Crain's Detroit Business, May 27, 2019 issue by Crain's Detroit Business

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FCA deal expected to spur supplier expansions

REAL ESTATE

Ilitch: District ‘timelines proved to be aggressive’ “Developments can be complex and our timelines proved to be aggressive. So while our timelines will change, our commitment, our passion for developing in this area has not. There is much work to be done. And I can tell you, we are invested in the success of this city.”

By Dustin Walsh dwalsh@crain.com

With the deal finalized to bring a new FCA US LLC plant to Detroit, Mayor Mike Duggan is looking to move down the supply chain. Duggan hinted last week that the city was in talks with at least four logistics and supplier teams to expand in the city of Detroit, promising an additional 1,000 to 2,000 jobs on top of the 4,950 promised by FCA. “You’re gonna see several more projects related to FCA all located, with hundreds of employees each, on this side of town,” Duggan said at a media event Duggan Wednesday. While experts agree that Detroit is now more attractive for locating a plant thanks to the $4.5 billion FCA deal, existing overcapacity, fear of a looming recession and existing plants in the region could dampen hopes for a major Detroit manufacturing renaissance. As part of the deal in Southeast Michigan, FCA will invest $1.6 billion to convert the idled Mack Avenue Engine Complex to build the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee and a new three-row full-size Jeep SUV, starting in late 2020, creating 3,850 new jobs; and will invest $900 million at Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit to update the plant for Dodge Durango and the Wagoneer, creating an expected 1,100 new jobs. Logistics is the immediate beneficiary near the sites and Duggan said last week existing providers in the area will announce expansions in the coming weeks. “All you gotta do is take a look at who we swapped land with and look at where the large chunks are and you’ll probably figure it out,” Duggan said. The closest logistics providers to land swapped in the city’s deal are DHL Supply Chain North America, dba Exel Logistics, at Huber and Mount Elliott streets, and Imperium Logistics at Miller and Sherwood streets. SEE FCA, PAGE 70

Detroit schools borrow more to pay bonds By Chad Livengood clivengood@crain.com

Five years later, the Ilitches have delivered on the arena — it is widely praised — but the rest of the district is a couple of parking garages and office buildings. SEE ILITCH, PAGE 68

SEE SCHOOLS, PAGE 70

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Family tries to reframe plans after drawing criticism By Kirk Pinho kpinho@crain.com

and Bill Shea bshea@crain.com

LARRY PEPLIN FOR CRAIN’S

Leaders at Detroit Medical Center and Warner Norcross + Judd break ground on a planned medical/office/retail building at 2715 Woodward Ave. last week.

tling with municipal bankruptcy and grim headlines, Ilitch promised a grand vision of new housing, shops, restaurants, offices and parks spread across 50 blocks around the Little Caesars Arena.

EDUCATION

Detroit’s public school district is borrowing money to make payments on debt it borrowed years ago to fix up schools. And earlier this month, for the first time in nine consecutive years of this practice, the district had to borrow more than half of the $182.1 million total payment to bondholders for capital debt. Detroit Public Schools, the standalone entity left in place in 2016 to pay off legacy costs when a new debt-free school district was formed, borrowed $91.5 million from the state’s School Vitti Loan Revolving Fund because a greatly reduced property tax base in Detroit does not produce enough tax dollars for the school district to make good on its debt. It’s not unusual for districts to borrow some short-term money to make longterm debt payments, but the $91.5 million DPS borrowed represents its largest loan ever from the fund and more than one-fifth of the $412 million that 103 school districts in Michigan borrowed to bridge the gap between tax collections and debt obligations, according to the state Treasury Department. The worsening debt picture comes as Superintendent Nikolai Vitti marks two years on the job and is starting to turn to the business community for help in drafting a plan to renovate or replace aging school buildings. The Detroit school district already levies the maximum allowed, 13 mills, in taxes on commercial, industrial and residential property to service the $1.4 billion in capital bonds. For Michigan’s largest school district, the new debt piling up three years after the Legislature rescued it from a financial freefall pushes out repayment of the bonds to between 2049 and 2052, depending on interest rates, officials said. “It’s unreal. The amount is so large,” said Bob Moore, a retired deputy superintendent of Oakland Schools and school finance expert. “It’s just extending (the debt repayment) out ridiculously.”

— Christopher Ilitch, president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings Inc.

After public criticism and media scrutiny for failing to more fully deliver on their District Detroit plans after five years, the Ilitch family is trying to make a fresh start. In interviews last week with Crain’s and the Detroit Free Press, Ilitch Holdings Inc. President and CEO Christopher Ilitch acknowledged that the timeline outlined in 2014 to build it all at once was too aggressive, and was stymied further by business relationships with developers going sour. Going forward, with a new inhouse development team, the Ilitches plan to re-assess their district master plan and rely on market demand by third-party developers to drive the project timeline. In 2014, while the city was wres-

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MICHIGAN BRIEFS

INSIDE

From staff and wire reports. Find the full stories at crainsdetroit.com

NASCAR to buy MIS race track, sister circuits for $2B The corporate owner of Michigan International Speedway said Wednesday that the company will be acquired by Nascar Holdings Inc. for $2 billion. The transaction, expected to close later this year, will take Daytona, Fla.based International Speedway Corp. (NASDAQ Global Select Market: ISCA) private. ISC owns 13 race tracks, including 12 used for NASCAR events. It’s not immediately clear that the deal will have any affect on MIS because NASCAR and ISC are already controlled by the same family. NASCAR is the sanctioning body for the top U.S. stock car racing circuit and late NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. founded International Speedway Corp. in 1953. His son Jim France is the acting CEO and chairman of NASCAR and also is the CEO and Chairman of ISC. The France family retains a controlling interest in ISC. An MIS spokesman said neither the track nor NASCAR would have any additional comment. ISC’s other notable tracks include Daytona International Speedway in Florida and Talladega Superspeed-

CALENDAR

way in Alabama. Under terms of the deal, NASCAR will pay $45 for ISC shares. MIS sits on 1,400 acres in the Irish Hills near Brooklyn, Mich., about 70 miles from Detroit. The speedway is home to two NASCAR races: the FireKeepers Casino 400 on June 9 and the Consumers Energy 400 on Aug. 11. In recent years, MIS has added non-auto racing events such as the three-day Faster Horses country music festival in July as revenue-generating opportunities.

Rockford-based footwear maker Wolverine World Wide Inc. joined Nike Inc., Adidas AG and other footwear companies urging President Donald Trump to reconsider his tariffs on shoes made in China, Bloomberg News reported. In a letter to the president dated last Monday, the companies said the policy would be “catastrophic for our consumers, our companies and the American economy as a whole.” In all, 173 companies signed the open letter to the U.S. president posted on the industry trade association’s website. “On behalf of our hundreds of millions of footwear consumers and hundreds of thousands of employees, we ask that you immediately stop this action,” the group said.

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NASCAR is buying the parent company of Michigan International Speedway and other race tracks in a deal valued at $2 billion.

The protest comes as U.S.-China trade tensions escalate and Trump threatens to impose tariffs as high as 25 percent on Chinese goods — including all types of footwear, from sneakers to sandals. While the industry has moved production away from China in recent years because of rising wages, shifting trade policies and a desire to make more goods at home in the U.S. and Europe, the Asian country remains a shoe giant. “We don’t make enough to absorb that,” said Michael Jeppesen, president of global operations for Wolver-

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ine World Wide (NYSE: WWW). “The only way it can is to be passed onto the consumer.” Wolverine’s brands include Wolverine boots, Hush Puppies, Saucony and Merrell. It reported revenue of $2.24 billion last year and warns in its annual report that rising tariffs in China would be a risk factor for its business. The company has also targeted international sales growth in China as part of its strategic plan. Wolverine did not respond to a Crain’s inquiry on what share of its footwear is manufactured in China.

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MI Supreme Court enters Flint water suit

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Wolverine calls tariffs ‘catastrophic’

The Michigan Supreme Court says it will hear arguments in the months ahead in a major Flint water lawsuit, the Associated Press reported. The court on Wednesday told lawyers to file briefs on several issues. They include whether Flint residents who consumed lead-contaminated water can claim a “violation of bodily integrity” under the Michigan Constitution. The Supreme Court also will consider arguments about the timeliness of the lawsuit, a key procedural step in Michigan. In a 2-1 decision, the state appeals court last year ruled in favor of residents at an early stage of the case. The lawsuit targets state officials for decisions related to the Flint water crisis. Water from the Flint River wasn’t treated to reduce corrosion. Lead leached from old pipes and plumbing fixtures, causing a host of health problems and hardships for residents.

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

ENVIRONMENT

MICHIGAN MENACE Asian carp getting closer, threatening state’s $60 billion outdoor economy By Dustin Walsh dwalsh@crain.com

Ecologists, biologists, anglers and politicians all agree that Asian carp are a problem — a 2015 report from the Government Accountability Office called aquatic-invasive species like Asian carp a “never-ending oil spill.” Officials have in recent years closed the St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam in Minnesota between the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes watershed and constructed the Eagle Marsh berm in Indiana that closed a connection point between the Maumee River, which flows into Lake Erie, and the Wabash River. Yet the Mississippi River’s largest entry point to the Great Lakes — the Chicago Area Waterways System, which connects to Lake Michigan — remains its most vulnerable. A plan to stymie the advancement of Asian carp below the confluence of the Des Plaines and Illinois Rivers is moving forward as of April, but the high costs of the plan have Illinois legislators reticent as national and local fishery officials work tirelessly to prevent the fish from entering Lake Michigan. “We’re beyond the 11th hour; we’re at 11:59:59, but with four timeouts,” said Tammy Newcomb, senior water policy adviser for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and associate professor at Michigan State University’s department of fisheries and wildlife.

“We’re beyond the 11th hour; we’re at 11:59:59, but with four timeouts.” Tammy Newcomb, senior water policy adviser for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and associate professor at Michigan State University’s department of fisheries and wildlife

“I don’t see we’re at a point of no return. I don’t see how we can afford to look at it this way. We can’t afford to give up on this. These fish are too dangerous.”

Bottom-dwelling menace Asian carp — defined as silver carp, bighead carp, black carp and grass carp — are invasive species intentionally imported to the U.S. from China in the late 1960s to improve water systems. Specifically, grass carp were introduced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Arkansas for vegetation control in 1963 and bighead and silver carp were introduced by a private farmer in the early 1970s with the knowledge of the state and federal agencies for water quality improvement, as well as at sewage treatment facilities. Black carp were reportedly imported in the 1980s by private aquaculturists to control fish parasite. But as best in-

tentions often go, the species were either released into natural waterways or escaped from contained reservoirs from flooding. For the past 40-plus years, Asian carp have been working their way up the Mississippi River, leaving a path of destruction as they go. Images and videos of the silver carp leaping from the water as they are disturbed by boats have become commonplace, even injuring boaters as they careen out of the water. For example, a man from Pleasant Hill, Ill., fractured his nose, orbital bones and skull when a silver carp hit him in the face as he was tubing behind a boat in the Mississippi River in 2015. But it’s the appetite and spawning ability of the Asian carp that present the greatest threat to the Great Lakes, said Duane Chapman, research fish biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey in Columbia, Mo. Silver carp can grow to as large as 77 pounds and each female can produce as many as two million eggs per year, where the bighead carp can grow as large as 110 pounds and produce up to one million eggs per year. Those species feed on plankton, which is a vital food source in the Great Lakes. The fish would consume the lion’s share of the plankton, Chapman said, with a reverberating effect through the entire ecosystem. SEE CARP, PAGE 69

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HEALTH CARE

Beaumont network votes to terminate physician group

Matherly works to peg economic development in Detroit on ‘jobs for all’ By Sherri Welch swelch@crain.com

During a recent meeting to catch up on his first six months on the job, Barry Matherly, CEO of Southeast Michigan’s new economic development group, pulled out a notebook. There, in the front cover, were five phrases or aspirations, as he called them, to ground him and his team as they work to develop economic development strategies for Southeast Michigan. Among them was the simple phrase “jobs for all.” The phrase speaks to the equitable and inclusive approach to economic development Matherly and the Detroit Regional Partnership are developing, something he said will set the region apart from others around the country, since it’s incorporating it into its DNA right from the start. Simple to say but complex in practice, the approach is meant to forestall the economic development equivalent of gentrification, Matherly said. It’s the same theory of why you try to keep housing that people can still afford as the rates go up in a city, he said.

An equitable and inclusive approach ensures that as the wealth of the area goes up, the people who are here can still find jobs and aren’t pushed out of the job market, Matherly, 54, said. “What we’re trying to do is make sure that everyone in the region wins with how we pick (companies to attract) and what we go after.” The goal is to make Detroit the national model for an equitable and inclusive approach to economic development, Matherly said.

Operating on a dual track The opportunity to make a difference in a market as large as Southeast Michigan and to live in a new place was too good to pass up for Matherly, who brings 24 years experience in economic development in Virginia and North Carolina. With their daughters grown, he and his wife Monica packed up and moved to Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood, where they are building a house, right after the new year.

By Jay Greene jgreene@crain.com

Barry Matherly

Matherly joined the new economic development nonprofit — which came to light at the 2018 Mackinac Policy Conference — on Jan. 3 and has been on a whirlwind tour ever since. He’s visited sites in its 11-county footprint and gone along on trips to China, Japan and Israel with other staff and regional leaders. Four employees who transferred from the Detroit Regional Chamber have enabled that work to continue while the partnership develops its guiding economic development strategies. SEE MATHERLY, PAGE 69

The largest health system and largest physician group in Southeast Michigan, long closely aligned, are getting a divorce. United Physicians, a 2,629-doctor physician organization once closely tied with Beaumont Health, has been terminated from Beaumont Care Partners LLC — a clinically integrated network of medical providers composed of Beaumont’s eight hospitals and about 4,300 affiliated doctors — for failure to pay capital payments the past two years, Crain’s has learned. The split is a sign of increasing tensions in health care as physician practices and health systems increasingly find themselves in competition with each other for contracts with health insurers. But Mike Williams, M.D, United’s president, said the motion to terminate at a mid-April BCP meeting was made by Beaumont Chief Medical Officer David Wood, M.D., and was done by surprise and unnecessary. He said

Need to know

 United Physicians is the largest independent physician organization in Southeast Michigan with nearly 2,500 doctors  Beaumont, its employed doctors and former Oakwood doctors voted out UP from Beaumont Care Partners, a new managed care contracting entity

the other two founding organizations, Beaumont Health and Beaumont Accountable Care Organization, voted to dismiss UP from BCP without any discussion. “They didn’t threaten us with termination in 2017 or in 2018,” Williams said. “There are no provisions in the agreement for termination (because of failure to pay) capital contributions. We went to the meeting (in April) thinking we were there to discuss capital needs, like the year before, and the motion was read, and the two (other partners) got together and voted us out.” SEE BEAUMONT, PAGE 71

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

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Grow Detroit by supporting local, midsized business, report urges By Sherri Welch swelch@crain.com

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Chasing the next Amazon and investing in grassroots startups are both valuable economic development strategies. But Southeast Michigan could more significantly grow and diversify its economy by directing support to highgrowth companies in the middle, according to a new report released this week. Companies with 50 or more employees, launched by local entrepreneurs and operating in industries that draw income from outside the region, are creating the bulk of jobs locally and nationally in the country’s most prosperous cities. Yet over the past 15 years, Southeast Michigan has lagged other parts of the country in generating those highgrowth businesses, according to “Southeast Michigan’s Competitive Advantages in Entrepreneurship,” a report set to be released Tuesday by the William Davidson Foundation and Endeavor Insight, the research arm of New York City-based Endeavor Global Inc. When it comes to economic development, “regionally, we spend a lot of bandwidth focused on businesses at either bookend of the size continuum, small and large,” said Darin McKeever, president and CEO of the Birmingham-based William Davidson Foundation. A Thursday session hosted by the foundation at the Mackinac Policy Conference will include discussion of the report and its recommendations. “Small neighborhood businesses

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 New Endeavor Insight study commissioned by William Davidson Foundation explores strategies for growth  Finds Southeast Michigan remains overly dependent on auto, with large number of jobs in declining industries

and early stage startups are critically important, not only for job creation and the individual families they support, but they ultimately help define our regional identity,” McKeever said. Large companies are an important part of the ecosystem that can never be undervalued, he said. “This report makes the case for a third category of focus: midsized entrepreneurial businesses in high-value industries,” he said. “We … are looking forward to seeing how this research influences the regional dialogue in this space.”

Too invested in shrinking industries Though Southeast Michigan has made economic strides, it remains overly dependent on the automotive sector, and many of its jobs are in industries that are projected to shrink in the near future, Endeavor said in the report. Income and GDP per capita in Southeast Michigan are far below those of the best performing U.S. cities and still much closer to the region’s lowest point in the years around the 2008 financial crisis than when the region’s economy was better positioned in the late 1970s. The report said best-performing cities include: San Jose; San Francisco; Riverside, Calif.; Bridgeport, Conn.; Boston; Washington, D.C.; El Paso, Texas; Mission, Texas; Lakeland, Fla. and Daytona Beach. According to its findings, 46 percent of employees in the region are employed in sectors that are expected to decline or grow slower than the labor force as a whole, outpacing the national average of 41 percent. At the same time, the region’s income growth and productivity have not kept pace with other parts of the country. “New strategies are needed to address those issues, since existing economic development initiatives are unlikely to produce significantly improved results,” Endeavor said in the report. It found that supporting midsized, high-value, entrepreneurial companies is a proven strategy for helping grow and diversify the local economy. Companies in that space — with an average of more than 200 employees — are responsible for creating the majority of new jobs in metropolitan areas across the U.S. and typically pay higher wages than other employers, according to the report. Locally owned, high-growth companies pay their employees 20 percent

more than smaller firms and generate over 40 times more in revenue. Those companies comprise 10 percent of the 10,000 companies Endeavor studied over the past several months across a seven-county region around Detroit and Ann Arbor that included Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne counties. But those companies created more than 74 percent of the jobs in the region in 2014, the most recent data available from the U.S. Census Bureau, Endeavor said. “We really believe there’s an opportunity to provide more support for those organizations,” said Antonio Luck, managing director of Endeavor Insight’s Detroit office. “If we help them scale, we’ll help them create the majority of the region’s jobs.”

Bringing growth benefits region, workers National data suggests that if Southeast Michigan could create 60 new larger, high-value, entrepreneurial companies, it would increase local GDP by over $5 billion annually, Endeavor said. This growth would also increase average incomes of local residents by more than $1,200 per person. The region has strength and competitive advantages based on critical mass, growth of the companies and the number of people they employ in six types of high-value, entrepreneurial companies that are projected to grow nationally:  Consulting firms  Software companies  Lending-based businesses and financial services firms  Shipping and logistics businesses  Marketing and branding agencies  Specialty food and beverage manufacturers The report lifts up a local company in each segment, including: Strategic Staffing Solutions for information technology consulting, Duo Security among software companies, Quicken Loans in the lending and financial segment, Rush Trucking in shipping and logistics, the Mars Agency in the marketing arena and Drought among food and beverage companies. “We must first and foremost support our Detroit-based businesses as they grow, adding jobs and bringing in revenue to our region,” said Cindy Pasky, CEO of Strategic Staffing Solutions, in an emailed statement. “We have a habit of overlooking them in a rush to attract the next big thing ... but it is essential that we invest in those who have a committed stake in Detroit.” Some of Detroit’s business leaders gave Strategic Staffing Solutions a chance to serve them in its early days, “and we have never forgotten that,” Pasky said. “We place high value on our relationships, not only with our customers, but also with our suppliers and vendors, because we feel a sense of duty to support, invest in, and even mentor the next generation of Detroit’s business leaders. Success for them ultimately means success for our region." Sherri Welch: 313 (446-1694) Twitter: @SherriWelch

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Survey: Midsized employers’ health cost increases hit lowest level in years By Jay Greene

jgreene@crain.com

Midsized employer average health care costs in Michigan are projected to increase after benefit plan changes by an average of 3 percent in 2019, one of the lowest increases in the past five years, according to Troy-based Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC in a new report. The past two years have seen increases of 5 percent, according to the survey. Managing rising pharmacy costs more aggressively appears to be the driving factor in holding down cost increases, said Becky McLaughlan, president and CEO of Marsh & McLennan Agency. McLaughlan said a steady increase in companies using consumer-driven health plans and HMO plan design changes also contributed to the lower employer cost increases. Fifty-five percent of employers offered CDHPs this year, up from 53 percent in 2018 with 30 percent of employees using the plans, the same percentage as 2018, despite higher deductibles. But unlike the past several years, employers aren’t passing along as much of the cost increase for health benefits to employees. For example, PPO employee cost sharing dropped for single employees to $141 per month from $147; PPO family shares decreased to $475 from $478. HMO single-employee and family costs were flat at $112 and $399 per month, respectively. There was a small increase for consumer-driven health plans to $87 per month from $81 for single employees, but family CDHPs stayed the same at $283 per month. More employers continue to make contributions to health savings accounts, rising to 62 percent of companies from 60 percent. The average annual contribution is $500 for single employees and $1,000 for family plans. Companies that make no changes in their employee benefit health plans this year face an average 5 percent increase in health care costs, down from 8 percent in 2018, according to 383 employers that participated in Marsh & McLennan’s 16th annual Southeast Michigan Mid-Market Group Benefits Survey. Nationally, employer health care costs are expected to increase 6.3 percent before benefit changes, much lower than the 9.8 percent increase in 2011, a year after the Affordable Care Act was approved. Over the past several years, the employee share of cost increases has averaged under 3 percent, according to the Mercer National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans.

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Some 25 percent of Marsh & McLennan’s clients, some 113 employers, have taken even more aggressive steps to address rising costs. These so-called “TrendBenders” cut costs by 3 percent the past three years by more aggressively reducing pharmacy costs, driving employees with incentives and plan designs to use CDHPs and HMOs, McLaughlan said. “TrendBender organizations adopted leading-edge strategies such as CDHP plans and well-being initiatives earlier and, in so doing, are better able to manage their medical spend. They have taken a thoughtful approach to

McLaughlin

Christy

Highlights from the survey Some highlights and conclusions from the annual Marsh & McLennan benefit survey: JJOverall, employers made minimal changes in their plan design in 2018 with employee contributions remaining relatively flat. JJConsumer-driven health plans are now

an established strategy, with more than half (55 percent) of Michigan employers surveyed offering a CDHP plan. Employee interest remains steady with 30 percent enrolling in a CDHP plan in both 2019 and 2018.

JJContributions to employee health savings accounts are up from 60 percent in 2018 to 62 percent in 2019. The average contribution is unchanged at $500/single and $1000/family. JJForty-seven percent of Michigan employers are incorporating fourth or fifth copay tiers in pharmacy benefit plans. JJEmployers are using mandatory generics at a greater rate than nationally (52 percent vs. 35 percent) and some Michigan organizations (13 percent) are eliminating coverage for certain specialty drugs. JJMore well-being initiatives are being offered in 2019, 59 percent this year compared with 49 percent in 2018. All benefit-eligible employees are covered, not just those enrolled in the health plan. JJOn well-being, 71 percent of programs also focus on financial well-being and 83 percent focus on mental well-being. JJEighty-seven percent of employers offer telemedicine, with organizations now focusing on increasing employee awareness and utilization.

Source: Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC Mid-Market Group Benefits Survey, 2019

employee education and committed to key strategies for the long term,” said Kim Clark, Marsh’s senior vice president and survey leader. While all 383 employers surveyed averaged a 3 percent cost increase this year, the 270 non-TrendBender companies averaged a 6 percent cost increase. McLaughlan said another reason for the drop in health care costs has been that more non-TrendBender companies are adopting similar aggressive approaches to reduce costs, thus helping to lower the average cost increase to 3 percent this year from 5 percent in 2018. The other major reason why TrendBender companies have been able to cut costs is how closely they manage pharmacy spending, McLaughlan said. For example, TrendBenders are more likely to implement prior authorization and step therapy and the use of mandatory generics as cost-containment strategies. At Irvin Products, a Pontiac-based interior trim auto supplier that became a TrendBender this year, Kathleen

Waynick, senior human resources manager, said the 158-employee company has had a CDHP in place since 2013. She said the PPO plan, which has a $1,250 deductible, is the most popular option for employees. “We have intentionally been thoughtful with our plan design strategy,” Waynick said in an email to Crain’s. “In 2018, one key element of our plan was the implementation of a program incentivizing employees to get their physical. This significantly increased the number of employees meeting with a doctor, helping them be proactive in identifying health issues and improving their overall health. This ultimately keeps health care costs low for both the employer and employee.”

Cost containment Like Irvin, most of Marsh & McLennan’s clients and other midsized companies are managing rising health care costs by encouraging high-deductible health insurance plans, shifting some costs to employees, carving out prescription drug coverage by contracting with pharmacy benefit managers and offering more well-being and telemedicine services. Most effective cost-control strategies remain increasing deductibles, increasing employee contributions, offering more CDHPs, health and well-being strategies, modifying prescription drug coverage and changing health vendors. Employers also say for 2019 they want to lower lower-cost health plans to employees (23 percent considering), offer more incentives for employees to choose CDHP (23 percent considering) and shifting costs more aggressively to families (14 percent considering). While many health systems are offering direct contracts to employers, the survey found that only 1 percent of companies signed a direct contract with a health system. For example, Henry Ford Health System recently signed a direct contract with General Motors Co.

PPO, HMO market share Blue Cross maintains a steady 75 percent market share of the PPO market with Priority Health at 3.3 percent and Aetna at 2.2 percent. There is a little more competition in the HMO managed-care market, with Blue Care Network up slightly at 74 percent in 2019 from 73 percent last year. Health Alliance Plan, which dropped several money-losing contracts with employers, dropped to 8 percent from 11 percent. Priority Health is up to 6.3 percent from 4.4 percent. But western Michigan is different, with Blue Cross PPO at 66 percent, Priority at 14 percent, ASR Health Benefits at 9 percent, and Aetna, Automated Health Benefits and UnitedHealthcare at 3 percent each, the survey said. “There is strong competition in western Michigan,” said Denise Christy, the company’s chief marketing officer. “The West Michigan market health care forecast consistently shows lower days per thousands, admits per thousand and cost of services.” Jay Greene: (313) 446-0325 Twitter: @jaybgreene

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C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

OPINION COMMENTARY

EDITORIAL

FCA plant deals no Solomon’s book offers intimate win for transparency portrait of the late Aretha Franklin

ast week’s approval of a host of deals tied to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ plans for new plants in Southeast Michigan will be an economic win for the region, but for open government, they were a slow-rolling disaster. In a choreographed meeting, the Detroit City Council and Michigan Strategic Fund board approved incentives, land swaps and loans totaling up to $319 million on Tuesday. The strategic fund moved its meeting to the afternoon to allow the City Council to vote first, even though the city incentives didn’t need to be approved first. Even more unusual, the MSF kept all details of the incentives package it was voting on from the public and media before even voting. Normal practice is to share those details with media in advance of the meeting — though still secret from the public at large until after the vote. Not the most transparent practice, but at least someone is watching the henhouse. In addition, if you wanted to find a top-line number for the total public assistance the FCA projects would receive, you’d better get out your calculator and be prepared to sift through a bunch of paperwork. Nobody is required to give such a number. (But you can see the math here: https://bit.ly/2YMmeIM) The whole business highlights a transparency problem in Michigan’s economic development practices. Getting details on the real costs of incentives granted years ago is essentially impossible. We know that incentives to the automakers granted under the old Michigan Economic Growth Authority system total in the billions, but it’s hard to get much more specific than that — because the details of those incentives are kept secret. The Michigan Economic Development Corp. won’t release them. It’s a question that’s very relevant at a time when Michigan is searching for a way to pay for better roads, and so many other expensive infrastructure needs that have become crises because of stagnant tax collections. Certainly, tax incentives aren’t a zero-sum game, and in many ways are table stakes when it comes to business attraction — you can’t play if you don’t offer them. But the public should at least know what the cost will be up front — before anybody votes — and receive an accounting of the real taxpayer cost of individual incentives. While we’re at it, the public should also get an accounting of the taxpayer benefits of businesses that received incentives — new payroll and property tax collections and a current accounting of jobs created for each company each year for the life of the incentive. Then we’d have a much better idea of whether we’re getting a good deal.

inda Solomon had just launched a celebrity-heavy column in The Detroit News when she read that “The Queen” would be a guest on the daytime feature show “Kelly & Company” on Channel 7. The year was 1983, and Aretha Franklin had moved home to Detroit to help care for her comatose father, injured in a shooting during a robbery. “I waited for her outside as she arrived and asked if I could take one photograph,” Solomon recalled last week. “I promised it was one photo. I told her ‘I’m so happy you’re back home.’” Franklin consented, and Solomon snapped the photo and followed the singer inside. Thus began a decades-long friendship and hundreds of photographs over the years — backstage moments, on-stage moments and scores in between with Franklin, her family and her friends. Soon after Solomon’s column was published, the photographer received an invitation to attend a reception in Franklin’s honor from Mayor Coleman Young. “She read my column,” Solomon said. “She actively read her press — and actively responded. If you ever burned that bridge with her, you were burned for life.” Clearly, Solomon burned no bridges. This fall, her collection of photographs will be published by the Painted Turtle imprint of Wayne State University Press. “She invited me to capture her private parties at home, celebrations with her sons, in rehearsal with the Rolling Stones, backstage in her dressing room during the AMAs (American Music Awards),” Solomon recalled. “Today, everybody’s taking photos with cell phones. But most people have never seen my photos.” When Franklin died last summer, Solomon was the only photojournalist invited to special, private moments — like a pre-funeral reception at the St. Regis Hotel. At 224 pages, 140 of them full-color photographs, Solomon named the book, “The Queen Next Door: Aretha Franklin, An Intimate Portrait.” The cover photo — Franklin with a Nefertiti-like crown — was taken at a masquerade ball Franklin held. The title, Solomon says, plays

Photographer Linda Solomon featuring photos of the late Aretha Franklin will be published by the Painted Turtle imprint of Wayne State University Press.

MARY KRAMER Group Publisher

off Franklin’s oft-said remark: “I am the lady next door when I’m not on stage.” That was true, Solomon avers. “People would see her at Kroger’s. She loved Red Lobster.” So what of Franklin’s reputation for not paying bills, sometimes going to court over disputes. After her death, her family grappled with overdue property taxes. Solomon says Franklin was fiercely private and didn’t trust many people. After the death of her brother and manager Cecil in 1989, things “changed.” Her niece Sabrina Owens, a labor relations manager at the University of Michigan, has taken on a similar role in Franklin’s life in recent years,

including paving the way to finally release the documentary, “Amazing Grace,” late last year. “She’s a very savvy businesswoman,” Solomon said of Owens, who is the daughter of Franklin’s sister Erma. One of Solomon’s photos may find its way to the U.S. postage stamp in the works to honor Franklin. “Sabrina asked me to submit photos; I don’t know what they will choose.” The book will be published this fall, but since the WSU press is small, it is hoping to secure large orders by June 1, before the presses run. “Aretha is our Elvis, to Detroiters,” Solomon said. “I could have published the book with a New York publisher, but she (Aretha) would want it to be published here. The message of the book is her devotion to her family and to Detroit.”

MORE ON WJR Listen to Crain’s Group Publisher Mary Kramer and Managing Editor Michael Lee talk about the week’s stories every Monday morning at 6:15 a.m. Mondays on WJR 760 AM’s Paul W. Smith Show.

LETTERS

Positivity will help events like Hydrofest boost city To the Editor: While I understand that Crain’s role is not to put a positive slant on news, I’m perplexed as to why recent reporting on Hydrofest has skewed so negative. For the eighth consecutive year

(three of which were title sponsorships), the Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers Association has gladly sponsored what is a cherished Detroit tradition, established in 1916 and attracting thousands of spectators to the riverfront. Crain’s initial coverage on March 31 (Hydrofest loses Gold Cup boats, seeks new sponsor), followed by the April 29 announcement of MDCD as the title sponsor (Hydrofest shortens as Metro Detroit

Chevy Dealers returns as sponsor), chose to focus on the loss of the Gold Cup race, which is one of the many inaccuracies in these two articles. Detroit Riverfront Events and the MDCD specifically chose to create a more action-packed event, with more boats and races, with less time between races, to add to the enjoyment of the event, as well as its meaning to the city. While unfortunate, the reality is that the H1 class has significantly

declined and could not guarantee us eight boats to race, the minimum that Detroit Riverfront Events require for a “good” event. Therefore, it was an easy decision for all parties involved in the planning to move forward with a class of boats that are equally as exciting, and racers who are enthusiastic, abundant with 20 boats and hungry to win. This will be a “great” event and the event that our Metro Detroit fans deserve.

John C. Fox President Fox Automotive and Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers Association

SEND YOUR LETTERS J Crain’s Detroit Business will consider for publication all signed letters to the editor that do not defame individuals or organizations. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Email: malee@crain.com

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

It’s up to employers to revive the disengaged workforce

orkforce participation, or lack thereof, has been one of the great challenges of the American business sector in recent decades. The reality of this talent crunch hit home for my company, E.W. Grobbel Sons Inc., a meat processor, a few years back when an unexpected immigration issue cost us a significant percentage of our employees. Forced to hire and train a large number of new employees all at once, we looked at our system and realized there was no way to do what we needed to do quickly. We needed to make adjustments — not only to our training, but to our very production systems and what we expected of our workers. We made those adjustments, and in the course of making them, we learned some eye-opening lessons. What we realized was that much of the disaffection between disengaged workers and the American workforce was not really the fault of the workers at all. Indeed, we realized that it was not really on the workers to change their attitudes and come back to work. Rather, it was on employers like us to re-think the whole idea of the workplace and what we and our employees should expect from each other. It became clear to us through this process that employers aren’t going to thrive unless they gain a fresh understanding of where their workers really are — as people collectively and as individuals.

OTHER VOICES Jason Grobbel

This is a hard pill to swallow for a lot of companies who have convinced themselves they are “employers of choice,” and think that’s about little else besides better benefits, more vacation time or maybe

a participatory management program. Disaffected workers aren’t coming back into the workforce looking for those things. What they do want is a situation that helps them to live the lives they want and to pursue the life priorities that matter to them. And they want to operate within a culture of respect — one that holds them to high standards, but understands you don’t need to denigrate or degrade people to help spur them to a higher level of performance. At E.W. Grobbel, we looked deeply into these issues and developed a new approach called A.C.E., which stands for Attitude, Compe-

tence and Energy. Those three words surely don’t strike you as revolutionary ideas, but the meat of the idea is how we approach it. We’ve studied different kinds of disaffected workers and discovered they often fall into groupings with issues we could address. We applied eight immutable rules of the workplace, and invested in the development of personality profiles to help us better understand the people we were hiring. We retrained our management to really build that culture of respect, and then went to work setting the example that’s prevailed on the rest of the workforce.

Most importantly, we’ve understood that the business sector can’t wait for the government, or the education establishment, to re-engage the workforce. It’s up to us. We’re the ones who need to engage with them, and we’re the ones who must understand their minds, their hearts and their priorities. At our company we’ve proven it works. And why would we want to rely on anyone else? This is our priority. There’s no one else we should want to see addressing it. And there’s no one else who can. Jason Grobbel is president of E.W. Grobbel Sons.

