Crain's Cleveland Business by Crain's Cleveland Business

Real estate brokers and property owners are bracing for more pain in the downtown Cleveland o ce market, as leases come up for renewal and tenants migrate to smaller footprints in higher-end buildings.

GCP launches interactive map of downtown, aimed at investors

But the three-dimensional model is far from nished. e team behind the project expects to keep adding to it, to both track progress and highlight potential opportunities.

BY JOE SCALZO

100 Alfred Lerner Way is hallowed ground in Cleveland.Or,atleast, it was.

INCENTIVES INVESTMENT?FOR

e chamber of commerce published the rst version of that tool, an interactive map of downtown and close-lying neighborhoods, on its website early Sunday, Sept. 11.

Mapping developmentcity’s

Developers in the city have a long track record of remaking obsolete o ce buildings as housing, hotels and mixed-use projects. But even after sharp winnowing, the downtown o ce market is ailing. Rents are soft. And vacancies are likely to climb as employers trim

their footprints to account for remote and hybrid

BY MICHELLE JARBOE

Bob Feller played there. Jim Brown did, too.

“We’re chasing ghosts,” said Andre Knott, who has worked as the sideline reporter for Cleveland’s three professional sports teams.

Realwork.estate brokers and property owners say apartment makeovers won’t be enough to blunt the pain. ey’re pushing for public policy interventions, including tax breaks for landlords who reinvest in properties and more aggressive business-attraction e orts.

VOL. 43, NO. 33 l COPYRIGHT 2022 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. l ALL RIGHTS RESERVED NEWSPAPER CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM I SEPTEMBER 12, 2022 CRAIN’S LIST See employer.largestpositioncementedcompanymanufacturingwhichitsasthelocal PAGE 26 EXCELLENCE IN HR: These professionals keep company culture alive, thriving. PAGE 10 LANDTHE SCAPE A CRAIN’S CLEVELAND PODCAST

Takes on the lake

“We’re still chasing this franchise that our grandfather went to see. It’s no longer there. It’s a completely di erent world.”

BY MICHELLE JARBOE

As pandemic-battered cities across the country look to residential conversions to ll empty downtown o ce space, Cleveland is ahead of the pack — but still treading water.

e Cleveland Browns won a championship there. e Cleveland Rams did, too.

| MICHELLE JARBOE/CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

It’s where, for one night, everything went right for Len Barker. It’s where, for one night, everything went wrong for the guy who decided to charge 10 cents for beer.

What should the Browns do with FirstEnergy Stadium?

“We spend so much time and energy on residential that maybe we should take a step back and triage o ce,” said Terry Coyne, a vice chairman in the Newmark brokerage’s Cleveland of-

ce, during a recent panel discussion hosted by NAIOP Northern Ohio, an industry group. Since 2013, developers have remade or earmarked more than 7 million square feet of downtown o ce space for conversions, according to Newmark’s local research. Cleveland outpaces other sizable cities that experienced a net reduction in downtown o ce inventory during that period, based on numbers from CoStar Group, a national real estate data provider.

It’s where John Elway ripped out hearts in 1987 and Browns fans ripped out seats in 1995.

e Greater Cleveland Partnership hopes to make it easier for investors and developers to grasp downtown Cleveland, through a new online tool that highlights recently nished projects, ongoing construction and big plans.

See MAP on Page 29

As downtown o ce buildings struggle, some push for policy interventions

See INCENTIVES on Page 30 See STADIUM on Page 28

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One of those drivers is Reese Burn side, who has been with ContainerPort for almost two years. He values the open communication the company has, noting the transparency the Dray Pal app o ers and that he’s able to di rectly call people at all levels of the or ganization to share his concerns.

“We’re already seeing it,” Ozanne said. “ ere are hiring bonuses. And if you don’t agree to let a younger ex ecutive have the option to work from home, you won’t be able to hire him.”

But technology can’t solve every thing. Supply chains have snarled in recent years, creating more congestion at ports and railyards. at makes it tough for drivers “to be as productive as they’ve been in the past,” Palmer said. Owner-operator drivers are busi ness owners, and they have costs to manage. Compensation wasn’t keep ing up with that reality, let alone in a tion. ContainerPort opted to increase pay rates for its drivers.

e redeeming feature, he empha sized, is the vast number of projects in the region, from those the Cleve land Clinic is undertaking at its main campus and other locations to the MetroHealth system adding projects in the suburbs and Sherwin-Williams Co. building a new downtown head quarters and a research center in Brecksville.DonTaylor, president and CEO of Welty Building Co. in Fairlawn, said it’s a time when he follows advice he got years ago: “Contractors don’t die from starvation. ey die from glut tony. ey take on too much work and risk when the market is strong. We’re trying to be smart about how we handle opportunities out there. We’re staying focused on our cus tomers and their projects.”

Jason Jones, general manager of Turner Construction Co.’s Cleveland o ce, said planning for materials al most means working backward, as sta ers count back from when they are needed to order them.

To that end, ContainerPort recently built a new driver recruitment and re sources team, invested in technology for drivers and adjusted its compensa tionContainerPort,model. which is just over 50 years old, has long been focused on growth, Palmer said. at meant it needed to nd ways to increase its eet of drivers at a time when that work force pool is shrinking.

which will cost more than $600 mil lion to Welty’sconstruct.approach to the labor shortage is to work smarter, Taylor said, and employ techniques of lean construction the industry has bor rowed from manufacturers to elimi nate waste. at also helps with a less-experienced workforce, he said.

Ozanne said, noting he expects the competition for labor to grow as the Intel project gets going.

In a news release, ContainerPort said its owner-operator network grew by almost 20% in the second quarter of 2022, increasing its eet to more than 1,300. And that’s not a one-o increase.

Roger Gingerich, the Solon-based leader of Marcum’s Midwest con struction practice, said the survey shows “we may not be over COVID-19, but clearly the worry over the lack of work is gone. It’s back to an increase like we’ve seen since 2014, except last year.” He noted the survey was circulated before the Fed

Although Taylor quips that “almost everything is di erent today than in the past,” he and others note e orts to secure construction materials are taking more attention and time than in the past.

STAN BULLARD

The Waverly & Oak project on Detroit Avenue will add 126 suites and retail space to the West Side. | STAN BULLARD/CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

“So we really had to dive into what’s it going to take to be the most attractive owner-operator company in the indus try,” he said.

Building boom ips contractor blues

e challenges facing the trucking industry are well-established. A tough job made tougher by challenges in the supply chain has led to driver shortag es in recent years.

“You order and wait,” Jones said. “In the past, we have been able to source labor when it’s needed. We have seen more schedules slip on material issues than labor issues.”

ESTATE

forecast.AndContainerPort’s entire eet is made up of owner-operator drivers, which shrinks that potential pool of drivers even further, Palmer said.

Even though ContainerPort’s drivers are contractors, it’s important the com pany get to know them as more than a number, Schmelmer said.

Talk about a Constructionturnaround.contractor concerns about future building prospects that took center stage in the pandemic’s peak have melted away as the build ing market regained its footing with resurgent hospital building projects and continued commercial realty de velopment.Dominic Ozanne, president and CEO of Ozanne Construction Co. of Cleveland, said, “You have a mix of projects around town that cost $100 million that we’ve never had before. And then a few miles south you have the Intel Corp. (chip manufacturing) project kicking o (near Columbus). is is one of those times when ev eryone in Cleveland building will have good things to say about the economy.”It’saconstruction scene unlike any Ozanne has seen since 1980, when he joined the family business.

Jason Schmelmer, vice president of driver experience for ContainerPort, said the company is on the same growth path as the third quarter of the year progresses.

trades because ”there is a digital as pect to everything.” Likewise, he said, sta ers with skills in computer de sign, typically building information modeling systems, are hard to keep as they get o ers of raises and move on.

Although plumbing “hasn’t changed in a thousand years,” Lavelle said, heating, ventilation and air con ditioning now are knowledge-worker

e caution is well-placed. Welty is a partner with Gilbane Building Co. on the Sherwin-Williams projects,

“ ere’s no longer a big red easy button for construction materials,” Taylor said. “We spend an exponen tial amount of time on the logistics of materials, so they don’t have an im pact on the project. Now you think about which items come in on con tainers or have to go through cus toms.”

Ultimately, the pandemic “exacer bated” challenges in the supply chain, Schmelmer said, alongside the ongo ing driver shortage. ContainerPort re alized it needed to nd ways to make the job better for its drivers in terms of pay, satisfaction and more, he said.

Stan Bullard: sbullard@crain.com, (216) 771-5228, @CrainRltywriter

SEPTEMBER 12, 2022 | C R AIN’S CL EVE LAND B USIN E SS 3

Although Jones feels a plethora of projects surfaced for contractors this year, and he expects next year also will be strong, he worries about the prospect that rising interest rates will slow down activity.

“ ey listen to their business part ner,” he said. “And that’s one thing a lot of companies don’t do.”

Rachel Abbey McCa erty: (216) 771-5379, rmcca erty@crain.com

ContainerPort works to improve drivers’ experience

“We see the work is out there and are trying to grow the head count with sensitivity to recruiting women and minorities,” Lavelle said. “But it’s a ve-year apprentice program. It doesn’t happen overnight.”

A standard light xture used to take no more than three weeks to re ceive, Taylor said, but the same item now takes at least 26 weeks to arrive. e reason: the xture contains a computer chip. Even a simple lightswitch plate is tough to get in the vol umes contractors need them.

REAL

“It’s a very intentional culture that we’re continuing to build,” Palmer said.On the technology side, the compa ny’s new DrayPal app gives drivers greater transparency into their work,

ContainerPort gives its drivers op tions, he said, instead of telling them what their jobs are. at’s what Burn side, who drives out of the company’s Chicago-area terminal, wants as an owner-operator, but it’s not what he was used to seeing in his two decades in theeindustry.company cares about its drivers, Burnside said, and treats them as “business partners.”

TRANSPORTATION

Tim Lavelle, CEO of the Gor man-Lavelle plumbing rm in Cleve land, predicts that when the Intel project gets in full swing, it will “emp ty plumbers union halls all along I-71 from Columbus to Cleveland. e market is going to demand more tradespeople than it has.”

e company has a centralized re cruiting team that can quickly process paperwork and make the onboarding process smoother, Palmer said, but also recruiters in the eld who can build relationships and get to know the regions in which they work. In general, Palmer said ContainerPort strives to have a decentralized structure. It has the backing of the corporate hub, but a localized culture for its terminals. It helps the company spend more time with its drivers.

allowing them to see compensation build up over the week and real-time trip information and other noti ca tions. Rollout of the new app was com pleted by the end of August.

RACHEL ABBEY MCCAFFERTY

In Marcum’s survey, 25% of the re spondents consider material costs the biggest threat to their business, compared with 15% a year ago. Mate rial price volatility is listed as the top political issue facing their businesses this year.

began hiking interest rates to combat in ation and recession worries sprangHowever,up. a long-term worry about securing skilled labor zoomed back to the top of contractor concerns. e survey showed 33% of the re spondents see securing skilled labor as the top threat to their business, up from 24% in 2021. Gingerich noted that concern about labor was not a question that the rm queried con tractors about in 2014, when the sur veyCompetitionbegan. for construction ex ecutives and labor in the building business is intense. Most participants in the survey indicated they have raised pay to recruit and retain sta . Just 3% said they have not, and 14% said they have hiked pay by more than“It’s8%.awar,”

But Rocky River-based trucking and logistics company ContainerPort Group Inc. has managed to go against that trend, growing its eet and mod ernizing the driving experience.

Lavelle said the plumbers union is losing retirees and is not replacing them at the same pace.

“ ey’re a person. ey’re a name. ey have a family at home. ey have hobbies outside of work,” he said.

Challenges in supply chain has led to driver shortages

e sentiment is widespread, ac cording to the Marcum accounting and advisory rm’s annual survey of Northeast Ohio construction con tractors and subcontractors. Just 5% of the respondents to the 2022 survey worry about a lack of work threaten ing their business over the next year, a big switch from the 2021 survey, when 29% saw that as their biggest threat.Likewise, backlog — the amount of work contractors have won but not started — is high, with fully 60% of the companies reporting a larger backlog than in the past.

“We have had a few jobs delayed already while the owners look for or wait for better interest rates,” he said.

e drayage industry — short-dis tance shipping from a port or railhead, a specialty for ContainerPort — puts a lot of pressure on the driver, so the company has worked to put the focus on the “driver experience,” said Con tainerPort president Joey Palmer.

In October 2021, the American Trucking Associations released an esti mate on the driver shortage, saying that it expected the shortage to reach a “historic high” of more than 80,000 drivers in 2021. And if current trends continued, the shortage — the number of drivers in the eld versus the num ber needed to meet demand — could pass 160,000 in 2030, the association

From left: Dr. Donald A. Malone Jr., president of Ohio Hospitals and Family Health Centers at Cleveland Clinic; Middleburg Heights Mayor Matthew Castelli; and Spencer Pisczak, president of Premier Development Partners, pose inside a former Kmart store that will be converted into a Cleveland Clinic outpatient medical center. | COURTESY

Jill C. Koski will depart after ve years as president and CEO of Holden Forests & Gardens. | COURTESY

4 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | SEPTEMBER 12, 2022 Clambake Season Groups, outings, and parties, from 24-140 people in September and October. We can accomodate smaller parties by incorporating into another group. Speak to Chad about details and menu options. Please don’t wait: BOOK NOW! BUNKER HILL GOLF COURSE • 3060 Pearl Rd., Medina, OH 330-725-1400 • BunkerHillGolf.com Book Now! BUNKER HILL EVENTS • Private event rooms • Golf simulators • Event menus • Great food — made fresh by our chef • Friendly, e cient, and accommodating sta • Casual Surroundings bunkerhillgolf.com/bunker-hill-events/ LIVE ON-SITE REAL AUCTIONESTATE OWNERSHIP ORDERS IMMEDIATE SALE! FOR BROCHURE & TERMS CALL MIKE BERLAND 216.861.7200 OFFERED WITH A PUBLISHED RESERVE PRICE OF ONLY $87,500! 13404 SAINT CLAIR AVE., CLEVELAND, OH 44110 10,745 SF INDUSTRIAL/WAREHOUSE BUILDING ON 0.60 ACRES Two well maintained, all-brick buildings. 9,400 SF Main building with 20’6” ceiling height, 3-ton crane, heavy power and ﬂoor load capacity and overhead gas heating. There is also a 1,350 SF heated garage/storage building. 0.60 acre site with ample parking and room for expansion. Don’t miss this incredible opportunity! HANNA COMMERCIAL • CHARTWELL AUCTIONS • MICHAEL BERLAND, AARE, OH AUCTIONEER ON-SITE INSPECTION: SEPT. 15, 22, & 29 FROM 1:00 P.M. TO 3:001OCTP.M.6THP.M. Personalized Service! • Loans up to $20 Million • No Prepayment Penalties • Investment & Owner-Occupied Commercial Real Estate SCORE WITH A LOAN FROM CBS CALL YOUR LOCAL CREDIT UNION TODAY FOR YOUR NEXT COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE LOAN JONATHANCONTACT A. MOKRI www.cbscuso.comjmokri@cbscuso.com440.526.8700 Straight Talk, Smart Deals ®

GETTING READY: When it comes to sports gambling, the Cleveland Browns have reached the goal line. The downtown JACK casino and the JACK Thistledown racino have, too. The Cleveland Browns Football Company LLC, JACK Cleveland Casino LLC and the JACK Thistledown Racino LLC received approval for Type A (mobile) and Type B (brick-and-mortar sportsbook) sports gaming proprietor licenses at the Ohio Casino Control Commission’s meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 7. The JACK Cleveland Casino LLC also received Type A and B approval as a management services proprietor. All three will able to offer sports betting when it becomes legal in Ohio on Jan. 1, 2023.

services work” on the redevelopment of the U.S. Department of Energy’s former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant into a clean energy manufacturing facility. The company expects to employ between 200 and 300 of its more than 1,000 union employees, members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, on the job, said J.W. Didado vice president Bill Paolillo. The project is expected to break ground in the fourth quarter of 2023 and to be completed by 2026. The facility is part of the $1.5 billion h2Trillium Energy and Manufacturing (h2TEAM) Complex.

JOB WELL DONE: The president and CEO of Holden Forests & Gardens, which operates the Holden Arboretum and the Cleveland Botanical Garden, is leaving the job this fall. Holden on Tuesday, Sept. 6, announced that Jill C. Koski will depart after five years leading the nonprofit organization. Koski’s last day at Holden will be Oct. 28. She is returning home to Chicago to become president and CEO of The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois. Holden said its board of directors will launch a national search to fill the role. Until a successor is named, Joel Alpern, chief of education and guest experience and deputy director, and Kathy Heflin, treasurer and chief financial officer and deputy director, will lead the organization on an interim basis.

THE WEEK

center is expected to open in 2023. Services o ered at the health center — including specialty and primary care — will be based on community needs.

“Our goal is to be in Cleveland for a very, very long time,” Michael Everett, NuovoRE’s president, told members of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority’s board. “We’re a long-term holder of these assets.” NuovoRE plans to transform the vacant o ce building into a boutique hotel, with street-level dining, meeting rooms and a speakeasy-style bar. e independent property will be called the Fidelity Hotel, in a nod to the century-old structure’s original name.

