Crain's Cleveland Business

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Vol. 35, No. 44

$2.00/NOVEMBER 3 - 9, 2014

Entire contents © 2014 by Crain Communications Inc.

County cuts $6M from convention center costs Replacing MMPI Inc. as complex’s manager has made big difference

By JAY MILLER jmiller@crain.com

JANET CENTURY

Robin Minter Smyers is the new partner-in-charge at Cleveland law firm Thompson Hine LLP.

LEADING THE CHARGE Minter Smyers takes the reins at Thompson Hine LLP, which has a diverse management history A CLOSER LOOK: Robin Minter Smyers HOMETOWN: Shaker Heights EDUCATION: Harvard University; Yale Law School CURRENT TITLE: Partner-in-charge, Thompson Hine LLP Cleveland office

Robyn Minter Smyers studied at Harvard and Yale, practiced law in New York, served communities through national nonprofit housing organizations and even worked in the Constitutional Court of South Africa.

But the Shaker Heights native’s heart will always be in Cleveland. Her passion and dedication for her hometown drew her back here in 2001 when she began work as an associate with Thompson Hine LLP. The same devotion has kept her here for 14 years.

And, after taking over as the new partner-incharge of one the largest law firms in Greater Cleveland this month, her Northeast Ohio roots will continue to strengthen.

“This is one of the most exciting times in Cleveland’s history, and I truly believe we’re at the beginning of what promises to be a tremendous renaissance, and that’s part of why I’m so excited to be the partner-in-charge of our Cleveland office at this time,” Smyers said. “Our firm

has an opportunity to participate, engage with and help lead that renaissance as lawyers.”

Smyers assumes the reins from James Aronoff, who is returning to his former position of leading the firm’s real estate capital markets team. He also will head his own real estate practice, which includes counseling real estate investment trusts and real estate equity funds on transactions, and structuring sophisticated joint venture arrangements.

Deborah Read, Thompson Hine’s firmwide managing partner and CEO, said Aronoff is a “terrific” practitioner. The leadership change, she said, is part of a roughly five-year turnover the firm regularly employs in those positions. Smyers takes the lead in Cleveland as new partners-incharge take over in Thompson Hine’s Dayton and Columbus offices as well.

“We have embraced a practice of regularly rotating our office partner-in-charge and practice group leader positions. We think that’s good business,” Read said. “It allows new people to step in and develops a younger generation of See CHARGE, page 20

See CONVENTION CENTER, page 20

Commercial lending makes large gains

By JEREMY NOBILE jnobile@crain.com

Commercial lending activity is on the rise across the country, bankers and analysts say, reflecting an economy continuing to gradually stabilize.

In Northeast Ohio and elsewhere in general, the demand is spread across several industries from manufacturers and energy producers to shale drillers, health care and real estate. And banks large and small are competing for the business.

While many commercial banks may feel the demand they’re seeing for those loans is still See LENDING, page 21

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FAMILY TIES: Her father is Stephen Minter, former chairman of the Cleveland Foundation. Her mother, Dolly Minter, preceded her on the board of the Cleveland Diversity Center.

By JEREMY NOBILE jnobile@crain.com

Cuyahoga County expects to save $6 million this year at the Cleveland Convention Center and Global Center for Health Innovation. The savings will come from replacing MMPI Inc., the Chicago firm that developed and oversaw construction of the county-owned complex, with SMG, a leading convention center management firm, as the center’s manager.

That news came in an update to Cuyahoga County Council last Tuesday, Oct. 28, that was part of a review of the first year of operation of the $465 million tradeshow complex. The update included a report on occupancy at the Global Center and projections for meetings and conventions at the convention center.

Complex general manager Mark Leahy also announced that he is planning to have a public open house at the Global Center on Dec. 6

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

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NOVEMBER 3 - 9, 2014

MidTown branching out by strengthening residential roots

By STAN BULLARD sbullard@crain.com

MidTown has made strides as a location for businesses, with recent developments including the MidTown Tech Center and the refurbishment of the office building at the Agora Theater building on progress that has been made in the last 30 years.

Now the MidTown Cleveland development corporation is setting its course on a tougher task: adding residential development to the area.

Jim Haviland, executive director of MidTown Cleveland, unveiled the detailed plan to Crain’s Cleveland Business with a simple preface: “The time has come to expand what we do. We’re in the place and time to establish MidTown as a residential district.”

To appreciate the ambition of that, consider what one of several studies MidTown Cleveland commissioned for the process notes.

A study of potential residential demand by the Vogt Santer Insights housing consultancy of Columbus puts the current population of the MidTown area — the Innerbelt to East 79th Street between Chester and Prospect avenues and a sliver of Payne Avenue — at 1,760 people.

Of that, 81% are renters, primarily in subsidized or low-income housing. Ten conventional market-rate apartments exist, most of which are late 19th or early 20th century apartment buildings that survive from when Euclid Avenue was known for its rows of mansions owned by millionaires. They have the 90% occupancy rate common in the more residentially accepted parts of the region.

The idea of making MidTown a more residential neighborhood makes even battle-hardened real estate pioneers shake their heads.

Robert Rains, a partner in Cleveland-based Landmark Management which owns six apartment buildings it installed in former factory or warehouse buildings in the city’s Warehouse District, said, “My first reaction is to pooh-pooh it.”

Then he pauses. “However, when I think about what I saw in the Warehouse District in 1990 (as Landmark readied its entry into the

By contrast, Ohio City and Tremont have less than 5,600 and 3,500 workers, although they have established neighborhood amenities such as restaurants and shopping.

Combined with the lack of rentals in MidTown, Haviland sees opportunity to market suites to employees of area business. To make the plan go, Haviland said it plans to make land it controls available to developers and work with member businesses and landowners to make sites available.

In the right place

STAN BULLARD

Jim Haviland, executive director of MidTown Cleveland, stands in front of an aerial photo that shows the locations of housing strategy targets. district), I think it’s not that hard to see.”

But he said developers might bite at the idea of apartment developments and rehabs on the west end of MidTown, near Cleveland State University and its strong student housing core, as well as on the east end of MidTown near the campus of the Cleveland Clinic and booming residential development in the University Circle area.

In the middle, at East 55th Street and Euclid, where vacancy and empty land are abundant, Rains sees it as a tougher go.

Ironically, Haviland sees the East 55th-Euclid intersection as a particularly strong opportunity.

“That is where we have the ability to create our own brand, and steps to do it are underway,” he said.

For instance, the low-hanging railroad bridge that crosses Euclid at East 55th will be gaily painted. A park is going in nearby. And just east of the intersection, huge tracts of empty land surround both sides

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Two big assets Empty land — and vacant buildings — are two things MidTown still has in abundance.

City Architecture, which has been in MidTown for 30 years, completed a study for the local development corporation that inventoried vacant land and buildings in its 200-acre boundaries. It found 31% of the land is vacant.

“That is a lot of opportunity,” said Paul Volpe, the founder of City Architecture.

Another City Architecture analysis quantifies a surprising fact: on Carnegie, Chester and Euclid avenues and East 55th, about 55% of the street frontage, some 2.6 miles — a commodity real estate developers prize — is empty.

Arguing that it needs to build on its strengths and leverage available sites and surroundings, MidTown identified three distinct districts where it wants to promote residen-

tial development: 53 acres surrounding the landmark Dunham Tavern Museum, the city’s oldest building on its original site; 83 acres surrounding the Agora; and 55 acres near the corporate headquarters of Applied Industrial Technologies, which is home to 10 other technology and medical-related businesses.

The Vogt Santer market study shows potential support for 2,255 rental units in MidTown, ranging from upscale to low-income tax credit-eligible worker housing.

However, it’s not a build-it-andthey-will come approach. The study says market-rate rental projects will need to be well designed, offer substantial amenities such as high ceilings and granite countertops, and be priced below downtown, Ohio City and Tremont rentals.

While the acceptance of housing in those three areas is a given, Haviland points to MidTown’s secret weapon: the number of people already working in the district, which is 14,938, according to Vogt Santer.

India Pierce Lee, program director for housing and community development at the Cleveland Foundation, said she sees MidTown benefiting from the “dumbbell effect” of being between downtown Cleveland and University Circle.

“Land is scarce in other areas,” she said.

And Lee points to another opportunity: More available land and buildings could create options for people who can’t afford — or don’t want to pay for pricier districts.

For years, Tom Bier, a senior fellow at the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University, has talked about the need for Cleveland to add housing to combat suburban migration, long before soaring popularity of downtown living made rentals a hot commodity.

“The more successful downtown becomes, the more expensive it will be” Bier said. “The western area of MidTown could produce an alternative to downtown. As long as the economy does not go south, this momentum will keep going.”

Volpe, a member of MidTown Cleveland’s board who has watched the district evolve over the years, said the idea of housing would not have been acceptable when he launched his firm in a Prospect Avenue brownstone in 1989.

“We had too many other things to do,” he said, to establish MidTown as a desirable business address. “Now the city is a different place. We also see this as a mission and a strategy for place-making and development. You can’t just wish it.”

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Northeast Ohio is key hub for nation’s manufacturing push

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Northeast Ohio is leaving a mark on some national initiatives to advance manufacturing.

President Barack Obama last week announced plans to invest $100 million in an apprenticeship grant competition, $130 million in a competition that will help small manufacturers take on new technology, and more than $300 million in the advanced materials, advanced sensors and digital manufacturing technologies.

The University of Akron played a sizable role in identifying the priorities behind those announcements as part of the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership 2.0.

But that’s not the only connection Northeast Ohio has had to the national manufacturing conversation of late, as the CEO of Kent Displays Inc. — the company that makes the Boogie Board e-writer — recently completed an appointment as the co-chair of the subcommittee on innovation, research and development on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Manufacturing Council.

Wayne Watkins, associate vice president for research at the University of Akron, was a co-lead on the national pillar team for improving business climate for AMP 2.0.

He said it was “exciting� to be part of something that could improve the local economy. He said Akron was selected in part because of president emeritus Luis Proenza’s status on the national level and because the university has a powerful research program on materials in the middle of a manufacturing region.

Proenza, who was a member of the steering committee, said that while this is far from the first time Northeast Ohio has been in the national manufacturing conversation, the experience helped showcase the industry to the federal government in a new way. It also gave the region the opportunity to highlight its Manufacturing Extension Partnership, Magnet and the University of Akron.

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The AMP 2.0 steering committee, made up of 19 representatives from industry and academia including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dow Chemical Co., Honeywell and the United Steelworkers, came together to create a set of recommendations for future manufacturing policy. The first round of the partnership led to the creation of the manufacturing innovation institutes, the first of which was established in Youngstown. This series of recommendations focused on three “pillars:� enabling innovation, developing the talent pipeline and improving business climate.

JEFF HARWELL

President emeritus Luis Proenza and the University of Akron are playing a valuable role in the nation’s initiative to advance manufacturing.

Specifically, the recommendations from the committee’s report range from encouraging the government to create a national strategy for emerging manufacturing technologies (the same technologies the White House announced plans to invest in) to securing capital for small and midsize companies to upgrade their equipment with the latest technology.

Ajay Mahajan, vice president for innovation and associate dean for research in Akron’s College of Engineering, said there were about 10 people working closely on the federal initiative at the university in the past year. Mahajan was a member of the operating committee, whose members were appointed by the steering committee and which orchestrated all the work and oversaw the pillar teams.

Mahajan was involved in the new and emerging technologies team, which identified product areas for future investment. The first AMP team had come up with 11 technologies, and the second round of the partnership narrowed that down to the three with the highest priority. Mahajan was the co-lead on the deep dive into visualization, informatics and digital manufacturing.

The small team gathered input from across the country; Mahajan said the White House made sure they had access to anyone they felt they needed. “And we really took advantage of that,� he said.

Watkins said it was rewarding to see the different groups ranging from universities to government to industry members, big and small, come together for a “common good and a common goal.�

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Weighty ideas While the University of Akron was working on recommendations for the White House, Albert M. Green, CEO of Kent Displays, a maker of liquid crystal displays and related products, was serving on the Manufacturing Council.

The council is designed to give the secretary of commerce actionable and specific recommendations on manufacturing policy. Hiroyuki Fujita, the founder, president and CEO of Quality Electrodynamics in Mayfield Village, also is a member of the council.

Green, who has a Ph.D. in physics, was appointed in 2012 to fill an opening, and he later was named to a full term that recently ended. He recently chaired the subcommittee on innovation, research and development with an official from GM. “It was outstanding,� Green said of serving on the council. “I learned a great deal.�

One set of recommendations was submitted last spring, with another set submitted after the final council meeting on Oct. 15. The subcommittee Green was on focused its recommendations this fall on using incentives to encourage innovation and intellectual property safeguards. If companies can’t protect the investments that make them more competitive, Green said, they’ll stop investing. “We felt that this was an area we should throw our weight behind,� he said.

The other subcommittees focused on areas including exports, free trade agreements, workforce development and the rebranding of the manufacturing industry.

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5

Cliffs CEO is blunt about challenges Goncalves says company needs ‘a lot of work’ to be profitable in future

By RACHEL ABBEY McCAFFERTY rmccafferty@crain.com

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. chairman, president and CEO Lourenco Goncalves doesn’t mince words when it comes to the future of the Cleveland-based iron ore and mining company.

He has no plans to stay in the company’s iron ore mines in Australia any longer than necessary.

He’s not expecting the North American coal business to do anything but break even. And he’s only giving partners until the end of the year to sign on to the Bloom Lake mine project in Canada before he writes it off.

Overall, Goncalves is looking to correct the “mistakes” he says the Cleveland company made when it diversified in recent years. The past is over, he told investors on a conference call last Tuesday, Oct. 28.

“And the present is a lot of work to bring a profitable future for Cliffs,” he said.

Cliffs released its third-quarter results on Oct. 27, reporting a 16% drop in consolidated revenues and a total net loss of $5.9 billion for the quarter. Goncalves called the quarter a “complicated” one in a conversation with Crain’s, due to outside factors such as the historically low price of iron ore and coal, as well as internal factors including a contentious proxy fight and severance paid for employees who were let go.

