 2016 Silver Spring Golf and Banquet Center N56 W21318 Silver Spring Drive, Menomonee Falls
Board of directors: »» Karen A. Eggert, senior provider network manager,
To have your business briefs published in a future issue of BizTimes Milwaukee send announcements to briefs@biztimes.com. w w w.biztimes.com
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wisconsin »» Nathan Ganfield, director corporate legal and real estate, Quad/Graphics Inc. »» Keith J. Hacker, PA-C, U.S. HealthWorks »» Bryan H. Browning, CFA, ASA, managing director, Valuation Research Corp. »» Anne Osterwind, director of development and communication, Wisconsin Community Services Inc. »» Kim Somenske, secretary, Kohl’s Department Stores »» Matthew V. Buerosse, partner, CORE Consulting LLC and the CHEEL LLC »» Ben Douglas, independent agent, State Farm Insurance
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biz connections PE RSO NN E L F I L E
■ Accounting
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■ Health Care
has been hired as project coordinator. Riley will assist with client relations and support.
Michelle Mettner
Schenck SC hired
Amanda Falkowski as a practice consultant on the Health Services team. She will work with dentists who are looking for practice opportunities, guide practice owners in recruitment and preparing for practice transition or sale, and provide succession planning services to dentists.
■ Building & Construction
■ Education Carroll University elected Susan Edwards, president and CEO of ProHealth Care, to its board of trustees.
■ Engineering
Hoffmann Heyer
Riley Rich Heyer has been named project manager for Elkhorn-based Balestrieri Environmental & Development. Additionally, Emelia Riley
Lautner
Stephan Hoffmann has been named an associate at R.A. Smith National, Brookfield. He joined the firm in 2006, and was named director in 2014. Walt Lautner has joined as
Stevens
Stamborski
a development director in the land development services division. He brings more than 20 years of comprehensive, diverse experience in land development, engineering, construction and project management to this role. Additionally, Chuck Stevens, director of marketing, and Chris Stamborski, assistant director of municipal services, have been named associates at the firm. Greenfire Management Services LLC, Milwaukee, hired Alex Siehoff as project engineer. He has six years of construction management experience, having worked as an account engineer for a property insurance company.
has been promoted to serve as corporate vice president for government and legal affairs for Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, in Wauwatosa. She joined Children’s in 2007 as vice president, government relations and advocacy.
■ Insurance Integrated Health Network Wisconsin, Brookfield, has named Ken Bertka its new chief medical officer. Previously with Mercy Health in Ohio, Bertka is among the first in the country to be board certified in clinical informatics and has extensive experience in medical practice management and multifacility EHR systems.
■ Legal Services Mallery & Zimmerman S.C., Milwaukee, has named Andrew Smith a shareholder. Smith
Bold Leaders. Bright Ideas. Apply Today. It is time to nominate for the
12 th annual Bravo!/I.Q. awards!
Ideal Bravo! Entrepreneur nominees are individuals who demonstrate the best traits of entrepreneurship, including willingness to take risk, drive, perseverance, and more! Ideal I.Q. (innovation quotient) nominees are companies who develop innovative, clever and unique products, services or processes.
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biz connections PE RSO NN E L F I L E represents governmental entities and school districts and their board members on a wide range of issues, including litigation matters in all state, federal and administrative courts in Pastors Wisconsin. Kelly Pastors joins Weiss Berzowski LLP, Milwaukee, as the director of marketing. The law firm of Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., Milwaukee, has named William Gardner leader of the firm’s Commercial Finance Team. Gardner is an attorney in WHD’s Milwaukee office.
■ Marketing & PR Lori Davies has joined The Roberts Group as vice president, business development and marketing. The Roberts Group is a Waukeshabased full-service health care marketing agency. Boelter + Lincoln, Milwaukee, has added Sarah Kehoe as media buyer.
■ Nonprofit Steve Dykema has been named vice president of development and communications for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee. He joined the Boys & Girls Clubs development
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BIZ BR IEFS
and develop training programs. TRICAST, Milwaukee, has announced the addition of four new individuals to its team. They are: Bre Tirado, director of pharmacy; Lynn Lobit, director of marketing; Steve Tirado Van Dyke, manager of IT operations and infrastructure; and Pete Woelfel, business analyst.