HIGH FIDELITY: Since early 2020, when a company tied to the uberwealthy Walton family bought the Baker Building on East Sixth Street, the property — slated for a 97-room hotel conversion — has been the subject of speculation. On ursday, Sept. 8, Denver-based developer NuovoRE pulled back the curtain a bit during a public meeting.

GLOBAL VIEW: West eld announced its expansion into the international specialty insurance market with the acquisition of Lloyd’s of London Syndicate 1200 from Argo Group International Holdings. e transaction, valued at about $125 million, is subject to regulatory approval but is slated to close in the rst half of 2023. e deal comes amid West eld’s e orts to build on the growth of its Westeld Specialty business. Based in Medina County’s West eld Center, the broader West eld Group o ers insurance, banking — via its Westeld Bank subsidiary, a community bank with approximately $2 billion in total assets — and other nancial services.

NEW LIFE: A former Kmart store that has been empty since 2019 in Middleburg Heights will be converted into a Cleveland Clinic outpatient medical center. e Clinic is collaborating with the city of Middleburg Heights and Premier Development Partners on the construction at 17840 Bagley Road, where the 93,000-square-foot former retail space will undergo a full renovation to accommodate the new Cleveland Clinic Middleburg Heights Family Health Center. e

DOWN THE PIKE: J.W. Didado Electric of Akron will partner with Newpoint Gas on a major advanced hydrogen generation and carbon sequestration project near Piketon, in southern Ohio. J.W. Didado said it signed an agreement with Newpoint “to serve as a design assist and installation partner and provide electrical and grid

BEARING DOWN: e Timken Co. agreed to acquire GGB Bearing Technology, a division of EnPro Industries Inc. of Charlotte, North Carolina, in a $305 million, all-cash deal that will expand the North Canton company’s engineered bearings portfolio. Timken, a maker of engineered bearings and industrial motion products, said GGB “serves a variety of diverse customers, markets, geographies and applications with a product portfolio that complements” existing Timken products. GGB revenue is expected to be around $200 million in scal year 2022. e deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.

Benesch is thrilled to be named one of the 99 great workplaces for top talent in Northeast Ohio for the 20th time! Thank you to all employees for making us a top workplace!

We talked before about this line of thinking some had in years past that antitrust law was a dinosaur that would eventually fade away. But that certainly isn’t the case, is it?

I recall as a young lawyer looking at covenants of non-compete contracts and there would often be something found to be unreasonable in there, but these were enforceable contracts. Now, you’ve got antitrust enforcers at federal and state levels saying that not only should you not be able to enforce some of these covenants, but the restrictions you

` A lot of these antitrust laws seem to be in play today against the giant companies and tech con glomerates. If I’m a more average business owner, why might all this matter to me?

6 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | S E PT EM BER 12, 2022

With the consolidation of massive tech companies and shifting rules on data privacy in a tech-enabled society, a lot has changed in the realm of antitrust since Zych was a junior lawyer in the 1980s. He recalls how, during the Ronald Reagan administration, many business and legal professionals thought antitrust laws were government overreach that would soon go the way of the dinosaurs.

hit everybody, and one is in the labor markets and wages. We’ve not paid much attention to the rules around how you deal with employees. In fact, the law has been pretty lax and forgiving there.

the Reagan administration with this current administration, the width of the pendulum swing is a lot broader than we’ve experienced in quite a while.

competition is supposed to work. You can’t fix prices, for example. There is a scrutiny of mergers and acquisitions to see if companies build up too much power, so the laws look at monopolization. If you think about the claims against the large tech platforms, there is the question

Chair of ABA’s antitrust section discusses state of antitrust laws

economy to preserve competition. The other side of it is the consumer protections. Those are the laws that protect consumers in transactions that have to do with advertising and promotion, as well as the data privacy aspect of it. So, you put the consumer at the center of these laws and look at how competition is fostered and how we can protect the consumer from unfair or deceptive practices. Also, how is their identity and information protected? You put that together and you get the broad idea of what antitrust and consumer protection law is all about.

In light of these dynamics and his new role with the ABA, Crain’s sat down with Zych, a partner at ompson Hine, to get his views on some of the developments that could shape the future of antitrust laws. e interview below has been edited for brevity and clarity.

On the other side of this is the debate over are we aggressive enough? Are we trusting the markets too much to rein in large tech platform or global companies? Or do we need to calibrate how we look at transactions and conduct and legislate for certain types of players in the industry and marketplace? If you look at the Bill Baxter era and

logical arguments I heard against antitrust laws in the mid-’80s really fell off. They just didn’t match reality, in my view. So instead, we had a re-examining of the laws, and we’re going through that again now.

To understand where this is going, you have to understand what the counter forces are out there that have been there. And I don’t mean that in a negative sense, but simply there are a lot of players in this as you look at how it’s going to play out and where it’s coming from.

LEGAL

of whether parties are exercising too much economic power to control output and prices. So, where and when should the laws intervene to maintain competition? It’s both civil and criminal. People can get sued and go to jail over this. It’s an always-evolving set of standards to match the modern

“THESE ARE OTHER KINDS OF CHANGES THAT REALLY IMPACT BUSINESSES OF ALL TYPES. IF YOU PROVIDE SERVICES TO FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, THERE ARE NEW RULES ABOUT HOW TO PROTECT CERTAIN INFORMATION. THESE THINGS CAN IMPACT ANYONE WHO DOES ADVERTISING OR MARKETING OR ANY NUMBER OF OTHER THINGS, SO IT’S IMPORTANT TO PAY ATTENTION. ”

But in the end, antitrust laws have always dealt with the whole economy. There are some other interesting developments that can

These are laws that really benefit consumers. In a macro sense, these are the rules of the road for how

If you look at the Reagan years, there was this idea of really scaling back government regulation of the economy, and there were those ideologically who were saying that antitrust laws, in general, were government overreach and that you ought to trust the markets. I think it’s hard for people to say with a straight face that people should be allowed to the back room to fix prices among competitors. Principles prevailed. We learned about the possibility of mergers and acquisitions truly causing economic harm and how we should attack deceptive advertising and the like. So, any

Quite the opposite has played out. Antitrust laws have only become more important than ever in to day’s world. Lawmakers and regulators are now looking at new ways of modernizing these laws for the current times in ways that could have sweeping impacts on companies large and small.

— Jeremy Nobile

I’m sure there’s a lot of nuance here. But could you first offer a high-level summary of what anti trust laws are about and how they impact us?

Cleveland lawyer Tom Zych has practiced law in the areas of consumer protection and antitrust mat ters for more than 35 years. is summer, Zych took on the prestigious role of chair for the American Bar Association’s Section of Antitrust Law for the group’s 2022-23 year.

` We now have the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice looking at some of this and re-examining merger guidelines, right? How would you describe what’s happening with the re-evaluation of antitrust laws today?

I think you’re right that a lot of the oxygen is going to a slice of the economy that involves a ton of money and the richest billionaires.

There has been a shift in the approach by Makan Delrahim, the former assistant attorney general in charge of the DOJ’s antitrust division, to Richard Powers and now Jonathan Kanter. The FTC is looking beyond the normal sources of information, the inputs, into how they want to calibrate and how they want to focus enforcement activity. The DOJ went on listening tours, and they talked to us lawyers. The economists and state attorneys general, they talked to people in the business world. They talked to consumers and asked for individual perspectives, and that’s a different way of constructing and building your information base than we’re used to, where you’d usually get the bar or lobbying groups or others making formal comments. That’s an interesting approach, and it comes from this administration.

The guidelines are meant to be updated, but the courts are not bound by them. These are really just some views on how we regulate competition in the economy.

` Are there any big antitrust cases or related legislation that you’re following right now that may be especially important? There are a couple things we’re watching. A lot of us can be understandably cynical with regard to what legislation is actually going to get passed. But we are looking at some fairly significant legislation with the KlobucharGrassley bill targeting Big Tech. We’re also closely watching some of these no-poach labor market cases. This one might not interest a lot of people, but I’m a golfer, so I think the LIV Golf federal antitrust lawsuit is going to be fun to watch. I also think developments in consumer privacy law are worth paying attention to.

in other states. That’s going to be an imposed cost to deal with all that, and there isn’t going to be any real cost bene t. And that’s just one example.

We’ve done it again.

Absolutely. I can tell you with certainty that companies are spending a great deal of time on this and a lot of money on compliance. On the information security side, you can see that there’s a real return on investment there. So if I’m the security officer

` So will we see anything happen with the modernizing of Ohio antitrust laws?

whether or how we should be updating. Ohio’s state antitrust law is called the Valentine Act, and it’s even older than the federal Sherman Act, which is the foundational federal antitrust statute that has been updated in important ways. New York went through this recently with their Donnelly Act. The important thing here is that state antitrust enforcers are playing a major part in the big picture.

That’s right. We’ll have to see how Ohio catches up, because we have an increasing number of states passing consumer data privacy laws because Congress isn’t doing that, so we don’t have any national laws there. Ohio has not passed a comprehensive data privacy law. We will watch how that plays out because that hits us every time you go on social media, or do online banking, or every time you use your shopper’s card at a grocery store. There’s just so much information hoovered up about us on a regular basis. That’s something that bears watching, and I can tell you our clients are spending a great deal of time wrestling with how they are going to comply with these new data privacy laws as they do come out. That’s something that is a big part of our section of the ABA, and it’s a big part of my practice now.

` It sounds like that data privacy side of antitrust law is maybe the biggest concern for a lot of companies today.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2022 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS 7

Taftlaw.com

put on these employees may be an antitrust offense. These are other kinds of changes that really impact businesses of all types. If you provide services to financial institutions, there are new rules about how to protect certain information. These things can impact anyone who does advertising or marketing or any number of other things, so it’s important to pay attention.

` And with respect to consumer privacy, we don’t have any national or state-level laws in Ohio really governing that today, correct?

There are active discussions happening through the Ohio Bar Association about

` Any final thoughts?

“WE ARE REALLY AT A POINT WHERE WE ARE REEVALUATING OURSELVES AND HOW WE CONDUCT OUR PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS LIVES. AS A SOCIETY, WE ARE EVALUATING A LOT ABOUT HOW WE ORGANIZE OURSELVES, SOME FOR THE BETTER AND SOME FOR THE CHAOTIC.”

We are really at a point where we are re-evaluating ourselves and how we conduct our professional business lives. As a society, we are evaluating a lot about how we organize ourselves, some for the better and some for the chaotic. We live through these periods of change, and this is certainly one of them.

There’s the National Association of Attorneys General that has a multi-state antitrust task force that is taking a lead in looking at this. So that’s just another dimension we have to pay attention to.

for a rm, I get why it’s critical to protect that information. On the privacy side, things are a lot murkier. It increases costs to have all these systems in place in case someone says, please throw my information away. So here’s an example: In California, typically these privacy laws apply to consumer but not employee information. But what if I’m an employee and a consumer? California has an exemption in its strict privacy law where it doesn’t apply to employee information. But that expires on Dec. 31, and no one knows how the legislature can x that. So come Jan. 1, companies are going to have to update their entire HR information processes with regards to rights and obligations. A lot of employers here have employees in California or

“OHIO HAS NOT PASSED A COMPREHENSIVE DATA PRIVACY LAW. WE WILL WATCH HOW THAT PLAYS OUT BECAUSE THAT HITS US EVERY TIME YOU GO ON SOCIAL MEDIA, OR DO ONLINE BANKING, OR EVERY TIME YOU USE YOUR SHOPPER’S CARD AT A GROCERY STORE.”

The Modern Law Firm.

Jaffe to become Taft Detroit, Dec. 31, 2022.

Jeremy Nobile: jnobile@crain.com, (216) 771-5362, @JeremyNobile

We’re making light of the quiet quitting branding (another piece of jargon that’s not a favorite) more than the issue itself, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic but nonetheless poses a signi cant challenge for managers already contending with serious workforce issues. Another problem, according to Gallup: only one in three managers are engaged in their work, too. ese are times of general discontent, so we shouldn’t be sur prised that the numbers are ugly. ere are old-fashioned reme dies to this new problem. Gallup says an e ective way to boost engagement is for managers to have at least one in-depth conversation per week with each team member that lasts 15 to 30 minutes. Easier said than done, perhaps, but a worthy goal. And on the employee side, this is still a good time to nd work. You don’t have to quiet-quit or stay in a job you hate. Seize opportunities and nd something new.

In a statement, the college noted the case “has been painful for everyone. We hope that the end of the litigation will begin the healing of our entire community.”

e case pushed hot buttons in the culture wars. Here’s the Cli s Notes version of what happened, per cleveland.com: A member of the family who was working at the store and bakery accused and pursued two Oberlin students, making claims of shoplifting. e students later pleaded guilty to charges, but the Gibsons were accused of racial pro ling for which protests were organized. ... Oberlin’s student government passed a res olution accusing the bakery of a history of racial discrimina tion, then-dean of students Meredith Raimondo handed out iers protesting the bakery, and school o cials moved to stop ordering food from the bakery for its dining halls

e Gibson family, in a statement after the favorable Su preme Court decision, said Ohioans should appreciate that the courts recognized the college’s “deplorable conduct.”

If you’re not familiar with the term, that might be because it’s a little vague. Essentially, “quiet quitters” are people who “ful ll their job description but are psychologically detached from their work,” as Bloomberg noted in an article about a recent Gallup survey on the phenomenon. e polling rm’s nding: about 50% of more than 15,000 respondents met the de nition of quiet quitting, and another 18% were actively disengaged at work. Only 32% of employees could be described as fully engaged with their job. Worse, the percentage of engaged employees under the age of 35 dropped by six percentage points from 2019 to 2022.

I remember walking past the Stou er Tower City Plaza Hotel (now the Renais sance Cleveland Hotel) after my inter view and seeing a cheerful doorman tip his head in my direction before singing “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighbor hood.” His song and friendliness con rmed Cleveland was the place for me. Days after receiving my job o er, I moved here.As a young reporter, I strived to connect and mine sto ries among health care executives and clinicians at least double my age, at a time when the vast array of hospitals, insurance plans, physician groups and nursing homes were rapidly integrating and consolidating as regional health systems. I feared fail ure and waded through my very own “imposter syn drome.”Eventually, I found my way, and after nearly nine years at the paper, I went on to work as a grant writer, and in media relations at the Cleveland Clinic. Over time, I grew long Cleveland roots with my hus band, who grew up in Scran ton, Pennsylvania, and our threeStill,daughters.Iremember the isola tion I felt as a young Cleve land transplant. Other than my friend from college, who lived in Chardon, I knew few people my age. Aside from the occasional happy hour or party, I spent many of my weekends driving along the Lake Erie Shoreway, scoping out malls, and enjoying mov ies at the Cedar Lee. Occasionally, I’d head to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Playhouse Square or a Cleveland Orchestra concert.While I celebrated the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame opening, cheered the Indians in their World Series ventures, and fumed over the Browns, my interest in these was sporadic. I missed building a community among people with similar interests, like creative writing and storytelling.

EDITORIAL

e state Supreme Court’s decision helped bring an end to a matter that had dragged on for years and hurt the Gibsons’ reputation and business.

Managing Editor: Scott Suttell (ssuttell@crain.com)

8 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | S E PT EM BER 12, 2022

t’s back-to-school season, and a prominent institution in Northeast Ohio has some important lessons to absorb. e Ohio Supreme Court on Aug. 30, in a 4-3 vote issued without statements, declined to hear Oberlin College’s ap peal of a lower-court ruling that the school must pay $36 million to Gibson’s, a family-owned bakery in Oberlin that sued the school for defamation in 2017 after an incident in the shop a year earlier. en on ursday, Sept. 8, the college nally did the right thing, announcing it had “initiated pay ment in full” of the judgment and that its board of trustees had “decided not to pursue the matter further.”

Write us: Crain’s welcomes responses from readers. Letters should be as brief as possible and may be edited. Send letters to Crain’s Cleveland Business, 700 West St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, Cleveland, OH 44113, or by emailing ClevEdit@crain.com. Please include your complete name and city from which you are writing, and a telephone number for fact-checking purposes.

E very year, a couple of grating phrases enter the lexicon to plague us, usually for just a short time. One of 2022’s can didates: “quiet quitting.”

Contact Crain’s: 216-522-1383

Oberlin College on ursday said it was still “disappointed by the court’s decision” but added, “this does not diminish our respect for the law and the integrity of our legal system.” It said that as a result of “careful nancial planning,” which includes insurance coverage, “we can satisfy our legal obligation with

RAQUEL SANTIAGO

e quiet part

I AM AMAZED BY THE BREADTH AND DEPTH OF WHAT THERE IS NOW TO DO

It never should have gotten this far. is sad, maddening episode underscores the importance of basic principles that all too often are lacking today, including a sense of humility, a willingness to apologize and an ability to slow down and wait for facts before speaking out, particularly when the claims are of a heightened nature.

Schooled

Oberlin College has a long, proud history of advocating for social justice. In this case, it didn’t live up to those values. Let’s hope there’s no next time.