TALK ON THE WEB

Re: State, city approve FCA incentives packages, land swap I would like to have seen some requirements for landscaping along the border of this property — something which makes it a pleasant neighbor in a mixed use neighborhood — a factory behind a park, lush, green, trails. E M Parmelee

The big picture is even bigger than you know.

More Democratic Party corporate welfare ... take from the poor and give to the rich Democratic party donors. Thanks, Whitmer ... what other option did FCA have? Get real The “enforceable” part is simply a kickback in the form of fines to the city government, just like they did on the construction workers contracts. Both parties know the skilled people were not available and the penalty clause would be invoked. It’s simply a bribe in a legal form. At least FCA is being honest in saying it will offer Detroiters first chance at getting a job, now it’s up to the residents to show up with the skills needed to do that job. MarkYTH

Re: Ilitch redevelopment of Hotel Eddystone

Not a penny until they fulfill all their big promises about District Detroit. They’re becoming no better than the Morouns. Alex Yvonnou

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FOCUS

R E W S O R P AYE PL s der a e r our that d e ey ssues v r u ’s s y the i g for n i a Cr entif ressin omic n to idmost p ts eco ture. i are higan, d its furoup of Mic ate an ed a g lose k clim we as iders cls of s And sing in e’s hal o Lan he stat nk wh al to t er to ra politic pow ng the ss amo busineies has and munit lout to com most c done. the things get es 12-18 Pag

ILLUSTRATION BY DANIEL ZAKROCZEMSKI FOR CRAIN’S

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

POWER PLAYERS

Crain’s readers: Fix the roads

Crain’s surveyed its readers on the economy and which issues facing Michigan they see as most crucial. Source: Results of an online survey of Crain’s members conducted through Qualtrics with 618 responses.

Q: From your perspective, what are the top three most pressing economic issues that need to be addressed for the long-term health of Michigan’s economy? (check up to three boxes) Lowering health care costs

Reforming K-12 public education and funding

Lowering auto insurance costs

Closing the talent and workforce skills gap

Fixing roads and transportation infrastructure

Cleaning drinking water sources and replacing underground infrastructure

Guaranteeing a safe and effective resolution of Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 petroleum pipeline

Increasing household income

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COMMENTARY

Lost in translation: Why the public doesn’t want to pay to fix the damn roads

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hen Gov. Gretchen Whitmer makes her inaugural address as Michigan’s chief executive to the state’s business and political elite gathered this week on Mackinac Island, it’s a sure bet the East Lansing Democrat will utter her four famous words: “Fix the damn roads.” And there will be nodding and maybe a little bit of cheering inside the opulent Grand Hotel’s theater, because most of the state’s residents who occupy C-suites, executive posts in the public sector and elected offices from the U.S. Senate to the county drain commissioner understand the sorry state of Michigan’s roads is an economic albatross. #FTDR is just more preaching to the choir and expecting a different result. A Crain’s online survey of 618 subscribers conducted last month found fixing roads and transportation infrastructure was their No. 1 public priority (24 percent), followed closely by lowering auto insurance costs (19 percent) and reforming K-12 public education and funding (16 percent). The survey skewed Republican among Crain’s business-oriented audience in Southeast Michigan, where the Mile roads of Detroit’s northern suburbs are pockmarked with potholes. Yet, party affiliation didn’t make a difference. The majority of self-identified Republicans still said fixing the roads is the single most important priority for the long-term health of Michigan’s economy. But there’s a wide gulf between what the state’s leadership class thinks needs to be done and what the average motorist is willing to pay to fix the roads — a chasm former Gov. Rick

CHAD LIVENGOOD clivengood@crain.com

Snyder could never figure out how to address in his eight years in office. So far, Whitmer is not faring any better. A new statewide poll commissioned by Vanguard Public Affairs and Denno Research earlier this month found 64 percent of likely voters oppose Whitmer’s proposed 45-cent gas tax increase. When respondents were asked whether they would support an unspecified increase in their driver’s license or vehicle registration fees to fund roads, 80 percent said they oppose that idea on its face, too. A four-to-one opposition is the same outcome of the disastrous Proposal 1 sales tax increase Snyder and the Legislature put on the May 2015 ballot. “What we were surprised by was the magnitude of the opposition, especially on car registration fees,” said TJ Bucholz, president and managing partner of Vanguard Public Affairs, a Lansing-based public relations firm. “There’s a real disconnect here. This is the real challenge for the Legislature and the governor.” Whitmer has been traveling the

state the past three months trying to tell every chamber of commerce board, elementary school Parent-Teacher Organization and Rotarian who will listen that Michigan needs to be spending $2.5 billion more per year on roads and bridges to avert an infrastructure disaster in the next decade. But based on the polling and silence from the Republican-controlled Legislature, the general public isn’t buying what she’s preaching. That may be a reflection of the deep distrust in government at all levels that has infested the social media-driven populace. Every time I speak publicly about road funding or the state budget, there’s always at least one person in the crowd who asks, “What ever happened to the lottery profits that were supposed to fund schools?” (Answer: The Michigan Lottery sent the state’s School Aid Fund $941 million in the 2018 fiscal year. Yes, that’s a lot of money. But it’s just 7.5 percent of the $13 billion education budget. The lottery portion of the School Aid Fund covers the cost of operating Michigan’s public schools for less than three weeks each school year). After Whitmer proposed her massive fuel tax increase in March, there was a noticeable chorus of questions from average motorists about what happened to the money from Snyder’s 7-cent gas tax and 20 percent vehicle registration fee increase. Some even asked about lottery profits. The Snyder road-funding tax increases, which totaled $600 million and went into effect on Jan. 1, 2017,

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POWER PLAYERS

Patching a broken heart.

Q: Do you think that Michigan’s overall economy will improve in the next year, get worse, or remain about the same? Improve Get worse Remain about the same No opinion/ undecided 0

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Q: Over the next six months, how would you characterize the outlook for your business? Very good Somewhat good Neutral Somewhat bad

When the body struggles to

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LARRY PEPLIN FOR CRAIN’S

repair itself, tissue engineering

Undecided/ not relevant

offers hope for restoration. In her 0

were part of a November 2015 deal between Snyder and GOP legislative leaders to generate $1.2 billion by 2021. The rest is coming out of the state’s $10.7 billion general fund, which is the same amount it was 20 years ago. Snyder effectively surrendered to the anti-tax forces of his Republican political party — a rather estranged relationship to begin with — and settled for a tax increase that he knew was insufficient to prevent pavement conditions from deteriorating. What made things worse is Snyder never owned it. There was no public education campaign on the part of the Snyder administration, business groups like the Michigan Infrastructure & Transportation Association or unions like the Operating Engineers 324 to tell the public how the money is being spent. Snyder hardly talked about the issue for the remaining three years of governorship. And legislators wiped their hands of the issue, wrongly assuming they had settled the roads problem for another generation. At the end of 2015, everyone had road-funding fatigue and went home. But the roads just keep deteriorating. Between 2017 — the year Snyder’s tax increase went into effect — and this spring, the percentage of county roads in Wayne County in poor condition rose from 42 percent to 58 percent, according to the county’s first-ever Asset Management Plan being released Tuesday. Wayne County projects the state’s largest county alone needs $3 billion

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over the next decade to get 90 percent of county roads in good or fair condition. But Wayne County’s alarming report — and the numerous studies about road-funding needs that preceded it over the past decade — aren’t getting taken seriously by a voting public that doesn’t trust the messengers in Lansing.

The power players The roads, auto insurance and education are the top issues for Crain’s readers. A group of Lansing insiders ranked the power players who wield the influence to make changes happen. They are:

Politics 1. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan 2. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer 3. Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey 4. House Speaker Lee Chatfield 5. Attorney General Dana Nessel

Business 1. Dan Gilbert, chairman of Quicken Loans Inc. 2. Daniel Loepp, CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan 3. Rich Studley, CEO of Michigan Chamber of Commerce 4. Patti Poppe, CEO of Consumers Energy Co. 5. Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors Co.

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One surprising result from the Vanguard Affairs/Denno Research poll of 600 likely 2020 general election voters is they trust the Michigan Department of Transportation more than the governor, Legislature or lobbyists to take the lead on a new proposal to fix the roads. About 25 percent of respondents picked MDOT, while 21 percent said the new plan forward should come from the public itself (Hello, billionaires who would like to bankroll a ballot campaign next year!). The governor was statistically tied with the public at 20 percent, while the Legislature garnered confidence from 14 percent of the likely voters who participated in the poll, which had a margin of error of plus- or minus 4 percentage points. A fifth choice — “Lobbyists who know about roads and transportation” — didn’t inspire much confidence from the public, either, with just 7 percent. “It reaffirmed the notion that people think it’s an issue of management rather than a notion that we don’t have nearly enough funds to do that work,” said Jen Eyer, a partner at Vanguard Public Affairs. “There still is a large misperception on the part of a lot of people who think the money is there somewhere already and it just needs to be managed better.” “But we’re talking $2.5 billion a year,” Eyer added. “And that kind of change is not just lying around under couch cushions or under someone’s desk at the transportation department.” Chad Livengood: (313) 446-1654 Twitter: @ChadLivengood

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POWER UP

MASTER’S DEGREES AND GRADUATE CERTIFICATES

POWER PLAYERS

The balance of power

Top power players as Lansing insiders see them — and how they wield that influence on big issues By Chad Livengood clivengood@crain.com

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CONNECTION TO

COM M U N IT Y We travel your roads and live on your streets so we know well what is important to your community. Local knowledge and personal understanding – it’s all connected.

etroit Mayor Mike Duggan used his clout with House Republicans in November 2017 to craft an auto insurance reform plan that went down in flames at the hands of fellow Democrats and Oakland County Republicans on a vote just days before his landslide re-election. Two years later, the mayor of the city with American’s highest auto insurance premiums has largely handed over the legislative wrangling to man who employs the most workers in Detroit — Quicken Loans Inc. Chairman Dan Gilbert. Gilbert and his team of lobbyists and strategists have so far had better success than Duggan at moving legislation through both chambers — and forcing intense negotiations between Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Republicans who control the Legislature. Five months into Whitmer’s tenure as the state’s chief executive officer, the shift in Michigan’s shared political power structures continues to evolve after Republicans held a lock on state government for eight straight years. To get a sense of who wields the most influence to make a meaningful impact on the most vexing economic issues Michigan faces, Crain’s Detroit Business recently surveyed a select group of Lansing insiders in business trade groups, the lobbying corps, governmental agencies and the Capitol press corps. The 89 respondents were asked to pick the top 10 political and business leaders who they think have the power to push policymakers to craft solutions for roads and infrastructure, auto insurance, K-12 education, talent development and other pressing topics that will be discussed at this week’s Mackinac Policy Conference. Respondents were selected from Lansing public relations firm Truscott Rossman’s biennial lobby guide. The survey doesn’t measure all kinds of power and influence — but is a snapshot of how those close to important policy issues view influence on changing Michigan’s status quo on big issues including the state’s crumbling roads, most-expensive in the nation auto insurance and stagnant educational system. In this section, Crain’s profiles the top vote getters in government and business and how they have influenced these issues, and how they could wield that influence going forward. We’ve also included listings of everyone in the survey who received more than one vote.

Politics 1. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan

FISHBECK , THOMPSON, CARR & HUBER engineers | scientists | architects | constructors

The two-term Detroit mayor was named by more respondents than anyone else in the survey, despite his agenda in Lansing not producing any major victories — yet. Duggan has been unable to con-

Sena

Detrot Mayor Mike Duggan

LARRY PEPLIN FOR CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Hou

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

vince the Republican-controlled Legislature to create a citywide commission to govern traditional public and charter schools in Detroit following the 2016 bailout of Detroit Public Schools Community District. And though Duggan has repeatedly struck out in the past on reforming auto insurance, that tide appears to be breaking his way after the House and Senate passed similar bills allowing motorists to opt out of medical coverage (with some help from Detroit legislators Duggan helped get elected in 2018). If a legislative solution fails, Duggan has a lawsuit pending in federal court to try to compel the Legislature and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to overhaul the 45-year-old auto insurance law. While Duggan has had troubles wading through the political waters of Lansing, he’s had a number of economic development victories in the city with the new Fiat Chrysler Automobiles plant, Ford Motor Co.’s planned Corktown campus and Waymo’s plans to assemble self-driving cars at a former American Axle plant in Detroit. The continued positive economic news in Detroit seems to be winning Duggan respect and influence outstate.

LARRY PEPLIN FOR CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

2. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer The new Democratic governor has embraced the title of the “fix the damn roads lady” and made that the benchmark of the beginning of her governorship. Though her ambitious $2.5 billion fuel tax increase landed like a lead balloon in the Republican-controlled Legislature, she has cornered lawmakers on the fact that Michigan’s roads are indeed getting worse with each passing year of their 2015 road-funding plan going into effect. And while lawmakers have been focused on passing sweeping auto insurance reform, Whitmer keeps dragging the crumbling concrete back into the conversation. She’s doing this, in part, because her road-funding plan seeks to make structural changes to the state budget by eliminating a $600 million earmark of income tax that is being diverted from the cash-strapped $10.7 billion general fund and stop the “raid” of the School Aid Fund to balance the budgets of public universities. Whitmer’s road-funding goal has been endorsed by Business Leaders for Michigan and the Detroit Region-

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POWER PLAYERS

court ruling that Michigan’s legislative district boundaries need to be redrawn by Aug. 1 stands. Shirkey’s south-central Michigan district could potentially be drawn into an unprecedented scenario of special elections for certain Senate seats next year in the middle of their four-year terms. Since he has already twice been elected to the Senate — the constitutional limit under term limits — Shirkey could be prematurely forced from office at the end of 2020 if his district were put on the ballot.

4. House Speaker Lee Chatfield

Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey

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House Speaker Lee Chatfield

MICHIGAN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

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Because of voter-imposed term limits, the 30-year-old third-term representative from Emmet County has just two years to make his mark. Chatfield has been in lockstep with his Senate counterpart on getting auto insurance reform passed. He has already overcome the obstacle that tripped up his predecessors by getting Republicans from Oakland and Kent counties to vote for an auto insurance bill that lets drivers opt out of unlimited medical coverage. In the past, Republicans from those two counties have typically sided with hospitals and medical providers that treat injured motorists — and charge auto insurance companies their highest rates because the no-fault law lacks any cost controls. Chatfield’s work on no-fault auto insurance reform began in earnest last term when he forged a close alliance on the issue with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan (Chatfield even attended Duggan’s August 2017 primary election victory party — an unusual sight to see a northern Michigan Republican giving his tacit support to a Democratic mayor of Detroit). On roads, Chatfield has rejected Gov. Whitmer’s proposed 45-cent fuel tax increase but not offered a counterproposal. As history has repeatedly shown, if Senate leaders and the governor cut deals without the House speaker, the deal usually fizzles.

Attorney General Dana Nessel

al Chamber. Her college scholarship and worker retraining proposals have won the backing of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce — a rare alliance between a liberal governor and a powerhouse conservative lobbying voice in the Capitol. That said, the power of Whitmer’s veto pen and the threat of a summer-long budgetary standoff that stretches into September looms large in every major policy discussion in Lansing right now.

3. Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey The Jackson Republican has made auto insurance reform his No. 1 policy objective in his first year as the top Senate Republican leader, while still

PROVIDED PHOTO

leaving the door open for additional revenue for roads. But unlike Gov. Whitmer, Shirkey is trying to separate the two issues — and deliver substantial savings to motorists in their car insurance premiums first. Shirkey, the owner of the Jackson-based tool and die maker Orbitform, has shown himself to be pragmatic leader on major issues. In the House, he was a driving Republican force behind passage of the 2013 legislation extending Medicaid to more than 600,000 low-income adults. From his business background, Shirkey has a deep knowledge of workforce development issues that could prove influential in shaping policies concerning education and talent development. The wild card for Shirkey’s power is whether a federal

For a Lansing outsider, Attorney General Dana Nessel’s power cannot be understated. From gearing up to sue drugmakers for the opioid epidemic to her on-going negotiation of a civil settlement in the Flint water crisis lawsuits, Nessel wields enormous power in Lansing right now. The Flint lawsuits stemming from the Snyder administration’s missteps in letting Flint’s water become tainted with toxic lead are a looming financial liability for state taxpayers. Whatever dollar amount Nessel settles on with a horde of plaintiffs attorneys, it could become an expensive bill for the state’s cashstrapped $10.8 billion general fund. Nessel also is a key player in the fate and future of Enbridge Energy Co.’s Line 5 oil pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac. Nessel has said she’ll move to revoke the 1953 easement agreement that allows Enbridge to operate the twin 20-inch oil pipelines at the bottom of Lake Michigan, miles from where Mackinac conference attendees will be hobnobbing on the porch of the Grand Hotel this week. SEE NEXT PAGE

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POWER PLAYERS Business 1. Dan Gilbert, chairman of Quicken Loans Inc. The billionaire founder and chairman of Quicken Loans Inc. who employs 17,000 workers in Detroit has been amassing real estate and influence in Detroit for years — and now it’s starting to take root in the Capitol. In the last term, Gilbert was able to get then-Gov. Rick Snyder to ease up on his firm stance against taxpayer incentives for job-creation and win approval from Snyder and the Legislature for the transformational brownfield tax-capture incentives. Gilbert’s Bedrock LLC real estate company was quickly the first business to apply for and receive the incentives — known as MiThrive — as part of its $2 billion planned construction spree at four sites in downtown Detroit. Gilbert has emerged this year as one of the driving forces behind the Republican-controlled Legislature’s push to overhaul Michigan’s 45-yearold no-fault auto insurance law. He has dispatched Quicken Loans’ lobbyist, Jared Fleisher, and hired former House Speaker Tom Leonard to push legislation allowing drivers to opt out of mandatory, unlimited medical coverage in their auto insurance. If the legislative effort fails or Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoes a bill, Gil-

Dan Gilbert

LARRY PEPLIN FOR CRAIN’S

bert has vowed to bankroll a multimillion-dollar citizens initiative to gather enough signatures to submit a reform proposal to the Legislature — and bypass Whitmer’s veto pen — or let voters decide in 2020.

2. Daniel Loepp, CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Before he was the driving force behind the transformation of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s business model to a mutual insurance company with control of twothirds of the commercial market,

Daniel Loepp

Dan Loepp was a political operative in the Capitol. That background as chief of staff to the late House Speaker Curtis Hertel Sr. and communications director for longtime former Attorney General Frank Kelley has proved to be a vital asset in Loepp’s management of Michigan’s largest health insurance company. Loepp joined Blue Cross in 2000 as a vice president of government affairs. Five years later, Loepp was running the place, succeeding longtime CEO Richard Whitmer following Whitmer’s 18-year tenure in the C-suite. And now, 14 years

BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF MICHIGAN

later, Loepp has a close ally in the governor’s office — Whitmer’s daughter. And that makes Loepp a CEO with potentially outsized influence in public policy discussions, especially as they relate to health care and regulations for his industry, and the future of Michigan’s cities. Loepp has long emphasized the importance of workplace environments, establishing and strengthening corporate offices for Blue Cross and its subsidiaries in the downtowns of Detroit, Lansing and Grand Rapids.

MICHIGAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Rich Studley

3. Rich Studley, CEO of Michigan Chamber of Commerce There is perhaps no trade association or business group leader in Michigan with as much power and influence as Rich Studley. The Michigan Chamber of Commerce in general — and Studley in particular — holds sway over public policy decisions affecting taxes, K-12 and higher education, insurance, business regulation, road funding and infrastructure and talent development. SEE PAGE 18

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POWER PLAYERS FROM PAGE 16

On road funding, Studley has blessed Whitmer’s call for $2.5 billion in new annual spending and given tacit approval to a tax increase. Like other business groups, the Michigan Chamber has long advocated for dedicated user fees to fund roads and bridges instead of relying on normal state agency operating revenues to fill potholes. Studley, who is approaching his 11th anniversary as CEO of the state chamber in July, also is a member of the Board of Trustees at Central Michigan University, giving him another avenue of influence as the state’s public universities try to chart their future course.

Mary Barra

4. Patti Poppe, CEO of Consumers Energy Co. Patti Poppe

CONSUMERS ENERGY

The voting Results of a survey of prominent Lansing insiders that asked respondents to pick 10 people who wield the most power in Michigan to influence the issues confronting the state. Results include people named by more than one respondent. Name

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GENERAL MOTORS

Mike Duggan, mayor of Detroit Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan Mike Shirkey, majority leader of Michigan Senate Lee Chatfield, speaker of Michigan House Dan Gilbert, founder of Quicken Loans Daniel Loepp, CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield Rich Studley, CEO of Michigan Chamber of Commerce Dana Nessel, attorney general of Michigan Patti Poppe, CEO of Consumers Energy Debbie Stabenow, U.S. senator Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors Dick DeVos, president of The Windquest Group Jocelyn Benson, secretary of state L. Brooks Patterson, Oakland County executive Gerry Anderson, CEO and chairman of DTE Energy Bill Ford Jr., executive chairman of Ford Motor Co. Gary Peters, U.S. senator Mark Burton, chief strategist for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Brian Calley, president of Small Business Association of Michigan Doug Rothwell, CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan JoAnne Huls, chief of staff to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Mark Bernstein, attorney and University of Michigan regent Doug DeVos, president of Amway Mark Hackel, Macomb County executive John Kennedy, chairman of West Michigan Policy Forum and CEO of Autocam Medical Dan Kildee, U.S. representative Tonya Allen, CEO of the Skillman Foundation Sandy Baruah, CEO of Detroit Regional Chamber Jim Hackett, CEO of Ford Motor Co. J.C. Huizenga, chairman of National Heritage Academies Fred Upton, U.S. representative Matt Cullen, principal of Rock Ventures and CEO of JACK Greektown Casino Betsy DeVos, secretary of U.S. Department of Education Candice Miller, public works commission for Macomb County Debbie Dingell, U.S. representative Warren Evans, Wayne County executive David Hecker, president of American Federation of Teachers-Michigan Chris Ilitch, CEO of Ilitch Holdings Gilda Jacobs, president/CEO of Michigan League for Public Policy Birgit Klohs, CEO of The Right Place Inc. Greg McNeilly, DeVos family political strategist Sandy Pierce, senior executive vice president of Huntington Bank Ronda Stryker, board director at Stryker Corp. Ron Weiser, chairman of University of Michigan Board of Regents Dennis Archer Jr., CEO of Ignition Media Mark Davidoff, Michigan managing partner of Deloitte Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, pediatrician at Hurley Medical Center Paul Hillegonds, CEO of Michigan Health Endowment Fund and chairman of Regional Transit Authority Gary Jones, president of United Auto Workers Dave Massaron, CFO to Mayor Mike Duggan Rip Rapson, CEO of The Kresge Foundation Elissa Slotkin, U.S. representative

Responses

57 56 52 51 39 30 29 24 19 19 17 15 14 13 12 12 12 11 10 10 8 7 7 7 7 7 6 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

As CEO of Michigan’s largest utility in terms of customers, Patti Poppe already has a lot of say over Michigan’s energy policy — and has pushed Jackson-based Consumers into the green economy in a bid to stop producing electricity from coal by 2040. But with new renewable energy goals in state law, Poppe has turned her attention to the educational pipeline that has been showing signs of trouble for Consumers Energy and other businesses that heavily rely on both tech-savvy workers and highly skilled trades in their workforces. Poppe has become a vocal proponent for wholesale reforms in public education and is part of the Launch Michigan education reform initiative through Business Leaders for Michigan. Poppe has advocated for consolidation of administrative jobs across Michigan’s 545 local public school districts, 56 county-level intermediate school districts and 295 independently operated charter schools. Poppe is chair of this year’s Mackinac Policy Conference and will have a leading role in the on-stage discussions about what’s being described as a “crisis” in the state’s education system.

5. Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors Co. Barra is the least politically active of the top five business executives in the Crain’s Power Players list. But that makes her no less influential. As CEO of the state’s second-largest publicly traded company, Barra oversees an in-state workforce of 34,750. And as one-time GM CEO Charles Wilson once said, “As goes GM, so goes the nation.” That economic guidepost still rings true today, at least for Michigan as GM’s headquarters in Detroit, tech center in Warren and multiple assembly plants in Detroit, Flint, Lansing, Orion Township remain major employers in their respective cities — not to mention the vast network of auto suppliers. GM’s national contract talks with the United Auto Workers will commence later this summer. The future of the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant is at stake in those contract talks as GM has not assigned any new product to be assembled at the Poletown plant after January of next year. Duggan has made clear that once he finalizes a deal with FCA for its new assembly plant on the city’s east side, he’s turning his attention to saving the last remaining GM assembly plant in the city that put the world on wheels. Given the dynamics of saving union jobs, look for Whitmer to get the state involved in those negotiations as well. Chad Livengood: (313) 446-1654 Twitter: @ChadLivengood

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50 NAMES TO KNOW IN GOVERNMENT A

fter last fall’s elections — as with every election — the list of go-to people in Michigan government changed drastically. On the pages that follow, you’ll find an up-to-theminute guide to some of the people in government that our business-class readers need to know in order to navigate the public sector’s many layers. This 50 Names to Know in Government isn’t any sort of ranking or award, but instead a guide intended to help business readers stay up-to-date on top

CRAIN’S PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY DAVID KORDALSKI

government officials in prominent public-facing and behind-the-scenes roles at the Capitol, in the governor’s office, state departments, county governments and Detroit City Hall. These individuals are subject-matter experts in their line of work and can be a resource for leaders in the business, nonprofit and education communities. The list of officials profiled was selected by Crain’s reporters and editors and the profiles were written by Crain’s Senior Reporter Chad Livengood.

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50 NAMES TO KNOW IN GOVERNMENT

Paul Ajegba, 58

Tom Barrett, 38

Stephanie Beckhorn, 48

Why he should be on your speed dial: With infrastructure often being a critical component of economic development, any major real estate project or business deal involving the logistics or manufacturing industries inevitably involves transportation issues elevated to the Michigan Department of Transportation. Paul Ajegba is a 28-year veteran of MDOT who was appointed director by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer when she took office in January. As an engineer, Ajegba is now leading a 2,600-employee state agency with a $5 billion annual budget that’s responsible for the construction, maintenance and operation of nearly 10,000 miles of state highways.

Why he should be on your speed dial: State Sen. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, chairs the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, but it’s energy policy where his work could cross paths with the state’s largest utilities, DTE Energy Co. and Consumers Energy Co. Political groups tied to both utilities spent mightily last year trying to aid Barrett’s Republican primary and Democratic general election opponents. As a two-term state representative, Barrett was a frequent critic of Michigan’s energy law that gives DTE and Consumers a near-monopoly on electricity and natural gas markets. Barrett also serves on the Senate’s Insurance and Banking Committees.

Why she should be on your speed dial: Stephanie Beckhorn has worked in workforce and economic development for nearly 20 years. In January, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appointed her acting director of the Department of Talent and Economic Development. Whitmer has charged this state department with boosting Michigan’s rate of adults with a college degree or high-level credential to 60 percent. As the head of TED, she oversees an umbrella state department that includes the Michigan Economic Development Corp., the Talent Investment Agency, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority and the Michigan Land Bank Fast Track Authority.

Greg Bird, 45

Melanie Brown, 48

Mark Burton, 40

Why he should be on your speed dial: As legislative affairs director, Greg Bird is Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s principal lobbyist in the Capitol every day the Legislature is in session, trying to get her agenda passed in a Republican-controlled Legislature. Bird is in the business of relationships, working with Republicans and Democrats alike. As a veteran of Lansing, Bird spent the past 10 years as Wayne State University’s director of state relations. A decade prior to joining Wayne State, Bird worked in a variety of communications jobs in the Legislature, then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s state budget office and the attorney general’s office.

Why she should be on your speed dial: Melanie (Mel) Brown is a veteran of government at multiple levels and now serves as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s community affairs director. Her principal duty is to serve as a conduit at the local level to state government. In that role, Brown can be a point of contact for business owners in Southeast Michigan who are trying to navigate an issue or problem that involves a state agency or the governor. “Connecting people to solve issues is my passion,” Brown says. “We are ombudsmen, liaisons, connectors and solutioners.” Brown previously worked in Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration.

Why he should be on your speed dial: Mark Burton is one of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s closest confidants, having served as her chief of staff in the Michigan Senate and a behind-the-scenes adviser before and throughout her campaign. In the governor’s office, Burton serves as the chief strategist. Burton is charged with developing and planning the execution of Whitmer’s agenda — starting with her campaign pledge to “fix the damn roads.” Burton has been Whitmer’s liaison on developing a state incentives package for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ plans to invest $4.5 billion in six local manufacturing facilities.

Director, Michigan Department of Transportation

Chairman, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Michigan Senate

Legislative Affairs Director, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Community Affairs Director, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

Phil Bertolini, 56

Acting Director, Michigan Department of Talent and Economic Development

Chief Strategist, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

Deputy County Executive & Chief Information Officer, Oakland County

Why he should be on your speed dial: As chief information officer for Michigan’s second-largest county, Phil Bertolini is in charge of improving customer experience for navigating county services and programs. Under Bertolini’s leadership, Oakland County developed G2G Cloud Solutions, a cloud-based government services platform that other government agencies use for IT services without making a heavy investment in hardware, software development and licensing fees. G2G Cloud Solutions has led to the development of G2G Market Place to assist governments nationwide with utilizing best-practice documents, shared service contracts and topical blogs. Bertolini is regarded as one of retiring Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson’s top deputies and someone you have to go through to get to Brooks. Bertolini manages a technology staff totaling 230 full-time and contract employees with an annual budget of $67 million. He also directs the county’s 190-employee facilities management department, which has an annual budget of more than $35 million. Bertolini was previously Oakland County’s equalization administrator before taking over the IT department, so his background is rooted in tax issues that affect businesses.

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Distracted driving fatalities in 2016. One of those fatalities was Mitchel Kiefer.

Distracted driving fatalities continue to increase resulting in 72 in 2017;

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50 NAMES TO KNOW IN GOVERNMENT

Hilarie Chambers, 53

Basil Cherian, 42

Maurice Cox, 61

Why she should be on your speed dial: As Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s top aide, Hilarie Chambers leads overall operations of the $3 billion-a-year business that is the Michigan Department of State. There are 131 branch offices across the state that handle driver licensing and registration for passenger and commercial vehicles. As the most public-facing agency in state government, the Department of State also is responsible for driver education and testing, as well as traffic safety awareness and enforcement of campaign finance laws. Chambers joined Benson’s staff after 25 years of working for now-retired U.S. Rep. Sander Levin.

Why he should be on your speed dial: Basil Cherian is a deputy group executive on Mayor Mike Duggan’s Jobs and Economy Team. He is responsible for Detroit’s business and industrial attraction efforts, the city’s industrial land assembly and development strategy and the potential redevelopment of Coleman A. Young International Airport. For a business looking to build a new plant or open an office in Detroit, Cherian is one of Duggan’s top deputies you’ll need to work with. Prior to joining the Duggan administration in 2015, Cherian was a senior adviser to the CEO of The Warranty Group and helped lead the sale of the company to TPG Capital.

Why he should be on your speed dial: Detroit’s rapid redevelopment is being overseen by Maurice Cox, a nationally recognized urban planner who has made a major impact on how the city fills gaps created by decades of disinvestment. As director of Detroit’s Planning and Development Department, Cox is the go-to person in Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration for pursuing a housing or office building project. He’s been especially influential in pushing for the creation of more public open spaces in downtown and making the city more friendly to mobility options that don’t involve cars. Cox is a one-time mayor of Charlottesville, Va., who came to Detroit from Tulane University.

Liesl Eichler Clark, 43

Rachael Eubanks, 37

Eric Feldman, 39

Why she should be on your speed dial: Liesl Eichler Clark has a 20-year career in the public and private sector working on issues involving food, water and energy. She came back to state government this year after nine years in the private sector as co-founder and partner of 5 Lakes Energy, a clean energy consulting firm that specializes in rewewable energy and sustainability policy research and analysis. She also served as president for the Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council, a trade organization representing more than 115 businesses working in the advanced energy sector. Clark previously worked in former Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s administration.

Why she should be on your speed dial: State treasurers play an active role in helping set state tax policy and overseeing the transition to the 6 percent corporate income tax and continued management of the Michigan Business Tax and its remaining tax credits. As Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s treasurer, Rachael Eubanks oversees the collection of billions of dollars in state tax and fees. Disputes over corporate or individual income taxes go through her state department, which is charged with safeguarding the credit of the state and municipalities. Eubanks previously spent three years as a commissioner on the three-person state Public Service Commission.

Why he should be on your speed dial: Eric Feldman knows his way around the federal government bureaucracy. Eric has been chief of staff to U.S. Sen. Gary Peters since 2015 when Peters became Michigan’s junior senator. The Farmington Hills native previously spent six years in various positions in the U.S. House and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. As chief of staff, Feldman is the go-to aide for getting access to Peters or help navigating issues intersecting the powers and reach of Congress and the federal government. Feldman is based in Peters’ Washington, D.C., office.

Chief of Staff, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson

Director, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy

Deputy Group Executive, Jobs and Economy Team, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan

State Treasurer, Michigan Department of Treasury

Director of Planning and Development, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan

Chief of Staff, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters

Robert Cramer, 38

Deputy General Manager, Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) Why he should be on your speed dial: As deputy general manager of SMART, Robert Cramer functions as the chief operating officer for suburban Detroit’s bus service. He oversees the planning of routes, which SMART will customize to accommodate the movement of riders to and from major employment centers, such as manufacturing plants, warehouses, shopping centers and educational institutions. Cramer works closely with officials in communities in Oakland and Wayne counties that have opted into the SMART system, as well as planners in the three counties and the city of Detroit. This level of coordination has increased in recent years as SMART and the Detroit Department of Transportation have been trying to make the bus systems more seamless. “Every inquiry demands our best effort, often including thinking outside of traditional transit solutions and maximizing partnerships with government agencies, nonprofits, businesses, and especially with the dozens of transportation providers that we provide vehicles and/or operating support,” Cramer says. “The new mobility conversation is expanding this web even farther to include ride share companies, connected and autonomous vehicle systems and software firms.”

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50 NAMES TO KNOW IN GOVERNMENT

Jen Flood, 31

Robert Gordon, 47

JoAnne Huls, 46

Emily Laidlaw, 38

Why she should be on your speed dial: Jen Flood is charged with helping Gov. Gretchen Whitmer engage stakeholders and build coalitions to support Whitmer's policy agenda. That work intersects with the private sector, the nonprofit and philanthropic community and other levels of government. She manages three governor’s office departments that directly interact with the public: appointments to state commissions and boards, scheduling for Whitmer and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II and constituent services. Flood came to the Whitmer administration from the Dykema law firm’s downtown Lansing office, where she worked as a government policy adviser. Before that, she worked at Byrum Fisk Advocacy Communications, in the Legislature and former Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s office.

Why he should be on your speed dial: Robert Gordon has what’s arguably one of the most challenging executive roles in state government overseeing the sprawling 14,000-employee state Department of Health and Human Services and its $25 billion annual budget. He became director in January following years of turmoil in the department surrounding its role in the Flint water crisis and subsequent prosecutions of top DHHS staff. A veteran of the Obama administration, Gordon came to Michigan from The College Board, where he was a senior vice president of finance and global strategy for the New York-based organization that administers the SAT college entrance exam. His background is steeped in government budgeting and education policy.

