31 minute read
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
PROFESSIONAL PROFESSIONAL SERVICES SERVICES
Michael Allen
CEO Allen Associates
Allen founded the search fi rm in 1996 for clients seeking executives and board members for companies that range from startups to Fortune 500 sized. It placed 65 C-level executives in local fi rms in 2021, No. 1 in the region. Its nine local recruiters specialize in manufacturing, business-to-consumer, and omnichannel marketing. It’s evolved into an advisory fi rm and strategic partner to clients it has served in Cincinnati and Nashville for more than 25 years.
Jacquelyn Baker
CHIEF EXPERIENCE OFFICER VMLY&R
Baker, who joined the Mt. Adams-based company in 2017 as managing director, was named to the newly created position in June. She oversees the global fi rm’s Cincinnati and Minneapolis offi ces. VMLY&R launched in Cincinnati in 2010 as Rockfi sh, a digital marketing agency, became part of Kansas City-based VML, and merged with Young & Rubicam to form VMLY&R.
Education: University of Cincinnati (undergraduate), University of Phoenix (MBA) Compare your leadership approach today to how you led before the pandemic. My leadership approach has always been rooted in the importance of meaningful connectivity across teams, geographies, and disciplines. Ensuring teams feel connected to each other and everyone has a deep sense of connection to the organization and our culture at large is how my time and energy is best spent.
John Barrett
CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT, AND CEO Western & Southern Financial Group
Barrett leads the fi nancial services giant that operates six insurance companies, three investment fi rms, and a realty group. In 2021, its net income soared 228 percent to a record $1.2 billion; revenue rose 17 percent to $9.5 billion, placing W&S No. 374 on the Fortune 500. Assets under management rose to $111.6 billion, the most in its 134-year history. This year, W&S invested in three startups: Fabric Technologies Inc., Micruity, and Affi ciency.
MANAGING Partner KPMG
Patty Basti
Basti, who has been with KPMG for 21 years, succeeded Michael Comer in October 2020 as the fi rst female leader of the international accounting fi rm’s local offi ce. She continues to lead the fi rm’s Internal Audit & Enterprise Risk department, a role she’s held since 2007. KPMG has 75 CPAs among its 185 employees, which ranks No. 4 locally.
Education: Miami University (undergraduate)
Marshall Dosker
PRESIDENT Strauss Troy
Dosker heads the offi ce founded in 1953 by Orville Troy; his son Ken; Eugene Ruehlmann, who was Cincinnati mayor from 1967 to 1971; and Lucien Strauss. Dosker worked at Strauss Troy during college and was named president 24 years later. The fi rm sponsors the Strauss Troy Market on Fountain Square during the summer and is the region’s ninth-largest law fi rm, with 53 local attorneys at offi ces downtown and in Covington.
Hometown: Louisville Education:University of Louisville (undergraduate), Northern Kentucky University (J.D.) Compare your leadership approach today to how you led before the pandemic. Leadership today requires greater collaboration, sharing of thoughts, receiving constructive input, and challenging our practice groups to help our clients and each other overcome the challenges of a historical event like the pandemic. The business model has changed, and we’ve worked to change with it.
Mike Debbeler
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CHAIR Graydon Law
Debbeler, who has been with one of the city’s largest fi rms since 1998, became leader last year. He specializes in bankruptcy, banking, and real estate law and is a longtime organizer of the Midwest Bankruptcy Seminar. Graydon acquired the boutique workers compensation firm of Hunter Brill LLC in December. The fi rm, which celebrated its 150th anniversary last year, has fi ve offi ces for its 80 attorneys.
Hometown: Ft. Thomas Education: University of Kentucky (undergraduate), University of Cincinnati (J.D.) What’s the main way your business organization changed over the past two years of the pandemic? We quickly shifted our focus to remote/work-from-home and provided our teammates with technology to work seamlessly. Compare your leadership approach today to how you led before the pandemic. I’m much more intentional about having direct in-person contact and ensuring that everyone’s mental health is good after two brutal years.
Diane Egbers
CEO Leadership Excelleration
Egbers founded the company in 1997 before the term “executive coach” was in vogue after three years as vice president of human resources of Flagship Financial. The Kenwood-based fi rm provides leadership development, team coaching, and organizational culture development for clients such as GE Aviation and Fifth Third Bank. She also is founder and board chair of Grant Us Hope, a youth suicide prevention nonprofi t.