Goncalves joined the company in August after shareholders voted New York-based hedge fund Casablanca Capital LP’s nominees to the board.

Despite those challenges, the company managed to pay down $100 million in debt last quarter, Goncalves said. One of the ways Cliffs is saving money is by cutting corporate overhead.

Though Goncalves declined to share the number of employees who had been let go, he said the reductions are happening all over the company, particularly in operations Cliffs is no longer active in, like the Ring of Fire region in northern Ontario.

But the big changes will likely be in what Goncalves has been referring to as the company’s non-core businesses, though he cautions they won’t happen overnight.

Goncalves’ announcement regarding his plans for the company’s Bloom Lake mine in Canada drew interest on the investor call on Tuesday. The Bloom Lake operations lost $33.2 million in adjusted EBITDA in See CLIFFS, page 19

CORRECTION An Oct. 27, page 8 story on the Ahola Crain’s Employment (ACE) Report for September misstated the number of jobs added to the Cleveland-Akron region from September 2013 to September 2014. The correct number is 12,763.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

ABOVE: RageOn.com partner Nick Sanchez wears a tank top featuring singer Miley Cyrus. BELOW: Company founder Mike Krilivsky admits he initially thought clothing such as the “Fat Cat” shirt he’s sporting was “ugly.”

PURPOSEFULLY OVER THE TOP Cleveland company with outrageous style expects to generate a few million in revenue in 2014

By CHUCK SODER csoder@crain.com

You might think the clothes sold at RageOn.com are hideous.

If so, Mike Krilivsky understands.

Today, his company — which moved to Cleveland from Boston at the end of 2013 — is making a name for itself and its over-thetop ridiculous clothing. Like Krilivsky’s “Fresh Prince of BelAir” outfit, which is covered with pictures of Will Smith’s face. The one on the front of the shirt is easily bigger than Krilivsky’s head.

The first time he ever saw an outfit that was absolutely covered by images, his first thought was “God, that’s ugly.”

But while following a few of his friends’ bands in Europe, the socalled “all-over-printing” style grew on him.

“And then, like, halfway through the tour, I was like, ‘Dude, that’s awesome!’ And I was like, ‘I want to do that,’” he said.

Other people think Rage On’s garish style is awesome, too. And there are more of them than you might guess.

Rage On LLC expects to generate a few million dollars in revenue during its first full year in business. It also was planning to hire its 19th employee by the end of last week.

Many of the company’s fans are passionate, often spreading the word about RageOn.com through social media. That passion gets Krilivsky excited — as if he wasn’t excited enough already.

“Some people think I’m crazy.

They’re probably right. But I love it,” he said.

All the Rage Not everything is awesome though. Rage On tried to raise money for a new app via Kickstarter.com, a website that lets people raise money for various projects.

It quickly beat its $50,000 goal.

But then, last Wednesday, Oct. 29, Kickstarter canceled the project. A representative from the website told Crain’s that the company doesn’t ever say why it makes such decisions. Online, Kickstarter says it will suspend a project if the company’s “Integrity team uncovers evidence that it is violation of one or more of Kickstarter’s rules.”

Clothes from Rage On often feature characters like Homer Simpson, Darth Vader and Sonic the Hedgehog. So did Rage On get the rights to those characters?

Krilivsky said the company has hundreds of licensing agreements from artists and companies. Some of them use copyrighted images in the designs they create for Rage On, and they’re responsible for getting the rights to those images.

Despite the setback, the company still aims to develop the SnapShirt app, which would let you take a picture with your phone and immediately order clothing covered in that image.

Even without the app, the company is growing. That is why Rage See TOP, page 19

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Aleris believes it’s adding long-term value by divesting part of business Recycling and specification alloys will no longer be part of company’s plans velopment, Demetriou said. Aleris has three innovation centers in Europe and one in China. Demetriou said it’s looking to put one in the United States, as well, and its location should be announced soon.

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Aleris International Inc. has been focused on its global rolled products business in recent years, making investments in aerospace and automotive-centric plants in Asia, Europe and the United States, and acquiring a competitor in the building and construction market.

Now the aluminum processor is taking another step toward honing its focus by divesting its recycling and specification alloy businesses.

Aleris on Oct. 17 announced plans to sell its recycling and specification alloy businesses to Sherman Oaks, Calif.-based Signature Group Holdings Inc. for $525 million in cash and Signature stock.

The sale will include 18 sites in the United States — three of which are in Northeast Ohio — and six in Europe. “The sale of the recycling and specification alloys businesses will result in a stronger, more focused Aleris that will have greater flexibility to concentrate resources in the areas with the highest growth potential,� Steven J. Demetriou, Aleris’ chairman and CEO, said in a news release about the divestiture.

Demetriou discussed the company’s strengthened focus on its rolled products business in a pair of conversations with Crain’s before and after the sale announcement.

The sale of the recycling business will help strengthen Aleris’ balance sheet, Demetriou said. And while the sale could mean a temporary drop in revenue — the businesses being sold have annual revenue of about $1.5 billion, and the company’s total annual revenue last year was about $4.3 billion — Demetriou expects Aleris’ recent investments to pay off soon. He pointed to a few investments in particular: the company’s new plant in Zhenjiang, China, its 2014 acquisition of Nichols Aluminum LLC and the planned expansion of its plant in Lewisport, Ky., announced in September.

Those investments, plus a significant expansion in the company’s auto sheet facility in Belgium that was completed in 2013, add up to about $1 billion in global rolled products, Demetriou said.

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Demetriou is bullish on the future of aluminum, especially in the aerospace, automotive and construction markets Aleris plays in. He said the trend toward using aluminum in vehicles as a way to reduce weight is a “game changer� for the industry, going so far as to call it the biggest boost since the aluminum can.

The $350 million investment in the Lewisport plant is designed to take advantage of that increase. The company is building it out to sell 480 million pounds annually, which Demetriou said he hopes will be “100% committed� to customers by the time the expanded plant starts production in 2017. “We’re going after that growth,�

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A ‘perfect’ fit

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Aleris chairman and CEO Steven J. Demetriou said the company will be “stronger� and “more focused� in the future.

And, though Demetriou expected an upswing in the housing market in 2013 or 2014, he said he still sees a lot of “potential, pent-up demand.� The Nichols acquisition, the completion of which was announced in April, gave Aleris an even larger share of the market.

Aleris is the largest supplier of aluminum to the building and construction market, Demetriou said, and Nichols was No. 2.

Demetriou also believes the aluminum industry is set to expand in the aerospace market, after an excess in aluminum inventory clears up.

Growth is expected to be even stronger in China, Demetriou said, and Aleris is well-positioned to take advantage of it with its new plant in Zhenjiang. The plant, which opened in 2013 and has the capabilities to make commercial and aerospace plates, is currently working to secure certification with major companies. It already received certification to supply aluminum aerospace plate to aircraft and train maker Bombardier in September and received Nadcap accreditation, which Aleris called a necessity to be included on the Qualified Product List for major aircraft makers in its release on the announcement, back in June.

And the growth plans aren’t done yet for the 10-year-old company.

Demetriou said the company plans to further build out the plant in China, which could include more capacity for auto plate sheeting. Currently, the plant has about 400 employees, Demetriou said, but he expects the eventual employee count to be similar to the Koblenz, Germany, plant, which has 1,200 to 1,300 employees.

On Oct. 29, Aleris announced that it had made Roeland Baan, who led the company’s business in Europe and Asia Pacific, the executive vice president and CEO of Asia Pacific, effective Nov. 1. According to a news release, Baan will ramp up the plant in China and help determine its next phase. Ingrid Jorg was promoted to executive vice president and CEO of Rolled Products Europe from senior vice president and general manager of that business unit.

The company also has been investing heavily in research and de-

While aluminum prices aren’t anywhere near a peak, the industry has some good growth prospects going forward, said Eric Klenz, managing director and head of KeyBanc Capital Markets Metals and Mining Group. Klenz didn’t comment specifically on the Aleris deal, in which KeyBanc served as an adviser.

Aluminum is “gaining traction� in the automotive industry, Klenz said, as vehicle makers look to use lighter weight materials to improve fuel efficiency. There’s also strength in the aerospace industry and plenty of potential in the building and construction industry, which is just beginning to improve, he said. And he said the consumption of secondary or recycled aluminum, which is more cost effective, is set to increase over time.

When Aleris announced that it was examining the idea of selling the recycling business in April, the company was approached by a number of interested parties, Demetriou said, but Signature stood out with the best offer and with significant passion for the industry. He expects the deal to close at the end of this year or early in the first quarter of 2015. Craig Bouchard, chairman and CEO at Signature, has a background in the metals business as the co-founder of steel company Esmark Inc. He called the Aleris-related acquisition the most attractive one he’s closed.

The company’s news release on the acquisition called the business the largest independent aluminum recycler in the world.

The business has excellent organic growth opportunities, Bouchard said, as well as acquisitive possibilities. The recycling business in particular is growing at a fast rate in North America, above both the primary aluminum market and GDP, Bouchard said. “This was perfect for us,�

Bouchard said, saying he called Aleris as soon as he knew the business was for sale.

And if all goes as planned, the businesses will likely be renamed and will be run as a subsidiary of Signature after the sale is complete.

Terry Hogan, now senior vice president and leader of Aleris’ North American Recycling and Specification Alloys business, is expected to be named president, and Bouchard said the existing management team will continue to run the business.

And, at least for the foreseeable future, the business will be located in the Cleveland area, though Bouchard said he intended to meet with local leaders to make sure the city will continue to be supportive in the long-term. “GRSA (Global Recycling and Specification Alloys) is going to become a very large company,�

Bouchard said.

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Milo makes headway on reversing disease Local biotechnology company says clinical trial showed significant progress in battling muscular dystrophy

By CHUCK SODER csoder@crain.com

Al Hawkins thinks he has found a way to reverse muscular dystrophy.

It’s too early to say if he’s right, but new evidence suggests that he could be.

A small group of patients with Becker muscular dystrophy gained muscle mass and mobility after being injected with a gene therapy being developed by a local company called Milo Biotechnology.

The trial suggests that the company could be on to something big: Today, there is no way to reverse muscular dystrophy. Existing drugs and physical therapy can only slow it down.

But most of patients in Milo’s trial weren’t slowing down. They were speeding up — and patients with muscular dystrophy don’t tend to do that, according to Hawkins, the Cleveland company’s co-founder and CEO. “You would not expect them on average to improve at all. You’d expect them to decline,” he said.

Here’s how it works: Each patient is injected with a virus that’s believed to be harmless. That virus delivers a gene into the patient’s muscles. The gene produces a protein called follistatin. Follistatin blocks another protein that inhibits muscle growth.

Sure, the trial was small. But Hawkins believes it could help Milo raise cash from investors.

They’ve been interested in gene therapy lately. Hawkins gave

Crain’s a list of 11 gene therapy companies that have raised a total of $623 million from investors over the past two years. Three of the companies raised money through the public stock market.

“The whole pendulum has swung toward these gene therapies,” he said.

Thinking big Milo is working to raise money for a larger pivotal trial that would involve roughly 30 patients with Becker muscular dystrophy, one of the nine types of the degenerative disease that affects voluntary muscles. If that trial goes well, the company would try to win regulatory approval to start selling the therapy in the United States and Europe.

But eventually Milo plans to go way beyond Becker muscular dystrophy.

Hawkins believes that, one day, Milo’s gene therapy could help relatively healthy people — anyone whose muscles have deteriorated.

Like your aunt Mildred, who’s having a hard time getting around the house these days.

Of course, Milo will have to pass several clinical trials to get there. Today, Milo is testing its therapy on patients with another muscle disease called Inclusion Body Myositis. And next month it plans to start a trial focused on patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which is more severe than the Becker variant.

There’s no telling what results those trials will produce. But the ev-

idence from the first trial is encouraging, according to a peer-reviewed paper published by Molecular Therapy.

Six adult males with Becker muscular dystrophy were injected with the virus once, at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus. They were followed for at least six months. Some were followed for a year.

During that time, four of them significantly improved the distance they could walk in six minutes — a common test used to measure the strength of patients suffering from chronic conditions. They also generally improved at climbing stairs, and most of them gained significant muscle mass, according to the paper, which was published online on Oct. 17.

“These areas of muscle were strikingly apparent and often pointed out by the patients,” the paper stated.

The treatment also appears to be “exceptionally safe,” the paper stated. None of the patients reported having any problems.

A ‘major advance’ Hawkins said the virus Milo uses should not cause harm to patients.

Early gene therapies used adenoviruses, which are best known for causing people to catch colds. But research into those therapies ground to a halt after the death of a patient, whose immune system attacked the virus, causing inflammation.

Now, however, Milo and other

companies use so-called “adenoassociated” viruses, which show up next to adenoviruses in sick people but don’t appear to trigger an immune response.

The trial represents “a major advance for those suffering with muscle disease,” according to a statement attributed to Dr. Jerry Mendell, a professor at Nationwide Children’s Hospital who led the trial and was lead author of the paper.

Mendell has no stake in Milo. He and Brian Kaspar, Ph.D, invented the technology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The hospital licensed the technology to Milo, which was started by Hawkins and Kaspar.

The two men work for Milo part time. Hawkins also serves as vice president of business development at BioMotiv, a drug development firm in Shaker Heights. Kaspar continues to conduct research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Ohio State University, where he is an associate professor.

Should the company grow, it would probably add staff in the Cleveland area and the Columbus area, Hawkins said.

Milo Biotechnology has received funding from JumpStart, a local nonprofit that works with startups; Cuyahoga County’s North Coast Opportunities Technology Fund; and the federal government Small Business Innovation Research program. The clinical trial was funded

by Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, a foundation in Hackensack, N.J.

Team NEO has productive third quarter Team Northeast Ohio completed 16 deals in the third quarter, helping companies that plan to bring 3,521 jobs to the region, it said in its thirdquarter regional economic development report released Wednesday, Oct. 29. Among the companies that were assisted by Team NEO were Fosbel Inc. of Brook Park and Core-Mark Holding Co., a San Francisco convenience store supplier that is opening a distribution center in Glenwillow.