Read Crain’s online: crainscleveland.com

CIVICRECREATIONALSOCIAL,CONNECTIONSEEKINGESTABLISHEDFORANDEAGERYOUNGCLEVELAND,INFORPEOPLETOSOCIALIZEENGAGE,ANDMOREADULTSVIACULTURAL,ANDACTIVITIES. BUSINESSCLEVELANDCRAIN’SFORWILLIAMSRICH See TRANSPLANT, on Page 27

Executive Editor: Elizabeth McIntyre (emcintyre@crain.com)

A Lorain County judge in 2019 awarded the Gibsons $44 million. at amount later was reduced to $25 million, though the college subsequently was ordered to pay attorneys’ fees and interest, bringing the total to $36 million. ree judges on the Ohio Ninth District Court of Appeals this April upheld the ruling against the school.

Musings of a transplantCleveland

Santiago lives in Euclid with her husband and their daughters.three is summer, she is working as a fellow Cleveland.Literarywith

is fall I will celebrate my 30th year in Cleveland. When I arrived in October 1992 as a 22-year-old journalism gradu ate from Ohio State, I never imagined living in Greater Cleveland more than a fewBornyears.in Cheyenne, Wyoming, I grew up in an Air Force family and was accus tomed to moving around. My arrival in Cleveland was fortuitous. e weekend before I graduated from OSU, a friend suggested I apply for a job as a health care reporter at Crain’s Cleveland Busi ness, and I did.

out impacting our academic and student experience.”

Sound o : Send a Personal View for the opinion page to emcintyre@crain.com. Please include a telephone number for veri cation purposes.

PERSONAL VIEW

And yet, an ongoing investigation from Insider tells a di erent story. It is reported that 69 members of Congress and more than a hundred high-level congressional sta have violated the transparency requirements mandated by the STOCK Act — the law meant to prevent them from trading stocks based on nonpublic information. In recent years, a number of members of Congress and their families have been making substantial sums of money trading stocks, options and other assets. Many outperform the market.While there have been claims made that elected ocials should be part of the “free market economy,” it’s not a free market when some traders — in this case, members of Congress — get inside knowledge on where the market or individual share prices might be headed and also make legislative decisions that impact the value of industries and companies that they invest.

legislation has been insu cient in preventing the actuality and the appearance of insider trading in Congress.

We can unpack the problem further. is “excessive automation” stems from the fact that the free market has evolved to be equated with pro t motive — an echo of the Friedman Doctrine, which is an ideology that’s come to de ne modern economic times. Milton Friedman’s 1970 New York Times essay aptly titled “ e Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Its Pro ts” was the shot heard around the world. e message was simple, or that CEOs have one master to serve, the shareholders, and they do so by maximizing corporate welfare with little-to-no regard for societal welfare.

Given my vocation centers around understanding how cities, like Cleveland, evolve, I’ve come to focus on the progress trap(s) that coincide with cities’ economic development e orts. A few barometers of progress have become standard-bearers, namely per capita income and tech job concentration. e shining city on a hill, San Jose, or Silicon Valley, has both the highest per capita income among the nation’s largest 40 metros, as well as the highest concentration of jobs in mathematical and computer occupations, according to a study called “Disrupting Innovation” by this author.

In the book “Escaping the Progress Trap,” the “progress trap” is de ned as conditions that advanced economies nd themselves in “when science, technology and industry create more problems than they can solve.” ink a Kurt Vonnegut novel. But in real life. Progress traps pockmark civilization’s march forward, and they seemingly do so now more than ever. Ecological calamities come to mind. As do disinformation campaigns that ride shotgun with our hyper connectedness and thirst for novelty. Who needs post-modernism when we can cosplay in post-truth?

A ban on congressional stock trading isn’t about party or identity politics — it’s about doing what is right, fair and just for the people of Ohio. If good governance is truly what elected o cials strive for, we should look no further than this legislation. Ending congressional stock trading would move accountability in the right direction and give the public a reason to have faith in government once again.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

BY RICHEY PIIPARINEN

PERSONAL

Key members from delegations across the country are already on board with these e orts. However, Americans need to see a uni ed front for this legislation to come to fruition.Sen.Rob Portman supported the STOCK Act, and he chose not to trade stocks to avoid even the appearance of foul play. As a seasoned senator, his public support of a ban on congressional stock trading would be a signi cant step toward getting this legislation across the nish line. His voice carries weight and, as he prepares to retire from the Senate, lending his voice to this e ort is noteworthy.

thor interviews MIT’s Daron Acemoglu, whose research showed at least half of the gap in Americans’ wages over the last 40 years was due to “excessive automation,” particularly work done by men without college degrees. Given less than onethird of men in the U.S. have a college degree (the gure is 18.6% in the city of Cleveland), that’s a lot of displaced workers. e e ects hit communities of color particularly hard. One report, “ e Future of Work in Black America,” noted that Black workers are 10% more at risk for job disruption due to automation, with that number rising to nearly 30% for Black men without a college degree.

Time to end congressional stock trading

We vote for individuals to represent us in elected o ce because we trust they will respect the power that their position holds. Frankly, the expectation is that individuals run for o ce because they want to do what is best for their constituents, not what is best for themselves.

Benjamin WoodmereHolbertVillage mayor

VIEW OPINION

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Piiparinen is director of Urban eory & Analytics Collinwood.HeClevelandatState.livesin

Amid the context that is the progress trap, have Cleveland’s economic development players grappled with how technology should be used or just that it should be used? And if they haven’t (or won’t), who are the next generation of leaders with the gusto to carve out a Cleveland way?

Are city’s economic development players asking the right questions?

After all, there are traps up ahead. Let’s zig, while others zag.

Of late, there have been instances of elected o cials appearing to take advantage of their positions of power. e COVID-19 pandemic was the icing on the cake for suspicious trades; these abuses of power should not go unchecked. While the STOCK Act was signed in 2012 to prevent members of Congress from capitalizing on knowledge gained from their positions, it’s clear that this

You know what else San Jose “excels” in? Income disparity by race and wage inequality. San Jose has the second-largest income gap between white and Black residents among big city metros, trailing only San Francisco. It also ranked second worst in a statistic called the 90/10 wage ratio, or the gap between what the wealthiest 10% in a region makes versus the poorest 10%. In all, “Disrupting Innovation” found there’s a strong positive correlation between how prosperous a region is and how racially disparate it is. It also found a strong positive correlation between how technologically advanced a region’s labor market is and how unequal it is in terms of worker pay. is, folks, is what is meant by a progress trap. We have a system in which economic progress coincides with societal regress. Why?

Two recent reports help unpack the problem. In a January 2022 New York Times piece titled “Economists Pin More Blame on Tech for Rising Inequality,” the au-

Last year, Sen. Sherrod Brown introduced the Ban Con icted Trading Act, which would ban current members of Congress and congressional sta from trading stock while in o ce. With several similar proposals in the House and Senate, Congress has the opportunity to bring back good governance and regain the public’s trust.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2022 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS 9

Modern market practices, or using innovation to excessively displace workers is, “not an act of God or nature,” continues MIT’s Acemoglu. “It’s the result of choices … we as a society have made about how to use technology.”Ithinkthe phrase “how to use technology” is crucial.

Honorees will be recognized, and winners announced in all cate gories, at an awards event Tuesday, Sept. 13, at Windows on the Riv er, 2000 Sycamore St. in Cleveland, beginning at 5:30 p.m. For more information, go to CrainsCleveland.com/HR2022.

What is the source of a company’s culture? It’s the people. And it’s the people who nd those people who keep that culture alive and thriving. Now more than ever, when attracting and retaining top tal ent is an urgent business need, human resources professionals are in the limelight.

Here’s to some of the best in the business.

KEEPING CULTURE ALIVE

GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK

ployee Advocacy; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; and Rising Star.

10 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | S E PT EM BER 12, 2022

Winners and nalists have been selected in ve overarching cate gories: Overall Excellence, Individual; Overall Excellence, Team; Em

e winners and nalists for Crain’s 2022 Excellence in HR Awards include the rst chief equity o cer in the history of the MetroHealth System, a nalist who leads a department of one at law powerhouse Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, a longtime professional who left the corporate world behind to help shape the leadership of the nonpro t Western Reserve Land Conservancy, and more.

Honorees were selected by a panel of outside judges, all of whom have been honored by Crain’s for their HR accomplishments in past HR awards programs: Alberta Lee, Cleveland Cavaliers; Christina Brown, Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities; Alex Teodosio, Navigate360; Jen DiFranco, Apple Growth Partners; George Sample, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and Cleveland SHRM; and Amanda Calabrese, MetroHealth System.

The Foundation for Our Devotion to Hope, Health, and Humanity.

Margarita Diaz, MSN, RN Director, Inclusion, Diversity, and Health Equity The MetroHealth System

The MetroHealth System congratulates Alan K. Nevel and Margarita Diaz for excellence in Human Resources.

Visit metrohealth.org or follow us @metrohealthcle

Their leadership inspires each person at MetroHealth to acknowledge historical and systemic barriers to healthcare and to work to eradicate them. Through a ordable housing, education, economic opportunities, and access to fresh food, convenient transportation, legal help, and other services, The MetroHealth System is more than medicine. We have earned a national reputation by combining clinical excellence with a passion for equity that aims to help everyone reach their full potential.

We are proud to celebrate Alan K. Nevel and Margarita Diaz, leaders who embody MetroHealth’s devotion to hope, health, and humanity.

Alan K. Nevel Senior Vice President, Chief Equity O cer The MetroHealth System

The MetroHealth System has a rich legacy of caring for all people, and Alan K. Nevel and Margarita Diaz demonstrate the key role that equity, inclusion, and diversity play in a culture focused on improving our community’s health and well-being.

Fighting for equity. Fostering Celebratinginclusion.diversity.

Kathy Menditto is a valued member of the Buckeye State Credit Union leadership team whose contributions encompass education, talent recruitment and employee engagement.

On the individual level, “Lesa has taken the time to counsel and nurture employees who have di culty adapting to a new job, struggle in an existing job (or) are looking for a di erent career opportunity which may be outside of the company,” according to nominator Jim Kacic, president and CFO.

Under Menditto’s leadership, the credit union has expanded bene ts to part-time employees. She also implemented a bene ts program focusing on annual pro t sharing, student loan payments, 401(k) matching and career growth through various training programs.Asuccessful grant writer, Menditto has earned grants for the company exceeding $20,000. What’s more, she was instrumental in procuring an $875,000 award from the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) grant board, according to the nomination.Menditto volunteers at the Akron Food Bank, serves as a mentor at the University of Akron and is a board member for the Akron Area Society for Human Resources Management. Coordinating volunteer events at Haven Rest Ministries and several other nonpro ts rounds up Menditto’s out-of-o ce life.

Matti also is active in the community, serving organizations like the Association of Legal Administrators, Journey Center for Safety and Healing, Greater Akron Chamber and others.

Caytie MattiKathy MendittoLesa Evans

12 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | SEPTEMBER 12, 2022

“Kathy’s contributions far exceed anything that can be put into a letter,” the nomination said. “Let it be known that she is an extremely valuable member of the Buckeye State Credit Union leadership team and a beloved member of the Buckeye family.”

Since joining MAI Capital as the Cleveland-based RIA’s rst chief human resources manager in 2019, Lesa Evans has been nothing short of a transformational leader.

“She serves as a vital connector between others in our firm and law students and community groups,” the nomination said. “She has been the driving force behind our strong growth as a firm, bringing in some of the most experienced attorneys in their fields as well as the next generation of attorneys as clerks and associates.”

Menditto joined Buckeye in 2016, and since then has been fostering annual increases in the organization’s employee engagement score. rough her e orts, Buckeye also was recognized as a “Top Workplace” winner from 2019 to 2021 by e Plain Dealer.

Vice president of human resources Buckeye State Credit Union Chief human resources manager MAI Capital Director of human resources and talent success Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs

Evans optimized MAI’s HR platform by establishing research-based job families for key positions, overhauling the performance management system to provide more meaningful reviews, and implementing several developmental programs, such as situational leadership and career planning and coaching, to support careerSheprogression.alsohelped streamline the work ow processes within the payroll and bene ts area and led the initiative to migrate MAI’s employees onto a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system with enhancements that include automated bene t administration and access to MAI University, with over 1,600 courses.

Sensing a need, she formed MAI’s rst Women’s Initiative group in 2019 — currently 85 women strong — and the rst college scholarship fund for children of MAI employees.

“Lesa’s demeanor, knowledge and sincerity immediately win the employees over,” Kacic wrote, “and her proactive approach to educating and training new employees (has) helped make each acquisition a success.”

Technically speaking, Caytie Matti is a department of one at Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs. But based on the results she has helped achieve, it’s hard to believe she’s the lone human resources professional at the rm.

In addition to being responsible for all aspects of HR, Matti is a strategic leader on the rm’s administrative team. Her responsibilities are wide-ranging, including employee bene ts, wellness and strategic planning support. Matti also leads the rm’s recruiting and retention committee.“Herpositive attitude, even in challenging circumstances, is second to none — always enthusiastic, passionate and genuinely rooting for the success of the rm and for us as individuals,” the nomination said.

Congratulationstothisyear’sExcellenceinHRhonorees.Thankyouforyourcommitmenttotalentattractionandretention,educatingtheworkforceofourfuture,anddrivingbusinessandeconomicdevelopment. Together we are building healthy, smart, vibrant communities for all. Delta Dental of Ohio www.deltadentaloh.com | www.vibrantcommunities.com

The Cleveland Guardians baseball organization has been a winner on and off the field in recent years. The reason? Its people.

Bob Kissling

That’s no small task. The Guardians have 400 full-time employees and more than a thousand seasonal workers, according to the nomination.“Sara constantly makes sure we are doing the right thing for people — even when those decisions are tough and unpopular,” the nomination said. “She continually pushes forward to ensure we get the best outcome.”Lehrke, who has been with the Cleveland baseball organization for almost four decades, also is deeply involved in the community.

“He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from his time working in a corporate environment for the majority of his accomplished career that has proven invaluable to the growth and success of the Land Conservancy.”

Senior vice president human resources, chief diversity o cer Cleveland Guardians

As the Western Reserve Land Conservancy’s rst human resources professional, Bob Kissling has made a tremendous impact on the organization and its mission to conserve and restore the community’s natural assets.For one thing, since his arrival six years ago, he’s played an essential role in recruiting and hiring several key leaders and sta who now serve a 26-county region that stretches from Sandusky Bay to the Pennsylvania border and from Lake Erie down to Steubenville.

Lehrke’s team is accountable for talent management across the business’ operations, including sales and service, brand and marketing, strategy and analytics, information technology, finance, legal, ballpark operations, facility and security.

— Timothy Magaw

In addition to recruitment and retention, Kissling plays a role in developing the organization’s strategy to ensure a well-rounded experience for employees, according to the nomination.

Under his leadership, for example, the conservancy has re ned its policies and procedures to ensure a fair workplace, negotiated improved bene ts for sta , and crafted a diversity, equity, inclusion and justice strategic plan with actionable goals.

She is an active supporter of the Lutheran High School Association (both East and West), Lutheran elementary grade schools, the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, the Cleveland Animal Protective League and the City Mission of Cleveland.

14 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | SEPTEMBER 12, 2022 Tap into Cleveland. Crain’s is now in the app store. CRAIN’SCLEVELAND CONGRATULATIONS bdblaw.com CAYTIE MATTI DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES AND TALENT SUCCESS A great champion for Buckingham’s attorneys and staff EXCELLENCE IN HR 216.920.4800 | www.mai.capital Congratulations to MAI’s Lesa Evans on her selection as a Finalist to Crain’s Excellence in HR Awards 2022! WINNERFINALISTOVERALL EXCELLENCE INDIVIDUAL, 51 TO 500 EMPLOYEES OVERALL EXCELLENCE INDIVIDUAL, LESS THAN 50 EMPLOYEES

And, in many ways, those people wouldn’t be there without Sara Lehrke and her team.

— Timothy Magaw

Sara Lehrke

Vice president of human resources Western Reserve Land Conservancy

“Bob has regularly demonstrated a passion for our mission and vision and has played an important role in helping us achieve our conservation goals,” the nomination said.

Congratulations to LaToya Smith for being selected as a winner in the 2022 Excellence in HR Award Program! Fifth Third is proud to celebrate LaToya and our over 160 years of working hard to be the One Bank people most value and trust. MORE THAN 501 EMPLOYEES

She started programs, for example, that enable faculty and sta to leave work at 3 p.m. on summer Fridays and enjoy a week of paid time o between Christmas and New Year’s.

Fifth Third Bank, National Association. Member FDIC. WINNEROVERALL EXCELLENCE INDIVIDUAL,

— Judy Stringer

Vice president for human resources Case Western Reserve University

“Her innovative e orts to ll critical positions, especially within our research enterprise, enabled the university to maintain business continuity and advance our mission,” CWRU president Eric Kaler said in the nomination.Gregory joined the HR team at Case Western Reserve in 1995 and advanced to the department’s top leadership post in 2007, thereafter becoming the driving force behind a series of work-life balance initiatives.

