Crain's Detroit Business, July 18, 2016 issue by Crain's Detroit Business

‘Pokémon Go’: Why it might matter to your business, Page 3

JULY 18 - 24, 2016

Firms struggle to fill Health Care jobs at entry level Heroes Offers of higher wages, incentives on table By Dustin Walsh

gion is approaching a labor shortdwalsh@crain.com age — one that is only going to get Shiloh Industries Inc., a laser weld- worse, experts predict. There is also ing and metal stamping supplier, is evidence that the tightening labor hiring, and to find employmarket is starting to push ees, it has increased wages up entry-level wages even and offered other incenas activists pressure for tives. higher minimum wages Yet it continues to strugand major companies gle to fill entry-level jobs. It make a splash of raising has five openings at its their pay scales. plant in Canton Township, Last week, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Starbucks with more to come after reInc. announced they ceiving $26 million in new would raise pay for its lowbusiness for 2017. Kathy est-paid employees. StarShiloh’s trouble finding Henneman: Labor bucks plans to raise pay 5 workers is a story almost market has never percent to 15 percent for forgotten during the Great looked so bleak. its roughly 150,000 emRecession. But it’s the new ployees. Chase plans to reality. raise pay for 18,000 emNow, unemployment is beneath 10-year lows, 4.7 percent in ployees from $10.50 per hour to beMichigan and 5.7 percent in metro tween $12 per hour and $16.50 per Detroit in May, and labor force par- hour. SEE JOBS, PAGE 16 ticipation remains stagnant. The re-

They’re rethinking health care, solving intractable problems and changing the world. They’re Crain’s Health Care Heroes. One helped put lifesaving overdose treatments in the hands of first responders. Another is uniting for therapy veterans and former NFL players with traumatic brain injuries. And another told the world that a city’s children were suffering from lead poisoning. Those stories and more start on Page 9. Crain’s will honor them at our Health Care Leadership Summit on Nov. 17. For more on the summit, see www.CrainsDetroit.com/ events.

From real estate to Republican politics Now among GOP’s elite fundraisers, ‘relentless’ Ron Weiser puts the party first

By Kirk Pinho kpinho@crain.com

Trust in the federal government had started its slow atrophy. And in 1968, Ron Weiser, who would become one of the most prominent money men in Republican politics, needed cash. The University of Michigan law school student, two years after earning his business degree there and working as a resident manager of an apartment building at 815-819 S. Main St. downtown, had the chance to buy a small 15-unit property in Ann Arbor for $245,000. So he did what most in their early 20s would do: He hit up his “bros.” “I didn’t have the money,” he said.

Words you likely will never hear him say again. After successfully scraping together the $45,000 down payment — today, about $314,000 — from fraternity brothers and others, that apartment building, long since sold, was Weiser’s first step to a vast, and undisclosed, fortune accumulated largely in real estate. And, years later, a place among the GOP’s stable of fundraising elite that can be traced to his first apartment purchase. He deals in hundreds of millions of dollars now, as one of six vice chairmen of a national committee aiming for a far more ambitious goal: $1 billion for Donald Trump’s

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presidential campaign that is expected to kick into high gear this week with a formal GOP nomination at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. He sits in a small, almost claustrophobic temporary office on the fourth floor of the McKinley Corporate Center, the headquarters of the Ann Arbor-based real estate company he founded, McKinley Associates Inc., a few blocks west of the U-M campus. The company, of which Weiser is a majority owner, today has $500 million in annual revenue and a 55 million-square-foot-plus real estate portfolio valued at $4.6 billion in 33 states. Albert Berriz oversees it as its CEO and co-managing member. Talking last week about his 1968 purchase of the nondescript three-story apartment building overlooking the Huron River and municipal parks, Weiser is casually dressed in a striped button-up short-sleeve shirt. He is late to an interview, having gotten waylaid by a discussion about the 2016 election with Berriz — who himself has donated more than

$100,000 to Republican candidates and causes since 1999, according to Federal Election Commission data — and Doug Rothwell, president and CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan, the state’s business roundtable. On his desk, a tin of breath fresh-

eners: “Disappoint-MINTS,” with a photo of President Obama on the lid, stylized a la the outgoing commander-in-chief’s “Hope” poster designed by Shepard Fairey during SEE WEISER, PAGE 18

LON HORWEDEL

Ron Weiser is one of the six vice chairpersons of a joint fundraising committee for presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump and the RNC.

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MICHIGAN

BRIEFS Dow cuts could become West Michigan’s gain

Dow Chemical Co.’s loss — some

700 workers shaved from its workforce in Midland — may mean gains for manufacturers seeking to fill talent needs on the other side of the state. According to a MiBiz report, Grand Rapids-based Hello West Michigan and economic development firm The Right Place Inc. have teamed up with the Michigan Economic Development Corp. to create a portal connecting West Michigan employers to those laid-off workers. Dow announced the layoffs at its Great Lakes Bay-area operations as part of a larger effort to reduce the chemical manufacturer’s global employee base as the company attempts to cut costs in the wake of its recently closed deal to acquire Dow Corning Corp.

“We normally go outside the state to attract talent, but this is just a different situation,” said Cindy Brown, executive director of Hello West Michigan and vice president of talent initiatives at The Right Place. “We want these individuals to stay, and why not talk to them about opportunities in West Michigan?”

Dow’s cuts come at a time when West Michigan companies say they are struggling to find talent. Unemployment in Kent County has hovered between 3.3 percent and 2.9 percent from January to May 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The MEDC also worked with economic development firm Midland Tomorrow to develop the portal. Stakeholders in the project are still gathering information from employers for the portal, which has been built and is ready to accept information from former Dow employees.

Traverse City-area cottage renters balk at local bans Some homeowners say officials in the Traverse City area are being shortsighted in banning them from renting their properties as cottages, saying it isn’t good for tourism and it hurts them financially. “I’ve pleaded with this area to realize this is a sustainable, needed industry for our area, which is based on tourism,” Kelly Kazmierski told the Traverse City Record-Eagle. Kazmierski and her husband bought a house overlooking a lake in Garfield Township two years ago for $279,000 and invested $60,000 in renovations

while planning to rent it. But a ceaseand-desist letter that appeared on their door last July forced the couple to abandon vacation rental operations and refund $40,000 to people who had paid to stay at the cottage. Garfield Township and other nearby residential areas have banned short-term rentals — anything less than 30 days — for years. Housing shortages caused the township to start cracking down last year. “When we bought the property, we had no reason to believe we couldn’t rent it out,” said Kazmierski, now a familiar voice at township meetings for more than 40 short-term rental owners. “A handful are just renting and hoping they don’t get caught.” Some residents balk at skyrocketing rents, but Kazmierski and others say allowing home rentals would help the tourism industry.

MICH-CELLANEOUS n Heidi Grether, a veteran oil company lobbyist who joined Michigan’s energy agency last year, will lead the state Department of Environmental Quality in the wake of Flint’s water crisis, AP reported. Grether, who will take the post of DEQ director Aug. 1, has been deputy director of the Michigan Agency for Energy for a year. Keith Creagh, who has led the DEQ for six months since Dan Wyant resigned due to fallout from Flint’s lead contamination problem, will return to directing the state Department of Natural Resources. Grether worked for BP America for more than 20 years. n Members of a new state com-

mission will launch a statewide “listening tour” this month to gather feedback from residents about infrastructure needs. The 21st Century Infrastructure Commission will kick off the tour July 21 in Grand Rapids. Additional dates in Detroit and Marquette have not yet been announced. The commission has a website (miinfrastructurecommission.com) to gather public input and provide updates on its work. The panel is to review all state infrastructure systems to come up with best practices and priorities for improvement in a report due Nov. 30.

Denso Manufacturing Michigan

Inc., a manufacturer of automotive air conditioning and engine cooling systems, is expanding in Battle Creek. The Denso International America Inc. subsidiary said it plans to add new manufacturing capabilities at its Battle Creek facility to support additional sales, investing more than $37 million and creating 125 jobs. n A Grand Rapids-area arts nonprofit is giving the public an opportunity to support its $1.1 million fundraising campaign, which will go toward renovating its new home, the Grand Rapids Business Journal reported. LowellArts said last week that it has entered the public phase

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

CALENDAR .........................................14 CLASSIFIED ADS...............................15 KEITH CRAIN....................................... 6 OPINION .............................................. 6 OTHER VOICES ................................... 6 PEOPLE ...............................................14 RUMBLINGS .......................................19 WEEK ON THE WEB ..........................19

COMPANY INDEX: SEE PAGE 17 of its campaign, which kicked off nine months ago. LowellArts said it has outgrown its current home. n Grand Rapids-based DK Security said it has been awarded a oneyear federal contract for armed security guard services at the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, MLive. com reported. The company did not specify the amount involved in the contract. n Michigan State University’s Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is getting a $4.5 million boost

from businessman Robert Burgess, AP reported. Burgess, who earned a bachelor’s degree in packaging from MSU in 1966, is a managing partner with Glengarry Partners.

Correction n A story on Page 3 in the July 11 edition of Crain’s misspelled the name of Shelborne Development. Additionally, the program named SWOT is formally called SWOT City, and East Jefferson Avenue is one of six neighborhoods in the SWOT program. The other five are Brightmoor, Osborn, Grandmont-Rosedale, University District and Southwest Detroit.

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Accelerate Michigan back for 7th year; 8th year in doubt By Tom Henderson thenderson@crain.com

There will be a seventh annual Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition this fall in Detroit, alleviating worries that budget issues might halt its run as one of the largest business plan competitions in the country. An eighth annual event in 2017 remains in doubt. The grand prize of $500,000 remains the same for the winning early-stage company, but many changes are in store, according to Martin Dober, vice president and managing director of Invest Detroit Ventures, the investment arm of Invest Detroit, a nonprofit economic development organization. Invest Detroit replaced Ann Arbor Spark as the event’s fiduciary after the 2013 event. Dober said that after

last year’s competition, Invest De- second day to Orchestra Hall for troit decided to take over manage- pitches from the 10 finalists, a strollment of the event, as well. Lauren ing dinner, a keynote address and, Bigelow had been the executive di- finally, the presentation of awards. rector since the competi“We won’t waste a lot of tion was founded. time moving people to a Seun Oyewole, an ansecond location. We’re really alyst at Invest Detroit going to work on making Ventures, has been this go smoothly and quicknamed director of the Acly,” Dober said. “We really celerate Michigan prowant to refocus the event on gram. company pitches and get This year, Accelerate away from having panel disMichigan will take place cussions. The pitches and on one day, Nov. 3, in- Martin Dober: awards are the biggest stead of over two days. Refocusing thing.” And it will be at one ven- Accelerate Dober said Invest Detroit ue, Cobo Center. In recent Michigan. polled last year’s attendees years, much of the two and there was agreement to days of panel discussions and com- eliminate the keynote speaker. In pany pitches took place at the past years, the keynote speaker was Westin Book Cadillac hotel in Detroit scheduled after the strolling dinner, then moved in the evening of the and when it came time for what

should have been the climactic moment — the naming of the winner of the $500,000 — there was only a sparse crowd left. “I remember in the past, the awards announcements would be after 10 p.m., and most people had already gone,” Dober said. Oyewole said the strolling dinner will remain, but the plan is to have things wrapped up by 9 p.m. The number of semifinalists will be trimmed, too, from 56 to 36. “We want to highlight the best of the best. Cutting it to 36 won’t reduce the quality. It’s a good number,” Dober said. The event will also involve a bigger role for the Ann Arbor-based Michigan Venture Capital Association, whose members will serve as judges SEE ACCELERATE, PAGE 15

Accelerate Michigan

What: 7th annual Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition When: Nov. 3 Where: Cobo Center

Who: More than 200 companies who apply online will be winnowed down to 36 semifinalists, who will present their business plans to more than 70 venture capitalists from around the country. The 10 finalists will then make follow-up pitches. Awards: $500,000 grand prize, $100,000 for runner-up and $50,000 for third place. There will also be $25,000 awards in other categories. How to apply: Online at acceleratemichigan.org/competition/ companies. Deadline is Sept. 2 and the cost is $50.

‘Pokémon Go’: The business case By Blake Froling

has 47 PokéStops and four “gyms,” where players battle Pokémon. The Detroit Institute of Arts has about 10 PokéStops and has also posted on social media about the various types of Pokémon that can be found there. Ray’s Ice Cream in Royal Oak took to Facebook to promote its Pokémon connection. “We just found out it was a PokéStop,” Jenna Stevens, a manager at Ray’s, said last week.

bfroling@crain.com

The smartphone game “Pokémon Go” became inescapable seemingly overnight, with hordes of players trying to catch its virtual creatures on their phones. But the game also offers some outof-the-box opportunities for businesses to catch customers. Here are five things to know even if you have no intention of playing the game:

What is ‘Pokémon Go’? It’s a free app created by Niantic Inc., a spinoff from Google, that allows users to catch Pokémon, fictional animals that have appeared in Nintendo games for 20 years. The app, known as “augmented reality,” uses a smartphone’s camera and GPS to overlay Pokémon creatures on a real-world map. Players can catch and fight battles with the critters on their phones. The app has surpassed Twitter in active users since its July 6 release in the U.S., according to SimilarWeb.