“The region’s economic development organizations continued to work together to drive business growth for Northeast Ohio in Q3,” said Tom Waltermire, Team NEO’s CEO. “Our collaborative approach allows us to quickly and seamlessly provide businesses with the support they need to choose Northeast Ohio as their business expansion location.”

Team NEO helped Fosbel win a state of Ohio job creation tax credit that is expected to create 14 full-time jobs as a result of the expansion of the company’s Sheldon Road facility. Core-Mark will employ 150 people at its distribution center, the former headquarters of Dots Inc. on Emerald Parkway. It, too, will receive a state job creation tax credit.

For the first nine months of 2014, Team NEO reported that it and its regional partners, which include the major city chambers of commerce and economic development organizations in 18 counties across Northeast Ohio, have assisted 63 business development projects that are bringing $1.2 billion in capital investment to the region.

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NeverBounce takes off after email shut down Datatrak to open Disaster pushed Creavos to create email validation tool that has become core to its business

By CHUCK SODER csoder@crain.com

On March 16 at 1:40 p.m., Brad Owen got a really bad email that led to something really good.

It was from Amazon. They weren’t going to let his digital marketing company — Creavos — send any more email.

Why? More than half of his emails were bouncing. And a “critically high” percentage were going into people’s junk mail folders. He looked like a spammer.

This was a problem. That week, Creavos was scheduled to send 500,000 emails per day on behalf of its clients.

Owen said his first move was to ask Amazon to “please, please, please, give us back our email.” They didn’t move fast enough, so he switched email providers after spending 10 days “dead in the water.”

But Creavos wanted a long-term solution. Which is why it developed NeverBounce.

Turns out, lots of other companies wanted it to: In just two months, the NeverBounce software racked up enough purchase orders to cover the costs of the entire company. And that includes the salaries of all seven Creavos employees.

The company still provides custom software development and marketing services. Even so, the NeverBounce software has become a big focus for the business.

Some customers already are using the software to check the validity of huge numbers of email addresses. Among them is a national political consulting firm that’s managing many of the emails flying around this election season. And more are getting in line. For instance, some big box retailers have shown strong interest in integrating NeverBounce into their own computer systems.

That way, when a customer gives a retailer an email address — maybe to get a quick discount — the company can immediately check to see whether JohnDoe89 @Gmail.com is a Owen real address.

It will take Creavos a while to land NeverBounce purchase orders from some of its biggest prospects. For now, however, the company is marketing the software to other marketing companies that send lots of emails. And they’ve been biting, Owen said.

“Every agency that we’ve spoken to wants to use it,” he said.

One who bit was Brian Vance, owner of PC TLC Inc., a marketing and tech consulting firm in southern Indiana.

Only 65% of the emails his company was sending for its clients were making it into people’s inboxes, even though they had signed up to receive them. The rest were either blocked or funneled into a spam folder.

Other companies that had helped him send emails a few years ago couldn’t solve the problems, and neither could his own employees.

But things changed after Owen called Vance to tell him about NeverBounce.

“We’re 90%, sometimes 95% inboxing now, and our customers are ecstatic,” he said, noting that he had worked with Owen on tech consulting projects in the past.

A lot of companies will help you clean up a list of emails by removing duplicates, addresses containing some sort of error (Gmali.com) or those that regularly cause messages to bounce. But fewer companies

will confirm emails in real time, Owen said. He named two close competitors: LeadSpend of New York and StrikeIron of Cary, N.C. NeverBounce aims to beat those companies on price. NeverBounce’s prices range from $8 to less than $2.50 per 1,000 emails (prices drop as volume increases).

It’s unclear who provides better service, but NeverBounce’s prices are significantly lower than LeadSpend’s. StrikeIron, which also provides other data-related services, tells customers to ask for price quotes.

Owen said he knew NeverBounce would do well when sales started rolling in weeks before Creavos made any real effort to market the product.

Other than word of mouth, the only marketing consisted of a single post that a friend of the company made on an emailrelated discussion board at Warrior Forum.com, a website for online marketing companies.

“One post started driving sales,” he said.

Sales growth is driving company growth.

Creavos aims to hire a few more people over the next two months. And it soon will have space for even more employees: At the moment, the company is working out of the house next to Owen’s home in Hunting Valley. It’s waiting for construction crews to finish renovating its new 2,400-square-foot office on the second floor of the office building at 26380 Curtiss Wright Parkway in Richmond Heights. It previously used 1,300-square-feet on the third floor of the building, Creavos also is talking to potential investors. They could help the company hire more employees — and buy more servers, Owen said.

“It may allow us to grow much faster,” he said.

Chicago office; won’t say where HQ will be

By RYAN ORI Crain’s Chicago Business

A Mayfield Heights company that designs software for clinical drug trials is opening an office in Chicago, where it plans to grow to at least 85 employees.

Datatrak International Inc. signed an 11-year lease for 14,334 square feet at One Prudential Plaza, the company confirmed. A spokeswoman declined to say whether Chicago would become the firm's headquarters. CEO Laurence Birch lives in Chicago, she said.

The company's offices in Ohio; London; Cary, N.C.; and Bryan, Texas, will continue to operate after the Chicago office opens, according to Datatrak's statement.

Datatrak, which has hired about 15 people in Chicago, plans to add at least 70 more in the coming years, it said in a statement.

The company will move into the 41-story tower at 130 E. Randolph St. in the first quarter of 2015.

After also considering Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, Datatrak chose Chicago, “to take strategic advantage of the exceptional talent pool and ease of global accessibility,” according to the statement.

Datatrak, whose customers are pharmaceutical and biotech firms, contract research organizations and medical device makers, was formed in 1991. Its shares are traded over the counter.

The company reported a net loss of about $129,000 in 2013, compared with a net loss of $1.54 million in 2012, according to company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company had 68 employees in 2013, according to the filings.

Datatrak's move follows a lease that public relations software provider Cision signed to move its headquarters to nearly 50,000 square feet in One Prudential Plaza.

That was the property's largest deal since a venture of Nanuet, N.Y.-based Berkley Properties LLC and New York-based 601W Cos. gained control of the two-tower, 2.2 million-square-foot complex in the East Loop.

“We can accommodate as much growth as they need, and a lot of buildings can't do that,” said Matt Pistorio, a senior vice president at Chicago-based Telos Group LLC, which represented the landlord.

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PUBLISHER:

John Campanelli (jcampanelli@crain.com) EDITOR:

Elizabeth McIntyre (emcintyre@crain.com) MANAGING EDITOR:

Scott Suttell (ssuttell@crain.com)

OPINION

It’s taxing Last week, the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan group that studies federal and state fiscal policies, released its 2015 State Business Tax Climate Index.

And once again, Ohio ranked as one of the least business friendly states in the nation. We came in at 44th out of 50.

It’s familiar territory for the Buckeye state. Since 2012, Ohio has consistently landed in the bottom of the annual index, with an average ranking of 43rd.

The Tax Foundation creates the index by analyzing more than 100 tax variables based on five categories: corporate tax rate, individual income tax rate, sales tax rate, unemployment insurance tax rate and property tax rates. Ohio’s worst ranking this year was in individual income tax rates, where it placed No. 47, and its best ranking was in the unemployment insurance tax rate, at No. 5.

As the Tax Foundation describes how its index works, “states are punished for overly complex, burdensome, and economically harmful tax codes, but are rewarded for transparent and neutral tax codes that do not distort business decisions.”

Reforming the state’s antiquated, convoluted tax system is long overdue, and the foundation’s report is yet another sign that real work must done to improve the climate so that businesses, large and small, can thrive.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich has made some inroads, implementing tax breaks for citizens and businesses that have totaled about $3 billion. He’s often gotten there, though, by hiking taxes elsewhere. Ohio’s elected officials — including the governor — need to work together to revamp, once and for all, a tax structure that hinders economic growth in our state.

FROM THE EDITOR

Women can thrive in technology, too Ever hear of Grace Hopper? Neither as you go along.” Here’s the irony: had I, until a recent morning commute Nadella made the comments at a conferwhen I discovered radio gold — a nugget ence celebrating women in computing of information so rich that I — a conference named to had to keep digging for more honor none other than Grace details later that day.

Hopper.

She was among the many feThe sad reality is that while male pioneers in computer sciwomen were once at the foreence. I was lucky to learn about front of computer science, her thanks to an engrossing ratheir numbers have dwindled dio report on Walter Isaacson’s in recent decades. In the midnew book, “The Innovators: 1980s, women made up 37% How a Group of Hackers, Geof computer science majors; niuses, and Geeks Created the by 2012, the number was Digital Revolution.” down to 18%. As for the comELIZABETH Grace Hopper taught computing workforce, women puters how to talk, allowing MCINTYRE made up just a quarter of it in programmers to use words in2013. stead of numbers. The next time you go So how do we change that — how do to “debug” a computer, you can thank we attract females back to a field they her for coining that term as well. once heavily influenced? And how do we It’s hard not to be inspired by people change the perception that women need like Hopper. Imagine my disappointto keep their heads down and be quiet to ment, then, three days later to hear Miadvance in the world of technology? I crosoft CEO Satya Nadella — a man — posed these questions to Mel McGee, a say that women in technology shouldn’t local tech entrepreneur who recently feel the need to ask for raises. Instead, he launched We Can Code IT, which teachsaid, they should have “faith that the syses computer programming and engitem will actually give you the right raises neering skills to women and girls.

For McGee, it all comes down to marketing, mentoring and motivating girls toward technology.

“Girls go into the classroom thinking that math and science are a fixed ability,” she said. “They’re not. We need to change that. Parents need to say that if you work hard, you can do this. Grown women need to show leadership and mentorship.”

And it’s not just up to women to stress that technology is a girl thing as much as it is a boy thing. “That message extends to all women and men,” McGee said.

“It’s everyone’s responsibility.”

It’s everyone’s responsibility to encourage young women to pursue the kinds of studies that could lead to jobs in the tech field. Instead of “you can’t” we should always be saying, “why can’t you?” And it’s everyone’s responsibility to empower them, once they do enter the profession, to achieve their fullest potential and, yes, get paid.

And to use the term that Hopper coined, some tech leaders might do well to debug their sluggish thinking about the way women in their field ought to behave.

TALK ON THE WEB

Cast your ballot Voters don’t usually line up to cast ballots in mid-term elections. And when the marquee state race is considered by most to be uncompetitive?

Well, that doesn’t help swell the ranks at polling places.

Regardless of the excuses people can come up with, it is essential for all eligible citizens to exercise their fundamental right to vote. It’s good for you — it keeps you informed and engaged — and that means it’s good for your community, state and country.

For those who’ve already mailed their ballots — congratulations. And for those who haven’t — take 10 minutes out of your day Tuesday, Nov. 4 to vote.

Polls are open statewide from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Re: Be nice to RNC visitors in 2016

some reps. Johnny Manziel is an accident waiting to happen.

— Kevan

I read the recent story about a suburban home owner who was asking $40K for the week and thought, WHAT? This is our chance to show the world that Cleveland is beautiful, friendly AND affordable. And by the way, who is going to create a website for alternative housing (happy to rent our house in Tremont) for those who don’t want to (or can’t get) hotel rooms?

— Margy Judd

I think it’s a loud vocal minority that keeps the Johnny conversation alive.

The Browns could be 0-fer with Johnny running around the field. He was a first-rounder, but I don’t think that he was a consensus future NFL QB across the league. (If he was, he would have gone higher.) I’m behind Hoyer and a winning Browns football team. — MJD

Re: Hoyer and the Browns

Re: Cleveland Public Library hires a fundraiser

Give the guy a break.

Even Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have their down moments, and they have been starters forever. Hoyer may have been in the NFL for 5 years, but he has only been a starter for what, less than 10 games?

He has a high football IQ; let him get

Welcome aboard, Jason Jaffery. Glad to see that someone is looking forward to the future.

I wish you the best in showing how the CPL can become more relevant as you “sort through that noise”. You’ll start, of course, by defining your top 6 market segments very clearly to figure out what

problems the CPL system can solve for them. Much like CMSD, you might need a transformation plan so you don’t go the way of the Plain Dealer and travel agencies.

— Robert E. Chalfant

Re: The hunt for tech talent One of the bigger problems here is that companies refuse to invest in training.

Hiring wouldn’t be such a problem if you weren’t looking for someone with 20 years .net experience (Hint: It hasn’t been around that long), 10 years of (database) experience and has direct experience with some app you developed in house (for real, I’ve seen it in some ads).

Companies want people to come ready-made and to plunk right into their environment with not much hassle or education. That is why there is little tech talent here: No one is building it, and everyone is waiting for someone else to do it.

— NoSpam

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11

PERSONAL VIEW

Inclusion can speed up progress

By EDDIE TAYLOR and DANIEL WALSH

It’s an exciting, feel-good time in Cleveland once again.

Construction cranes dot the skyline. Momentum is building for the transformation of Public Square and revitalization of the lakefront.

The new convention center is attracting events and visitors. Demand for downtown housing far exceeds supply. Neighborhoods are being reborn. University Circle institutions are expanding. Funding is in place for the long-talked-about Opportunity Corridor, and preconstruction activities will start before the end of the year. The return of basketball’s biggest star has people talking championship. And we’re all eager to showcase our city when Cleveland hosts the 2016 Republican National Convention.

Yes, these and other positive developments give us good reason to feel good and be proud of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio.

However, we must temper our euphoria with a sobering recognition — that sustaining the growth of our economy is impossible if large swaths of our population are underutilized, underemployed or undereducated. Simply put, we increase the commitment to economic inclusion and take measurable and accountable actions to provide all citizens with the tools and resources they need to achieve a higher degree of financial success and quality of life.

