Crain's Detroit Business, Aug. 20, 2018 issue by Crain's Detroit Business

SILICON VALLEY IN METRO DETROIT?

United Shore has set a new standard for what a “Cool” workplace looks like in Michigan. The company is among the 100 Cool Places to Work in Michigan for 2018, part of a special report that begins after Page 8 of this week’s issue.

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The New Standard for Cool Workplaces United Shore has long been known for having one of the most unique and awe-inspiring company cultures in Metro Detroit. From its big focus on career growth potential and worklife balance for employees, to things like weekly dance parties, an annual company fair for team members and their families, and holiday parties with live performances by Nelly and Flo Rida, the company has stood out amongst other local employers. And that was all before United Shore moved into its monstrous new headquarters in Pontiac. The company upped the ante big time, and now their new $85 million, 600,000-square-foot mega office gives off that unique campus feel that you’d expect from Silicon Valley headliners like Google and Facebook. Except United Shore is local, and its new office has seemingly redefined what “Cool Workplace” means here in Michigan. “We built it to not only be the coolest workspace in Detroit or Michigan, but to be one of the nicest offices in America,” said Mat Ishbia, President and CEO of United Shore. “And we did it with a practicality in mind. Everything here has a real purpose, a real value to our team members.”

slide in the main lobby would make for great Instagram photos, but if no one’s going to actually use it or benefit from it in a meaningful way, then what’s the point? United Shore’s list of amenities includes an indoor basketball court, huge state-of-the-art fitness center, outdoor sand volleyball court, indoor and outdoor putting greens, an arcade, doctor’s office, escape room, convenience store, hair salon, massage therapist, a Starbucks and a full-service food court, among other things. In other words, all things that are useful on a regular basis. Could some of those things be deemed unnecessary? Sure. But that’s how United Shore likes it, as the company prides itself on going the extra mile for its people. “We really thought about the things that people might do on their way to or from work and put those things in the building to make their daily lives a little easier,” Ishbia said. “It’s all about fitting into their lifestyle and adding convenience.” United Shore’s people-first mentality and desire to deliver a unique, wellrounded experience to employees is a refreshing mindset – one that sets a new standard for what defines a cool workplace.

That’s an interesting concept when you think of all the big-budgeted companies in the U.S. that build wacky and wild elements into their headquarters simply to make for good PR. United Shore’s view on the matter: Sure, something like a giant

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Mission-driven culture

Centria is a magnet for employees who want to change lives

Story by Marti Benedetti | Crain Content Studio entria Healthcare has open, collaborative work spaces, an employee recreation area and a high level of energy that appeals to today’s workforce. But the Novi-based company also has something more compelling to put in a job description. It has a mission-driven purpose to help improve the lives of children with autism. Company leaders say this is why Centria is able to attract and retain high-quality employees. “There are very few jobs where, at the end of the day, you can truly say you helped change lives,” said Lisa Cunningham, Centria Healthcare vice president of human resources. “It’s the most compelling reason our employees work at Centria and is a key factor in what makes joining our team a career, not a job.” There is a large unmet need for people to serve those with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Centria wants to meet those needs. “We’ve seen first-hand the tremendous impact ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) therapy has in transforming the lives of individuals on the Autism spectrum and that fuels our drive and sense of urgency to help provide access to high-quality ABA therapy to children and young adults across the nation,” Cunningham said. Centria’s mission-driven culture enables the company to attract and retain great talent as it grows. “We’ve come a long way since our start in December of 2009 in a small office in Brighton, Michigan,” Cunningham said. “It’s incredible to think how we’ve grown from just 22 employees when we ended our first year to nearly 3,000 today operating in eight states. With our goal of serving 20,000 families by 2022, it’s exciting to know that we’ll not only be making a life-changing impact of the individuals receiving our services and support, but that we’ll have more than 20,000 employees on our team as well, who are making it happen every day. “It’s humbling and invigorating to know that the work we do doesn’t just matter today, but it matters 10, 20, 50 years from now. Knowing that is extremely motivating and truly helps contextualize how important every single role is at Centria.”

A career with growth potential Centria employees have opportunities throughout the year for development and training. They attend professional conferences and clinicians around the country have exclusive access to Centria’s monthly Clinical Summit Series, a continuing education program that brings world renowned professionals in the field of Behavior Analysis to Centria. Centria puts a high priority on recruiting people who will support the mission,

CHANGING LIVES CentriaAugust.indd 1

Centria Healthcare employees have nonstop opportunities for professional development and training, including a monthly Clinical Summit Series, which brings renowned professionals to speak with employees.

“There are very few jobs where, at the end of the day, you can truly say you helped change lives. It’s the most compelling reason our employees work at Centria and is a key factor in what makes joining our team a career, not a job.” Lisa Cunningham, Centria Healthcare, VP of human resources Cunningham said. “We’ve got a team of 28 professionals who focus on talent acquisition and bringing in great people to our organization,” Cunningham said. “One thing I love about Centria is our agility and desire to meet people where they are. It’s not only driven our expansion to new markets but has also made us think differently about how we recruit. Whether it’s engaging in the local community through one of our outreach events, sitting on an educational panel at a local university or attending one of the national ABA conferences, we get creative in reaching and finding passionate individuals who have unwavering character and integrity and a drive as strong as ours to do the right thing and help others.” Recruiters go to career fairs and to the eight

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colleges in Michigan that teach ABA. They also visit college campuses in other states where they provide services such as Texas, New Mexico, California, and Oregon. The Centria mission also includes community involvement through the CentriaCares program, which allows additional PTO to volunteer at a nonprofit organization in the community.