■ Sports and Fitness
BizTimes Media has hired Ben Stanley as a reporter. He will cover nonprofits, education, health care and insurance for the BizTimes Milwaukee magazine and BizTimes.com. Previously, Stanley was a reporter for the Rockford Register Star in Rockford, Ill. He covered county government, crime, courts, business, politics and education for the Rockford daily newspaper. Before working in Rockford, Stanley was the sports editor for the Lake Geneva Regional News. Stanley is a 2013 graduate of Marquette University.
Mark Sniadecki has been named interim general manager of the Milwaukee Athletic Club. Lorenzo Vicini, general manager of the Milwaukee Athletic Club for the past 13 years, has decided to step aside from day-to-day operations. Sniadecki, 41, is a long time member of the MAC staff.
Follow Stanley on Twitter at @ben_j_stanley. “I couldn’t be happier to be back in my hometown reporting on health care, insurance, nonprofits and higher education,” Stanley said. “I’m looking forward to finding great stories and providing vital information to readers about these key industries in the Milwaukee area.” Stanley is the latest addition to the BizTimes editorial team, which has changed dramatically during the past six months. In July, Andrew Weiland was promoted to editor and Molly Dill was promoted to managing editor. In August, former Milwaukee
Business Journal reporter Corrinne Hess joined BizTimes as the new real estate reporter. In late December, former Waukesha Freeman managing editor Arthur Thomas joined the staff as the new manufacturing and technology reporter. “We are really excited about the editorial team that we have put in place,” said Dan Meyer, publisher and owner of BizTimes Media. “Combined with our recently redesigned web site, our staff is eager to improve on our already strong news product.” Send news tips and story ideas to www.biztimes.com/submit/news-tip-story-idea
Smart Enough to Know... It doesn’t have to be lonely at the top TEC provides the opportunity for business leaders to learn from non-competing peers in a confidential setting with an experienced TEC Facilitator. The results speak for themselves: Member companies grow on average 2.5 times faster than non-member companies. TEC members receive: • Full and half day meetings led by a specially-trained, experienced TEC Facilitator • Personal coaching sessions • Workshops led by business experts • Online best practices library
department in 2010.
Now...let’s get down to work.
■ Professional Services
tecmidwest.com | 262/821-3340
Gwenn Soldner has joined Lemberg Electric Co. Inc., Brookfield, as safety director. Soldner will lead the company’s safety and training efforts. With his 35 years of experience in electrical contracting and system design, inspection and education, Soldner will manage safety
Ben Stanley joins BizTimes as reporter
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biz connections
IREM Forecast Breakfast The Institute of Real Estate Management’s Milwaukee chapter held its 24th annual Forecast Breakfast on Jan. 14 at the Italian Conference Center in Milwaukee. Speakers included keynote Mark Eppli, Marquette University, and experts from the commercial real estate industry, including Stewart Wangard, Wangard Partners Inc.; Ross Koepsel, Commercial Property Associates Inc.; Brian Parrish, PARADIGM Real Estate LLC; and Matt Hunter, CBRE. 1
Jason Babcock, Mandel Group and Julie Simcock, Wangard Partners.
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Craig Henes, Associated Bank and Ken Kortas, Wipfli.
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Stu Wangard, Wangard Partners.
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Matt Hunter, CBRE and Jerry Janzer, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren.
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Richard Lincoln, Mandel Group and Greg Marso, Marso Companies LLC.
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Nicole Robben, PACE Equity and Ashley Norris, Lean Sustainable Solutions LLC.
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Mark Eppli, Marquette University and Dan Meyer, BizTimes Media.
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The speakers addressed all aspects of commercial real estate for 2016.
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Stu Wangard, Brian Parrish, Matt Hunter, Ross Koepsel, Mark Eppli and Patrick Faulds, of R.E. Management.
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n GLANCE AT YESTERYEAR VOLUME 21, NUMBER 23 FEBRUARY 8 - 21, 2016 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
Dan Meyer dan.meyer@biztimes.com DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
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Milwaukee County Courthouse
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This photo, taken by T.E.B. Pope circa 1930, shows the Milwaukee County Courthouse while it was under construction. The courthouse, located at 901 N. Ninth St., was completed in 1931 and is still in use today. It is Milwaukee’s third courthouse building. — This photo is from the Milwaukee Public Museum’s Photo Archives collection. Additional images can be viewed online at www.mpm.edu.