Why she should be on your speed dial: In state government, there’s no greater gatekeeper to the governor than the chief of staff. Huls is no stranger to the business world or state government. She spent the past eight years as businessman Gary Torgow’s chief of staff at Talmer Bank and Trust and eventually Chemical Bank when the two banks merged, as well as Sterling Group, the real estate and private equity company Torgow founded. As a senior vice president, Huls is described by her peers as the key person who kept Torgow’s business operation running each day as First Michigan Bank merged with Talmer, which later merged with Chemical, a much bigger regional bank. Prior to that, Huls was former Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s deputy chief of staff.

Tricia Foster, 48

Stephen Grady, 62

Brandt Iden, 35

Why she should be on your speed dial: Tricia Foster has one of the more extensive business backgrounds of any member of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s cabinet. She joined the administration after a career in commercial real estate in west Michigan, retiring as senior managing director and chief operating officer of CBRE/Martin and CBRE/Grand Rapids. Foster spent 23 years with the real estate firm. At the Department of Technology, Management and Budget, Foster directs the agency responsible for procurement for state government. DTMB has a 3,000-employee staff with a $1.3 billion annual budget that manages the state’s $60 billion annual operating budget, multi-billion-dollar employee retirement pension funds and information technology systems for each state department.

Why he should be on your speed dial: Five years ago, Stephen Grady stepped out of corporate America and into Coleman A. Young Municipal Center to become chief of staff to longtime Detroit Councilwoman Brenda Jones. Jones had just been elected council president — and she had a frosty relationship with Detroit’s business community. Grady, who spent 20 years in organizational management at Ford Motor Co., went to work helping Jones build what he now considers to be “solid relationships” with real estate mogul Dan Gilbert and his Bedrock LLC company and Chris Ilitch and his family’s companies. Prior to joining Jones’ staff, Grady spent four years as a private consultant for change-management practices in the health care, manufacturing and automotive sectors.

Why he should be on your speed dial: State Rep. Brandt Iden is chairman of the newly created House Ways & Means Committee, which is now a clearinghouse for policy bills to go to the House floor. This gives Iden a chairmanship that’s potentially more powerful than all but the appropriations committee. He could play a key role in auto insurance reform, tax policy and road funding in this term as well as issues involving health care policy, regulatory reform, commerce and education. Iden is a third-term Republican from Kalamazoo County’s Oshtemo Township who represents Kalmazoo’s suburban communities in the 61st District. Iden has a private sector background in real estate development and was previously CFO and partner of Baron Builders Inc.

Why she should be on your speed dial: Emily Laidlaw is charged with shaping Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s public policy initiatives, working closely with Legislative Affairs Director Greg Bird. As the governor’s policy director, Laidlaw oversees a team of analysts who will routinely work with private sector interests, nonprofit groups, philanthropic foundations and other government agencies to develop and pursue policy initiatives. Laidlaw has worked in public affairs in Lansing for 13 years. She spent six years in the House of Representatives as a policy analyst and research director for the Democratic caucus, nearly four years as government relations director for the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators and 2 1/2 years as a lobbyist at the lobbying firm Karoub Associates.

Anita Fox, 59

Orlene Hawks, 44

Arthur Jemison, 48

Why she should be on your speed dial: With auto insurance reform being a major item on the Legislature’s agenda this session, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s insurance department director could play a key role in negotiating legislation that has a sweeping impact. As head of the 350-employee Department of Insurance and Financial Services, Anita Fox is the state’s principal regulator of the insurance, banking and consumer finance industries in Michigan. DIFS has regulatory authority over credit unions, state-chartered banks, consumer finance lending companies, auto insurance carriers and agents and HMOs. Prior to joining Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration, Fox was an attorney and shareholder for 15 years at Fraser Trebilcock Davis & Dunlap, P.C.

Why she should be on your speed dial: The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs is the state’s business and commerce regulatory agency. LARA has regulatory oversight over corporation filings, health care facilities, liquor control, medical and recreational marijuana, commercial and occupational licensing and the state’s administrative hearing system. Orlene Hawks is a veteran of state government, having spent the past five years as director of the Office of Children’s Ombudsman, the state’s watchdog agency for the foster care, adoption and child protective services. She previously worked as a legislative liaison for the Department of Health and Human Services and worked in child, adolescent and family health in the former state department of community health.

Why he should be on your speed dial: Arthur Jemison has wide-ranging responsibilities as Mayor Mike Duggan’s chief of services and infrastructure in Detroit. Anything that has to do with housing, neighborhood and commercial corridor revitalization, transportation infrastructure, planning and real estate development, the building and safety department, parks, general services and Coleman A. Young International Airport falls under Jemison’s portfolio. Jemison joined the administration as director of housing and revitalization and was promoted to a group executive role as chief of services and infrastructure in May 2018. Duggan recruited Jemison to Detroit from Massachusetts, where he was the state deputy undersecretary for housing and community development.

Lawrence Garcia, 49

Shane Hernandez, 36

Chris Kolb

Why he should be on your speed dial: As corporation counsel, Lawrence Garcia is the City of Detroit’s lead attorney, running the equivalent of a midsize law firm at Coleman A. Young Municipal Center. He and his office of 70 attorneys represent the city in negotiating and writing contracts with vendors, unions and economic development deals, as well as providing legal counsel to all city departments and agencies. Under the city charter, Garcia also serves as the city prosecutor for violations of the charter or city ordinances. Prior to becoming Mayor Mike Duggan’s top lawyer in 2018, Garcia had been in private law practice for 18 years, most recently through his own firm, Garcia Law Group PLLC, where he represented health professionals and facilities.

Why he should be on your speed dial: In this era of legislative term limits, the chairs of the House and Senate appropriations committees come and go quickly. State Rep. Shane Hernandez is a second-term Republican from Port Huron who was elevated to chairman of the House Appropriations Committee this year by Speaker Lee Chatfield. It gives Hernandez an outsized say over how the state divvies up its $10.7 billion general fund, $15.4 billion School Aid Fund and nearly $60 billion overall budget. Hernandez will be in a key position this year to decide how much more the state spends to fix Michigan’s roads and bridges. He also will be a key player in negotiations over whether to increase taxes to fund infrastructure improvements.

Why he should be on your speed dial: If your business, public institution or nonprofit organization has any interest in Michigan’s $57 billion annual state budget, Chris Kolb is the man to see in Lansing. As Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s state budget director, Kolb has direct influence over the policy and spending priorities that get recommended to the Legislature. The budget director is the conduit between the governor and state agencies when they’re making spending and long-term planning decisions. Like several of his predecessors, Kolb spent six years in the House of Representatives, representing the Ann Arbor area and serving two years on the House Appropriations Committee. After that, Kolb was president of the Michigan Environmental Council for a decade.

Public Affairs Director, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

Director, Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget

Director, Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services

Corporation Counsel, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan

Director, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

Chief of Staff, Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones

Director, Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs

Chairman, House Appropriations Committee, Michigan House of Representatives

Chief of Staff, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

Chairman, Ways & Means Committee, Michigan House of Representatives

Chief of Services & Infrastructure, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan

State Budget Director, Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget

Policy Director, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

Dan Lauwers, 56

Chairman, Energy & Technology Committee, Michigan Senate Why he should be on your speed dial: State Sen. Dan Lauwers holds two positions in the Senate this term as chairman of the Energy and Technology Committee and vice chairman of the Insurance and Banking Committee. The energy committee is closely watched by the state’s two biggest utilities, DTE Energy Co. and Consumers Energy Co., which are working to keep the 2016 renewable energy policies intact amid efforts to open up the state’s electricity market to additional competition. The Senate insurance committee will determine the direction of legislative efforts to overhaul Michigan’s no-fault auto insurance law. Lauwers, who spent the past six years in the House, is founder of Eastern Michigan Grain Inc., a grain elevator in Emmett in St. Clair County. He ran the company for 20 years before being elected to the House.

F. Thomas Lewand, 72

Group Executive, Jobs and Economy Team, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan Why he should be on your speed dial: Detroit’s comeback hinges on the state’s largest city rebuilding a once-thriving middle class — and it’s F. Thomas Lewand Sr.’s job to woo businesses to the Motor City for Mayor Mike Duggan. As Duggan’s group executive for the Jobs and Economy Team, Lewand has been the city’s principal representative in negotiating numerous business-attraction deals. Lewand has been practicing law for nearly half a century and has an extensive background representing corporations in general business transactions and municipalities in bond financing deals. Lewand was previously a partner at the Bodman PLC law firm in Detroit for more than two decades before retiring in 2013. He has been a longtime political confidant to Democratic governors and politicians.

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

50 NAMES TO KNOW IN GOVERNMENT

Jeff Mason, 60

David Massaron

Mike McCready. 58

Rob Minard, 42

Why he should be on your speed dial: Jeff Mason is Michigan’s top economic development official, charged with attracting and retaining businesses in the state. Most major business expansion deals flow through the quasi-governmental Michigan Economic Development Corp., which administers the state’s tax incentive programs. Grants, loans, tax abatements and incentives have to be approved by the Michigan Strategic Fund board. As CEO of the MEDC, Mason is chairman of the MSF board. Mason became CEO of the MEDC in July 2017 after eight years as the first executive director of the University Research Corridor.

Why he should be on your speed dial: Dave Massaron is one of the architects of Mayor Mike Duggan’s efforts to rebuild and improve city services following Detroit’s exit from Chapter 9 bankruptcy. He started out on the mayor’s team as a budget policy adviser in August 2014. In December, Duggan tapped Massaron to be the city’s chief financial officer. He now oversees the city’s $1.07 billion annual budget and all finance, budget, procurement and grant management functions. Massaron has been one of Duggan’s driving forces behind several major initiatives, including no-fault auto insurance reform and creation of the Detroit Promise Zone Authority.

Why he should be on your speed dial: Mike McCready, a former three-term member of the Michigan House of Representatives, is now part of Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson’s economic development team. Oakland County operates myriad programs aimed at retaining, attracting and growing companies in health care, information technology, automotive R&D and manufacturing and emerging sectors. Patterson also has tasked McCready with working on some of the same issues he was involved in in the Legislature: auto insurance reform and road funding. Patterson hired McCready late last year after he lost a bid for a state Senate seat.

Why he should be on your speed dial: As chief of staff to a speaker with one term remaining in the Michigan House, Rob Minard holds an influential position to shape public policy and strategy for Republicans with a 58-52 majority this term. He is Speaker Lee Chatfield’s conduit to the business, education and nonprofit communities. Minard also functions as the chief operating officer of the House, overseeing a 400-employee workforce that performs day-to-day work in policy, constituent relations and bill drafting for the lower chamber’s 110 elected members. Prior to working in the Legislature, Minard spent nearly 20 years in the business of issue advocacy and government affairs consulting for clients through his East Lansing firm, Victor Strategies.

Chief Executive Officer, Michigan Economic Development Corp.

Chief Financial Officer, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan

Deputy Director of Economic Development, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson

Chief of Staff, House Speaker Lee Chatfield

Shaquila Myers, 37 Chief of Staff Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II

PILLARS OF STRENGTH Lawyers supporting innovation endeavors and investments; establishing, maintaining, and growing businesses in Michigan and beyond.

Why she should be on your speed dial: As chief of staff to Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, Shaquila Myers oversees all matters involving Gilchrist’s day-to-day schedule, communications, initiatives and public policy issues he’s working on. While Gilchrist is a newcomer to state government, Myers has worked in the Michigan Senate for a decade and helped Gilchrist get up to speed with his constitutional responsibility to preside over the Senate. From 2008 to 2014, she was a policy adviser for transportation, local government and health care issues for the Michigan Senate Democratic Caucus. In 2015, Myers became Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich’s legislative director — a post she held for four years before joining Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration in January. She has a bachelor’s degree in health science and a master’s of public administration from Oakland University.

Trevor Pawl, 37

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Group Vice President, Michigan Economic Development Corp. Why he should be on your speed dial: Trevor Pawl is a group vice president at the Michigan Economic Development Corp. with a wide portfolio of programs meant to grow businesses in Michigan. Pawl oversees the state’s PlanetM mobility program, the Pure Michigan Business Connect supply chain program and the Michigan International Trade Program, which assists companies in exporting. Pure Michigan Business Connect, a supply chain matchmaking program, grew from the Connection Point economic development program created under Pawl’s leadership at the Detroit Regional Chamber. PlanetM is the MEDC’s program dedicated to linking automakers, suppliers, startups and investors in the development of autonomous vehicles and the infrastructure needed to deploy them.

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FRIDAY

MAY 28 - MAY 31

Livestream sessions and read news from #MPC19:

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Michiganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Center Stage Stacey Abrams

2018 Democratic Nominee for Governor of Georgia; Founder and Chair, Fair Fight Action

Matthew Dowd

Chief Political Analyst, ABC News; Best-selling Author; Campaign Strategist

John Kasich

Former Governor, State of Ohio; Senior Political Commentator, CNN

Donna Brazile

Contributor, Fox News; Veteran Democratic Political Strategist; Adjunct Professor; Author; Former Syndicated Columnist

Mike Duggan

Mayor, City of Detroit

Patti Poppe

President and CEO, Consumers Energy and CMS Energy; Chair, 2019 Mackinac Policy Conference

Jeb Bush

Former Governor, State of Florida; Founder, President, and Chairman, Foundation for Excellence in Education

Harold Ford Jr.

Former U.S. Representative; Political Pundit, MSNBC and CNBC

Michael E. Porter

Bishop William Lawrence University Professor, Harvard Business School

Alicia Boler Davis

Vice President, Global Customer Fulfillment, Amazon

Dan Gilbert

Founder and Chairman, Quicken Loans and Rock Family of Companies; Chairman, Cleveland Cavaliers

Gretchen Whitmer

Governor, State of Michigan

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

50 NAMES TO KNOW IN GOVERNMENT

Bryce Phillips, 62

Khalil Rahal, 37

John Paul Rea, 36

Jay Rising, 66

Craig Ryan, 45

Why he should be on your speed dial: Construction of the long-awaited Gordie Howe International Bridge over the next several years will be overseen by the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, an arm of the Canadian government established as part of Michigan’s 2012 international crossing agreement with Ontario and Canada. Bryce Phillips is the CEO of the WDBA and will manage the mammoth infrastructure project that involves construction of a bridge, two ports of entry and highway connections to Ontario’s Highway 401 and Interstate 75 in Detroit. Phillips, a Windsor native and mechanical engineer with a 35-year resume in infrastructure, came to WDBA a year ago from the Toronto-based infrastructure firm Kinectrics, where he was a vice president.

Why he should be on your speed dial: Khalil Rahal is Wayne County Executive Warren Evans’ point man on economic development and improving relationships with businesses in a county with a past reputation for not being business-friendly. Rahal doubles as an assistant county executive in charge of the county’s real estate, legislative lobbying and foreclosure prevention and is executive director of the Wayne County Economic Development Corp. Rahal has worked to get Wayne County out of the business of sitting on unused property that’s not contributing to the county’s tax base, which shrunk during the Great Recession. Rahal joined Evans’ administration after eight years as an assistant prosecuting attorney in the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.

Why he should be on your speed dial: John Paul Rea got his first job during graduate school 13 years ago as an intern in Macomb County’s Planning and Economic Development Department — and by 2015 he was running the department for Michigan’s third-largest county. Now, Rea is a deputy county executive and oversees the Planning and Economic Development, Roads, Health and Community Services, Workforce Development and Veterans Affairs departments for Macomb Executive Mark Hackel. In January, Hackel promoted Rea to a deputy county executive position with a wider portfolio. Rea is the go-to in Macomb for any issue that involves business attraction, real estate development, planning and infrastructure.

Why he should be on your speed dial: Jay Rising is back in state government for another tour of duty as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s cabinet director. Rising supervises state department directors and is a seasoned adviser to the new governor, having worked for Michigan’s last two Democratic governors. Last year, Rising was an informal adviser to Whitmer’s gubernatorial campaign on tax and fiscal policy, helping craft her proposal to create an infrastructure bank and issue bonds for road repairs if the Legislature won’t agree to raise taxes. Rising was former Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s state treasurer from January 2003 to February 2006, when he left government to become vice president and CFO for the Detroit Medical Center.

Why he should be on your speed dial: Due to voter-imposed constitutional term limits, Michigan’s Legislature loses institutional knowledge about the state budget and myriad public policies every two years. But staffers retain that institutional knowledge, making them valuable sources of information and insight. Craig Ryan is a 14-year veteran of the Capitol, serving as chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey this term — the same job he had the past two years under former Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof. Ryan was previously Meekhof’s legislative director and deputy chief of staff. He’s been in Lansing for two decades, working in different offices in the state House and Senate.

Doug Ross

Jim Stamas, 54

Why he should be on your speed dial: As a senior adviser to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Doug Ross has the widest-ranging assignment in state government that intersects the bottom line of businesses: Lead her initiative to close the skills and education talent gaps. Ross, one of the few Democrats who has been a leader in Michigan’s charter school movement, is tasked with developing strategies to boost Michigan’s rate of adults with post-secondary credentials. If approved by the Legislature, Ross will implement Whitmer’s MI Opportunity Scholarship to provide two years of free community college or the equivalent. Ross was founder and CEO of New Urban Learning, the operator of the University Prep schools in Detroit. In the 1980s, Ross was a state senator and later Gov. Jim Blanchard’s commerce director.

Why he should be on your speed dial: State Sen. Jim Stamas is an unassuming, soft-spoken politician from Midland with a background running a family-owned pizzeria. But under the Capitol dome, he wields a lot of power as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, serving as one of the Legislature’s two CFOs who have a significant say over the state’s $60 billion annual operating budget. That puts him in a key position to shape and influence tax policy, spending on education and workforce and talent development programs and plowing more money into Michigan’s crumbling infrastructure. In this era of term limits, Stamas is a veteran at the Capitol, having served three terms in the House (two of them in leadership as majority floor leader). Stamas represents 10 counties in the northeast Lower Peninsula.

Kelly RossmanMcKinney, 64

Lana Theis, 53

Communications Director, Attorney General Dana Nessel

Chairwoman, Insurance and Banking and Education committees, Michigan Senate

Why she should be on your speed dial: Kelly Rossman-McKinney is no stranger to Michigan’s business community after 30 years of leading public relations, crisis communications and issue advocacy firms in Lansing. Rossman-McKinney, a Democrat, retired last year as CEO of the Truscott Rossman firm she co-founded in 2011 with Republican communications strategist John Truscott to make an unsuccessful bid for the Michigan Senate. Instead of retiring for good, Rossman-McKinney became communications director for new Attorney General Dana Nessel, who holds immense power to shape the outcome of multimillion-dollar lawsuits against the state over the Flint water crisis and unemployment false fraud scandal as well as the future of Enbridge Energy’s aging Line 5 oil pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac.

Why she should be on your speed dial: Overhauling Michigan's no-fault auto insurance law is a top priority for the Republican-controlled Legislature this term and, once again, Lana Theis is at the center of the debate. Theis, a first-term Republican senator from Brighton, was in the House last term when she worked with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan on an unsuccessful effort to let motorists opt out of unlimited medical coverage that is blamed for ever-rising auto insurance premiums. Theis also chairs the Senate Education Committee, making her a key player in any K-12 and higher education reform legislation for this four-year Senate term. She also serves on the Economic and Small Business Development, Health Policy and Human Services and Regulatory Reform committees.

CEO, Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority

Assistant County Executive, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans

Deputy County Executive, Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel

Cabinet Director, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

Senior Adviser for Michigan Prosperity, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

GET IN TOUCH, WE CAN HELP.

Chief of Staff, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey

Chairman, Appropriations Committee, Michigan Senate

C R A I N â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

50 NAMES TO KNOW IN GOVERNMENT

Mark Totten, 45

Mark Washington, 46

Jason Wentworth, 36

Alexis Wiley, 36

Why he should be on your speed dial: From legal review of legislation to interstate commerce, Mark Tottenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s job as chief legal counsel to Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer intersects with myriad matters concerning governance of the state. The governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top attorney serves as general counsel to the CEO of a $60 billion enterprise and part of Whitmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inner circle. Totten, who ran unsuccessfully for attorney general in 2014, spent a decade teaching state constitutional, criminal and national security law as a professor at Michigan State Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s College of Law. He did a stint in 2016-2017 as a special assistant prosecuting attorney investigating the Flint water crisis and spent about two years as a volunteer prosecutor in the U.S. Attorneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office in Grand Rapids.

Why he should be on your speed dial: In Grand Rapidsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Commission-City Manager form of local government, City Manager Mark Washington is the main executive in Michiganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second-largest city. Washington is a relatively new face in Michigan, having been hired by the Grand Rapids City Commission in August 2018 after 23 years in other municipal government roles. His most recent post was assistant city manager of Austin, Texas. As Grand Rapidsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; day-to-day chief executive, Washington oversees all city departments and services that include business licensing, planning and real estate development and tax collections.

Why he should be on your speed dial: Republicans in the majority party in the Michigan House of Representatives made reducing the high cost of auto insurance a priority this term. House Speaker Lee Chatfield appointed Speaker Pro Tem Jason Wentworth to chair a special committee to achieve this goal. As chairman of the special committee and a member of House Republican leadership, Wentworth could be a key player in any overhaul of Michiganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s auto insurance system this term. He also serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, which will likely be the destination for any major tax or fiscal policy legislation this term.

Why she should be on your speed dial: If thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an issue in Detroit involving businesses or local institutions and residents, Alexis Wiley is almost always the first person on the ground, representing Mayor Mike Duggan and resolving conflicts. As chief of staff, Wiley is the face and voice of the Duggan administration on the mayorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s major initiatives in housing, neighborhood redevelopment and programs affecting the general welfare of Detroitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 673,000 residents. Wiley has been Dugganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top aide for nearly five years, a rather long tenure in a high-profile and high-stress job like chief of staff to a mayor whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s known to be a demanding boss.

Chief Legal Counsel, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

City Manager, City of Grand Rapids

Chairman, House Select Committee on Reducing Car Insurance Rates, Michigan House of Representatives

Chief of Staff, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan

Matt VanKuiken, 35 Chief of Staff, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow

Why he should be on your speed dial: As chief of staff to Michiganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s senior senator, Matt VanKuiken manages day-to-day operations of U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office and is charged with implementing her priorities. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the go-to person in Stabenowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office for businesses, advocacy groups, trade organizations and nonprofits to communicate with issues regarding legislation and navigating federal agencies. The universe of federal policy issues affecting business and commerce in Michigan runs the gamut from access to health care and international trade to funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. VanKuiken was previously Stabenowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s legislative director and senior policy adviser. Prior to joining Stabenowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Washington staff 11 years ago, VanKuiken worked in the Michigan Senate.

Matt Walters, 30

Deputy Group Executive, Jobs and Economy Team, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan Why he should be on your speed dial: Matt Walters is one of two deputy group executives on Mayor Mike Dugganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jobs and Economy Team, working for F. Thomas Lewand. His job is to help companies and real estate developers navigate permitting, zoning, tax incentives and infrastructure issues that surround economic development projects. In his five years working for Duggan, Walters has worked on Ford Motor Co.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Corktown project, Bedrock LLCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s transformational brownfield projects at the Hudsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Book Tower and Monroe Blocks sites and the new Detroit Pistons headquarters. Walters also works closely with nonprofit development corporations, such as Eastern Market Corp., Midtown Inc., Jefferson East Inc., and the Downtown Detroit Partnership.

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C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

THE LISTS

Welcome to the Private 200 Company headquarters by county County

Number of companies

Livingston

Macomb

Oakland

Washtenaw

Wayne

Grand Total

elcome to Crain’s annual Private 200, the only listing of its kind of the largest privately held companies in Michigan. Through dozens of hours of surveys, phone calls and other research, this list provides the most complete data available of the state of Michigan business. And there’s more where this came from. The Data Center on our website, available to readers with Enhanced Memberships, contains all of this data and more on hundreds of additional companies — as PDF lists, or in Excel spreadsheets. Contact information and names of top executives are available for many companies in the database. Whether it’s market research, sales prospecting or another use, the Data Center offers more information than any other source on many business segments in Michigan. To explore an Enhanced Membership and Crain’s Data Center, go to crainsdetroit.com/ membership.

200

The top headquarters cities City

Count

1. Detroit

2. Southfield

3. Farmington Hills

4. Troy

5. Livonia

6. Plymouth

6. Dearborn

6. Warren

9. Auburn Hills

9. Sterling Heights

9. Taylor

The top 10 revenue gainers Company (corporate name)

% change in revenue 2017-18

1. McNaughton-McKay Electric Co.

85.1%

2. O’Brien Construction Inc.

82.5%

3. Piston Group

67.7%

4. Atlas Oil Co.

59.2%

5. Gonzalez Design Group

54.3%

6. Clark Hill PLC

52.8%

7. Atwell LLC

42.7%

8. DeMaria

42.1%

9. Kar Nut Products Co.

33.0%

10. PVS Chemicals Inc.

30.0%

The top 10 by worldwide employees Company (corporate name)

ILLUSTRATION BY SORBETTO VIA ISTOCK

Worldwide employees 2017-18

1. Penske Corp.

64,552

2. Rock Ventures

30,008

3. Ilitch companies

24,776

4. International Automotive Components

18,397

5. Inteva Products LLC

14,682

6. Piston Group

10,815

7. Acro Service Corp.

7,678

8. Seko Worldwide Detroit

6,695

9. Plastipak Holdings Inc.

6,400

10. Carhartt Inc.

5,500

C R A I N â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

CRAIN'S LIST: PRIVATE 200 Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 13 15 16 17 17 19 19 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Ranked by 2018 revenue

Detroit Revenue Revenue area Worldwide ($000,000) ($000,000) Percent employees employees 2018 2017 change Jan. 2019 Jan. 2019 Type of business

Company Address Phone, website

Top executive

Penske Corp., Bloomfield Hills 48302-0954 (248) 648-2000; www.penske.com

Roger Penske chairman

$34,867.0

$31,800.0

9.6%

1,405

64,552

Retail automotive, truck leasing and logistics, motorsports racing

Rock Ventures B, Detroit 48226 (800) 251-9080

Dan Gilbert chairman and founder Christopher Ilitch president and CEO, Ilitch Holdings Inc. William Young president and CEO

6,720.0 C

6,560.0 C

2.4

17,887

30,008

Organization that connects and serves Dan Gilbert's portfolio of companies, investments and real estate

3,800.0

3,600.0

5.6

6,955

24,776

Food, sports and entertainment organization

3,143.1

2,782.4

13.0

675

6,400

Manufacturer of rigid plastic containers for the consumer products industry

Vinnie Johnson founder, chairman & CEO Lon Offenbacher president, CEO and founder NA E

2,864.5

1,707.9

67.7

1,021

10,815

Automotive supplier

2,800.0

2,500.0

12.0

368

14,682

Automotive supplier of closure systems, interior systems, motors and electronics and roof systems.

2,792.6 C

2,404.2 C

16.2

Ilitch companies, Detroit 48201 (313) 471-6600; www.ilitchcompanies.com Plastipak Holdings Inc., Plymouth 48170 (734) 455-3600; www.plastipak.com Piston Group D, Southfield 48075 (313) 541-8674; www.pistongroup.com Inteva Products LLC, Troy 48084 (248) 655-8886; www.intevaproducts.com Moroun family holdings, Warren 48089 (586) 939-7000

Ambassador Bridge and various trucking and logistics companies

The Suburban Collection, Troy 48084 (877) 471-7100; www.SuburbanCollection.com

David T. Fischer chairman and CEO

2,619.7

2,294.2

14.2

2,234

2,556

Automobile dealerships

H.W. Kaufman Financial Group/ Burns & Wilcox, Farmington Hills 48334

2,250.0

2,100.0

7.1

269

2,023

(248) 932-9000; www.hwkaufman.com

Alan Jay Kaufman chairman, president and CEO

Provides insurance services including distribution, brokerage, underwriting, reinsurance, real estate, premium financing, inspections, audits, risk management and third-party claims administration

Soave Enterprises LLC, Detroit 48207 (313) 567-7000; www.soave.com

Anthony Soave president and CEO

2,051.9

1,610.4

27.4

725

1,950

Diversified management holding company

Bridgewater Interiors LLC, Detroit 48209 (313) 842-3300; www.bridgewater-interiors.com

Ronald Hall Jr. president and CEO

1,969.3

2,009.5

-2.0

1,443

2,321

Automotive seating/interiors

Belfor Holdings Inc., Birmingham 48009 (248) 594-1144; www.belfor.com

Sheldon Yellen CEO

1,955.9

1,794.8

9.0

2,190

1,900.0 G

2,200.0 G

-13.6

322

18,397

Supplier of interior automotive components and systems including cockpits and overhead systems

1,900.0

2,591.0

-26.7

1,100

2,000

1,864.6 H

1,760.3 H

5.9

General contracting, construction management, design/build, engineerprocure-construct, integrated project delivery, self-perform services: civil, concrete, rigging and interiors Automotive dealerships

1,523.0

823.0

85.1

350

1,475

Electric/electronics distributor

1,340.0

1,086.0

23.4

3,000

Mortgage lender Construction: general contracting, design build, construction management, engineer/procure/construct, virtual design, digital mapping Aluminum and steel sales, processing and warehousing companies

International Automotive Components, Southfield Manfred Gingl F CEO 48034 (248) 455-7000; www.iacgroup.com Ryan Maibach Barton Malow Co., Southfield 48034 president and CEO (248) 436-5000; www.bartonmalow.com Victory Automotive Group Inc., Canton Township 48188 (734) 495-3500; www.victoryautomotivegroup.com

Jeffrey Cappo president

McNaughton-McKay Electric Co., Madison Heights Donald Slominski Jr. president and CEO 48071-4134 (248) 399-7500; www.mc-mc.com United Shore Financial Services LLC, Pontiac 48341 Mat Ishbia president and CEO (248) 833-5000; www.unitedshore.com

Property restoration

Walbridge, Detroit 48226 (313) 963-8000; www.walbridge.com

John Rakolta Jr. chairman and CEO

1,340.0

1,500.0

-10.7

343

1,000

The Diez Group, Dearborn 48126 (313) 491-1200; www.thediezgroup.com

Gerald Diez chairman/CEO

1,265.0

1,190.0

6.3

375

650

Wolverine Packing Co., Detroit 48207 (313) 259-7500; www.wolverinepacking.com

Jim Bonahoom president

1,265.0

1,303.0

-2.9

Wholesale meat packer and processor; wholesale meat, poultry and seafood distributor

Atlas Oil Co., Taylor 48180 (800) 878-2000; www.atlasoil.com

1,100.9

691.3

59.2

165

538

Petroleum distribution, innovative fueling solutions

Kenwal Steel Corp., Dearborn 48126 (313) 739-1000; www.kenwal.com

Sam Simon founder and chairman Kenneth Eisenberg chairman and CEO

1,057.0

882.0

19.8

Steel service center

Syncreon Global Holdings Ltd., Auburn Hills 48326 (248) 377-4700; www.syncreon.com

Brian Enright CEO

1,050.0 I

900.0 J

16.7

Logistics services

1,010.2

925.2

9.2

1,200

1,300

Automobile dealerships

955.6

827.6

15.5

710

1,810

Recreational vehicle dealership

926.5

752.1

23.2

580

5,500

Apparel manufacturer

LaFontaine Automotive Group, Highland Township Michael LaFontaine chairman/owner 48357 (248) 887-4747; www.thefamilydeal.com Robert Baidas, CEO; General RV Center Inc., Wixom 48393 Loren Baidas, (248) 349-0900; www.generalrv.com president Mark Valade Carhartt Inc., Dearborn 48126 chairman and CEO (313) 271-8460; www.carhartt.com Feldman Automotive Inc., New Hudson 48165 (248) 486-1900; www.feldmanauto.com

Jay Feldman chairman and CEO

918.0

742.9

23.6

900

Lipari Foods LLC K, Warren 48089 (586) 447-3500; www.liparifoods.com

Thom Lipari president and CEO

861.0

775.0

11.1

879

1,554

Auto dealer Wholesale food distribution

Want the full Excel version of this list Ă&#x2018; and every Crain's list? Become a Data Member: CrainsDetroit.com/data This list of privately held companies is an approximate compilation of the largest companies in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston and Washtenaw counties that do not have stock traded on a public exchange. It is not a complete listing but the most comprehensive available. Crain's estimates are based on industry analysis and benchmarks, news reports and a wide range of other sources. Unless otherwise noted, information was provided by the companies. Companies with headquarters elsewhere are listed with the address and top executive of their main Detroit-area office. NA = not available.

B Sold Greektown Casino-Hotel to Wyomissing, Pa.-based gaming conglomerate Penn National Gaming Inc. and Vici Properties Inc. on Nov. 13, 2018. C Crain's estimate. D Holding company for Piston Automotive, Irvin Automotive, Detroit Thermal Systems and Airea. E There is not a holding company for the Moroun family businesses. Some are public companies controlled by Manuel and/or Matthew Moroun. Others are owned privately by the Moroun family. F Succeeds Natale Rea, who was named president and interim CEO on June 4. G North American revenue. H Automotive News. I Estimate from Transport Topics Top 50 Logistics Companies. J Transport Topics Top 50 Logistics Companies. K Purchased by Miami private equity firm, H.I.G. Capital on Jan. 8.