Leading the way through ABA Centria’s reputation as a leader in clinical excellence recently received further validation. It earned the Behavioral Health Center of Excellence Accreditation in July. The BHCOE one-year accreditation acknowledges the organization as a behavioral service provider dedicated to continuous improvement in ABA. “As Centria Autism Services has worked toward accreditation, I have been impressed with its dedication to commitment toward continuous improvement,” said Sara Gershfeld Litvak, CEO of BHCOE. “They have continued to seek consultation, mentorship and coaching from experts in the field. Their openness to the process of peer review, their self-reflection on areas of growth and their transparency speak volumes about Centria and their staff.” Steven Merahn, M.D., a pediatrician and Centria’s Chief Medical Officer, said the company is “doing well by doing good.” Its primary driver is taking care of “the people

side of things. We are driven by the needs of the people we serve and clinicians. We have a commitment to optimal outcomes for all children.” Dr. James Partington, a licensed psychologist and doctoral level Board Certified Behavior Analyst who last month presented at Centria’s Clinical Summit, is a strong advocate of ABA therapy. He said 47 percent of children with autism who receive roughly 40 hours a week of therapy at a young age end up integrating into a regular classroom. The other 53 percent make progress but may need some ongoing support. The number of children with autism is on an upward trajectory. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported cases are up from 1 in 68 to 1 in 59. But, Merahn added, these numbers need to be put in perspective. “Healthcare professionals are getting better at diagnosing and categorizing children with autism, especially in underserved communities,” Merahn said. “Screenings (done typically by pediatricians) are up. All these factors are driving the numbers up.” The behavior analysts who often work daily with a child with autism, sometimes for multiple years, have the support of others at the company. “How many people get to look themselves in the mirror and say what I did today will make a difference in a child’s life now and 30 years from now?” he said. Looking for a career that changes lives? Visit centriahealthcare.com/employment and join a team that cares.

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OPINION COMMENTARY

'Dark money' legally buys individuals, firms anonymous political speech

tate Rep. Gary Glenn has been a thorn in the side of Consumers Energy Co. and DTE Energy Co. for the past four years, advocating for weakening their electricity monopolies and routinely lobbing rhetorical bombs at the state’s largest utility companies. His most over-the-top and incendiary broadside came earlier this year came when he called Consumers Energy officials “terrorists” for threatening to lobby against a bill that would have given electricity rate relief for his district’s biggest corporation, Dow Chemical Co. of Midland, if he didn’t stop bad-mouthing the company. “What I’d like to do is shoot the terrorists,” Glenn said. “But I am not willing to shoot through the hostages to hit the terrorists.” Evoking violence against the Jackson-based utility may have contributed to Glenn’s defeat in this month’s primary election for a state Senate district in Bay City and the Thumb-area. But picking a fight with a powerful entity like Consumers Energy also probably didn’t help Glenn’s chances against former state Rep. Kevin Daley, who defeated Glenn by 5,300 votes. Daley was aided by a mystery organization linked to Consumers Energy that swooped into the 31st Senate District and unloaded a barrage of negative television, radio and mail advertising about Glenn. Faithful Conservatives of Michigan spent $263,000 on broadcast television advertisements casting Daley in a favorable light and criticizing Glenn, according to the ad-tracking data from Kantar Media/CMAG analyzed by the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. The group shares an address, attorney and media buyer with another group bankrolled by Consumers, Citizens for Energizing Michigan’s Economy (CEME), which received $20 million from Consumers in 2017, according to a public disclosure. Unlike registered political action committees, Faithful Conservatives of Michigan doesn’t have to report a dime of where its money came from or how much it spent disparaging Glenn and promoting Daley. The state Bureau of Elections dismissed a complaint against the group because their ads did not expressly urge the defeat of Glenn. Glenn suspects Consumers Energy bankrolled the entire “dark money” campaign against him, using CEME to funnel money to the Faithful Conservatives of Michigan group. Both groups share the same lawyer — Okemos attorney Eric Doster, who is regarded as one of the foremost experts in campaign finance law in Michigan. The one piece of evidence that the two groups are one-and-the-same is their media buyer withdrew a TV ad in the Daley-Glenn race that was paid for by CEME and used Faithful Conservatives of Michigan to pay for it instead, according to public records.

KEITH CRAIN Editor-in-chief

There is no doubt A

little over 20 years ago, there was a movement to create an event that recalled the classic days of cruising Woodward. With little fanfare, it happened, and on that first August Saturday, thousands of enthusiasts showed up and hundreds of thousands of folks lined the street for miles to watch and relive what was then and still is today. The Woodward Dream Cruise went from zero to 60 almost instantly. I have often said that if the powers that be were to cancel this event, tens of thousands of cars would still

MICHIGAN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

State Rep. Gary Glenn of Bay County (left) lost a Republican Senate primary on Aug. 7 after a so-called “dark money” group linked to Consumers Energy Co. spent heavily to defeat him. Rep. Tom Barrett of Eaton County prevailed in his Senate primary after two groups backed by Consumers and DTE Energy Co. advertised against him.

CHAD LIVENGOOD clivengood@crain.com

But we have no real way of knowing who’s pulling the strings here — and Consumers Energy can claim plausible deniability in the defeat of one of its most bombastic critics in the Legislature. “We have no control over those funds,” Consumers Energy spokeswoman Katie Carey said. “We contribute to that group, Citizens for Energizing Michigan’s Economy, because we support their mission to promote energy policy for Michigan that we feel is in the best interests of our customers.” In this era of deep distrust in institutions, the legal use of front groups to influence elections with untraceable cash has become an attractive vehicle for wealthy individuals and corporations to exercise their First Amendment right to anonymous political speech. Across the state, untraceable “dark money” was a major source of influence in primaries on Aug. 7, many of which effectively decide the next state representative or senator because a particular district is firmly in either the Republican or Democratic column. Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Schuette benefited from $1.2 million in TV ads in the GOP primary from untraceable donors. His Democratic

rival, Gretchen Whitmer, also was aided by $550,000 in hard-to-trace cash. In Detroit, a dark money campaign that funded the “Thanks, Lansing!” billboards helped three allies of Mayor Mike Duggan win Senate primaries. Thanks to Lansing, this state has two ways to influence elections: through a transparent system of disclosing donors or by funneling money to a notfor-profit organization that then conceals the original source under the cover of its “social welfare” mission and spends freely without an ounce of accountability. Citizens for Energizing Michigan’s Economy, the Consumers-backed group, was active in six primaries this summer, which is unusually high compared to past primary elections, said Craig Mauger, executive director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. “Campaign finance is definitely evolving and the role of these outside groups is expanding exponentially,” Mauger said. CEME played an active role in influencing Republican primaries in the 19th Senate District in Barry, Ionia and Calhoun counties; the 24th Senate District in mid-Michigan; the 26th Senate District in Allegan, Kent and Van Buren counties; the 63rd House District in Calhoun and Kalamazoo counties; the Jackson-area 65th House District; and the 93rd House District in Clinton and Gratiot counties. In the 24th District GOP primary, the group started airing radio ads in May in suburban Lansing that promoted the conservative credentials of state Rep. Brett Roberts over Rep. Tom Barrett, a member of the House Energy Committee who voted against the most recent changes to state energy