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COMME N TA R Y
Hope for the best in Johnson Controls-Tyco merger
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ell, Milwaukee is losing another corporate headquarters. This time it’s Glendale-based Johnson Controls Inc., which will merge with Tyco International plc and will shift its global headquarters to Tyco’s legal domicile in Cork, Ireland. The headquarters move, in what is known as a tax inversion, will save the company, to be known as Johnson Controls plc, $150 million a year in taxes. It didn’t take long for politicians to cry foul at the news. Hillary Clinton called the Johnson Controls tax inversion plan “outrageous.” “These efforts to shirk U.S. tax obligations leave American taxpayers holding the bag while corporations juice more revenues and profits,” she said. The planned merger between Johnson Controls and Tyco International “would be a disaster for American taxpayers,” Sen. Bernie Sanders said in a statement. “These 34
corporate inversions must stop.” Clinton wants to place an “exit tax” on corporations that leave the country to lower their tax bill. Sanders last year introduced the Corporate Tax Dodging Prevention Act, which he says would end tax inversions like the Johnson Controls-Tyco arrangement. These tax inversions clearly are bad for America, as the nation loses corporate headquarters and tax revenue. But could Clinton or Sanders really solve this problem? If elected, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them sign well-intended legislation that would have the unintended consequence of encouraging more companies to move overseas. On the other hand, Republicans like Sen. Ron Johnson say the Johnson Controls-Tyco tax inversion shows that the U.S. corporate tax rate is too high. But what impact would a lower corporate tax rate have on the federal budget? B i zT i m e s M i l w a u k e e
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Indeed, something must be done to stop these inversions, but it must be a policy that makes the U.S. more competitive and is in the best interest of taxpayers. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen exactly how this merger will impact the Milwaukee area, which Johnson Controls says will remain its operational headquarters. If the Ireland global headquarters remains just a small office to reap the tax benefits, perhaps Johnson Controls will maintain or even grow its presence here. “It’s great that their leaders recognize that Milwaukee is the desired location for its operational headquarters,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said. “I’m optimistic. We are going to work with them on a number of fronts to make sure we do everything we can to preserve jobs here.” But current Johnson Controls CEO Alex Molinaroli will step aside in 18 months to be replaced by Tyco CEO George Oliver, who will have no loyalty to
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ANDREW WEILAND Editor BizTimes Milwaukee
the Milwaukee area. Will that impact the company’s long range plans here? Fraser Engerman, a spokesman for Johnson Controls, says the Tyco merger will benefit the Milwaukee area, but declined to comment on the company’s future employment plans in the area. Johnson Controls has about 3,400 employees in our region. Long rumored plans by Johnson Controls to build a 50-story office building in downtown Milwaukee will not be affected by the Tyco deal, said Engerman, who also said no decision has been made about the building project. Who knows what the future holds for Wisconsin’s largest public company? In Milwaukee, we can only hope for the best. n
ERICH SCHROEDER PHOTOGRAPHY
the last word
Attracting millennial talent crucial to success Justin Mortara is chief executive officer at Milwaukeebased Mortara Instrument Inc. To be the best in the industry, he says his company will have to find innovative ways to attract millennial talent. “At Mortara, we are innovators. We address realworld medical challenges through connected devices that anticipate clinician and patient needs. We never settle for ‘good enough’ – not when it comes to our products, and not when it comes to our team members. “Ours is a common story: to be the best in our industry, we need to attract the best and brightest talent to join our team. There isn’t a ready-made formula for how to attract young talent to our city. We must innovate to become – and stay – the type of workplace talented
millennials seek and the type of city where millennials want to stay. “We are consistently working to find innovative ways to celebrate and appreciate our current employees, and to create an environment that is attractive to potential new employees. We have built a challenging, dynamic environment where even entry-level professionals work directly with experts and have the opportunity to quickly earn more responsibilities. We emphasize employee wellness with an on-site gym, pickup basketball games, fresh produce deliveries and company-funded art groups. We believe it is the small things that make a big difference. “Milwaukee is my home and I’m committed to keeping it Mortara’s home. I’m encouraged by new transportation initiatives like the Milwaukee streetcar, the poten-
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Justin Mortara CEO Mortara Instrument Inc. 7865 N. 86th St., Milwaukee Industry: Designer and manufacturer of non-invasive cardiology devices and technologies Employees: 400 www.mortara.com
tial of the arena district and the multiple new buildings under construction or in their planning phases. I believe they will play a big role in helping us attract and retain our city’s future leaders. But I hope they’re just the beginning. We need to work together and continue innovating to become the world-class city I know we can be.” n
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