Why should a business care? The game can be easily used as a cheap marketing tool. Users can buy “lures” within the game for about a dollar. These lures appear on players’ maps and attract Pokémon, and subsequently players,

Does it really work?

for 30 minutes at a time. Businesses can use these lures to attract players and drive foot traffic — important for many types of businesses. The game also placed “PokéStops” in thousands of locations, which players go to for free supplies in the game. Many businesses had PokéStops placed where they’re already located, without even having to pay for it. And naturally, the developer has said that sponsored locations are in the works.

Who is doing this? Businesses in the metro Detroit area have already capitalized on the massive popularity of the game. The Detroit Zoo touted on Twitter that it

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“During the day, for sure, I’ve seen people sitting and playing the game,” said Stevens. “I definitely think a few people have come in just for that. They buy ice cream, but they stay and play the game.” A fan-created “Pokémon Go” meetup at the zoo is set for July 30-31, with thousands of people saying on Facebook that they’re going. “Summer is our busy season anyway, but we do know that there has been an influx of Pokémon visitors,” said Patricia Mills Janeway, communications manager for the Detroit Zoological Society. Larissa Zade, DIA communications specialist, was inspired by the zoo to plan a Pokémon meetup in downtown Detroit’s creative corridor on July 22. Institutions on board include the Detroit Historical Museum, Wayne State University, the College for Creative Studies, the Charles Wright Museum of African American History and the Detroit Public Library.

What can go wrong? The game has had some unintended consequences. “One of the hazards of the game is people not looking where they’re going,” the zoo’s Janeway said. The Wayne State police even sent out an advisory warning players to be careful, watch their surroundings and stay out of secluded areas to avoid being lured into robberies — or walking into traffic.

COURTESY P3 NORTH AMERICA INC.

P3 North America Inc. built a 10-car vehicle workshop with prototyping capabilities

at its Southfield Mobility Innovation Center, which opened in April.

Mobility magnet

In the driverless car race, Michigan attracting outside firms that see it as place to be By Lindsay VanHulle

Crain’s Detroit Business/Bridge Magazine

LANSING — Several years ago, Praveen Singh made a bet on Detroit. The Silicon Valley technology startup he founded decided to market the advanced wireless systems it developed to the automotive industry. As the market for the technology grew, Singh and his small team at Arada Systems Inc. found themselves spending more time on airplanes, flying from California to Detroit and Washington, D.C., for meetings with automakers and federal transportation administrators. Those cross-country flights brought Singh to the realization that if he wanted his company to be on the radar — to really compete — it needed to be in Michigan, a state with proximity to major automotive suppliers and, he said, an aggressive approach to connected vehicle development. Not just a satellite office. The whole operation. So in 2012, the Stanford University graduate and longtime California resident pulled up stakes and

moved his firm and his family to Arada’s new headquarters in Troy. Soon, he said, the company was working more closely with automakers, tier-one suppliers, university researchers and the Michigan Department of Transportation. “It was a pretty bold move,” Singh, 45, told Crain’s. “I felt, at the end of the day, the only way you’re successful is if you’re living and breathing in a certain location.” In the race to develop connected and autonomous vehicles, Michigan’s automotive industry is frequently pitted against Silicon Valley’s technological prowess — the Detroit 3, say, versus Tesla Motors Inc. or Google. The perception often is that Silicon Valley’s tech entrepreneurs are disrupting the American auto industry, forcing automakers to accelerate R&D of connected and self-driving vehicles to catch up. More and more, though, companies are looking to Michigan to establish new offices or — as in the case of Arada Systems — move corporate headquarters to be closer to SEE TALENT, PAGE 17

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Black talk radio station WFDF breaks into listener rankings By Bill Shea bshea@crain.com

Detroit’s new talk radio station aimed at African-American listeners has built enough of an audience that it has crept for the first time into the radio listenership rankings. WFDF 910 AM generated a 0.1 rating for June in the ratings released recently by Columbia, Md.-based Nielsen Audio. The station is averaging about 25,200 unique listeners per week, and of those, 15,600 are black, said David Bangura, vice president and general manager at 910 AM. Another interesting statistic out of WFDF’s first ratings report: 17,000 of its listeners live in Oakland County, meaning it derives less of its listenership from Wayne County, which is about 39 percent African-American, so far. WFDF ranks 41st out of the market’s 53 stations, and is on par with Taylor-based WCHB 1200 AM, a black-oriented talk station of local and syndicated content owned by Silver Spring, Md.-based Radio One Inc.

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“It’s a low number, but it’s a start. It had no numbers before. It was ground zero,” said station owner Kevin Adell. The 0.1 represents what Kevin Adell: “It’s a Nielsen Audio low number, but terms a quarter it’s a start.” hour (AQH) rating, or the average number of persons, ages 6-plus, who listened during any quarter hour from 6 a.m. to midnight Monday through Sunday in the survey of the local market. Adell signed a three-year deal to get ratings data from Nielsen. At the top of the local monthly rankings, with an enormous 7.2 rating, is CBS Radio Inc.-owned sports station WXYT 97.1 FM, which dominates ratings because it carries Detroit Tigers games. Adell, 49, bought 50,000-watt WFDF for $3 million in late 2014 from The Walt Disney Co.’s Burbank, Calif.-based Disney Radio Group LLC. In January 2015, he began using the station to simulcast audio from his Southfield-based The Word Network global Christian television programming that’s mainly aimed at an African-American audience — and is highly lucrative while giving him cachet and legitimacy within the black media community. While ramping up WFDF’s signal and working out technical kinks, Adell simulcast The Word until launching the all-talk format in March. Adell’s strategy has been to saturate the metro area with more than 100 billboards to brand “910 AM Superstation” visually (he also has a couple of buses wrapped in the sta-

tion’s logo), and to populate the station’s airwaves with notable names, including controversial figures, to build listenership. WFDF hosts include many familiar names, such as Steve Hood, Ralph Godbee, Bankole Thompson, state Sen. Bert Johnson, JoAnn Watson, Horace Sheffield, Adolph Mongo and Karen Dumas. Dumas, a former spokeswoman for Detroit Mayors Dave Bing and Kwame Kilpatrick, anchors the 4-7 p.m. afternoon weekday slot. A recent addition is former University of Michigan football star LaMarr Woodley’s Tuesday show about athlete life. Hosts with controversy in their backgrounds include former Kilpatrick Chief of Staff Christine Beatty, and ex-Wayne County District Judge Wade McCree. Also in the lineup is comedian Mike Bonner at night, and music is played overnight. Not all hosts are black, such as controversial former state legislators Cindy Gamrat and Todd Courser, and Warren Mayor Jim Fouts. Previous hosts have included former Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano, and current Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. Adell said he wants names on his airwaves, controversial or otherwise, who will fuel an audience. “I give people second chances, a second bite of the apple,” he said. One local radio observer had mixed observations about the host strategy. “Karen Dumas in afternoons is particularly strong,” said Don Tanner, a partner in Farmington Hillsbased Tanner Friedman Strategic Communications and radio-industry insider who wrote the radio and music industry book No Static at All. “Adell has compiled a large list of wellknown hosts, both daily and weekend, that people know. ... Hosts like Gamrat and Courser also bring a curiosity factor, but can that be sustained?” Talking about issues important to the African-American community, such as police brutality and the Flint water crisis, are the sort of topics Adell said his hosts tackle. “We’re going to peel it back like an onion,” he said of issues. A diversity of voices is fueling WFDF’s early listenership success, said Aaron Foley, a media observer and editor of Ferndale-based BLAC Detroit Magazine, an arts, culture and lifestyle monthly aimed at African-American readers. “910 is working because they have a variety of voices, and a variety of black voices,” he said via email. “We can’t just rely on one or two black people in Detroit media to be all things to all people. With 910, you have more than one option — male and female voices, young and veteran voices, people from various career backgrounds.” WFDF’s emergence comes at a

time when race is a major American societal issue, and topics on the station affect many. “People more than ever are cognizant about representation in media,” Foley said. “Just like readers want to see people that look like them, listeners want to hear people that sound like them.” Sustaining the station is easier, Adell said, because he lacks labor costs for talent. The hosts are unpaid but are free to sell commercials during their shows — as long as they don’t sell more spots than ownership, he said. What’s in it for the hosts, since they don’t get paid? Freedom, Adell said. He places no restrictions on his hosts, other than what’s mandated by the Federal Communications Commission.

“I’m not worried about offending advertisers. I already have money,” he said. Adell has his sales staff from his television station, WADL TV-38 in Clinton Township, sell commercials as packages that include spots on WFDF, he said. Spots on WFDF sell for $40 to $55 for 30 seconds and $50 to $80 for 60 seconds. Earlier advertisers have been DTE Energy Co., the Wayne County Assessors Office, Detroit-based SER Metro, Thav Gross Attorneys in Bingham Farms and Roseville-based A&B Motors. Adell said he expects political advertising to kick up in coming months, and with an official rating from Nielsen Audio, his sales staff will be able to sell airtime to major advertisers seeking to reach a black audience. He also said he expects to be targeted by large media buyers that have budgets set aside for black stations. “Getting the number makes it legitimate now,” he said. The station isn’t entirely talk or music: WFDF in May inked a deal, the terms of which were undisclosed, for the broadcast rights to University of Detroit Mercy men’s basketball games. Adell also unsuccessfully sought the broadcast rights to Detroit Pistons games. As for competition locally, Adell has said his intent is to siphon black listeners from Detroit’s talk radio stations that have equally large power: WWJ 950 AM, owned by New York City-based CBS Radio, and WJR 760 AM, owned by Cumulus Radio Inc. Also targeted is Detroit’s current primary black talk station, anchored around longtime host Mildred Gaddis, the 50,000-watt WCHB. Overall, Tanner is impressed with what Adell has done with WFDF. “Doing this well this early is impressive for a new station,” he said. “Adell is doing more than any other station or radio group in town to promote 910 AM. Billboards are everywhere as are snazzy station vehicles (in essence, rolling billboards).” Bill Shea: (313) 446-1626 Twitter: @bill_shea19

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OPINION

Public transit may build workforce

he market is working. A push to increase the minimum wage through legislation may not be as effective as the market itself: Employers are paying more to attract workers. As Dustin Walsh reports on Page 1, local workforce experts say the tightening labor market forces employers to pay more. But even then, many — like Shiloh Industries Inc. in Canton Township — are finding it tough to find people willing to be trained and who have “soft skills” to be effective on the job. One solution could be public transportation. Employers who support the Nov. 8 millage — like Detroit Manufacturing Systems founder Andra Rush — attest that many workers wash out in the first 90 days because they don’t have a reliable way to get to work. If it’s difficult for Detroiters to reach the DMS plant near I-96 and the Southfield Freeway, imagine how tough it would be to get from Detroit to Canton Township. The regional transit millage — 1.2 mills asked of voters in Oakland, Wayne, Macomb and Washtenaw counties — would create bus rapid transit lines along major corridors as well as cross-county connections and more express bus routes. It would enhance existing bus service operated by the regional SMART, Detroit Department of Transportation and Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority. Some voters may not use the enhanced service, but the companies in our region straining to find workers should see the value of bringing more workers to their doors.

Honoring health care’s heroes Most businesspeople think of health care as a cost. Some think of health care coverage as a competitive advantage in wooing new talent. But as our annual list of Crain's Health Care Heroes suggests, health care just might be a commodity — until you, a family member or a colleague need the very best. And managing institutions within the multibillion-dollar industry isn’t a walk in the park, either. Our honorees represent some amazing stories — from the well-chronicled efforts of pediatrician Mona Hanna-Attisha in pushing the Flint lead poisoning issue to the front of the public agenda, to banker Sandy Pierce’s role as chairman of the Henry Ford Health System board as it pushed through a series of major decisions shaping the 100-year-old system’s future. And there are lessons, too, in the work of psychiatrist Carmen McIntyre, who has crusaded to save opioid addicts but recognizes a root cause: “We have a culture that is intolerant to any discomfort.” All 10 are deserving of accolades. Crain’s is proud to honor them now — and at the annual Health Care Leadership Summit on Nov. 17 at the Troy Marriott.

Detroiters, unite to save neighborhoods

et’s face it, Detroiters, never did we imagine that Detroit would be bouncing back so fast. Change is everywhere, from newly repaired streetlights, to accelerated demolitions, to rapid road repairs. In addition, there are new construction and booming values in downtown, Midtown, Corktown, East Jefferson, and the Woodward corridor. This is an exciting time, Detroiters. After years of challenges, we now have a front-row seat on what effective management is all about. Mayor Mike Duggan is now tackling the schools and our most precious asset — our children. I must admit that I became emotional listening to his speech at the Mackinac Policy Conference and the plans that he has for our schools. For those who have not heard it, you must listen to it. He fights for Detroit like a bulldog. The main issue this article addresses is whether Duggan alone

OTHER VOICES Herbert Strather

Strather is a real estate developer based in Detroit and a teacher. can save Detroit’s neighborhoods. The answer is no. How can anyone save a neighborhood without the residents’ engagement? The mayor can roll out as many great programs as possible, but if Detroiters don’t take action, how is it possible to properly redevelop the neighborhoods? Detroit’s neighborhoods should be something that we can appreciate with beautiful homes that have curb appeal, rather than transients and boarded-up houses on every block.