C R A I N â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

CRAIN'S LIST: PRIVATE 200 Rank

29 29 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41

Top executive

Art Van Furniture Inc. B, Warren 48092 (586) 939-0800; www.artvan.com

Ronald Boire C president and CEO

$850.0

$800.0

6.3%

1,500

Retail home furnishings

ProQuest LLC, Ann Arbor 48106 (734) 761-4700; www.proquest.com/

Matti Shem-Tov CEO

850.0 D

800.0 D

6.3

570

2,431

Educational technology

839.3

838.9

0.0

350

718

822.0

757.0

8.6

600

3,017

810.0 D

810.0

0.0

660.0

646.0

2.2

530

1,846

Vehicle logistics for vehicle manufacturers, remarketers, auctions, dealers and internet vehicle transactions nationally

650.0

500.0

30.0

1,300

Manufacturer, marketer and distributor of industrial chemicals Engineering, product development, and integration specialists; development and manufacturing of performance vehicles, aftermarket components and alternative fuel systems for fleet applications Petroleum retailer and wholesaler

Amerisure Mutual Insurance Co., Farmington Hills Gregory Crabb president and CEO 48331 (248) 615-9000; www.amerisure.com Kenneth Hopkins Neapco Holdings LLC, Farmington Hills 48331 president and CEO (248) 669-6500; www.neapco.com

PVS Chemicals Inc., Detroit 48213 (313) 921-1200; www.pvschemicals.com

Kathleen McCann F, executive chair; Mark Anderson, CEO and president David Nicholson G president and CEO

Roush Enterprises, Livonia 48150 (734) 779-7006; www.roush.com

Evan Lyall CEO

581.0

567.3

2.4

3,625

4,315

Barrick Enterprises Inc., Royal Oak 48073 (248) 549-3737; www.barrickent.com

Robert Barrick president

573.1

534.4

7.2

Plante Moran PLLC, Southfield 48034 (248) 352-2500; www.plantemoran.com

James Proppe managing partner

542.6

520.9

4.2

1,183

3,240

MSX International Inc. H, Detroit 48226 (248) 829-6042; www.msxi.com

Frederick Minturn president and CEO

526.0 D

526.0

0.0

Camaco LLC, Farmington Hills 48331 (248) 442-6800; www.camacollc.com

Flavia De Veny president and CEO

515.0

538.0

-4.3

3,964

RKA Petroleum Cos. Inc., Romulus 48174 (734) 946-2199; www.rkapetroleum.com

Kari Elliott CEO

499.8 D

490.0 D

2.0

Wholesale distributor of gasoline, diesel fuel, ethanol, biodiesel, Jet A and Jet A1 products; hauler of crude oil, common carrier

Orleans International Inc., Farmington Hills 48334 (248) 855-5556; www.orleansintl.com

Reed Tushman, VP/ director of operations; Marc Tushman, VP/ director of logistics; Larry Tushman, VP/ secretary Michelle Aristeo Barton president Chain Sandhu, chairman; JatinderBir Sandhu, CEO Ryan Greenawalt president and CEO

490.0

500.0

-2.0

Meat importer

470.0

448.6

4.8

386

529

General contractor and construction manager

452.0

423.0 I

6.9

1,892

Automotive supplier specializing in plastic interiors and sub-system components

443.0

370.0

19.7

422

947

Heavy construction equipment, material handling equipment, industrial equipment, cranes

441.5 D

435.0 D

1.5

Automobile dealerships

410.9 J

403.1 J

1.9

Pizza franchisor

400.0

400.0 K

0.0

325

Sales and support services company for hot-rolled and cold finished steel bar products

377.9

419.8

-10.0

616

808

Electrical contractor

371.0

354.1

4.8

837

7,678

367.0

480.0

-23.5

171

361.0 L

341.0 L

5.9

360.0

325.0

10.8

1,550

2,200

359.4

297.4

20.8

262

Aristeo Construction Co., Livonia 48150 (734) 427-9111; www.aristeo.com NYX Inc., Livonia 48150 (734) 462-2385; www.nyxinc.com

50 51 52 53 54

Plastic injection molder, extruder, thermal compression molder

United Road Services Inc. E, Romulus 48174 (734) 947-7900; unitedroad.com

Southfield Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Southfield 48034 (248) 354-2950; southfieldchrysler.com

Designs, manufactures and distributes driveline systems and service parts

Andrew Greenlee president and CEO

Alta Equipment Co., Livonia 48150 (248) 449-6700; www.altaequipment.com

Property and casualty insurance company

U.S. Farathane, Auburn Hills 48326 (248) 754-7000; www.usfarathane.com

45 47

Detroit Revenue Revenue area Worldwide ($000,000) ($000,000) Percent employees employees 2018 2017 change Jan. 2019 Jan. 2019 Type of business

Company Address Phone, website

42 43

Ranked by 2018 revenue

Chris Snyder general manager

Hungry Howie's Pizza & Subs Inc., Madison Heights Steve Jackson president and CEO 48071 (248) 414-3300; www.hungryhowies.com Gary Goodman and Eaton Steel Bar Co., Oak Park 48237 Mark Goodman, co(248) 398-3434; www.eatonsteel.com CEOs Dale Wieczorek Motor City Electric Co., Detroit 48213 chairman, president (313) 921-5300; www.mceco.com and CEO Ron Shahani Acro Service Corp., Livonia 48152 president and CEO (734) 591-1100; www.acrocorp.com Commercial Contracting Corp. (Commercial Contracting Group Inc.), Auburn Hills 48326 (248) 209-0500; www.cccnetwork.com

Stephen Fragnoli president and CEO

Detroit Lions Inc., Allen Park 48101 (313) 216-4000; www.detroitlions.com

Martha Ford owner

Belle Tire Distributors Inc., Allen Park 48101 (313) 271-9400; www.belletire.com

Jack Lawless III CEO

Jim Riehl's Friendly Automotive Group Inc., Warren James Riehl Jr. president and CEO 48093 (586) 979-8700; www.jimriehl.com

Accounting and management consulting firm Business process outsourcing service provider for global automotive retail segments and human capital managed service provider Full-service supplier of automotive seat structure assemblies

Staff augmentation, outsourcing and IT and engineering consulting, application development and enablement, relational database design and development, Web design and development General contractor, construction manager, machinery installer, concrete, steel, interiors, concrete National Football League franchise Retailer of tires and automotive services Automobile dealership

Want the full Excel version of this list â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and every Crain's list? Become a Data Member: CrainsDetroit.com/data This list of privately held companies is an approximate compilation of the largest companies in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston and Washtenaw counties that do not have stock traded on a public exchange. It is not a complete listing but the most comprehensive available. Crain's estimates are based on industry analysis and benchmarks, news reports and a wide range of other sources. Unless otherwise noted, information was provided by the companies. Companies with headquarters elsewhere are listed with the address and top executive of their main Detroit-area office. NA = not available.

B Art Van Elslander, founder, sold the company to Boston-based private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners in February 2017. C Replaced Kim Yost as president and CEO, effective April 30. D Crain's estimate. E Bought by Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm The Carlyle Group in September 2017. F Stepped down as CEO and became executive chair in January. Succeeded as CEO by Mark Anderson. G Succeeded James Nicholson in July. H Acquired by Bain Capital Private Equity, Boston, on Jan. 9, 2017. I Company estimate. J Systemwide sales. K Projected revenue from Metal Center News Service Center Top 50. L From Forbes. Net of stadium revenue used for debt payments.

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C R A I N â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

CRAIN'S LIST: PRIVATE 200 Rank

55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64

Company Address Phone, website

Dan Hirschfeld CEO

$344.0

$340.0

1.2%

708

Strategic Staffing Solutions Inc., Detroit 48226 (313) 596-6900; www.strategicstaff.com

Cynthia Pasky president and CEO

342.0

340.0

0.6

1,400

3,600

Elder Automotive Group, Troy 48083 (248) 585-4000; www.elderautogroup.com

Tony Elder, president; Robert Elder, vice president Gordon Stewart president

336.5 B

331.5 B

1.5

Consulting and staff augmentation services, vendor management programs, customized solution, call center technology and a domestic IT development center Automotive dealerships

330.5

350.1

-5.6

105

329

Automobile dealerships

Stewart Management Group Inc., Harper Woods 48225 (313) 432-6200; www.gordonchevrolet.com

68 69 69 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78

Dental care, including general and preventive care, cosmetic, orthodontic and specialty dental services

ABC Appliance Inc., Pontiac 48343 (248) 335-4222; www.abcwarehouse.com

Gordon Hartunian chairman

316.0

271.0

16.6

612

Appliances, electronics and car audio, bedding and furniture

Prestige Automotive , St. Clair Shores 48080 (586) 773-1550; www.prestigeautomotive.com

Gregory Jackson chairman and CEO

306.5

350.1

-12.4

166

Automobile dealerships, real estate and insurance

The Christman Co., Detroit 48202-3030 (313) 908-6060; www.christmanco.com

Ronald Staley senior vice president, Southeast Michigan operations John Hern CEO

305.2

305.9

-0.2

Construction management, general contracting, design/build, facilities planning and analysis, program management, real estate development, self-perform skilled construction trades

295.9

193.6

52.8

Law firm

Kevin Chase, president; Carole Chase, vice president William Pickard chairman

292.0

250.0

16.8

135

Specialty engineering thermoplastics distributor

274.8

255.7

7.4

282

1,807

Warehousing, contract assembly, freight forwarding, contract logistics, procurement, quality control and inventory management

Jeffrey Hausman, Detroit office director; Mike Medici, president and managing partner Mark Snethkamp president

272.2

256.7

6.0

358

1,304

Architecture, engineering and planning

268.0 B

264.0 B

1.5

Automobile dealerships

263.0

281.0

-6.4

245

Construction services, program management, construction management, design and build

262.8

217.2

21.0

724

1,489

250.0 B

0.0

Mainframe software Distributor of pipe, valves, fittings, heating and cooling, control and instrumentation, boilers, pumps repair, steam products, sanitary piping products, fire protection. Engineered drivetrain systems for commercial off-highway, specialty and defense vehicles.

Clark Hill PLC, Detroit 48226 (313) 965-8300; www.clarkhill.com Chase Plastic Services Inc., Clarkston 48346 (248) 620-2120; www.chaseplastics.com Global Automotive Alliance LLC, Detroit 48210 (313) 849-3222; www.gaasolutions.com

Detroit Revenue Revenue area Worldwide ($000,000) ($000,000) Percent employees employees 2018 2017 change Jan. 2019 Jan. 2019 Type of business

Great Expressions Dental Centers PC, Southfield 48034 (248) 203-1100; greatexpressions.com

SmithGroup, Detroit 48226 (313) 983-3600; www.smithgroup.com

Top executive

Ranked by 2018 revenue

Snethkamp Automotive Family, Highland Park 48203 (313) 868-3300; www.snethkampauto.com

Hatch Stamping Co., Chelsea 48118 (734) 475-8628; www.hatchstamping.com

Gary Roncelli, chairman and CEO; Thomas Wickersham, president and COO Daniel Craig COO and president

Compuware Corp., Detroit 48226 (313) 227-7300; www.compuware.com

Chris O'Malley CEO

The Macomb Group Inc., Sterling Heights 48312 (586) 274-4100; www.macombgroup.com

250.0

240.0

4.2

140

372

AxleTech International C, Troy 48083 (877) 877-9717; www.axletech.com

William McGivern Jr., CEO; Keith Schatko, vice president Bill Gryzenia CEO

248.0

250.0 D

-0.8

AccessPoint LLC, Farmington Hills 48334 866-513-3861; apteam.com

Greg Packer CEO and chairman

247.0

245.8

0.5

121

HR, staffing and recruiting for manufacturing, information technology and health systems

Buff Whelan Chevrolet, Sterling Heights 48313 (586) 939-7300; www.buffwhelan.com

Kerry Whelan president

243.3

261.6

-7.0

174

Automotive dealership sales and service

Fori Automation Inc., Shelby Township 48315 (586) 247-2336; www.foriauto.com

240.0

209.0

14.8

265

650

Detroit Pistons, Auburn Hills 48326 (248) 377-0100; www.nba.com/pistons

Mike Beck, president; Paul Meloche, vice president of sales Tom Gores owner

235.0 E

221.0 F

6.3

Assembly, testing and welding equipment for the automotive, aerospace, military agriculture, recreational vehicle, and alternative-energy industries National Basketball Association franchise

Royal Oak Ford/Briarwood Ford, Royal Oak 48067 (248) 548-4100; www.royaloakford.com

Eddie Hall Jr. president and CEO

230.8

198.8

16.1

260

Automobile dealership

The Ideal Group Inc., Detroit 48209 (313) 849-0000; www.weareideal.com

Frank Venegas Jr. chairman and CEO

226.3

321.7

-29.6

423

509

Urban Science Applications Inc., Detroit 48243 (313) 259-9900; www.urbanscience.com

James Anderson president, founder and CEO Glen Fish CEO

224.3

211.0

6.3

388

897

General contracting, specialized miscellaneous steel manufacturing and distribution of protective barrier products, global supply chain management, other Global retail marketing consulting with a scientific approach

217.2 G

1,050

213.0

167.0

27.5

175

General contracting, construction management, design/build and tenant coordination

210.0

0.0

Law firm

Roncelli Inc., Sterling Heights 48312 (586) 264-2060; www.roncelli-inc.com

Revere Plastics Systems LLC, Novi 48375 (833) 300-4043; www.revereplasticssystems.com

Sachse Construction and Development Co. LLC, Detroit 48226 (313) 481-8200; www.sachseconstruction.com

Dykema Gossett PLLC, Detroit 48243 (313) 568-6800; www.dykema.com

Todd Sachse, CEO and founder; Steve Berlage, president and COO Peter Kellett chairman and CEO

Manufacturing

Engineered plastic injection molded assemblies and systems

B Crain's estimate. C To be sold to Meritor Inc. in a transaction expected to close Sept. 30. On Jan. 6, 2015, the private equity firm, The Carlyle Group acquired AxleTech International from General Dynamics Corp. D Automotive News E From Forbes. For 2017-18 season. F From Forbes. For 2016-17 season. G Moved headquarters to Novi in April 2018. Acquired certain operations and assets of Sur-Flo Plastics & Engineering in January 2019.

C R A I N â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

CRAIN'S LIST: PRIVATE 200 Rank

82 83 83

Company Address Phone, website

Top executive

Humanetics Innovative Solutions Inc., Farmington Christopher O'Connor Hills 48335 president and CEO (734) 451-7878; www.humaneticsatd.com Keith Crain, Crain Communications Inc., Detroit 48207 chairman; KC Crain, (313) 446-6000; www.crain.com president and COO Bruce Godfrey, Pat Milliken Ford Inc., Redford Township chairman; Brian 48239-1492 Godfrey, president (313) 255-3100; www.patmillikenford.com

Ranked by 2018 revenue

Detroit Revenue Revenue area Worldwide ($000,000) ($000,000) Percent employees employees 2018 2017 change Jan. 2019 Jan. 2019 Type of business

$202.0

$180.0

12.2%

270

750

Designs and manufactures safety equipment, including sophisticated crash test dummies, software modeling, customer engineering solutions, strain and fiber sensors and related test equipment

195.0 B

199.2

-2.1

252

650

Publisher of business, trade and consumer publications and related websites

195.0

190.0

2.6

145

Automobile dealership

Vesco Oil Corp., Southfield 48076 (248) 557-1600; www.vescooil.com

Marjory Epstein chairman

192.0

184.0

4.3

129

262

Distributor of auto and industrial lubricants and chemicals, auto aftermarket products

George W. Auch Co. (dba Auch Construction), Pontiac 48342 (248) 334-2000; www.auchconstruction.com

Vincent DeLeonardis president and CEO

191.8

150.2

27.7

108

General contractor and construction manager

Kar Nut Products Co., Madison Heights 48071 (248) 588-1903; www.karsnuts.com

Nick Nicolay president and CEO

185.0 C

139.1

33.0

Snack food manufacturing and distribution

The Colasanti Cos., Macomb Township 48042 (586) 598-9700; www.colasantigroup.com

Carey Colasanti, CEO; Pat Wysocki , president Katie Bowman Coleman president and owner Thomas Broad president

171.3

162.0

5.7

300

General contracting and construction management and design/build; self-perform concrete services

170.6

172.3

-1.0

135

Automotive dealership

170.0

136.0 D

25.0

258

Structural-steel contractor

165.0

130.0

26.9

150

4,600

Ray Laethem Inc. , Detroit 48224 (313) 886-1700; www.raylaethem.com

Radhakrishnan Gurusamy president and CEO Jeff Laethem president

157.6

146.5

7.6

Deshler Group Inc., Livonia 48150 (734) 525-9100; www.deshlergroup.com

Robert Gruschow president and CEO

155.2

128.4

20.8

350

470

Industrial manufacturing group, incorporating fabrication, design, assembly, logistics, transport and information technology

Jeffrey Tamaroff Automotive Family, Southfield 48034-1928 (248) 353-1300; www.tamaroff.com

Jeffrey Tamaroff, chairman and CEO; Marvin Tamaroff, chairman emeritus; Eric Frehsee and Jason Tamaroff, VPs Donald Milosch president

153.0

159.9

-4.3

213

Automobile dealerships

148.8 E

146.6 E

1.5

Automobile dealership

88 89 90 91 92 93 94

Bowman Chevrolet, Clarkston 48346 (248) 575-5000; www.bowmanchevy.com Midwest Steel Inc., Detroit 48211 (313) 873-2220; www.midweststeel.com Technosoft Corp., Southfield 48076 (248) 603-2600; www.technosoftcorp.com

Information technology and IT-enabled consulting services and business process outsourcing IT services and technology enabled health care solutions. Automobile dealership

Milosch's Palace Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge Inc., Lake Orion 48359 (248) 393-2222; www.palacecjd.com

EHIM Inc., Southfield 48033-2154 (248) 948-9900; www.ehimrx.com

Mindi Fynke president and CEO

146.5

145.8

0.5

148

Pharmacy benefit manager

ChemicoMays LLC, Southfield 48033 (248) 723-3263; www.thechemicogroup.com

146.0

124.0

17.7

230

375

Chemical manufacturing, chemical management

145.7

102.5

42.1

110

112

General contracting, design-build, construction management, program management, pre-construction services

Tribar Manufacturing LLC, Howell 48855 (517) 545-4200; tribarmfg.com

Leon Richardson CEO, chairman, president Joseph DeMaria Jr., CEO; Anthony DeMaria, president Robert Bretz president

144.0

128.0

12.5

720

Automotive supplier

Systems Technology Group (STG), Troy 48084 (248) 643-9010; www.stgit.com

Anup Popat chairman & CEO

142.0

131.0

8.4

579

2,391

Loc Performance Products Inc., Plymouth 48170 (734) 453-2300; www.locperformance.com

Louis Burr CEO

142.0

154.0

-7.8

272

460

Large fabricated structures, final drives, suspension and track systems for Army combat vehicles

Frank Rewold and Son Inc. , Rochester 48307 (248) 651-7242; www.frankrewold.com

Frank Rewold president and CEO

139.6

182.1

-23.3

Construction management, general contracting, design/build

Ghafari Inc., Dearborn 48126 (313) 441-3000; www.ghafari.com

Yousif Ghafari chairman

135.4

145.2

-6.8

656

941

Engineering, architecture, process design, consulting, construction services and professional staffing

Chelsea Milling Co., Chelsea 48118 (734) 475-1361; www.jiffymix.com

135.0

134.0

0.7

300

312

Retail, institutional, food service baking mixes

128.7

128.5

0.2

Automobile dealership

National Food Group Inc., Novi 48377-2454 (800) 886-6866; www.nationalfoodgroup.com

Howdy Holmes chairman, president and CEO Walter Douglas Sr., chairman; Mark Douglas, president Sean Zecman president and CEO

128.2

124.9

2.7

115

Wholesale and retail food manufacturing and distribution.

Link Engineering Co., Plymouth 48170 (734) 453-0800; www.linkeng.com

Roy Link chairman and CEO

128.0

106.5

20.2

350

580

Manufacturer of testing systems and provider of commercial testing services

Secure-24, Southfield 48033 (800) 332-0076; secure-24.com

Mike BeDell CEO

128.0

112.7

13.6

495

774

Managed cloud and security services, IT operations and application hosting

National Business Supply Inc. (dba NBS Commercial Interiors), Troy 48083 (248) 823-5400; www.yourNBS.com

Richard Schwabauer president

128.0

0.0

175

Commercial furnishing, audiovisual distributor

Atwell LLC, Southfield 48076 (248) 447-2000; www.atwell-group.com

Brian Wenzel president and CEO

127.0

89.0

42.7

125

600

Civil engineering, land surveying, land solutions, land planning, environmental consulting, natural resource management, program management and construction management

97 98 99 100 100 102 103 104 105 106 107 107 107 110

DeMaria , Detroit 48202-3008 (313) 870-2800; www.demariabuild.com

Avis Ford Inc., Southfield 48034 (248) 355-7500; www.avisford.com

Information technology consulting and software

B Sold Investment News to London-based Vitesse Media plc (now known as Bonhill Group PLC) in a deal that closed in August 2018. C Acquired Sanders in October 2018. Company estimate of full-year revenue of combined companies. D From National Veteran Business Development Council. E Crain's estimate.

C R A I N â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

CRAIN'S LIST: PRIVATE 200

Ranked by 2018 revenue

Detroit Revenue Revenue area Worldwide ($000,000) ($000,000) Percent employees employees 2018 2017 change Jan. 2019 Jan. 2019 Type of business

Company Address Phone, website

Top executive

Dearborn Mid-West Co., Taylor 48180 (734) 288-4400; www.dmwcc.com

Jeff Homenik president and CEO

$126.5

$177.0

-28.6%

148

Material handling systems, construction, tooling/equipment installation, plant maintenance services, life-cycle improvement

Gorno Automotive Group, Woodhaven 48183 (734) 676-2200; www.gornoford.com

Ed Jolliffe president

125.0

130.0

-3.8

100

Automobile dealership

Sutton Leasing Inc., Sterling Heights 48310 (586) 759-5777; suttonleasing.com

123.7

-0.0

Fleet management company

Village Ford Inc., Dearborn 48124 (313) 565-3900; www.villageford.com

Amy Blair and CJ Sutton presidents James Seavitt president and CEO

122.9

127.8

-3.8

176

Automotive dealership

Devon Industrial Group, Detroit 48226 (313) 221-1600; www.devonindustrial.com

David Burnley president and CEO

121.3

145.0

-16.3

Construction management, general contracting, program management, design build, pre-construction and decommissioning services

Proper Group International Inc., Warren 48089 (586) 779-8787; www.propergroupintl.com

Geoffrey O'Brien CEO

121.0 B

121.0

0.0

117

Roger Zatkoff Co. (Zatkoff Seals & Packings), Farmington Hills 48335 (248) 478-2400; www.zatkoff.com

Gary Zatkoff president and CEO

120.2

111.2

8.1

180

Complex plastic injection molds, premium injection molded parts and assemblies, consumer products, polyurethane and skin form tooling, microcellular foam tooling, conformal cooling technologies, vacuum metalizing, rapid prototyping and web-based management of tooling and process data Distributor of seals and packings; manufacturer of gaskets

118

Exhibit Works Inc. (dba EWI Worldwide), Farmington Hills 48334 (734) 525-9010; www.ewiworldwide.com

Dominic Silvio founder, chairman and CEO

120.0

138.0

-13.0

207

Marketing

MPS Group Inc., Farmington Hills 48331 (313) 841-7588; www.mpsgrp.com

Charlie Williams chairman

120.0

106.0

13.2

175

577

Waste management, paint shop management and industrial cleaning and maintenance

O'Brien Construction Inc., Troy 48083 (248) 334-2470; www.obriencc.com

Timothy O'Brien president

119.1

65.2

82.5

General contractor and construction manager

James Group International Inc., Detroit 48209 (313) 841-0070; www.jamesgroupintl.com

119.0

128.0

-7.0

120

184

Services in IT, export/import logistics, assembly, consolidation/ deconsolidation

116.0

106.9

8.6

Residential, apartment, commercial construction, builder and developer

Load One Transportation & Logistics, Taylor 48180 (734) 947-9440; www.load1.com

Lorron James C, CEO; John A. James, chairman Michael Chirco founder and president John Elliott CEO

116.0

108.4

7.0

582

633

124

Roseville Chrysler Jeep Inc., Roseville 48066 (586) 859-2500; www.mikeriehls.com

Michael Riehl president

115.6

106.3

8.7

Transportation and logistics. Services including ground expedite, air charter, air freight, logistics management, truckload, and specialized curtain-side flatbeds Automobile dealership

125

Advantage Management Group Inc-Advantage Living Centers, Southfield 48075 (248) 569-8400; AdvantageLiving.net

Reginald Hartsfield and Kelsey Hastings owners

113.0

108.0

4.6

1,584

Skilled-nursing homes, assisted living

126

Big Boy Restaurant Group LLC, Warren 48091 (586) 759-6000; www.bigboy.com

David Crawford D CEO

111.6

111.5

0.0

228

1,005

Restaurants and food manufacturer

The Mars Agency, Southfield 48033-7496 (248) 936-2200; www.themarsagency.com

110.9

106.1

4.5

162

322

Marketing

Bill Perkins Automotive Group, Taylor 48180 (734) 287-2600; www.taylorchevy.com

Ken Barnett global CEO and chairman Bill Perkins president

110.1

167.6

-34.3

Automobile dealerships

Skyway Precision Inc., Plymouth 48170 (734) 454-3550; www.skywayprecision.com

William Bonnell president

102.7

87.3

17.6

249

354

CNC production machining

WorkForce Software LLC, Livonia 48152 (877) 493-6723; www.workforcesoftware.com

Mike Morini CEO

102.0

93.4

9.3

245

549

Workforce management

C.E. Gleeson Constructors Inc., Troy 48083 (248) 647-5500; www.gleesonconstructors.com

Charles E. Gleeson II president and CEO

101.7

81.0

25.6

General contractor/construction manager

Emagine Entertainment Inc., Troy 48084 (248) 794-5939; www.emagine-entertainment.com

100.0

80.0

25.0

140

1,750

International Extrusions Inc., Garden City 48135 (734) 427-8700; www.extrusion.net

Paul Glantz chairman and founder Nicholas Noecker president and CEO

99.0

101.0

-2.0

300

303

Manufacturer of aluminum extruded profiles, powder-coat painting and fabrication facilities

Wolverine Truck Sales Inc., Dearborn 48120 (313) 849-0800; www.wolverinetruckgroup.com

Lynn Terry president

98.2

94.6

3.9

168

Truck sales, parts and service

BullsEye Telecom Inc., Southfield 48033 (248) 784-2500; www.bullseyetelecom.com

Thomas Tisko E CEO

98.0

102.0

-3.9

190

Communications services

Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone PLC, Detroit 48226-4415 (313) 963-6420; www.millercanfield.com

Michael McGee CEO

98.0

104.0

-5.8

Law firm

Epitec Inc., Southfield 48033 (248) 353-6800; www.epitec.com

98.0

77.2

26.9

637

749

IT, engineering and professional staffing

95.6

88.5

8.0

Distributes imaging/printer supplies, develops IT strategies for clients and supports back-end connectivity with XML feeds, EDI integration and an e-commerce platform

93.0

89.0 F

4.5

274

Corned beef

89.1

79.0

12.8

226

Bank

Rank

111 112 113 114 115 116

118 120 121 122 122

127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 135

MJC Real Estate Co. Inc. , Macomb 48044 (586) 263-1203; www.mjccompanies.com

138

Diversified Computer Supplies Inc., Ann Arbor 48108 (800) 766-5400; www.dcsbiz.com

Jerome Sheppard, CEO; Josie Sheppard, president Joseph Hollenshead chairman, president and CEO

139

E.W. Grobbel Sons Inc. , Detroit 48207 (313) 567-8000; grobbel.com

Jason Grobbel president

140

Arbor Bancorp Inc. (Bank of Ann Arbor), Ann Arbor Timothy Marshall president and CEO 48104 (734) 662-1600; www.bankofannarbor.com

135

Movie theaters

B Crain's estimate. C Appointed CEO in January. D Succeeded Keith Sirois as CEO effective Jan. 1. E Succeeded William Oberlin as CEO on Jan. 1. F Acquired United Meat and Deli Inc. in March 2017.

After exploring a few different disciplines, ERIKA let her love of math and science lead her to industrial and systems engineering. Now she’s a manufacturing engineer at General Motors, using her diverse skill set to improve systems across the engineering spectrum.

At Oakland University, we’re preparing the next generation of innovators.

RESOURCEFUL MEET ERIKA Academic Tutor • Nightwatch Desk • DTE Energy Intern • General Motors Intern

oakland.edu ucm20759/5.19

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CRAIN'S LIST: PRIVATE 200 Rank

Company Address Phone, website

Top executive

Ranked by 2018 revenue

Detroit Revenue Revenue area Worldwide ($000,000) ($000,000) Percent employees employees 2018 2017 change Jan. 2019 Jan. 2019 Type of business

141

Marsh Construction (T.H. Marsh), Bloomfield Hills 48304 (248) 586-4130; www.thmarsh.com

Ryan Marsh CEO

$89.0

$97.0

-8.2%

General contracting, construction management and advisory services

142

Michael Bates Chevrolet B, Woodhaven 48183 (734) 676-9600; www.michaelbateschevy.com

Michael Bates owner

88.7 C

87.4 C

1.5

Automobile dealership

88.6

78.8

12.4

125

370

Architecture, engineering, planning, interior design, landscape architecture, construction administration

88.4

84.8

4.3

Software development, IT services, staffing, engineering, quality lifecycle management, ERP, cloud, BI/analytics

86.7

89.3

-2.9

113

Distributor of generic pharmaceuticals

83.9

82.1

2.2

1,500

3,050

82.0

84.4

-2.8

Wholesale distributor of electrical products

143 144 145 146 147 148 148 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157

Michael Cooper president and managing principal Rapid Global Business Solutions Inc. (RGBSI), Troy Nanua Singh chairman and CEO 48083 (248) 589-1135; www.rgbsi.com Jeffrey Farber Auburn Pharmaceutical Co., Troy 48083 chairman, president (248) 526-3700; auburngenerics.com and CEO Victor Ansara Ansara Restaurant Group Inc., Farmington Hills president and CEO 48335 (248) 848-9099; www.ansararestaurantgroup.com Douglas Bemis Caniff Electric Supply, Hamtramck 48212 president (313) 365-8144; www.caniff.com Harley Ellis Devereaux Corp., Southfield 48033 (248) 262-1500; www.hed.design

Restaurant

Kirco Manix , Troy 48084 (248) 354-5100; www.kircomanix.com

Douglas Manix president

80.0

78.0

2.6

Design and build, construction management

Wade Trim, Detroit 48226 (313) 961-3650; www.wadetrim.com

Andrew McCune president and CEO

80.0

68.1

17.6

167

419

Consulting engineering and planning services

Systrand Manufacturing Corp., Brownstown Township 48183 (734) 479-8100; www.systrand.com

Sharon Cannarsa president and CEO

78.9

81.2

-2.8

208

262

Precision machining and assembly

77.4

71.0

9.0

235

265

Snack foods

74.1

62.9

17.8

Automobile dealerships

72.0

147.2

-51.1

Construction manager, general contractor and design/build

71.1

62.2

14.4

Construction management, design/build, construction program administration

69.7

64.3

8.4

Data and application services including big data, advanced analytics, business intelligence

69.5

0.0

500

Restaurants

Salvatore Cipriano, CEO; David Jones D, president Glassman Automotive Group Inc., Southfield 48034 George Glassman president (248) 354-3300; www.glassmanautogroup.com Paul Hatcher, Oliver/Hatcher Construction and Development president; Paul Inc., Novi 48377 Oliver, principal (248) 374-1100; www.oliverhatcher.com Better Made Snack Foods Inc., Detroit 48213 (313) 925-4774; www.bettermadesnackfoods.com

Kasco Inc., Royal Oak 48067 (248) 547-1210; www.kascoinc.com

Michael Engle vice president

Ravi Vallem, CEO; Sridhar Kodati, CFO; Venkat Gone, president Andiamo Restaurant Group, Sterling Heights 48310 Joe Vicari CEO, president (586) 981-0888; vicarirestaurants.com Reliable Software Resources Inc., Northville 48167 (248) 504-6869; www.rsrit.com

Shaw Electric Co., Southfield 48033 (248) 228-2000; www.shawelectric.com

Robert Minielly president and CEO

68.5

73.2

-6.3

215

223

Electrical, fire alarm, security and teledata audio/ visual contractor

158

Motor City Stamping Inc., Chesterfield Township 48051 (586) 949-8420; www.mcstamp.com

Judith Kucway CEO and CFO

67.9

58.1

16.8

300

Stamping plant, automotive welding, assembly, dies and prototypes

159

Productions Plus - The Talent Shop, Bingham Farms 48025 (248) 644-5566; www.productions-plus.com

Margery Krevsky Dosey CEO, owner

67.2

64.5

4.2

Full service talent management agency

Gonzalez Design Group, Pontiac 48340 (248) 548-6010; www.gonzalez-group.com

Gary Gonzalez CEO

67.1

43.5

54.3

220

Design engineering, staffing, manufacturing technologies, production systems, other

Buscemi Enterprises Inc., Roseville 48066 (586) 296-5560; www.originalbuscemis.com

Anthony Buscemi manager

67.0

64.0

4.7

680

Franchisor of pizza and sub party stores

Amerilodge Group LLC, Bloomfield Hills 48302 (248) 601-2500; www.amerilodgegroup.com

Asad Malik president and CEO

64.8

57.1

13.5

480

804

Hospitality

163

OHM Advisors (Orchard, Hiltz & McCliment Inc.), Livonia 48150 (888) 522-6711; www.ohm-advisors.com

John Hiltz president

62.1

51.8

20.0

208

456

Architects, engineers and planners

164

Domestic Linen Supply and Laundry Co., Farmington Hills 48334 (248) 737-2000; www.domesticuniform.com

Bruce Colton president

60.0

0.0

120

575

Facility management and textile rental

ARC Supply Chain Solutions Inc., Taylor 48180 (877) 272-3523; www.arc-scs.com

Greta Elliott, president; Chris Kopp, vice president

59.5

56.3

5.7

Transportation management systems, dynamic reporting, modal optimization, financial services and warehouse operations

Bob Jeannotte Buick GMC Inc., Plymouth 48170 (734) 453-2500; www.jeannotte.com

Robert Jeannotte CEO

58.0

76.0

-23.7

Automobile dealership

Oscar W. Larson Co., Clarkston 48348 (248) 620-0070; www.larsonco.com

Bruce Larson CEO

53.7

48.9

9.7

206

344

Bell Fork Lift Inc., Clinton Township 48035 (586) 415-5200; www.bellforklift.com

Wayne Bell president and CEO

53.0

49.0

8.2

145

Fueling systems services, technical service, testing, repairs and maintenance, electrical, mechanical, installations, raze and rebuild, design and build, general contractor, HVACR Material handling

Kyyba Inc., Farmington Hills 48334 (248) 813-9665; www.kyyba.com

Thiru Ganesan president and CEO

53.0

52.7

0.5

Engineering and IT staffing services, application software, off-shore development and automotive electronics solutions

Lowry Solutions, Brighton 48116 (810) 229-7200; www.lowrysolutions.com

Michael Lowry president and CEO

49.0

58.5

-16.2

104

IT systems integrator

EEI Global Inc., Rochester Hills 48307 (248) 601-9900; www.eeiglobal.com

Derek Gentile president and CEO

49.0

48.0

2.1

172

180

Experiential marketing agency

160 161 162

165 166 167 168 168 170 170

B Formerly Rodgers Chevrolet Inc. Bates purchased Rodgers Chevrolet in July 2017. C Crain's estimate. D Succeeded Mark Winkelman as president on July 2.