Hometown: Cincinnati Education: University of Cincinnati (undergraduate), Xavier University (master’s) What’s the main way your business organization changed over the past two years of the pandemic? We’ve become adaptable and innovative in response to the changing needs and conditions of our clients, adopting new, automated technology to improve our responsiveness and effi ciency and delivering many of our programs virtually.
Tony Desjardins
MANAGING DIRECTOR Grey Midwest
Desjardins was named to lead the local marketing hub of the New York-based Grey Group advertising and communications fi rm in 2018 after more than four years at Possible. Grey is the region’s fourth-largest marketing fi rm with 110 employees and the fi fth-largest web design fi rm with 10 designers. Its clients include Procter & Gamble, Discover, Volvo, and AARP. In March, Grey won three gold and eight silver Addy Awards at AdClub Cincinnati’s annual event.
Education: Wright State University
Chris Evans
CEO Barefoot Proximity
Evans joined Barefoot Proximity in 2005 after co-founding Ethos Interactive and leading Eviciti. He held a number of positions, including president, before being named CEO in 2013. Barefoot, founded by Doug Worple in 1993, is the region’s largest web design fi rm with 25 designers among its 150 employees. Clients include Procter & Gamble, Bayer, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Harley-Davidson, and Andersen Windows.
Education: Miami University (undergraduate)
Crystal Faulkner
CINCINNATI MARKET LEADER MCM CPAs & Advisors
Faulkner has led the local offi ce of the Louisville-based fi rm since Cooney Faulkner & Stevens merged with it in 2016. She also chairs the Ohio Society of CPAs, writes a weekly column for The Enquirer, and hosts BusinessWise Radio with Tom Cooney. Her experience in tax and accounting led her to become an implementer on the Entrepreneurial Operating System, which advises clients on how to increase value in their companies.
Hometown: Proctorville, Ohio Education: Marshall University and California State University–Fullerton (undergraduate)
Alan Fershtman
MANAGING PARTNER Keating Muething & Klekamp
Fershtman joined the fi rm in 1994 and succeeded Paul Muething in 2017. He leads the region’s fourth-largest law fi rm, which employs more than 120 attorneys at its offi ce downtown. He’s also a Certifi ed Public Accountant. In June, former Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley rejoined KMK, where he practiced before being elected to public offi ce, as an attorney of counsel in its real estate group.
Hometown: Cincinnati Education: Miami University (undergraduate), University of Cincinnati (J.D.) What’s the main way your business organization changed over the past two years of the pandemic? Increased investment in remote connectivity to cloud-based technology and increased focus on employee fl exibility. Compare your leadership approach today to how you led before the pandemic. Increased fl exibility to remote work and corresponding increased focus on fi rm culture.
CEO Gilman Partners
Tom Gilman
Gilman purchased the Fairfax-based executive search, talent acquisition, and leadership development fi rm in 2004 and has been building senior leadership teams at regional and national organizations for more than 40 years. In 2021, the fi rm promoted Angel Beets and Marci Pfeifer to co-managing partners to oversee daily operations. Clients include ArtsWave, Corporex, Skyline Chili, and Towne Properties.
Hometown: Upstate New York Education: Miami University (undergraduate) What’s the main way your business organization changed over the past two years of the pandemic? We pivoted quickly to remote operations and to communicating by video conference. It’s an unintended consequence, but the pandemic has made us better. Compare your leadership approach today to how you led before the pandemic. I’ve tried to be more purposeful, spending time on what matters and where I can have the biggest impact.
Megan Glowacki
PARTNER-IN-CHARGE Thompson Hine
Glowacki has been at the fi rm for more than 10 years and succeeded Todd Schild in July. She is a partner in the labor and employment group for the Cleveland-based operation that has more than 55 lawyers in its offi ces downtown. Glowacki is pro bono chair for the local offi ce, a trustee for Volunteer Lawyers for the Poor Foundation, and serves on the Pro Bono Partnership of Greater Cincinnati Advisory Council.
Hometown: Cincinnati Education: University of Dayton (undergraduate), University of Cincinnati (J.D.) Compare your leadership approach today to how you led before the pandemic. The pandemic required leaders to broaden their thinking and outreach to others. We can’t simply retreat into the pre-2020 world. Instead, leaders must focus on engaging with others in multiple diff erent ways, which may continue to shift with time.