Wake up, Detroiters. If we do not take control of our blocks and neighborhoods, then others will do it for us. We are on the verge of ending up with investors all over the world owning us. I, for one, would rather die than see this. I have a 2-year old daughter who is growing up in Detroit. I do not want her to one day ask me, “What happened to our city, Daddy?” The question becomes, “Why aren’t we engaged?” Consider this: City of Detroit Employees can buy real estate for 50 percent of any winning bid from the Detroit Land Bank Authority. I wonder how many have taken advantage of this opportunity. On the average, the appraised market values are less than half of what they were 10 years ago, (this is a joke) yet rents are back 100 percent, and demand is off the hook. Just ask any real estate agent. Need I say anything else? Let’s join forces and redevelop our neighborhoods.

LETTERS

Crain’s articles clarify debate on Medicaid

Editor: Over the past several months, Crain’s Jay Greene wrote a series of articles that outlined, with accuracy, objectivity and clarity, the debate within the state budget development process over the roles of the public and private sectors in meeting the needs of those enrolled in Michigan’s Medicaid program. This series represents the best of what journalism can bring to the public’s understanding of complex social and political issues. It underscores the vital role that journalism, of the caliber demonstrated by Jay, plays in fostering the informed public discourse essential to sound policymaking and, more fundamentally, to the workings of a democracy. Jay captured, with accuracy, compassion and a keen ear and eye, the views of the full range of stakeholders to this debate. Readers were provided with a broad cross-section of views on the impact of this debate, including those served by the public and private mental health systems, those who work within those systems, state legislators, state government administrators and those ad-

Send your letters: 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: jhsmith@crain.com

common good and in serving some of this state’s most vulnerable and resilient residents, those with mental health and intellectual/developmental disabilities, and substance-use-disorder needs. His writing reflected a depth of knowledge; a nuanced, clear-eyed view of the financial and political aspects of the debate; an understanding of the broader national context; and a heart for the persons who would be most directly impacted by the decisions made as a result of this debate — those who are served by and rely upon this social and health care safety net. We applaud Jay’s commitment to accuracy, fairness, clarity, and to getting to the core public policy issues behind the budget debate. We applaud the sophistication and comprehensiveness of his approach to covering this debate. We look forward to his continued work in following this debate as it plays out in the near term and for years to come.

vocating for a range of outcomes. Jay’s comprehensive coverage gave a large segment of Michigan’s residents the knowledge and context needed to understand and participate in this debate — a herculean task given the complexity of the issues involved. Jay’s articles described the fiscal and service delivery structures and processes imbedded in the state’s Medicaid program — structures and processes that can appear arcane to most observers — in ways that allowed a broad cross-section of Crain’s readers to understand and participate in the debate. More than that, Jay outlined the public-interest issues that are at the core of the debate — the role of government and the vital role played by the public safety net in ensuring the

Robert Sheehan CEO Michigan Association of Community Mental Health Boards

the face of it. There are millions of potential buyers for a driverless vehicle today. Senior citizens who have been forced to give up driving and their freedom of mobility are a huge market to buy a vehicle that will take them where they want to go without having to drive themselves. But in the haste to cash in on this market, many vendors are going to be offering for sale untested and unproven products that will simply be unsafe. Unfortunately, government will have to get involved and create some benchmarks before these

products are offered for sale to an overly enthusiastic public. When and if a tested, safe driverless vehicle is available, there will be a huge market for the product. But it’s going to take quite a while before it’s available. My guess is, in the beginning, like an airplane on autopilot, it will require a licensed driver to constantly monitor the vehicle’s performance. That will delay the introduction of a true autonomous vehicle for even longer. It’s a great idea and a noble goal, but don't expect to buy one for at least a decade. Testing takes time.

Driverless cars are at least 10 years away A few weeks ago, Joshua Brown became a footnote in history when he became the first person killed in an autonomous vehicle. I don’t know what he was doing, but we know for certain that he wasn’t driving his Tesla when it crashed into the side of a truck that turned ahead of him. Tesla has a feature on its cars that it calls “autopilot,” and it isn’t. We are probably not going to have a tested and proven driverless car for a decade or more — assuming the courts figure out who needs the insurance and the licensing for the

KEITH CRAIN Editor in chief

vehicle. That might take a decade by itself. Everyone you can imagine, and some you can’t, are rushing headlong into these uncharted waters.

They seem more interested in bringing a product to market regardless of whether it is fully tested over millions of miles. I don’t think most of these companies have the self-discipline to wait and be cautious rather than get something on the market that will be unsafe. Tesla has been unwilling to disconnect its “autopilot” feature even when it admits the system is not an autopilot the way most people would understand that term. It’s the driver’s fault, not the car, the company claims, which is ridiculous on

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // J U LY 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

MCM Learning finds life after auto in defense technical, training markets By Chad Halcom chalcom@crain.com

Sometimes diversifying to add a new line of business is no different than forming a new business from the ground up, as Warren-based MCM Learning Inc. has learned. President and CEO Ned Piccinini said it took more than five years of pitching products, networking and navigating federal bureaucracy to successfully crack into the defense industry. But the effort paid off, and he estimates the U.S. Department of Defense and allied foreign governments now account for 80 percent of revenue. The company has handled nearly $10 million in defense business since 2013, and MCM and two of its joint ventures are pacing to do more than $2 million in combined revenue this year for all its customers. Each of the joint venture businesses that it co-owns, with Jacobson Daniels Associates LLC in Ypsilanti and with Diversified Engineering Services Inc. in Livonia, hold contracts with the U.S. Army to create training manuals, sustaining engineering and training support for both domestic and foreign military vehicle users. In practical terms, the company has been providing training manu-

als for operating and maintaining military vehicles — both for the U.S. military and for allied governments under the federal Foreign Military Sales program. Piccinini said a modest share of revenue still comes through training and other services it provides to construction and medical businesses. And in a way, the drawdown of U.S. military forces from Iraq and Afghanistan and some changing environments for U.S. allies in other areas have actually increased the need for MCM materials. Foreign allies with differing education systems need to understand how to maintain and operate military equipment in their countries. “We have to handle creating not only a deliverable but a deliverable those (foreign) services can use. You have to consider, what’s the literacy level and learning level of the audiences around the world, to be able to practically use whatever we develop and move it forward?” he said. “It’s not just a matter of taking a programming manual developed in this language and translating it to that one. A literal translation will often confuse matters, because there’s not a similar word in the other language and the translation becomes more like a description of the word we’re trying to use. It be-

comes a matter of making something accessible.” It’s a far cry from 2009, when the company had no defense business and automotive customers who were then a primary revenue stream were winding down their relationships with MCM. Starting with contracts with Vo l k s w a g e n and Audi in 1995 and continuing through General some Motors Co. and Fiat Chrysler Au- Ned Piccinini: tomobiles US LLC Estimates training work government that wrapped in contracts account 2010 and 2011, for 80 percent of MCM used to revenue. provide training and instructional systems programs. Non-technical service work for GM used to include soft skills like customer interaction for dealership service departments, while Chrysler training programs had a more technical focus, Piccinini said. Founded in 1991, MCM was pacing for a then-record $2 million revenue year in 2008, after averaging $1.6 million to $1.8 million in the preceding years.

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But then the automotive deceleration began. Two years later revenue was well below $1 million and he had to invest some of his own money back into the business. Training and marketing, he said, are often the first two expenses to cut back when a cyclical business is in a downturn, and MCM was particularly vulnerable and needed new markets. So he had been trying since late 2007 or so to crack into the world of defense contracting. That meant getting assistance from the Macomb Regional Procurement Technical Assistance Center in Warren, and the U.S. Small Business Administration, while attending industry

events and pitching his products at industry day events at Macomb County's Selfridge Air National Guard Base and elsewhere, and getting proper contractor numbers to do business with the Pentagon. It was slow work, first convincing military officials of the usefulness of his products and then waiting for funding to procure them, until one joint venture landed a contract through the U.S. Army Tacom Life Cycle Management Command in Warren. A second one

followed, and he hopes to land a new multiyear defense contract in 2017, which could create

enough new business to double his current workforce of about 25 employees. Piccinini is not the only training and technical manual business owners who sees challenges in diversifying. Richard Alexander, owner of Alexander Publications in Newport Beach, Calif., publishes technical manuals for utility companies, power industry professionals and some educators who train electrical workers. And he also appreciates the difficulty in branching out into another industry. With more than 100 books published, including 22 written by Alexander himself, the business thrives on a specific niche and averages about $1 million revenue. “Our focus is on the transmission and distribution of electric energy, and it goes right through the grid up to the meter. The closest other market to our industry would be people who install interior wiring for commercial and residential customers, but we have chosen not to do that,” he said. “These markets are different enough, they have different safety standards and go to different trade shows, that it would almost be like starting a completely different business.” Chad Halcom: (313) 446-6796 Twitter: @chadhalcom

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SPECIAL REPORT:

HEALTH CARE

HEROES Stories by Jay Greene

MONA HANNA-ATTISHA, M.D., HURLEY MEDICAL CENTER Mona Hanna-Attisha, the pediatrician now world-famous for blowing the whistle on the public lead poisoning in Flint, has been invited to speak before many distinguished audiences. But some of her most cherished moments the past year have been talking about lead contamination and its effect on children before third-graders and Brownie troops. “When I share the Flint stories, the 7-year-olds say the most amazing things. They are so brilliant,” said Hanna-Attisha, who has two young daughters of her own, 10-year-old Nina and 7-year-old Layla, a Brownie. “Kids ask questions. They are very much WINNER: in disbelief. Some have fears of water now. PHYSICIANS They were told the water is OK, but it wasn’t OK. One said this was a failure of governDespite being ment. They are so insightful.” criticized by some While Hanna-Attisha said the Flint lead state officials last summer for creating poisoning was a man-made disaster that shouldn’t have happened, she said the story hysteria, Mona Hanna-Attisha and of Flint is also one of recovery. other researchers “Tragedies bring people together and presented findings that certainly is what happened here,” she of a report last said. “What I’ve always known is the people September that of Flint are strong.” concluded children Hanna-Attisha’s study showed the perages 6 and younger centage of children 6 years old and younger in Flint were with more than 5 micrograms per deciliter exposed to high of lead in their blood increased from 2.1 levels of lead percent to 4 percent. Some children in cerpoisoning after the city, with the tain ZIP codes were being exposed to triple blessing of the the average blood lead levels from the wastate, switched to ter, jumping from 2.5 percent of the chilthe Flint River for its dren tested to 6.3 percent. water supply. Lead mostly affects unborn children and those ages 6 or under whose brains are still being formed. Research shows lead causes irreversible brain damage, developmental delays, speech problems, rashes, a boosted risk for behavioral issues and other serious chronic conditions. SEE HERO, PAGE 10 MIKE NADDEO PHOTOGRAPHY

2016 HONOREES ADVANCEMENTS

Carmen McIntyre, chief medical officer, Detroit Wayne Mental Health Authority

Joseph Brennan, MedNow senior director, Spectrum Health

ALLIED HEALTH

Shannon Pearce, health and wellness coach, St. John Providence Health System

Lisa Muma, nurse navigator, Beaumont Health

CORPORATE ACHIEVEMENT

John Cornack, president, Eisenhower Center

Nancy Schlichting, CEO, Henry Ford Health System

PHYSICIANS

Mona Hanna-Attisha, Director, pediatric residency program, Hurley Medical Center

Joel Kahn, founder, Kahn Center for Cardiac Longevity

TRUSTEE

Sandy Pierce, board chairman, Henry Ford Health System

JUDGES FOR THIS YEAR’S HEALTH CARE HEROES WERE Jim Forshee, M.D., chief medical officer with Molina Healthcare of Michigan; Don Powell, president and founder of the American Institute of Preventive Medicine; Michael Miller, regional chief mission officer with St. Joseph Mercy Health System; and Dorothy Deremo, president of The Deremo Group and former CEO of Hospice of Michigan

Robert Lenihan, past board chairman, Crittenton Hospital Medical Center

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // J U LY 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

SPECIAL REPORT: HEALTH CARE HEROES ADVANCEMENTS IN HEALTH CARE

JOSEPH BRENNAN, RUNNER-UP MEDNOW, SPECTRUM HEALTH

CARMEN WINNER MCINTYRE, M.D.,

DETROIT WAYNE MENTAL HEALTH AUTHORITY Carmen McIntyre has started two programs in the past two years to train first responders in on-the-spot mental health evaluations and how to use the drug naloxone for people suffering from opioid overdoses.

GLENN TRIEST

Carmen McIntyre knew from age 12 she wanted to be a doctor, and when she turned 14 she knew she wanted to be a psychiatrist. But she dreamed of teaching and conducting research. Her experience as a student at the Wayne State University School of Medicine in the late 1980s changed that view: She enjoyed interacting with patients. For years, she worked in various clinic settings being involved in administration and patient care. Fast forward nearly 25 years. Now, as chief medical officer of Detroit Wayne Mental Health Authority since 2013, McIntyre has rediscovered her passion for teaching through training sessions with first responders. Armed with grant funding, McIntyre began two programs the past two years to train firefighters, police and emergency medical service personnel in on-the-spot mental health evaluations and how to use the drug naloxone for people suffering from opioid overdoses. “We just had our first state police officer save a life” using naloxone, a heroin antidote that stops overdoses, said McIntyre of the opioid training program that began last fall. On June 16, Michigan State Police officer Ben Sonstrom administered naloxone to a man suffering an opioid overdose. He was transported by EMS to a hospital and three days later was discharged.