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Company Address Phone, website

Top executive

Ranked by 2018 revenue

Detroit Revenue Revenue area Worldwide ($000,000) ($000,000) Percent employees employees 2018 2017 change Jan. 2019 Jan. 2019 Type of business

SME (Soil and Materials Engineers Inc.), Plymouth 48170 (734) 454-9900; www.sme-usa.com

Mark Kramer president and CEO

$48.2

$45.3

6.4%

160

294

American Plastic Toys Inc., Walled Lake 48390 (248) 624-4881; americanplastictoys.com

John Gessert president and CEO

48.1

46.4

3.6

200

325

Environmental consulting including brownfield redevelopment services (acquisition of financial incentives including grants, and environmental due diligence) environmental assessments, contamination evaluation, remediation and regulatory compliance Manufactures and distributes injection-molded plastic toys

AIM Construction Inc., Livonia 48152 (248) 476-1310; www.aimconstruction.com

Tim Belanger CEO

46.5

Construction manager/general contractor/design builder

Multi-Bank Securities Inc., Southfield 48075 (800) 967-9045; www.mbssecurities.com

David Maccagnone CEO

45.9

66.4 B

-30.9

Investment firm that specializes in the sales, trading and underwriting of institutional, fixed-income securities

PMA Consultants LLC, Detroit 48226 (313) 963-8863; www.pmaconsultants.com

Gui Ponce de Leon CEO

45.4

46.2

-1.6

221

Program, project and construction management consulting; expert witness services

Seko Worldwide Detroit, Romulus 48174 (734) 641-2100; www.sekologistics.com/detroit

Tanya Bartelo and Michael Bartelo owners and managing directors Rob Cohen president

45.0

41.6

8.2

6,695

44.7

43.2

3.5

Design and distribution of automotive adhesive films and industrial packaging

L. William Brann III, president and CEO; Jason Brann, president and COO Francis Lopez chairman

41.0

35.0

17.1

Staffing agency

40.3

46.5

-13.3

Manufacturer

40.0

42.0

-4.8

IT staffing and consulting, including application development, business intelligence and data analytics

ICR Services, Warren 48092 (586) 582-1500; www.icrservices.com

Eric Hardy, chairman, president and CEO Paul Gutierrez president

40.0

120

180

Precision repairs and manufacturing support services

PrizeLogic LLC, Southfield 48033 (248) 663-8600; www.prizelogic.com

Ryan LaMirand CEO

38.6

45.6

-15.3

155

Incentivized engagement for Fortune 500 brands

Almetals Inc., Wixom 48393 (248) 348-7722; www.almetals.com

James Chain president

38.0

36.0

5.6

Metal slitter, distributor, warehouser and processing service center

Contract Direct, Southfield 48075 (248) 395-1166 ; www.contractdirect.net

Elizabeth Hammond president

36.4

36.1

0.7

103

Facility maintenance services

186

Zausmer, August & Caldwell PC, Farmington Hills 48334 (248) 851-4111; www.zacfirm.com

Mark Zausmer managing shareholder

34.5

30.3

13.9

Law firm

187

Contract Professionals Inc., Waterford 48329 (248) 673-3800; www.cpijobs.com

James Cowper president

33.5

33.0

1.5

432

Technical staffing solutions

188

Automotive Quality & Logistics Inc., Plymouth 48170 (734) 459-1670; www.aql-inc.com

Sangeeta Ahluwalia CEO

32.6

30.0

8.7

268

1,380

189

Malace & Associates Inc., Troy 48098 (248) 720-2500; www.malacehr.com

Larry Malace II president

31.4

30.4

3.1

480

920

Staffing company

Arrow Strategies LLC, Southfield 48034 (248) 502-2500; www.arrowstrategies.com

Jeff Styers president and CEO

31.3

34.4

-8.9

Kasapis Brother Inc. (Ram's Horn Restaurants), Southfield 48033 (248) 350-3430; ramshornrestaurants.com

Eugene Kasapis president and CEO

29.2

27.0

8.1

272

752

Staffing firm specializing in placement of professionals in the information technology, engineering, professional and health care services industries Family restaurant chain franchisor

English Gardens, Dearborn Heights 48127 (313) 278-5244; www.EnglishGardens.com

John Darin president

28.9

31.5

-8.4

175

Retail nursery, garden and Christmas center with landscaping and decorating services

Imperium Logistics LLC, Troy 48083 (248) 250-9410; www.goimperium.com

A. Rocky Raczkowski president

28.7

28.2 C

1.8

Logistics firm

A&S RV Center, Auburn Hills 48326 (248) 373-5811; www.asrvcenter.com

28.0

26.2

6.7

RV dealership

27.7

Marketing

172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 181 183 184 185

190 191 192 193

Advance Packaging Technologies, Waterford Township 48329 (248) 674-3126; www.advancepac.com Staffworks Group, Southfield 48075 (248) 416-1090; staffworksgroup.com

Aztec Manufacturing Corp., Romulus 48174 (734) 942-7433; www.aztecmfgcorp.com W3R Consulting, Southfield 48075 (248) 358-1002; www.w3r.com

Logistics services, including domestic and global air, ocean and ground transportation, freight forwarding, customs brokerage, warehousing and distribution and export crating

Staffing, warehousing, sorting and inspection, manufacturing service support

195

Campbell Marketing and Communications, Dearborn 48120 (313) 336-9000; www.campbellmarketing.com

Larry Andree, owner and president; Michael Andree and Kristen Manninen, general managers David Scheinberg managing partner and president

196

Gongos Inc., Royal Oak 48067 (248) 239-2300; www.gongos.com

Camille Nicita president and CEO

27.0

26.3

2.8

Market research and data firm

197

University Moving & Storage Co., Farmington Hills 48335 (248) 615-7000; www.universitymoving.com

Elise BenedictHoward chairman

25.6

21.8

17.2

130

Household/commercial, storage-transportation-domestic/international

TAG Holdings LLC, Wixom 48393 (248) 822-8056; www.taghold.com

Joseph Anderson Jr. chairman and CEO

25.4

24.8

2.6

135

A.Z. Shmina Inc., Brighton 48116 (810) 227-5100; www.azshmina.com

Andrew Shmina president

25.0

Module and component manufacturing for various industries including aerospace, defense, automotive, sports and recreation vehicles, mining, construction and other heavy vehicles Building contractor

Blue Chip Talent D, Bloomfield Hills 48302 (248) 858-7701; www.bctalent.com

Nicole Pawczuk CEO

23.5

18.1

29.7

Talent acquisitions

194

198 199 200

B Company estimate. C From National Veteran Business Development Council. D Parent company is Computer Consultants of America Inc. LIST RESEARCHED BY SONYA D. HILL

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FROM CLASSROOM TO FIRST CAREER

“

CMU taught me the technical skills to do the job and also how to effectively communicate complex information to others. Both are

important in my career.”

Julia Reynolds, ’19 Electrical engineer, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

Earned a job in her field prior to graduating

Central Michigan University » CMICH.EDU Central Michigan University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (www.hlcommission.org), a regional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. CMU, an AA/EO institution, strongly and actively strives to increase diversity and provide equal opportunity within its community. CMU does not discriminate against persons based on age, color, disability, ethnicity, familial status, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, height, marital status, national origin, political persuasion, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, race, religion, sex, sex-based stereotypes, sexual orientation, transgender status, veteran status, or weight (see http://www.cmich.edu/ocrie). 3800274 5/19

CRAIN’S 2019

NOTABLE WOMEN IN STEM

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

Meet Crain’s Notable Women in STEM: They’re the leaders who are building Michigan’s future in energy, infrastructure, engineering, mobility, cyber security, health, information technology and more. And they’re educating, mentoring and supporting the next generation of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

CRAIN’S 2019 NOTABLE WOMEN IN STEM JUDY ASHER

MARISA BAHN

TRICIA BECK

n Manager, Cyber Security Governance, Risk & Compliance, and

n Manager, Training and Business Development, General Motors Co.,

n Vice President, Higher Education Studio Leader, SmithGroup,

n Vic

n Education: Master of Business Administration, University of

n Education: Master of Architecture, Lawrence Technological

n Ed

Judy Asher, a leader and member of the IT Women in Leadership employee resource group at Ford Motor Co., helps women at Ford improve their communities, build personal brands and further their development. As a leader and member of Ford’s STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) Committee and as liaison to the Michigan Council of Women in Technology Foundation, she also has inspired young people to explore and embrace industries in STEAM. In 2017 and 2018, the committee gave $130,000 in grants to support programming for middle and high school girls. “Judy’s passion for students is evident when you see her at an event with our scholarship recipients; she introduces each student to corporate executives and secures internships on the spot for these young women,” said MCWT Foundation President Jane Sydlowski. Asher is chief mission officer for university programs at MCWT and has helped the nonprofit strengthen academic partnerships, increase its pool of scholarship candidates and added mentoring opportunities. In 2018, she earned MCWT’s Woman of the Year in Technology Award. Asher, who hosted an IT program for the High School Science & Technology Program, is a member of the Executive Advisory Council of the Automotive Women’s Alliance Foundation, which works to advance women in automotive via scholarships and other mechanisms.

Marisa Bahn manages training for more than 7,000 General Motors’ IT employees on a multi-million-dollar annual budget. Since her 2018 promotion, Bahn has significantly improved the identification and delivery of technical classes needed by GM teams for their project deliveries — hundreds of sessions for everyone from experienced IT professionals to new college hires — on time and under budget. Keeping the talent pipeline flowing, she is a recruiting champ, helping interview and hire hundreds of college graduates for the automotive giant’s IT and engineering teams. In the past year, Bahn has participated in career fairs and interview days to bring talent into the company. “She tirelessly promotes hiring and developing new college graduates in GM and is passionate about promoting careers in science, technology, engineering and math for students of all ages,” said GM IT Director Mike Maher. In addition, Bahn supports the Michigan Council of Women in Technology as a member of the board and a volunteer helping with scholarship programs and membership. “Marisa’s dedication to promoting and advancing women in STEM makes her an incredible asset to the IT community in Michigan. She truly embodies the essence of MCWT’s vision to make Michigan the No. 1 state for women in technology,” said MCWT Executive Director Chris Rydzewski.

Tricia Beck champions the design of SmithGroup’s largest university STEM projects with six teams that total more than 75 people. Projects include the Emory University Hospital Expansion, University of Tennessee Science & Engineering Building and University of Michigan School of Dentistry Expansion. Beck also designed the Western Michigan University Valley Dining Center project. The project earned the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold project award from the United States Green Building Council. Moreover, Beck’s empathy leads her to work with teams to find the root of challenges and develop solutions that extend beyond architectural impacts to organizational transformation, process improvement and change management. For instance, she led an internal research team to study how STEM education college students use informal learning spaces so they can better understand why some spaces are more effective for learning than others. “Tricia has been a leader in our Higher Education practice in her commitment to our clients on STEM projects. This is represented by her deep commitment to empathize with female students in the design process; mentor colleagues with a similar passion; and consistently push our project teams to seek design innovation to increase student engagement and peer-to-peer learning,” said Christopher Purdy, vice president and Higher Education Practice director at SmithGroup.

A Fair

KATIE BIGELOW

TAROLYN BUCKLES

KATHLEEN BUSHNELL OWSLEY

n Founder, Mettle Ops, Sterling Heights

n President and CEO, Onyx Enterprise Inc., Detroit

n Education: Bachelor of Science, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical

n Education: Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, University of

U.S. Army veteran Katie Bigelow, a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business graduate, found her niche by establishing defense company Mettle Ops. Bigelow served in the military for more than 10 years. She was an aviator, piloting and commanding missions that often required carrying injured American soldiers to safety. “Katie is an excellent example to all women in STEM as she has established a thriving company with a positive and diverse culture,” said Patty Lopez, president of Rose-A-Lee Technologies. Mettle Ops has received more than $33 million in contracts for prototyping and testing products to help soldiers survive blast events. The business focuses on program management, reverse engineering, system integration, fabrication and business development. Projects include ground vehicle survivability prototyping for the U.S. Army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center and STEM and financial services for the Air Force. Bigelow’s team of 15 developed software that provides detailed processes on how to protect U.S. defense technologies from cyber theft and foreign espionage and make small businesses compliant with federal regulations. The software also assists in monitoring compliance to federal cyber security requirements. Under Bigelow’s leadership, the company earned honors as one of the Best of MichBusiness 2017 Intelligent Innovators and one of the 2019 Michigan 50 Companies to Watch from Michigan Celebrates Small Business.

Over the past 12 years, Tarolyn Buckles has grown her Detroit-headquartered civil engineering and construction company to have offices in Cleveland, Ohio and Atlanta, Georgia. “Her success in building her engineering consulting firm, the leadership roles she plays in industry organizations, and her commitment to developing the next generation through investing in high school and college students clearly make her one of the notable women in STEM,” said Len Becker, senior vice president of HNTB Corp. Onyx has completed projects for the Michigan Department of Transportation, Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, Great Lakes Water Authority and Northeast Ohio Regional Sewerage District, among others. Buckles’ work has earned her numerous awards, including the 2019 Crystal Vision Award from the National Association of Women in Construction, the 2019 Golden Torch Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the National Society of Black Engineers and a 2019 Michigan 50 Companies to Watch Award from Michigan Celebrates Small Business. As co-founder of the National Association of Minority Consulting Engineers, Buckles worked with MDOT and the American Council of Engineering Companies to develop the Mentor Protégé program for Small Businesses. Further, Buckles serves on organizational boards to ensure diversity, inclusion and STEM initiatives are at the forefront. She is board chair of the University of Michigan College of Civil Engineering and treasurer and chief administrative officer of Michigan Virtual Charter Academy.

Security & Controls Compliance, Ford Motor Co., Dearborn

Michigan — Stephen M. Ross School of Business

University

Detroit

Michigan

Detroit

University

n President, Bosch Community Fund, Bosch North America,

Farmington Hills

n Education: Master of Arts in Irish Studies, Queen’s University Belfast

Kathleen Bushnell Owsley and her team manage relationships with more than 45 North American site coordinators to implement Bosch Community Fund grant programs in their communities. The fund, which supports STEM education, has granted more than $24 million to schools and nonprofits in the United States, Canada and Costa Rica. Owsley supports STEM in many other ways. She has served on the Michigan STEM Advisory Council since 2016 and in 2018 represented corporate philanthropy on the Clemson University team at the Alaska Native Science & Engineering program, where teams observe and learn ways to support and increase underrepresented and native populations in STEM education and fields. She is also one of three people in Michigan to participate in the development of the new five-year STEM education plan at the White House. “She is passionate about the engagement that students find in STEM instruction and works tirelessly to remove barriers for student learning and achievement in STEM experiences,” said Megan Schrauben, executive director of MI STEM Network. In 2017, Owsley created a partnership with the University of Michigan School of Education and its Center for Education Design, Evaluation and Research to take a successful but small program and bring it to scale across the U.S. Called BE3ST (Bosch Energy, Engineering, Environment, Science and Technology) Teacher Grant Program, it awards small grants to teachers to fund ambitious STEM projects.

ABOUT THIS PROGRAM The women featured in this Notable Women in STEM report were selected by a team of Crain’s Detroit Business editors based on their career accomplishments, track record of success in the field, contributions to their community and mentorship of others, as outlined in a detailed nomination form. Notable Women in STEM was managed and written by Leslie D. Green. For questions about this special report, contact Amy Elliott Bragg at (313) 446-1646 or abragg@crain.com or Michael Lee at (313) 446-1630 or malee@crain.com. You can read more in our Notable Women series or nominate a Notable Woman for an upcoming section at crainsdetroit.com/nominate.

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C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

CHRISTINA FAIR

NANCY FAUGHT

VALOREE GAGNON

n Vice President of Client Experience & Mousetrap, Rocket Fiber,

n Executive Vice President, Hubbell, Roth & Clark Inc., Bloomfield Hills

n Director, University-Indigenous Community Partnerships, Great

Detroit

n Education: Master of Science in Psychology, University of Detroit

Mercy

At Detroit-based internet provider Rocket Fiber, Christina Fair is a go-to leader who helps grow other tech leaders. She led the teams responsible for internal process improvement, innovation and cultural experience for the Quicken Loans family of companies, and those teams evolved into Rocket Fiber. Fair spearheaded implementation of Rocket Fiber’s end-to-end business technology solutions and worked closely with DevOps on automation and other strategies to make phone systems, CRM, tech scheduling tools and other work processes more efficient. She also holds a yearly Hackathon to spur innovation beyond the dayto-day. “She has expertly leveraged her first-hand knowledge to help Rocket Fiber deliver solutions that balance features and timelines. There are several examples where Christina has assumed both a designer and producer role to deliver solutions that are instrumental still to this day,” said Randy Foster, co-founder and chief technology officer at Rocket Fiber. Now, Fair, a mentor for Rocket Fiber’s Red Door mentoring project, is helping to co-found a Women’s Empowerment Series to be launched later this year. She also volunteers with Bees in the D, a nonprofit educating people on the importance of bees. “We are fortunate to have her technology background and senior leadership skills driving our organization forward and embracing technology in many aspects from beekeeping database organization to CRM management,” said Brian Roest-Peterson, co-founder of Bees in the D.

n Education: Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, Michigan State

University

Nancy Faught’s role at Hubbell, Roth & Clark, a consulting engineering firm specializing in infrastructure and environment, gives her particular insight into the shortage of skilled civil engineers. She conceived of and leads the company’s project management initiative, which enhanced the training of staff to help them grow into managers and managers into higher-level leaders. Faught, who serves on the Michigan State University Civil Engineering Advisory Board, has worked on numerous projects, including forensic and architectural services for the Wayne County Airport Authority, modification of the I-696/M-10 interchange and neighborhood improvements for the city of East Lansing. “I have had the pleasure of engaging with Ms. Faught many times through the years, as she has represented several communities within Oakland County. She has a brilliant and innovative mind for finding solutions,” said Dennis Kolar, professional engineer for the Road Commission for Oakland County. The civil engineer is also community-minded. Faught mentored young women at STEM at Detroit Cristo Rey High School and implemented a corporatewide initiative to volunteer time with Habitat for Humanity. “Not only did she volunteer side by side with her team, but she volunteered on her own for days. Additionally, she and the firm made significant-sized gifts to help pay for the transformation,” said Helen Hicks, president and CEO of Macomb County Habitat for Humanity. “Through her initiative, Hubbell, Roth & Clark is helping Macomb County Habitat for Humanity to navigate the engineering issues involved with developing an undeveloped neighborhood in Clinton Township.”

Lakes Research Center, Michigan Technological University, Houghton

n Education: Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental and Energy Policy,

Michigan Technological University

Known for her patience and humility, Valoree Gagnon builds relationships on and off campus as a research professor, partnership director and an instructor in the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences. As research assistant professor in social sciences, she focuses, in part, on toxic substances, promoting holistic health, Indigenous/Native American Studies and environmental stewardship. Her team examined atmosphere-surface exchangeable pollutants in the Great Lakes region. The result was a policy brief concluding that science and policy require a shared focus on eliminating sources of fish contamination. As director of University-Indigenous Community Partnerships, Gagnon strives to build relationships between Michigan Tech and marginalized communities. She is facilitating academic and tribal partnerships and encouraging indigenous communities to engage in research and scholarship. She also serves as an adjunct professor of environmental science at Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College. “Dr. Valoree Gagnon’s work is transforming the way students and researchers approach STEM and how they develop partnerships to advance science. Her work aims to infuse indigenous knowledge in scientific discovery and to develop meaningful partnerships and environments where diverse approaches and dialogues lead to greater understanding,” said Guy Meadows, director of the Great Lakes Research Center.

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

CRAIN’S 2019 NOTABLE WOMEN IN STEM TERRI GOSS KINZY

ANNE MARIE GRAHAM-HUDAK

 Dean, School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, Henry

JANICE GILLILAND

 Vice President for Research and Professor of Biological Sciences,

 Subject Matter Expert, Sustainability, Environment & Safety

 Di

 Education: Education Specialist in Educational Leadership,

 Education: Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry, Case Western

 Education: Master of Business Administration, Lawrence

Janice Gilliland earned her current position in 2017 for building a reputation of advocacy for colleagues and students and her vision for grade-schoolthrough-college learning experiences, among other qualities. “Dean Janice Gilliland’s leadership style successfully builds unity while celebrating diversity. This engages educators, scholars, industry, and community partners in collaborative efforts to increase the presence of underrepresented students in the STEM fields,” said Michael Nealon, vice president for Academic Affairs at Henry Ford College. She secured grant partnerships — through a National Institutes of Health grant, called ReBUILDetroit, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and University and College Partnership — with area universities to develop a diverse and inclusive atmosphere in STEM and provide supportive pathways to graduation. Gilliland, who is president of Michigan Liberal Arts Deans, also supports the faculty in developing STEM camps for middle-school students. Summer programs include a DNA camp for girls, a forensics camp, environmental studies camp and an astronomy camp. In addition, Gilliland conceived of and facilitated the Henry Ford College’s pathway for Engineering Technology students from the Advanced Technology Academy to complete their high school diplomas and associate degrees within five years with no tuition cost.

Terri Goss Kinzy, a leader in the study of how proteins are produced in organisms from fungi to mammals, is a fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She has earned numerous awards, including the R. Walter Schlesinger Basic Science Mentoring Award and the Woman of the Year in Medicine in Somerset County, N.J. Energetic, collaborative and optimistic, Goss Kinzy’s National Institutes for Health-funded lab works in the area of protein synthesis and drug developments. She has secured over $9 million in funding from NIH as well as the National Science Foundation and the Human Frontiers Science Program, among others. “Dr. Kinzy recognizes and appreciates scholarship in all its forms, and works to see our faculty have the support they need to advance their work. She and her team work to promote research for not just our faculty but also our undergraduate and graduate students. This is critical to growing a highly trained STEM workforce for academia, public service and industry,” said Jennifer Bott, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, Western Michigan University. Goss Kinzy’s recent work has led to new insights into anti-fungal development, mechanisms of action of diphtheria toxin and a protein as a target for a non-hormonal male contraceptive lead compound. She is active in several organizations, including serving as Executive Committee member of the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities Council on Research.

Before she began directing a team on advanced university collaborative projects in electric mobility, carbon footprint reduction and charging, Anne Marie Graham-Hudak led teams in radio, audio infotainment and connectivity development. “Anne Marie is enthusiastic in her passion for technology. This is exemplified in how many chargers she has placed across Ford sites, and her continual push for infrastructure improvements to move our world forward,” said Julie De Hagen, Ford Motor Company STEAM business partner mentor. While leading vehicle electrification adoption, Graham-Hudak created and executed a plan to add 300 electric vehicle charging stations for employees. She managed a network of 500 workplace chargers, one of the largest in the country, and worked with university programs focused on confidential advanced electrical vehicle infrastructure implementation. She also received a Ford “secret” patent for a process to digitize equalizer amplifiers for audio systems and has patents pending for a vehicle app and for an advanced confidential electrical vehicle project. As planning commissioner and a trustee for Canton Township, she uses technology to better the lives of residents. “Anne Marie brings her technical expertise and engineering background to her role as a township trustee and as the board representative on the planning commission. As Canton Township grows exponentially in population and development, she is at the vanguard, ensuring we embrace economic trends to create a 21st century community,” said Canton Township Clerk Michael Siegrist.

Ford College, Dearborn

Liberty University

Western Michigan University

Reserve University

Engineering, Ford Motor Co., Dearborn Technological University

CONGRATULATIONS TRICIA FROM YOUR FRIENDS & PARTNERS

INSPIRING CHANGE

IMPACTING TOMORROW

Leaders like MARIA SEDKI make an impact in their STEM professions. Maria is a Vice President and Senior Civil Engineer at Fishbeck; her expertise ensures our communities’ water/wastewater systems are clean and safe. Maria and the other Notable Women in STEM inspire a lasting difference in our community – through their work and positive influence

CRAIN’S 2019 NOTABLE WOMEN IN STEM

TRICIA A. BECK SMITHGROUP, VICE PRESIDENT & HIGHER EDUCATION STUDIO LEADER

on future generations of female leaders. Thank you and congratulations, Maria, for this well-deserved honor. smithgroup.com

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C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

TRISHA HABUCKE

JACQUELINE HUNTOON

CYNTHIA HUTCHISON

n Digital Retail Transformation Lead, Ford Motor Co., Dearborn

n Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Michigan

n Senior Director, Automation Alley, Troy

n Education: Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing and

Computer Information Technologies, Northwood University

Trisha Habucke’s team of Ford employees and vendors improve and measure the digital acumen, or fitness, of 3,000 Ford dealers. After identifying digital services and tools that leverage the latest technology, the team Habucke built applies these to digital advertising, search engine optimization, social media and websites, including buyfordnow.com, and uses them to create leads. Currently, they are overseeing the use of personalization tools to identify a return visitor and recognize them anywhere within Ford’s digital ecosystem. Habucke is known for her ability to simplify and communicate complex technical issues to business colleagues. In her previous role as head of FordDirect’s Digital Innovation Lab, she secured significant funding for acquisitions and prototypes. As a result, FordDirect got a Ford Match patent and a Wi-Fi Vehicle Detection patent that leverages SYNC. Her team applied some of its innovative tech to in-vehicle technology education, facial recognition, self-guided test drives and more. In addition, Habucke is always on the lookout for talented women in the industry and encourages them to build their networks of other women. “As a (former) colleague, she was always willing to collaborate and help out even when that wouldn’t be the popular choice; and, as a client, she always had faith to invest when others went looking for short-term gains. Trisha …understands the value of digital when selling products and services and can overcome the challenges of running programs through independent dealer networks,” said David Dimeo, co-founder of Robo Retail.

Technological University, Houghton

n Education: Doctor of Philosophy in Geology, Pennsylvania State

University

In 2019, the Michigan Science Teachers Association honored Jacqueline Huntoon with the George G. Mallinson Award for her contribution to science education. Huntoon is dedicated to advancing diversity as a member of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science. And when she was vice president for Programs for the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science, she helped recruit, mentor and guide underrepresented students in STEM fields. As a leader with Michigan Tech’s Tech Forward initiatives, she collaborated with the university’s vice president for Research to develop an overall vision and launch a series of conversations for the future of STEM education. “Jackie’s consensus building efforts for the Tech Forward initiatives show an uncommon talent for listening and inclusion coupled with a dedication to the university and all of its constituents. This is so much more than a job for her; that is clear,” said Linda Kennedy, trustee and chair of the Academic Affairs Committee at Michigan Tech. Huntoon was crucial to the university receiving a $5 million grant from the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation to reform middle-school science education. She serves as principal investigator of the Michigan Science Teaching and Assessment Reform (Mi-STAR) project, a middle school science and engineering curriculum and professional learning program for teachers that addresses science standards in the state.

n Education: Bachelor of Arts in English, Allegheny College

Cynthia Hutchison, who was promoted to her current position in 2018, is the go-to person on staff when it comes to innovative solutions to help members of Automation Alley succeed technologically. She heads up the marketing, promotion and execution of Automation Alley’s Industry 4.0 initiatives, including Integr8, a global Industry 4.0 conference; a 100-page Technology in Industry Report; and the weekly Tech Takeover event series on Industry 4.0 readiness. Under her leadership, the 2018 report was the first that Automation Alley created collaboratively with seven leading Michigan academic institutions, all of which are Automation Alley members. She also found corporate partners to back the report’s research with funding and insight and has helped develop more than a dozen new members in the U.S. and Canada. Hutchison’s team is also developing a new program to fill the needs of member supply chain organizations and a talent attraction program for students in neighboring states. “She helps members and sponsors visualize and understand the impact and value of their involvement with Automation Alley. She also excels at managing multiple, high-profile initiatives with a focus on the bottom line, always keeping in mind the reputation and member-focused mission of the organization,” said Tom Kelly, CEO and executive director of Automation Alley.

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

CRAIN’S 2019 NOTABLE WOMEN IN STEM FATMA KOCER

CARLA KORETSKY

 Vice President of Business Development Engineering Data Science,

 Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Professor of Geosciences,

 As

 Education: Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering,

 Education: Doctor of Philosophy in Earth and Planetary Sciences,

 Ed

Fatma Kocer’s talent for leading engineering machine learning strategy and building teams led to her promotion to vice president at Altair. “Fatma is a technical leader, business leader and an exceptional employee. She consistently ranks in the top five percent,” said Altair Chief Technical Officer Uwe Schramm. Kocer, who is experienced in creating and applying computer-aided engineering software, manages the business for Altair’s HyperStudy software product that uses machine learning to solve engineering problems. Her research has led to reducing the overall design process. A keynote speaker for SAE World Congress in 2018, Kocer with her team of engineers and data scientists helps customers identify opportunities to apply machine learning to the design and production of manufactured products. Now, she is working on a confidential patent-pending project with her team. Kocer encourages students of all ages to pursue careers in STEM and last year established an exploratory week for female high school seniors to shadow her department. “Fatma is generous with both her time and her talent and is regularly a contributor to the NAFEMS Optimization Working Group,” said Ian Symington, technical officer at NAFEMS, the International Association for the Engineering Modelling, Analysis and Simulation Community. “She played a leading role in our Digital Twins eSeminar in 2018. This was a new area for NAFEMS and having someone who understands both our organization and the technology support the event was a real boon.”

A problem solver by nature, Carla Koretsky recently conceived of a cohort model to support, in particular, first-generation and underrepresented youth who struggle to transition from high school to college. The model launches this fall with about 100 students intending to major in biological or environmental sciences who will be clustered with other students interested in the same disciplines. They will take a first-year experience course and get to know successful graduate students, faculty, alumni and industry professionals. Koretsky also seeks to build a more diverse faculty. In 2017, she sent out a cluster of hiring proposals that resulted in a diverse and large number of applicants in statistics, biological sciences, chemistry, economics and science education. “Dr. Koretsky was the chair of the search committee that brought me to (Western Michigan University). She is an enthusiastic proponent of research and STEM education, and a collaborative and creative colleague,” said Terri Goss Kinzy, vice president for Research at WMU. Koretsky is past editor-in-chief for the journals of Chemical Geology and Geochemical Transactions. Her research on the chemistry of wetlands and lakes has brought in more than $1 million in funding from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, among others. “Professor Koretsky is one of the few geochemists who have been successful doing field, laboratory and geochemical modeling research,” said Jeremy Fein, professor in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences for the University of Notre Dame.

F Om

Altair, Troy

University of Iowa

Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo

Johns Hopkins University

“She is an enthusiastic proponent of research and STEM education, and a collaborative and creative colleague.” – Terri Goss Kinzy, Vice President for Research, Western Michigan University

“Dr. Marusak’s passion for science and love of children has driven her work to create deep scientific evidence for procedures and techniques that are changing the lives of thousands of boys and girls in pain.” – Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg, Founder and Global Director, Kids Kicking Cancer

LEADERS WANTED

Crain’s Leadership Academy is a unique program that pulls promising leaders and executives together to build their innate management strengths and form lasting professional relationships. SESSION DATES: Sept. 25 - 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Oct. 2 - 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Oct. 4 - 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. Oct. 11 - 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. SPEAKERS INCLUDE: KC Crain, President & COO, Crain Communications

Rewriting Mobility. Ground-breaking technology + bold ideas. We’re truly shaping the future in motion - and we’re searching for those who share our vision and drive. If you’re ready to step up to the challenge, we promise to take you beyond where you thought was possible. Are you in?

Allison Maki, CFO, Detroit Lions Tony Michaels, President & CEO, The Parade Company Nominate a budding leader, colleague, friend or employee you know for participation in our fifth cohort.

www.continental.com/careersus

Contact Keenan Covington at kcovington@crain.com or visit crainsdetroit.com/leadershipacademy.

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C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

KRISTIN LANDIS-PIWOWAR

PAMELA LINTON

HILARY MARUSAK

 Associate Dean and Associate Professor of the School of Health

 Apprenticeship Coordinator, Occupational Programs, Schoolcraft

 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Pharmacy Practice, Wayne State

 Education: Doctor of Philosophy in Cancer Biology, Wayne State

 Education: Master of Arts in Education, University of Detroit Mercy

 Education: Doctor of Philosophy in Translational Neuroscience,

From 2016 to 2018, Kristin Landis-Piwowar earned an Omicron Sigma national award from the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science for volunteering her personal time, energy and resources to the organization. A creative leader and patent holder, she looks for new ways to engage students and advance her field. “While STEM extracurricular activities are often focused on inschool and after-school programming, Kristin Landis-Piwowar has played an integral role in bringing science education to the community at large, specifically as it relates to the social determinants of health,” said Ewa Matuszewski, CEO and founder of Medical Network One. “Through her role at OU, Kristin has worked with the School of Health Sciences to incorporate SDOH into OU’s Healthology Symposium.” In collaboration with her publisher, Landis-Piwowar is also developing an interactive electronic textbook, Clinical Laboratory Hematology, that combines previous materials with new content. She also is the primary architect of Oakland University’s new Explorations in Collaborative Leadership and Interprofessional Education leadership program. ECLIPSE, which began with freshman health sciences students in 2018 and will run through their senior year, provides diverse, collaborative, interprofessional experiences that should help students become leaders in their fields and their communities. Furthermore, Landis-Piwowar contributes time on STEM community outreach as a board member for the Oakland Schools Technical Campus, judge of STEM-related events, camp leader and more.

Shortly after joining Schoolcraft College in 2016, Pamela Linton re-established and expanded the school’s apprenticeship program, making it a model for other post-secondary schools. “It is a pleasure to partner with Pamela in representing Schoolcraft College with area businesses. Not only is she knowledgeable about workforce development, but she goes beyond to assist employers with establishing apprenticeship programs. She is a great resource and an asset to the college,” said Karen Maxton, employment and internship coordinator at Schoolcraft College. Linton started by attending conferences, meetings and events to build relationships with the key players and possible partners — including employers and business leaders, K-12 educators and students — in apprenticeships in the region. Linton even developed marketing materials to explain how registered apprenticeships work and how they can help build talent pipelines. Now, Schoolcraft has 16 employers with registered apprenticeship programs offering training in 13 skilled-trades occupations. The school now has 30 registered apprentices and 11 pre-apprentices. “Wellington has achieved unprecedented success through the apprenticeship program because of the outstanding partnership forged with Schoolcraft College, with Pamela definitely playing an extremely influential role in that affiliation,” said Gary Sievert, director of Human Resources, Wellington Industries. “With resources coordinated by Pamela, we have been able to get more of our companies engaged in apprenticeship and training programs to build the skilled staff they need,” said Dan West, president and CEO of the Livonia Chamber of Commerce.

Sciences, Oakland University, Rochester

University

College, Livonia

ENERGIZING MICHIGAN’S

University; Science Adviser, Kids Kicking Cancer, Detroit Wayne State University

Hilary Marusak’s research into the effects of childhood cancer and childhood trauma on brain development receives support from the National Institute of Mental Health and the American Cancer Society, among others. Her work has resulted in a promotion to a tenure-track faculty position at Wayne State University and earned her an invitation this year to present her findings at the International Convention of Psychological Sciences and the Society of Biological Psychiatry. Her articles have been published in numerous high-impact journals and in publications such as Scientific American. Marusak partners with several organizations, including Kids Kicking Cancer, where she tests whether behavioral intervention can reduce pain and anxiety among children with cancer and build more resilient brains. “Dr. Marusak’s passion for science and love of children has driven her work to create deep scientific evidence for procedures and techniques that are changing the lives of thousands of boys and girls in pain,” said Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg, founder and global director of Kids Kicking Cancer and clinical assistant professor of Pediatrics at WSU School of Medicine. Marusak is also collaborating on an adult-focused study. “She and I are collaborating on another KKC project focused on adult patients with opioid use disorder who are in methadone treatment,” said Mark Greenwald, professor and associate chair of research and director, Substance Abuse Research Division at WSU School of Medicine.

Future

Congratulations to Jessica Miller, Director, Capital Projects, ITC Holdings Corp., upon being recognized by Crain’s Detroit Business as one of Michigan’s Notable Women in STEM for 2019. Jessica’s work is instrumental in helping ITC continue its efforts to energize Michigan’s future by improving electric reliability, increasing electric transmission capacity, and keeping efficient, reliable energy flowing to communities, homes and businesses across the state.