Chip Gerhardt
PRESIDENT AND CEO Government Strategies Group
Gerhardt, former vice chairman of the Hamilton County Republican Party and deputy director of the Regional Economic Development Offi ce under George Voinovich, founded the bipartisan government relations group in 2007 after working seven years for KMK Consulting. The fi rm provides legislative and executive lobbying services, issue management, and communication strategies.
Education: University of Notre Dame (undergraduate), Saint Louis University (J.D.) What’s the main way your business organization changed over the past two years of the pandemic? The response to COVID showed most people just how pervasive government can be in their lives. Our responsibility was to interpret and explain the government response in an understandable way. Compare your leadership approach today to how you led before the pandemic. I believe that if you hire the right people who understand their work responsibilities, you should trust them to do what needs to be done.
CEO Frost Brown Todd
Adam Hall
Hall leads the region’s second-largest law fi rm that has 140 local attorneys at its downtown headquarters and offi ces in West Chester Township and Florence. He joined FBT in 1991 and succeeded George Yund in 2017 at the company with 14 offi ces in eight states and Washington, D.C. In May, American Lawyer magazine ranked FBT No. 133 among U.S. law fi rms based on revenue ($260 million in 2021).
Hometown: Grove City, Ohio Education: Ohio State University (undergraduate), Case Western Reserve University (J.D.)
Robert Hoff er
MANAGING PARTNER DBL Law
Hoffer leads the largest Northern Kentucky-based law fi rm (No. 10 in Greater Cincinnati) that was founded in 1955 by judges Bill Dunn and Jim Dressman Jr. He joined the fi rm in 1980 and succeeded James Dressman III in 2019. DBL has 52 lawyers in its Covington, Cincinnati, and Louisville offi ces. Last fall, DBL moved its headquarters into the renovated Monarch Building on East Fourth Street in Covington.
Terence Horan
PRESIDENT AND CEO Horan
In 1973, Horan joined the family business that started when his father Jack joined the Great-West Life Assurance Company of Canada’s offi ce in Cincinnati in 1948. The business grew and diversifi ed and in 1981 was rebranded as Horan, which provides healthcare, investment, and insurance products. It’s the second largest employee benefi ts provider in the region with more than 150 advisors. In addition to new headquarters in Kenwood, it has offi ces in Dayton, Columbus, and Northern Kentucky.
Hometown: Cincinnati Education: Fairfi eld University (undergraduate ). What’s the main way your business organization changed over the past two years of the pandemic? We found new and diff erent ways to do business. Our employees never stopped working for our clients, we just worked diff erently. Accessibility has been our top priority.
Steven Johnston
CHAIRMAN AND CEO Cincinnati Financial
Johnston has led the parent company and its lead subsidiary, Cincinnati Insurance Company, since 2011. The Fairfi eld-based property and casualty insurer posted $9.6 billion in revenue in 2021, up nearly 28 percent from 2020. It is the region’s third-largest public company, behind Kroger and Procter & Gamble. Steven Spray was elected president of the company at its May board meeting.
Lance Kwasniewski
Kwasniewski is in his ninth year leading the Blue Ash-based offi ce of the international engineering, consulting, and technical recruiting firm, where he’s worked for 22 years. Belcan has 10,000 employees worldwide serving the aerospace, defense, automotive, and industrial markets. It ranks as the region’s 15th-largest private company with 2021 revenue of $919 million.
Hometown: Pittsburgh Education: University of Pittsburgh (undergraduate and master’s)
Matthew Jessup
MANAGING PARTNER Grant Thornton
Jessup joined the fi rm more than 20 years ago and has been its leader since 2017. An audit services partner and practice leader, he manages more than 90 local employees, including 40 CPAs and 55 tax and audit professionals. Previously, he was a senior manager for 10 years at Arthur Andersen’s Cincinnati offi ce. He is a board member of JDRF’s Southern and Central Ohio Chapter.
Hometown: Cleveland Education: University of Cincinnati (undergraduate) What’s the main way your business organization changed over the past two years of the pandemic? The hybrid work approach has been the biggest change in the way we do business. It’s still evolving, but there are elements that are here to stay. Compare your leadership approach today to how you led before the pandemic. In the past you could guide a practice largely by what you saw and heard. In this environment you must rely a lot more on what the metrics are telling you. It’s like fl ying with only instruments.
Nathaniel Lampley Jr.