More than 2,500 naloxone kits have been distributed by the Wayne County authority. Mental health authorities in Oakland and Macomb counties also provide free naloxone kits to first responders. At least 50 people have been saved by first responders in Southeast Michigan in the past year, according to news reports. “We train them how to identify intoxicated or people overdosed with opioids, walk through basic CPR and how to give naloxone,” McIntyre said. Opioid abuse has received national attention, but McIntyre said Wayne County didn’t know the extent of the problem locally until the county hired an epidemiologist to replace one who had left for another job years before. “Once we got the numbers, we found we had a huge opioid problem here,” she said. Two years ago, McIntyre also started the Mental Health First Aid Training program. More than 10,000 first responders and others like teachers and clergy have been trained to recognize and assist people who may be in a mental health crisis. “I practiced in New Zealand for six months, and they have a different approach to mental health problems,” she said. “The whole community cares about each other. A homeless person is not a bum, is a person who has a name, a history. Fire and police know him, and they try to make things better, not just take him to jail.”

Spectrum Health in Grand Rap- two weeks, and she told us she felt ids wanted to jump on the it saved her life,” Brennan said. fast-growing telemedicine bandMedNow offers appointments wagon to extend care access to for video visits in 21 clinical service thousands of patients, employees, lines for $45 or less based on insurcontracted employers and mem- ance coverage. Priority Health bers of its Priority Health managed members pay only the normal ofcare plan. fice copayment of $10 or But Spectrum didn’t $20. If the patient has a want to buy a telemediprimary care physician, cine program off the shelf, even outside of the Specone that executives felt trum Health network, a might not meet the needs record of the visit is sent to of its patients and emthat doctor. ployees. So it built It works like this for folMedNow, a proprietary low-up specialty appointservice available to anyments. For example, say Joseph Brennan is one in Michigan, 24 hours, senior director of someone lives in Ludingseven days a week, said MedNow, which ton, a seven-hour drive to Joseph Brennan, now se- was launched last Grand Rapids. If the panior director of MedNow. tient needs a follow-up year. The service of People requiring solu- Spectrum Health visit, instead of making tions to non-emergency has helped more the seven-hour drive, the issues can call a phone than 7,000 patient can drive a shorter number or log into their patients. In at least distance to one of SpecMyHealth app on a 650 of those cases, trum’s remote outpatient smartphone and con- MedNow helped centers, where they can patients avoid an nect with a Spectrum emergency room access a video conference doctor or health care or urgent care area and communicate professional. with their specialist locatcenter visit. One patient even says ed hours away. her life was saved by timeBesides the public, ly intervention by a Spectrum psy- patients and employees, Specchiatrist, Brennan said. trum also has signed a contract “A patient had an accident that with an unnamed major employer caused her back pain, and she in Western Michigan to offer couldn’t work,” Brennan said. “She MedNow to its employees. In addihad pain and that brought on de- tion, Spectrum also offers Medpression with anxiety. When she Now to its own 24,000 employees found out her wait to see a psychia- free. trist was four to six months, that Reducing health care costs also only intensified her anxiety and de- is a promise of telemedicine. On pression.” average, a low-acuity visit to the Brennan said MedNow cuts the hospital emergency department appointment time for specialties costs about $370 and urgent care like mental health to three or four is about $160. So, even at a $45 weeks. charge, the savings can quickly “She made her appointment in add up.

PHYSICIANS

HERO FROM PAGE 9

For Hanna-Attisha, discovering high levels of lead in Flint’s water supply turned her into an instant activist. “My days are longer,” said Hanna-Attisha, who also is director with the Michigan State University/

Hurley Pediatric Public Health Plan Initiative. “It is nonstop, every

week. It is intense. The media comes and goes, but our work is just beginning.” While her main job is pediatric residency program director at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Hanna-Attisha said she has had to cut her pediatric clinic time in half. “I say no to a lot of speaking opportunities. When I do go, my purpose is to talk about Flint and to elevate the issue of lead in drinking water,” said Hanna-Attisha,

who also has been named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. Does she think progress has been made in Flint? “It is a long-term problem that will require decades and generations to come,” she said. Despite the federal Medicaid waiver to enable more children to receive medical care, counseling and additional school nursing support for children, Hanna-Attisha said long-term funding is needed for preschool programs. “We need universal Head Start programs. (The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services) gave $3.5 million for one

year. That is not enough. It doesn’t hit the kids mostly vulnerable, the zero- to 2-year-olds ...,” she said. “We invest now and we won’t see the consequences of brain development (damage) later.”

JOEL KAHN, M.D., KAHN CENTER FOR CARDIAC LONGEVITY Cardiologist Joel Kahn doesn’t mind ruffling a few feathers to achieve his goal of saving 1 million lives over the next two years. Known by Reader’s Digest as “America’s Holistic Heart Doctor,” Kahn has been a strong advocate for preventive cardiology — that is, using nutrition, exercise, better sleep and stress reduction — to improve heart health. Kahn also has become a strong advocate over the past 15 years of a once-controversial heart screening test — called the coronary artery/ calcium (CA-CS) scan. The heart scan detects “hardening of the arteries” that continues to cause so many unexpected and preventable deaths. Kahn believes too many people — at least 4 million since the invention of stents in the 1980s — have

Known by Reader’s Digest as “America’s Holistic Heart Doctor,” Joel Kahn has been a strong advocate for using nutrition, exercise, better sleep and stress reduction to improve heart health.

died from unexpected heart attacks. Health insurers routinely pay for a $50,000 angioplasty, but won’t pay for a $100 calcium scan that can identify plaque buildup and raise red flags for doctors, he said. Over the last few years, Kahn visited all the major hospitals in Southeast Michigan to persuade at least

RUNNER-UP

one to develop a world-class preventive cardiac clinic. “Nobody was interested, and I pitched it pretty high up the ladder,” Kahn said. “I often describe it this way: The sink is overflowing. The medical system is awesome at mopping up the floor, but nobody thinks about turning off the faucet.” But when no hospital accepted his offer, he decided to create the Kahn Center for Cardiac Longevity

with locations in Bloomfield Township and Grosse Pointe Farms. Besides blogging for the Huffington Post and appearing on Fox 2 News, he has written three books, including his latest, Dead Executives Don’t Get Bonuses. Kahn is also a clinical professor of medicine at the Wayne State University School of Medicine.

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // J U LY 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

SPECIAL REPORT: HEALTH CARE HEROES CORPORATE ACHIEVEMENT

JOHN CORNACK, CEO, WINNER EISENHOWER CENTER Like Sam Malone at the fictional “Cheers” bar, John Cornack knows all his patients by name at the Eisenhower Center, an employee-owned traumatic brain injury rehabilitation center based in Ann Arbor. Cornack was the first CEO hired to run the clinic, founded in 1989 by Dr. J. Stuart Phillips, and has been at the helm for 22 years in two different stints. Born in Flint, Cornack graduated from Northern Michigan University and received a master’s degree in public management from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh in the late 1980s. “I was going to go into business (after Northern), but my first job was as a nursing home assistant,” said Cornack. “I got the bug to take care of people.” In 2011, overwhelmed by more than 300,000 veterans who suffered from traumatic brain injuries, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

selected Eisenhower as one of 21 facilities nationally for an assisted living-TBI pilot program. “We had been taking care of veterans for free before the VA and Department of Defense began paying for it,” said Cornack. “It was a natural fit for us when the contract came out.” Overall, Eisenhower had helped more than 150 veterans with severe

TBI deal with depression, stress, substance abuse and anger issues. Therapy runs 20 hours per week for as long as a year. “We measure success if they can go home, become unassisted at their job and maintain family without problems,” he said. In 2012, Cornack began working with former Detroit Lions quarterback Eric Hipple on an idea to help former National Football League players deal with their own special brand of brain injuries. Eisenhower operates a 12-bed TBI center for professional athletes on a 45-acre farm in Manchester. “We started this before the movie ‘Concussion’ raised the consciousness of the TBI program in sports,” Cornack said. Treating mostly mild to moderate TBI, Cornack said the program typically runs 30 days, but can run up to 90 days for special cases. In 2014, Eisenhower created the “After the Impact” program, which pairs NFL players with veterans to multiply positive results at The Ranch, the center’s group home in Manchester. “Veterans find a lot of commonality with high-end athletes,” Cornack said. “Some are Navy SEALs and Army Rangers who were involved in special operations. Their

NANCY SCHLICHTING, CEO, HENRY FORD HEALTH SYSTEM RUNNER-UP During Nancy Schlichting’s tenure, the 100-year-old health system has seen massive expansion and a doubling of revenue. Most recently, she helped chair the Veterans Health Administration’s Commission on Care, which is recommending ways to reform the system that serves America’s veterans.

Nancy Schlichting has overseen many changes at Henry Ford Health System over 18 years, the last 13 as CEO. Her tenure at the 100-year-old health system has seen the resurgence of Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit as a regional destination for complex care; the coveted 2011 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award; and the 2009 opening of the Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital

at a time when Michigan was sputtering in a recession. “The most important thing about creating a most wonderful culture” at Henry Ford “is to be able to service patients and members at (Health Alliance Plan) and all our customers in a high quality,” Schlichting said. But come December, Schlichting will step down to make way for Wright Lassiter III. During the past year, Schlichting said, she relied heavily on Lassiter and the executive team for day-to-day operations. She has been serving as chairwoman of the Veterans Health

Administration’s Commission on Care, an effort by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to improve health care access for 22 million veterans over the next 20 years. Schlichting, who will testify before Congress in September, said she has been honored to lead the commission in its difficult task of recommending reform and gratified to have met so many veterans. Under Schlichting, named one of Crain’s 100 Most Influential Women this year and a Crain’s Newsmaker of the Year in 2012, Henry Ford has more than doubled in size from a $2.2 billion organization to $5.2 billion. The integrated system now operates six hospitals, the 1,200-physician Henry Ford Medical Group and the Health Alliance Plan HMO. Over the years, Schlichting has served on boards including The Kresge Foundation, Walgreens Boots Alliance, American Hospital Association andthe Michigan Health and Hospital Association Foundation, among many others.

LON HORWEDEL

John Cornack’s program pairs veterans and former athletes with traumatic brain injuries at The Ranch, the Eisenhower Center’s group home in Manchester.

focus shifts to the future and patient recovery is accelerated.” Eisenhower is in the process of expanding the program to the Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township, where veterans and active military will live with their families during treatment. “We want to catch them before they go home,” said Cornack, adding that the center has a major fundraising drive underway and has nearly completed negotiations with the Guard for the program. This month, Eisenhower is also opening a 27-bed center in Jacksonville, Fla.

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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 // J U LY 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

SPECIAL REPORT: HEALTH CARE HEROES TRUSTEE

SANDY PIERCE, CHAIRMAN, HENRY FORD HEALTH SYSTEM Sandy Pierce has overseen some big moves as trustee and chairman of Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System. But she also oversaw a big move that didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get made. Pierce worked with management to make the decision in 2013 to terminate merger discussions with Beaumont Health System. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I made the phone call to say we would not go forward with it,â&#x20AC;? said Pierce. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Culturally it was just not a fit. As we went through the process, it was a friendly breakup. The board was lockstep with management. It was a joint decision.â&#x20AC;? Pierce views her role as offering feedback to top management about their plans for the $5.2 billion integrated health care system. She also is mindful of a trusteeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fiduciary responsibility and the systemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s historic mission as a nonprofit provider for the residents of Detroit. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Health care is a very regulated industry, similar to banking,â&#x20AC;? said Pierce, CEO and vice chairman of Southfield-based FirstMerit Michigan. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The difference is Henry Ford has a mission-driven, nonprofit focus and FirstMerit is a for-profit company that answers to shareholders. For-profit doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean we arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t invested in the

WINNER

cision to invest $300 million to install the Epic Corp. electronic health record system, build a

Sandy Pierce has found that an action not done is sometimes as important as one carried through.

community. The difference is how you manage.â&#x20AC;? Over the past four years, Pierce has overseen many changes at Henry Ford, including the de-

new $110 million outpatient cancer center and to acquire Allegiance Health and HealthPlus of Michigan. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We decided to go outside of Southeast Michigan. We felt we needed to be strategically well positioned (in a larger geographic market), but we will never give up our roots and commitment and never waver from our commitment to Detroit,â&#x20AC;? Pierce said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Expanding geographically makes economic sense and will help us maintain services in Detroit. No one should be surprised if you see more of this.â&#x20AC;? Another major effort is Henry Fordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s multiyear plan to develop a 300-acre south campus project off West Grand Boulevard, the centerpiece of which will be the five-story outpatient cancer center. Pierceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role as board chair of Henry Ford hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t changed, but her day job soon will. Last month, she was named a top executive of Columbus, Ohio-based Huntington Bancshares Inc., which is in the process of closing on the acquisition of Akron, Ohio-based FirstMerit Corp., expected during the third quarter.