Crain's Cleveland Business 2022 Excellence in HR Award

Carolyn Gregory

Carolyn Gregory’s successful hiring strategy amidst e Great Resignation is the latest example of how her deep institutional knowledge and creativity blend to produce meaningful outcomes for Case Western ReserveisUniversity.year,shepiloted a new LinkedIn membership to advertise individualized positions, implemented protocols that resulted in faster new-hire processing and initiated a referral bonus program. To date, Gregory’s e orts have helped ll 600 available positions, resulted in the promotion of 30% of CWRU’s workforce and kept the independent research university on track despite labor market turmoil.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2022 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 15 CONNECT WITH @CrainsCleveland CrainsCleveland.com CLEVELANDORCHESTRA.COM WS2223-AD-Crains -6x6.indd 1 9/2/22 1:42 PM

In response to hybrid work requests through the pandemic, she cochaired a task force that ultimately helped establish remote working days for eligible sta and greater exibility overall. Today, approximately 1,200 employees in more than 200 departments participate in the program.

Outside CWRU, Gregory — who holds an executive MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management — is a board member of the American Research Universities Human Resource Institute.

Over the last 12 months, for example, he forged a partnership with Saving Our Daughters, a movement to support the mental health of adolescent girls, and spearheaded MetroHealth’s rst Minority Men’s Health Fair, an event that brought free screenings and education to more than 1,000 individuals in Cuyahoga County.

— Judy Stringer

e MetroHealth System serves about 300,000 patients annually, a quality of care that includes community housing, a cleaner environment and economic opportunity.Beinganessential health system for a varied population means driving those practices throughout the organization. Meet Margarita Diaz, whose work elevates equity across all system services, producing superior results in patient care as well as employee excellence.

Alan Nevel

In the macro, the team stretching across the HR spectrum (organizational development and learning, change management and communications) modi ed policies and procedures to quickly accommodate a changing work environment.Inresponding to a thin nursing labor pool, UH’s HR team implemented numerous recruitment and retention strategies, including working with UH board members to award over $50 million in caregiver incentives; creating an in-house volunteer program to provide much-needed relief to overworked medical sta ers; and enhancing and promoting a tuition reimbursement program to support career growth.

16 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | SEPTEMBER 12, 2022 WINNEROVERALL EXCELLENCE | TEAM

In his current role, Nevel works across administration, clinical departments and programs to eliminate systemic disparities and inequities that a ect patients, employees and the community.

EQUITY AND INCLUSION

Human resources, organizational development and learning, change management and communications team

According to the nomination, Diaz leads culturally competent care and health equity DEI goals and business strategies, educating personnel on health disparities across underserved patient populations.Additionally, Diaz helps improve access to care for bene cial health outcomes in both clinical and non-clinical settings. Diaz, a former nurse with two decades in health care, oversees educational e orts for 7,800 MetroHealth employees.

We mentor Y.O.U. youth “because helping to develop the leaders of tomorrow is a great investment for the future. It’s important to share the knowledge gained through life experiences with young people who are just starting their careers.”

— Douglas J. Guth

Margarita Diaz

Nevel joined the regional health care provider in 2018 as chief diversity and human resources o cer and became MetroHealth’s rst chief equity o cer in September 2021, after “infusing the entire organization with a commitment to equity and justice,” according to president and CEO Dr. Akram Boutros.

“Nurses are famously innovative, and the best ones have an innate ability to meet people where they are and listen with empathy,” Nevel said. “Margie is one of the very best ones. She grew up in Clark-Fulton, and her passion for MetroHealth and its mission is quite simply woven into the fabric of her life.”

Director of equity, inclusion and diversity MetroHealth System

Senior vice president and chief equity o cer MetroHealth System

The COVID-19 pandemic put significant stress on caregivers at the forefront of an unprecedented crisis. While the human resources team at University Hospitals was not on the front lines, the department gave UH medical staffers the needed support to do their jobs.

Alan Nevel harnesses 25 years of cultural transformation expertise to lead the charge in diversity, equity and inclusion at the MetroHealth System.

WINNERWINNERDIVERSITY,

“It’s humbling to have the awesome responsibility to serve the health care needs of people throughout Northeast Ohio,” said Dr. Cli A. Megerian, CEO of UH. “Our team of human resource, organizational development and learning, change management and communications professionals continuously innovate, collaborate, mentor, coach and champion change across our organization.”

Tina Rhodes, Joshua Miklowski Warren Rosman, Jack Kluznik Internship Program Mentors Weston Hurd LLP

Invest today in Northeast Ohio’s future workforce • youthopportunities.org

is enormous undertaking points to the kind of resourcefulness that nurses like Diaz are known for, said Alan Nevel, MetroHealth senior vice president and chief equity o cer.

Led by chief administrative o cer Tom Snowberger, the UH team strategized back-to-work plans and hybrid arrangements to ensure work-life balance among sta , according to the nomination.

— Douglas J. Guth

University Hospitals

All the while, Boutros wrote in his nomination, “Alan and his team continue to educate our employees on how to overcome unconscious bias and achieve health equity, to encourage them to bring their best selves to work every day and to prize di erences as a source of strength, and to challenge all of us at MetroHealth to make every person and every community we touchNevel,healthier.”agraduate of Cleveland State University with an MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, was named the Top Corporate Diversity Executive by Black Enterprise magazine in 2018 and is a sought-after DEI speaker and panelist nationally.

United Way of Greater Cleveland’s work throughout the years would not be possible without the commitment and generosity of our corporate partners. United Way of Greater Cleveland introduces the inaugural Torchbearer Awards. These awards recognize corporations that go above and beyond in their dedication to United Way and our community. Through their philanthropic efforts, these companies provide a shining light for others to follow. Thank you and congratulations to our 2021-22 recipients. Total Dollars Raised Thank you to the top fundraising campaigns! ◆ KeyBank ◆ Eaton ◆ Cleveland Clinic ◆ The Sherwin-Williams Company ◆ PNC Per Capita Giving Thank you to the campaigns with the highest per capita giving! ◆ Carnegie Companies Inc. ◆ KPMG ◆ Bober Markey Fedorovich ◆ PwC ◆ BakerHostetler Participation Congratulations to the campaigns with 100% employee participation! ◆ The NRP Group, LLC. ◆ CIBC Bank ◆ Singerman, Mills, Desberg, & Kauntz Co LPA Overall Campaign Growth Congratulations to the campaign that increased dollars raised by the highest percentage! ◆ Columbia National Group Leadership Donors Thank you to the campaigns with the highest percentage of leadership gifts! ◆ Preformed Line Products Co. ◆ Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP ◆ The Nock & Son Company Community Hub for Basic Needs Support Thank you to the campaigns that gave significantly to the Community Hub for Basic Needs! ◆ Parker Hannifin Corp. ◆ The Lubrizol Corporation ◆ Riverside Co. ◆ Cleveland Wire Cloth and Manufacturing Company ◆ First National Bank Newcomer of the Year Thank you to the company that hosted their first ever workplace campaign! ◆ Park Place Technologies Boomerang Award The Boomerang Award celebrates corporations that took time off from hosting a campaign but brought it back for 2021-22! ◆ Enterprise Holdings ◆ CSA Group ◆ Penske Advocate Award The Advocate Award recognizes corporations that did an outstanding job in educating their employees about the needs in our community and inspiring them to take action. ◆ Rockwell Automation ◆ The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland ◆ Cleveland Clinic Creative Special Event Award The Creative Special Event Award is presented to a company that boosted campaign fundraising, visibility, and participation through creative events. ◆ Avient United Way Services of Geauga County Award Thank you to a company that gave outstanding support to United Way Services of Geauga County! ◆ Covia Cleveland-Owned Award The Cleveland-Owned Award recognizes a locally owned corporation or business that embodies our city’s spirit of philanthropy through fundraising, leadership giving, and/or volunteerism. ◆ LARGE: Medical Mutual ◆ MID-SIZE: Oswald Companies ◆ SMALL: Vocon Design National Award The National Award recognizes a national corporation whose Cleveland office embodies our city’s spirit of philanthropy through fundraising, leadership giving, and/or volunteerism. ◆ EY ◆ Jones Day ◆ Bank of America To start your own workplace campaign, contact Michelle Bosau, Senior Director, Development at mbosau@unitedwaycleveland.org.

“Deedra’s support and guidance to employees to better understand what resources were available to them was key to having our employees back,” Wilbur Wright Elementary School principal Virmeal Finley wrote in the nomination.Inveyears at CMSD, ompson has also counseled principals on telework and/or alternative work assignments for their sta , overhauled the implementation of new business processes to allow for strategic hiring to take place in a remote environment and emerged as a erce employee advocate in various other employment matters.

Alongside his leadership in the o ce, Bailey has served on nonpro t boards including Cleveland-based LAND Studios, which manages public art installations and programming across the city. He also volunteers with Cuyahoga Valley National Park and coaches youth sports for two dozen di erent teams in Greater Cleveland.

Subscribe FOR FREE by visiting CrainsCleveland.com/enewsletters STAY IN THE KNOW with Crain’semail newsletters GET MORE Access the city’s leading business news in print, online or on any mobile device with our new app, now available for download for free with your subscription! Visit www.crainscleveland.com today or ﬁnd us in the app store.

— Judy Stringer

Employee relations partner Cleveland Metropolitan School District

Kevin Bailey orchestrates all aspects of the Hudson company’s diversity, equity and inclusion e orts. Bailey recently helped launch an in-house DEI committee designed to enmesh inclusivity within the Leaf Home culture.

Deedra Thompson

Director of human resources Leaf Home

Leaf Home is an industry leader in direct-to-consumer solutions around safety, water puri cation and additional home enhancement products. Such leadership comes from all aspects of the business, including the area of human resources.

“Kevin has been a dynamic partner to have within our human resources department at Leaf Home,” the nomination said. “He is viewed as a trusted leader by both our customers and employees. He does what he says and says what he does, which is one of the best qualities to have in a leader.”

Senior Vice President Human Resources & Chief Diversity O cer Excellence in HR Finalist Come join our winning team! The Guardians are hiring - learn more about our great opportunities available at cleguardians.com/jobs

18 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | SEPTEMBER 12, 2022

ADVOCACY

Deedra ompson is a champion for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s 8,300 employees, ensuring the district complies with various collective bargaining agreements and state and federal employment laws. is position rose to prominence during the pandemic peaks, as ompson served as the front-line adviser to administrators, teachers and other sta who may have contracted COVID, helping them secure emergency paid leave when appropriate and access other essential resources.

Kevin Bailey

LEHRKESARA

According to the nomination, Bailey has advocated for employees via a new performance review and compensation planning program. rough this endeavor, Leaf Home is able to give eligible workers a performance review for the rst time in company history.

— Douglas J. Guth

Among her volunteer commitments, she works with the Tru2U career readiness program as a mentor to eighth graders within CMSD, the Greater Cleveland Food Bank and Towards Employment.

EMPLOYEE ADVOCACY | PRIVATE

“In every encounter I and other members of my team have had with Deedra, she provided support to those who felt they were not being heard, ensured they were taken seriously and that their rights were respected,” according to ompsonFinley.earned a master's degree in labor relations and human resources at Cleveland State University Monte Ahuja College of Business and recently was admitted to CSU’s Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

WINNERWINNEREMPLOYEE | GOVERNMENT, NONPROFIT

SEPTEMBER 12, 2022 | C R AIN’S CL EVE LAND B USIN E SS | 19

Vice president, talent acquisition manager

Today, Smith is responsible for attracting, acquiring and advancing diverse talent for the bank through her leadership of a talent acquisition team. She also recruits via her involvement with a Cleveland State University mentoring program and with professional groups like the Black Professionals Association and the National Black MBA Association.

Because she was instrumental in helping Great Lakes Brewing navigate the pandemic, she was promoted to the role of HR manager, where she focused on organizational de velopment, compensation and bene ts, employee engage ment, and diversity and inclusion.

is year, Ferguson was named project manager for the rm’s new Human Resources Information System, or HRIS. In spearheading the transition of platforms across HR processes, Ferguson helped centralize those functions while allowing the company to go paperless.

— Timothy Magaw

In the nomination, Great Lakes Brewing Co. CEO Mark King described Andrews as a “true human resources profes sional” who “embodies what is needed to develop an inclu sive, safe and fun culture in the workplace with her positivi ty.”In August, Andrews left the craft brewing company to take on a new role as compensation manager at Brook eld Prop erties.

Sarah Andrews was the compassionate leader Great Lakes Brewing Co. needed at the height of the pandemic. Because COVID forced the company to slim its workforce, including the human resourc es team, Andrews took on even more re sponsibilities — and she did so with grace and“Sarahdetermination.tookitupon herself to go above and beyond by individually helping em ployees through issues the pandemic caused including as sistance with ling for unemployment, navigating constant updates in legislation, and the general stress the pandemic caused employees,” the nomination said.

The CSU alum, who holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix, has been acknowledged for her professional and volunteer service with such honors as the Amigo Award from the El Barrio-Centers for Family and Chil dren, Engage! Cleveland’s Rising Star, the Women of Color Foundation’s Stephanie Tubbs Jones Courage Award, CSU Link Distinguished Alumni, Girl Scouts of North East Ohio Women of Distinction and the NAACP Unsung Hero Community Award.

Lauren Ferguson’s tireless commitment to Weltman, Weinberg & Reis inspires her fellow employees to be their best selves, according to the nomination.

—Douglas J. Guth

“Lauren is available to assist employees, managers and the leadership team with any task that is called upon,” the nomina tion said. “She’s an incredible coach, a great listener and an unbelievably empa thetic person, always looking out for the best interests of each and every employee.”

LaToya Smith

An active community leader, Smith chairs the Sankofa Fine Art Plus board of directors, sits on the United Black Fund board, is a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorori ty and the Cleveland/Cuyahoga County Workforce Devel opment Board, and served as chair for the traveling exhib it “The Soul of Philanthropy.”

GREGORYCAROLYN

Fifth Third Bank

Great Lakes Brewing Co.

Vice President for Human Resources on being named a finalist for Crain's 2022 Excellence in HR Award

LaToya Smith’s passion for advocat ing on behalf of others is evident in her engagement and success both inside and outside the office. During a 23year career at Fifth Third Bank, Smith has earned a series of promotions pri marily centered around talent devel opment.“Through each of these positions, she has been responsible for advocat ing for Fifth Third Bank employees, by helping them find and retain their dream jobs and creating growth plans for them enabling them to advance within the organization,” the nomination said.

Sarah AndrewsLauren Ferguson

The university's HR leader since 2007, Carolyn's commitment is clear—from her multiple employee appreciation and wellness initiatives, as well as her proactive approach to problem-solving.

Human resources manager

“Sarah treats each and every employee like a friend, and shows genuine care and concern for everyone.”

— Judy Stringer

According to the nomination, the new system simpli es re cruitment and onboarding of new employees, serving as a time-saver compared with the previous, outdated system.

Weltman, Weinberg & Reis

WINNEREMPLOYEE ADVOCACY | PUBLIC

Recipient of Weltman’s prestigious employee of the year award, Ferguson also leads company diversity and inclusion activities. She manages all subcommittees in D&I, with the goal of making the rm a more inclusive and accepting work place.“Lauren demonstrates each of the rm’s core values every day in her interactions,” the nomination said. “Her knowledge, passion and drive are an asset to the rm. She keeps a positive attitude if presented with a di cult situation, and is the rst point of contact for all potential new hires.”

Case Western Reserve Congratulates

Manager of human resources

WINNER WINNER RISING STAR | 51 TO 500 EMPLOYEES RISING STAR | MORE THAN 501 EMPLOYEES

“I think that most of the individuals involved in budgeting here at the university would agree, we are all much more aware of the nances and also aware of the types of resources it takes to educate our students,” Taylor said.

“Everything we do is driven by that plan, and our nances are very disciplined in order to resource the plan, so it’s been our North Star,” he said. “Our real mission here, as a state institution, is to serve the public good in our area of focus, which is graduate health sciences-based education. So, everything we do is aimed at how do we create really

e school also is building out a prototype and design lab to teach students and faculty how to create new medical technologies to advance health care, he said. NEOMED is partnering with Bounce Innovation Hub (an Akron nonpro t supporting entrepreneurs), JumpStart (a venture development organization in Cleveland), UH Ventures (the innovation arm of University Hospitals) and others to promote medical technology, development nershipdustry,andcommercialization,andtosupportin-Langellsaid.eseareinpart-with

A recent credit opinion upgrade that Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) received from Moody’s Investors Service is the result of adherence to conservative budget practices that are allowing the school to focus on growth.

NEOMED’s own initiatives, such as NEOvations Bench to Bedside, its medical innovation and entrepreneurship program, and its business incubator, the Research, Entrepreneurship, Discovery and Innovation ZoneMany(REDIzone).ofthecompanies in the incubators in the region or other companies in the medical device or med

In early August, Moody’s upgraded NEOMED’s issuer and General Receipts bond ratings to Baa1 from Baa2 and its student housing revenue bonds to Baa2 from Baa3, according to a report from the agency, which also revised the university’s outlook to stable from positive.

Credit opinion upgrade stems from adherence to conservative budget practices

“We really need to strengthen the D, the I and the C, so diversity, innovation and collaboration,” Langell said. “And we’re using those to be better at research, education and service for the why, why we exist. And we’re saying our ‘why’ is to create transformative leaders and improve health. And so, everything we add on should be focused in that area.”at served as a guiding principle for nance. Taylor joined NEOMED in February 2020, just before the university would have to manage through a lot of uncertainty as the COVID-19 pandemic hit. A 2020-25 strategic plan that included implementing scal and nancial discipline and accountability helped weather those challenges.