MANAGING PARTNER Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease
Lampley has led the local offi ce of the Columbus-based fi rm since 2006. He specializes in labor and employment law and litigation. He was inducted as a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2021 and received the American Jurisprudence Award upon graduation from University of Cincinnati College of Law. Vorys is the region’s fi fth-largest law fi rm with more than local 80 attorneys and 360 in the fi rm. Founded in 1909, it has eight U.S. offi ces.
Carl H. Lindner III
CO-CEO American Financial Group
Lindner and his brother, Craig, have led holding company AFG, the region’s sixth-largest public company and parent of Great American Insurance Group, since 2005. He also serves as CEO of Great American Property and Casualty Group. He is the Co-CEO and controlling owner of FC Cincinnati. AFG ranks No. 454 on this year’s Fortune 500. In May, AFG paid shareholders the second-biggest dividend in company history.
Hometown: Cincinnati Education: University of Cincinnati (undergraduate) What’s the main way your business organization changed over the past two years of the pandemic? Adopting new and eff ective ways to work from home and remote locations, like most employers. We relied more than ever on our strong company culture, the value of collaboration, and a trusted technology infrastructure to facilitate a fl exible, innovative approach to our work.
Milen Mahadevan
PRESIDENT AND CEO 84.51
Mahadevan leads a team of more than 600 employees providing customer data, predictive analytics, and marketing strategy to drive sales and customer loyalty for 1,250 clients. In 2020, he succeeded Stuart Aitken, who was named Kroger’s Chief Merchant and Marketing Offi cer. Mahadevan joined DunnhumbyUSA in 2000 and held several positions, including Vice President of Client Solutions and Capabilities, before it was acquired by Kroger in 2015.
Hometown: London, UK Education: Imperial College London (undergraduate and master’s) What’s the main way your business organization changed over the past two years of the pandemic? We’ve been more intentional about driving connections across our company in a remote world. This company is built on collaboration, and our associates are the heartbeat of our culture. It became clear how reliant we are on technology and when it’s critical to meet in person.
S. Craig Lindner
CO-CEO American Financial Group
AFG was formed by Lindner’s father, Carl Jr., and traces its roots to 1872 as the Great American Insurance Company. He also serves as CEO as Great American Insurance Group Annuities, overseeing its investment portfolio. Lindner and his wife, Frances, founded the Lindner Center of HOPE, a comprehensive mental health facility, in Mason. In May, the center announced a $30 million campaign to expand its facilities, the largest since the hospital opened in 2008.
Hometown: Cincinnati Education: University of Cincinnati (undergraduate) Compare your leadership approach today to how you led before the pandemic. In many respects, our principles of leadership didn’t change. Given the great deal of uncertainty and fear brought on by the pandemic, however, we knew that the need for empathy, communication, and understanding was elevated, so we all developed a deeper appreciation for the diverse gifts and abilities that each of us contribute.
Jason McCaw
CEO BelFlex Staffi ng Network
McCaw leads the Sycamore Township company founded by his parents, Candace and Mike McCaw, to provide workforce solutions. With 2,500 employees at more than 25 U.S. locations, BelFlex works with client partners that include Crocs, DHL, and Wayfair. In March, he became CEO of Intellex Talent (formerly YourEncore), a company BelFlex acquired in 2021.
Hometown: Cincinnati Education: Kenyon College (undergraduate) What’s the main way your business organization changed over the past two years of the pandemic? Our biggest change has been the acquisition and launch of our sister company, adding an entirely new brand to the BelFlex family. We’ve made investments in company growth, opening several new branch offi ces since 2020, and have made signifi cant investments in our tools and technology. to lead with a “people fi rst” mentality, though fi nding new ways to express it.
Clement Luken Jr.
SENIOR PARTNER Wood Herron & Evans
Luken joined the region’s largest intellectual property fi rm when he graduated from law school in 1986. He leads the firm with its executive committee of John Davis, David Fitzgerald, and Greg Ahrens. The practice’s 35 lawyers work with 150 independent associates in more than 50 countries. The fi rm, founded in 1868, moved into its new headquarters in August at the Center at 600 Vine Street after being headquartered at Carew Tower since that building opened in 1930.
Hometown: Cincinnati Education: Xavier University (undergraduate and master’s), Northern Kentucky University (J.D.)
Tony Munafo
PRESIDENT AND CEO ProLink Staffi ng
Munafo leads the fast-growing company that he and his brother, Michael, launched in 2011. The fi rm initially focused on medical staffi ng before expanding to manufacturing, construction, and architectural industries in 2013. Today, it is the region’s second-largest staffi ng fi rm with $1 billion revenue in 2021 and 257 local employees. ProLink moved its headquarters from Montgomery to Norwood in 2020.