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ROBERT LENIHAN, FORMER CHAIRMAN, CRITTENTON HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER RUNNER-UP As chairman of the board of Crittenton Hospital Medical Center, Rob-

ert Lenihan guided the last remaining independent nonprofit hospital in Southeast Michigan through a sale that led to Rochester Hills-based Crittenton becoming a part of Ascension Health, the largest Catholic system in the nation with 131 hospitals. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The affiliaWith the realization tion came that smaller about because hospitals may face of declining bleak futures, margins and Robert Lenihan increasing guided independent costs,â&#x20AC;? said Crittenton Hospital Medical Center Lenihan, chairthrough a sale that man since 2007 led to it becoming and first appart of St. Louispointed on the based Ascension board in 1997. Health, the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lenihan, largest Catholic whose day job health system. is lawyer in the Detroit office of Harness, Dickey and Pierce PLC, said the boardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s goal for years was to remain independent. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We were amenable to discussions with other entities,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There was always dinners or lunches where would be chat with others. With the advent of (the Affordable Care Act of 2010), we perceived declining marginsâ&#x20AC;? would continue without joining a larger organization. Before joining Ascension Health in 2015, Crittenton had lost a total of $73 million on operations the prior five years, despite stabilizing operations somewhat in 2014 and 2015. Despite the setbacks, Lenihan said Crittenton could have remained independent â&#x20AC;&#x153;for a little while,â&#x20AC;? but needed to join a larger organization. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You need to look at what is coming at you and felt affiliation was in the communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best interest,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to run (the hospital) into the ground.â&#x20AC;? Overall, Lenihan said the future of independent hospitals is somewhat bleak, given the nature of hospital finances and health insurance mergers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Managed care is the future,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Organizations like Ascension learned that early on. It is tough for smaller hospitals.â&#x20AC;? Lenihan said he believes the main reason Crittenton is in a better position now is that it can access Ascensionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s group purchasing programs, leading to greater access to capital and lower supply costs. Sharing best clinical practices and being part of a statewide provider network helps improve quality, he said.

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // J U LY 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

SPECIAL REPORT: HEALTH CARE HEROES ALLIED HEALTH Shannon Pearce is a certified health and wellness coach with St. John Providence Health System. Its wellness program has saved money, reduced sick days and energized thousands of St. John employees over the past 10 years.

SHANNON PEARCE, WINNER R.N., ST. JOHN PROVIDENCE HEALTH SYSTEM

SAVE DATE THE

GLENN TRIEST

Shannon Pearce is the official health coach for 15,700 associates at St. John Providence Health System, a five-hospital group based in Warren. As the system’s only coach, however, she hopes not every associate wants an appointment at the same time. “I have time for about 30 clients at a time each week,” said Pearce, who is a certified health and wellness coach with St. John’s Health Enhancement Program. The wellness program has been saving money, reducing sick days and energizing thousands of St. John employees over the past 10 years. “Associates (employees) sign up for appointments. It is all voluntary, free and confidential,” said Pearce, a registered nurse who graduated in 1993 from West Suburban College of Nursing in Oak Park, Ill., which is now Resurrection University. Through group classes, lectures or individual meetings with employees and executives, Pearce helps participants reach their health goals, whether it is to lose weight, reduce stress, sleep better or stop smoking.

“Like weight loss, your goal might be to lose 20 pounds, but that is an outcome,” Pearce said. “What is your goal? Is it something you can work on and measure?” For example, Pearce said, a goal might be to take walks three times per week and get in 15 minutes of exercise each day. “This is a goal you can achieve and help you to lose weight,” she said. Pearce said many health professionals lead busy and stressful lives and feel they don’t have time to participate in wellness programs or go to the health club. “We work in a high-demand culture. It is important to manage your stress, sleep well, eat well,” she said. “We work on those things with our associates.” Data St. John has collected over the years show that some years the wellness program has helped keep health care benefit costs flat. Over the past several years, St. John’s HEP program has reduced health care expenses by 34 percent for participating employees. Earlier this year, Pearce helped 380 of St. John’s top executives com-

LISA MUMA, R.N., BEAUMONT HEALTH

plete the health system’s first “68Day Challenge” to lose weight and reduce stress. The program was designed by Kim Yost, CEO of Art Van Furniture, and shared with St. John, Pearce said. “It was an amazing gift from Art Van. We rolled that out to executive-level leadership,” Pearce said. “Executives responded very well. We didn’t do one-on-one coaching. There were lots of meetings, lots of speeches, lots of pep talks. We got good results.” Last year, Pearce helped Fox 2 Detroit with its “21-Day Challenge,” a healthy-living initiative encouraging the community to eat better, walk more, lose weight and join the challenge’s Facebook page. With volunteer doctors and nurses, Pearce was the health coach for the event. Pearce said wellness programs can be fun if people set aside time for them. “Our whole focus is to improve well-being for employees by creating programs centered around their needs,” Pearce said. “We say you can create the best year of your life. Just start.”

RUNNER-UP

Lisa Muma knew she Muma. “(Survivors) are inwanted to help children creasing every year as rewhen she became a nurse sults are improving.” in 1979. After a stint in A stark statistic is this: surgery, she met now-re43 children are diagnosed tired pediatric oncologist with cancer every day. Charles Main, M.D., and “Long-term follow-up is became a pediatric oncolvitally important, as twoogy nurse in 1983. thirds of children have Lisa Muma, nurse Muma now is nurse navigator in pediatric some problems after treatnavigator in pediatric on- oncology at ment,” she said. cology at Beaumont Hospi- Beaumont Hospital’s About 175 children are tal’s Pediatric Oncology Fol- Pediatric Oncology helped each year at the lowup Clinic in Royal Oak. Followup Clinic, has Beaumont follow-up clinThe clinic, which opened long been dedicated ic with two-hour visits, in 2008, is part of Beau- to treating children Muma said. in need. mont Children’s Hospital. To help fund a college “It is dedicated for scholarship program for childhood cancer survivors,” Muma cancer survivors, Beaumont puts on said. “We have a multidisciplinary an annual Stars Guitars fundraiser clinic where we see children twice a to fund the Charles Main Pediatric month to follow them after treat- Cancer Survivor Scholarship Fund. Last year, before Michigan native ment as a team” that includes doctors, nurses, social workers, physical Glenn Frey of the Eagles died, his therapists, dietitians and psycholo- autograph along with bandmates’ on a guitar raised $8,500, she said. gists. “One of every 1,000 18-year-olds Some 43 students are in college with is a childhood cancer survivor,” said the $2,000 annual grants, totaling

160 children who have received college support. Muma also was instrumental in helping Beaumont redesign its shared governance nursing team. Through multidisciplinary nursing councils, staff nurse participation increased to 1,256 from 899. “Nurses have more voice in decision making as they are on many more hospital committees,” Muma said. “We have much more input now to hospital policies and decisions.” In 2012, Muma also participated in a medical mission to Mali in West Africa with the Ward Church in Northville. She helped care for 750 patients in three days. “I cared mostly for the children. We cared for people who lived in villages and in mud huts. We did our clinic out of a school bulding with no running water or electricity,” Muma said. “The children got water from the well for us. People hadn’t seen doctors or nurses for years.”

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CALENDAR

TUESDAY JULY 19

Starting Up: An Introduction to the Entrepreneurial Support Ecosystem in Michigan. 9:30-11 a.m. Macomb-OU

INCubator. A workshop to explore the resources in Michigan to help start and/or grow high-tech innovation. Items for discussion include business incubators, SmartZones, various support services, university technology acceleration and commercialization, and funding programs. The incubator at Velocity Center, Sterling Heights. Free. Contact: Joan Carleton, phone: (586) 884-9324; email: macinc@oakland.edu.

WEDNESDAY JULY 20

Scam and Fraud Prevention. 8-10

a.m. Better Business Bureau. Presentation on common frauds, scams, prevention tips, protection from ID theft and protection from financial crime. BBB, Southfield. Free. Contact: Demitria Robinson, phone: (248) 799-0305; email: robinson@easternmichiganbbb. org.

2016 Crain’s 20 in their 20s. 5:30-9

p.m. Crain’s Detroit Business. Each year, Crain’s publishes a special feature on the best and brightest up-and-coming local businesspeople in their 20s. The recognition program celebrates them and their achievements. Detroit Yacht Club, Detroit. $60 individual; $55 each for groups of 10 or more; $45 alumni. $5 of each ticket will be donated to the Belle Isle Conservancy. Preregistration closes at 5 p.m. July 18. If available, walk-in registration will be $70 per person. Contact: Kacey Anderson, phone: (313) 446-0300; email: cdbevents@crain.com; website: crainsdetroit.com.

THURSDAY JULY 21

Third Quarter Business Builder Series.

7:30-9:30 a.m. Dearborn Area Chamber of Commerce. Chris Collins, president and artistic director of the Detroit Jazz Festival,

will speak on how the world’s largest free jazz festival has become an economic driver in Southeast Michigan since 1980. The Dearborn Inn, Dearborn. $45; $30 for chamber members. Contact: Ron Hinrichs, phone: (313) 584-6100; email: rhinrichs@ dearbornareachamber.org.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Minority Business Women’s Conference. 7 a.m.-7 p.m. July 27.

Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council. An event designed to bring together minority women business owners and corporate executives o discuss industry trends, share practical advice and network. The event features national headliners, keynote speakers, discussion forums, breakout sessions and a few surprises. The Henry Hotel, Dearborn. $200. Phone: (313) 873-3200; email: info@ minoritysupplier.org; website:

www.minoritysupplier.org. Doing Business in Mexico. 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. July 28. Automation Alley. Seminar aims to help Michigan’s small and midsize companies identify key market opportunities, determine entry strategies and learn more about technical requirements for selling products, services and technologies in Mexico. Hear case studies, discover more about industry in Mexico and identify opportunities. Automation Alley, Troy. $20 members; $40 nonmembers. Contact: Lisa Lasser, phone: (248) 457-3283; email: lasserl@ automationalley.com. Calendar guidelines. Visit crainsdetroit.com and click “Events” near the top of the home page. Then, click “Submit Your Events” from the drop-down menu that will appear. Fill out the submission form, then click “Submit event” at the bottom of the page. More Calendar items can be found at crainsdetroit.com/events.

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TECHNOLOGY Rejji Hayes

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ACCOUNTING Douglas Bohrer

Office Managing Partner Plante Moran Plante Moran has named Douglas Bohrer office managing partner of its downtown Detroit office. The office, located at One Campus Martius, opened in 2013 and recently expanded to house more than 100 staff members in over 30,000 square feet. As office managing partner, Bohrer will work on developing the Detroit staff as well as increasing the firm’s involvement in the community. He will also continue advising manufacturing, distribution and public sector clients throughout Michigan.

Priester new Free Press, Michigan.com president Virginia-based Gannett Co. Inc., owner of the Detroit Free Press, has named Brian Priester

as the newspaper's president. Priester, 52, is president of the Lansing State Journal and Gannett Mid-Michigan.

He oversees operations at the Gannettowned LSJ, Brian Priester

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Port Huron Times Herald, Battle Creek Enquirer, Livingston Daily Press and Argus and the Observer & Eccentric newspapers. In addition to taking the top role at the Free Press, he’ll be president of the Detroit Media Partnership, which does business as Michigan.com. It handles the joint business functions of the Free Press and The Detroit News. Priester will be replaced as president of the LSJ and Gannett Mid-Michigan by Rebecca Steckler, Michigan.com’s senior vice president for sales and marketing. Priester will begin his new role in August, replacing Joyce Jenereaux, who announced in May she would retire.

Albert named Blue Care Network president, CEO

Executive Vice President and CFO Rejji P. Hayes has been promoted to executive vice president and chief financial officer for ITC Holdings Corp. Mr. Hayes continues to be responsible for the company’s accounting, internal audit, investor relations, treasury, financial planning and analysis, management reporting, mergers and acquisitions, risk management, and tax functions. Mr. Hayes holds a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College.

PEOPLE: SPOTLIGHT

Northstar Bank Gietzen is responsible for developing commercial banking relationships for small business and middle market sized companies. She has more than 21 years of experience in commercial lending, including small business lending, middle market lending and asset based lending. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Hope College and a Master’s Degree in Finance from Eastern Michigan University. Gietzen is currently Board President of the Chelsea Education Foundation. Butte is responsible for developing banking relationships with middle market and small business sized commercial clients. His 16 years of experience includes financing mergers and acquisitions, providing funds to companies looking to grow through additional equipment or real estate acquisition and funding needed working capital for a company’s day-to-day operations. Butte has a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from Eastern Michigan University.

ACCOUNTING Brandon Paladino, CPA Senior Associate

The Siegfried Group Brandon joins Siegfried’s Detroit Market as a Senior Associate. Before coming to Siegfried, he gained three years of audit experience at Crowe Horwath, LLP in the health care, manufacturing and retail dealership industries. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Western Michigan University.