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e school recently launched new College of Graduate Studies degree programs (master in foundations of medicine, master of leadership in health systems science and master of medical science in anesthesia) and is in discussions about other degree programs. Total enrollment for 2021-22 was more than 1,000.NEOMED’s credit quality is supported by a “very good brand and strategic positioning, solid liquidity pro le, and sound nancial management,” according to the Moody’s report, which also notes that graduate and professional health care programs making up the entirety of the school’s academic curriculum “will support ongoing favorable student demand and steady revenue growth.”Dr.John Langell, who became NEOMED’s seventh president in fall 2019, said he has been disciplined in the approach to what the school does, and how and where it uses its resources. One of the rst things he did was to bring together the community — internally and externally — to create a strategic plan.

“We’re building out a whole ecosystem here,” he said. “ ose rare resources are right here on this campus. It’s things that industry has a di cult time getting access to: expertise from scientists, research facilities to do testing, institutional review boards for doing clinical trials type work, or at least clinical introduction and testing of products.”

NEOMED focuses on growth

BY LYDIA COUTRÉ

“OUR REAL MISSION HERE, AS A STATE INSTITUTION, IS TO SERVE THE PUBLIC GOOD IN OUR AREA OF FOCUS, WHICH IS GRADUATE HEALTH SCIENCES-BASED EDUCATION. SO, EVERYTHING WE DO IS AIMED AT HOW DO WE CREATE REALLY GOOD, QUALITY PROGRAMMING FOR STUDENTS?”

“It’s taking a little bit more time; we are making some progress,” he said.

tech space need access to resources.

e ve-year agreement established joint oversight of nancial investment and program development in six key areas of collaboration: educational activities, leadership and faculty development, innovation, research, clinical activities and workforce development.

In addition to allowing NEOMED to issue debt for lower costs, from an internal operations side, the upgraded rating permits NEOMED to invest and reinvest in its key strategic priorities, said Mary Taylor, vice president of operations and nance.

LangellTaylor

good, quality programming for students?”He’sfocused on three core components: diversity, innovation and collaboration.Sincetheincoming 2021 class, an unprecedented number (nearly 100) of underrepresented minority students enrolled in the College of Medicine program. e school is examining its leadership and faculty hires and making changes in its practices to increase workforce diversity, he said.

“We wanted to just kind of implement a strategy around scal discipline, across the university — really having nothing to do with COVID — but just overall scal discipline, and scal constraint, and starting to better match our resources to where our priority areas are,” Taylor said.

“Where we are planning strategic growth, because of the scal discipline and the zero-based budget, we will have the resources that we need to make those investments for future growth for the university,” she said.

e nal component is collaboration, which overlaps well with innovation and other recent examples, such as an announcement with UH earlier this summer. e two entered a new a liation agreement, expanding their decade-long collaboration.

One of the key things that was implemented in scal years 2021 and 2022, she said, was a zero-based budget process, which helped instill scal discipline across all three of the university’s colleges (of Medicine, Pharmacy and Graduate Studies), as well as across the administrative operations. e zero-based budgeting approach along with Lean Six Sigma principles helped NEOMED increase operating income by $3 NEOMED’smillion.total revenue increased from $86.5 million in scal year 2020 to $105.6 million in 2021, which Taylor attributes largely to a bump in investment income. Other factors include, according to its 2021 nancial audit, a $4.3 million increase in tuition and fee revenue, and a $3.2 million increase in federal and private grant awards.

Lydia Coutré: lcoutre@crain.com, (216) 771-5479, @LydiaCoutre

—Dr. John Langell, NEOMED president

CONTACT ThoughttoMARA.BRODERICK@CRAIN.COMlearnmoreandparticipateinthisLeadershipopportunity. Lead the conversation in this paid feature THOUGHT LEADER DEVELOPMENTWORKFORCEFORUM: PARTICIPATION DEADLINE: SEPT. 19 CONTENT DUE: OCT. 3 PUBLISH DATE: OCT. 17

“There’s a misconception that cybersecurity is just one thing, but it’s not,” he said. “Training your staff is part of cybersecurity. Adding a rewall is (another) part.”

or email. If something seems off, call and con rm it.”

Moran said the Independence ex pansion should be up and running by January 2023.

at might mean taking measures to have on-site gener ators and back-ups to ensure its data centers maintain power.“So, as an exam ple, we help hospi tals serve patients better,” she said.

Involta growing Independence data center to add megawatt of capacity

Cyberattacks are on the rise – to the point that it’s not a question of if you’ll be targeted by hackers, but when.

In some instances, companies contract out cybersecurity services to a third party – and due diligence in choosing those providers is key.

“PEOPLE NEED MORE AND MORE TECHNOLOGY TO RUN THEIR BUSINESS, BUT THEY DON’T NECESSARILY HAVE THE EXPERTISE ON THEIR STAFF TO DO EVERYTHING THAT THEY NEED TO DO, SO THEY LOOK TO US FOR THAT VALUE-ADD.”

ploys advisory boards to keep them up-to-date on the latest advance ments and challenges in those indus tries.Customers purchase space in In volta’s data centers or in the cloud, which Involta maintains. It also of fers IT services. Ultimately, Involta looks to serve as an “extension” of their clients’ business, Moran said, helping them meet their tech needs.

Email addresses can be spoofed, leading to messages that look of cial but come from people who want your sensitive information. Some may include dangerous links and ransomware. Meanwhile, robocalls or texts ood in from people purporting to be tech support.

“Report everything,” King said. “I can’t tell you how many compa nies I’ve worked with where someone opens something they shouldn’t and just don’t report it. They don’t want to get into trouble or start the paperwork.”

One key security point is the addition of a virtual private network, which allows employees to sign onto a secure corporate network wherever they work. This is particularly important if you’re, for example, opening your laptop and checking work email at a coffee shop, Buening said.

ose three sectors are areas of fo cus for Involta, so the company em

And if those scams do get through, it’s crucial to report them to your IT staff as well as law enforcement. Buening cited an FBI statistic that in 2021, there were $2.4 billion in losses due to breaches in business email security.

Cybersecurity and what it means to entrepreneurs

“We’re not going to go back to a time when we don’t need the tech nology and we don’t need the data storage,” Hyser said. “So it’s a critical component to the world that we live in, in this era. And it’s not going to change any time soon.”

e Independence site — the In volta team declined to share the spe ci c address, for security purposes — had previously been about 25,000

Expert panelists discuss the current realities of data defense and share tips for small business owners SPONSORED CONTENT This advertising-supported section/feature is produced by Crain’s Content Studio-Cleveland, the marketing storytelling arm of Crain’s Cleveland Business. The Crain’s Cleveland Business newsroom is not involved in creating Crain’s Content Studio content. MEET THE PANELISTS UPCOMING EVENTS: Hiring, Talent Retention and Leadership Sept. 29 Marketing for Small Businesses Nov. 10 Register at Adamcrainscleveland.com/grow-your-businessKingAmberBueningJoe

RACHEL ABBEY MCCAFFERTY

“Just because you are a small business, don’t believe you’re not a target,” he said. “You may be more of a target because they assume you don’t have security in place.”

Even though Involta doesn’t em ploy a large number of people in the city, the bene ts go beyond income tax, Hyser said. e company, and others like it, connect the city to oth er industries.

ere are 14 employees in Inde pendence, Moran said, and about 238 company-wide. Involta does not share annual revenue.

Rachel Abbey McCa erty: (216) 771-5379, rmcca erty@crain.com

the city is excited to see them ex pand.“It’s a business service that’s highly needed,” she said.

Jessica Hyser, economic develop ment director for the city of Indepen dence, said the company provides a “vital service,” as many businesses need data warehousing space, and

“We help manufacturing stay in busi ness and keep their machinery mov ing and their clients happy because they made their deadlines. ... In the nancial realm, we make sure that data is kept for the length of time that they need it, in a safe place.”

“It seems kind of counterintuitive with technology, but slow down,” he says. “Connectivity is not (always) your friend.”

Demand for centers like this has been increasing alongside the de mand for data retention in recent years, Moran said, particularly as equipment grows more complex. Northeast Ohio is seeing strong de mand from the health care and man ufacturing sectors, she said, driving the need for expansion.

Training employees on what to watch for is key, Chubb said, but added that it’s only one element of cybersecurity.

On top of all this, the cybersecurity risk is even higher for many small businesses, said Joe Chubb, owner and president of ComTec Information Systems.

Above all, make sure you invest in cybersecurity, King said. It’s the proverbial ounce of prevention.

“Cybersecurity is like business insurance,” he said. “Losing a couple hundred thousand dollars or even a thousand dollars isn’t worth the forethought it takes to protect yourself.”

square feet with one megawatt of ca pacity. It launched in 2017. e ex pansion will add about 14,000 square feet, as well as another megawatt. A news release noted that the compa ny’s capacity across Ohio will now be 10 Cedarmegawatts.Rapids, Iowa-based Involta has about a dozen data centers across the country, including the Indepen

Chubb was one of the panelists in the third in a series of “How to Grow Your Business” webinars hosted by Crain’s Content Studio-Cleveland in partnership with Huntington National Bank, as was Adam King, founding principal of SYLOW Tech. King said it’s important for professionals who feel like something might be amiss to trust their gut, and not be afraid to take a pause if something doesn’t seem right.

By Vince Guerrieri, Crain’s Content Studio-Cleveland

“People need more and more technology to run their business, but they don’t necessarily have the ex pertise on their sta to do everything that they need to do, so they look to us for that value-add,” Moran said.

Chubb

Some security rms also employ what are called “white hat hackers,” cybersecurity professionals capable of hacking on behalf of a client company to identify weaknesses.

e company’s goal, Moran said, is to help their customers meet their di erent business needs, providing secure, reliable data infrastructure.

Once Involta’s expansion is com plete in Independence, the IT, data center and cloud computing services company will have an additional megawatt of capacity to o er its cus tomers locally.

dence site, said Michelle Moran, se nior vice president of sales, market ing and product. e company looks to strategically locate outside of ma jor metropolitan areas for greater se curity, she said, and the buildings are intentionally nondescript.

Michelle Moran, senior vice president of sales, marketing and product for Involta, said the Independence expansion should be up and running by January of 2023. | INVOLTA

“When things seem off, call your partner,” Buening said. “Don’t text

Amber Buening, senior vice president and security outreach director at Huntington, said that in many cases, scammers will send phony invoices, usually before the close of a business day or right before a weekend, adding to the sense of urgency and betting on the idea that the invoice will be processed and paid out quickly, without scrutiny. Before too long, a company can be out thousands of dollars due to scams like these.

“Do your homework and ask them for references,” Chubb said. “Don’t hire the cheapest vendor … or the most expensive one. Do your homework and vet them.” Beyond that, Chubb recommends bringing in an auditor to make sure your security rm is doing what you’re paying them to do.

—Michelle Moran, senior vice president of sales, marketing and product at Involta

22 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | S E PT EM BER 12, 2022 TECHNOLOGY

Another wrinkle in the current cybersecurity environment is the high volume of employees working remotely, which can bring with it a new set of problems. Most home networks aren’t as secure as corporate networks, “but there’s no reason they can’t be,” King said.

ose vehicles will be made by Driverge, the manufacturing and customization arm of MobilityWorks, a Rich eld-based company that pro vides wheelchair-accessible vans across the U.S.

Photo by Ken Blaze

but not moved in yet,” Paczak said. e site will take over production now being done by Driverge at its site on Wilbeth Road in Akron, but the company will have more capacity thanks to its assembly-line production.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2022 | C R AIN’S CL EVE LAND B USIN E SS | 23

From left: Science Center President & CEO Dr. Kirsten M. Ellenbogen, Richard W. Pogue, Esq., William R. Seelbach, Dr. Jeanette Grasselli Brown, Margot J. Copeland, Science Center Board Chair Steven A. Karklin.

“We normally purchase our prop erty, but they’ve been very accom modating to our needs,” O’Donnell said of

Valley Truck sells vehicles to Driv erge and does work on the vehicles to prepare them for customization. at’s a relationship that began de cades ago, when MobilityWorks was young, O’Donnell said.

ValleyICP.Truck will start out with about 10 full-time employees at the site, along with some part-time help. But it will have the ability to take more space to expand later.

Dr. Jeanette Grasselli Brown, Margot J. Copeland, Richard W. Pogue, Esq., and William R. Seelbach! These dynamic community leaders transformed big dreams into reality, playing crucial roles in the Science Center’s founding years.

CMYCYMYCMYMCK Ion Award ad Print 2.pdf 2 9/6/22 12:04 PM

“We continue to be very pleased with the development of Chapel Hill Business Park,” Salata said via email.

“We’re starting with 80 (employees at the site) and we’re targeting 150 or more, production jobs and o ce,” he said. “ e last I looked, we had 60 po sitionsoseopen.”positions include white-col lar o ce jobs, skilled labor such as machinists and welders, and general laborers for the operations, he said.

Dan Shingler: dshingler@crain.com, (216) 771-5290

AKRON New wheelchair-accessible vehi cles soon will be rolling o assembly lines at Akron’s former Chapel Hill Mall, now known as Chapel Hill Busi ness Park, which is also about to get a new automotive manufacturing tenant to help in the e ort.

Driverge probably is getting a new neighbor it knows well.

ICP declined to discuss speci cs about any prospective new tenants, but chief operating o cer Chris Sala ta said things are going well at the former mall.

Chapel Hill to begin life as manufacturing site, lands new tenant

Valley Truck Centers, a Valley View-based Ford dealer with 12 loca tions that specialize in eet and com mercial vehicle sales, is working with ICP to take its own space at the mall, said Andy O’Donnell, the company’s vice president and general manager.

“We’re going to start with ve.

“We fully plan on doing that,” O’Donnell said.

“It’s a big evolution for us,” Paczak said.Driverge wanted to stay in Akron, he said, and the company, the city, JobsOhio and ICP, the Solon-based developer converting the mall to a manufacturing center, all worked well together to make the move hap pen, Paczak said.

DAN SHINGLER

Driverge has a prime spot at Chapel Hill Business Park, where it plans to begin manufacturing operations in November. | CONTRIBUTED

“It’s going well,” Driverge and Mo bilityWorks chief marketing o cer Chris Paczak said of his company’s work in getting set up at the site. “We’ve been subject to some supply restraints. ... It took us 20 weeks to get the 14-foot-wide garage doors in the production area. But they’re in now, and we’re looking at having our rst production line running sometime in November.”Driverge will make vehicles at the site on its rst assembly lines — the company has been producing its vans one at a time in stalls — in a 155,000-square-foot space at Chapel Hill.After that rst line begins opera tions, Driverge will move its o ces to the mall and begin work on getting four more assembly lines up and running at the site by the end of next year’s rst quarter.

“Equipment has been purchased

Valley Truck is nalizing its negoti ations with ICP but is looking to take around 15,000 square feet at Chapel Hill. It hopes to be in operation there sometime next spring.

ere’s exibility, and we can move to seven if we need to, space-wise,” PaczakDrivergesaid. will have to sta up, which Paczak said it’s doing now.

“It’s been a 30-plus-year partner ship,” he said. “It started by us cutting the roofs of Econoline vans for them. Today we function as an extension of their ebusiness.”twocompanies have only grown closer over the years, as Driv erge has increased its use of Valley Truck.“Itstarted with 10 vehicles a month and grew to quadruple digits annual ly,” O’Donnell said.

Congratulations to our 2022 Ion Award honorees

e Bay Village native and Miami University graduate spoke with Crain’s Cleveland Business about some of her plans for the role. e interview below has been edited for brevity and clarity.

24 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | S E PT EM BER 12, 2022 Call 216.368.6413 to learn more or weatherhead.case.edu/executive-educationvisitforaprogramschedule.Howwillyoubecomeatrulyoutstandingleader? Find a way with Weatherhead Executive Education. • Inspire with resonant leadership • Innovate with digital value creation • Develop emotional intelligence in individuals, teams and enterprises • Lead changestrengths-basedstrategic, EDUCATION

Thelike.

I’ve been joking that every day is my rst day all over again, sort of Groundhog’s

There are also organizations dedicated to interacting with young professionals in the region. They will serve as that connection piece between higher ed and the corporate world. And then we also have nonpro ts who have really wonderful connections with corporations in the area, and they want to serve as that connector to introduce universities to these various businesses. I do think we have those connecting pieces in place, it’s just a matter of strategizing and using them in a streamlined way.

So,us. the last few weeks have consisted mainly of meetings and then trying to reserve time between those meetings for me to gather my thoughts and give them purpose.

— Amy Morona

We’re also bringing on a consultant to kind of serve as an extra hand for me in research and foundational assessments. They’ll be hosting focus groups with individuals in Cleveland. Later this year, we will regroup as an Alliance and discuss that research, analyze those foundational assessments, and really nail down strategies, as well as funding sources, so that come December, we can each start implementing those strategies and that funding into our strategic plans and budgets for 2023. That is really the general snippet of the roadmap, although it is really detailed. I’m starting to assign myself deadlines to move through that work e ciently.