ITCHoldingsCorp

@ITCGrid

ITC Holdings Corp

www.itc-holdings.com

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

CRAIN’S 2019 NOTABLE WOMEN IN STEM JESSICA MILLER

PALENCIA MOBLEY

n Director of Capital Projects, Engineering, ITC Holdings Corp., Novi

n Deputy Director and Chief Engineer of Water and Sewerage, City of

n Pr

Detroit, Detroit

n Education: Master of Business Administration, University of

Michigan-Flint

Jessica Miller oversees a team of project managers, construction managers and project control specialists who work on, among other projects, discreet transmission substations and transmission line projects. She spearheaded the development and implementation of a unifier system, a complex management software solution that aggregates information to help ITC Holdings, a capital projects company, identify and employ efficiencies and control costs. In addition, Miller is heavily invested in promoting STEM fields, such as power engineering, to tech-oriented young women and supporting internships with ITC and similar organizations. “Jessica is an exceptional role model for young women in STEM. Her leadership in ITC’s Women in Engineering has not only helped to develop the careers of other women engineers at ITC but has also reached outside of ITC to inspire young women in our communities to get them excited about STEM-related fields for their own career paths,” said Joe Bennett, vice president of Engineering at ITC Holdings. Women in Engineering supports activities at Eastern Michigan University’s Digital Divas program and Livingston County’s Camp Infinity, a week-long summer camp.

n Education: Master of Science in Civil and Environmental

Engineering, Wayne State University

– Mike Duggan, Mayor, City of Detroit

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan appointed Palencia Mobley, the youngest minority woman to earn her professional engineering license in Michigan, to her role in 2016. Just two years later, former Gov. Rick Snyder appointed her to the Michigan Infrastructure Council. Under Mobley’s direction of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, her team has tripled its production and upgraded 47 miles of water and sewer piping in the city. In addition, she directed the operation negotiations for the City of Detroit to create the new Great Lakes Water Authority, which pays DWSD $50 million annually for the next 40 years to lease and operate water and wastewater treatment facilities. The lease helps fund future infrastructure improvements. “Not only is she leading the efforts to replace and rehabilitate the city’s aging water and sewer infrastructure through a $500 million, five-year, Capital Improvement Program, but she’s also constantly thinking of new and innovative ways the city can manage its stormwater,” said Duggan. In recent years, Mobley secured a $1 million grant that helped fund the replacement of 173 lead service lines. She also secured $8.9 million for planning and resiliency for the City of Detroit and $700,000 to train contractors on green stormwater infrastructure design implementation and fund small businesses and nonprofit customers to implement the projects on their properties. Now, Mobley is spearheading projects to mitigate the impacts of climate change, including 16 green infrastructure projects that will manage 70 million gallons of stormwater yearly to help keep rivers clean. Jessica Moy, executive director of the Michigan Infrastructure Council, said Mobley’s practical experience coupled with her passion for lifecycle asset management will help guide Michigan toward a 30-year, integrated infrastructure framework.

SHARON PFEUFFER

AFIA PHILLIPS

MICHELLE REAVES

n Director, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Management

n Global Governance, Risk and Compliance Leader, Daimler Financial

n Executive Director, Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program,

n Education: Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science, Wayne State

n Education: Master of Business Administration, Wayne State

and Resources, DTE Energy, Detroit

n Education: Master of Science in Engineering Management,

University of South Florida

Sharon Pfeuffer leads 50 team members through transforming Michigan’s energy landscape by retiring aging power plants and investing in renewables and energy efficiency. Pfeuffer gave DTE the expertise it needed to ensure its fleet of the future can reliably meet customer load and minimize the impact to the environment. She also brought in a team to evaluate how to account for greenhouse gas emissions in their strategic planning. “She is a role model in her ability to blend technical expertise with leadership, demonstrating a solid career path for many new employees in the STEM fields at DTE and in our industry,” said Christy Wicke, executive director of electric optimization, NERC, and security governance at DTE Energy. While furthering corporate initiatives, Pfeuffer also is part of the “sandwich generation” — a working mother and daughter of aging parents. Her experience led her to initiate an eldercare support group at DTE to support families navigating the complicated aspects of caring for family members. She also collaborated with the organization’s wellness team to make elder care a sustained benefit for DTE employees. Pfeuffer also serves the community as a Board vice chair for the Mercy Education Project. “Sharon is an extraordinary problem-solver and consistently utilizes her gifts to support and strengthen our ability to empower women and girls in Detroit through education. Her generosity with her time and talents, and her willingness to lead any charge in support of our mission has been a priceless gift to us all,” said Kathy Tanner, executive director of Mercy Education Project.

“Michelle is an inspirational leader with a strong focus on the future of our children by exposing children of color to STEM opportunities.” – Joletta McCormick, Finance Manager, DAPCEP

“She’s ... constantly thinking of new and innovative ways the city can manage its stormwater.”

Services, Farmington Hills University

Afia Phillips, who joined Daimler Financial Services as an IT audit manager, earned five promotions in 11 years because she is eager to take on new challenges, is assertive in driving the enforcement of leading practices and has an unwavering passion for the world of cyber security. Phillips successfully co-led the development and implementation of Daimler’s cybersecurity strategy and became the go-to person for its information security officers worldwide. She has been responsible for integrating data-driven software to support early identification of threats and the use of gamification for cybersecurity awareness training. She also established Daimler’s annual IT Security Week to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity and best practices. Promoting diversity in the field, Phillips envisioned and launched a summer co-op for high schoolers called Girls Get IT, an eight-week program offering hands-on experience. She’s also a supporter of the Michigan Council of Women in Technology Foundation and a former co-chair for the Professional Membership Services Committee of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA). “As co-chair, she displayed an exceptional drive and selflessness in helping others and in promoting the continued growth of our (NABA) Chapter. As a result, we experienced an eight percent growth in professional membership. She proved herself to be highly knowledgeable about information technology and very generous in sharing her knowledge and experience with others who were in need of consultation and support,” said Arica Harris, group leader of banking operations for Edward Jones.

Detroit

University

Since her promotion to executive director of the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program in 2016, Michelle Reaves has earned numerous awards, including an Excellence in STEM award from the American Association of Blacks in Energy and a Women in STEM Certificate of Achievement from the State of Michigan. She is a member of the New Detroit Leadership Board, a coalition working toward racial understanding and equity, and the first female director of DAPCEP. The nonprofit was founded more than 40 years ago to partner with universities, K-12 school systems and others to design and implement hands-on STEM programs for youth. Understanding best-learning practices and Michigan’s talent needs, Reaves created the DAPCEP Explorers Program for preschool to third grade children to discover STEM early. The program introduces students to coding, artificial intelligence, biology, chemistry, math and physics. She’s also the chief architect of the Preparing African American Males Energy and Education multi-year program. The National Science Foundation-supported program seeks to improve diversity in power generation and renewable energy industries by assisting 240 young men through a cohort. “Michelle is an inspirational leader with a strong focus on the future of our children by exposing children of color to STEM opportunities. If they do not choose to go into a STEM career, it will not be because they were not prepared or aware of the opportunities,” said DAPCEP Finance Manager Joletta McCormick.

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C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

TRICIA RUBY

ANCA SALA

BEYZA SARIOGLU

n President and CEO, Ruby + Associates Inc., Bingham Farms

n Dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology,

n Head of Hybrid Electric Vehicles, North America, Powertrain

n Education: Doctor of Philosophy in Physics, University of Toledo

n Education: Master of Software Engineering, Oakland University

n Education: Master of Science in Manufacturing Management,

Kettering University

Tricia Ruby joined structural engineering firm Ruby + Associates in 2001 after her father discovered a devastating embezzlement. Tricia took over leadership of the firm from her brother, who was fired in 2011. It was a rough transition, but Ruby has since attracted top engineering talent and increased revenue 262 percent. “Each month at Ruby, she stands in front of our company and gives an update. She shares everything from financial status to quarterly initiatives — making sure to give credit for wins and not gloss over topics where improvement is needed. Questions are encouraged, and they will be answered truthfully and honestly. This openness continues outside of the update meeting where Tricia’s door is always open,” said Allison Shenberger, structural engineer and project manager at Ruby + Associates. Ruby led the company through a new strategic planning process. A goal of that strategic vision came to fruition for the first time in 2016, when Ruby + Associates was listed as one of the top 50 small businesses by Fortune magazine and Great Place to Work. Diversity also concerned Ruby. The company had no women engineers when she joined in 2001. In 2017, she began working to create a long-term relationship with a historically black university and, in 2018, co-founded the American Council of Engineering Companies Women in Leadership. Now 20 percent of the firm’s engineering staff is female. At the same time, Ruby has been working to increase technical excellence, develop strategic client relationships and elevate the company brand.

Baker College System, Flint

As a dean of Baker College, Anca Sala helped develop new bachelor of science programs and transitioned engineering and IT degrees and courses to semesters from quarters. The Photonics and Laser Technology program Sala developed was made possible by a 2017 $512,000 grant and previous $360,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. “Dr. Sala’s National Science Foundation grant work coupled with her strong connections to industry strengthen avenues for student successes,” said Brad Romans, director of Academic Affairs for Baker College-Jackson. Now, Sala is developing a cross-disciplinary program within Electrical Engineering and Information Technology to support the automotive engineering industry’s skilled-talent needs. She is also looking to recruit more women in STEM fields and build interest in STEM among K-12 students through events and speaking opportunities. In addition, Sala helps advance STEM through her work with numerous industry organizations, including as member of the Board of Directors for the Mi-Light Michigan Photonics Cluster and peer reviewer for the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers and the International Journal of Engineering Research and Innovation. “As one of Automation Alley’s Industry 4.0 academic research partners for our annual Technology in Industry Report, Dr. Anca Sala of Baker College has been responsible for writing the section on additive manufacturing and advanced materials the past two years,” said Cynthia Hutchison, senior director of Automation Alley.

Division, Continental AG, Auburn Hills

Beyza Sarioglu earned five promotions in the past five years for being a problem solver and leader who serves as a mentor to young women through Continental’s Women’s Network. “Beyza is a true leader both in and outside the office, managing agile, results-oriented teams while strengthening our future talent pipeline in her volunteer efforts with STEM-based organizations in our community,” said Kregg Wiggins, senior vice president of Continental Powertrain, North America. Sarioglu looks for opportunities to help. When she had to secure a mask to her young daughter’s face because of the high levels of air pollution in China, where she once worked as head of Transmission Systems and SW Engineering, she set out to help develop cleaner cars. Now she directs 80 to 100 team members in the hybrid electric vehicle side of the business. Under Sarioglu’s direction, her team has been granted more than 40 e-mobility-related patents. And, last year, Continental released a 48-volt eco drive that improves fuel economy and reduces CO2 emissions while still providing the power that consumers crave. She also started and helps coach the FIRST Lego League team at her son’s school. “Beyza is creating learning opportunities to ensure all students have the chance to study and be inspired by the STEM principles. Her ability to teach kids that a perceived failure is in fact a natural step in success and part of the learning process is invaluable,” said Stacey Miller, co-coach of FIRST Lego League.

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

CRAIN’S 2019 NOTABLE WOMEN IN STEM MARIA SEDKI

SHANNON SMITH

n Vice President, Senior Civil Engineer, Water & Wastewater, Fishbeck,

n Shareholder, Equity Owner and Patent Attorney,

Thompson, Carr & Huber Inc., Novi

n Education: Master of Science in Civil and Environmental

Engineering, University of Michigan

Maria Sedki has been integral to growing Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber’s water and wastewater team and developing standards for the asset management requirements from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. She created new procedures and techniques, streamlining data acquisition and management. “Her hard work ethic is complemented by her leadership skills and outgoing personality. I trust that she will go far in making this world a better place to live,” said David Potter, FTCH senior associate and vice president. Sedki’s attention to detail makes the difference between good and excellent projects, which has helped her build a loyal book of repeat clients. Her projects include water main replacement for the City of Troy, utility and water main relocation for the City of Port Huron, road reconstruction and drainage design for the Michigan Department of Transportation, along with numerous other projects for other communities, such as master planning and flow monitoring studies. Sedki, past president and current board member of the Arab American Association of Engineers and Architects Detroit Chapter, was project manager for the University of Michigan’s Nichols Arboretum sewer and siphon rehabilitation project. In 2018, the work won Project of the Year from the American Public Works Association Michigan Chapter.

P.C., Troy

Reising Ethington

n Education: Juris Doctor, University of Detroit Mercy

As an attorney with considerable experience, Shannon Smith drafts and analyzes patent applications and opinions on patentability and infringements. Smith, who earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience, has expertise in biomedical devices and methods, industrial manufacturing processes, micro-electro-mechanical systems and automotive technologies. Moreover, she understands technological differences between her clients’ inventions and those in the public domain. “Her substantial intellectual capabilities enable her to solve difficult legal issues one minute as an IP attorney and then effortlessly transition into complex technical problems the next minute as an engineer or scientist,” said firm shareholder Michael Adams. Smith is actively involved in industry organizations as well. Among other groups, she is local networking subcommittee chairperson for the American Intellectual Property Law Association and immediate past chairperson of the Mentorship Committee for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board Bar Association. “For several years, she has volunteered her time and energy to the Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association. Currently, she chairs the association’s Continuing Legal Education Committee, serving as a role model to younger MIPLA members and college students in STEM-related careers,” said Daniel Hegner, MIPLA past president and partner at Bejin Bieneman PLC.

KELLY STECHSCHULTE

n Executive Lighting Designer, Illuminating Concepts, Farmington Hills

n Vic

Kelly Stechschulte’s role at Illuminating Concepts includes vetting equipment for endurance, ease of installation and performance. Known for her perseverance, she worked to become an expert at optics, electrical codes, construction as it pertains to electrical and lighting and creative design. “Skilled in retail and hospitality lighting design, I have known her to be a true industry design professional whose contribution to the industry has gleaned multiple design awards and recognition among her peers,” said Lance Bennett, president of the Illuminating Engineers Society of North America. In 2009, Stechschulte was lead designer for the three-year, $9 billion MGM City Center in Las Vegas project that included a 4,000-room resort, two condominiums and a casino. Since then, she and her team created several internationally known architectural lighting designs for MGM National Harbor, where she innovated a sculpture-lighting system to balance against a 40-story resort tower that resembles the federal buildings in the Washington, D.C.’s skyline. In Macao, China, she designed lighting products concealed within the window frames that self-illuminated the entire facade. “Kelly is an industry leader in the world of design and construction. Her knowledge translates to many skills beyond pure lighting design. I have been with her on many occasions with major developers where the conversations quickly progressed beyond lighting and into markets, trends and emerging technology,” said Cindy Cierra, owner of CC Consulting.

KARIANNE STEFFEN

SOPHIE STEPKE

n Associate Vice President, Design and Planning Group Director, HNTB

n Training Manager, ZF Group, Livonia

Michigan Inc., East Lansing

n Education: Bachelor of Science in Business Psychology, Harz

University (Germany)

n Education: Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, Michigan State

University

Karianne Steffen oversees roughly 40 people in three departments, including Highway Design, Traffic/ITS and Transportation Planning for transportation consulting company HNTB. As project manager for the US-23 Flex Route, Steffen deployed the first active traffic management system in Michigan. The system allows vehicles to drive on the shoulder during peak periods, which accommodates increased traffic demands at a fraction of the cost of adding a new lane of highway. She is working to apply these practices along I-96 in Oakland County to provide dynamic shoulder use, adaptive ramp metering and variable speed advisories. Known as a compassionate leader, Steffen serves as a coach and mentor to HNTB project managers and develops staff from their entry as interns to the highest levels of the organizational chart. For the community, she hosts Engineering Discovery Days at the University of Michigan and Lawrence Technological University for the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Youth Development and Mentoring Program. The program allows youth to participate in engineering exercises such as making concrete, building balsa wood bridges, load testing bridges and developing cost-effective “hot wheels” roadways through a “new corridor.” “Through her participation in Michigan’s Engineering Discovery Days, Karianne has demonstrated her passion for mentoring young women in STEM. As a transportation professional, Karianne is instrumental in assisting MDOT in delivering complex transportation projects,” said MDOT Director Paul Ajegba.

“I trust that she will go far in making this world a better place to live.” – David Potter, Senior Associate and Vice President, Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber Inc.

“Her passion for making a difference in the world and promoting and supporting women in engineering and other STEM fields is infectious, making it hard not to want to join her.” – Colleen Scholl, Senior Vice President, HDR Michigan

As a training manager at ZF Group, a global developer of driveline and chassis technology for the auto industry, Sophie Stepke researches, develops and implements programs for ZF locations throughout North America. She also stands out as chair of the Strategic Steering Committee for the Michigan Advanced Technician Training (MAT2) program, which addresses talent shortages in manufacturing and technology. MAT2 is a three-year apprenticeship program that allows students to alternate between classroom instruction and onthe-job training. ZF is a participant. “Sophie is a tireless champion for ZF’s participation in programs such as apprenticeships, MAT2 and STEM. She not only leads this for ZF North America, but also for Michigan’s state MAT2 program. Her positive energy engages people and makes daunting tasks seem to be the obvious answer,” said Connie Rightmer, vice president of Compensation and Benefits for ZF Group. Stepke has helped grow MAT2 to 248 apprentices and 55 companies in 2018 from 25 apprentices and 9 companies in 2013 by educating manufacturing companies on why apprenticeship is critical to their businesses. In addition, Stepke secured $59,000 for ZF through the “MAT2 Employer Training Grant” from the state of Michigan. She has positioned MAT2 as a benchmark program to other companies and other states. The German-American Chamber of Commerce recently announced it would adopt MAT2. She also strives to remove stigmas women have against working in the manufacturing industry.

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C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

QIONG SUN

MARIA VAZ

ERIKA WILSON

n Vice President of Global Electrification Business, E-Systems, Lear

n Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost, Lawrence

n Director of Technology, Amrock, Detroit

n Education:

n Education: Doctor of Philosophy in Physics, Kent State University

Corp., Southfield

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Controls, Michigan Technological University

Technological University, Southfield

n Education: Bachelor of Arts in Social Relations, Wayne State

University

“(Maria Vaz) has had a huge impact on the improvement and blossoming of (STEAM) education opportunities both at the collegiate level and for our pre-college outreach programs,” said LTU President and CEO Virinder Moudgil, president and CEO of Lawrence Technological University. Vaz secured $4 million from the Kern Family Foundation’s Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network to transform and improve engineering education and curricula at LTU. She also has led the development of numerous STEM programs and established a leadership curriculum. She was integral to the university’s stackable credentials program, where students can take clusters of courses that allow them to “test drive” fields and earn certificates. “She… has shared her expertise and enthusiasm to help shape and build a network of 43 like-minded institutions across the country through the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network,” said Kern Program Director Karen Wilken. In addition to LTU student education, Vaz is helping enhance STEM engagement in youth. She helped launch LTU’s Marburger STEM Center and collaborated to develop STEM enrichment programs for pre-K-12 youth, many of which are aimed at underrepresented minorities. She also secured $900,000 from the Michigan Department of Education for STEM workshops for elementary and middle school teachers and $250,000 from the U.S. Department of Education to develop problem-based learning-focused MSciEdu degrees for those teachers.

In 2018, Erika Wilson directed the rebranding of Amrock, which uses financial technology to make the mortgage-buying experience faster and easier. She led the charge to improve data-driven mobility through technology, such as Amrock’s My Appraisals app. And under her leadership, teams collaborated to deliver an eClosing platform into a more efficient and secure digital experience. Wilson uses her professional talents and experience to efficiently manage resources and encourage growth in others. As a program administrator with ExperienceIT, an experiential training program that aims to bridge the gap between traditional school curriculum and current hiring needs, she has helped mentor and train more than 300 students. “She has worked tirelessly to manage the operations of the program for over five years, helping hundreds of people realize their dreams of becoming IT professionals. Erika was also instrumental to ExperienceIT being recognized by the Michigan Legislature as an innovative tech learning program,” said ExperienceIT Chair Andy Frey.

JULIA WINTER

LARA ZAWAIDEH-SYROCKI

FENG ZHAO

n Founder and CEO, Alchemie Solutions Inc., Troy

n Senior Project Engineer, HDR Michigan, Ann Arbor

n Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Michigan

n Education: Master of Science in Chemistry, Wayne State University

n Education: Master of Science in Civil Engineering, University of

Qiong Sun defines and implements vision, strategy and business objectives and leads more than 300 Lear team members throughout Europe, Asia and North America in electrification product development and program launches. “Qiong sets the bar for what every technology leader should strive to achieve, she is truly exemplary with an inspirational, innovative, collaborative and creative mindset and leadership style,” said Lear Chief Technology Officer John Absmeier. Sun’s approach is proactive. She asks team members to focus on not what customers request but on what customers need and how to be a step ahead of their needs with technical product solutions. In advance of the mass adoption of vehicle electrification, Sun is leading an innovation in hands-free wireless electric vehicle charging that would be particularly useful in a future where autonomous vehicles will need to recharge themselves. “Qiong really is focused on product solutions for our customers, and she personally interfaces with every connection function to ensure that we are all on the same page with our goals, objectives, and our definition of what success looks like,” said Vickie Piner, Lear vice president, Quality & Supplier Quality. Sun holds two U.S. patents, one for a constant speed control system and the other for a steer by brake control system. Also filed is a third patent related to the battery in hybrid electrical vehicles.

In 2016, Julie Winter earned the James Bryant Conant Award from the American Chemical Society, the highest honor in the country given, for her classroom work at Detroit Country Day School. Winter now focuses on her startup, Alchemie, which produces appbased games and tools that teach organic chemistry in partnership with more than 70 institutions. Revealing the need for Alchemie’s tools, Winter has secured $1.03 million in funding from the National Science Foundation, as well as venture capital investments from the Belle Impact Fund, BlueWater Angels and Northern Michigan Angels. “Belle Impact Fund is delighted with the important work Julia and her team are doing to develop and commercialize next generation teaching and learning tools in important STEM subjects. The recent collaboration with McGraw-Hill will provide additional expertise,” said Nancy Philippart, managing partner of Belle Impact Fund. Co-founded with a business strategist and game developer, Alchemie’s tools fuse commercial game design with content expertise to create intuitive and personalized learning experiences for students and provide real-time, data-driven insights to instructors. In 2018, Alchemie launched Mechanisms, which allows students to practice reaction mechanisms by virtually manipulating bonds and electrons. “Organic Chemistry is a required course for pre-med, pre-pharmacy, pre-dental and many other very important medical roles in our society; yet, it is often difficult for many otherwise promising students to understand to the degree necessary. Julia and her team have developed a teaching tool that should help many of these students better visualize what is really going on with relevant chemical reactions that take place in the body,” said Charles (Ted) Skinner, Vanderbilt University.

Nebraska-Lincoln

Lara Zawaideh-Syrocki earned the Service and Leadership Award from the Society of Women Engineers before moving from HDR’s global headquarters in Omaha, Neb., to grow the company’s environmental practice in Michigan. HDR is an employee-owned engineering, architecture and consulting firm. With her background in Lean Six Sigma, Zawaideh-Syrocki developed a systematic approach to reduce or eliminate wasteful activities and focus only on value-added steps. Zawaideh-Syrocki is passionate about helping women reach their full potential as engineers and to promote the engineering profession in general. She was the architect behind HDR’s Women in Science and Engineering initiative, which took some time to launch since women make up only about 10 percent of the industry. Now WISE boasts more than 500 members. “Her passion for making a difference in the world and promoting and supporting women in engineering and other STEM fields is infectious, making it hard not to want to join her,” said HDR Senior Vice President Colleen Scholl. In addition, Zawaideh-Syrocki, who is a member of several industry organizations, is an ambassador for the Michigan arm of the HDR Foundation. As such, she acts as an educator and strategic adviser and helps provide guidance to the Grant Giving Committee.

Technological University, Houghton

n Education: Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering, Duke

University

At Michigan Tech’s Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering Laboratory, Feng Zhao and her 16-person team are developing innovative cell therapies to create 3-D scaffold-free tissue constructs and working to recreate a biomimetic micro-environment for 3-D tissue development. In 2016, Zhao was one of six researchers to win a Rising Star Award from the Biomedical Engineering Society. National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and other agencies actively support Zhao’s research, including an improved method for healing burns using split thickness skin grafts along with a specially engineered sheet of stem cells. “Feng always inspires me with new ideas and guides me to improve my new experiment designs. She shares her perspective on the feasibility of potential solutions, helps me prioritize my efforts to stay focused, and encourages me to dig deeper on new findings ... My PhD training on cell biology and engineering is critical for my day-to-day job now,” said Zichen Qian, a research scientist at Merck and one of Zhao’s former students. Most recently, she and her team published research focused on developing stem cell cardiac patches made with tissue engineered with tiny blood vessels to mimic real heart muscle and facilitate patient recovery from heart attacks. Moreover, Zhao’s lab provides opportunities for local high school students to be paired with senior lab members and develop researching, experimenting and communicating skills.

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

Q&A

New Detroit News editor and publisher looks to news organization’s future By Bill Shea

The Miles File

Gary Miles is a busy man whose life is about to get a bit more complicated. For six of the past 19 years he was managing editor of The Detroit News — one-half of the city’s two-newspaper loyalty war that’s been waged for the eyeballs and dollars of Detroiters for generations — and on May 10 was named its top editor and publisher to replace the late Jon Wolman. Miles’ new role comes amid ongoing, drastic change for media, locally and nationally. The bitter rivalry between The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press has evolved as the newspaper indus-

JJGary Miles, 55

MNG Enterprises and MediaNews Group.

JJRoyal oak native, grew up in Midland

JJHobbies include being a licensed pilot

JJGraduated from Athens High School in

JJIn its effort to buy the Knight Ridder

bshea@crain.com

Troy and from Michigan State as a journalism major in 1987

JJHe was hired by The News in 2000 as

assistant metro editor, promoted to managing editor of The News in 2013

JJOther jobs: Managing editor of the

Times Herald in Port Huron, and newsroom jobs at WILX Channel 10 near Lansing, the Lansing State Journal and the Daily Journal in Vineland, N.J. JJReports to Michael Koren, chief

financial officer of Alden Global Capital’s

Inc.-owned Free Press, Gannett sold The News for $25 million in stock to Denver-based MediaNews Inc. in 2005. New York City-based hedge fund Alden Global Capital bought MediaNews in 2009. JJThe News and Free Press share business functions under a joint-operating agreement that’s 95-percent owned by Gannett. JJDetroitnews.com gets 3.6 million unique monthly visitors, according to the newspaper.

WHERE BUSINESS GETS DONE #LOVELANSING, MICHIGAN

What does the new role mean in terms of your involvement in the community? Do you sit on any boards now?

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try experienced cataclysmic shifts in how people consume news and how advertisers spend their budgets. Newsrooms have shrunk as the cash has withered. Audience and revenue long ago began shifting to online sources, and newspapers have never recovered. Digital dollars have never replaced the money generated by the heyday of print advertising. There are millions of readers online, but that doesn’t pay the bills as well as it did when The News had nearly a million subscribers in the 1960s. In Detroit, the owners of the newspapers opted in 1989 to jointly operate their business functions — advertising sales, circulation, delivery, etc. — as a single legal entity that maintained separate competing newsrooms. Each newspaper continues to produce its share of award-winning journalism, mainly online but also printed in increasingly smaller paper editions delivered to fewer and fewer people. But it also means that the publisher role at The News — a job that began when the famed newspaper baron James E. Scripps in 1873 launched what became The Detroit News — isn’t quite the same job it was when newspapers dominated the media landscape. The business decisions are largely made by the Joint Operating Agreement’s Michigan.com unit that’s 95 percent owned by Free Press corporate parent Gannett Co. Inc. Miles, 55, is now fully in charge of The News, something he’d been transitioning toward as Wolman grew ill with pancreatic cancer. Wolman died April 15 at age 68. The editor and publisher job will make Miles more of a public figure in Detroit while he tries to bolster the journalism done by his staff — one that’s a third of the size of when he arrived as an assistant metro editor in 2000. He also has to directly deal with the owner of The News, the New York City hedge fund Alden Global Capital via its MediaNews Group unit. Miles knows what he’s getting into. The Royal Oak native’s life outside the newsroom includes wife Dorothy in the middle of a medical residency to become a doctor, a process that has an enormous set of demands on time and home life, and four children ages 3 to 12. Miles will make his major public debut as editor and publisher by attending the Mackinac Policy Conference this week. He spoke with Crain’s on May 16. The interview has been edited for space and clarity.

Access to Thought Leaders at Michigan State University

I sit on the Rosa Parks Foundation board. That’s still a relative new role for me. I also sit on the board of APME (Associated Press Media Editors) for Michigan. I think there is more need as publisher to be outward focused, to be a liaison with the community, more than as managing editor. At the same time, we have many folks well-established in the

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community such as Nolan Finley and Daniel Howes. That doesn’t mean that I’ll shy away from being externally focused more than I was as managing editor. I’ll be going to Mackinac at the end of the month, which I hadn’t done as a reporter or editor. I expect to make the rounds to meet and greet. Was this ever a career goal, or when did it crystallize in your mind that it was something you wanted to try?

I always anticipated or hoped to lead a newsroom. I can’t say, looking back a long time, I had ever said I wanted to be a publisher. It’s not quite the traditional publisher role. The publisher here still has a role like it would in a more typical arrangement with marketing and some voice in circulation, but because of the partnership, it’s not a decision-making role with circulation and subscriptions and advertising, except for our role in deciding to run an advertisement or not. Maybe it’s not the full publisher role but a more significant role than just running the newsroom. How has newsroom management evolved since you joined The News in 2000?

Decisions are a lot more rapid-paced. In my time as a reporter, you were hoping to have the best story possible by the end of the day. In the old days, you had one deadline. You kind of have to make decisions moment by moment now. Decisions about what to publish, when to publish, competition. The budget aspects of things have become more complicated in the sense of you always have to plan ahead or anticipate that a cut is around the corner. I don’t know that that’s always been SEE MILES, PAGE 61

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C R A I N â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

MILES FROM PAGE 60

true at the speed those can happen now. The technology aspect all the way around, too. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a new app all the time. Apps are evolving not just in terms of the news but in terms of what is the best use of our resources. It changes what you put your effort into. Are you crash-coursing on the business side of things, or have you been familiarizing yourself in recent years?

The last couple of years Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve produced the first and final draft of The Detroit News budget. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been increasingly involved. I had a lot of guidance from Jon in terms of where to be conservative and where to be flexible. In terms of the budget day in and day out, that stuff doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem like itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to be that much of a challenge. Trying to anticipate what the businesses that run newspapers are thinking, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a little more of a crash course. What role did Jon Wolman play in shaping your career at The News and the direction you will take the newspaper?

I think I was metro editor when he arrived (in 2006). He elevated me into the deputy managing editor role. He identified me as someone he wanted to invest in. He absolutely has been instrumental in my movement along through the ranks from metro editor and managing editor. More than that, he invested a lot of time in me and other editors to understand what he was doing as an executive. How many people work in your newsroom?

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a little less than 100 now. When I arrived, we were probably close to 300. That gives you some sense of whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s happened over 20 years. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your news coverage and business strategy going forward? Is there somewhere you want more focus, and others where you want to retrench? Or have you been able to execute your vision previously?

Because Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been managing editor, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been able to shape what we want to do. That said, there are some ways I want to tweak and move around resources. This is an opportunity to hear from the staff. I just had an hour open-door meeting to ask where we should be headed. I want to hear from more people. I want to make sure the news staff knows this is the time to speak up on where we should be going. My personal priorities are basically revelatory stories that you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get anywhere else. Things that are exclusive, provide depth, breaking stories that maybe not everyone has. We want to invest in telling the big, important stories in Michigan that people canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessarily get from anywhere else. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s almost nothing you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do if you decide itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a priority. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got to keep ourselves focused on the idea that anywhere we want to blow out, we have a lot of really strong journalists to do and do it well. The worst thing we can do is think small. We can think big. I still want to listen; thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s where my heart is, in terms of telling stories. We want to be fast, but donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to sacrifice accuracy for speed. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re only as good as your reputation for telling the truth.

What will differentiate a Gary Miles-led Detroit News from what weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen over the past few years?

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not going to sacrifice good, solid reporting for page views, and I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve done that in the past. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not going to be a clickbait machine. We want to provide a great news report thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reliable for the people of Michigan and city of Detroit. What stories do you like to read most in your newspaper?

I kind of love a little bit about everything that we do. I started out as a sports reporter, I love a good sports story that reveals something about the sports scene someone doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know. Like all storytellers, we have to focus more on telling a story than just reciting facts. Telling it in a way to be compelling to people. The worst thing that you can do is be boring. What role do you see sports coverage playing in the future at The News?

There is a lot of interest in sports, especially in a market like this. Oftentimes the best sports stories intersect with other aspects of life. One of the most read in past week was over the Albert Pujols RBI baseball. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a great example of great reporting, timely reporting. It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the biggest issue in the world, but thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the kind of story that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not going to get anywhere else. Sports will continue to be a driver of some amount of traffic. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll look for more creative ways to do a story thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a one-off instead of the game story. They can read the box score a lot of different places. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a huge future in sports reporting still, but it may be less traditional over time.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I do think Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got a responsibility to be as open as I can with the staff about the forces that may or may not have an impact on us. I know what that unsettling feeling is like. I think transparency and openness can help morale.â&#x20AC;? Gary Miles How has competition with the Free Press evolved over your tenure?

In many ways itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a little less bitter than it was. I see a little more collegiality in the ranks than I used to see. But at the same time, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s as competitive as ever. There may be different focuses of the staffs but we keep an eye on it. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your timeline for assembling the newsroom management structure you want?

I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t put a timeline on that. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to move relatively quick. There are a number of people that I want to talk to. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to have it settled in a couple of months. It could be sooner. It depends on my, I guess, comfort level in taking on the additional duties of (publisher) while doing the managing editor duties. There is some time to survey the field. I want input from staff. Will the editorial page remain center-right and will Nolan Finley

remain editorial page editor?

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I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see right now any major changes on the editorial page. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an operation that has been running well. (Finley is) certainly established and knows the ropes. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in good hands from my viewpoint. I feel I can ease into that aspect of things over time. I fully anticipate participating fully and being the person who oversees the editorial page starting immediately. That will be new to me to be participating in the editorial process.

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How do you deal with the uncertainty at the ownership level? Alden has a reputation for cutting newsrooms and is trying to buy Gannett, which would give them the Free Press.

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Honestly, the same way we have and the staff has, since you go back to the first JOA or the 2005 ownership change. There is uncertainty in any business. Yes, ours is particularly tumultuous right now. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re talking about a town where two major automakers went through bankruptcy, the city went through bankruptcy. People know nothing is guaranteed. Because weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been working under this arrangement since 2005, this uncertainly has been constant. Our journalists have learned that what they need to focus on is putting out the best damn news report they can every day. I do see less looking-overthe shoulder now, but that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make (uncertainty) any less real.

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How much of a role does MediaNews Group/Alden play in the day to day functions of the newspaper?

To the extent there was a great hands-on involvement with Jon, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know, but I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see it. MNG is the company to whom I report. So far, there is support and interest in what weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going in Detroit, but there is not a lot of hands-on focus on The Detroit News. There is trust on the MNG level that The Detroit News and its report should be (operated) out of Detroit. There are resources available for assistance. In terms of directives, that kind of thing, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen almost none of it. Can you hire new journalists, beyond replacing departures?

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There is some flexibility to realign staff and resources, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something I want to hear from the newsroom about. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not impossible to add headcount but I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t expect big additions. How do you maintain or improve morale amid the ongoing newspaper crisis?

I do think Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got a responsibility to be as open as I can with the staff about the forces that may or may not have an impact on us. I know what that unsettling feeling is like. I think transparency and openness can help morale. People know that my interest is in the best news report and best staff. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to worry about my background and my priorities. The most consistent thing I heard (when the hiring announcement was made) was a sense of relief that someone wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t coming in from outside they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know.