ACCOUNTING Keiko Umeki, CPA Associate Manager

The Siegfried Group Keiko joins Siegfried’s Detroit Market as an Associate Manager. Previously, she was at Vaco, where she gained internal audit experience with a focus in the manufacturing industry. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Business Law from Minnesota State University.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan named Tiffany Albert, former head of its LifeSecure

long-term care insurance unit, to lead Blue Care Network, the state’s largest health maintenance organization. Albert succeeds Kevin Klobucar, who was promoted in May to BCBS executive vice president, health care value. The Detroit-based insurer also named Kevin Stutler to succeed Albert as president and CEO of LifeSecure. He will keep his role as vice president, ancillary products, for the Blues.

Eadie DMC’s regional COO The Detroit Medical Center announced that Reginald Eadie, M.D., will be the health system’s regional COO, effective Aug. 1. Eadie, 47, is CEO of DMC’s Detroit Receiving, Harper University and Hutzel Women’s hospitals. Former COO Andrei Soran left DMC to be CEO of Verity Health System in Redwood City, Calif. Eadie was named a Crain’s Health Care Hero in 2013. He founded the DMC 61 Day Health Challenge and wrote a book about obesity, How to Eat & Live Longer.

ACCELERATE FROM PAGE 3

of the preliminary pitches as the 36 companies are winnowed to the 10 finalists. In conjunction with the Accelerate Michigan event, the MVCA is moving its annual awards event from its traditional home at the Inn at St. John’s in Plymouth Township to the Rattlesnake Club in Detroit on Nov. 2. “We feel that bringing on MVCA as a true partner in the event this year is a really significant change,” said Dober. “It is more than just having them host their annual awards dinner on the night before AMIC. We feel that combining both events (the best investor event of the year plus the best entrepreneurial event of the year) is very significant — and hosting both of them together in Detroit makes a strong statement. “There will be a lot of synergies between the events, and I think it will make both of them better by bringing the investor and entrepreneurial communities together in a more coordinated way,” he said. “This is really going to make Michigan a higher point of interest for national investors when they are looking at the calendars and deciding what events to go to,” said Maureen Miller Brosnan, executive director of the MVCA. “This will give them a good reason to come.” About 250 attend the annual MVCA awards dinner, many of them

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“We feel that bringing on MVCA as a true partner in the event this year is a really significant change.” Martin Dober, Invest Detroit Ventures

out-of-state venture capitalists here to network. Now, they’ll be able to get a look at potential early-stage investments the next day at Accelerate Michigan, too. Dober said details are still being worked out, but another change is that there will be a $50,000 thirdplace award this year. In past years, the runner-up company got $100,000, with sector-award winners getting $25,000. He said at least some of the sector awards will be eliminated. In years past, there were awards to the best company in eight sectors, which included advanced transportation, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and medical devices. Dober said that being locked into so many sector awards meant some companies won prizes ahead of other companies whose business models and pitches were far superior but happened to be in sectors with more competition. Dober said there will likely be awards this year for best pitch from a university spinoff and best pitch for a company that was incubated in one of the state’s business accelerators. Rumors were circulating at last year’s Accelerate Michigan event that it might be the last. The Michigan Economic Development Corp.,

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which had allocated a total of $1.35 million for the event in 2014 and 2015, had its budget cut by 27 percent for fiscal 2016 by state legislators, laid off 65 employees and didn’t have anything allocated in the budget for the 2016 competition. Dober said Invest Detroit has been in talks with the MEDC about funding for this year as the state works on its budget for fiscal 2017, which begins in October. “We feel very confident that they will offer support as we work through the process this summer. It’s too early for us to say right now what that support will look like, in terms of dollar amount, but we expect it to be significant, as usual.” Fredrick Molnar, the vice president for entrepreneurship at MEDC, said that while the budget is still being worked on, he hoped it would include some contribution to this fall’s Accelerate Michigan event. Dober said commitments this year include $350,000 from the New Economy Initiative and $50,000 from Invest Detroit, with commitments being finalized from Spark, Invest Michigan and corporate sponsors, with the total prize money likely to range from $825,000 to $1 million. There were $845,000 in prizes last year. Will there be an Accelerate Mich-

igan in 2017? “The big challenge is for next year,” Dober said. “It’s too early to say. By the time this year’s event rolls around, we’ll have a clearer picture of financial support for next year.” He said he hoped the event would continue for the foreseeable future. A study before last year’s competition showed that past participants had gone on to raise follow-on funding of $675 million. Invest Detroit will begin accepting applications on Monday for the event, at www.acceleratemichigan. org. Dober expects to get more than 200 applications, which will be winnowed to the 36 semifinalists.

Page 15

Applications will be accepted online through Sept. 2. Those seeking more information can send an email to info@acceleratemichigan.org. Last year, Banza LLC, a company founded in Detroit in 2014 to make healthier pasta from chickpeas, won the grand prize of $500,000. Genomenon Inc. won the runner-up prize of $100,000. The company is a University of Michigan spinoff that hopes to improve cancer diagnosis and treatment through quicker analysis of genome sequencing. Tom Henderson: (313) 446-0337 Twitter: @tomhenderson2

Crain’s event focus: Food economy Behind Michigan’s food story is a business story. The food economy is one of untapped growth potential. At Crain’s Food Summit, key players from local food companies will gather to focus on building Michigan’s supply chain and pairing ideas with the visions from major national food companies. The summit will connect entrepreneurs, farmers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, growers and processors to potential customers and those interested in learning more about our food ecosystem. Investors will be introduced to food entrepreneurs from around the state in an effort to showcase the investment-worthy companies. The program includes a keynote

panel featuring Jeff Dunn, president of Campbell Fresh, along with breakout sessions on how the local food movement is impacting agriculture, processing, distribution, and retail and restaurants. There will also be a local food truck rally. The event runs from 2-7 p.m. Aug. 22 at Eastern Market in Detroit. Individual tickets are $80, and groups of 10 or more are $75 each. A discount combo ticket with the Live Love Local event is available for $100. Registration closes Aug. 18. To register, go to CrainsDetroit. com/events. Questions can be directed to Kacey Anderson at cdbevents@crain.com.

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JOBS FROM PAGE 1

That’s great news for workers, but for many employers, rising wages are exacerbating the already thinning labor force. Kathy Henneman, plant manager at Shiloh’s Canton plant, said that as an employer, the available labor market has never looked so bleak. For Shiloh, it’s not about the technical skills gap that’s so often bemoaned. Simply finding employees willing to be trained and do the job is now an issue. “Soft skills are a problem,” Henneman said. “It’s worse now than I can remember in the past 10 years. We have people filling out the applications, but we’re always taking a risk. I’ve never seen worse problems with attendance than I do right now.” More than 28 percent of Midwest employers, responding to a December study by the Employers Associations of America, said entry-level workers were the most challenging to recruit and retain. “Entry-level jobs are in more demand, so employers are creating perks we haven’t seen in years,” said Mary Corrado, president and CEO of Livonia-based American Society of Employers. “Many are even offering bonuses at that level because they are so desperate to find these workers.” Lisa Katz, executive director of the Detroit-based employment ini-

tiative Workforce Intelligence Network for Southeast Michigan, said employers are experiencing the onset of a tightening labor market. “The labor market is really picked over,” Katz said. “Most people who want to be working, or have skills, are already working. It’s a job-seekers market, and employers are really having to bend over backwards to bring new (good) employees in.” The average advertised salary for local workers with zero to two years of experience has risen more than 16.5 percent to $52,729 in 2015 from $45,256 in 2011, according to an analysis by WIN. For workers with three to eight years of experience, that average has increased 13 percent; and for those with nine-plus years of work experience, it increased only 0.5 percent. More than 47 percent of Midwest respondents to the EAA study said they already have increased starting salaries to attract workers, and 80 percent said they planned to this year. However, wage growth remains

below pre-recession levels. In June, national wage growth was 3.6 percent year-over-year, the highest since December 2008, according the U.S. Federal Reserve. In November 2000, wage growth, year-overyear, peaked at 5.4 percent. But Corrado said most employers have instituted performance bonuses since the Great Recession. “We’re not seeing huge wage increases across the board, and the days of the 5 percent merit increase are over,” Corrado said. “Some offer a smaller merit increase, like 3 percent, plus a bonus if you’re a good worker, which is designed to retain the best employees.” Shiloh is getting creative, even offering a gym membership to attract a recent candidate. Others are going further, Katz said. WIN recently worked with an outof-state company that created a new shift, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to attract homemaker spouses to its factory floor during hours when children are at school.

“The job market seems very fluid,” Henneman said. “Right now, it’s all about the money; and it’s really hard to compete against the big tier-ones and the OEMs.” Crain’s reported in May 2015 that labor market pressure was creating a cherry-picking environment among local companies for highly skilled employees. Between 2014 and 2015, 10 percent of Northville-based IAV Automotive Engineering Inc.’s U.S. employees left to work for customers. The talent war is now bleeding through the ranks. The region and state are not unique in facing a labor shortage. The U.S. is at risk of running out of therapists, mathematicians, rail workers and factory workers, among others, according to an April report by the New York City research nonprofit The Conference Board Inc. “In the next 10 to 15 years, we expect U.S. employers to demand more labor than will be available, which will, in turn, constrain overall economic growth,” the Conference Board said in the report. The nonprofit identified an oncoming rash of retirements as a leading factor. “The massive retirement of baby boomers will only exacerbate labor issues over the next 15 years or so,” the report said. “We believe that few trends, if any, will have as much impact on business as the tightening labor market.” The metro Detroit labor force has

risen slightly to more than 767,000 in May, from more than 750,000 in December 2015, but available jobs are growing at a faster clip, causing the unemployment rate to drop, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. But the well is expected to dry up as more retirees leave the workforce. Katz said, anecdotally, as many as a third of automaker laborers will reach retirement age in the next five years. “Before the recession, everyone was talking about the perfect storm, in terms of labor and retirees,” Katz said. “We thwarted it during the recession because all paradigms shifted. Now the clouds have cleared, and we can see this huge storm on the horizon that we forgot was brewing.” Yet the economy, and Michigan’s industry, is cyclical. Employers are forced to gamble on raising wages during a strong economy with the knowledge that another recession is potentially around the next bend. Car sales are not expected to break last year’s record of 17.47 million and projected to be softer in 2017. But fighting rising wages is a dangerous game, Corrado said. “We’re all wondering when the next recession will hit,” Corrado said. “You have to weather storms as an employer, so you’ve got to treat your employees well in the good times so you can maintain them in the bad times.” Dustin Walsh: (313) 446-6042 Twitter: @dustinpwalsh

SUMMIT HIGHLIGHTS:

ehind Michigan’s food story is a business story. At the Crain’s

• Featured speaker Jeff Dunn, President, Campbell Fresh

Food Summit, key players from

local food companies will gather to focus on building Michigan’s supply chain and pairing ideas with the visions from major national food companies. The Summit connects entrepreneurs, farmers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, growers and processors to potential customers and those interested in learning more about our food ecosystem.

INVESTOR FORUM TITLE SPONSORS

MONDAY

AUG. 22, 2016 2-7 P.M.

• Breakout sessions with a focus on how the “go local” movement is impacting agriculture, processing/distributing and retail/restaurants • Food truck rally dinner with a variety of eclectic flavors from local food trucks

INVESTOR FORUM MAJOR SPONSOR

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Showcase your products or services with a sponsorship at the Food Summit Contact: Matt Langan, mlangan@crain.com, (313) 446-6032

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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 // J U LY 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

TALENT FROM PAGE 3

the vehicle industry. State economic development officials, hoping to boost Michigan’s cachet as a leader in the nascent mobility industry, are hoping to capitalize on that interest by recruiting the firms and their talent here. It’s not just startups. Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. and even Google are setting up research hubs in Southeast Michigan, which some say will only help the state attract more software engineers and developers. “I step back sometimes and think it’s great to see new companies come along who are disrupting what we think of as the traditional auto industry. And that’s actually a benefit to the industry,” said Kevin Kerrigan, the state’s senior automotive initiatives adviser and leader of the Michigan Economic Development Corp.’s automotive office. “There’s a middle ground somewhere between a lot of the new thinking and the way we produce technology here in Michigan,” Kerrigan said. “I think we’re starting to see the car companies here really look at that.”

Competing on mobility Late last year, the MEDC created a dedicated team within its business attraction arm to recruit firms with expertise in connected and automated vehicle technology. The work group’s roughly 20 members represent some Southeast Michigan counties and regional economic development groups, including the Detroit Regional Chamber, The Right Place Inc. in Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor Spark, Kerrigan said. While not exclusively focused on California, the MEDC’s team is not a stranger to the state. It staffed a booth representing Michigan at the

Intelligent Transportation Society of America’s 2016 trade show in June in

San Jose, Calif. And Kerrigan said he likely will visit California at least twice more before the end of the year. Michigan is strategically targeting companies that work on sensor technology, software development or cybersecurity, Kerrigan said. The MEDC is in talks with about a dozen companies in various stages of interest in Michigan. Kerrigan would not disclose the names of the firms, citing nondisclosure agreements, but said some have developed technologies in California and are looking for purchasing opportunities with automakers in Michigan.

COURTESY P3 NORTH AMERICA INC.