Hometown: West Chester Education: University of Kentucky (undergraduate) Compare your leadership approach today to how you led before the pandemic. I developed a greater appreciation for the support everyone needed, both personally and professionally. The pandemic brought pain points to the surface, which allowed me opportunities to support my team I likely would not have thought of otherwise. This new support system has worked incredibly well and will continue to be a major component of my leadership moving forward.
Gus Perdikakis
PRESIDENT AND CEO Gus Perdikakis Associates
Perdikakis founded the eponymous staffi ng company in 1979 with his wife, Jo Ann, and one employee. The company has grown to more than 350, including 275 locally. The couple’s three children (Lynn, Mandie, and George) work with their parents, and grandson Gus is the third-generation in the family business. Focus industries include engineering, professional, consumer products, manufacturing, supply chain, and administrative.
Hometown: Cincinnati Education: University of Cincinnati (undergraduate) What’s the main way your business organization changed over the past two years of the pandemic? Direct placement has become a major part of our business, and clients are off ering increased salaries, more benefi ts, and the fl exibility of working from home. Compare your leadership approach today to how you led before the pandemic. None. We continue to put our employees fi rst and pride ourselves on continuing to treat everyone as family.
Jackie Reau
CEO Game Day Communications
Reau and Betsy Ross, a former Channel 5 sports anchor, founded the media and marketing fi rm in 2002. Reau worked in marketing for The Christ Hospital and Cincinnati Art Museum before launching the company, one of the fi rst female-owned fi rms that focused on sports and entertainment. She serves as board chair of the Greater Cincinnati Sports Commission.
Hometown: Toledo, Ohio Education: Ohio University (undergraduate and master’s) What’s the main way your business organization changed over the past two years of the pandemic? We became overly nimble, off ering 24/7 crisis communications management. I’m also proud of our creative and critical thinking to help clients pivot to new or virtual events and marketing opportunities. Compare your leadership approach today to how you led before the pandemic. With our new hybrid work approach, I’d rather have a colleague pitching media stories for our clients than spend an hour stuck on I-75 trying to get to the offi ce.
Jim Price
PRESIDENT AND CEO Empower Media
Price, who joined the company in 2005, has served as its leader since 2009. The fi rm was founded by Price’s mother, Mary Beth, in 1985 and is the region’s second-largest marketing and advertising fi rm with 175 employees working in Over-the-Rhine and 50 more in Chicago. Clients include Brooks Running, Ashley HomeStore, Fifth Third Bank, TriHealth, and Wendy’s.
Hometown: Cincinnati Education: Presbyterian College (undergraduate) What’s the main way your business organization changed over the past two years of the pandemic? The employer/employee relationship had to hit reset. Some changes were good, and some were hard to accept on both ends. All in all, it required us to think diff erently and push for changes. Compare your leadership approach today to how you led before the pandemic. Excuse my over-simplifi cation but, if asked to compare, nothing really changed except how much time we spend meeting over Zoom vs. in person.
Kerry Roe
PRESIDENT Clark Schaefer Hackett
Roe joined the largest locally based accounting fi rm in 1995 and has led it since 2017. The downtown-based firm has 75 local CPAs and 159 employees. In January, Phil Hurak was named to the new position of Shareholder-in-Charge of Advisory Services. In 2021, CSH acquired Strategic HR, a Sycamore Township-based human resources and services firm. It has eight other offi ces in West Chester Township, Ft. Mitchell, Dayton, Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo, Springfi eld, and East Lansing, Mich.
Jay Rammes
MANAGING DIRECTOR Barnes Dennig
Rammes is in his fi fth year leading the region’s second-largest locally based accounting fi rm, which has 140 local employees, including 59 CPAs. The fi rm, founded in 1965, has offi ces in downtown, Crestview Hills, Dayton, and Indianapolis. In 2021, it merged with Dayton-based Thorn Lewis + Duncan to add 25 employees.
Hometown: Dayton, Ohio Education: Miami University (undergraduate), Xavier University (MBA) What’s the main way your business organization changed over the past two years of the pandemic? How much we now lean on technology to communicate and less in-person contact. Time will tell how staff development and personal relationships change under this new reality, but it’s something most leaders worry about. Compare your leadership approach today to how you led before the pandemic. In some regards, oddly, I feel more connected. We have four offi ces in three states, and now I actually can see and meet with everyone easier via remote platforms.