policy that DTE and Consumers wanted. Glenn and Barrett clashed with the utilities over the state’s electric choice law, pushing to let other gas and electric companies have more of a share of the market dominated by DTE and Consumers. Barrett estimates Citizens for Energizing Michigan’s Economy and a DTE-backed group called the Alliance for Michigan Power (which also is registered at Doster’s Okemos law firm) spent a combined $250,000 or more trying to defeat him in the Aug. 7 primary. He argues the utility companies have “weaponized” ratepayer funds against any legislator who “questions their assertions.” The Consumers spokeswoman said its donated funds to CEME come from money shareholders invested in the utility company, not customers’ monthly bills. The utility companies weren’t successful in that race, though. Barrett steamrolled Roberts by nearly 41 percentage points. But unlike Glenn, Barrett didn’t call one of the utility companies a terrorist organization. Barrett contends he just did his job, representing the interests of his Eaton County constituents. “I’ve been respectful and diplomatic toward them — and it doesn’t matter,” Barrett said of DTE and Consumers. “It’s not that they want conversation or collaboration. They want the outcomes that protect their position in Michigan. And anything short of that, they’re willing to go to the mattress to defeat you in an election.” Chad Livengood: (313) 446-1654 Twitter: @ChadLivengood

The Woodward Dream Cruise went from zero to 60 almost instantly. show up, and a million spectators would still line the street, and diehard fans would still set up their beach chairs a week early. Every year, Detroit, or to be correct, our suburbs, reinforces the fact that our region is the Motor Capital of the World. It wasn’t about electric cars last Saturday, and I do not expect to see any autonomous cars any time soon at the Dream Cruise. Every time I am there, in the middle of the biggest car show in the world, usually with a car that is threatening to overheat, I am reminded of the enthusiasm of millions of car folks who want to be a part of something that is Detroit. It is ironic that all this never really happened in Detroit, but our suburbs to the north. Detroit has tried to insert itself into the celebration but has never really been successful. The city was never a part of the cruising that was going on in the ’50s and ’60s. Maybe someday, they’ll figure out how to commercialize it, but aside from some died-in-the-wool sponsors, it is and always has been a spontaneous event. Maybe that is what makes it special. There is nothing quite like it, and it could only happen in the Motor City.

More on WJR Hear Crain’s Group Publisher Mary Kramer and Managing Editor Michael Lee talk about the week’s stories every Monday morning on WJR 760 AM’s Paul W. Smith Show.

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It’s time to double down on equity

t is easy to roll your eyes and dismiss hateful comments by Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson as Brooks being Brooks. Yet his most recent rant about the Detroit-based CEO group’s efforts to improve our regional economic competitiveness should not be dismissed. The inflammatory remarks should catalyze two commitments. First, we should agree that our region cannot continue to suffer from leadership that incites racial and religious divisions and conjures images of hate-mongering organizations like the “Klan.” Second, it should ignite a commitment to social equity in our city and region’s recovery. After seeing the impact of the Itasca Project in Minneapolis, an employer-led civic alliance focused on improving the Twin Cities, DTE Chairman Gerry Anderson assembled 23 of the most prominent CEOs in the region to address similar problems here. The Minneapolis CEOs have been credited for their significant influence on making their metropolitan region one of the wealthiest and most livable in the country. The group recognized that for everyone to prosper, they needed to move beyond their self-interest around taxes and business climate, which led to a bold commitment to make their region more inclusive by narrowing racial disparities and welcoming everyone, including immigrants and refugees. To have a real impact often requires moving beyond self-preoccupations to focus on significant societal problems. In Minneapolis, that meant a sharp focus on economic, social and educational gaps between whites and people of color. Detroit has the same opportunity to have a laser-like focus on equity. Are we going to really be inclusive or are we going to just offer lip service to the notion? For a region that is as racially segregated as Southeast Michigan and a city like Detroit, which is majority black, a commitment to inclusion is not a proposition; it is an imperative. Our city and region is recovering, yet it will be stunted if we don’t take a long view. SEMCOG predicts that people of color will comprise a larger share of the total population, growing by 425,000 people over the next two decades. Black workers are predicted to increase by nearly 100,000, whereas white workers are expected to decrease by 45,000. We need to fan the flame of inclusion and equity in southeast Michigan. At the Skillman Foundation, we know this is necessary in order for us to expand opportunities for Detroit children so that they benefit from the city’s recovery too. We love Detroit and its children, and believe their futures are intertwined. Thus, an inclusive Detroit is a better Detroit for all. That is why I am pleased that the Detroit CEO group has acknowledged that reducing and eliminating social and racial disparities is paramount to our region’s success. I have felt the passion of these leaders and their commitment to creating an inclusive, diverse region through their advocacy for regional transit, improving schools, and technical education. It is all of our responsibility to champion and live these ideas of diversity, equity and inclusion every single day. We can’t stay silent when situations like this arise. While a few

OTHER VOICES Tonya Allen

strong voices like Shirley Stancato and the Rev. Wendell Anthony denouncing Patterson’s statements was encouraging, there was a missed opportunity for our region to make a

collective statement condemning his rhetoric. This can be remedied. Our region must make a declaration to learn and work together so that we can correct and advance social equity and inclusion for minority populations in Southeast Michigan. In Cleveland and New Orleans, nearly 2,000 business, elected and civic leaders have publicly united to advance racial equity and dismantle structural racism by participating in daylong sessions to better understand racial disparities. The sessions provide real studies, data and policy analysis to identify concrete ways to make racial

For a region that is as racially segregated as Southeast Michigan and a city like Detroit, which is majority black, a commitment to inclusion is not a proposition; it is an imperative.

communities build inclusion, solidarity and trust, and policy and practice changes, which is required for a truly thriving region. We can do the same in Detroit. In the spirit of action, the Skillman Foundation will join this effort and finance our coming together. However, real impact requires a coordinated commitment. So I challenge the entire community, and particularly business leaders, let’s defang Patterson’s words by doubling down on equity.

equity explicit in actions. And it is already paying dividends by helping

Tonya Allen is CEO of the Skillman Foundation.