“I THINK JUST MY SHEER PASSION FOR LIFELONG LEARNING, AND HIGHER EDUCATION IN PARTICULAR, WILL ALLOW ME TO BE A REALLY GOOD ADVOCATE TO INCORPORATE UNIVERSITIES INTO THIS CONVERSATION.”

In just a few weeks in at a new job, Sara Greicius already has found her North Star. She’s the inaugural director of the Cleveland Talent Alliance (CTA), a group billed as “a consortium of eleven entities with the shared goal of developing a seamless and coordinated system to identify, attract, navigate, engage, welcome and retain the best talent in Cleveland.” It was formed earlier this year.

` You mentioned a meeting. What does your day-to-day schedule look like?

Have you thought about what kind of undertaking it’ll be to keep them all engaged?

Talent Alliance is moving through. That will carry us through to December 2022 and into January 2023, then starting to think about what an operating model may look like.

It’s really two things that are on my plate. One is learning. As I said, that’s what I’ve been doing the last ve weeks, learning as much as possible, whether that is through meetings with additional Alliance partners, reading articles, poring over research that exists about this, just really trying to gain knowledge on Cleveland, our talent ecosystem, and how we operate related to Beyondtalent.that learning, some more speci c things I’m working on fall into a six-month roadmap that the Cleveland

` Let’s segue to you. The bulk of your career so far has been spent in higher education. How will that background apply to this new role? Working at a university allowed me to

Before beginning this new position in July, Greicius worked as a senior international admissions coun selor in the O ce of Global Education at Kent State University.

“ALREADY IN THE LAST FIVE WEEKS OR SO, I HAVE LEARNED MORE ABOUT THAT MISSING LINK, SO TO SPEAK, THESE DOZENS OF INSTITUTIONS IN THE AREA HAVING THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS LOOKING FOR JOBS AND NOT NECESSARILY BEING ABLE TO CONNECT THEM WITH THE PROPER OPENINGS IN THE COMMUNITY. I DO THINK THAT IS A GAP THAT EXISTS.”

last thing with my higher ed background that will really help me succeed here is the fact that my work was all in global education and working with international o ces. I got to travel regularly, meet with students, parents and university and government leaders from all over the world. Through those opportunities, I learned a great deal about communicating across di erent values, di erent belief systems and was able to navigate those conversations in a respectful way that ultimately led to collaboration. I hope to emulate that here in Cleveland on a more local scale.

I think the simplest way to guide myself in doing that is just remembering that all of these 11 organizations have already agreed to engage in this and to collaborate. And if I start to see that’s not happening, I will happily remind them of that They’recommitment.alreadysaying in all of these meetings that they are here to come to the table, to collaborate, to work together. But I don’t want to come into this naively and think, ‘It will all be dandy and we’ll just collaborate, easy peasy.’ I think again, for me, just going back to that guiding light of they’re already here, they want to collaborate, and just continuing to remind them of that.

e list of those involved with the CTA reads like a Who’s Who of some local power players, including Team NEO, Greater Cleveland Partnership, and Destination Cleveland. e private nonpro t tourism or ganization is the lead organization in the CTA’s work, as well as Greicius’ employer.

I think just my sheer passion for lifelong learning, and higher education in particular, will allow me to be a really good advocate to incorporate universities into this conversation. Northeast Ohio is home to so many higher education institutions.

Already in the last ve weeks or so, I have learned more about that missing link, so to speak, these dozens of institutions in the area having thousands of students looking for jobs and not necessarily being able to connect them with the proper openings in the community. I do think that is a gap that exists. Fortunately for the Cleveland Talent Alliance, we already have a couple of organizations on board who feel that they can close that gap. There are organizations dedicated to working either with college students and internships, getting them acclimated to the working world at Cleveland and opening up their eyes to experiences post-grad.

Amy Morona: amy.morona@crain. com, (216)

I was just telling this to someone this morning, actually, in a meeting with an outside organization. The main thing I’ve learned thus far is that the wish to collaborate among all these Cleveland organizations is present. But the how-to is still what’s unclear. That is serving as my North Star, my guide to gure out the how-to of all of this collaborative work.

To that point, there’s so many players involved in this initiative.

` Congratulations on the new gig! What’s one thing you’ve learned in your rst few weeks as you’re getting acclimated?

I think it’s worth looking to them for the thousands of students that they serve, the millions they contribute to local economies, and to really highlight that aspect of our region, bring them into the conversation and utilize the knowledge that institutions have about student populations here and really what the future of talent looks

Day, because I’m meeting regularly with new people, either the current 11 Alliance partners and getting to know them individually or other organizations that have reached out to Destination Cleveland after learning about the Talent Alliance and shared that they’re either interested in becoming a part of this work or they’re eager to get advice from

experience rsthand a large scale system that works to identify, attract and retain students. Of course, in the case of the Cleveland Talent Alliance, we’re thinking beyond students, but similar ideas. We can look to universities to see what works, what doesn’t work, what should happen, what shouldn’t happen. While it’s not a one size ts all model, I think universities are a really great institution to look at for examples.

“ e wish to collaborate among all these Cleveland organizations is present,” Greicius said. But guring out how to actually have it happen is a little murkier. And that, she said, will serve as a guid ing factor behind the work.

As you mentioned, we have about 30 nonpro t higher ed institutions here. From where you sit, do you think there’s histori cally been a missing link between those colleges and universities and the area’s workforce? And if so, how do you hope to bridge that gap?

` As we wind down here, it sounds like from this conversation that you have a pretty full plate on your hands. What are the next steps for you and the CTA?

Cleveland Talent Alliance’s new director talks next steps

@AmyMorona771-5229,

The real challenge, not just for Fether’s company but for everyone in the trades, is finding people. For that, Hilscher-Clarke works closely with its union halls, but even they haven’t been able to keep up with demand lately, Fether said. He’s counting on using his firm’s culture and its ability to retain people to help keep his staffing up.

Residential development proposed for o ce park

One Akronite who is opposed to the city selling the land — at least as now planned — is Meghan ornton-Lugo, a resident of Ward 1 and an assistant professor at the University of SheAkron.told council she’s concerned that city residents are not engaged by city government when the sale of such land is considered.

Canton’s Hilscher-Clarke Electric has acquired Columbus-based Cochran Electric.

Hilscher-Clarke Electric gains central Ohio foothold with acquisition

“We have just short of 600 electricians. We’ve grown quite a bit in the last few years,” Fether said. “We’re probably in the 570 range rightThenow.”firm had about 350 electricians when Fether took over. But he attributes the growth to Goodspeed’s work positioning the firm to take advantage of new opportunities, such as the data center work and work it does for Bitcoin

BY DAN SHINGLER

She said Segedy has in the past said that developing new land when the city has other dilapidated housing or vacant lots is short-sighted and that she’d like to see that ideal guide decision-making.Segedysaidhe would far prefer to develop land already in use or where the existing housing stock should be replaced. But Akron doesn’t have such land in large parcels that would attract developments like Triton’s, he said. And, in an environment in which Northeast Ohio is not gaining new residents, Akron and other communities must compete for residents.“Ialways look at these things as, ‘It could have been built in Copley or even Medina’ — even further from our core, and we’d get no bene t at all,” Segedy said.

John Fether, HilscherClarke president

The White Pond O ce Park land, shown in red (below), the city proposes using for residential development is a wooded area adjacent to I-77 south of Fairlawn. | DAN SHINGLER/ CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

e development would also in-

Hilscher-Clarke president John Fether said the deal gives his company its first physical presence in central Ohio, a region in which the firm is already active and where it hopes to pick up more“We’vework.been working in Columbus for about four years doing data centers for Facebook, Amazon and some work for Google. We had some manpower down there, but we didn’t have a shop,” Fether said. “Those guys were a 10-person shop. … We met Cochran through the union hall, and it’s just got a very similar culture to BillHilscher-Clarke.”Cochran,theseller, will stay on with Hilscher-Clarke, Fether said. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.Fethersaid he wants to grow Cochran’s existing book of business.“We’re trying to focus in on that industrial base with Cochran. They have some key accounts with Budweiser and others in the area,” Fether said.

mining operations, which often need their own electrical systems.

Mayor Dan Horrigan’s administration is proposing to sell 65 acres of the 76-acre park to Solon-based Triton Property Ventures, which intends to build 189 townhouses on the site as part of a larger mixed-use development.“is is a housing development with some ranch units and some two-story town homes, as well as a mixed use development at the front of the complex that has both retail in it and some loft style apartments,” said Randy Parsons, president of Mann Parsons Gray Architects in nearby Fairlawn, which is working on the project. “We feel like it would be a very good add to the neighborhood.”

SEPTEMBER 12, 2022 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 25 AKRON

Dan Shingler: dshingler@crain. com, (216) 771-5290

“ at has sort of yet to be nalized as we get through site prep and things like that, but ideally it would begin next spring or in the summer time frame,” Ga ney told Akron City Council.Triton has an option on the land, which the city intends to sell to the developer for about $750,000, according to council records. e developer has not yet determined what it plans to spend to develop the project. Ga ney was traveling and unavailable to provide further details, but Jason Segedy, Akron’s director of planning and urban development, said he expects the total development to cost “tens of millions” of dol-

Some of the project’s details have yet to be determined, including the nal rental rates for the site — but they’ll be higher than the average rental rate in Akron, which is under $1,000 a month for apartments.

e project is not without potential opposition, however, as well as residents who told council they aren’t necessarily against the development, but worried about how it might impact tra c in the area.

“The pump was primed when I became president,” Fether said. “Scott was a very smart and still is a very smart businessman, and everything was set to grow. The easy part was just going out and getting new work and spreading out a Fetherlittle.”said his company also is getting work, including on the residential side, installing chargers for electric vehicles. That’s a growing business and also a reason to establish a presence in Columbus, where he said electric vehicles are being adopted faster than in Northeast Ohio.

Hilscher-Clarke seems like it would be able to grow to accommodate the needs of such work, too. The firm has added more than 200 jobs since Fether became president in 2020 and took over much of the company’s dayto-day management from Scott Goodspeed, who remains as CEO.

“It’s not a process of listening; it’s more a process of convincing us of the merits of developing our undeveloped lands,” ornton-Lugo said.

“We try to have a really good spot to work. We focus a lot on our core values,” Fether said. “We have an 11- or 12-year average rate of people staying — and we’ve had guys work their whole careers here.”

BUSINESSCLEVELANDCRAIN’S 77 77 FrankBoulevardSchocalogRoad WhitePondDrive

lars.

“They’ve been in business for 40 years and have a really good reputation down there,” he added.

clude a clubhouse for residents, and amenities such as a pool and pickleball courts, Parsons said.

BY DAN SHINGLER

e townhomes and ranch homes would have their own garages, the project’s backers told council. Plans led with the city call for 336 parking spaces for the apartments and retail space and another 56 parking spots at the community center.

“HOPEFULLY, WE CAN GROW THIS COLUMBUS BRANCH TO BE A FORCE DOWN THERE.”

But they won’t be o ces.

Parsons and Triton president Alan Ga ney spoke to Akron City Council July 11 as they sought support for a conditional-use variance needed to do the retail portion of the proposed project.edevelopment would include 91 two-story, attached townhomes, and the remaining 98 houses would be detached, one-story ranch homes, according to Parsons’ and Ga ney’s description of Triton’s plans for the development, which has been dubbed White Pond Reserve.

Akron’s White Pond O ce Park might be about to get some new tenants — more than 200 of them.

Columbus already had become a growth area for Hilscher-Clarke, with increasing demand for electrical service at firms handling large data centers. But Fether said he’s also hoping a bigger presence in the area will help his company go for the really big prize: work on the upcoming Intel chip plant.

“We haven’t quite nalized it yet, but you’re probably looking at $1,800 to $2,300 a month … but we haven’t completed the nal rental rates yet,” Ga ney told council and members of the public with questions about the development.Adatefora start of construction also has not been determined, but Ga ney said he hopes to start building the project in 2023.

She proposed a moratorium on sale of city-owned lands until a better way of getting citizens involved is enacted, including giving preference to nonpro ts and citizen groups that might want to purchase the property.

In addition, the developer’s plans call for 51,720 square feet of retail space, more than 50 apartments totaling just over 67,000 square feet, a 4,600-square-foot community center and 20,000 square feet of storage space, according to plans it has led with the city.

That’s correct, according to the state economic development agency JobsOhio, which has been leading the efforts to attract and place Intel in central Ohio. JobsOhio says on its website that the plant, which represents a $20 billion capital investment, will produce 7,000 construction jobs, along with “tens of thousands of indirect support jobs like contractors, suppliers and consultants.”

“We are up to 30 electrical car chargers a month in Columbus now,” Fether said.

For now, Hilscher-Clarke is satisfied with its presence in Columbus. But it might look for further acquisitions in the area, depending on its needs and available opportunities, Fether said.

“They’re wanting thousands of electricians in an area that doesn’t have many,” Fether said. “Hopefully, we can grow this Columbus branch to be a force down there.”

At its July 11 meeting, council set the matter aside for further discussion and is expected to take the matter up again when it meets in September.

MADE LOCALLY

Akron Racing tires

maloneynovotny.com

TOP LOCAL EXECUTIVE

StevePresley, chairman and CEO, Nestle USA

C.LourencoGoncalves, chairman, president, CEO

, CEO 26 SAINT-GOBAINCORP., 440-836-6900/saint-gobain-northamerica.comSolon 992 15,270 5 Lakewood, Milan, Hiram, Middleburg Heights, Stow, Akron, Ravenna 6 Plastics, beams, panels and ceramics

BillNictakis, chairman, CEO , 440-523-5000/eaton.comBeachwood (manufacturing), (assembly) and electrical

LINCOLN ELECTRIC HOLDINGS, Euclid 216-481-8100/lincolnelectric.com -0.1%2,750 11,0002.8%

23 RPM INTERNATIONALINC., Medina 330-273-5090/rpminc.com 1,0805.2% 16,8008.4% Cleveland, Medina, Euclid, Twinsburg, Streetsboro Roo ng materials, sealants, adhesives, concrete admixtures and coatings, uorescent colorants

JohnG.Morikis, chairman, CEO

KevinHeck, plant manager, Cleveland Engine Plant; JasonMoore, plant manager, Ohio Assembly Plant

13 THE J.M. SMUCKERCO., 330-682-3000/jmsmucker.comOrrville -3.5%1,759 -3.7%6,690 Orrville

BobMcBride, president, CEO BWX TECHNOLOGIESINC., Euclid 216-912-3000/bwxt.com 1,3502.3% 6,7000% Barberton, Euclid

20 SHEARER'S

Pressure-sensitive adhesive label, packaging and graphics materials; pressure-sensitive tapes; re ective sheeting

1 SWAGELOKCO., 440-248-4600/swagelok.comSolon 11.4%4,830 10.2%6,094 Solon, Highland Heights, Strongsville, Willoughby, Willoughby Hills, Eastlake

PURELL hand sanitizers, surface disinfectants/sanitizers, soaps, GOJO and Provon hygiene products

21 EATON

Advisors personally invested in

LOCAL MANUFACTURING FACILITIESPRODUCTS

GOJO INDUSTRIESINC., Akron 330-255-6000/gojo.com 2,100 3 -6.3% 2,400 3 -17.1% Wooster, Cuyahoga Falls, Maple Heights

25 ASSOCIATED MATERIALSLLC, Cuyahoga

CareyJaros, president, CEO; MarcellaKanfer Rolnick, executive chair

MaryRhinehart, chair, interim CEO (outgoing); RebeccaLiebert, president, CEO (incoming) 4

CLEVELAND-CLIFFSINC., Cleveland 216-694-5700/clevelandcli s.com 2,4502.1% 26,5006%

CraigArnold, chairman, CEO

FORD MOTORCO., Brook Park 313-322-3000/ford.com

330-834-4030/shearers.comMassillon 1,2486.6% 4,172-5% Brewster,

RichardJ.Kramer, chairman, president, CEO

, CEO, life sciences 27 THE TIMKENCO., North 234-262-3000/timken.comCanton 0.2%884 18,0005.9% Canton, Sharon Center, Wadsworth Tapered roller bearings, custom-engineered power transmission products

National expertise. Local talent. Public Business the

Accountants and

17 THE SCOTT FETZERCO., 440-892-3000/scottfetzer.comWestlake 11.1%1,386 10.7%2,168 Avon Lake, Cleveland, Westlake, Wooster

Hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel sheet, hot-dip galvanized steel sheet, semi- nished steel slabs and ferrous scrap

and

Parma

15 SCHAEFFLER GROUPUSA, Wooster 330-264-4383/schae er.us 1,700-15% 83,000 Wooster

MarkA.Huber, general manager PPG, 412-434-3131/ppg.comCleveland 1,3460% 50,0000% Cleveland, Strongsville, Barberton, Huron, Euclid

24 GENERAL MOTORSCO., Parma 216-265-5000/gm.com -2.3%1,058 166,1007.2% Parma Vehicle parts

Fruit spreads, ice cream toppings, syrups and foodservice items

GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBERCO., Akron 330-796-2121/goodyear.com 2,9051.3% 71,1912.8%

1-YEARLOCALCHANGE 1-YEARTOTALCHANGE

Tube ttings, valves, hoses, regulators, uid systems components, assemblies

Automotive OEM and re nish coatings, specialty coatings materials, architectural coatings