Contact Dick Hooker at rahooker@varnumlaw.com n

Facilitative mediator for U.S. District Court â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Western District of Michigan and Michigan courts Arbitrator and mediator with National Arbitration and Mediation, Inc., the American Settlement Centers and the National Arbitration Forum

2019

Tier 1 Metropolitan Ranking Labor & Employment Litigation and Labor & Employment Management

Are you at the table for the newsroom contract talks?

I have been most recently. Whether Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll continue to be there or send a proxy, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have to see. How do you manage running the newspaper, being a husband, and a dad to four?

I guess Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to find out.

C R A I N â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

CRAIN'S LIST: GRAD BIZ DEGREE PROGRAMS Degrees offered

Listed alphabetically

Michigan campus locations

Types of programs

Minimum GPA

Minimum GMAT/GRE

Cost per credit hour as of May 2019

Andrews University 4150 Administration Drive, Berrien Springs 49104-0740 (269) 471-6321

MBA; MSA in church administration; M.A., EdS, EdD, Ph.D. in leadership, educational leadership and higher education administration; MSCID community and international development

Berrien Springs

On-campus, online

Varies

Aquinas College 1700 Fulton St. E., Grand Rapids 49506-1801 (616) 632-2924

Master of management with concentrations in organizational leadership, marketing management and sustainable business

Grand Rapids

Part time, full time

2.8

450

Baker College Center for Graduate Studies 1116 W. Bristol Road, Flint 48507 (800) 469-3165

MBA, M.S. in information systems, M.S. educational effectiveness, M.S. in nursing, doctor of business administration

Allen Park, Auburn Hills, Clinton Twp., Flint, others

Online, FT, PT B

2.5

3 years FT work

695

Central Michigan University 1200 S. Franklin, Mount Pleasant (and other locations) 48859 (989) 774-4000

M.S. in administration, information systems; MBA; graduate certificates in ERP using SAP software; master of arts in economics, health administration; public administration; entrepreneurial transactions; doctorate in health administration, educational technology

Clinton Township, Dearborn, Detroit, Southfield, Troy, Warren, others

FT, PT, evenings, weekends, in person, hybrid, online

Varies

Varies by degree

Cleary University 3750 Cleary Drive, Howell 48843 (517) 338-3332

MBA in strategic leadership, analytical efficiency, financial planning and health care leadership; M.S. in culture, change and leadership

Howell, Ann Arbor, Detroit Online, blended

2.5

$925

Concordia University - Ann Arbor 4090 Geddes Road, Ann Arbor 48105 (734) 995-7300

MBA with concentrations in accounting, public relations, finance, health care administration, human resource management, innovation and entrepreneurship, international business, management, management information systems, nonprofit management and leadership, public administration, risk assessment and management, sport and entertainment business, strategic marketing, sustainability management and analytics MBA; MBA concentrations in health care administration, global business, project management, finance; M.S. in management

Ann Arbor

Varies

719

Lansing, Kalamazoo, Grand FT, evenings, online Rapids

2.7

$515-565

Davenport University 27650 Dequindre Road, Warren 48092 (810) 459-0587

MBA with concentrations in finance, health care management, human resource management, marketing and strategic management, executive MBA, others

Detroit, Warren, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Midland, Holland, and more.

In-seat and online, FT, PT, days and evenings.

2.75

Eastern Michigan University Gary Owen Building, Suite 306, Ypsilanti 48197 (734) 487-4444

General MBA or MBA with 14 specialization options; M.S. in accounting, finance, HR and organizational development, information systems, integrated marketing communications, taxation; 14 graduate certificates

Ypsilanti. MBA and MSHROD courses also in Livonia

FT, PT, evenings. For MBA and MSHROD, some Saturdays, online C

Ferris State University 1201 S. State St., Big Rapids 49307 (231) 591-2000

MBA, M.S. in information security and intelligence

Ann Arbor, Auburn Hills, Clinton Township, Harper Woods, Warren, others

Online, weekends, campus

3.00

500/upper 50th percentile

Grand Valley State University Seidman College of Business 50 Front St., Grand Rapids 49504 (616) 331-7400

MBA, executive MBA, M.S. in accounting

Grand Rapids

PT, hybrid,FT (for MSA only)

3.0

500 E

$610 (graduate, U.S. residents/ Canadians) $712

Kettering University 1700 University Ave., Flint 48504 (800) 955-4464

MBA with concentrations in leadership, IT, supply chain, health management and technology management. Additional online degrees and certificate programs available.

Flint

Online, full-time

3.0

930

Lawrence Technological University 21000 W. 10 Mile Road, Southfield 48075-1058 (248) 204-2210

MBA, M.S. in information technology, dual degrees: MBA/M.S. in information technology, MBA/master of engineering management, MBA/ master of architecture

Southfield, Detroit Center FT, PT and online for Design + Technology, Warren, Chrysler Technical Center

3.0

$1,150

Madonna University 36600 Schoolcraft Road, Livonia 48150 (734) 432-5763

MBA; M.S. in health services administration; M.S. in business leadership, online; M.S. in accountancy, online; nursing administration/business administration dual degree (MSN/MBA); M.S. in criminal justice leadership and intelligence; 4 certificate programs

Livonia, Gaylord, Macomb PT, evenings, weekends and online

3.0

Not required unless undergraduate GPA is under 3.0 NR

Marygrove College 8425 W. McNichols, Detroit 48221 (313) 927-1513www.marygrove.edu

M.A. degree in human resource management; also offer a grad certificate in HRM

Detroit, online

3.0

$616 per online credit hour

Michigan State University Broad College of Business 632 Bogue St. N520, East Lansing 48824 (517) 355-8377

MBAs: full-time and executive M.S. degrees in accounting; business analytics; Detroit, East Lansing, Troy FT, PT, evenings, finance; health care management; management, strategy, and leadership; weekends, and online management studies; marketing research; and supply chain management. Ph.D.s in accounting, finance, logistics, management, marketing and others

Varies

3.0

550/NR

$1,007

Cornerstone University, Professional and Graduate Studies 1001 E. Beltline Ave. NE, Grand Rapids 49525 (616) 222-1448

Michigan Technological University School MBA, accounting and applied natural resource economics of Business and Economics 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton 49931-1295 (906) 487-3055

Houghton

FT, PT, evenings and online

FT, PT, online

Campus, full time, part time

$1,106 for Master's, $1,284 for Doctoral and EdS $570

762 D

2.75 (3.0 for 450 (500 for MSA, MSF, MSA or MST; MST) 550 for MSF)

$885/ credit

Want the full Excel version of this list Ă&#x2018; and every Crain's list? Become a Data Member: CrainsDetroit.com/data Information for this list was provided by the schools through surveys or their websites. It is not a complete listing, but the most comprehensive available. NA = not available. NR = not required.

B All of graduate business programs are available 100 percent online. C MS in Finance will admit its first cohort in September 2019 and will have a different tuition structure. D University tuition $750/credit hour; College of Business differential tuition $12/credit hour. Online classes additional $75/credit hour. E Waiver possible based on academic and work experience. LIST RESEARCHED BY SONYA D. HILL

WHO WILL DRIVE TOMORROW’S CHANGE? SPARTANS WILL. In a future where change is the only constant, effectively tapping into the power of teams will ensure the success of tomorrow’s organization. At Michigan State University’s Broad College of Business, teamwork is in the DNA of everything we do. Our portfolio of master’s and executive education programs designed by our world-class faculty is built to amplify your employees’ impact.

Explore our tools for your team’s success at broad.msu.edu/mackinac

TOP 10 RANKED DEGREES  50+ MASTER’S & EXECUTIVE PROGRAMS  ONLINE & ON CAMPUS OPTIONS 

C R A I N â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

CRAIN'S LIST: GRAD BIZ DEGREE PROGRAMS Degrees offered

MBA, master's of public administration Northern Michigan University 1401 Presque Isle Ave., Marquette 49855-5301 (906) 227-2900

Listed alphabetically Minimum GPA

Minimum GMAT/GRE

Cost per credit hour as of May 2019

FT, PT, campus, online and evenings

3.0

500/NR

$647

Michigan campus locations

Types of programs

Marquette

Northwood University Richard DeVos Graduate School of Management 4000 Whiting Drive, Midland 48640 (800) 622-9000www.northwood.edu/ academics/graduate

MBA, MBA in aftermarket management, MBA in retail automotive, M.S. in finance (MSF), M.S. in organizational leadership (MSOL)

Midland, Troy, Grand Rapids, Lansing

FT, accelerated, traditional, evening, online, executive MBA

3.0

Varies by program

Oakland University School of Business Administration 238 Elliott Hall, Rochester Hills 48309 (248) 370-3287

MBA, weekend executive MBA, M.S. in IT management, master of accounting; graduate certificates and post-master's certificates offered

Rochester Hills

PT, FT, evenings, some Saturday, online.

3.0

NA B

$738.00

Olivet College 320 S. Main St., Olivet 49076 (269) 749-7626

MBA in insurance

Olivet

Online

3.0

500

785

Saginaw Valley State University 7400 Bay Road, 160 Wicks, Saginaw 48710 (989) 964-6096www.svsu.edu/ graduateprograms

MBA

Saginaw

Online, hybrid, PT, evenings

3.0

450

Siena Heights University 26999 Central Park Blvd., Suite 100, Southfield 48075 (248) 799-5490

M.A. in leadership in organization, health care and higher education; MBA

Online

3.0

Spring Arbor University Gainey School of Business 106 E. Main, Spring Arbor 49283 (517) 750-6611

MBA with concentrations in health care administration, management, organizational consulting and executive leadership. Master of arts in management and organizational leadership; master of arts in communication

Southfield, Jackson, Monroe, Adrian, Battle Creek, Benton Harbor, Lansing, Dearborn, Kalamazoo Southfield, Temperance, Jackson, Spring Arbor, Lansing, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Flint, Gaylord.

$593.10 in state; $1,128.55 nonresident NA

face to face (one night a week) or online, hybrid

3.0

$717 per credit hour

University of Detroit Mercy 4001 W. McNichols, Detroit 48221 (313) 993-1200

MBA; MBA with health care concentration; joint MBA/MHSA; joint JD/MBA; Detroit, McNichols; Detroit, PT, FT, and evenings; joint MBA/MCIS; graduate certificates in finance, ethical leadership and Riverfront BTM certificate change management, forensic accounting, business fundamentals and available online business turnaround management

3.0

Can be waived with experience.

$789

UM Ross School of Business C 701 Tappan St., Ann Arbor 48109 (734) 615-5002

MBA, global MBA, executive MBA, master's in management, accounting, supply chain management; Ph.D.

Ann Arbor

FT, PT and executive

Varies

UM-Dearborn College of Business 19000 Hubbard Drive, Dearborn 48126 (313) 593-5460

MBA in accounting, business analytics, finance, international business, information systems, marketing, supply chain management. M.S. in accounting, business analytics, finance, information systems, supply chain management. Dual MBA + M.S. in finance, information systems, supply chain, industrial and systems engineering, or health services administration. MBA with concentrations in accounting, computer information systems, finance, health care management, international business, supply chain and operations management, marketing and innovation management and organizational leadership; M.S. in accounting; graduate certificate in business; M.S. in leadership and organizational dynamics MBA concentrations in accounting, marketing, business and health administration, health resource management.

Dearborn

FT, PT, evenings and online

Flint

PT, evening, hybird/ Net+ weekend

3.0

450/ 146V-146Q

$741.25

Southfield (Detroit main campus) D

Online only

2.5

698

University of Windsor Odette School of Business 401 Sunset Ave., Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4 (519) 253-3000

MBA; MBA/JD dual; master's in management and manufacturing, logistics, supply chain and HR management

Windsor

Full time

2.75

550

Walsh College 3838 Livernois Road, Troy 48083 (248) 823-1600

MBA, M.S. in accountancy, finance, information technology, management, Troy; Novi; classes at FT, PT, evenings, and marketing, organizational leadership, taxation and master of arts in business. University Center, Macomb online Dual degrees: MBA and M.S. in finance, information technology leadership, Community College management and marketing

varies

$785

Wayne State University Mike Ilitch School of Business E 2771 Woodward Ave., Detroit 48201 (313) 577-4511ilitchbusiness.wayne.edu

MBA; MSA; M.S. in data science and business analytics (offered jointly with the WSU College of Engineering); M.S. in finance; executive M.S. in automotive supply chain management; graduate certificates in business, entrepreneurship and innovation; joint J.D./MBA, Ph.D. in business with tracks in finance, management and marketing

Detroit

FT, PT, evenings, weekends and online

2.75

Western Michigan University Haworth College of Business 2100 Schneider Hall, Kalamazoo 49008 (269) 387-5133

MBA in aviation, computer information systems, finance, general business, health care, management, marketing, international business; MBA/J.D., MBA/M.D., M.S. in accountancy

Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo

Evening courses (FT or PT), online

2.5

UM-Flint School of Management 2200 Riverfront Center, 303 E. Kearsley St., Flint 48502 (800) 942-5636 University of Phoenix 26261 Evergreen Road, Suite 135, Southfield 48076 (248) 675-3704

Competitive Competitive with with applicant applicant pool pool

$908

GMAT 450; $763.13 In GRE 149 State; Verbal/149 $1,529.80 Quantitative; Out of Ph.D. 600 State GMAT GMAT 450 or $651.57 equivalent GRE score

B For degree programs, scores must be within 5 years or less at time of intended enrollment. Requests for waivers accepted and subject to approval of Graduate Admissions Committee C Also known as Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan D No longer accepting new campus-based enrollments, however you can still enroll for an online program at phoenix.edu. Current students will continue on-site instruction. E Formerly Wayne State University School of Business Administration LIST RESEARCHED BY SONYA D. HILL

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Together Strong leadership allows us to Live United and work toward building a better community for our friends and neighbors. For the past two years, OneMagnify President and CEO Mark Petroff has served as United Way for Southeastern Michiganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s board chair. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been an important voice for our organization, and we are stronger because of him. David Foltyn now takes the helm. As chairman and CEO of Honigman LLP, David is committed to quality. We look forward to his leadership over the next two years. From all of us at United Way for Southeastern Michigan:

Thank you Mark & David!

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

SPOTLIGHT

DEALS & DETAILS CONTRACTS  Pray Hustle Slay, Detroit, a fashion accessories and beauty products brand, has an agreement with Davison Coco Beauty Supplies, a beauty supply chain, to carry its products in Davison Coco’s Highland Park location. Website: prayhustleslay.com  The Floow, Sheffield, United Kingdom, with a U.S. headquarters in Taylor, a telematics provider, has an agreement for a global partnership with Munich Re Group, Munich, Germany, an insurance company. Websites: thefloow.com, munichre.com  Intellistreets, a division of Illuminating Concepts, Farmington Hills, a lighting consultant, has completed a campus installation of a high-speed wireless multimedia lighting system at Eastern Michigan University, Ypsi-

lanti. Also, Intellistreets has been appointed as the lighting systems provider for the state universities of Illinois, including the University of Illinois, Chicago and Champagne. Website: illuminatingconcepts.com

EXPANSIONS

fic Systems office in Sterling Heights. Website: new.siemens.com  Judson Center, Royal Oak, a nonprofit that provides autism programs, behavioral health services, child and family services, has opened a new Autism Connections location in its Warren facility at 12200 E. 13 Mile Road. Website: judsoncenter.org

 Mans Lumber and Millwork, Canton Township, a lumber and building materials supplier, is opening a new location at 2275 South Industrial Highway, Ann Arbor on June 1. The 3,500 square-foot showroom will feature home improvement products, including windows, doors, decking, interior trim, exterior doors, kitchen and bath. Website: manslumber.com  Siemens Mobility Inc., Berlin, Germany, a transit technology conglomerate, has opened an Intelligent Traf-

 Prodigy Textiles, a subsidiary of Ann Arbor-based Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc., a developer of spider silk based fibers, has acquired a factory in Vietnam. The company is retrofitting the nearly 50,000 square foot facility to produce its recombinant spider silk materials. Website: KraigLabs.com

and how to apply design thinking, sound strategy and methodologies to develop A.I. and deep-learning solutions. Lawrence Technological University. Presentation by Dakshinamurthy V Kolluru, Ph.D. in Material Science from Carnegie Mellon and co-founder of International School of Engineering. $674.25 members; $899 nonmembers. Contact: Dan Radomski, email: dradomski@ltu.edu; phone: (248) 2042219.

Day Show speakers will share insights and stories of success and failure (and the need for both), and how shaking things up often requires more than a delicate touch. Speakers include: David Lubars, chief creative officer, BBDO; Deborah Wahl, global chief marketing officer, Cadillac; Arash Yomtobian, global client lead automotive, Google. Gem Theater. $50 members; $200 nonmembers. Phone: (248) 219-9234.

Adcraft Day Show 2019. Noon-5 p.m. June 4. Adcraft Detroit. The

Submit Deals & Details items to cdbdepartments@crain.com

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

CALENDAR UPCOMING EVENTS Leadership Seminar — Deep Learning & Artificial Intelligence. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. June 4. Lawrence Technological University. One-day seminar will discuss the frameworks, tools and strategies required to ask the right questions, establish processes, scope projects and build data science teams. Topics incude: What A.I. and deep learning can and cannot do for an organization; how to prepare an organization to effectively embrace A.I. and deep learning and reduce the learning curve

Michigan Israel Business Accelerator gets new CEO

The Michigan Israel Business Accelerator has hired a new CEO who comes from a leadership position with the state. Scott Hiipakka, 48, starts his new role May 28. He is charged with leading the nonprofit in its mission of facilitating business between Hiipakka businesses in Michigan and Israel, and spurring local investment. “To be a partner in economic development in Michigan is a phenomenal opportunity,” Hiipakka said. Hiipakka was formerly executive director of the state’s office of performance and transformation. Under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration, the department was reorganized and that position was eliminated. At Michigan Israel Business Accelerator, he replaces Sandy Selinger, who was hired last May and exited the organization in February. The Michigan Israel Business Accelerator was rebranded from the Michigan Israel Business Bridge in 2017. Southeast Michigan has several ties to Israel, including its large Jewish population and investments through organizations like Birmingham-based William Davidson Foundation, which supports the economic vitality of the Middle East nation and helps fund MIBA. Other funders are the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation.

Ex-Washtenaw commissioner to head environmental council

Nonprofit leader and former Washtenaw County Commissioner Conan Smith has been named the new CEO of the Michigan Environmental Council. Smith, 47, replaces Chris Kolb, who left his role to serve as director of the state’s budget office, according to a Wednesday news release. “When we began looking for a Smith new CEO, we knew we needed a leader with a strong policy background and a demonstrated commitment to the people and environment of Michigan,” Lisa Brush, executive director of the Stewardship Network and MEC’s Board Chair, said in a release. “Conan fit these requirements and then some. His professional experience as well as his vision will allow Michigan Environmental Council to continue to flourish as the environment’s champion in Lansing.” Tackling issues surrounding race and the environment will be the “hallmark” of his tenure at the council, Smith said in a release — specifically, how Michigan’s environmental movement faces problems with reflecting diversity in its leadership roles and programs, the release said. For 14 years, Smith served as Washtenaw County commissioner, until losing his seat to Katie Smith in August 2018.

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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

To place your listing, visit www.crainsdetroit.com/people-on-the-move or for more information, please call Debora Stein at (917) 226-5470 or email dstein@crain.com. MORTGAGE BANKING

MORTGAGE BANKING

NONPROFITS

Stantec

United Shore, home to the No.1 wholesale mortgage lender UWM

United Community Family Services

United Shore has announced the hire of Blake Kolo, CPA, CVA, CFE, CFF, as Chief Business Officer. Kolo most recently served as a Managing Director and Leadership Advisor for Wilmington, Delaware-based Siegfried Group where he grew the Detroit office from a team of less than 10 to nearly 40 while coordinating a move to One Woodward. Kolo will focus on continuous improvement including product innovation, business growth, and continuing to advance United Shore and the mortgage broker channel.

United Shore has announced the hire of Lee Jelenic as Chief Innovation Officer. Jelenic spent 11 years at Ford Motor Company, most recently as CEO of Ford Commercial Solutions, a business unit within Ford Smart Mobility. He also served as Vice President of Marketing at Ford Motor Credit where he led global marketing as well as Fintech and new business development. Jelenic will focus on product innovation, business growth, and continuing to advance United Shore and the mortgage broker channel.

A Crain’s 40-Under-40 recipient, Kelly Scheer has been appointed United Family Community Services (UCFS) President and CEO. Founded in 1961 as the Chaldean American Ladies of Charity, the non-profit (www. UCFamilyServices.org) has a rich history of serving newly-arrived immigrants and elderly refugees. A nationally recognized presenter and business thought leader, Scheer has worked for Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Karmanos Cancer Institute, Trinity Health and Blossom Collection by Moceri.

Brooke Smith, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, joins Stantec Architecture in Detroit as a Principal in the Commercial/ Workplace studio. Smith brings 30+ years of experience in commercial, workplace, and government facility design and project management. His background includes various roles in program, project, and firm management, and a portfolio of award-winning building design work. In his new role, he’ll be instrumental in developing business and executing projects for a wide array of building sectors.

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C O N TAC T

ARCHITECTURE / ENGINEERING

Laura Picariello Reprints Sales Manager lpicariello@crain.com (732) 723-0569

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

Crowdfunding campaign seeks $300,000 to support teacher projects By Sherri Welch swelch@crain.com

The state’s K-12 education crisis will be front and center at this year’s Mackinac Policy Conference, but a weeklong crowdfunding campaign aligned with the conference is meant to send teachers a message that they aren’t in it alone. A recent survey of 16,878 teachers conducted by Launch Michigan — a collaborative of business, educators, parents, labor, philanthropy and civic leaders — found, among Poppe other things, that many teachers are worn down by heavy workloads and don’t feel appreciated, valued or respected by political leaders. “How can we expect these teachers to do everything and be everything?” said conference chair Patti Poppe, who is CEO of Consumers Energy Co. “We have a big problem, and what we don’t want to do is pass blame on (teachers).” Poppe and Detroit Regional Chamber chair Ray Telang, who is managing partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s Michigan operations, came up with the campaign idea while commiserating about family members who are teachers in the state. The effort is not intended to be a solution to Michigan’s complex educational issues, Poppe said, but a “postcard of love” from Mackinac to recognize teachers’ hard work and show support. “It’s almost a little promise to say, ‘We know you’re struggling, and we’re working on it,’ ” she said. The campaign has a $300,000 goal, enough to support 500 teacher requests on donorschoose.org. Those teachers are working in schools where 75 percent or more of students come from low-income households. Gifts made during the weeklong campaign can be made through a

“No one can fix education by themselves, with a magic wand ... but everyone can do something.” Patti Poppe

group giving page that’s accessible through the conference app or online at donorschoose.org/MPC19 or detroitchamber.com/MPC. The crowdfunding campaign aligned with the conference will wrap up at the end of the day on June 3. Donors can continue to make gifts beyond that at donorschoose.org. Recent requests have included Sylenna Jamerson, a first grade interventionist at Richfield Early Learning Center in Flint, who was seeking $372 to buy pencils, crayons, glue sticks, paper and other basic supplies for her students. There’s also Carrie McCabe, a second-grade teacher at Bridge Academy-East in Hamtramck, who was looking to raise $179 to buy new books to spur her students to read, and Alexandrea Calme, who teaches grades 6-8 at Great Lakes Academy in Pontiac, seeking $555 to purchase team sports balls for the playground and two-way radios to ensure student safety during recess. “No one can fix education by themselves, with a magic wand ... but everyone can do something,” Poppe said. The campaign has a good start with about $165,000 in corporate support from chamber members and Business Leaders for Michigan boards as of late last week. This year’s crowdfunding campaign is the second to take place during the annual Mackinac Policy Conference. A 2016 campaign to benefit Flint Child Health & Development Fund raised $250,000, the chamber said.

Advertising Section

CLASSIFIEDS To place your listing, contact Suzanne Janik at 313-446-0485 or email sjanik@crain.com www.crainsdetroit.com/classifieds 2,280 ACRES

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Senior Financial Planning Analyst Crain Communications seeks an experienced Senior Financial Analyst to join its Financial Services team. This position is responsible for providing finance support for multiple publications to include core financial analytical duties such as financial management reporting, forecasting, budgeting, and analysis, as well as acting as a strategic business partner to the publishers and their teams. Visit crain.com/careers/ for more information and available positions.

CRAIN’S READERS ARE 4.5x MORE LIKELY TO INFLUENCE CORPORATE FINANCING DECISIONS *

Sherri Welch: 313 (446-1694) Twitter: @SherriWelch

Deadline extended for Crain’s Excellence in HR Awards Know an HR professional or team delivering incredible results for their business? You have more time to nominate them for Crain’s Excellence in HR Awards. Human resources leaders are the nerve centers of their businesses. Though they often operate behind the scenes — sometimes boxed into stereotypes about pizza parties and paperwork — HR professionals take care of people, control costs, keep things in compliance and help organizations achieve their strategic goals.

Awards will be given in six categories: Overall Excellence / HR Team of the Year; Compensation and Benefits; HR Innovator; Employee Experience; Diversity and Inclusion; and Finding and Growing Talent. The deadline to nominate an individual or team has been extended to Monday, June 3. Visit crainsdetroit.com/nominate for more information or to nominate. Questions? Contact special projects editor Amy Bragg (313) 446-1646; abragg@ crain.com.

To find out more about our audience, reach out to Suzanne Janik at sjanik@crain.com or 313-446-0455 *The Media Audit

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

ILITCH FROM PAGE 1

A small handful of stores and eateries are in the works. There’s no housing yet. It’s an open question whether the Ilitches can regain any lost public goodwill built up via their successful pizza business and stewardship of their Detroit Tigers and Red Wings — two franchises struggling with their own issues after years of success. Much will depend on the organization getting over a steep learning curve in a business that is complicated even for veteran developers — and moreso for a company that has never built an apartment. Ilitch told Crain’s and others that his organization has additional progress in the district coming soon: Last week’s groundbreaking on a $70 million building for the Detroit Medical Center and the law firm Warner Norcross + Judd; and a new agreement to redevelop the Hotel Eddystone building that has sat windowless for years north of the arena. “I’m always hopeful, but I think what we need to start evaluating is the system of metrics that look at actual results and not plans or projects in financing mode,” said Francis Grunow, chair of the Neighborhood Advisory Committee for the District Detroit area and often a critic of the Ilitches’ handling of the District. One local public relations veteran said the Ilitches have a lot of work still to do to repair any lost reputation. “In these situations, what companies have to remember is that they are never just one tactic away,” said Matt Friedman, co-founder of public relations firm Tanner Friedman in Farmington Hills. “Chris Ilitch sitting down and doing a couple interviews is not going to turn the tide on its own. It could be a step in the right direction, as long as there is more to it than that. A groundbreaking can’t turn the tide on its own. There is going to need to be a series of steps that show the community that the District Detroit is real, and if they want to do that, it’s going to take time and consistent attention.”

‘Some of our timelines have changed’ The Ilitch organization last week also said it is reassessing its master plan for the district but has not specified how that will change how the district will be developed. There is no new timeline yet to have most of the project completed, with officials saying the company will rely on market demand to drive individual projects. Ilitch hinted that an announcement about a new housing project will be made in coming weeks. The District Detroit, introduced in 2014 and supported by nearly $400 million in taxpayer subsidies for construction of project anchor Little Caesars Arena, has been under scrutiny for not yet delivering on the renderings of a sprawling mix of new housing, offices, restaurants, bars, retail and green spaces. Ilitch said he’s aware of the criticism but said he’s instead focused on the future and producing high-quality developments. In 2014, he told Crain’s and others that the goal was to have the district built around the arena by the time it opened in September 2017. Much of the development plan, particularly the residential and retail portions, relied on third-party investors, and Ilitch acknowledged what Crain’s re-

LARRY PEPLIN FOR CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Much of the area designated the District Detroit consists of surface parking lots, which have become a focal point of criticism. Christopher Ilitch said in an interview that those parking lots could be future development pads.

ported in March: Relationships with developers collapsed, delaying the wider development of the district. “Some of our timelines have changed. Our passion for the city and the growth and revitalization of this area has not,” Ilitch said. The $862.9 million arena opened on time, and the Ilitch-owned Olympia organization has repeatedly said that it has met the promise of $200 million in ancillary development within the district that is outlined in the deal with the city to create the sports and entertainment venue project. Ilitch told Crain’s that a collapse in an agreement with Detroit-based American Community Developers set back the addition of 538 new units in the family’s District Detroit area. “We had started a relationship with a residential developer, and as we got further and further into our relationship, it became apparent that our long-term interests weren’t exactly aligned,” Ilitch said. “We mutually decided to part ways. I think that set back our timelines quite a bit.” Ilitch did not mention ACD by name, but the developer was responsible for 538 out of the 686 units; Ilitch didn’t comment on the remaining 148 units slated for the United Artists Building by another developer or other partnerships with groups such as Detroit-based Ventra Group LLC or Baltimore-based Cordish Cos. that have collapsed. Real estate professionals have said privately that Olympia micromanages projects and is difficult to work with, preventing much of the new construction and redevelopment work from getting done. “Having said that, we have used the time since then to really gear up this team ... and that’s going to put us in a position to really execute the strategy going forward, and I feel really good about that,” Ilitch said. “When you look at what were some of the obstacles, I would say that was one of the biggest ones.”

New team takes shape The new comments came as ODM announced a development team that Crain’s reported in August was in the works, including the hiring of former Disney executive Bradford, who is now heading up the District Detroit efforts. Bradford had been vice president of the rebranded and expanded Downtown Disney, now known as Disney Springs, a retail and nightlife

Ilitch speaks on District

Christopher Ilitch, president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings Inc. that is leading The District Detroit development in the city, sat down to answer questions from Crain’s reporters Kirk Pinho and Bill Shea and managing editor Michael Lee for about 20 minutes on May 22 at the Ilitch headquarters inside the Fox Theatre. remarks:

Here are some highlights from Ilitch’s

“As we look, a lot has happened in five years that we should be very proud of. First, Little Caesars Arena was completed and it is truly a world-class venue, having won 18 awards. It has attracted just over four million guests in its first 18 months of operation. The (Wayne State University) Mike Ilitch School of Business was completed. Since the ($40 million) gift was announced, total enrollment at the business school is up by a third and the graduate part of the school is up over twothirds. Now it’s one of the top 5 fastest-growing business schools in the nation, which is outstanding.” “On the residential front, probably one of the most important things that happened — we had started a relationship with a residential developer and as we got further and further into that relationship, it became apparent that our long-term interests weren’t exactly aligned. We mutually decided to part ways. I think that set back our timelines quite a bit.” “When things don’t work out with a particular partner because we don’t have perfect alignment, I’m not happy about the setback to our timelines, but if that’s going to result in a higher quality development and product at the end, then that’s what’s the most important.” “We work with partners, but we are just very selective, again, I think, to ensure that what ultimately gets developed is done very, very well and works within an environment which is very unique.” “Parking. Let’s talk about parking for a second. The District Detroit is home to four of Detroit’s major sports teams and a number of theaters. We have tens of millions of people traveling in and out of this district each and every year. The metro Detroit area doesn’t have mass transit, so our fans that are coming to these venues come in cars. They need to park their cars somewhere. The parking lots were there. What we did is fix them up and beautify them and landscape them and importantly, we built four new parking structures to help reduce surface parking.” “You talked about coverage and some of the criticism. For me, I’m certainly aware of the coverage on our organization. But for me, I’m focused on the future and I’m focused on the work we need to do.” “It was our belief then and it remains our belief today that these neighborhoods, through sustained investment, will continue to grow organically both in composition and in name.”

district at the Florida amusement park complex. He was hired to oversee the District Detroit and help it move along as senior vice president of operations and development. Olympia has also been on a hiring spree, seeking to woo real estate professionals from other companies in the region with pay 30 percent or greater than what they were making at previous positions along with other perks, Crain’s reported at the time. In a Thursday news release, the company said “recent and anticipated hiring” will bring in more than two dozen new employees. Bradford said Wednesday that even though Olympia has not developed any residential projects before, some of the people hired have experience with multifamily efforts. In addition, Olympia is not ruling out seeking large-scale tax incentives for future projects, Bradford said, including so-called transformational brownfield backing that would probably include more than $100 million in incentives if sought and approved. Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock LLC has a transformational brownfield plan that has $618.1 million in incentives for $2.14 billion in new construction and redevelopment, or about 28.9 percent of the total project cost. The minimum threshold for projects in Detroit to receive those incentives is $500 million; at the 28.9 percent level that Gilbert’s project receives, that would be $144.5 million for $500 million in development. “I don’t think I’ve seen a single project that doesn’t involve some form of financial support, incentive package, associated with it in some way,” Bradford said. “The DEGC (Detroit Economic Growth Corp.) itself has said that not a single development project has happened without some level of incentive. There are all kinds of incentives. The way I think about it is that all developers I have seen here is look at financial tools to make their project economically viable. I think that’s something we should consider or think about. I would look at all tools available to us.” Earlier this month, Olympia announced that it had reached an agreement for the Eddystone redevelopment after it missed a deadline for the building to be turned into residential units within a year of Little Caesars Arena receiving its certificate of occupancy. The Detroit Downtown Development Authority approved an agreement Wednesday that stipulates that Olympia obtains a $33 million letter of credit or performance bond that would be tapped by the city and DDA in the event that ODM or another ODM-chosen developer defaults on terms of the agreement. A large portion of the Ilitch family’s 45- to 50-block District Detroit area north of downtown remains surface parking lots, vacant buildings and parking decks, many of which are owned by the Ilitches and affiliates. The area is anchored by Little Caesars Arena for the Ilitch-owned Detroit Red Wings and the Tom Gores-owned Detroit Pistons. The known public subsidy for the arena, which cost $862.9 million to build, and the District Detroit projects so far is $398.1 million. Kirk Pinho: (313) 446-0412 Twitter: @kirkpinhoCDB Bill Shea: (313) 446-1626 Twitter: @Bill_Shea1

C R A I N â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

CARP

MATHERLY

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The carp grow very fast, outgrowing any natural predators pretty quickly,â&#x20AC;? Chapman said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They then damage the survival of small fish that live in the open water (of the Great Lakes). â&#x20AC;&#x153; Silver carp and bighead carp make up more than 90 percent of all fish in parts of the Illinois River, essentially out-competing native species for survival, according to a 2017 report by the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network. Chapman and the U.S.G.S. predict in recent risk assessments that fish with pelagic larvae â&#x20AC;&#x201D; newborn fish that live in open water as opposed to near shorelines or structure â&#x20AC;&#x201D; such as the yellow perch and walleye could potentially be eradicated if the carp take over the Great Lakes. Nearly 6.3 million walleye were caught in Lake Erie in 2018, according to data from the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission. Moreover, more than 40 percent of Michiganders fish the lakes and rivers, including the Great Lakes and fed via the Great Lakes, according to the Outdoor Industry Association.