BODY AND MIND:

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Bill Ford Jr. to kick off Detroit Homecoming V By Dustin Walsh dwalsh@crain.com

Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. will open up about the automaker’s plans for its $740 million planned investment in Corktown and the Michigan Central Station to kick off Detroit Homecoming V next month. The opening fireside chat and dinner will take place Sept. 12 on the covered ice of Little Caesars Arena followed by a reception at Wayne State University’s new Mike Ilitch School of Business nearby. Bill Ford Jr.: To Detroit Hometalk about Ford coming is threeinvestment. day event produced by Crain’s Detroit Business that brings former Detroiters back to the city each year to get them to re-engage in the city — and consider investing in Detroit. The previous four events have led to more than $300 million in new investment and nonprofit contributions in the city, organizers said in a news release. Last year’s Homecoming opened with a dinner and reception at Michigan Central Station — the first event at the historic depot in more than 30 years — which played a role in Ford’s interest in the property. Other Homecoming-related in-

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JJTheme for three-day event is "Detroit Made" JJPrevious events have led to more than $300 million in new investment, nonprofit contributions

“This event continues to attract some of Detroit’s most accomplished alumni who haven’t forgotten their roots.” Mayor Mike Duggan

vestments include: Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer opened a philanthropic office; Hedge fund manager Adam Levinson pledged $10 million to the Detroit Children’s Fund; North Coast Partners LLC announced the forming of Detroit Opportunity Fund with the goal of raising $100 million for Detroit neighborhood projects; Christina Liedtke, founder of luxury fashion brand Christiana J. Paul, founded small fashion label Detroit Sewn in the city; and more. “This event continues to attract some of Detroit’s most accomplished alumni who haven’t forgotten their roots,” Mayor Mike Duggan said. “They are passionate about our city and are investing time, intellectual capital and millions of dollars to help revitalize Detroit. Whenever I travel outside the city, people continually come up to me and say they first met me at Detroit Homecoming. This landmark event is truly remarkable.” The theme for the fifth annual event is “Detroit Made,” highlighting local entrepreneurs and startups and the 220 “expats” who have found professional success outside of Southeast Michigan. There’s a new Detroit Made logo designed for the event by Skidmore Studio and Lovio George. There’s a special focus, organizers said, on the need for Detroit’s revitalization to be equitable for children attending city schools as much as supporting the growing entrepreneurial ecosystem. Highlights include a day focused on home-grown entrepreneurs and startups and a Sept. 13 evening program during which Detroit expat guests will fan out for dinners in private homes throughout the city. More than 75 local and Detroit expats will speak at the event, including NAACP CEO Derrick Johnson; Harvard University President Larry Bacow; Darren Walker, president of New York-based Ford Foundation; fashion designer Tracy Reese; Ryan Kadro, executive producer of “CBS This Morning”; and ESPN reporters Jemele Hill and Kelley Carter. The event will also include a “Motor City MashUp,” which will introduce 32 Detroit small businesses to the expats in attendance at the Lexus Velodrome and a “House Party” that opens 15 homes across the city for expats to experience more than just downtown Detroit. A post-dinner afterglow will feature a performance by former Detroiter and three-time Grammy nominee Bettye LaVette. For information on Detroit Homecoming, which is an invitation-only event, visit detroithomecoming.com.

COOL PLACES TO

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WORK

These 100 companies care about more than just punching the clock. COOL LARGE PLACES (250+ employees)

COOL MEDIUM PLACES (50-249 employees)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

1 Greenleaf Trust 2 NBS Commercial Interiors 3 Marsh & McLennan Agency | Michigan Health & Benefits Team 4 Sachse Construction 5 Signature Associates 6 Jeff Glover & Associates, Realtors 7 Auburn Pharmaceutical 8 CBI 9 Kapnick Insurance Group 10 Community Housing Network 11 Capital Mortgage Funding 12 Interior Environments 13 Cambridge Consulting Group 14 Northwestern Mutual - Troy 15 imageOne 16 TowerPinkster 17 Gongos, Inc. 18 Midland Tool & Supply 19 Rocket Fiber 20 Cinnaire 21 DP+ 22 Member Driven Technologies

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Oswald Companies Michigan First Credit Union OHM Advisors Renewal by Andersen Warner Norcross + Judd EDSI Wade Trim Atwell, LLC Wireless Vision SapientRazorfish ABM Healthcare Total Quality Logistics SME Friedman Integrated Real Estate Solutions United Shore Secure-24 Pillar Technology Advia Credit Union Isobar Lake Trust Credit Union Billhighway

COOL SMALL PLACES (15-49 employees)

23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44

ESG Automotive, Inc. MPRO Brightwing KLA Laboratories, Inc. Spalding DeDecker Allure Medical MCVNA Collins Einhorn Farrell PC Preh, Inc. Hubbell, Roth & Clark, Inc. Etkin Cornerstone Community Financial Credit Union Dewpoint Inc. Schechter RedViking A&D Technology, Inc. Reliance One, Inc. Farbman Group GMB Architecture + Engineering CONTROLTEC Class Appraisal The Recovery Project

Turn the page for overall ranking and to read about each company.