Regina Carswell Russo
FOUNDER AND CHIEF STRATEGIST RRight Now Communications
Carswell Russo launched her communications fi rm in 2014 after spending two decades in broadcast media as well as serving in communications and marketing at the Cincinnati Art Museum and Contemporary Arts Center. The Black- and woman-owned certifi ed agency led the Regional COVID Communications Center throughout the pandemic. Clients include Procter & Gamble, Fifth Third Bank, and Cincinnati Public Schools. She is a 2022 YWCA Career Woman of Achievement and a board trustee with Cincinnati Opera.
Larry Sheakley
CEO Sheakley
Sheakley has spent his career with the family-owned human resources, payroll, and risk management business founded in 1963. The fi rm is one of the region’s largest private companies with $750 million in 2021 revenue and 400 local employees. His son, Matt, has been president since 2005. The Sheakley name is associated with many community endeavors, including Cincinnati Ballet and Lighthouse Youth Services. Sheakley is also a member of the Reds and FC Cincinnati ownership groups.
Hometown: Cincinnati
James Sowar
MANAGING PARTNER Deloitte
Sowar, who joined Deloitte in 2002, has led the local offi ce of the international accounting fi rm since 2013. It’s the region’s largest with 181 CPAs and 537 total employees. He is the company’s national tax leader for the Health Care Provider sector. In February, Deloitte became the fi rst tenant to move into The Foundry downtown.
Hometown: Coldwater, Ohio Education: University of Notre Dame (undergraduate) What’s the main way your business organization changed over the past two years of the pandemic? Our workplace has shifted to a hybrid model with a combination of working from our offi ce, from client sites, and from home. Compare your leadership approach today to how you led before the pandemic. I’m not sure my leadership approach has changed, but due to our hybrid model I’m probably more intentional about giving my colleagues the right amount of my time and attention.
Gerald Sparkman
CEO D.E. Foxx & Associates
Sparkman has been CEO of the region’s largest minority-owned business, which includes FX Facility Group, XLC Services, and Versatex, since 2012. Previously, he was an executive at Cincinnati Bell. The company provides facility and construction management, manufacturing services, and sourcing and supply chain management. The downtown fi rm reported revenue of $327 million in 2021 and has 1,700 employees. In January, Foxx teamed with the Cincinnati Reds to create the Reds Workmanship Program, a worker training initiative.
Hometown: Chicago Education: Anna Maria College (undergraduate), University of Notre Dame (MBA)
Diane Surette
PRESIDENT AND CEO Burke, Inc.
Surette leads the employee-owned firm founded by Alberta Burke in 1931. She’s been with the company since 1996 and was named president in 2018 and CEO in 2019. It’s among the region’s top 100 private companies with 2021 revenue of $90 million and 277 local employees providing research and insight, strategy and innovation, and education and training. In May, Burke launched the Alberta Burke Academy, a two-year program that empowers students through project-focused mentorships.
Hometown: Lewiston, Maine Education: Bentley University (undergraduate) Compare your leadership approach today to how you led before the pandemic. I feel it’s critically important for us to preserve a culture of collaboration and community regardless of where, how, and when we work. We continue to lead with integrity, a belief in ourselves and in our ability to overcome any challenge. CEO LPK
Sarah Tomes
Since 1996, Tomes has led strategic vision, business processes, and organizational design for the employee-owned brand design fi rm that has fi ve locations worldwide. The company was founded in 1983 by fi ve employees in the local office of Young & Rubicam, who set out to make Cincinnati a branding center. LPK’s clients include the Contemporary Arts Center, Titleist Golf, J.M. Smucker Co., and GE Appliances. It is the region’s third-largest design fi rm with 130 employees.
Hometown: Alexandria, Kentucky Education: Thomas More University (undergraduate) What’s the main way your business organization changed over the past two years of the pandemic? Day in and day out, we use creativity and innovation to help our clients. The pandemic forced us to point that creativity and innovation back on ourselves.
Barbara Turner
PRESIDENT AND CEO Ohio National
Turner is the fi rst woman and person of color to lead the life insurance company, which was founded in 1909. She joined the fi rm in 1997 and succeeded Gary Huffman in 2021. Ohio National, Cincinnati’s 10th-largest company with $2.2 billion in 2020 revenue, was acquired by New York-based Constellation Insurance Holdings for $1 billion in a deal that closed March 31; it will continue to operate independently from its Montgomery offi ce.