As diverse as our overall population is, African-Americans, Hispanics and other ethnic minorities — as

Taylor and Walsh are co-chairs of the Commission on Economic Inclusion, a program of the Greater Cleveland Partnership. well as women — are too often not afforded success models, mentorships and sponsorships that maximize talent development. Others are part of underperforming educational or social systems that limit their chances of realizing the benefits of a growing region.

A recent study by Future Works on behalf of the Cleveland Foundation warns that in just six years, 64% of jobs here will require some post-secondary education, yet only 43% of Clevelanders and 58% of Cuyahoga County residents have the requisite training.

Further, the annual report of 100 employers by the Commission on Economic Inclusion indicates that only 16% of senior executive jobs are held by African-Americans or Hispanics. And a report on the skilled trades from the Ohio State Apprentice Council finds that women and minorities are underrepresented in apprentice classes in the five-county area and that union membership within most Cleveland neighborhoods is extremely low as well.

The bottom line is that we need to increase our collective focus on actions that will increase the participation of local and minority residents in the region’s economic fabric.

Here are a few ways to do just that.

Fund job- and career-focused education and training programs in the public schools that guide students

toward post-secondary certification as well as colleges and universities.

Focus on talented women and minorities within corporations and organizations to ensure they are being mentored in a way that maximizes their talent and development.

Implement Community Benefit Agreements on all major projects, making an inclusive workforce, apprentice opportunities, minority contracting and local hiring a requirement from the owner or developer.

Increase the access to capital and bonding for women and minority firms in a prudent way that supports their growth and success, much as is being done for high-tech and biomedical firms.

Create career pathways to high-paying skilled jobs, many of which are or will be facing shortages as the population ages. Fund these pathways and create accountable goals for job placements over the next decade.

Fortunately, we are not starting from scratch. Many such efforts exist today at varying levels, and others are being contemplated by political, educational, philanthropic, community and business organizations. Others have been tried before, some with success and some with only lessons learned.

But it’s time we get it right. We are in the midst of a glorious turnaround and at the crest of even more potential successes. We feel good, as we should. But we’ll feel even better when we sustain the success because we have maximized the talent potential of every neighborhood of our region and most importantly in our core city.

Help us stock THE pantry Help us restock the pantry at St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church and Hunger Center on Wednesday, November 26.

You don’t even have to get out of your vehicle, volunteers will be on hand to unload any items you wish to contribute.

Donations are accepted year round, so if you plan to come another day, please call ahead. St. Augustine is located at 2486 on W.14th St. in Tremont.

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TALK ON THE WEB (CONTINUED) Re: ACE Report jobs numbers The ACE numbers tend to confirm the government’s BLS numbers, which say that the total regional workforce is the highest since November 2010, and the number employed is the highest

since February, 2009.

If participation in the workforce has declined over that period, as some experts claim, the regional growth in both the workforce and employment over the last four years is a strong argument for saying that the population losses have actually ended and that there has been some

recent growth in that very visible number as well. —Robert Salmon

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Customer service/subscriptions: 877-824-9373

Sections editor: Amy Ann Stoessel (astoessel@crain.com) Assistant editor: Kevin Kleps (kkleps@crain.com) Sports Senior reporter: Stan Bullard (sbullard@crain.com) Real estate and construction Reporters: Jay Miller (jmiller@crain.com) Government Chuck Soder (csoder@crain.com) Technology Dan Shingler (dshingler@crain.com) Energy, steel and automotive Tim Magaw (tmagaw@crain.com) Health care and education Rachel McCafferty (rmccafferty@crain.com) Manufacturing and energy Jeremy Nobile (jnobile@crain.com) Finance Research editor: Deborah W. Hillyer (dhillyer@crain.com) Art director: Rebecca R. Markovitz (rmarkovitz@crain.com) Cartoonist/illustrator: Rich Williams

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Crain Communications Inc. Keith E. Crain: Chairman Rance Crain: President Merrilee Crain: Secretary Mary Kay Crain: Treasurer William A. Morrow: Executive vice president/operations Chris Crain: Executive Vice President, Director of Strategic Operations KC Crain: Executive Vice President, Director of Corporate Operations Dave Kamis: Vice president/production & manufacturing Anthony DiPonio: Chief Information Officer Thomas Stevens : Chief financial Officer Mary Kramer: Group publisher G.D. Crain Jr. Founder (1885-1973) Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. Chairman (1911-1996)

Cleveland’s Premier Air Charter Service Serving the area with 8 Jets, including a brand new Citation XLS+ • In-flight Wi-Fi Now Available • www.FlySkyQuest.com • 216-362-9904

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GOING PLACES

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Send information for Going Places to dhillyer@crain.com

JOB CHANGES EDUCATION CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY: Morgan Ricketts to assistant director of alumni relations and development and Jack Kelley to executive director of development, Weatherhead School of Management.

Ricketts

Kelley

DeVan

Casey

OBERLIN CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC: Chris Jenkins to assistant dean for academic support; Dana Jessen to director of professional development.

WALTHALL CPAS: Dean Lisowski to senior staff accountant; Maria Nicholas to supervisor.

INSURANCE OSWALD COS.: Michael Casey to client executive of global accounts, Property and Casualty Business Division.

LEGAL ULMER & BERNE LLP: Isaac J. Eddington and Brad A. Sobolewski to counsel.

MARKETING PECCHIA COMMUNICATIONS LLC: Tony Paglia to senior consultant.

NONPROFIT COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT & TREATMENT SERVICES: Lou LaMarca to clinical services director; Kayla O’Malley to program manager.

GREATER CLEVELAND

TAX LIENS The Internal Revenue Service filed tax liens against the following businesses in the Cuyahoga County Recorder’s Office.

The IRS files a tax lien to protect the interests of the federal government.

The lien is a public notice to creditors that the government has a claim against a company’s property. Liens reported here are $5,000 and higher. Dates listed are the dates the documents were filed in the Recorder’s Office.

LIENS FILED

FINANCIAL SERVICE BEACON FINANCIAL PARTNERS: Mitch DeVan to director of wealth management.

NOVEMBER 3 - 9, 2014

Paglia

Washington

PARTNERSHIP: Alesha Washington to senior director of government advocacy.

REAL ESTATE KELLER WILLIAMS: Danielle Szabo and Stephanie Termine to vice presidents, New Homes Team.

TRANSACTION REALTY; Amanda Wilkins and Nathaniel Roane to sales associates.

SERVICE LIFE SAFETY ENTERPRISES INC.: Dominic Monastra to business development consultant/executive assistant.

TECHNOLOGY OECONNECTION: Jeff Lee to manager, applications.

PARAGON CONSULTING: Jon Upchurch to lead architect.

TRANSPORTATION OHIO TURNPIKE AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMISSION:

Monastra

Vogelpohl

Travis Bonnett to traffic and highway engineer.

BOARDS CLEVELAND-AKRON FINANCIAL SERVICE PROFESSIONALS: Kemper D. Arnold (Vantage Financial Group) to president; Arthur P. Ward Jr. to president-elect; James P. Gero to secretary/ treasurer; David A. Kucharski to immediate past president.

AWARDS LEADINGAGE OHIO: Kelly Vogelpohl (Eliza Jennings) received an Excellence in Caring Award.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR TRIAL ADVOCACY: James L. McCrystal (Brzytwa Quick & McCrystal LLC) received the Prentice Marshall Faculty Award for the Development of Innovative Teaching Methods.

NATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY: Michael F. Hilton (Nordson Corp.) received the Norman Cohn Hope Award.

4143 LEE INC. NEW YORK HAIR & BEAUTY SUPPLY 12807 Larchmere Blvd., Suite 3, Shaker Heights ID: 26-3240087 Date filed: Aug. 14, 2014 Type: Employer’s withholding, failure to file complete return, corporate income Amount: $10,595 EUCLID FOREIGN MOTORS INC. 20020 Saint Clair Ave., Cleveland ID: 34-1087596 Date filed: Aug. 19, 2014 Type: Employer’s withholding Amount: $10,582 CELL ONE COMMUNICATIONS INC. 5342 Northfield Road, Maple Heights ID: 01-0768068 Date filed: Aug. 19, 2014 Type: Employer’s withholding, unemployment Amount: $9,725 CHILDREN CHOICE LEARNING CENTER LLC 16200 Euclid Ave., E. Cleveland ID: 80-0444560 Date filed: Aug. 14, 2014 Type: Employer’s withholding, unemployment, partnership income Amount: $8,403 LINKS FINANCIAL GROUP LLC 36247 Meadowdale Drive, Solon ID: 26-2482524 Date filed: Aug. 14, 2014 Type: Employer’s withholding Amount: $7,801 HASSKA INC. PERRY FAMILY RESTAURANT 12807 Larchmere Blvd., Suite 3, Shaker Heights

ID: 20-8556760 Date filed: Aug. 14, 2014 Type: Failure to file complete return Amount: $7,731 MAIN STREET PRODUCTIONS CO. 5400 Pearl Road, Room 220, Strongsville ID: 34-1831308 Date filed: Aug. 19, 2014 Type: Employer’s withholding, corporate income Amount: $7,593 POINT OF CARE PERFUSION LLC 19691 Lake Shore Blvd., Euclid ID: 20-8273749 Date filed: Aug. 14, 2014 Type: Employer’s withholding, unemployment Amount: $6,441 PRO SURPLUS INC. FALCON SURPLUS 21425 Aurora Road, Bedford ID: 27-1803119 Date filed: Aug. 19, 2014 Type: Employer’s withholding Amount: $6,138 QUICK EMPLOYMENT LLC P.O. Box 93722 ID: 04-3788598 Date filed: Aug. 19 2014 Type: Employer’s withholding Amount: $6,103 B & M BAR-B-Q INC. 15116 Lake Shore Blvd., Cleveland ID: 34-1772519 Date filed: Aug. 19, 2014 Type: Unemployment, corporate income Amount: $5,270 PREMIER MARKETING GROUP INC. 13940 Cedar Road, Suite 268, University Heights ID: 34-1736080 Date filed: Aug. 26, 2014 Type: Employer’s withholding Amount: $5,142 XERXESBANE FOODS INC. FRESCO EATERY & BAR 25939 Detroit Road, Westlake ID: 27-1183115 Date filed: Aug. 14, 2014 Type: Employer’s withholding, unemployment Amount: $5,107

Nowacki Asset Management LLC

Period

Nowacki Asset Management (NET)

Growth of $1 Million

S&P 500 Total Return

Growth of $1 Million

May 2011 - Year End

-7.46%

$925,400

-6.37%

$936,300

2012

29.99%

$1,202,927

16.00%

$1,086,108

2013

51.76%

$1,825,563

32.39%

$1,437,898

8/31/2014

21.27%

$2,213,931

9.88%

$1,519,283

Note: Returns are shown in U.S. dollars after fees. Date of inception for Nowacki Asset Management is May 2nd, 2011.

Nowacki Asset Management (NAM) is a registered investment advisory firm specializing in value-oriented investment management. All client assets are included in one composite and invested using a value-oriented strategy. NAM claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®). Results as of 8/31/2014 are still subject to final verification by an independent third-party. NAM only uses short-term margin or leverage to buy securities after a client commits to deposit funds and the funds are in the process of being transferred, but the money has not yet completed the transfer process. To receive a list of composite descriptions of NAM and/or a presentation that complies with the GIPS standards, contact Michael T. Nowacki at (440) 488-6936 or write Nowacki Asset Management, 29525 Chagrin Blvd.

Suite 301, Pepper Pike, Ohio 44122, or michael@nowackiassetmgmt.com. www.nowackiassetmgmt.com

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13

WHO TO WATCH IN EDUCATION The field of education can be a thankless one. Increasing standards, funding challenges and other obstacles make it a complicated sector in which to thrive. The people featured in this section are working to make their mark in this field — whether it’s in the classroom, in an administrative role or behind the scenes. They are just a few of those in Northeast Ohio who are ones to watch in education.

Luling (Raina) Li

Phillip M. Robinson Jr.

Coordinator, Chinese Confucius program Shaker Heights School District

Executive director City Year Cleveland

f you don’t think one teacher can make a difference, ask the more than 1,900 students in the Shaker Heights School District who are studying Chinese if they think that’s true.

They might answer you in Mandarin, but they’ll definitely tell you that Luling Li has brought some major changes and new opportunities to their school district, not to mention their own young lives.

When Li came here in 2006, she was 22 and fresh from Qiqihar, China — what she describes as a “small city” of more than 5 million people.

She was the first Chinese language teacher that the Shaker schools recruited through the Ohio Department of Education and China’s Hanban/Confucius Institute.

She started small, teaching elementary students after regular school hours, but the program soon took off and she was teaching classes as part of regular high school sessions.

“Now, every single student in the Shaker school system has the opportunity to learn Chinese,” Li says proudly.

In fact, every student in the district begins studying Chinese in elementary school, and many continue their studies right through high school and beyond. Just about every ethnic group, religion and demographic is represented in her students, Li says.

“I even have some students who are Chinese, but were adopted, so they don’t speak Chinese,” Li says.

She’s even helped take students to China, including a massive field trip that sent 291 band members to China in her first year. The trip had already been planned when she came to the district, but she quickly stepped in to help and then hosted the students in China. That probably was not a tough task for Li, who was an English-language tour guide in China before coming to the U.S., but it was one that she loved doing.

“The band played on the Great Wall!” she says.

Then, last year, she took about 100 orchestra and choir members to China, again serving as host.

These efforts, and her constant willingness to go above and beyond her normal teaching duties or hours, has instilled a lot of enthusiasm in the district’s Confucius program, say school administrators. Today, Li teaches and also supervises seven other Chinese language teachers who have come to the U.S. to teach at Shaker Heights schools.

hillip M. Robinson Jr., executive director of City Year Cleveland, believes that “a child’s ZIP code should not dictate his or her destiny.”

It’s clear he’s passionate about the mission of City Year Cleveland, which gets young adults involved in public service and helps support students on their path to graduation.

But Robinson didn’t start out in education.