Cool Places 2018 cover.indd 1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

HRPro/BenePro V-Suites New Eagle Consulting Skidmore Studio Armor Protective Packaging Seva Law Firm Contract Professionals, Inc. (CPI) Argent Tape and Label Inc Marvel Technologies Inc Blue Chip Talent Center For Financial Planning Phoenix Innovate Morreyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Contracting Fifth Wheel Freight Apex Digital Solutions Clarity Voice Arrow Strategies, LLC Ellis Porter - The Immigration Attorneys Zolman Restoration Lormax Stern Development Company Stuart Mechanical Spire Integrated Systems, Inc. Ambassador Red Level Twisthink Brogan & Partners Impact Management Services Quikly MRPR CPAs & Advisors Wambatech Inc. CredentialCheck JMJ Phillip The Probate Pro Broder & Sachse Real Estate Decypher Corporation

8/17/18 10:17 AM

No. 1: OSWALD COMPANIES

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Oswald’s Detroit office in Bloomfield Hills has a family-like culture that invites employees to enjoy social outings and work on charity projects together throughout the year.

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Council, a group whose membership spans across all branches to support women in their development both within the insurance and risk management industry and beyond. The Detroit office, Oswald’s largest outside the Cleveland headquarters, offers a culture of collaboration and connection. “The way we approach it is it’s a family-first organization. We live and breathe it every day — births, deaths, causes that people are passionate about. We make everyone feel special,” she said. In an employment environment where

college graduates are often encouraged by their counselors to change jobs every 18 months, Kosin said Oswald has found two tools for recruiting and retention. The first is a three-week paid sabbatical when the employee reaches the 10-year mark. The employee forwards voicemail and email to a colleague so he or she can spend the time entirely unplugged from the organization. The sabbatical can be taken in conjunction with one week of vacation time. Oswald awards employees a bonus at the same time to encourage them to make the most of their time. “It’s a genuine gift, with the only rule being that team members have to share with the team how the sabbatical was spent – we love to hear about it!” said Kosin. Oswald’s employee-ownership structure is also unique. After one year of employment, an amount equivalent to 3 percent of the employee’s salary is used to purchase Oswald shares, and an additional 3 percent

goes to a traditional 401k match. Beyond these benefits, Oswald’s core value of “commitment to community” shines inside and outside the Woodward Avenue office. The company shows how much it values its greatest asset by offering flex time, company sponsored days of caring and an extra personal day to volunteer. With a ping-pong table and treadmill onsite, as well as healthy snacks and beverages in its cafeteria, employee-owners are encouraged to make health and fun a part of every work day. Monthly visits from a wellness coach and accessible financial planning tools help alleviate stress. The team also looks forward to its annual Dream Cruise Party every August and a group summer outing each year. “There’s a good reason why our team continues to grow and thrive here and it’s by living Oswald’s mission: caring for the needs of our employee-owners and our clients, today and tomorrow.”

“The way we approach it is it’s a family-first organization. We live and breathe it every day.” Cathy Kosin, Oswald Companies Senior Vice President and Detroit Market Leader

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Oswald Companies, one of the country’s largest independent insurance brokerage and risk management firms, makes its debut on this year’s Cool Places to Work in Michigan list. The company didn’t start at the bottom to work their way up; instead, they took top honors as the No. 1 place to work in Michigan. The impressive first-time placement for the Cleveland-based company, founded in 1893, comes down to the company’s culture, according to Cathy Kosin, senior vice president and Detroit market leader. “Most companies focus on ‘punch the clock, put the time in’ and that’s it, but Oswald empowers their people,” Kosin said. Kosin, who has been with the Detroit office since it was established in 2006 to meet the geographic growth needs of its clients, is credited for creating a family-like environment in the 25-person office. She is also a founding member and former co-chair of Oswald’s Women’s Leadership

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This year, the coolest workplaces in Michigan might have mindfulness training, Diversity Week, an on-site chiropractor and a company car available for quick errands. These perks are above and beyond those we’ve become familiar with in highlighting “cool” companies: lunchtime yoga, catered lunches and office pets, to name a few. For the sixth year, Crain’s is recognizing Cool Places to Work in Michigan — companies that, according to their employees, go above and beyond in putting a focus on workplace culture. Altogether, these 100 companies had plans to hire 2,660 employees in the second half of this year (their websites, which we’ve gathered for you here, will have more information on those open positions). Scan this report for inspiration on benefits you can add to your offices; see more photos and share this report online at CrainsDetroit.com/CoolPlaces.

1. Oswald Companies Cleveland, Ohio

Oswaldcompanies.com/detroit Catherine Kosin, Senior Vice President & Market Leader

Insurance (Property & Casualty, Life) and Employee Benefits Broker; Retirement Planning Services U.S.-based employees: 370 Michigan-based employees: 24 Millennial employees: 4 Male/female employee ratio: 25/75 Voluntary turnover: 10 percent Paid days off after one year: 27 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 6 Why Oswald Companies is cool: ■ All employees are co-owners. ■ Paid sabbaticals. ■ Financial wellness program includes live seminars and free consultations with a certified financial planner.

Read more about Oswald Companies in sponsored content on Page S2.

2. Greenleaf Trust Kalamazoo

Greenleaftrust.com Michael F. Odar, President

Financial Services Ranking in 2017: 3 Number of employees: 110 Millennial employees: 40 Male/female employee ratio: 46/54 Voluntary turnover: 6 percent Paid days off after one year: 23 + unlimited sick days Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 12 Why Greenleaf Trust is cool: ■ Pays 100 percent of employee and dependent health, dental and vision insurance premiums. ■ Onsite wellness programs include

exercise and self-defense classes and Weight Watchers. ■ Multiple social events throughout the year and adult recess each June. ■

3. HRPro/BenePro Royal Oak

Hrbenepro.com Kristopher Powell, CEO

names on a large wheel; employees can go home for the day if the wheel lands on their name. ■ Arcade room, Jenga, Nerf guns and an Xbox One offer employees plenty of options for breaks.

5. New Eagle Consulting Ann Arbor

Human Resources and Employee Benefit Consulting and Administration

Neweagle.net Rich Swortzel, President

Ranking in 2017: 48 Number of employees: 29 Millennial employees: 15 Male/female employee ratio: 8/92 Voluntary turnover: 4 percent Paid days off after one year: 39 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 2-3 Why HRPro/BenePro is cool: ■ EAP offers various benefits, including financial counseling and legal services ■ Fridays off during the summer; during the rest of the year, CEO sends random limericks on Fridays sending staff home early. ■ Option to cash out up to a week of PTO.