CEO trustaff
Bart Valdez
Valdez has taken over day-to-day leadership responsibility from Sean Loring, who led the Blue Ash-based healthcare staffi ng fi rm since 2005. Trustaff and its affi liate, CardioSolution, were acquired by Cornell Capital and Trilantic North America in 2021, and the fi rms continue to operate from their Cornell Road offi ces. The company is the third- largest local staffi ng fi rm with $679 million in total revenue in 2021.
Hometown: Lakewood, Colorado Education: Colorado State University (undergraduate), University of Colorado ( MBA) What’s the main way your business organization changed over the past two years of the pandemic? We made investments prior to the pandemic that helped us guarantee delivery of nurses even in the most critical of situations, which was put to the test when COVID arrived in the U.S. We were able to scale to three times the number of working nurses in the pandemic’s earliest days of the pandemic, sending nurses nationwide within 24-48 hours.
Raul Villar Jr.
CEO Paycor
Villar succeeded founder Bob Coughlin in 2019 and guided the payroll and human resources firm through a $459 million initial public off ering on the Nasdaq exchange in 2021. In August, Paycor and the Cincinnati Bengals announced a 16-year naming rights partnership for Paycor Stadium. Founded in 1990, the company is the region’s 15th-largest public fi rm with 2021 revenue of $353 million.
Hometown: Marlborough, Connecticut Education: Bryant University (undergraduate), University of Connecticut (MBA) What’s the main way your business organization changed over the past two years of the pandemic? Paycor shifted to a remote-fi rst work environment to support our team during COVID, and the results were fantastic. Compare your leadership approach today to how you led before the pandemic. In a virtual environment, we’ve found that digital technology allows us to connect and impact more people in a diff erent but more effi cient manner.
Jeremy Vaughan
MANAGING PARTNER Ernst & Young
Vaughan assumed leadership of the international accounting fi rm’s local operations in 2020, succeeding Julia Poston, who retired after 18 years. The native of England moved to Cincinnati in 2010 and now manages the second-largest local accounting offi ce, with 179 CPAs, 211 audit and tax professionals, and 357 total employees.
Hometown: Maidstone, England Education: University of Nottingham, England (undergraduate) What’s the main way your business organization changed over the past two years of the pandemic? Never has our purpose of “Building a better working world” been so relevant. We’ve done so much to support our people, our communities, and our clients, and we’ve changed how we work in so many ways. Compare your leadership approach today to how you led before the pandemic. I’ve come to really value some of the things we used to take for granted: conversations in the corridor, catch-ups over lunch, getting to know people beyond just the work at hand.
George Vincent
MANAGING PARTNER Dinsmore & Shohl
Vincent, who joined the firm in 1982, oversees the region’s largest law practice with 217 local attorneys. At the end of the year, he will leave the position he’s held since 2007 following his 65th birthday but will continue to practice at the fi rm. During his tenure, Dinsmore merged with seven fi rms and expanded into 16 new markets. In May, American Lawyer ranked Dinsmore No. 112 among U.S. law fi rms based on revenue ($325 million in 2021).
Hometown: Detroit Education: University of Michigan (undergraduate and J.D.)
Nick Vehr
CEO Vehr Communications
Vehr is a former member of Cincinnati City Council who launched his fi rm in 2007. He previously worked for Dan Pinger Public Relations and was a vice president for the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber. He was instrumental in bringing the World Choir Games to town in 2012, serving as Managing Director.
Hometown: Cincinnati Education: University of Notre Dame (undergraduate) What’s the main way your business organization changed over the past two years of the pandemic? We have become more nimble for the safety and well-being of our team and because COVID-infl uenced business conditions required us to do so. I think we rapidly found our “best way to work” for the future as a result. Compare your leadership approach today to how you led before the pandemic. I’ve always tried to be a collaborative and intuitive leader, listening to others before making a change or deciding. I think I’m still that, but now on steroids.
Melissa Wasson
MIDWEST MARKET MANAGING PARTNER PwC
Wasson, in her 30th year with PricewaterhouseCoopers, has led the local operation of the international accounting company since 2019. In 2021, PwC ranked as the third-largest accounting fi rm in the region with more than 90 CPAs and 235 total employees. A partner since 2005, she oversees operations of about 2,500 employees in 11 locations. Last fall, PwC announced it would allow its 40,000 continental U.S. employees to work remotely on a permanent basis.