The Gilmour Academy graduate went to George Washington University for finance, where he met the woman who would become his wife. He worked as a legislative correspondent and staff assistant for U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein before spending a few years at marketing firms, including FleishmanHillard and Marcus Thomas LLC. In spring 2009, Robinson became inspired to take a new path after tutoring a student in his spare time.

That summer, he entered the Cleveland Executive Fellowship, a program of the Cleveland Leadership Center, through which he had the chance to spend time working for NE Ohio organizations, including the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. His time in the district corresponded with the start of the district’s transformation plan and gave him an intimate look at what makes schools work.

After a failed campaign for County Council in 2010, Robinson learned of the opening at City Year Cleveland and applied. He started in December 2010.

Robinson’s experience, plus his commitment to the community made the board think he was someone worth taking a chance on, said vice chair Bruce H. Akers. The organization wasn’t floundering, but it wasn’t growing, either, and it needed stability.

“He was a natural,” Akers said.

Akers said Robinson has been an “outstanding” leader so far, building a high-quality team and regularly bringing in corps members to help the board stay connected to the mission.

He’s well-organized and a hard worker, which inspires others to pitch in, too, Akers said. His leadership is helping the organization grow.

City Year Cleveland is focused on economically challenged neighborhoods in the city, Cleveland high schools with the highest dropout rates and the elementary schools that feed them, Robinson said. Currently, the program is in Alfred A. Benesch Elementary School, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Mound STEM, East Tech, Glenville and John Adams.

I

P

If you weren’t working in the field of education, what would you be doing and why?: Li said she’s not sure, but she thinks it would likely still involve working internationally. “My passion is to see the world and share with people the experience and help them do the same. My dream at college was to have a professional tour agency for schools,” she said.

“I’m not sure we knew where this was going at first,” says district spokeswoman Peggy Caldwell.

“Luling was a new teacher — just 22 — but she was a natural. She was young, but she had vision,” Caldwell adds.

Her boss, Shaker Heights High School principal Michael Griffith, is quick to point out that Li’s influence extends far beyond her district, since she also is the regional coordinator for the Ohio Association of Teachers of Chinese and works with state and university officials on Chinese education issues.

“She has also made a big contribution to the development of Chinese language programs throughout the region and state, through strong relationships with Cleveland State University and the Ohio Department of Education,” Griffith said.

“I would also credit her with a significant role in building appreciation for Chinese culture in Greater Cleveland by cultivating ties to Cleve— Dan Shingler land’s Chinese community.”

If you weren’t working in the field of education, what would you be doing and why?: Robinson, who has an executive MBA from Case Western Reserve University, said he thinks he would be in the corporate sector, working for a company with a social responsibility streak, or in the private sector, helping turn around troubled companies.

He’d also consider a second look at public service.

“Again, it’s about bringing people together to help solve the most challenging issues in the community,” he said.

Robinson, who is also a national vice president for the organization, thinks education is crucial to revitalizing a community.

“You turn around a school, you turn around a neighborhood,” Robinson said.

City Year Cleveland’s 50 AmeriCorps members work directly in the schools, doing everything from greeting students to working on lesson plans to running after-school programs.

The members are able to help teachers solve the implementation gap in the classroom, giving them the human capital they need to execute the district’s plans for improvement.

The program offers other benefits, too, by recruiting young leaders to the region and promoting the power of national service, he said.

And City Year Cleveland has big plans for the future. The 2013 graduation rate for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District was about 64%. Robinson said that to solve the drop-out rate, the program would need about 230 corps members in 27 schools — and that’s something the program wants to see as a reality by 2023.

— Rachel Abbey McCafferty

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NOVEMBER 3 - 9, 2014

Richard Osborne

Bonnie Entler

President Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School

Executive director Seeds of Literacy

hen Brian Menard told Richard Osborne he was going to step down as president of Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School in 2011, Osborne quickly had a potential replacement come to mind — himself.

“I was supposed to head up the search committee,” said Osborne, then the chair of VASJ’s board of advisers. “I went home and told my wife, ‘I’d like to see if they would consider me.’ Nobody laughed, which I thought was a good sign, and here I am.”

Osborne’s path to the presidency of his alma mater (he is a 1969 graduate of St. Joseph High School) is an unconventional one.

Prior to his appointment at VASJ, he spent 10 years as the publisher and editor of Ohio Magazine. His 40-year career in journalism included stops at The (Lorain) Morning Journal, Cleveland Magazine and IndustryWeek, as well as a 17-year stretch in which he operated a custom publishing company, The Osborne Group. But Osborne had remained involved at VASJ, a role that increased to a two-year stint in charge of the board.

“I didn’t have an education background, but I did have background on the school, and I did have a marketing background,” Osborne said. “It’s not that much different than being a reporter. You ask people sometimes unpleasant questions and learn the knack of doing it in a polite enough way that they don’t throw you out.

“Fundraising is a lot like that,” he added. “In a way, this is easier because people who are graduates love their alma mater and they have a strong sense of wanting to give back. It’s actually quite pleasant. My calls are generally wellreceived.”

The same goes for his work.

VASJ’s enrollment is 420, up from 250 five years ago, and its number of donors and annual contributions have increased 49% and 87%, respectively, in Osborne’s three-plus years as president.

“It’s easier to lead when you believe what you’re doing, and you believe it down to your core,” said Don Dailey, who replaced Osborne as the chair of VASJ’s board of advisers.

“That’s the case in Richard’s position. He had a successful journalism career. He didn’t need to take this position, but he did because he had this love and passion for our school.”

The private Roman Catholic high school in Cleveland has beefed up its enrollment without sacrificing the quality of its academic offerings and the achievement of its graduating

M

W

If you weren’t working in the field of education, what would you be doing and why?: “I have no doubt I would have remained in the publishing field,” Osborne said. “I always considered journalism to be a public service profession, and I had the opportunity to work with some terrific reporters and editors who felt the same. But nothing could be more satisfying than the work I am blessed to do now.” classes, Osborne said.

VASJ’s strategic plan calls for its enrollment to top out in the 450 to 500 range. Its 38-member Class of 2014 — a group that Osborne said earned a combined $4.5 million in college scholarships (an average of more than $118,000 each) — was replaced by a freshman class of 130. Every member of the last three graduating classes has gone on to college, and Osborne said VASJ only accepts about onethird of its applicants.

“We really stepped up our game in terms of the academic strength of the school,” said Osborne, who was quick to credit VASJ’s principal, David Csank, and the school’s staff.

See OSBORNE, page 15

YOU’RE I NVI TED

50th Anniversary CSU Presidential Forum

ost of the people seeking help from Bonnie Entler and her organization are at a third- or fourth-grade reading level — and their math skills often fall even lower.

Entler is executive director of Seeds of Literacy, a nationally accredited, Cleveland-based adult literacy and GED preparation program that provides one-on-one tutoring.

“I don’t think people realize the huge illiteracy rate here in Cleveland,” said Entler, who has been with the organization since 2003.

Indeed, according to statistics used by the organization, 66% of Cleveland residents are functionally illiterate (reading on a fourth- to sixth-grade level), with some Cleveland neighborhoods having an illiteracy rate as high as 95%.

Seeds of Literacy was founded in 1997 as a ministry of the Sisters of Saint Joseph. It has since become its own 501(c)3 organization, serving more than 1,000 students last year with the help of 250 active volunteers.

Entler — whose background includes time at Lake Catholic High School as director of alumni affairs and at the Phillips-Osborne School as assistant director of development — over the past 11 years has helped shepherd the organization through a time of both growth and change.

For one, Seeds’ budget has increased from less than $200,000 at one time to roughly $1 million last year.

It also has weathered the challenges associated with a changing and more rigorous educational environment.

As of this year, the GED is based on common core state standards, requiring more strategic and abstract thinking, as well as complex problem solving and analysis. It also is now 100% computerized.

In response, Seeds redesigned its curriculum, created a digital literacy program and added a computer lab.

Students who come to Seeds receive individualized attention. The organization is open year-round, with open enrollment and weekly registration.

“We don’t put them back into that traditional classroom-type setting,” she said. “We really want to empower our students.”

As if the changing testing standards weren’t enough, Seeds last month also opened a new location on Cleveland’s East Side at 13815 Kinsman Road.

“It will be very exciting to see if we

If you weren’t working in the field of education, what would you be doing and why?: “If I had an opportunity to explore a new field, I would become a doctor — doctor without borders,” Entler said. “I think I would enjoy helping others to overcome a disease/ illness.” can really duplicate what we do,” said Entler, who hopes the organization will serve an additional 300 students at the new location.

For her part, Entler sees as one of her greatest accomplishments the growth of the organization’s volunteer base. The average Seeds volunteer stays active about four years.

One of those volunteers, Mark Yanochko, described Entler as a “stabilizing force” for the organization through all the changes.

“Bonnie understands the challenges our students have in their lives,” he said. “Bonnie realizes the great need for it in the community.”

Yanochko, who has been involved with Seeds for more than nine years as a tutor and has been a board member since 2007, called the nonprofit “one of the best kept secrets in Cleveland.”

“They’re learning basic skills that help them live their life better,” he said. “We’re making a difference, we’re part of the solution.”

Entler, who also is a member of the board of directors for the Ohio Association for Adult and Continuing Education, agrees on the impact of the organization and its work.

“The students are just such a motivation to keep the organization going,” she said. “I believe we are changing — Amy Ann Stoessel their lives.”

T H U RSDAY, NOVEM BER 13, 2014 DRI NKO HALL The community is invited to the first in a series of panels featuring thought leaders who will explore the future of education, healthcare, business and leadership in Northeast Ohio and beyond.

PRESIDENTS PANEL: “VIEWS OF PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY” 3:00 – 4:00 PM

BOARD OF TRUSTEES PANEL: “GOVERNANCE CHALLENGES OF THE FUTURE FOR PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES” 4:15 – 5:30 PM

Panelists include past CSU presidents Claire Van Ummersen and Michael Schwartz along with current President Ronald M. Berkman.

Moderated by WKYC-TV 3 news anchor Russ Mitchell.

Panelists include past CSU board chairmen Ronald E. Weinberg, Timothy J. Cosgrove and Michael L. Climaco along with current Board Chairman Robert H. Rawson, Jr. Moderated by WEWS-TV 5 news anchor Leon Bibb.

HELP YOUR ACHING JOINTS

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FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO RSVP, PLEASE VISIT csuohio.edu/PresidentsPanel ©2014 Cleveland State University 141418-2

844.786.2355 regenorthopedics.com

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Margie Hirschfeld

Gretchen Santo

Citizens Academy Model Education Leader Breakthrough Schools

Science Department Chair Beaumont School

M

retchen Santo wears her passion for education on her sleeve.

But her passion for students flows through her veins.

“I really love these girls. They are written on my heart,” said Santo, a science teacher of 21 years at the all-girls Beaumont School in Cleveland Heights. “I want to challenge them to reach for things that they thought were beyond their grasp.”

A veteran of her school, Santo, wears many different hats. During the day, she teaches honors biology and genetics. When not in class, she may be coaching her award-winning, battle-ready RoboBots team or leading students in clubs for pre-med, pre-engineering or any number of other groups.

When not physically in school, she’s probably planning out her next big activity for students, such as a summer sailing adventure on the tall ship S/V Denis Sullivan through Project YESS (Youth Empowered to Succeed through Sailing); creating educational computer games through Case Western Reserve University’s think[box]; or visiting NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, to serve as ground crew members on a reduced-gravity experiment.

And that’s just a sample of the countless activities she’s helped create for her students.

“She is just extremely passionate. She’s so driven by the needs and success of her students. It’s constantly on her mind,” said Beaumont principal Mary Whelan. “She accomplishes more a day than any of us can.”

“I think God gifted her with 26 hours in every day,” Whelan laughed.

Motivated, curious and charming, Santo shares a connection with her young scholars in her unquenchable thirst for knowledge.

If you weren’t working in the field of education, what would you be doing and why?: “It’s hard to answer this because I have been in the field of education for over 30 years,” Hirschfeld said.

“I always wanted to be a philanthropist, but that didn’t work out because I never won the lottery.

I’d love to help an organization make funding decisions around grant projects involving education because I could continue to have a positive impact on children’s lives.” mic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups,” according to the U.S. Department of Education.

And, in 2011, she oversaw Breakthrough Schools’ replication of the Citizens Academy model at Citizens Academy East on Woodside Avenue. She is currently leading the academic planning for a third Citizens Academy, slated to open in 2015. (A site for that school has not yet been selected.)

As for the future, Hirschfeld still hopes to retire. But, not surprisingly, she’s already thinking about what she’s going to do next to stay involved.

And that’s probably a good thing.

“She’s truly one of those what-yousee-is-what-you-get kind of people,” said Rosskamm, who previously served as president and CEO of JoAnn Stores Inc. “She’s always coming from a good place.”

— Amy Ann Stoessel

If you weren’t working in the field of education, what would you be doing and why?: Practicing medicine “She inspires everyone around here to be engaged and involved in learning,” Whelan added.

Speaking softly and thoughtfully, Santo’s genuine and motherly voice rises with excitement when talking about class. Or science. Or any extracurricular activity. Or any one of the myriad other topics that pique her interest, like the school’s new $9.5 million STEM building addition that will replace aging science classrooms dating back to the 1950s with eight modern lecture labs.

See SANTO, page 16

your Preschooler studying butterflies in Hawken’s eco-garden. your 4th grade daughter consulting with one of Cleveland’s top archeologists on a real life dig at Hawken’s Gries Center in University Circle.

your 7th grader navigating

high speed train schedules on a trip to Japan. your 11th grade son collaborating and creating business solutions with local entrepreneurs. your 12th grader accepted to a distinguished college

OSBORNE

of their choice. Now, stop imagining.

continued from page 14

“That’s not to say someone with academic challenges wouldn’t be accepted and couldn’t come here and thrive,” Osborne said. “But we have to see some potential.

This isn’t the same education you’ll receive somewhere else. It’s a faith-based private school, and you have to understand what that means. If a value-based education is not what you’re looking for, we’re not the place for you.”