Engineering Number of employees: 18 Millennial employees: 10 Male/female employee ratio: 65/35 Voluntary turnover: 5 percent Paid days off after one year: 32 days Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 5 Why New Eagle Consulting is cool: ■ Employee family members are invited to companywide events. ■ Additional PTO awarded for volunteer hours. ■ Monthly meetings with company president.

4. V-Suites

Detroit

Southfield

V-suites.com Diane Batayeh, President & CEO

Hospitality/Travel/Tourism Ranking in 2017: 1 Number of employees: 28 Millennial employees: 14 Male/female employee ratio: 25/75 Voluntary turnover: 14 percent Paid days off after one year: 27 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 0 Why V-Suites is cool: ■ Two to three top-performing employees are chosen annually for a trip to a surprise location. ■ A “Spin the Pin” features all employees’

6. Skidmore Studio Skidmorestudio.com Drew Patrick, President

Design/Branding

Number of employees: 15 Millennial employees: 8 Male/female employee ratio: 40/60 Voluntary turnover: 5 percent Paid days off after one year: Unlimited Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 2 Why Skidmore Studio is cool: ■ Employees make lunches together almost weekly and decide on themes each time. ■ Employees play Mario Kart or take walks together as a group to de-stress. ■ Employees, nominated by their co-workers, spin a giant wheel for various prizes, including $1,000.

7. Armor Protective Packaging Howell

Armorvci.com David Yancho, Rob McConnell and John Holden, Co-owners

Manufacturing Ranking in 2017: 55 Michigan-based employees: 37 Millennial employees: 16 Male/female employee ratio: 62/38 Voluntary turnover: 4 percent Paid days off after one year: 16 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 2

Why Armor Protective Packaging is cool: ■ Company contributes 3 percent to employee 401(k)s — regardless of whether employees contribute themselves. ■ Companywide summer boating day. ■ Breakfast every Friday.

8. NBS Commercial Interiors Troy

Yournbs.com Rich Schwabauer, President

Commercial Interiors Ranking in 2017: 17 U.S.-based employees: 177 Michigan-based employees: 169 Millennial employees: 51 Male/female employee ratio: 60/40 Voluntary turnover: 9 percent Paid days off after one year: 24 days Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 3-5 Why NBS Commercial Interiors is cool: ■ Companywide trip to Disney World if sales goals are met. ■ Employee of the year receives $4,000 toward a vacation. ■ Bring-your-pet-to-work days.

Read more about NBS Commercial Interiors in sponsored content on this page. SPONSORED CONTENT

No. 8: Companywide trip to Disney World reinforces NBS culture

About this report For the sixth year, Best Companies Group of Harrisburg, Pa. produced the ranking of Cool Places to Work in Michigan for Crain’s. Any Michigan company with at least 15 employees could participate. First, the employer provided detailed information on its benefits and policies; next, its employees answered questions about workplace culture, company leadership and other aspects of work in a confidential, 80-question survey. This employee survey, which seeks to determine, among other things, whether employees understand the long-term strategy of the company and whether they feel they are being groomed for future leadership positions, accounted for 75 percent of the final ranking. Companies paid for the survey; not all companies that applied were chosen as a cool workplace. Some companies have offices outside Michigan; for those companies, even non-Michigan employees were surveyed in order to provide a comprehensive view of overall company policies and culture. The information here represents a snapshot of each company. Through our Crain Content Studio, the marketing storytelling division of Crain’s Detroit Business, some companies sponsored more complete coverage of their businesses. That custom content is clearly marked throughout these pages as “sponsored.” Chris Lewis wrote the company profiles from information provided by each company. Kristin Bull, director of Crain Content Studio, managed this project with help from Rachel Fritz (fact-checking and research), Laura Cassar (writing), Adam Sparkes (photography) and Dana Rowader and Carlos Portocarrero (digital). For questions about this report, send email to kbull@crain.com. Nominations for Cool Places to Work 2019 will open Jan. 1.

Notes about the data

Number of employees: When a company has employees outside Michigan, an overall company employee number is listed; all of the other data, including number of millennial employees, is Michigan-specific. Paid days off after one year includes paid holidays, sick days, vacation days and personal days. For jobs to fill this year, companies were asked to estimate how many positions they expected to fill the second half of 2018.

In a tight talent market, NBS Commercial Interiors knows the importance of treating its internal customers the same as its external customers. “We make an investment in our people, in our internal customer,” said Rich Schwabauer, president and owner of the Troy-based firm. NBS moved up the Cool Places to Work list, from No. 17 in 2017 to No. 8 this year. An important piece of the company’s team-building investment is a trip to the Disney Institute in Florida every three to four years. This year’s trip, pictured above, was in February. The trip to the professional development and leadership institute gives employees a chance to connect with the firm’s “space matters” philosophy and to one another. “We have been using Disney principles and research as part of our culture since 2004; we return regularly for SPONSORED BY:

reinforcement and to reinvigorate our culture.” An important part of that culture is that NBS “walks the talk:” not only do NBS employees create inspirational work environments, they get to work in them, too. “We create amazing spaces for clients, so it’s important that our team has amazing spaces,” said Heather Lanier, COO and principal of the firm. NBS’ six offices double as the company’s showrooms. The bright, open spaces focus on natural light with amenities like height-adjustable desks, fireplaces and lounge furniture. “Even though this is what we do for a living, our team is truly inspired by their surroundings; our space gives energy,” said Schwabauer. “We view great space as another way to win the war for talent.”

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9. Seva Law Firm Troy

Sevafirm.com Pratheep Sevanthinathan, Owner & Managing Attorney

Legal Number of employees: 22 Millennial employees: 7 Male/female employee ratio: 40/60 Voluntary turnover: 0 Paid days off after one year: 15 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 2+ Why Seva Law Firm is cool: ■ Company pays 100 percent of employees’ and dependents’ health insurance premiums. ■ Team-building outings include pedal pubs, escape rooms and game nights. ■ •Employees receive two bonuses a year.