Hometown: Georgetown, Kentucky Education: University of Kentucky (undergraduate and master’s)
Mary Zalla
GLOBAL PRESIDENT CONSUMER BRANDS Landor & Fitch
Zalla has been the managing director of the local Landor offi ce since 2011 and remains the international leader of consumer brands for the combined divisions of WPP, the largest specialty branding and design group in the world. Zalla is a member of the fi rm’s Team Health and its healthcare industry lead. Clients include Ethicon, Abbott, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Lilly, Procter & Gamble, and S.C. Johnson.
James Zimmerman
PARTNER-IN-CHARGE Taft Stettinius & Hollister
Zimmerman has been in charge of the local offi ce of the national fi rm that traces its roots to 1885. It is the region’s third-largest law fi rm with 133 attorneys. In September, it announced a merger with Jaff e Raitt Heuer & Weiss of Detroit to add more than 120 attorneys, bringing its total to 800. American Lawyer ranked Taft No.100 among U.S. fi rms in revenue ($415 million in 2021).
Hometown: Atlanta until 14, then Cincinnati Education: Vanderbilt University (undergraduate and J.D.) Compare your leadership approach today to how you led before the pandemic. I don’t know if I have a diff erent approach, but the pandemic has underscored the importance of some leadership basics for me: being authentic, communicating clearly and consistently, and making value-driven decisions.
Michael McDonald
Michael Michael Trusted for More Than 65 YearsMcDonald McDonald
SUPREME LEADER Doobie Brothers, Attorneys at Law
SUPREME LEADERSUPREME LEADER Tax/Estate Planning | Family Law | Real Estate Law | Litigation Doobie Brothers, Attorneys at LawDoobie Brothers, Attorneys at Law Corporate Law | Employment Law | Municipal Law | Criminal Law
Lambcke is deeply tanned, rested, and retired, but drags around a bad hip and knee after standing on a factory fl oor for 38 years. Baskin is sitting out on a recumbent bike, reading Lee Child paperbacks, after getting therapy on his elbow and back. This past year I bookmarked mayoclinic.com, acquired a cardiologist and sleep doctor, and blew through my deductible before March Madness. Plus one more tk line goes here. Lambcke is deeply tanned, rested, and retired, but drags around a bad hip and knee after standing on a factory fl oor for 38 years. Baskin is sitting out on a recumbent bike, reading Lee Child paperbacks, after getting therapy on his elbow and back. This past year I bookmarked mayoclinic.com, acquired a cardiologist and sleep doctor, and blew through my deductible before March Madness. Plus one more tk line goes here.
Lambcke is deeply tanned, rested, and retired, but drags around a bad hip and knee after standing on a factory fl oor for 38 years. Baskin is sitting out on a recumbent bike, reading Lee Child paperbacks, after getting therapy on his elbow and back. This past year I bookmarked mayoclinic.com, acquired a cardiologist and sleep doctor, and blew through my deductible before March Madness. Plus one more tk line goes here.
Hometown: Anderson Township Education: Miami University First job: Painting houses Toughest challenge faced Best advice received or favorite inspirational quote: Begin with the end in mind. What you’d tell a recent college graduate about entering your fi eld of business: Your work life last 30 or 40 years, so make sure you love what you do. Favorite hobbies or leisure CINCINNATI | NORTHERN KENTUCKY activities: Hiking, fi shing, golf, reading Favorite Greater Cincin-513.621.2120 nati charity: Down’s Syndrome Association of Cincinnati WWW.STRAUSSTROY.COM Hometown: Anderson Township Education: Miami University First job: Painting houses Toughest challenge faced Best advice received or favorite inspirational quote: Begin with the end in mind. What you’d tell a recent college graduate about entering your fi eld of business: Your work life last 30 or 40 years, so make sure you love what you do. Favorite hobbies or leisure activities: Hiking, fi shing, golf, reading Favorite Greater Cincinnati charity: Down’s Syndrome Association of Cincinnati Hometown: Anderson Township Education: Miami University First job: Painting houses Toughest challenge faced Best advice received or favorite inspirational quote: Begin with the end in THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT mind. What you’d tell a recent college graduate about entering your fi eld of business: Your work life last 30 or 40 years, so make sure you love what you do. Favorite hobbies or leisure activities: Hiking, fi shing, golf, reading Favorite Greater Cincinnati charity: Down’s Syndrome Association of Cincinnati
CELEBRATING 85 YEARS