Electronic vehicle consultant Andrew McIndoo gets ready to demonstrate P3 North America’s charging interoperability testing capabilities at an open house. The state is throwing its effort behind a new marketing campaign called “Planet M,” which was created to promote all of Michigan’s mobility programs in one place. Kerrigan said the message has been well-received in Silicon Valley. “Some people describe it as a battle for different areas of technology, but the truth is, we need to work with California and they need to work with us,” he said. “Where it becomes interesting is: At the center of a lot of activity for the state is talent. The global automotive industry is short of talent, and we have a lot of people who are retiring in the next few years. It’s going to become even more of a daily drumbeat. “We see people being attracted to California. We see people from California coming here.” Traditional automakers and Silicon Valley’s technology industry are increasingly interdependent, as both look for ways to compete on mobility, said Richard Wallace, director of the transportation systems analysis group with the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor. Automakers, while still reliant on building cars, are expanding research into new technologies. And tech developers are searching for new applications for their products. “Even if I’ve got systems integration and sensors and intelligence that allow for automation and I’m coming out of the West Coast, I still have to figure out the whole rest of the vehicle,” Wallace said. “What you’re actually starting to see is a little bit of cross-flow.” In March, Ford Motor Co. created a subsidiary called Ford Smart Mobility LLC, with dual operations in Palo Alto, Calif., and Dearborn. General Motors Co. acquired San Francisco-based Cruise Automation, which develops automated vehicle technology. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Alphabet Inc.’s Google are teaming up on a driverless minivan

INDEX TO COMPANIES

These companies have significant mention in this week’s Crain’s Detroit Business: Hurley Medical Center ......................................... 9

WFDF 910 AM ........................................................ 4

Detroit Wayne Mental Health Authority .........10

Invest Detroit .........................................................3

Spectrum Health .................................................10

Detroit Zoo .............................................................3

Center for Cardiac Longevity .............................10

Michigan Venture Capital Association ..............3

Eisenhower Center ...............................................11

Arada Systems .......................................................3

Henry Ford Health System............................. 11, 12

Shiloh Industries ................................................... 1

Crittenton Hospital Medical Center ................. 12

Michigan Economic Development Corp. .......... 17

St. John Providence Health System ................. 13

P3 North America ................................................ 17

Beaumont Health ................................................ 13

American Society of Employers ...................... XX

MCM Learning ........................................................7

Workforce Intelligence Network ..................... XX

project. And Toyota in June opened its newest automated vehicle research facility in Ann Arbor, the third such center within Toyota’s $1 billion Toyota Research Institute project. Other locations are in Cambridge, Mass., and Palo Alto. The Ann Arbor site is not far from Toyota’s technical centers and the University of Michigan. The Massachusetts location focuses on simulation, while the California office has employees who are knowledgeable of user interface and artificial intelligence technology, said Edwin Olson, co-director of autonomous driving for Toyota’s institute and an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at UM. Yet much of the autonomous vehicle research will happen in Ann Arbor, he added, aided by the 32-acre Mcity testing site at UM. “We are really, in part, Toyota’s answer to: How does a traditional OEM adapt to the new technology industry that exists and how do you interact, compete or join the Silicon Valley type of environment?” he said. “I think we’ve got our foot firmly in Ann Arbor and Boston and Palo Alto, and we kind of get the best of all worlds.” Olson said Toyota’s institute has had no trouble recruiting talent; many employees came from Toyota’s existing technical centers, he said. Still others came from tech firms on the West and East coasts.

Strategic advantage In April, P3 North America Inc. opened what it’s calling its Mobility Innovation Center on 11 Mile Road in Southfield. The German global consulting and technology firm opened its first North American office in Detroit in 2005 to support a consortium of automakers — including GM, what was then DaimlerChrysler and BMW — on a joint hybrid vehicle project, said Samit Ghosh, president and CEO of P3 North America Inc. and a Crain’s 40 Under 40 honoree in 2010. The Mobility Innovation Center was created when P3 recognized a need to expand and moved its automotive office from Troy, Ghosh said. P3 wanted to stay in Southeast Michigan. The 25,000-squarefoot center includes an onsite workshop, prototype equipment, private space for auto clients to test technology, a mobile device library and a sound booth to develop voice recognition software,

Ghosh said. P3 works with clients in the automotive, aerospace and telecommunications industries. It offers clients help with early-stage product development through launch. It employs about 3,400 globally, with 500 in North America. About 140 are based in the Southfield office, with about 60 of 100 planned new hires in the Midwest this year expected to be based here. Ghosh said P3 no longer breaks out revenue figures for its North American location. In 2010, Ghosh told Crain’s the revenue was projected to top $6 million that year and double over the next five years. He said his company bucks the perception that connected and automated vehicle technology can only be developed in Silicon Valley. “I’m not a big fan of ‘Silicon Valley versus Detroit.’ I feel it has to go hand-in-hand,” Ghosh said. “There’s a strategic advantage to be in Michigan, to understand those future technologies and work on them, but be close to the automakers.” Some of the technology firms might wind up as traditional auto suppliers, Wallace said. Yet he also said he believes a shift toward mobility could change the entire auto supply chain, particularly tier-one suppliers, because their vehicle systems will need to be compatible with technology systems that they may or may not have developed. Arada Systems was founded as a spinoff of Qualcomm Atheros Inc., owned by San Diego-based wireless technology developer Qualcomm Inc. In November, it was bought for an undisclosed price by Southfield-based auto supplier Lear Corp., and exists now as a wholly owned subsidiary. Singh is now Lear’s vice president of connectivity. Arada Systems also contracts with the Michigan Department of Transportation to provide roadside sensors that help public infrastructure communicate with connected vehicles during testing. The company employs 80 around the world, with about 15 in Michigan. Singh would not disclose revenue figures, though he said Arada Systems did “several million dollars” in business annually. Today, it sells infrastructure products to Michigan and numerous other states, software and modules to automakers and aftermarket parts. Singh said that Silicon Valley today is the right place to be innovative as a company because of the availability of talent, but Michigan can compete when it comes to its workforce. What Michigan really needs to succeed in creating, he said, is a culture change in the C-suite. “What we do is we put a heavy emphasis on culture, on making sure that failure (is OK) — and that’s something that California companies do a lot better,” Singh said. “Once that mindset comes into play, then this place is as good as any place.” Lindsay VanHulle: (517) 657-2204 Twitter: @LindsayVanHulle

www.crainsdetroit.com Editor-in-Chief Keith E. Crain Group Publisher Mary Kramer, (313) 446-0399 or mkramer@crain.com Editor Jennette Smith, (313) 446-1622 or jhsmith@crain.com Director, Digital Strategy, Audience Development Nancy Hanus, (313) 446-1621 or nhanus@crain.com Managing Editor Michael Lee, (313) 446-1630 or malee@crain.com Managing Editor/Custom and Special Projects Daniel Duggan, (313) 446-0414 or dduggan@crain.com Assistant Managing Editor Kristin Bull, (313) 446-1608 or kbull@crain.com News Editor Beth Reeber Valone, (313) 446-5875 or bvalone@crain.com Senior Editor Gary Piatek, (313) 446-0357 or gpiatek@crain.com Research and Data Editor Sonya Hill, (313) 446-0402 or shill@crain.com Newsroom (313) 446-0329, FAX (313) 446-1687, TIP LINE (313) 446-6766

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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 // J U LY 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

WEISER FROM PAGE 1

the 2008 presidential election cycle. Only the next 3 1/2 months will tell if the disappointment referenced on the mint tin will translate into a Nov. 8 victory for Trump.

A good GOP foot soldier Weiser seems uneasy. He doesn’t talk much about his party’s presumptive nominee, the flame-throwing Republican who has rankled some in the GOP establishment, not to mention Democrats, with braggadocio and a penchant for racial, religious and gender divisiveness. “Have I met with him? Yeah, I met with him privately. Have I given him my opinion? Yeah, I have,” says Weiser, who turned 71 on July 7. “He is very bright and he listens to people.” Weiser, a former U.S. ambassador to the Slovak Republic under President George W. Bush, is far from being a full-throated Trump booster. “He wasn’t my first choice in the primary,” said Weiser, who stayed out of the primary race. But Weiser is a good party foot soldier, calling it a “binary choice” between Trump and Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee. Party, not necessarily candidate, comes first. “Trump doesn’t fit the Ronald mold,” said John Truscott, who has known Weiser for more than a quarter century, dating back to his time as director of communications and press secretary for former Gov. John Engler. The Trump Victory Fund, a joint fundraising effort between the Republican National Committee, the Trump campaign and 11 state Republican parties, works like this: The agreement hashed out in May between the Trump campaign and the RNC establishes two committees: Trump Victory and Trump Make America Great Again. The first raises money for the Trump campaign, the RNC and the Republican parties for 11 states; the latter raises money for the Trump campaign and the RNC. The maximum donation is $449,400, but only a small portion of

that — increments of $2,700 — can legally go to the Trump campaign. Earlier this month, the campaign said it had raised more than $51 million in June: $6.6 million for Trump Make America Great Again; more than $25 million for Trump Victory; and $19.9 million for Donald J. Trump For President. “Ron’s a committed Republican, and he is going to support the ultimate candidate, regardless of how he feels personally about it,” said Bobby Schostak, who succeeded Weiser as the chairman of the Michigan Republican Party and is now co-COO of Livonia-based Schostak Bros. & Co., CEO of Birmingham-based software company The Resolute, and founder and CEO of Birmingham-based consulting firm Templar Baker Group. A committed Republican, and a relentless one. “Ron is not afraid to call anybody,” said Truscott, who is president of Lansing-based Truscott Rossman, a bipartisan strategic communications firm. “He is exactly the type of guy you want. He is relentless. He will call anybody and ask for outrageous amounts. … I remember breathing a sigh of relief once when I thought he was calling to ask me for money I knew I couldn’t afford to give,” Truscott said with a laugh. FEC records show that Weiser has contributed well over $1 million to a variety of mostly Republican political committees over the years. Politics is not the only thing Weiser writes big checks to. He and his wife, Eileen Lappin Weiser, a member of the Michigan Board of Education, have given nearly $100 million to UM. In December 2014, they gave $50 million, including an additional $25 million for the Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies, which along with the Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia was established in 2008 with a $10 million donation. The other half of the $50 million donation went to the University Musical Society (Lappin Weiser is a UM alumna with a graduate degree in piano performance); the Stephen M. Ross School of Business; the School of Education; the University of Michigan Health System’s Food Allergy Center; and facilities for stu-

dent-athletes (Weiser was a UM wrestler while a student).

Fundraising sway Competing on the fundraising stage with Weiser, who is running again this year for a spot on the UM board of regents after running and losing in 2014, is a challenge, prominent state Democrats say. Precious few Michigan Democrats have the same fundraising sway — or pockets as deep as Weiser's. A notable exception is Jon Stryker, the billionaire Kalamazoo heir to the Stryker Corp. fortune. An architect by training, he has donated well over $10 million of his fortune to a variety of Democratic causes and candidates (including more than $200,000 to Clinton in the waning months of 2015), according to FEC records. “We are in very different worlds,” said Mark Brewer, the former longtime chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party. “They are very, very different from what goes on on the Democratic side.” Brewer, now an attorney with the Southfield-based law firm Goodman Acker PC after serving as chairman or executive director of the Michigan Democratic Party from 1995 to 2013, was Weiser's counterpart. Weiser was Michigan Republican Party chairman from 2009 to 2011. Brandon Dillon, the Michigan Democratic Party's chairman who succeeded Lon Johnson in January, said Weiser’s fortune and willingness to part with large parts of it for political causes are things that Democrats “just don't have.” “He has access to a lot of money and is looking to support candidates who will pursue his agenda,” he said.

Entering politics Weiser said his entry into politics can be traced to the battle in the early 1970s in Ann Arbor over rent control, an issue he fought tooth and nail as a landlord. “It was pretty tough because most people lived in apartments, and they wanted rent control,” he said. “We had to convince them and homeowners that it wouldn’t be in their best interest.” He said he and others convinced the public that rent control would ultimately lower the value of multifami-

ly real estate in Ann Arbor, thereby lowering property tax revenue to the city and shifting more taxes onto homeowners. Even earlier, he remembers the Battle of Ann Arbor in 1969, when he says he watched from atop the roof of a laundromat next to a garage he rented as McKinley's first office space as Washtenaw County sheriff’s deputies “come down with their clubs and batons and helmets and shields” during police confrontations with protesters on South University. But it was nearly 20 years later, when John Engler was Senate majority leader in the Michigan Legislature, that elected politics entered his realm. The late Heinz Prechter, who founded American Sunroof Corp., urged Andrea Fischer Newman to bring Engler to see Weiser. Fischer Newman, now senior vice president of government affairs for Delta Air Lines and a UM regent, was finance chair for Engler's first gubernatorial campaign in 1989-90. “I helped him raise his money,” Weiser said. “Not very much, though. I didn’t know what I was doing back then.” Engler served three terms.