Osborne and his wife, Della, a 1968 Villa Angela Academy graduate, have been married for 44 years and have four children and nine grandchildren. He said he’s still a “news junkie” who remains involved with The Press Club of Cleveland. The 2007 Press Club Hall of Fame inductee will serve as emcee of the group’s Hall of Fame dinner on Nov. 7. — Kevin Kleps

GET DAILY NEWS ALERTS FROM CRAIN’S REGISTER FOR FREE E-MAIL ALERTS AND RECEIVE: THE MORNING ROUNDUP: The day’s business news from Ohio’s daily papers BREAKING NEWS ALERTS DAILY HEADLINES: Crain’s-produced news and blog items from the day REAL ESTATE REPORT: A weekly guide to real estate news. Published Monday.

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15

G

argie Hirschfeld retired once, but you could say that it really didn’t

take.

Less than a year into her retirement and two years after Perry White had started the first Citizens Academy, the longtime educator found herself back in the school setting.

“It was an opportunity to really help create something, and to create something really special,” she said, describing Citizens as the type of organization where children really do come first.

Hirschfeld today focuses on instructional issues as model leader for all Citizens Academies (kindergarten through fifth grades) within the Breakthrough Schools network.

She joined Citizens Academy in 2001 as literacy coordinator and served as director of academics before taking on her current role in 2011. Before joining Citizens, she was the middle school director of The Agnon School, a Jewish community day school in Beachwood.

“She’s a remarkable person on multiple levels,” said Alan Rosskamm, CEO of Breakthrough Schools. “She has high expectations and believes in the potential of her students.”

Hirschfeld described the Citizens Academy model as one that has extremely high expectations for students, families, employees and faculty.

There is a daily focus on citizenship that is defined through seven virtues, and the model promotes a collaborative style of leadership.

“There’s no one leader who’s highly skilled in all aspects of leadership,” she said.

Still, Hirschfeld is credited with playing a leading role in some of Citizens’ major accomplishments over the past several years.

For one, the school went from being in academic emergency to being named in 2011 a Blue Ribbon School, a program that “recognizes public and private elementary, middle and high schools based on their overall acade-

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NOVEMBER 3 - 9, 2014

Randale Richmond

Meran Rogers

Associate athletic director Kent State University

Founding directer Global Ambassadors Language Academy

Richmond usually says “yes” when REvenandale people ask him to do something. if he’s not quite sure how to do it.

anguage — make that languages — have always been at the center of Meran Rogers’ L life. And not always in a positive way.

The habit has paid off. Today, Richmond is associate athletic director at Kent State University — a title he probably wouldn’t hold if he wasn’t so quick to take on responsibility.

He started saying “yes” early. Richmond grew up poor, and moved several times while growing up in Akron. But he worked hard. With the help of a few University of Akron programs targeting inner-city students, Richmond started getting ready for college in junior high.

Soon, more people started seeing Richmond as someone who would go the extra mile. So they started asking him to do stuff.

“People would say, ‘Hey Randale, would you do student council?’ Yeah, I’ll do it,” he said.

The trend continued after he enrolled at what was then called Baldwin-Wallace College. Richmond, who played running back for the B-W football team, originally majored in history and math and planned to become a middle school teacher.

During his last semester, however, he ditched the plan, because he felt like he’d have to spend most of his time preparing students for tests.

Luckily, he had a close relationship with Denise Reading, who used to be dean of student affairs at Baldwin-Wallace. He told her about his misgivings.

“She said, ‘Do you want to do what I do?’”

He responded: “‘Yeah, that’s amazing — what does a dean do?’”

He found out the answer to that question at Kent State, where he earned a master’s in higher education administration in 2006. While studying, he started working in the athletic department’s compliance and eligibility office — because he was asked to do it.

A few years later, Kent State’s athletic director, Joel Nielsen, put him in charge of the compliance office. And in May 2012, Nielsen promoted him again, by giving him responsibility for the department’s academic services unit.

Why Richmond? He’s well-prepared and wellliked, and he’s “done quite well in every position” he’s been in, according to Nielsen.

“He will be a great athletic director in the near future,” he said.

If you weren’t working in the field of education, what would you be doing and why?: Richmond would be working in a field related to community service.

“I have a servant’s heart and love problem solving,” he said. “The idea of unifying the public around a common goal of improvement excites me.”

Richmond and his wife, Ja’-Alycia, have two sons, Ramahn, 5, and Ramar, 2, and a 6-monthold daughter, Jayla. He loves hip-hop and fashion — during the interview he was wearing a suit with a pocket square that was the same shade of black as his watch and wedding ring. He’s also helped organize intramural sports teams consisting of Kent State employees, which has helped them get to know each other better.

Though he loves sports, he’s more passionate about helping students get good grades and graduate. For instance, he noted how he and a few other department officials started “Project Graduation: Flashes for Life” — a program that seeks out athletes who left school to go pro and helps them complete their degrees. The program has worked with 24 students so far.

Richmond encourages students to do more than what society expects of them. And to take on responsibility when given the chance, even if they feel they’re not quite ready. Because usually they are.

“People ask you to do certain things because they see something in you that you may not see — Chuck Soder yourself,” he said.

So she’s doing something about that for the next generation of students. She’s working to create Cleveland’s first language immersion school.

The daughter of newly arrived immigrants who met in Chicago — her mother from Poland and her father from Taiwan — Rogers wrestled with the confusion of discordant voices growing up.

Eventually her parents settled on English as the household language but the delay slowed Rogers’ progress in school.

“I didn’t learn how to read until late in the first grade,” she said. “It wasn’t until we moved to Lakewood at the end of first grade that I was put in an ESL (English as a Second Language) class.”

As an adult, being around family members who spoke Chinese or Polish, Rogers realized that while English was necessary for school and to help her family, not learning a second or third language was a mistake. She tried to catch up, taking classes in Mandarin as an undergraduate at Case Western Reserve University, where she graduated in 2005. But, she admits, picking up a language as an adult has been hard and not as successful as she would have liked.

“The older you get you reflect on what could have been and when I came to realize I only spoke English when I could have learned Chinese and Polish, it was frustrating,” she said.

“To be monolingual is a disappointment.”

Then, in 2006 and 2007, she spent a year as a language immersion teacher in Taipei, Taiwan, teaching Taiwanese third-graders in English.

“I couldn’t get over how fluent my students were in English and Chinese and Taiwanese,” she said. “I started to think, ‘Why don’t we have that here?’ It was a ridiculous thought at the time.”

But no longer.

The Global Ambassadors Language Academy, or GALA, is chartered and partly funded by the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. It will offer language immersion in Spanish and Mandarin. GALA would be the first Mandarin immer-

If you weren’t working in the field of education, what would you be doing and why?: “I don’t know,” Rogers said. “There’s no answer for that. If it’s not GALA, it will still be related to education, and Cleveland specifically.” sion school in the state. The plan is to open the school in fall 2015.

The school would immerse English-speaking students into Spanish or Mandarin by teaching nearly everything — art, science and math — in the second language. The idea, in part, is that students fluent in two languages will have an advantage in the global job market.

Rogers did not set out to be an educator so she’s had to catch up educationally to make her dream happen. She earned a master’s degree in nonprofit management from CWRU in 2009 and is working on an early childhood education certificate from Cuyahoga Community College.

“She’s one of those individuals you hear about — through their dedication, something is happening,” said Elizabeth Hijar, the school’s board chair and director of engagement at the Centers for Families and Children. “She has this amazing personal background that’s ‘Only in America.’”

— Jay Miller

SANTO continued from page 15

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Hands down, our higher education professionals are among the best in the business. But that doesn’t quite cut it. The way we see it, it’s not enough that we’re top-notch experts in accounting we need to be experts in what you do too. That’s why we make it our business to know your business, inside and out. Maloney + Novotny has extensive experience working with colleges and universities providing audit, accounting, tax and consulting services.

Her colleagues say her enthusiasm is palpable to students and endearing to fellow faculty.

“It’s just such a blessing to work with someone as dedicated and passionate as she is,” Whelan added. “And it just affirms that education is so important and so valuable and students need to be involved and engaged, and she really knows how to do that.”

“Gretchen is always excited. It’s all about what new and innovative things she can bring to our students,” said Barbara DiTurno, director of development at Beaumont. “And that’s what makes her such a phenomenal teacher because the girls know how much she enjoys the same things she’s working with them on.”

Santo has three adult children, including two Beaumont graduates. She currently lives in Cleveland Heights with her husband, Tom. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Dayton, but her love of people drew her to the classroom instead of the oft-stark sterility and isolation of a lab. But decades into her career at Beaumont, which began in 1993, she confesses “I still really love what I do.”

“It makes it all worthwhile to see these girls just blossom with their talents,” Santo said, referencing her students’ track records for success in class, clubs and in the future as adults. “It’s a joy to see what they can accomplish.”

Santo said her secret to connecting with students is simple: respect.

But that ever-present smile probably helps, too.

“Our world can be falling apart, but these girls get this one short window in their lives when they’re taking these classes, biology or genetics.” she said, adding that not every day with her as a teacher is a “walk in the park,” though. “I may teach this for 20 years, but they’re only going to get that one year with me. And I want to — Jeremy Nobile make that as good as an experience as I possibly can.”

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

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Deirdre M. Mageean Provost and senior vice president, academic affairs Cleveland State University

W

Robert Aguilar Science faculty member Western Reserve Academy

R

obert Aguilar teaches a biotechnology class and three sections of AP Biology to students at the academically rigorous Western Reserve Academy in Hudson. The students bring different passions and perspectives to each class, he said, but one preference is constant.

“They’ll take a hands-on experience any day over me standing up there and lecturing,” he said.

So hands-on it is, at a level generally seen only in colleges and research facilities.

Aguilar is completing his doctoral degree in regulatory biology with a specialization in molecular medicine through Cleveland State University and the Cleveland Clinic. His research at the Clinic involves the development of a vaccine for testicular cancer — and his biotech students conduct cancer research on mouse testicular cancer cells.

In the AP bio classes, sections on cell division involve extensive examination of cells under microscopes, not in books.

The teenage mind, Aguilar says, “thinks of big ideas. It’s my job to focus them with hands-on experimenting.”

Aguilar joined Western Reserve Academy in 2006. He taught biology, genetics and anatomy/physiology for the nursing program as an adjunct professor at El Centro College in Texas for two years, and biology, genetics and AP biology at The Highlands School near Dallas for six years. He came to Northeast Ohio to work on his doctorate and to bring his brand of high-level science education to Western Reserve Academy.

For the last seven years, Aguilar has overseen a summer internship for Western Reserve Academy students at the Clinic. The program — the Molecular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic internship — typically involves about

If you weren’t working in the field of education, what would you be doing and why?: “I would be a veterinarian because I love large animals (horses and cattle),” Aguilar said. “This would give me the opportunity to stay outdoors, get dirty, pull calves and wear my cowboy hat.” four Western Reserve Academy students working with a Clinic researcher, Vincent Tuohy, who is Aguilar’s Ph.D. supervisor.

The students perform cutting-edge research on a variety of immune-related human diseases, Aguilar said, and it offers a “deeper, more intense” experience for students who are considering science or medical careers.

In May, Aguilar was one of just four high school teachers nationwide selected to present his curriculum at the annual meeting of the American Association of Immunologists, held in Pittsburgh. His presentation, “Cancer Cell Technology as a Tool for Teaching Basic Principles of Immunology,” covered the work he has done at the Clinic.

The curriculum now is being shared with high schools nationwide.

Kate Mueller, assistant head of school at Western Reserve Academy, said Aguilar’s classes are popular because they offer the chance for students to do “very challenging, realworld work.” And, she said, Aguilar represents “a model of what a lifelong learner should be. He does research, and sometimes he has some setbacks, but he’s extremely persistent.”

Aguilar spends a lot of time in the lab, obviously, so when he’s away from work, he likes to get far away.

His hobbies include camping with his family, hunting and fishing. Mueller noted that he helps with the school’s riflery team by repairing guns.

Aguilar lives on the Western Reserve Academy campus with his wife, Maria, and their three children, Dante (who has taken part in the molecular medicine internship), Regina and Diego.

— Scott Suttell

hile growing up in near Belfast, Deirdre M. Mageean was evacuated for the first time due to a street riot at age 11. Her experience with the troubles in Ireland shaped her career choice and led her, after 30 years of scholarly research, college teaching and administration, to CSU last year.

“I come from a family of doctors and dentists. I was on the science track,” Mageean said, but her experiences put her on a different path. “I felt I needed to understand human nature and pursued a joint program of sociology and philosophy.”

After receiving an undergraduate degree in sociology and philosophy at Belfast University, she received a master’s degree in sociology from the University of York and a doctorate in geography at the Open University in Ireland. Her doctoral thesis studied the differences in Irish immigrants to North America before and after the famine.

Ironically, she made the same trek in 1987. She immigrated to the U.S. as she and her husband found teaching positions in Maine and brought their 13-month-old son with them. “We studied the pros and cons, and here we are,” she said. A decade of teaching and research at the University of Maine led to her next step.

“In some ways I’m an accidental administrator,” Mageean said. While serving as an associate professor at the University of Maine’s Department of Resource Economics and Public Policy at the Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy, the director left. She became the applied research center’s interim director.

“I looked after the shop and discov-

If you weren’t working in the field of education, what would you be doing and why?: Mageean, surprisingly, points to neither dentistry nor doctoring.

“If a fairy came down and gave me three wishes, I would have liked a voice of successful quality to sing opera professionally or training to be an orchestra conductor,” she said.

“It would be great fun.” ered I liked administration and making things happen,” Mageean said, and she became the next director. She scaled the academic ladder through positions as a graduate school dean in Maine and at East Carolina University, where she also served as vice chancellor, before joining CSU. Her role at CSU is chief operating officer for the academic operations, which she summarizes succinctly as a “busy pursuit of a great mission.”

Among her many current tasks is heading the prioritization process that may cull the number of majors at CSU. “It’s really putting the university in position for long-term sustainability,” Mageean said. “We are attuned with

demand in education, but do not swing in the wind with every change.”