Number of employees: 384 Millennial employees: 152 Male/female employee ratio: 33/67 Voluntary turnover: 31 percent Paid days off after one year: 30 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 80 Why Michigan First Credit Union is cool: ■ $5,000 annual tuition reimbursement for degree programs directly related to positions. ■ Onsite concierge to assist with shopping, dry-cleaning, car services and other personal tasks. ■ Loan discounts and free checks to all employees.

10. Michigan First Credit Union Lathrup Village

Michiganfirst.com Michael Poulos, President & CEO

Waterford

Cpijobs.com Steven E. York, CEO & Founder

Staffing

12. Marsh & McLennan Agency | Michigan Health & Benefits Team Troy

11. OHM Advisors

Mma-mi.com Rebecca A. McLaughlan, President & CEO

Ohm-advisors.com John Hiltz, President

Health & Benefits

Livonia

Architecture, Engineering and Planning

Number of Cool Places to Work that offer flex hours or a flexible work week to employees.

13. Contract Professionals, Inc. (CPI)

U.S.-based employees: 437 Michigan-based employees: 292 Millennial employees: 109 Male/female employee ratio: 69/31 Voluntary turnover: 1 percent Paid days off after one year: 24 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: Between 50 and 75. Why OHM Advisors is cool: ■ Provides a $75 wellness credit towards physical or mental wellness activities. ■ Onsite massages once a month. ■ Employees can trade accrued time off for pay.

Ranking in 2017: 9 Number of employees: 102 Millennial employees: 30 Male/female employee ratio: 32/68 Voluntary turnover: 7 percent Paid time off after one year: 28 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 9 Why Marsh & McLennan Agency is cool: ■ Daily “mindful minutes” alert employees to stop and allow themselves a moment to pause and take a breath. ■ Six work-from-home days allowed a month. ■ During the summer, employees are encouraged to leave the office by 1 p.m. on Fridays.

Financial Services Ranking in 2017: 63

Ranking in 2017: 2 U.S.-based employees: 30 Michigan-based employees: 26 Millennial employees: 11 Male/female employee ratio: 50/50 Voluntary turnover: 3 percent Paid days off after one year: 29 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 200-250 contract positions Why CPI is cool: ■ Employees can trade accrued time off for pay. ■ Provides employees one day off and $100 for annual physicals. ■ Onsite meditation room includes a dedicated space for yoga.

14. Argent Tape and Label Inc. Plymouth

Argent-label.com Lynn Perenic, President & CEO

Manufacturing Number of employees: 16 Millennial employees: 4 Male/female employee ratio: 27/63 Voluntary turnover: 1 percent Paid days off after one year: 32 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: 1-2 Why Argent Tape and Label is cool: ■ An open book management system gives employees insight into company finances.

Be the GOAT. We turn ideas into action and help organizations move ahead of the herd.

74 Number of Cool Places to Work that offer telecommuning options to employees. ■ Pet-friendly office. ■ Monthly meetings with the CEO.

15. Marvel Technologies Inc. Novi

Marveltechus.com Bala Rajaraman, President & CEO

Technology Number of employees: 45 Millennial employees: 24 Male/female employee ratio: 70/30 Voluntary turnover: 5 percent Paid days off after one year: 8 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 25 Why Marvel Technologies is cool: ■ Professional certification offered through institutions and technology partners. ■ Monthly meetings with the CEO. ■ Employees can trade accrued time off for pay.

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16. Sachse Construction Detroit

Sachseconstruction.com Todd Sachse, CEO

Construction Ranking in 2017: 46 Number of employees: 160 Millennial employees: 61 Male/female employee ratio: 70/30 Voluntary turnover: 12 percent Paid days off after one year: Unlimited Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 6 Why Sachse Construction is cool: ■ Employee happy hour events yearround. ■ Four-week paid sabbaticals after 10 years of service. ■ Wellness initiatives include stress management programs, weekly fresh fruit delivery and yoga.

12 Number of Cool Places to Work that offer paid sabbaticals after a certain number of years. 17. Renewal by Andersen Cottage Grove, Minn.

Renewalbyandersen.com Brandon Attard, General Manager

Construction U.S.-based employees: 1,229 Number of employees: 53 Millennial employees: 5 Male/female employee ratio: 81/19 Voluntary turnover: 6 percent Paid days off after one year: 23 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: 10 Why Renewal by Andersen is cool: ■ Tuition reimbursement. ■ Future leaders identified through systematic leadership development process. ■ Catered lunch every Tuesday.

18. Warner Norcross + Judd Grand Rapids

Wnj.com Doug Dozeman, Managing Partner

Legal Ranking in 2017: 19 Number of employees: 389 Millennial employees: 63 Male/female employee ratio: 41/59 Voluntary turnover: 6 percent Paid days off after one year: 26 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 15 Why Warner Norcross + Judd is cool: ■ Wellness program provides coaches, yoga and onsite health screenings. ■ “Attitude Awards” given to firm members who stand out as dependable and positive; recipients receive lunch on the firm. ■ Family getaways to Great Wolf Lodge.

19. Blue Chip Talent Bloomfield Hills

Bctalent.com Nicole Pawczuk, CEO

Staffing Ranking in 2017: 30 Number of employees: 38 Millennial employees: 25 Male/female employee ratio: 55/45 Voluntary turnover: 8 percent Paid days off after one year: 20 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 5-10 Why Blue Chip Talent is cool: ■ Flex time policy allows employees to

Paid days off after one year: 17 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 10 Why Auburn Pharmaceutical is cool: ■ Ongoing employee roundtable committees for high-performing employees and key stakeholders to interact and create business solutions as a team. ■ Educational spotlight program provides free tickets to local museums. ■ Yoga and mindfulness training, as well as an on-site gym and trainer.

spend up to two hours a day on activities outside of work without having to use any PTO. ■ Company holds “Diversity Week;” one day during that week is dedicated to veterans. ■ Weekly roundtable allows employees to recognize their colleagues for excellent work. ■

20. Center for Financial Planning Southfield

Centerfinplan.com Timothy Wyman, Managing Partner

Financial Services Ranking in 2017: 13 Number of employees: 28 Millennial employees: 15 Male/female employee ratio: 35/65 Voluntary turnover: 6 percent Paid days off after one year: 26 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 2 Why Center For Financial Planning is cool: ■ All emloyees are invited to be a part of visioning activities to plan for the company’s future. ■ Two days of PTO for community involvement. ■ Financial wellness workshops and free financial planning.