Cold-calling McCain Among other Republican leadership roles, Weiser went on to be national co-chairman of John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. He first got to know the Arizona senator when others rebuffed him. Weiser, as ambassador to the Slovak Republic, had wanted a top Bush administration security official to visit the country to implore its citizens not to “return to authoritarian rule” with their votes during their 2002 election. But in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the security apparatus for the federal government was staying put in Washington, D.C., Weiser said. “So we decided that the next best thing would be bringing in a senator,” he said. Enter McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “I did a cold call on him, told him what the situation was and asked if he’d come during the August recess and back me up, and he came. I owed him, but I also saw somebody who really cared about his country be-

cause he changed his plans to come to Slovakia in August, right?” McCain “turned the tide” against Vladimír Meciar, Slovakia's former prime minister who was once accused of having its secret service abduct a political rival’s son. He had been expected to win his old post back. And Weiser said he and the White House did not want that to happen. Such an election would throw into jeopardy efforts by Slovakia, which was strategically important after 9/11, to become a member of NATO and the European Union. “Slovakia was actually a route for the terrorists right out of the Middle East,” Weiser said. “They would come right through from Turkey into Ukraine, from Ukraine into Slovakia, up into Poland, and into Germany into western Europe. That’s how we caught a lot of them.” The relationship between Weiser and McCain was born.

The future Weiser took himself out of the dayto-day operations of McKinley in 2001 when he became ambassador, turning the reins over to Berriz. These days, he has little direct involvement in real estate (other than the $10 million to $12 million redevelopment of the Chelsea Clocktower property in downtown Chelsea). His first apartment building, at 1028 Fuller St. in Ann Arbor, was sold long ago and is now owned by a Grand Blanc psychiatrist, Dong Ho Yoo. And he is a far cry from the $60-permonth garage he rented on Church Street and spent $1,000 renovating into an office for McKinley — there was already a real estate company invoking Abraham Lincoln operating in Ann Arbor, so he couldn't name his after the nation’s 16th president and he wanted one that would be easy to remember, he said — in the early days to operate it. “I might at some point focus less on the political stuff and more on the work I do for others,” including the Food Allergy Center and helping the Carr family's ChadTough Foundation. “Doing another full-time political position is not in my future,” he said. Kirk Pinho: (313) 446-0412 Twitter: @kirkpinhoCDB

Former MBT could become part of new U.S. Supreme Court tax case By Chad Halcom chalcom@crain.com

A legal challenge to a defunct business tax structure in Michigan could roll in with at least two disputes in other states for the U.S. Supreme Court to consider later this year. Attorneys expect at least some of the out-of-state companies suing the state Department of Treasury over the former Michigan Business Tax will ask the nation's highest court to consider the issue, after the Michigan Supreme Court in late June ruled 5-2 in Treasury's favor. If a case does go forward, it would partly mirror cases in California and Minnesota and ask the court whether the 48-year-old Multistate Tax Compact is binding on Michigan and 15 other states. At issue is a retroactive tax law fix

the Legislature sent to Gov. Rick Snyder two years ago to plug a possible $1.1 billion tax loophole created by the MBT law in 2007 and “to express the original intent of the Legislature regarding the application” of it. “We believe there will be at least one petition for certiorari (to the Supreme Court) on this issue, but for many companies decisions are still being reviewed and made,” said June Haas, partner at Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP and attorney for some of the 40-plus companies challenging a law signed by Snyder in 2014. The Michigan Supreme Court earlier in 2014 had sided with IBM Corp. in a previous squabble with Treasury, finding that out-of-state

companies could use a formula under the compact Michigan adopted in 1970 to compute state business taxes, rather than the MBT. This entitled IBM to a refund, but Treasury contended it could have applied to more than 100 other companies and meant more than $1 billion in additional refunds for the tax years 2008 to 2010. The Legislature later that year retroactively amended the MBT law, even though it already had been supplanted by the Michigan Corporate Income Tax Act of 2011; dozens of companies then claimed the retroactive change was unconstitutional and that the pact among the states works like a contract. "There are due process issues such as whether the Legislature can retroactively change a tax law," Haas said.

"And our position is a multistate compact is binding on the members, so it can be repealed or amended only on a going forward basis." The Michigan courts so far haven’t seen it that way and consistently sided with Treasury since the MBT revision passed. The newest Supreme Court ruling combined three cases and ruled against 35 out-of-state companies, but more businesses await separate rulings. Companies to challenge the Michigan law have included The Gillette Co., a Boston subsidiary of Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble Co.; Sunoco Products Co. of Hartsville, S.C.; Yaskawa America Inc. of Waukegan, Ill.; Anheuser-Busch LLC of St. Louis; Dollar Tree Inc. of Chesapeake, Va., and dozens more, according to

court records. Megan Hawthorne, deputy press secretary for Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, who is defending Treasury in the litigation, said the office is reviewing the court’s decision but declined to elaborate on it. A dissenting minority opinion from the Michigan Supreme Court in June suggests the courts should review whether taxpayers can be subject to retroactive burdens. “The United States Supreme Court has recognized, ‘the power to tax involves the power to destroy’... (and) this power must be kept subject to proper constitutional limits,” Justice Stephen Markman’s dissent states. Chad Halcom: (313) 446-6796 Twitter: @chadhalcom

WEEK

ON THE WEB JULY 9-15

Tierney to head Detroit Digits Community Bankers of Mich. $173,000 ast Lansing-based

A numbers-driven look at last week’s headlines:

Community Bankers of Michigan is

expected to announce Monday that veteran banker Michael Tierney has been hired as president and CEO. He replaces Judi Sullivan, who will retire in September after 13 years leading the association. Tierney retired in 2014 as CEO of Troy-based Flagstar Bank and spent much of his career at Comerica Bank.

COMPANY NEWS n Shareholders of Troy-based

Talmer Bancorp Inc. overwhelming-

ly approved its proposed $1.4 billion merger into Midland-based Chemical Financial Corp. that was announced in January. Chemical shareholders are expected to approve the deal July 19. n Illinois-based Sears Holdings Corp. has added a third metro Detroit Kmart location to the list of stores it plans to close as it seeks to cut costs. The Kmart at 34800 Groesbeck Highway in Clinton Township is scheduled to close in mid-October, the company said. Stores in Farmington Hills and Taylor also are due to close. n A Target store could potentially anchor a planned retail, commercial and residential project at Woodward and Mack avenues in Midtown, development sources told the Detroit Free Press. n Children’s clothing retailer Hanna Andersson said it will open its first Michigan store, at Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi, on Aug. 12. n Auburn Hills-based powertrain supplier BorgWarner Inc. plans to spend $27 million to expand its Auburn Hills operations, a project expected to add 76 jobs, state officials said. n Fontinalis Partners LLC, a Detroit venture capital firm, said it finished raising a $100 million fund, Fontinalis Capital Partners II LP, to focus on the next-generation mobility sector, in what is believed to be the largest VC round raised in Michigan this year. n The Detroit Board of Zoning

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // J U LY 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

The approximate median sale price of a home or condominium in the metro Detroit real estate market in June, up from $162,900 a year ago, according to Farmington Hills-based Realcomp Ltd. II.

$36.3 million

The amount raised by University of Michigan regents toward UM’s $4 billion “Victors for Michigan” capital campaign, the university reported.

$42.1 million

The approximate amount of venture capital spending in Michigan in eight deals during the second quarter of 2016, according to the MoneyTree Report issued by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and the Washington, D.C.-based National Venture Capital Association. In the first quarter of 2016, almost $80.3 million was invested in 14 deals, the report said. Appeals denied a riverfront

property owner’s appeal of a decision that requires the building of a structure to house metallurgical coke stored on an approximately 13-acre site. At issue was the temporary storage at Waterfront Petroleum Terminal Inc. of roughly 30-foot piles of “met coke,” produced from coal and used in steelmaking. n The city of Southfield cannot regulate or restrict Word of Faith International Christian Center Inc.’s contract with Jordan Development Co. LLC to drill for oil on its church campus, now that the state has approved the pact, an Oakland County judge ruled. The city had sued to block the drilling. n Visteon Corp. announced it completed the acquisition of India-based automotive embedded multimedia and connectivity software supplier AllGo Embedded Services Pvt. Ltd. Exact terms were not disclosed. n Columbus, Ohio-based

PHOTO COURTESY KRAIG BIOCRAFT

Ann Arbor-based Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc., a developer of spider-silkbased fibers, said it has received a contract for fibers from the U.S. Army.

RUMBLINGS

Huntington Bancshares Inc. and Akron, Ohio-based First Merit Corp., which have 300-plus bank

branches and nearly 8 percent combined market share in Michigan, must divest 13 northeastern Ohio branches before closing on a $3.4 billion acquisition deal, the U.S. Department of Justice said. n Meijer Inc. is set next month to open a supercenter in Flat Rock — the Grand Rapids-based retailer’s ninth new store this year. The gas station on the property, at Vreeland and Telegraph roads, was to open last week. n Ann Arbor-based Truven Health Analytics moved its headquarters to a 134,000-squarefoot location in the former headquarters of Borders Group Inc. about five miles south of downtown. Truven downsized from its 200,000-square-foot space at the Eisenhower Plaza. n Breathe Beauty Bar, a boutique spa with a juice bar, opened July 9 in downtown Detroit with a guest host: actress Vivica A. Fox. It is the first store for owner Monica Moore-Brown. n Ann Arbor-based Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc., a developer of spider-silk-based fibers, announced it has received a contract valued at up to $1 million for the delivery of high-performance fibers to the U.S. Army. n General Motors Co. won court approval to retrieve tooling and finished parts from a key longtime supplier, Massachusetts-based Clark-Cutler-McDermott Co., that is reorganizing under U.S. bankruptcy protection, averting a shutdown of most of the Detroit automaker’s North American assembly plants, Automotive News reported.

OTHER NEWS n The U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency said the Wayne County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority is getting $300,000 to

help clean up contaminated Detroit land for urban agriculture or other jobs projects. n An $11 million plan to close and restore the iconic South Course at Oakland Hills Country Club to its pre-World War II state was rejected in a membership vote. The Bloomfield Township course would have closed for 14 months starting in March 2018. n Plans to auction a 10.5-acre site in a prime Farmington Hills location were scrapped. A spokesman for the owner of the property at Northwestern Highway and 14 Mile Road, NWH Holdings LLC, declined to say why the auction was canceled. n Charles Pugh, the former Detroit City Council president, appeared in court via video on charges of criminal sexual conduct involving a teenager, AP reported. A magistrate entered a not-guilty plea on behalf of Pugh, who lives in New York City, and set bond at $500,000.

The Mower Gang is hard at work in the 4-minute video from Craftsman.

YOUTUBE

Detroit Mower Gang makes cut on video C rain’s reported in May that the Detroit Mower Gang, a volunteer group of community activists that has been grooming parks in Detroit since 2010, was getting a big assist for its 2016 mowing season from Craftsman, which was donating $18,000 worth of lawn and garden equipment, including five riding mowers, trimmers, hedgers and other gear. Craftsman has put out a promotional video that shows off the gang and its new equipment, though no video about Detroit seems complete without shots from sloooooowly moving vehicles showing buildings in the last

stages of decay, garbage strewn about and, of course, parks so overgrown you can barely see the swings. There are several inspirational moments as various members of the gang talk about why they spend so much time and energy bringing parks back to life: “We gotta put the ‘neighbor’ back in ‘neighborhood.’ ” “No one's coming to save us, so we have to save each other.” And, followed by shots of two young girls enjoying some time on the swings, “Ain’t no one played in that park in the last four years.” The video is on YouTube at http://bit.ly/29HJm0W.

Great Lakes lenders plan conference in Detroit

Loan on John R just north of Eight Mile Road for an undisclosed amount. Through the early June move, it increased market share while expanding its brand with a new location not far from the 38-yearold company’s original store in Detroit, said Vice President Seth Gold, the son of owner and president Les Gold. “Hazel Park is a growing community with lots of new businesses and restaurants,” he said. And the chain will soon open more new locations, he said. American Jewelry and Loan is in the midst of moving inventory from the 2,500-square-foot Pontiac location it had operated from the past five years to a 10,000-squarefoot leased site further north on Telegraph in the Oakland Pointe Shopping Center across from the closed Summit Place Mall. American Jewelry and Loan is talking with the Detroit Regional Chamber about participating in a financial literacy program to educate people in the region on the different types of alternative financing available to them, including pawning goods for short-term loans. “You default on a TV, and it doesn’t perpetuate the burden of debt,” Seth Gold said.

The 18th annual Great Lakes Lenders Conference, a professional-

development conference for bankers, lenders, credit analysts, underwriters, servicing staff and attorneys from Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio, is coming to the Motor City Casino & Conference Center in Detroit from Aug. 3-5.

The conference is hosted by the

U.S. Small Business Administration

and the Michigan Small Business Development Center of Grand Valley State University. They expect 350 to 400 people to attend. The conference will include break-out sessions on smallbusiness cybersecurity, banking ethics, state capital-access programs, business appraisals and case studies, SBA loans and microloan programs, debt refinancing, future banking trends and a Tigers game. Cost is $249. For information, go to www.greatlakeslenders.com.

American Jewelry and Loan pawn shop chain grows The American Jewelry and Loan chain just got bigger. The Detroit-based pawn business, star of TruTV’s “Hardcore Pawn,” acquired Joey’s Jewelry &

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