An avid sailor since taking it up as a family activity in Maine, Mageean said the process is “a little like sailing. You change directions to take advantage of the wind. It’s also a team sport.”

Although Mageean, who has a long list of research credits, describes herself as a “data person, a demographer by training,” she feels “data informs us but does not dictate. There is ultimately a value judgment to be made.”

As provost, she directly reports to Ronald Berkman, CSU president, who said he prizes her sound judgment, open mind and extensive higher-education experience.

“She has already led CSU through a variety of key initiatives,” Dr. Berkman said, “including our conversion to a three-credit-hour curriculum and our partnership with Northeast Ohio Medical University to enhance training for an urban-focused health-care work force.”

Meredith Bond, dean of CSU’s College of Sciences and Health Professions, said Mageean’s “outstanding contribution” to CSU has been improving communication between the provost’s office and the balance of the university by focusing on enhancing student success.

For Mageean’s part, Cleveland has exceeded her expectations.

“The weather was not a problem. I have 17 years in Maine under my belt,” she said. “I have boots, shovels and the only thing I needed was a new parka from L.L. Bean.” She said she enjoys the city’s cultural life, particularly the orchestra, and looks forward to sailing Lake Erie.

Today, Mageean said she cannot teach a class because she “can’t guarantee I’ll be in the same place the same time each week” and misses the interaction with students from teaching.

— Stan Bullard

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NOVEMBER 3 - 9, 2014

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CLIFFS continued from page 5

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Rage On hopes to develop a ShapShirt app that would allow customers to take a picture with their phones and order clothing covered in the image.

TOP continued from page 5

On plans to move out of its cramped 1,000-square-foot office at the corner of East 30th Street and Chester Avenue and into 4,000 square feet at the Ariel International Center on East 40th.

The new space isn’t ready, so the company plans to rent three offices at the Shaker LaunchHouse business incubator in the meantime.

LaunchHouse CEO Todd Goldstein said that, if he were an investor, he would want to know for sure that the company had its licenses in order. But otherwise he thinks Rage On has a lot of growth potential.

The clothes are weird — but people are buying them, Goldstein said.

Plus, “how often do you hear about a company … moving from Boston to Cleveland, Ohio?” he said.

All over the place When RageOn.com went live in October 2013, the company was based out of Krilivsky’s bedroom in Boston. But the company originally slated to print images onto the clothing didn’t take Rage On seriously.

The young company had a sense of how much demand there would be, having watched people scoop up its Let’s Rage-brand clothing at rock concerts. So Rage On told the

printer to staff up for all the orders that would come their way.

The printer didn’t listen. Then orders started piling up. Rage On couldn’t fill them fast enough.

The company scrambled for a new printer. In the end, it went with a Cleveland company that had previously helped Rage On produce a few pieces of clothing. Rage On signed a deal with the printer — Krilivsky wouldn’t release the company’s name, for competitive reasons — just before Christmas.

On Dec. 30, all eight of the people employed by the company at the time moved to a house in Lakewood.

Among them was Nick Sanchez, a partner in the business. The Rhode Island native joined the company instead of fulfilling his mother’s wish that he go to college. Wearing a shirt covered in 1990s cartoon characters and a hat with the word “OBEY” on it, Sanchez said other companies offer clothes made with the all-over-printing technique.

But he said they don’t push boundaries like Rage On does. In other words, they don’t make shirts featuring Scarecrow from “The Wizard of Oz,” stripping on stage, with people throwing dollars at him.

“We’re just coming up with the craziest designs you could possibly think of,” Sanchez said.

the quarter. Goncalves is seeking three equity partners to help pay for the capital costs of the second phase of the mine, mimicking the model the company uses at its U.S. operations. If those partners aren’t secured by the end of 2014, Goncalves said, he’ll immediately look at closure or other permanent options. The company already has decided to shut down the Wabush mine, also in its Eastern Canadian iron ore business.

The Bloom Lake plan is one Goncalves has been interested in from his first day at Cliffs. The former steelmaking company executive said he used his own relationships to catch the interest of the big steelmakers, and he expects to get a yes or no from companies soon.

The planned changes also include the company’s Koolyanobbing mine in Australia. Total sales volume increased year-over-year in the quarter for the Asia Pacific iron ore business, but revenue was down significantly. Goncalves said the mine has about six years left of operability, and he doesn’t intend to stay in the region beyond that.

Currently, it’s a cost-competitive operation with low capital expenditure needs — maybe just $50 mil-

lion during the next six years, Goncalves said. And if anyone offered the company a sum that would make up the difference, he said, he’d be open to selling the operation.

The North American coal business is a different story. But the business is not at the end of its life like the operations in Australia, so Cliffs will have to continue to invest in it. Coal prices have been low but stable, Goncalves said, and if they stay that way, the company will have enough to maintain the operations while staying EBITDA neutral. He expects the business to basically be a zero net gain until the pricing improves or someone buys it. The company’s not strapped for cash now, but if it was, this is a business he’d consider putting up for sale.

The market seemed to react well to Goncalves’ announcements, as the share price rose from $9.24 at the end of the day on Monday, Oct. 27, to $11.29 by the close of Tuesday, Oct. 28. It had fallen back down to $10.50 by close on Thursday, Oct. 30.

BB&T Capital Markets encouraged shareholders to “hold” on the stock in its Oct. 28 report, saying that the company had performed

“The present is a lot of work to bring a profitable future for Cliffs.”

– Lourenco Goncalves chairman, president and CEO, Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. well above estimates. Deutsche Bank gave it a “buy” rating in its Oct. 28 report, saying that in the conference call, Goncalves gave a “fair assessment of Cliffs strategic options and pulled no punches when it came to making it clear he had no time for those with a downside view of the stock.”

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CHARGE continued from page 1

leaders.”

Smyers integrated her passions for urban redevelopment and law by pursuing a practice in commercial real estate. A 1987 alumna of Shaker Heights High School, Smyers went on to study at both Harvard University and Yale Law School before joining the real estate group of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York. In 2001, she returned to Cleveland with a job at Thompson Hine as associate. She made partner in 2005.

Read said Smyers is sharp, focused, energetic and a proven leader at the office. Most recently, Smyers — whose father, Steven Minter, is former president of the Cleveland Foundation, and mother, Dolly Minter, preceded her on the board of the Cleveland Diversity Center — served as chairwoman of the firm’s nationally recognized diversity and inclusion initiative.

“She’s is a person who is all in,” Read said. “You can really count on her in a large way. She’s very plugged into the community, very socially active, she’s involved in a lot of organizations around Greater Cleveland, and she’s an accomplished practitioner. When you’re going to lead a group of lawyers, this gives you a lot of credibility with your peers. And she really exudes positive energy. That’s good for any organization.”

Changing times Smyers takes over as the firm continues a restructuring of services — something many firms are facing in a post-recession world where Read said clients are expecting more efficiency, transparency and predictability.

“We’re delivering high-value services more efficiently and with better project planning,” Read said.

“The entire legal profession is facing these strong headwinds.

Clients want us to do business differently,” Smyers said. “I feel like I’m becoming partner-in-charge at a great time because we’ve already made a lot of those investments, and I think we’re well positioned to keep that momentum going.”

“I’m not planning on a new direction,” she added. “We are better,

MORE ON MINTER SMYERS EXPERIENCE: ■ Partner, Thompson Hine’s Real Estate and Corporate Transactions & Securities practice groups.

■ Former chair, Thompson Hines’ Diversity & Inclusion Initiative ■ Formerly worked for the New York City-based National Organization for Developing Housing for the Homeless.

■ Joined the real estate group of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York after graduating from law school.

stronger, more efficient than we were in the past, and part of my role is to communicate to the marketplace what we’ve been doing so they know we are these things.”

Smyers serves on a variety of civic boards and committees including those for the George Gund Foundation, the African-American Philanthropy Committee of the Cleveland Foundation, the City Club of Cleveland, Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland and the Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio.

She currently lives in her hometown — two blocks from the street she grew up on — with her husband Bert, son Thomas, 11, and twin daughters Charlotte and Shannon, 8. Her seldom spare time is spent with family, running, traveling or taking pictures and scrapbooking.

Asked whether she feels she’s breaking the proverbial glass ceiling as a mixed-race woman leading a major law firm, Smyers says she’s on “well-trodden” ground, noting she is actually the third AfricanAmerican partner-in-charge at Thompson Hine.

Smyers encourages other young professionals to identify their own passions, which she said is a key to happiness and success.

“It’s easy to work hard and be impactful when you’re doing something you really want to,” she said.

MCKINLEY WILEY

The Cleveland Convention Center was expected to host more than 1,500 executives, investors, entrepreneurs and clinicians for its three-day Medical Innovations Summit, which was held from Oct. 27-29.

CONVENTION CENTER continued from page 1

that will reintroduce that facility to Northeast Ohioans.

Jeff Appelbaum, the attorney who has overseen the construction and operation of the complex for the county for the last four years, said the $6 million is the result in the change of management at the complex.

The county’s agreement with MMPI, the Chicago real estate firm that led the complex through design and construction, called for MMPI to be paid as much as $10 million a year. Now, with the facility under SMG management, the county will pay $4.1 million to cover the operating loss incurred under SMG’s management of the 750,000square-foot convention center and 235,000-square-foot Global Center.

(SMG’s fee for operating the complex is included in the $4.1 million.)

Last September, the county and MMPI agreed to part ways. MMPI was moving away from the show management business, and the county was unhappy with MMPI’s performance. SMG was selected to replace MMPI in January.

In a telephone interview, Appelbaum said the savings comes in part from cost-saving changes in public contracting law, changes that the county is using on the under-construction Hilton Cleveland Downtown hotel adjacent to the convention center.

Until 2011, public agencies could not by state law use a development style called design-build construction, which was used in private industry because it significantly lowered construction costs. To use that lower-cost option, MMPI became the effective owner and assumed the risk of cost overruns and late completion penalties, justifying the higher county outlay to MMPI. SMG was contracted simply to manage the complex for a fee. The financial exposure now is all on the county.

Still, even with the cost savings, the complex is running in the red — as was expected.

Appelbaum said the expected loss for 2014 of $4.1 million is $200,000 under the first-of-the-year budget estimate. The Thompson Hine attorney told council he expected the 2015 loss to be slightly lower, about $3.9 million.

Appelbaum said that some of the savings will be put toward a capital improvements fund.

Publicly operated convention centers in most cities are operated

as loss leaders, with rates set to attract conventions that will fill hotels and restaurants. The industry yardstick, Leahy told council, is that each convention-goer spends about $1,200 over the course of a two- or three-day convention.

Using that measure, Leahy said the complex will have an economic impact of $110.9 million in 2014.

“We’re off to a good start. The 80% occupancy in the Global Center is great,” said Matt Carroll, County Executive Ed FitzGerald’s chief of staff, in a telephone interview last Thursday, Oct. 30. “But they’ve identified things we’ve got to work on. We’re not going to rest on our laurels.”

Room to improve Getting healthier Beyond the finances, Leahy reported to county council that 79.2% of the space in the Global Center is under lease, though not all tenants are currently operating their space or have it under construction. He said the lease figure could be as high as 84.5% by year’s end if pending negotiations turn into signed leases. The county and SMG had set a goal of 80% occupancy by year’s end.

To complete the tenant roster, Leahy said his sales team will target several medical/health care subspecialties not yet represented in the building, including pharmaceuticals, health insurance and earlystage companies. Leahy said SMG is not hurrying to fill space with tenants who would not meet the mission of the center, which is to show the latest innovations in the medical and healthcare industry.

“There were some (companies interested in taking space) from the medical world, but they didn’t have (a compatible) mission or they might have been, say, a distributor, not an innovator,” Leahy said. “The tenants either make this stuff or invent it. They’re not just distributors.”

Leahy said he’s planning a Dec. 6 open house, a sort of grand opening for the Global Center. Last year’s ribbon cutting, he and others have said, probably was premature, because most tenants weren’t ready to take full advantage of their space.

While the event will be open to the public, Leahy told county council that the plan is to have programming from the tenants that will be promoted to national medical and health care media to have a broad impact.

He said the center also will have ongoing programming that will drive interest in the building with both the public and the medical and healthcare communities. In June, Leahy said, the center is planning to co-sponsor a session on concussions with the National Academy of Engineering.

As for the convention center, SMG expects that by year’s end it will have hosted 190 meetings and 28 conventions that drew or will draw 177,541 people and use 92,447 hotel room nights. Meetings book on short notice while convention planners often book three to five years out and would not have booked into an unfinished center.

For the out years, 2015 to 2019, the convention center has 158 events on the books that are expected to attract 487,221 people and use 388,829 hotel room nights. The low ratio of attendees to hotel room nights is because more meetings are scheduled than conventions.

Those numbers include the Republican presidential nominating convention, which is expected to draw 40,000 people.

Of those convention center events, 29% are in the medical or health care industries; 16% education; 12% financial, legal or real estate; and 10% industrial/manufacturing.

Eventually, by 2018 or 2019, the goal is to have the convention center — principally its exhibit halls — operated at 60% utilization on the basis of square feet used times days of use. SMG is projecting to cross the 20% threshold in 2015 and hit 30% by 2016. For 2014, utilization is about 12%.

Councilman David Greenspan was generally pleased with the report.

“Would I like it to be booked 100%? Sure,” he said in a telephone interview. “But in reality, convention centers aren’t 100% booked. As long as we keep moving in the right direction, which I believe we are, then we will know the project was worthwhile.

“Conventions center are very challenging to even break even,” he said.

The administration is on the same page.

“We feel like it’s starting to realize its potential,” Carroll said. “But we realize there is more work to be done.”

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LENDING continued from page 1

shy of pre-recession levels, data from the Federal Reserve show that nationwide, more dollars are being lent out this year compared with others since the economic downturn — about $1.732 trillion through September, compared with $1.543 trillion in the like period a year ago.