14 HOWMET AEROSPACE, 216-641-3600/howmet.comCleveland 1,7444.6% 19,9001% Barberton, Canton, Cleveland, Niles

, president, CEO MANUFACTURING COMPANIESCRAIN'S LIST | Ranked by full-time equivalent local employees as of June 30, 2022 FTE STAFF - JUNE 30, 2022 ResearchbyChuckSoder(csoder@crain.com) |Informationisfromthecompanies,includingwebsitesandpublic lings,unlessotherwisenoted.Topreventties, rmswiththesamenumberoflocalemployeesarethenrankedbytotalsta . NOTES: 1. TotalemploymentatClevelandEnginePlantandOhioAssemblyPlant. 2. TotalemploymentasofDecember2021. 3. AsofMarch2022. 4. LiebertisscheduledtobecomeLubrizol'spresidentandCEOonOct.1. 5. NorthAmericaonly. 6. Lakewood operation is scheduled to move to Strongsville by the end of September. Get 51 companies, +340 executives and additional data in Excel format. Become a Data Member: CrainsCleveland.com/data

MarkT.Smucker, chairman, president, CEO

ThomasF.Lozick, chairman, CEO

ChristopherL.Mapes, chairman, president, CEO

RANKCOMPANY

4 NESTLEUSA, 440-349-5757/nestleusa.comSolon 3,1910.2% 14,051 Solon, Cleveland Stou er's, Lean Cuisine, Sweet Earth entrees; Minor’s products

Cleveland, Warren, Canton, Massillon, Willoughby

Aerospace

RamiroGutierrez, president, Engineered Structures; MerrickMurphy, president, Engine Products; RandallScheps, president, Forged Wheels

products

FrankC.Sullivan, chairman, CEO

THE SHERWIN-WILLIAMSCO., 216-566-2000/sherwin-williams.comCleveland 4,5820.3% 57,2312.2% Bedford Heights, MassillonPaint

JamesF.Drexinger

Nuclear pressure vessels, steam generators, electromechanical components

Titanium aerospace structural components, commercial vehicle wheels, titanium ingot and mill products

Apparel, medical and home product polymers; engine oil, transmission and grease additives

MarcL.McGrath, CEO, Americas

JesusValencia, Cleveland plant manager FOODSLLC, MassillonSnack foods: Potato chips, tortillas, extruded products (i.e. cheese curls)

330-929-1811/associatedmaterials.com -3%997 4,7340.9% Cuyahoga Falls, West SalemVinyl windows and siding, composite cladding for replacement and new construction

JeroenDiderich, VP and GM, Label and Graphic Materials North America

Transmission systems and e-mobility components

11 ROCKWELL AUTOMATIONINC., May eld 440-646-5000/rockwellautomation.comHeights 1,8071.9% 25,0004.2% Twinsburg Industrial automation products

MattFordenwalt, VP, GM, Systems & Solutions; MatheusBulho, VP, GM, Production Automation

Euclid, Mentor Welding and cutting systems

Motion and control technologies

-10.2%1,097 87,0009.4% Euclid

PARKER HANNIFINCORP., May eld Heights 216-896-3000/parker.com 1,8000% 55,0900.8% Akron, Avon, Elyria, Fairlawn, Kent, Mentor, Ravenna

ThomasL.Williams, chairman, CEO

Special bar quality steel, seamless mechanical tubing and manufactured components

Diversi ed manufacturer of products for the home, family and industry

JeanAngus

26 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | S E PT EM BER 12, 2022

RichardG.Kyle

success of your business.

3,490 1 0% 183,000 2 -1.6% Avon Lake, Brook ParkMedium duty trucks, Super Duty chassis cabs, E-Series cutaways, strip chassis, EcoBoost engines

16 TIMKENSTEELCORP., 330-471-7000/timkensteel.comCanton -5.8%1,631 1,750-7% Canton

22 GREAT LAKES CHEESE, 440-834-2500/greatlakescheese.comHiram 1,0876.6% 3,6781% Hiram Packaged cheese

THE LUBRIZOLCORP., Wickli e 440-943-4200/lubrizol.com -5.2%2,022 -2.3%8,358 Avon Lake, Painesville, Wickli e

MichaelS.Williams, president, CEO

DanZagzebski, president, CEO

AVERY DENNISON, 440-534-6000/averydennison.comMentor 14.5%2,015 32,769-0% Painesville, Mentor, Concord, TownshipPainesville

KareemMaine, Parma plant director Falls

Certiﬁed

e company that saw the biggest decrease was Bridgestone Americas, which posted a 30% drop in local employment, falling to No. 28 from No. 21.

Cleveland. Joining the organization has a orded me a meaningful connection to a diverse community of writers and readers of all ages and backgrounds, whose love of storytelling and writing mirror my own. Knowing that Literary Cleveland thrives in a city with globally renowned cultural resources and sports fandom tells me Cleveland has grown in breadth and depth across 30 years. ere is something for everyone, even a slight introvert with a love of words and cultural stories.

TRANSPLANT 8

As for the list ...

But employment and nancial performance don’t always go hand in hand, judging by how companies answered this question:

at 16.3% increase easily beats the 4.7% average annual in ation rate for 2021 or even the 8.5% average for the 12 months ending in July 2022. (Most companies on the list are on a calendar year.)

SEPTEMBER 12, 2022 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 27 LIST ANALYSIS

Chuck Soder: csoder@crain.com, (216) 771-5374, @ChuckSoder

In a town that relishes professional sports teams and is rich in internationally recognized cultural organizations, I wish Literary Cleveland existed when I moved to

Cleveland has become much more than a sports town with a renowned orchestra, art museum and health care scene, Raquel Santiago writes. | GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK

e full Excel list is available exclusively to Crain’s Data Members. To learn more, visit CrainsCleveland.com/data.

Despite economic headwinds, big local manufacturers by and large tell Crain’s their bottom lines should improve in 2022, judging by a survey of businesses on the Crain’s Manufacturing Companies list.

In terms of pro t/loss do you expect this organization’s nancial performance to increase or decrease in FY 2022 vs. FY 2021?

We also can’t tell if they factored out in ation, so that may have been a contributing factor for anyone who looked at nancial gures in unadjusted dollars before answering the question. And though we promise anonymity, some companies not having a great year still might not have wanted to answer theEvenquestion.afterfactoring out in ation, many companies on the list saw revenue rise in 2021: Revenue grew 16.3% when you add up gures from the 19 Northeast Ohio-based manufacturers for whom Crain’s has two years of consistent revenue, which is available for some companies in the full Excel list. at excludes

Manufacturers on list say bottom lines should look good in 2022

BY CHUCK SODER

Avery Dennison’s Mentor-based unit broke into the top 10, posting a 14.5% increase in local employment. But the biggest gainer didn’t make the print version of the list: Great Day Improvements doubled the size of its local workforce over the past year, largely due to its acquisition of Bedford Heights-based Universal Windows Direct. at pushed it up to No. 40 on the list, up from No. 51 last year.

publishing-oriented workshops and programs annually, taught by local and national authors.

From Page

I love that Literary Cleveland’s programs can bridge across Cleveland’s cultural and ethnic diversity, with workshops like this October’s four-session “Flamenco Poetry” and “Writing Memoir rough an Intersectional Lens.”

Today, as a wife and mom carving out space for her interests, I am amazed by the breadth and depth of what there is now to do in Cleveland, for young people eager to socialize and engage, and for more established adults seeking connection via social, cultural, recreational and civic Clevelandactivities.hasbecome much more than just a sports town with a globally renowned orchestra, art museum and health care scene. On the Near West Side, for example, the Julia de Burgos Cultural Arts Center is growing its o erings and visibility. Likewise, the LatinUs eater Company, housed in the new Pivot Center for Art, Dance and Expression on West 25th Street, is building the range of Spanish language theater it presents. e number of community development organizations in the mix has likewise ampli ed the potential for cultural and economic opportunities to Personally,grow. I’ve enjoyed tapping into events and organizations within Cleveland’s Latinx community. I’ve also embraced Cleveland’s writing community via Literary Cleveland, a 700-member nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing Northeast Ohio as a writing and literary center. It o ers more than 150 poetry, prose, and

And many of them are coming o a solid 2021, at least in terms of revenue.Granted, companies on the list barely grew at all in terms of local employment. Looking at the full Excel version of the list, which includes 51 companies, combined local employment grew just 0.6% for the 44 companies that gave Crain’s two years of data. Worldwide employment grew by roughly 1.3% — or a meager 0.1% if you only look at the 27 companies headquartered in Northeast Ohio that also provided two years of data.

e results were pretty lopsided: 13 of the 18 companies that responded said their bottom lines will improve. Nine of the 13 picked “increase somewhat” — the second-most optimistic out of seven choices. Four picked “remain about the same” and one picked “decrease slightly.” (And that company isn’t based in Northeast Ohio — 10 of the 18 respondents are.)

We can’t say for certain what’s behind those projections, but four companies did leave comments, all related to rising demand. Responses were gathered between July 20 and Aug. 16.

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Cleveland-Cli s, No. 7 on the list. Cli s saw revenue grow 282%, mainly due to large acquisitions, as it bought both AK Steel and ArcelorMittal USA in 2020.

Solon-based Swagelok once again is in the No. 1 spot and intends to stay there: e industrial uid systems manufacturer added nearly 500 full-time equivalent local employees in the 12 months ending in June 2022, an 11.4% increase over the prior year.

FirstEnergy Stadium during a game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns on January 3, 2021. The Browns won 24 -22. | CLEVELAND BROWNS

To answer that, Crain’s Cleveland Business reached out to a dozen Northeast Ohioans who either have a background in economic develop ment, or a connection to the city’s sports teams.

Joe Scalzo: joe.scalzo@crain.com, (216) 771-5256, @JoeScalzo01

In the late 1990s, Cleveland built what nearly everyone in the city wanted — an open-air, grass football stadium on the site of the old Munic ipal Stadium. e hastily built venue was designed with one thing in mind — quickly reclaiming the football team Art Modell stole.

— that would be paid back with div idends. Look at what Chicago did with their waterfront. Look at the city of Toronto 20-30 years ago. e skyline was very similar, then look at the explosion of growth around the waterfront. is (stadium discus sion) needs to be part of a bigger, grander plan, although under no circumstances should the Browns be put outside the city of Cleveland. I will riot outside the city. But that piece of land that exists from the sta dium all the way to (East) 55th (Street) is priceless. I’m very much in favor of con necting downtown to the waterfront via parks and bike trails. I lived in Boston for six years and the sea port district exploded with growth. e whole city is walkable from the ocean all the way to Brookline. How do we make that con nection to the lake? To the cities south and east and west of us? How do we con nect them to paths humans use, instead of worrying how to shuttle a (freaking) car to a parking lot? We need things to do. We can’t just ride bikes to play on sand and look at the lake. We need playgrounds for kids. I’d like to see — not a high-rise hotel, but a glamping experience. A place where if people want to stay on Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, they can hop on a boat and cruise around the lake. I’d love to see housing for all levels of income that exist. I think cities are best served when there’s a di versity of cultures and incomes, and businesses are best served by that. Now, where should they put the sta dium? I don’t (freaking) know. I guess the post o ce spot is OK, across from the Guardians. I’m bet ting there are plenty of brown loca tions, as well as dilapidated old man ufacturing plants that we don’t know what to do with. e one thing we shouldn’t think about is cars. I don’t want a bunch of parking decks. We’ve got to change the way people think.

I’m pretty passionate that the (Burke) airport needs to not exist. I would have a huge issue if they did not incorporate getting rid of that air port as a part of this. And I saw the councilmen and the mayor are think ing about getting rid of Route 2 and putting a land bridge over to that part of the world. I don’t care what it costs

Just try to make it better. If you look at the trends hap pening with new sports venues, they’re all in CBDs. ey’re part of a larger life style development, for lack of a better phrase. Well, it’s already in the CBD. It’s al ready built. Let’s make lem onade.

andFinally,walkability.ourpolitical leaders need to nally confront the tough issues that are Burke Airport, the Port, the railroads and the infrastructure is sues that have plagued lakefront use. (Please note I did not say develop ment here.) We need to connect the lakefront to the CBD (commercial business district), the Warehouse District and the Flats. Development or other uses will come naturally.

Not everyone said yes — former Cleveland Mayor Mike White needed two minutes to reply to an email with “No thank you,” while Guardians broadcaster Tom Hamilton just laughed and said, “I’m going to stay away from that one” — but the ones who did gave great answers. at in cludes Paris, who was asked one question and gave a 25-minute re sponse.“Iworked for the Senate, so I li buster calls,” Paris joked after about 20 minutes.ebest response came from Na than Kelly, the president and manag ing director at Cushman & Wake eld-Cresco Real Estate in Independence.“Buildthejail on that site,” he said. “I’ve been a prisoner there since 1999.”Here are the rest of their respons es, which have been edit ed for length and clarity.

Paris, who is now a public a airs expert and policy counsel for The Raben Group:

Between downtown Cleve land and the waterfront, you’ve got a 50-foot blu , heavy rail, light rail, a high way and then you get to the waterfront. It’s really daunt ing. It would be easy to de fend Cleveland from an in vasion by Canadians. But it’s the product of an old era of thinking where the wa terfront was a place of com merce and industry. It wasn’t a place of leisure. It isn’t impossible to bridge that gap. Chicago did it with Millennium Park and we could absolutely do it. And if you’re looking at building new versus renovating, what’s best for Browns fans? Do you need to be on the waterfront? I love that the Guardians and Cavs are in the mid dle of the city and all those bars and restaurants. And I think about Cleve land in the climate change era — the water is really key to our future. Man aging it, protecting it, but also access ing it and using it as an amenity and a draw. We’ve been doing better for a couple decades now, but we really need to think longterm. I’m really excited about the new wave of lead ership in the city. It’s always a mistake to think about things as, “How do we divide the pie?” We should be thinking about how to grow the pie. Everything we invest in the waterfront, we’re go ing to get out. So the Browns stadium should be part of a bigger conversation about growth in the city, how it’s going to look in 25 to 50 years. And I wouldn’t operate from the standpoint of fear about whether the Browns leave. I believe they’re committed to staying.

Terry Coyne, vice chairman of the Newmark brokerage in Cleveland:

Kelly, who worked in the public sector, including economic development for Cuyahoga County, before moving into the brokerage world:

STADIUM

I think the Browns’ mindset is a good one, where you’re integrating a true mixed-use approach and having integrated residential and commercial. It needs to be an at traction that’s year-round, beyond the Sunday Funday. at’s really im portant. Having gone to Gillette Sta dium in Boston (Foxborough) and seeing the Washington Command ers’ plan, which I think integrates a whitewater rafting component — they’re a combination of recreation and fun. Gillette Stadium has Patriot Place (which has 1.3 million square feet of shopping, dining and enter tainment). e Browns’ preliminary plans show they’re eager to pursue that. ere’s this vibrant community in downtown and various pockets around downtown, and that’s not something they had when they rst designed it. ere’s more of an argu ment to reduce the number of sur face parking spots and lean into the utilities infrastructure. But no matter what happens with the stadium, it’s a must that the team stays in Cleveland proper. ey’re not the Greater Cleveland Browns.

Lack of amenities like restaurants, bars, public transportation, parking

ere’s literally genera tions of Clevelanders’ pre cious blood, sweat and tears tied to that site, so I wouldn’t want to move it. I would want to take a hard look at the costs/bene ts of putting a lid (dome) on it. But if that were the decision, the real work would begin with being able to ex plain it to people.

From Page 1

Jim Donovan, the Browns’ radio play-by-play announcer and the sports director at WKYC:

Attorney Fred Nance, a global managing partner at Squire Patton Boggs who helped lead litigation that returned the Browns to Cleveland:

Nance

Brent Zimmerman, co-founder and CEO of Saucy Brew Works:

To me, the die is cast. e stadium is there. It’s serviceable and they only use it 10 times a year. My thought would be — don’t wait until 2028. Ex tend the lease, put a lid on it and pro gram around the site and inside the site. Keep doing some development. Relocating, to me, seems like a lot for two reasons. One, where are you go ing to put it? And two, once you moved it, the lakefront is still a tough developmental site for the same rea sons it hasn’t been more developed now. All the designs I’ve seen pro posed, they’re variations on themes that all work because hu mans want to look at water. It adds value. It adds gravi ty. People want to be close to it. A marina is a great at tribute. You can add o ce, retail, residential — all of it works. Step one is getting more use out of that site. en it needs a lid. If you add a lid, you might as well add more around it, too. at site has a great sports heritage. Why change it?

VeyseyKellyFerchill

In all honesty, I would get rid of it. ere’s no sense putting lipstick on a pig. I understand why they built the stadium when they did, but it never had any character of its own. When you go around the country now, whether it’s football or basketball or baseball stadium, that one (FirstEn ergy) is below average. And no matter how much money you put into it or if you put a dome on it, you’re still not going to see the things you do in Dal las or L.A. It’s inevitable, whether you put a dome on it or not, in another 10-12 years, they’re going to ask for money for an upgrade. Why not build your own now? Why not build it in a nice suburb, an area like New England (Foxborough) where the whole little town is built around the Patriots? It brings in money for the city and money for the team. I just think if you’re going to spend $10, $20, $30, $40 million, don’t do it half-ass. Right now, we have to explain to our kids why we have a stadium on the water when it’s cold as (crap) and you’ve got guys dragging around “0-16 Pa rade” shovels. I laugh when people get mad about loca tions and that stu . You saw what happened with the PAC-12 and the Big 10, where people are com plaining about traditional games going away. Tradi tion dies, unfortunately. At some point, you look at what happened when the Indians and now Guardians got a new stadium. It changed their world. You go to Baltimore (for Ra vens) games, it feels like a college football game. You got to Pittsburgh, it feels like that city and town. is stadium doesn’t have a feel for us. It’s as generic as can be.