There were surprises during his â&#x20AC;&#x153;listen and learnâ&#x20AC;? tour to areas that donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t typically see the same spotlight as Detroit proper, he said. Among them: the Ferris Wheel Innovation Center in downtown Flint, an entrepreneur center that encourages ideas from visitors walking by, and the Michigan Defense Center at Velocity, a Sterling Heights center for collaborative economic development in Macomb County. The fact that Southeast Michigan has a healthy defense sector was a surprise itself, said Matherly, who saw more than his fair share of defense companies in Virginia.

FROM PAGE 3

Fishing-related spending Michigan has the third-largest fishing economy in the U.S., behind only Florida and New York. Roughly 1.74 million anglers spent $2.5 billion on fishing-related expenses in 2011, according to the latest available data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Michigan also draws the second-most nonresident anglers to its waters, behind Florida. More than 347,000 out-of-state anglers fished Michigan waters in 2011, spending $326.3 million. Lake Michigan, where the Asian carp present the greatest immediate risk, hosted nearly 1.1 million anglers in 2016, spending an average of nine days each fishing the lake, according to the 2016 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Salmon remains the most popular sport fish on the Great Lakes, but walleye drew more than 508 thousand anglers for a total of 3 million days fishing total among them in 2016, according to the survey. But no lake would be spared from Asian carp, said Marc Gaden, communications director of the GLFC and adjunct professor at University of Michiganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s school for environment sustainability. Grass carp, which feed on aquatic plants, are already spawning in the Sandusky River, a Lake Erie tributary, and anglers have caught the species in Lake Erie. Grass carp consume up to their body weight â&#x20AC;&#x201D; up to 55 pounds â&#x20AC;&#x201D; in aquatic plants, damaging the coastal wetlands in the Great Lakes, which is habitat for many native species of fish. Black carp, which can grow to 5 feet and 150 pounds, are not in the Great Lakes yet but are present in the Mississippi River. They eat mollusks, which include native and invasive species such as garden snails and mussels. Native populations of fish, turtles, birds, raccoons, otters and muskrats that feed on mollusks are expected to be affected if black carp reach the Great Lakes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It only takes 10 males and 10 females to establish a populationâ&#x20AC;? Gaden said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re under no delusion of whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s happening here. It

FROM PAGE 3

ASIAN CARP REGIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE

Silver (top) and bighead (bottom) carp are two species of Asian carp threatening the Great Lakes.

comes down to the will to spend the money and do whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s necessary to protect the Great Lakes.â&#x20AC;?

Lame ducks, spry fish The political and economical will to fully prevent Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes has largely been deficient. The GLFC, a binational commission made up of local, national and Canadian stakeholders to protect the Great Lakes from invasive species, wants to restore a permanent barrier between the Chicago waterways and Lake Michigan that was removed in 1900. But that plan is at odds with the American Waterways Operators, which represents the tugboat, towboat and barge operators in the waterways around Chicago, particularly the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, which adds roughly $1.5 billion to the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy and supports thousands of jobs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want to redo what Mother Nature did â&#x20AC;&#x201D; provide a subcontinental divide between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi (River) before we broke through it,â&#x20AC;? Gaden said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We support going back to that divide that existed naturally.â&#x20AC;? The AWO did not make a representative available to comment. Before a meeting with the Army Corps of Engineers in Chicago in 2017, Lynn Muench, senior vice president of regional advocacy for the AWO, told Detroit Public TV that conservation groups and scientists were exaggerating the Asian carp problem. She said then that the Asian carp â&#x20AC;&#x153;population front hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t moved in 25 years,â&#x20AC;? and any barrier to the barge and tugboat operators would be detrimental to the Chicago economy. Newcomb believes protecting the Great Lakes far outweighs the needs and wants of Chicagoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s barges and tugboats. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The barge industry is still operating on the principles of the early 1900s,â&#x20AC;? Newcomb said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Coal isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t being brought through the canal anymore. Why does (construction and oil) aggregate have to? Maybe it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. That doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean the barge industry goes away. It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to, they just have to operate differently. Barge transportation is simply economic. Does that outweigh the value of the Great Lakes?â&#x20AC;? In 2010, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota and Pennsylvania sued the U.S. government in federal court, demanding stronger federal action on preventing Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes. The suit targeted the Army Corps of Engineers, who operate the lock-anddam systems on the Mississippi River. Illinois, of course, was absent from the lawsuit as its businesses continue to put pressure on any plan that could impact shipping. The result was a compromise thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

been afoot for years, as the Army Corps of Engineers has proposed installing an electric barrier, a bubble curtain and other measures at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Joliet, Ill., to deter the carp. But the high cost of that project has created political turmoil in Illinois, which is serving as the nonfederal sponsor on the project. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker scoffed at the plan released in November after the price tag for the project ballooned to $778 million from an earlier estimate of $275 million. But he authorized the project to move forward in April with hopes in securing additional funding support from other Great Lakes states, ending the political stalemate. Michigan has offered up a paltry $8 million toward the project, a figure Illinois would like to see increased as the entry of Asian carp into the Great Lakes poses a threat to the more than $7 billion recreational and commercial fishing economy linked to the local economies on those waters. But not all effects of an Asian carp invasion are as easily quantifiable. â&#x20AC;&#x153;How do you quantify a day out fishing with your grandfather that is now lost because we let these fish in?â&#x20AC;? Gaden said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;How do you quantify what happens to those that water ski or jet ski? Those activities will be thwarted by these dangerous fish.â&#x20AC;? Meanwhile, the government wildlife agencies continue to keep the fish away from Lake Michigan as best they can. Illinois signed an agreement in 2010 for Chinese-based Beijing Zhouchen Animal Husbandry Co. Ltd. to catch and export millions of Asian carp back to mainland China, where the fish remains a food staple. Environmentalists continue to monitor the fishâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s progress toward the Great Lakes and whether itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s breached the current lock-and-dam and electrical barrier system south of Chicago. But biologists are prepared to take extreme measures, even at the expense of the waterways and fisheries. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have a monitoring and response group with a plan for X, Y and Z,â&#x20AC;? Gaden said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If they get to X point on the river, it would trigger certain activities. At a certain point we send in the swat teams and go as far as a chemical treatment â&#x20AC;&#x201D; poison a section of the waterway to drive them back. At the end of the day, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re talking about a temporary poisoning of a section of a man-made river system versus a harmful species in the Great Lakes system. Our tagline is, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Leave nothing to chance.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; We spent 50 years cleaning up the Great Lakes and now weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to let Asian carp screw it up? Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hope not.â&#x20AC;? Dustin Walsh: (313) 446-6042 Twitter: @dustinpwalsh

Jobs for all At the same time, Matherly hopes to make his mark by baking equitable and inclusive development into the partnershipâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work from the beginning. He first learned of the approach as chair of the International Economic Development Council when Saginaw Future President JoAnn Crary brought before the council the idea of not just seeking employers with high-paying jobs for college graduates, but employers that bring jobs for people of all education and economic levels. That was serendipitous, given that one of the questions during his interview for the job here was on that approach, he said. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s because foundations that contributed much of the partnershipâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s $6 million in annual operating funding for its first few years have a special interest in inclusive development, said Sandy Baruah, president and CEO of the Detroit Regional Chamber. With another four employees, a couple on loan from local companies including Strategic Staffing Solutions and DTE Energy Co., working beside him, Matherly has engaged consulting firms including McKinsey & Co. and the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program to help develop a plan to guide its work. McKinsey has completed a cluster analysis to identify the types of companies the region should recruit based on workforce attributes and other assets. For example, someone may work in an auto plant but be able to transfer those skills to other jobs. McKinsey is also evaluating segments that could provide jobs for people coming out of local colleges with degrees in areas like engineering and

design. The partnership plans to finalize the clusters and launch efforts around them within the next month. The state is collaborating with the partnership, as it works with McKinsey on a similar study to get a statewide view of clusters that could put people into jobs, Matherly said. Brookings is identifying what it refers to as â&#x20AC;&#x153;good jobsâ&#x20AC;? that donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t require a college degree but pay a good wage, Matherly said. At the same time, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s looking for â&#x20AC;&#x153;promising jobsâ&#x20AC;? that might not include benefits put pay enough to live on, with a little left over, and more importantly, provide pathways to â&#x20AC;&#x153;good jobs,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Tracking progress To measure its impact, the partnership is looking at traditional metrics like jobs, investment and payroll, Matherly said. But metrics around prosperity are harder to determine. High-income families and people moving in to the area can skew the regionwide numbers, he said. But by focusing on income changes in the lowest 20 percent of median household income, the partnership believes it will be able to measure change, he said. Other regions that have seen lots of economic growth have done so by working to attract high-paying jobs and the companies that offer them. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You look back, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the same number of people in poverty that were there to start with; (the region) just grew because a lot of other people moved in from other places,â&#x20AC;? Matherly said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As we grow this region, we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to create a bigger divide between haves and have nots.â&#x20AC;? Inclusive economic development is an investment priority for the Hudson-Webber Foundation, which made a $150,000 grant over two years to support the work Brookings is doing for the partnership, said president and CEO Melanca Clark. The grant speaks to the recognition Matherly and his team have that if not done with intentionality, â&#x20AC;&#x153;a regional economic development strategy could easily move forward while leaving vast segments of the population behind,â&#x20AC;?she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This has implications not just for those left out of the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic resurgence, but the resurgence itself, as the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic growth trajectory will be stunted if the racial and income disparities endemic to the region persist.â&#x20AC;?

GET A HEALTHIER OUTLOOK ON CHILDHOOD Tune in to WJR 760 AM for Caring for Kids, a monthly radio program highlighting issues and efforts locally, regionally and nationally, that impact the health and wellness of children.

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C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

SCHOOLS FROM PAGE 1

The new public debt adds to a confounding new crisis emerging in Detroit Public Schools Community District as it lacks the ability to issue new bonds to confront $500 million in capital construction needs for dozens of aging buildings. The capital debt of those buildings falls to the old DPS under the financial workout plan former Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration engineered in 2016 to keep the school district from following the city of Detroit to municipal bankruptcy court. The 2016 legislation that separated the new school district — DPSCD — from the old DPS prohibited the successor organization from seeking voter approval for new capital bond debt. “The larger challenge is we have $500 million in capital needs, and we don’t have an avenue to gain access to capital markets that’s secured by the state,” said Jeremy Vidito, CFO for the Detroit school district. “Then there’s the question as to whether we could access the capital markets.” Moore said most school districts use the School Loan Revolving Fund to enhance their credit profile with investors because the loans are backed by the state’s credit. For Detroit, it has become a longterm lifeline to avoid a default. The city school system has borrowed nearly $410 million from the loan fund since 2011, according to district records. “They have to come up with a different capital program for Michigan schools,” Moore said. “Just borrowing to make these debt payments is doing nothing but kicking the can down the road.” Detroit schools has an outstanding loan balance of $152.6 million in the School Loan Revolving Fund, which has variable interest rates — currently 3.44 percent — and does not have a set repayment schedule. “The schools repay when they have funds to do so,” said Debbie Roberts, director of the bureau of state and authority finance for the Treasury Department. “This is not special for DPS or any particular school district.” The Detroit school district’s emerging debt repayment troubles are a hangover from the Great Recession. The city’s taxable property values plummeted then, and are a fraction of what they were before the housing crisis ravaged neighborhoods. In 2010, the first year DPS borrowed from the loan fund, the city’s property tax base totaled $10 billion.

FCA

FROM PAGE 1

Neither Exel nor Imperium responded to requests for comment. Penske Corp. Chairman Roger Penske told Crain’s that the logistics firm will “look to see if there’s opportunities” as the FCA plant gets closer to coming online. The I-94 Industrial Park, which Duggan has aimed to fill with auto suppliers, is also near the proposed FCA site. The Detroit Economic Growth Corp. spent $8.6 million to assemble the land to form the park, which is just north of I-94 and bounded by Mount Elliott Street to the west, Miller Street to the south, Huber Street to the north and St. Cyril Street to the east.

ANNALISE FRANK/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Detroit Public Schools Community District Superintendent Nikolai Vitti: “The facilities are a nagging, reoccurring challenge.”

Borrowing climbs The Detroit Public School Community District’s borrowing to cover payments on its capital bonds has grown to more than half the payment the district had to make:

Fiscal Year

Total debt payment

Total borrowed from School Loan Revolving Fund to meet the debt payment

Percentage borrowed from School Loan Revolving Fund

2011

$130,409,118

$48,432,351

37.1%

2012

$117,133,339

$26,117,459

22.3%

2013

$125,641,880

$33,504,736

26.7%

2014

$126,920,624

$44,862,031

35.3%

2015

$120,907,376

$28,384,590

23.5%

2016

$123,877,128

$43,190,775

34.9%

2017

$124,190,329

$35,230,987

28.4%

2018

$129,800,000

$58,717,958

45.2%

2019

$182,128,495

$91,510,142

50.2%

Source: Detroit Public Schools Community District

By 2018, that had fallen to $6 billion after a reassessment of all industrial, commercial and residential property lowered values, Vidito said. For just the Detroit school district, Vidito said the taxable value of property was even lower — at $5.6 billion — because of tax abatements of commercial and industrial property as well as the Downtown Development Authority’s capture of downtown property tax revenue that’s helping pay off the public financing on Little Caesars Arena.

‘Slow financial death’ Vitti said the inability for district to issue state-secured debt to fix existLast year, Flex-N-Gate Corp. opened a $160 million, 480,000-square-foot facility in the industrial park — the first major win for the park. Kristin Dziczek, vice president of industry, labor and economics at the Ann Arbor-based Center for Automotive Research, said while Detroit is now a more attractive investment location, the metro region’s already full of manufacturing plants that could support FCA in the city. “There’s a better chance of having auto suppliers move to Detroit now than there was before the FCA deal was completed,” Dziczek said. “Contracts are already being let out for the new product, but a lot will go to existing suppliers who may be able to retain current employment levels or might need to hire and expand

ing buildings creates a “ceiling” for turning around the 50,000-student school district after making strides to lower absenteeism, improve educational growth and produce a 10 percent budget reserve surplus for the first time in more than a decade. “The facilities are a nagging, reoccurring challenge,” Vitti said in an interview with Crain’s in early May, a week after students in some schools in Detroit had to be moved out of their classrooms during heavy rainstorms because of water seeping through leaky roofs. After two years on the job, Vitti is starting to turn to Detroit’s business community to help the district craft a plan for renovating, closing or build-

“There’s a better chance of having auto suppliers move to Detroit now than there was before the FCA deal was completed.” — Kristin Dziczek, vice president of industry, labor and economics at the Center for Automotive Research

(where they are). Note that many of these suppliers are in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Ontario already.” For example, Magna International already supplies the seats for the Grand Cherokee and has secured the contract for the next-generation vehicle and it’s likely it could supply

ing new schools — and winning buyin for that plan from parents, taxpayers and the Legislature, which may be called upon to reconsider restrictions it put in place during the state’s 2016 financial rescue of the district. Under the Legislature’s $617 million financial rescue of Detroit’s public school system, DPSCD has no capacity to issue bonds for capital construction until $1.4 billion in outstanding bond debt from the old debt-ridden district is paid off in 30 or more years. But based on one assessment of the school district’s infrastructure, the buildings won’t hold up for another 30 years without a significant investment. A facility assessment by OHM Advisors and Alfa Facilities Solutions LLC last year concluded the price tag for replacing roofs, boilers, doors, windows and HVAC systems is currently about $500 million and will rise to $1.5 billion by 2023 if nothing is done to put a dent in years of deferred maintenance. “I don’t think we’ll ever get to the point where we can dramatically increase enrollment, for example, if we don’t modernize our facilities,” Vitti told Crain’s. “Because at the end of the day, parents will look at some of our facilities and say, ‘OK, I think DPSCD has a better brand, they’re doing better work, but I’m not going to send my child to that building.’ And that’s not something we can control.” In making the business case that the condition of Detroit’s school buildings has to be competitive with charter schools and neighboring districts to attract families and students, Vitti has found an ally in Dave Meador, vice chairman and chief administrative officer of DTE Energy Co. Meador sees the district’s unfunded capital needs as a recipe for a “slow financial death” for Detroit’s public school system. “He’s got to solve this building problem,” Meador said of Vitti. “He’s making progress, but boy, he’s up against some pretty tall cliffs here.”

More seats than kids To help Vitti get a long-term plan for addressing the facility needs, Meador is going to start assembling a “small cross-functional team” of public finance experts, construction project managers and attorneys from businesses in Detroit. It’s an extension of the type of corporate involvement Meador has led in the $20 million in renovations the city and business community invested over the past two years in the Randolph and Breithaupt career and technical education high schools on the city’s west side. that program from its current Sterling Heights facility. Faurecia won the contract to supply seats for the Wagoneer and could supply from its facility in Sterling Heights. “If they have capacity nearby, they are going to use it,” said Julie Fream, CEO of the Original Equipment Supplier Association. “So much of what is driving the supplier community right now is managing investments and volumes.” The reason suppliers may be reticent to expand in Detroit or elsewhere is because global productions are slowing down and automakers are already cutting jobs ahead of a potential recession. Globally, automakers alone have cut 38,000 jobs in the past six months, Bloomberg reported last week. Ford Motor Co. announced a week

In both of those projects, DTE, Bedrock LLC and construction companies such as Barton Malow Co. loaned employees to a city-coordinated task force that organized renovations of the two high schools that DPSCD could not afford to pay for from its operating budget. The two schools have both seen increases in enrollment in CTE programs — and are used at night for training adults in skilled-trades professions. Meador said the team of outside experts will analyze the district’s finances to “come up with an approach to finance (Vitti’s) capital — and also helping him prioritize.” With half of Detroit’s schoolchildren attending charter schools, private schools and neighboring districts through Schools of Choice, DPSCD is still operating numerous schools that are under capacity. The district has 80,000 seats and roughly 50,000 students. Meador said consolidation of schools will help the district make its case to the Legislature for help in securing financing for capital improvements. “You don’t want to fix a school that might not survive over time,” Meador said. Starting this fall, Vitti said the district will begin a “methodical” process to get public input on which schools should be saved and which schools should be closed without replicating “the horrors of emergency management.” “We have more seats than we have kids,” Vitti acknowledged. “I don’t think we can move forward with any kind of ask concretely around facilities if we don’t right-size the district at a sharper, more precise level.” Closures made under emergency managers left the district with a disjointed system of 33 elementaries and 42 middle schools that feed students into the district’s 25 high schools. Vitti’s goal is to have a school investment and closure plan in place by January to implement in the 20202021 school year. “On paper, I can look at a school and say it’s under-enrolled, it’s low-performing, we should close it,” Vitti said. “That’s what an emergency manager would do. I’m not an emergency manager. And we actually have an elected and empowered board now. They have to be responsible to constituents.” “But at the same time,” Vitti added, “it would be irresponsible for us not to make these hard decisions.” Chad Livengood: (313) 446-1654 Twitter: @ChadLivengood ago it planned to eliminate 7,000 jobs, or 10 percent of its white-collar workforce nationwide, by September. In November, General Motors Co. announced a plan to lay off 14,000 salaried and hourly workers across North America and close several plants. The automaker represents 1 million of the 3.2 million units of underutilized capacity in the U.S. through October, according to the Center for Automotive Research. “The industry is right now staring down the barrel of what we think is going to be a significant downturn,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst John Murphy said at a forum in Detroit last week, Bloomberg reported. Dustin Walsh: (313) 446-6042 Twitter: @dustinpwalsh

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

BEAUMONT FROM PAGE 3

Beaumont CEO John Fox told Crain’s in an interview Thursday that a number of independent and employed doctors told him and Wood they have been upset that UP stopped contributing capital to BCP in 2017 and didn’t respond to a February invoice for a $400,000 payment. Officials from Beaumont also told Crain’s that UP also failed to comply and worked to stymie decisions made by the clinically integrated network to create the necessary management infrastructure to contract with payers and employers. “From doctors we heard complaints” about United Physicians not making “required capital contributions” for Beaumont Care Partners, Fox said. “I told Mike to get things going” and resolve the problem with UP. Williams said UP’s board had become increasingly concerned that Beaumont’s new management team was changing BCP’s operating agreement that “all of us agreed to in 2016. It has evolved away from our four operating tenets,” said Williams, an internist who also heads up Prism Medical Group, a 12-provider group with clinics in Rochester and Bloomfield Hills. Beaumont Care Partners was formed in July 2016 by Beaumont Health and the two physician organizations affiliated with the eight-hospital health care system. BCP is a clinically integrated network designed to conduct joint hospital-physician managed care contracting with payers and large employers. In Michigan, at least two other clinically integrated networks have been formed similar to Beaumont Care Partners. They include Together Health Network, a partnership between the University of Michigan and the state’s two Catholic systems, Trinity Health Michigan and Ascension Health Michigan; and Affirmant Health Partners, which includes Henry Ford Health System and Sparrow Health System. Nationally, more than 500 clinically integrated networks exist. Despite UP as an organization being kicked out of BCP, Beaumont officials pointed out that individual UP doctors will continue to take care of patients under BCP’s contracts, which cover about 60,000 lives. The UP doctors have signed individual contracts to cover patients under BCP contracts with Priority, UnitedHealthcare and a new plan for Beaumont employees. About one-third of UP’s 2,629 doctors are employed by Beaumont.

New contracts create friction One of the emerging issues in health care the dispute raises is conflicting goals between integrated health systems like Beaumont that are seeking to sign bundled deals known as “value-based contracts” for inpatient and outpatient services with payers and employers and independent physician organizations like United Physicians, which has existing contracts with payers for its physicians. “We are seeing increasing competition against us with health systems for managed care contracts,” Williams said. “Hospitals are trying to secure market share. They are competing for contracts and patients and even employees.”

crainsdetroit.com

Beaumont’s Royal Oak facility is one of eight hospitals in the health care system.

Fox

Williams

Fox acknowledged that changes in the health care delivery and financing systems are forcing health care systems to respond to mandates from private and government payers, along with employers, to find ways to lower costs and increase quality. “Payers and Medicare are changing the relationships we have with patients,” Fox said. “Medicare has created penalties for (excessive) infection rates, readmissions ... and are taking (revenue back with) clawbacks” if health systems don’t meet required quality and cost targets. But Fox said that despite the changes, health systems must find ways to work collaboratively with doctors. “This was not intended to hurt UP,” he said.

How the dispute started Problems between UP and Beaumont began in mid-2017, when Beaumont signed a narrow-network contract with Priority Health without consulting with UP, Williams said. Earlier this month, Beaumont signed a second narrow-network contract with UnitedHealthcare. “These contracts put us in competition with Beaumont,” Williams said. But Williams said the UP board decided to withhold payment of capital costs because the four founding principles it signed as part of the operating agreement of BCP were not being carried out. “We had a disagreement on (whether BCP) had veered away from its original idea. The independent doctors feel they are being commoditized by Beaumont that has now created an organization that is competitive with UP.” The principles include that BCP should be physician-led; should build upon quality programs already put into place by UP and Beaumont; it should pursue new contracts jointly and look for shared savings opportunities; and should use the infrastructure already built by UP to handle multiple plans. “As new opportunities came for new contracts we were supposed to work together to go after some contracts, not create an independent organization” like BCP, Williams said.

“Beaumont has different ideas on how to go forward.” But Fox and Ryan Catignani, BCP’s interim executive director, said Beaumont doesn’t believe it has violated BCP’s operating principles. Fox, who suggested UP officials are simply fighting inevitable change, said BCP needs to create its own contracting and administration department to comply with legal rules and avoid potential antitrust problems. Catignani said there were numerous discussions with UP about operations, but that UP still needed to pay its capital obligations under the agreement. Because UP felt it wasn’t going to change Beaumont’s position, Williams told Crain’s that UP notified Beaumont in October 2017 that it was in the process of withdrawing from BCP. It was solely because of the disagreement in how the contracting organization was being managed and how other actions appeared to be minimizing UP’s representation of independent physicians. Williams confirmed to Crain’s that UP’s board earlier in 2017 had instructed management not to pay the $400,000 in annual capital payments that year. In February 2018, BCP’s co-founders met and agreed to defer that year’s capital contribution discussion to 2019. Williams said there was little discussion that year about capital needs and no requests from BCP to pay the $400,000 it owed from 2017. However, in February 2019, Williams said UP received an invoice from BCP for $800,000, which included the 2017 and 2018 years. Catignani said the other two co-founders, which already had paid 2017 capital costs also were invoiced and paid 2018, leaving UP owing $800,000. Williams said UP didn’t pay the $800,000 it was billed in February because the board felt they would have a discussion at the April meeting, as they had the year before. Fox said UP should have known something might happen at the April meeting because it was now $800,000 in arrears for capital payments. Williams said UP was not informed of the agenda of the meeting, other than he expected to discuss whether there would be another call for capital in 2019. “We live in the real world. There are consequences” when you don’t pay your bills, Fox said. After the April 18 termination vote, UP’s board met and agreed that it wanted to find a way to continue to work with BCP. UP then authorized Williams to take a $400,000 check to

Beaumont offices that would cover the 2017 overdue capital invoice. Fox said BCP was right to reject the offer and maintain the termination because the check only covered half the amount due. “I got a letter (from BCP) rejecting the $400,000. They wanted $800,000. The (UP) board said it is clear (Beaumont) doesn’t want us around,” Williams said. “We thought we could make it work. I have no idea why it didn’t happen. We made a good faith effort, even though we have disagreements on the operating principles (of BCP). But we had a discussion later and decided to move forward” with other plans. Williams also said UP believed that BCP had at least $2.4 million in the bank, more than enough to run the company this year. Fox said BCP has a lot of capital spending needs this year to build up the contracting organization. Catignani said BCP must spend funds on building up staff, technology and infrastructure to manage the Priority Health, UnitedHealthcare contracts, as well as others expected to be signed in the coming months. On April 30, Williams sent an email to UP physicians to advise them UP had been dismissed from BCP for nonpayment of capital costs. “The motion (to terminate) was based on differences in opinion regarding capital funding needs and requirements,” Williams said in the email to UP doctors. “UP believes this action violates the operating agreement of BCP.” But Williams said he believes the true reason for UP’s dismissal is “an effort to gain control of BCP and exercise contracting authority over independent physicians. While some may believe that Beaumont Health appreciates and looks out for their independent physicians’ best interests, this is only true when the interests of the health system are met first.” Williams cited Beaumont Health’s decision to launch 30 new urgent care clinics in Southeast Michigan thereby directly competing with established primary care practices. Last August, Beaumont signed a deal to develop the 30 new urgent care centers with Wellstreet Urgent Care of Atlanta. “Physicians, especially those in private practice, need to carefully consider how and with whom they partner to assure that their interests and those of their patients are protected,” Williams said. Jay Greene: (313) 446-0325 Twitter: @jaybgreene

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C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 9

THE WEEK ON THE WEB

RUMBLINGS

DMC begins new round of layoffs

Team Schostak buys 56 Wendy’s restaurants

MAY 17-23 | For more, visit crainsdetroit.com

etroit Medical Center has begun a new round of layoffs expected to affect about 1 percent of its workforce, or about 117 managers and other workers, Crain’s learned. The move would bring total layoffs at DMC over the past five years to more than 1,100 employees, including 330 last year. Earlier this year, DMC’s parent, Tenet Healthcare Corp., a Dallas-based investor owned chain, announced it was asking its hospitals to help cut $200 million in costs from the company and more than 1,000 workers. DMC officials confirmed the local layoffs. “The DMC is committed to providing our patients and communities with access to high-quality and affordable care, and we will continue to prioritize allocating our resources where it can make the most difference in serving patients,” according to a DMC statement. “These changes to our workforce are not related to cost-cutting targets previously announced by Tenet. Treating those affected by these changes with dignity and respect is of the utmost importance to our organization,” DMC said. “We are working with affected employees by providing severance packages, outplacement assistance and helping those eligible apply for other positions within our organization.” One DMC source, who asked for anonymity, noted that DMC has more than 500 open positions, including 400 open clinical jobs. Another source who also asked for anonymity said at least four administrators in finance were laid off along with two workers at DMC Sinai Grace Hospital’s information technology department. A third source said an unspecified number of employees working to support cardiology, orthopedics and surgery were laid off as procedure volume has dropped substantially during the past year. DMC officials declined to answer questions about specific areas of layoffs or downturns in volume. In the first quarter of 2019, which ended March 31, Tenet reported a net loss of $27 million, compared with net income of $98 million in the first quarter of 2018. Net operating revenues for hospital operations were $3.86 billion during the first quarter, down 2.2 percent from the first quarter of 2018. The decline in revenue was due to hospital divestitures, partially offset by same-hospital revenue growth. During fiscal 2018, however, Tenet reported net income of $108 million on revenues of $18.3 billion. The company posted a net loss of $704 million on revenues of $19.2 billion in 2017. Over the past two years, Tenet has initiated cost savings to shave $450 million from its expenses.

BUSINESS NEWS J Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is receiving a package of public incentives — such as tax breaks, land, site preparation, taxes generated by new jobs and grants, valued at $319 million — for $4.5 billion in investments at five

KURT NAGL/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Detroit Medical Center has begun a new round of layoffs expected to affect about 1 percent of its workforce.

Detroit digits A numbers-focused look at last week’s headlines:

$319M

Total amount of incentives supporting FCA’s projects on the east side of Detroit

$2B

What NASCAR is paying to buy 13 race tracks, including Michigan International Speedway

Number of new liquor licenses that could be issued in Detroit following city and state approval

manufacturing sites in Southeast Michigan. The project has received state and city approval. J The Michigan Gaming Control Board gave the green light Tuesday to the $1 billion sale of the Dan Gilbert-owned Greektown Casino-Hotel to its soon-to-be operator Wyomissing, Pa.-based gaming company Penn National Gaming Inc. J A total of 63 new liquor licenses, with more every three years, could be issued in Detroit if the City Council and the state approve them. J With a $1 million grant from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, Oudolf Garden Detroit is nearing completion of its fundraising campaign to support a garden designed by renowned Dutch designer Piet Oudolf on Belle Isle. J Penske Corp. is directing its $5 million Detroit investment promise to Jefferson-Chalmers. Part of the $35 million pledged by seven businesses to the Strategic Neighborhood Fund, the Penske money will be administered by Invest Detroit and used to renovate and reopen the Lenox community center, which closed eight years ago. J San Francisco-based carpooling service provider Scoop Technologies launched in Detroit last Wednesday with Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock family of companies as its first enterprise customer. J Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, which hails itself as one of the largest Reform Jewish congregations in the country, plans to undergo a $4.5 million expansion to help boost its offerings. The 110,000-square-foot synagogue at 5725 Walnut Lake Road

serves a community of more than 3,400 families. J A new company based in Oakland County aims to break into the automotive battery business after acquiring assets from Robert Bosch Battery Systems LLC. American Battery Solutions Inc., incorporated Monday, is buying Bosch’s testing lab assets for high-voltage batteries and taking over the lease on a 40,000-square-foot plant and office complex, to serve as its headquarters, in Lake Orion, according to a news release. It is also purchasing a 172,000-square-foot Bosch plant in Ohio. J High-end men’s golf attire company Greyson Clothiers is opening a store in downtown Detroit and teeing up plans to eventually move its base to the city. Greyson, which specializes in golf clothing, will open a 3,500-squarefoot shop on the ground floor of the First National Building as a pop-up through Aug. 31.

ivonia-based Team Schostak Family Restaurants has acquired 56 Wendy’s restaurants in Michigan. With the addition, family-owned Team Schostak now owns and operates more than 160 restaurants throughout Michigan. “As our team actively sought opportunities to grow TSFR’s restaurant business, this unique opportunity came up in our home state to purchase these Wendy’s and the acquisition was a strategic and natural fit,” Mark Schostak, executive chairman, said in a news release. The Schostak family started in real estate and diversified nearly 40 years ago when it became a Burger King franchisee. Over 34 years, Team Schostak grew its Burger King ownership from one to 60 restaurants in Michigan before selling its

stake in the brand in 2015. Today, Team Schostak owns and operates 65 Applebee’s, 27 Olga’s Kitchen, 14 MOD Pizza and seven Del Taco restaurants in Michigan. In 2018, Team Schostak opened the first co-branded Applebee’s/IHOP restaurant inside the Millender Center in Detroit. “TSFR is a known leader in the restaurant industry with a successful track record of growing and operating numerous restaurant concepts, and we are excited about their commitment to help grow Wendy’s,” Angela Coppler, senior director of global franchise recruiting at The Wendy’s Co., said in the release. Team Schostak will add 1,700 employees as a result of the acquisition, the company said.

SPORTS NEWS J The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame’s 10-member 2019 class unveiled Tuesday is highlighted by stars of the 1990s such as Grant Hill, Charles Woodson and Vladimir Konstantinov. The induction ceremony is scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 5 at Sound Board inside Detroit’s MotorCity Casino Hotel. J The University of Michigan has turned to a familiar face to become its next men’s basketball coach: Miami Heat assistant coach and former Wolverines star Juwan Howard. The university said Howard agreed to a five-year deal, starting at $2 million annually, with a base salary of $400,000.

REAL ESTATE NEWS J The project that would turn the 13-story historic Hotel Eddystone building near Little Caesars Arena into apartments and commercial space is expected to cost $40.9 million and seek an unspecified amount and type of public incentives. J Nonprofit developer Develop Detroit is preparing to roll out a new neighborhood fund as an extension of its main equity investment fund. The initial goal is to raise $1 million. J Top brass at Olympia Development, Detroit Medical Center and Warner Norcross + Judd LLP last Thursday celebrated the beginning of construction of a $70 million project next to Little Caesars Arena. The 127,000-square-foot facility is expected to be complete in two years.

BMG MEDIA CO.

Renovations are underway at the Wabeek Country Club in Bloomfield Township, which sold to a new ownership group earlier this month.

Country Club sells to group led by Wireless Toyz CEO T

he Wabeek Country Club in Bloomfield Township has a new ownership group that plans millions in renovations. Wabeek Country Club LLC purchased the 180-acre golf course off Long Lake Road east of Middlebelt Road and has started renovations that include a new restaurant and improvements to the pool area, spa and event space, according to a press release. In addition, an outdoor patio area, fire pit lounge and an outdoor lounge are expected as part of the renovations due to be complete next month. The ownership group is headed up by Joe Barbat, founder and chairman of Barbat Holdings LLC, a West Bloomfield Township-based real estate investment and management company, and Houze Living LLC. He is also the CEO and chairman of West Bloomfield Township-based Wireless Toyz. Other investors include Tushar Vakhariya, a Birmingham-based real estate agent, and Richard Simtob, a partner at Zoup! He was previously a partner with Wireless Toyz.

Barbat said the purchase closed three weeks ago for an undisclosed price and that renovations started two weeks ago. He declined on Wednesday to reveal other investors, a specific renovation budget, the number of members or membership rates. “We are not taking on any new members as we are close to capacity, and you must be invited in order to be considered,” he said. Public records show that the deed to the property was transferred May 14 from an entity called WGC Acquisitions LLC, which is registered to Kevin Macadoino in Shelby Township, to Wabeek Country Club LLC, which is registered to a Plunkett Cooney attorney in Bloomfield Hills. The Bloomfield Township assessing department said the property sold May 14 for $2.5 million. Barbat denied that the purchase price was $2.5 million, calling that number “not accurate.” He declined to elaborate. The course was built in 1972 and was co-designed by golf legend Jack Nicklaus.

state-of-the-art laboratories

research centers and institutes

$26

million in research funding