Fred Cummings, a former bank securities analyst who is now president at Elizabeth Park Capital Management, a Cleveland hedge fund that invests in bank stocks, said commercial lending has been strong across the country, with many banks seeing a growth of 8% to 10% yearto-date compared with the like period of 2013.

And growth rates are accelerating more as the economy improves both across the country and regionally in Greater Cleveland, he said.

He said the hospitality industries, multifamily real estate and retail opportunities are becoming more prevalent in Greater Cleveland, citing the bank’s participation in financing for the Crocker Park and Metropolitan at the 9 projects.

Lending for real estate overall, especially to finance new apartments, is picking up across the country after stagnating in the mid-2000s.

Michigan-based Talmer Bank and Trust also launched a foray into Cleveland recently following an early 2013 acquisition of the bankrupted First Place Bank of Warren.

That merger was finalized in February and was underscored by the hiring of new employees that re-

sulted, among other things, in a dedicated commercial banking staff. Jamie Lynch, executive managing director at Talmer and region president for Ohio, said the team has doubled since May 2013.

“We’re doing very well in Ohio as it relates to what we thought our opportunities would be, but also what the corporate office expectation for Ohio was,” he said.

Lynch said commercial lending prospects are expected to grow well into 2015, noting that underwriting deals in the pipeline are “strong” and other deals are heading toward closures for clients in a variety of industries. Oil and gas companies and demand for financing for

mergers/acquisitions and even debt refinancing are among the top drivers, he said.

“Commercial banking is strong right now,” Lynch added, “just maybe not as strong as it was pre2007.”

The heat of competition Cummings points out that banks are becoming more competitive as demand for commercial loans creeps up, especially in terms of pricing. And as a result, to be more competitive, many banks are tweaking their deals to offer lower prices and fixed rates over longer periods, some even up to 10 years.

“We’re hearing some very intense price competition right now,” Cummings said. “Some banks are taking on that interest rate risk in the form of making longer terms, fixed-rate loans, and that could be a risk factor if a bank is doing that.”

In another theme, there’s also competition driving a need for personnel amongst the bank themselves.

“If you’re a talented lender, you could have a lot of opportunities,” Cummings said. “Banks are aggressively looking to hire good talent right now. That tells you they’re optimistic about loan demand because they’re willing to invest in new personnel.”

Slow but steady Jason Sutton, head of Wells Fargo’s Commercial Bank office in Cleveland, said the bank’s commercial lending portfolio in the Cleveland market is up about 20% from 2013, with demand spread throughout industries from automotive and manufacturing to health care. Don Hayes, Wells Fargo regional vice president for Ohio, said the growth has been steady since 2010 but has been more “pronounced” over the last year as companies seek out loans to fund expansions of their footprints, inventories and staff.

“I think companies are trying to do more with less, and I think employment growth will continue happening, but at a very steady, modest pace,” Sutton said, “and that’s better in the long term, more meaningful.”

Jeff Douglas, KeyBank Eastern Ohio district president, said he’s seeing loan growth in the region of about 11%, with demand from steel and auto industries slightly stronger.

Others, he said, are seeking financing to grow business through mergers and acquisitions.

“We’re still not seeing demand return to pre-recession levels, but it’s still been steady,” he said. “There’s growth in there, and we feel good about that. We think what we see now is sustainable into next year.”

“This (lending activity) is clearly indicative of economic growth,” Cummings points out.

Middle-market opportunities Midsize banks are getting in on the activity, too, leveraging the regional opportunities in a rejuvenated Greater Cleveland.

Pennsylvania-based First Commonwealth Bank, for example, branched into Cleveland for the first time in spring 2013 by opening a loan production office in the Oswald Centre to capture the opportunities in Northeast Ohio, said John Osberg, senior vice president and senior corporate banker at First Commonwealth.

Osberg worked out of his home for a year while bulking up staff for the office that opened this past April.

“Ever since we opened, we’ve had a lot of opportunities. Our loan growth production has been really very strong,” he said, noting there is no regional data to compare growth against yet with only a couple months of business in the books.

“The demand has been tremendous,” Osberg added. “I think we’re exceeding expectations. We’ve probably closed 14 to 15 deals.”

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10/31/2014

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NOVEMBER 3 - 9, 2014

THE WEEK OCTOBER 27 - NOVEMBER 2

The big story: Cleveland was the center of the sports world on Thursday, Oct. 30, as the Cavaliers opened the season and officially welcomed back LeBron James. The game was a disappointment, as the Cavs lost 95-90 to the New York Knicks. But the day was marked by the unveiling of the 10-story “Welcome Home LeBron” banner on the Sherwin-Williams building a block from Quicken Loans Arena, the debut of Nike’s stirring, two-minute “Together” video featuring James, and a generally buoyant spirit downtown.

Watson’s on the case: Cancer has a new enemy: An IBM computer that happens to be extremely good at Jeopardy! Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic aim to figure out how doctors might use IBM’s Watson technology to treat cancer patients. It’s often hard for doctors to identify genetic mutations that could be causing a particular patient’s cancer and then use that information to choose a treatment. The hospital system’s Lerner Research Institute will study how doctors could use a genomic analytics technology that relies on Watson’s so-called “cognitive computing” ability.

Put to the test: ChanTest Corp., a Cleveland company that provides ion channel testing services, has been acquired by Wilmington, Mass.based Charles River Laboratories International Inc. Terms were not disclosed by ChanTest, Charles River or Ampersand Capital Partners, ChanTest’s private equity owner. However, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News reported that Charles River “agreed to pay ChanTest $52 million upfront, and another $2 million in payments tied to unspecified ‘future performance’ milestones,” putting the all-cash deal at up to $54 million. Charles River said the addition of ChanTest “broadens our existing discovery-focused ion channel capabilities.”

They’ve got talent: Higher education institutions serving Greater Akron collectively secured a $1 million prize in recognition of their success in retaining and graduating students.

CEOs for Cities, a nonprofit that brings together CEOs and other urban leaders to serve as catalysts for change in American cities, sponsored the national Talent Dividend competition. Almost 60 metropolitan areas competed for the grand prize, which was announced at a meeting in Washington, D.C. The institutions serving the Akron area are Hiram College, Kent State University, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Stark State College and the University of Akron.

A positive change:

Cleveland’s convention and visitors bureau has a new name. Positively Cleveland said it’s changing its name to Destination Cleveland, effective immediately. The organization said its executive board “chose the name Destination Cleveland to better reflect the work the organization does to showcase Cleveland as a destination for leisure and business travel.” The organization’s new name will appear on its marketing materials immediately. Destination Cleveland’s website will remain thisiscleveland.com.

23

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK BEHIND THE NEWS WITH CRAIN’S WRITERS

Case startup rockets near top of LaunchPad contest Four budding Northeast Ohio companies competed in a national entrepreneurship contest in New York City last week, and one of them — Carbon Origins out of Case Western Reserve University — brought home the third-place prize and $10,000 to invest in its flagship technology.

Twenty venture teams from Blackstone LaunchPad programs across the country competed last Tuesday, Oct. 28, in the first LaunchPad Demo Day, a day-long pitch event. Northeast Ohio was represented by SensID, Everykey and Carbon Origins out of Case Western Reserve, and The New Fuel from Kent State University. At the event, the startups met with potential investors and dined with representatives from their particular industries at the New York Stock Exchange.

Carbon Origins, meanwhile, launched as a rocket club on campus, but grew into a company that designs on-board computer technology. The company reportedly took a break from conducting tests in the Mojave Desert to compete in the contest. It will use its prize money to invest in its Apollo technology, a 2.5-square-inch device that can be attached to almost any object to record data with sensors, GPS, Wi-Fi and other features.

“This event was the perfect opportunity to refine our product and messaging. To win third place helps validate all the work we’ve invested in our company and sets the stage for our future,” said Amogha Srirangarajan of Carbon Origins, a senior engineering student at Case who’s on leave to concentrate on the company.

Blackstone LaunchPad is offered at 15

From left, Sean Steenberge, a student at the Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner College of Medicine, Michael Barborak from IBM and Julie Tebo, an assistant professor with the college of medicine, are shown during last week’s Medical Innovation Summit.

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colleges and universities across the country, including Baldwin Wallace University, Case Western Reserve, Kent State and Lorain County Community College. Locally, the programs are funded by The Burton D. Morgan and Blackstone Charitable foundations.

— Timothy Magaw

You can’t put anything past Watson What might health care look like once doctors start getting help from super-smart robots?

Excerpts from recent blog entries on CrainsCleveland.com.

Locking it up

Plenty of notice: CBIZ Inc. provides professional business services that help clients manage their finances and employees, so it’s not surprising that the company is engaging in some long-term planning for its CEO succession. The Cleveland company said Steven L. Gerard announced his intention to retire as CEO in March 2016. After his retirement, Gerard will continue to serve as non-executive chairman of CBIZ’s board of directors. The company’s board said it intends to appoint Jerome P. Grisko Jr., currently president and chief operating officer of CBIZ, to succeed Gerard as CEO.

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM

COMPANY: RIDGID, Elyria PRODUCT: RE 6 Electrical Tool RIDGID, a manufacturer of tools and equipment for the professional trades, says the RE 6 is its first battery-powered tool specifically designed for electrical contractors.

The new tool “offers a 3-in-1 solution for cutting wires, crimping lugs and punching electrical boxes, all with a single tool,” RIDGID says.

The RE 6 Electrical Tool features the patent-pending RIDGID QuickChange System and incorporates a moveable collar that lets contractors switch between three interchangeable heads with 360-degree rotation: the SC-60C Scissor Cutter Head, the 4P-6 4PIN Dieless Crimp Head and the PH-60B Knockout Punch Head.

RIDGID says the RE 6 “eliminates the need to carry multiple, dedicated tools to the jobsite or completely switch from one tool to the next, which increases efficiency and maximizes productivity.”

Christopher Burton, global marketing manager at RIDGID, calls the RE 6 “a real game-changer for electrical contractors looking to save time, save space and reduce the total amount of tools they carry around.”

For information, visit www.ridgid.com.

Send information about new products to managing editor Scott Suttell at ssuttell@crain.com.

Loctite, the Northeast Ohio-based engineering adhesives and sealants brand of Henkel Corp., is stepping up its marketing game.

Advertising Age reported that Loctite will be a new advertiser on advertising’s biggest stage — the 2015 Super Bowl.

“The estimated $4.5 million price of a Super Bowl spot represents a big gamble for Loctite, which has spent $4 million in total on measured media each of the past two years, according to Kantar Media,” Ad Age reported. “Through the first six months of this year, the brand spent $1.7 million. Parent Henkel, however, spent $46 million overall last year on brands that also include Dial, Purex, Right Guard and Renuzit, Kantar said.”

Loctite “will go all in with a spot at the beginning of the fourth quarter” with the latest installment of its less-than-year-old #WinAtGlue campaign from Fallon, based in Minneapolis, Ad Age said.

Pierre Tannoux, marketing director for Loctite Consumer Adhesives, told Ad Age that he’ll save other details of the creative as a surprise for closer to the game, set to air Feb. 1 on NBC. The story noted that Henkel believes Loctite will be the first home-improvement brand in the Super Bowl since Master Lock ended a decade-long run in 1995.

In the money Ohio is the place to live if you are a mail carrier.

A Wall Street Journal blog post called attention to a new salary-comparison tool from Rasmussen College that “draws on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of Economic Analysis to compare what workers in a given occupation earn in each state, both before and after ad-

The Cleveland Clinic tried to answer that question during its Medical Innovation Summit last week.

On stage, Clinic and IBM officials showed off new software that could one day let doctors use IBM’s Watson technology to supplement their own brains.

You might remember Watson as the computer that dominated two of the world’s best Jeopardy! players back in 2011. That’s what a supercomputer can do, when you give it the ability to understand natural language questions, hunt for answers online and estimate which ones are probably correct.

The Clinic and IBM developed two new programs: One would help doctors sift through data in electronic medical records, and another would help them come up with the best diagnosis for each patient.

The Clinic had an actor portray a patient on stage, telling a real doctor from the Clinic about how she’s been short of breath lately.

Afterward, Sean Steenberge, a medical student at the Clinic, broke it down for the audience: Had this been a real case, he might’ve thought the patient had pulmonary embolism — a condition where an artery in the lungs has been blocked. But Watson noticed something: The patient was on warfarin, a drug that prevents blood clots. Plus, tests showed that her blood should be clotting normally.

Watson thought she might have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. And it cited online evidence explaining why. The evidence was strong — but Steenberge was free to accept or reject it.

“I can see myself using this to come up with a best diagnosis,” he said.

— Chuck Soder

justing for the cost of living.”

For instance, surgeons have it especially good in Kansas. Surgeons in the Sunflower State make more — when adjusting for cost of living — than anywhere else in the country: $277,820.

Washington, D.C., postal carriers tie for the highest average salary in the country at $56,500. But when adjusting for the cost of living, “the district is actually the worst place for a carrier to live, as that salary is worth just $47,800,” according to The Journal.

In Ohio, a mail carrier’s salary is worth $63,330 — the highest figure in the country.

The seat of power The Senate Banking Committee “is set for a shakeup,” MarketWatch.com reported, and the changes could put Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland, in a more powerful position.

If Republicans win the Senate majority, it’s likely that Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama would become chairman of the committee.

On the Democratic side, MarketWatch.com noted, committee chairman Sen. Tim Johnson is retiring at the end of the year, and that would lead to a big shift in leadership.

“The senator with next most seniority is Sen. Jack Reed, who is expected to take leadership on the Armed Services Committee, and Sen. Chuck Schumer is expected to want to join Senate leadership, while Sen. Robert Menendez is currently chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee,” according to the story. “This could mean Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio would be the leading Democrat on the committee.”

Dwight Fettig, former staff director on the committee and a partner at Porterfield, Lowenthal, Fettig & Sears, said Brown has shown the ability to reach across the aisle with Republicans, including Sen. David Vitter, R-Louisiana, on banking policy.

“In the Senate you need bipartisan support if you are going to get anything,” Fettig said.

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10/31/2014

1:37 PM

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