Knott, now the in-game reporter for the Guardians:

Some of those Clevelanders work at 76 Lou Groza Blvd. in Berea, and they’re already thinking about what to do when the stadium’s lease ex pires at the end of 2028. Earlier this week, the Browns sent out a stadium renovation survey, asking fans for their ideas on the future of FirstEn ergy Stadium. at comes after a June report that the team prefers to build a new domed or retractable stadium at a di erent site, either where the main post o ce sits southwest of downtown, or a site north of St. Clair Avenue, just east of downtown’s central business dis trict. at plan includes redevelop ing the 70 acres of land where the current stadium sits.

KnottParisDonovan

28 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | S E PT EM BER 12, 2022

I think the stadium is starting to show its age. For some stadiums, that’s a great thing, like Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, the old Yankee Stadi um and Lambeau Field. I’m not sure this (FirstEnergy) is one of those re vered places where you go, “Oh my God, you can’t touch that place.” And as time goes on and it starts to show its warts, I would look to a new stadi um, a new home. You see all these new stadiums around the NFL and they’re amazing. e one in Dallas, it’s like a newer city unto itself. And if the Browns win — and everyone hopes that will be the case — that would probably be much easier got ten. It would have been hard after go ing 1-31 (in 2017-18) to say, “We want to knock this place down and build a new place, but if you build us a new one, we’ll go 31-1.” at would be hard to pitch. But this is not one of those chapels where you say, “Oh gosh, as it gets older, it gets more beautiful.” FirstEnergy is not that class of stadium.

Keeping the Browns in their cur rent location makes the most sense. ere is an entire ecosystem of public infrastructure, hotels and bars built around the stadium. Moving it out of downtown would negatively impact the investments by government and business.

“We were going to restore what was lost,” said Jeremy Paris, who led the redevelopment of Public Square as part of the Group Plan Commis sion and was a 12-year-old fan inside the stadium for “ e Drive” in 1987. “ at’s where we wanted it to be.” at’s where many people in the city still want it to be. But after 20 los ing seasons in 23 years at the “Facto ry of Sadness” — a nickname that is more than a decade old — some Clevelanders wonder if the city’s most valuable lakefront property should be swallowed up by a stadium that hosts 10 football games a year, along with a rock concert or two.

Lack of connection to the rest of downtown.

Melissa M. Ferchill, owner, MCM Co.:

Graham Veysey, a neighborhood developer in Hingetown and the head wine guy at Graham + Fisk’s:

We need to build the bridge access from the mall to the lakefront that we’ve been talking about for decades and I believe we nally have funded. I would renovate the Browns’ stadi um, including adding a retractable roof.Relocating to the proposed sites is a bad plan for the following reasons: ` Tradition.

I have searing memories of when Art Modell moved the team, so I understood the emotion about going back to where Municipal Stadium sat for so many years. It was where healing had to happen. But I would look at this in a more open way: What’s the best use to serve not only the Browns and their fans, but the best use of that spot for all of Cleveland and the region?

So, what should they do?

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“We all want more investment. Forward-looking will help you get it,” said Simons, who suggested in corporating information about proj ect nancing, tra c counts, build ing occupancy and spending power.

Michelle (216)michelle.jarboe@crain.com,Jarboe:771-5437,@mjarboe

An early image from an interactive downtown Cleveland development map shows real estate projects and plans at various stages of execution. The Greater Cleveland Partnership and City Architecture are approaching the map as an ever-evolving tool to help inform investors and developers. |

GREATER CLEVELAND PARTNERSHIP, CITY ARCHITECTURE

e Seattle map is a much di er ent animal. It’s a mobile web appli cation designed to let residents quickly gure out what’s happening on a lot down the street. And it’s the work of a software developer, who built a program that constantly scrapes the city’s website for per mitting data.

But the Seattle map, which de buted in 2014, is largely automated.

“One thing that I’ve given them feedback about is that I think devel opment happens in Cleveland slow ly enough that I would like to see projects highlighted that are more than 5 years old,” he said of conver sations with GCP about going back a decade instead.

GCP, which paid for the project, wouldn’t disclose the cost of the model so far. Shah said the cham ber is committed to building it out and incorporating feedback from users.Debbie Berry, who joined GCP in March as its senior vice president of major projects and real estate devel opment, spent more than 15 years in planning and real estate in Uni versity Circle. Developers and lend ers in the city’s medical, educational and arts district constantly asked for maps, and context, as they evaluat ed sites and weighed the risks of po tential projects.

cludes Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority train lines, multi purpose paths, major infrastructure investments and parking lots that could be candidates for ground-up development.echamber set a rough thresh old of $10 million for real estate projects. To appear on the map, planned developments must have some level of city approval, typically a preliminary thumbs-up from the Cleveland City Planning Commis sion.Urban is bracing for plenty of questions about potential additions andMichaelupdates.Cantor, managing direc tor and principal at Cleveland-based Allegro Real Estate Brokers & Advi sors, saw early versions of the proj ect. He expects to use the map to take tenants on virtual walkthroughs of downtown or to study high-rise building signage opportu nities and views.

From Page 1

GCP worked with Cleve land-based City Architecture to build a 3D model that stretches from the lakefront to the Inner Belt and West 28th Street to East 30th Street. After creating the outlines of buildings, the partners color-coded properties to identify signi cant projects — not just new construc tion and renovations but also city-approved plans and conceptual studies.Baiju Shah, the chamber’s presi dent and CEO, described the map as a living model, one that supports the organization’s goal of boosting growth and prosperity. Over time, GCP could add other details to the map, including hotel-room counts and o ce square footage, and ex pand into other parts of the city, such as Midtown or University Cir cle.“I think this rst iteration is large ly going to be about telling our de velopment progress story,” said Au drey Gerlach, vice president of economic development and chief of sta for the Downtown Cleveland Alliance, which collaborated with GCP on the project. “But I think it can increasingly evolve to be a use ful business-development tool, as well.”e alliance also expects to em bed the map on its website, as part of an updated hub for economic-de velopment resources.

“ ere’s a lot more that can be done and built into this,” said Chris Urban, the partnership’s director of civic engagement and projects. e idea is to create a centralized source where businesspeople — and the public — can see how the landscape is changing. Other down towns across the country maintain development maps, but many of them are static images or two-di mensional graphics.

MAP

e three-dimensional model, which features pop-ups with build ing names, owners and timelines, shows the impact of development projects and complements the civic group’s annual report. It also re quires a lot of work, said Long, who once hoped to update the map more frequently.“emore development you have, the more you’ve got to track,” he said. “And if you’re going to do it, you’ve got to do it comprehensive ly.”

e tool, called Seattle in Prog ress, is two-dimensional, with click able, color-coded dots. Each dot leads to a pop-up with a project de scription, ling and approval dates and a full design package. at level of detail intrigued Urban and Alex Pesta, a City Architecture principal who is working with GCP on the Cleveland model.

“ is,” Berry said, “would have been really helpful.”

e Cleveland tool, which allows users to click and pan around sites, draws inspiration from products in two other cities: An online map cre ated by the Downtown Detroit Part nership and a high-tech tool that tracks permitting activity across Se attle.e Detroit map, updated annu ally in September, has been around for a few years. It began with clear boundaries, spanning the 1.2-square-mile business improve ment district, but gradually grew, said Joshua Long, data program di rector for the Downtown Detroit Partnership.

ere’s still a free public version of the site. But there’s also a sub scription service, with contact infor mation and other tools used by bro kers, contractors and vendors.

But the map will be most valuable to the marketplace for how it shows the future, said Robert “Roby” Si mons, a professor and director of the school of urban a airs at Cleve land State University. He hasn’t seen GCP’s model yet, but he’s in trigued by the concept.

“It got just an enormous response back when it was launched. It really had a moment,” said Goodman, who wanted to make public infor mation easier to nd and contribute to a discussion around housing scarcity and a ordability. “People were really hungry for something likeTrackingthat.” development activity poses di erent challenges in every city, Goodman said, because there’s so much variation in regulatory pro cesses. A model that works in one market won’t necessarily apply in another.InCleveland, GCP and its part ners are drawing on a behind-thescenes database, using information gathered from neighborhood non pro ts, public records and news ar ticles. e initial model also in

Ethan Goodman, the founder of Seattle in Progress, actually moved to Portugal with his family during the pandemic and maintains the website from overseas. He created the app as a civic project and, after failing to secure grants to support it or to hand it o to the city, turned the project into a for-pro t business.

Swagelok announces the promotion of Hannah Delis to chief human resources of cer, leading the organization’s global human resources and communications functions. Her team oversees talent and communications, global human resources operations, and compensation and bene ts. She holds a bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University and a master’s degree from Case Western Reserve University. She serves on the board of The Children’s Museum of Cleveland and the Swagelok Foundation.

Expect that number to grow, said Doug Price, CEO of the K&D Group, a major owner of both downtown apartments and o ce space.

INCENTIVES

McCarthy Lebit

JPMorgan Chase emptied out 90,000 square feet during the rst year of the pandemic.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Cutting the supply of o ce space should, in theory, give landlords more pricing power. But advertised rental rates haven’t moved much over the last decade. And they cer tainly aren’t keeping pace with in ation.

‘We can’t everything’convert

Ty Smith has been promoted to Director within the Security, Privacy, and Risk Practice. For seven years Ty has been helping clients develop and mature their cyber security programs. Ty works hand in hand with security leadership, executives, and boards as a virtual Chief Information Security Of cer to create remediation roadmaps, target operating models, and security metrics dashboards to measure program progress. Ty leads complex engagements in the healthcare and private equity industries.

CONSTRUCTIONMarousBrothers

Price doesn’t believe that tax breaks for landlords will solve the o ce market’s woes.

MANUFACTURINGSwagelokCompany

Now brokers are bracing for a few disruptive years as tenants down size and migrate to higher-end properties with more amenities.

e prospect of nancial help for o ce landlords rst surfaced in the spring, during Cleveland City Council discussions about signi cant changes to the city’s long standing tax-abatement program for new and renovated housing. At the time, several council members mentioned the need for broader in centives for investments in com mercial real estate, including va cant and underused buildings.

“ e big challenge is that rents have not changed, and they proba bly have gone down as kind of a fallout of COVID in the downtown market,” said Rico Pietro, a princi pal with Independence-based Cushman & Wake eld-Cresco Real Estate. “And the cost to build out space is probably a 30% premium. … ere really is no mechanism for a landlord to invest that kind of money in the space and get a return on their investment right now. It’s a zero-sum game.”

Most of K&D’s downtown o ce properties are 86% to 100% full, he said. But Post O ce Plaza, near Public Square, is only 60% leased.

Gallagher Bene t Services

MANUFACTURINGSwagelokCompany

We are happy to announce Rusty Lytle as Director Preconstructionof to our Design/Build Group.

Advertising Section

Swagelok announces the promotion of Lindsay Domingo to vice president, talent and communications. She is responsible for the strategic advancement of the global communications team, integration of the talent management and talent acquisition functions, and development coaching for the senior executive team. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Scranton and a master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma. She serves on the board of Adoption Network Cleveland.

need to happen for the health of the city,” said Michael Deemer, the or ganization’s president and CEO.

Downtown Cleveland’s o ce va cancy rate, meanwhile, is hovering somewhere between 18% and 20%, depending on which brokerage you ask. at’s more than 2 million square feet of empty o ce space — or a hole two times the size of the 36-story headquarters complex that the Sherwin-Williams Co. is building just o Public Square.

“I don’t think this is an either-or between adaptive reuse and mod ernizing o ce space. Both things

CONSTRUCTIONMarousBrothers

We are excited to welcome David Knight as our Safety Director. In this role, he will review project sites to determine safetyrelated risks, ensure compliance, work with project teams to develop and implement solutions to safety issues, maintain paperworksafety-relatedincludingOSHA 300 logs, train company employees on safe work practices, and create and maintain all project site and corporate safety policies and procedures. Welcome to the team, David!

“We’re still in our infancy stages of this,” he said. “Nothing is solidi edGriyet.”n stressed that his interest in the subject isn’t about catering to “millionaires and billionaires.” A more vibrant downtown will sup port more jobs and, in turn, gener ate increased income-tax revenues — the primary funding source for citywide services.

‘A zero-sum game’

30 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | S E PT EM BER 12, 2022

CONSTRUCTIONMarousBrothers Construction

Gallagher Bene t Services is pleased to welcome Anthony Zimbardi to the Gallagher team. Anthony joins us as an Employee Bene ts Consultant. He specializes in partnering with local business associates to ensure they are effectively managing the risk of their most important asset, their people. He does so by ensuring his clients are providing the appropriate coverages to their employees as well as offering the latest and greatest options to attract and retain talent within their organization.

In July, the downtown workforce on any given day was at about 60% of its pre-pandemic level, accord ing to the alliance, which is tracking activity at eight major o ce build ings. Across the country, average o ce occupancy is about 43%, based on data for 10 major markets from Kastle, a company that pro vides building-security systems.

Je Epstein, the city’s chief of in tegrated development, said there’s no simple solution to healing a sector irrevocably changed by hiring challenges, shifting employee be havior and a seismic health crisis.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

RSM US LLP

To place your listing, visit www.crainscleveland.com/people-on-the-move or, for more information, contact Debora Stein at 917.226.5470 / dstein@crain.com

LAW

and development of our estimating, project management and administrative support teams through technical, process and systems training and professional development through Marous University. John has been leading learning and development initiatives at national and regional companies for the past 25 years and is a certi ed trainer and facilitator.

“ e o ce market is heading for real problems,” he predicted. “ e rate of space that’s being given back as leases come up and get signed — and future space that I think is go ing to get given back — it’s hun dreds of thousands of square feet. We can’t convert everything.”

Construction

Council president Blaine Gri n said that he and his colleagues are, indeed, considering the case for commercial tax abatement, which would cap property-tax increases driven by new investments in buildings. It’s too early to say where those conversations will lead.

e city is willing to discuss in centives for o ce landlords, but o cials are trying to take a more holistic approach to downtown by investing in the waterfront, public spaces and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure — assets that will make Cleveland more accessible and appealing, regardless of how the real estate market moves.

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He was tired of waiting on a messy foreclosure process. He also became less con dent about K&D’s ability to maintain half of the 15-story building as o ces, while renovating the rest as apartments. “I’ve just become more pessimistic on the market,” he said.

Construction

at will leave Class B landlords, stretched thin after paying the bills, without the cash to make upgrades to woo new tenants.

Michelle (216)michelle.jarboe@crain.com,Jarboe:771-5437,@mjarboe

From Page 1

We are pleased to welcome John Gonos to Marous responsibleManager.DevelopmentLearningConstructionBrothersastheandJohnwillbeforthegrowth

Rusty comes to Marous Brothers Construction with over 25 years of preconstruction and construction experience. He will be the primary point of contact for clients during preconstruction and will concentrate heavily on preconstruction scheduling, planning, value analysis, cost control from concept through nal pricing, procurement, and all other aspects of the preconstruction cycle. Welcome Rusty!

e nonpro t Downtown Cleve land Alliance, which represents property owners, also is research ing tax breaks, grant programs and revolving loan funds that could help o ce landlords x up existing buildings. At the same time, the al liance is working on strategies to bolster retail, boost the center city’s curb appeal and bring more resi dents downtown.

K&D is wrapping up a partial res idential conversion of the 55 Public Square o ce tower and is planning another o ce-to-apartment proj ect at 700 Prospect Ave., the former home of the United Church of Christ. But Price recently walked away from a potential deal to pur chase the IMG Center, a troubled o ce building that he hoped to re cast as a mixed-use project.

INSURANCE / FINANCIAL

Coyne made a similar case at the recent NAIOP event, where he cited the potential return in the form of payroll taxes if teetering buildings can nd new footing.

“It’s a complex and multi-faceted problem, and we need to approach it in that way and approach it strategi cally, rather than just throw commer cial abatement out there,” Epstein said of shoring up o ces. “Because it’s a tool that is not tailored to the complexity of the problem.”

McCarthy Lebit is pleased to announce Carolyn C. Soeder as a new attorneyPrincipalforthe rm, effective August 15, 2022. Carolyn will be joining the Family Law practice with Richard Rabb, head of the group, and will continue to serve as an advocate for her clients in all facets of family law including dissolution, divorce, child custody, parenting time, premarital agreements, child and spousal support, trial work, appellate work, and all areas of post-decree modi cations.

“We need to get out the welcome mat and gure out how to attract business,” he said. “I’d rather see in centives go to luring companies into the city.”

“I think that the city of Cleveland should give tax incentives to people who buy o ce buildings and spend money to invest in them,” he said. “When you have a health insurance company, they give you incentives to get in better shape.”

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