Read more about Center for Financial Planning in sponsored content on Page S6.

21. Signature Associates

23. Jeff Glover & Associates, Realtors Birmingham

Detroit

Real Estate Number of employees: 54 Millennial employees: 32 Male/female employee ratio: 57/43 Voluntary turnover: 4 percent Paid days off after one year: 20 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: 35 Why Jeff Glover & Associates is cool: ■ Weekly “Laws of Leadership” training. ■ A company foundation, Glover’s Heroes, gives back to veterans and other community heroes. ■ Monthly meetings with the CEO.

24. Auburn Pharmaceutical Troy

Auburngenerics.com Jeffrey Farber, President & CEO

Pharmaceutical

Signatureassociates.com Steve Gordon, President

U.S.-based employees: 105 Michigan-based employees: 89 Millennial employees: 34 Male/female employee ratio: 40/60 Voluntary turnover: 2 percent

Ranking in 2017: 34 U.S.-based employees: 137 Michigan-based employees: 113 Millennial employees: 29 Male/female employee ratio: 57/43 Voluntary turnover: 5 percent Paid days off after one year: 30 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 4 Why Signature Associates is cool: ■ Signature MINI Cooper convertible is available to all employees. ■ Monthly lunch and learn meetings invite employees to share ideas. ■ Mentorship programs for newly hired team members.

20 Number of Cool Places to Work that allow employees to enroll in the organization’s healthcare plan on day one of being hired.

Read more about Auburn Pharmaceutical in sponsored content on this page.

25. CBI

Jeffgloverassociates.com Jeffrey Glover, Owner

Southfield

Real Estate

Cbisecure.com Steve Barone, CEO

Technology Ranking in 2017: 80 Number of employees: 94 Millennial employees: 58 Male/female employee ratio: 78/22 Voluntary turnover: 13 percent Paid days off after one year: 29 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 25 Why CBI is cool: ■ Weekly meetings with managers to discuss development. ■ At least four times a year, company hosts major philanthropic initiative for all employees through Detroit Area Rescue Team. ■ Surprise early release on Fridays.

26. Kapnick Insurance Group Adrian

Kapnick.com Jim Kapnick, CEO

Insurance

Ranking in 2017: 10 Number of employees: 157 Millennial employees: 50 Male/female employee ratio: 31/69 Voluntary turnover: 10 percent Paid days off after one year: 26 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 6 Why Kapnick Insurance Group is cool: ■ Employees earn points toward prizes like additional PTO and gift cards, via “Kapnick Klinko.” ■ “Second Friday Meetings” allow company owners to share initiatives, goals and success stories with the entire company. ■ Employees can trade accrued time off for pay.

27. Morrey’s Contracting Detroit

Morreyscontracting.com Todd Sachse, CEO

Construction Number of employees: 26 Millennial employees: 14 Male/female employee ratio: 96/4 Voluntary turnover: 28 percent Paid days off after one year: 27 Paid time off for community service: Yes

SPONSORED CONTENT

No. 24: Ideas turn into initiatives at Auburn Pharmaceutical

Learn more about Signature Associates; watch the video at CrainsDetroit.com/ CoolPlaces.

22. Phoenix Innovate Troy

Phoenixinnovate.com Kirk Vercnocke, CEO

Marketing, Research, Printing, Direct Marketing and Web Services Number of employees: 41 Millennial employees: 5 Male/female employee ratio: 71/29 Voluntary turnover: 0 Paid days off after one year: 14 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 2-3 Why Phoenix Innovate is cool: ■ Employees grandfathered into a pre-Affordable Care Act health care plan, resulting in lower premiums, copays and deductibles. ■ Every associate receives $400 in apparel and merchandise, including company jackets, shirts and accessories. ■ Recognition to eight to 10 commemorative days annually, such as International Coffee Day, Earth Day and Ice Cream Social Day.

Auburn Pharmaceutical Co. celebrated its 25th anniversary this summer, and although it has grown from 12 employees to 115 during those years, the company still feels like family, president and founder Jeffrey Farber said. “Auburn Pharmaceutical Co. is big enough to compete in the marketplace, but still small enough to know everyone,” Farber said. “I love coming into work every day.” That feeling is part of the reason the Troy-based company is No. 24 on the list of Cool Places to Work in Michigan for 2018. At Auburn, employees have ongoing opportunities for professional development and growth. New ideas are welcomed and embraced, said Farber. One such idea led to The Green Team, a group of employees dedicated to making the company — and the SPONSORED BY:

world — a better place, in big ways and small. The team introduced a landfill reduction program for the company that reduced trash pickups from three times a week to one. Auburn now measures its energy consumption and ramped up its volume of recycled material. The team is also redesigning the company courtyard. The Give Back Team, another group of employees, focuses its energy on philanthropic and community service, an integral aspect of the Auburn culture. “People like it here because they are treated fairly,” Farber said. “We go the extra mile to make work enjoyable.” Auburn offers its employees an onsite gym with twice-weekly personal training sessions, mindfulness training, meditation and yoga. The company’s social calendar is full with themed potlucks and other companywide events.

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Employees at Southfield-based Center for Financial Planning say they can see and feel their company culture as soon as they walk through the doors. Their passion is to help clients achieve their financial goals and “live their plan” — whether it be to save for retirement, for elder care planning or for college education funding. The company has 28 team members; the office space is open and collaborative with bright colors throughout. Beyond the physical space, team members have the benefits of a health and wellness committee, a charitable committee and a creativity committee; each team member has a professional development plan to help them achieve career objectives and grow within their roles. For more photos of the Center for Financial Planning space, visit crainsdetroit.com/CoolPlaces.

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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 // A U G U S T 2 0 , 2 0 1 8 Jobs to fill this year: 6 Why Morrey’s Contracting is cool: ■ Each quarter, the company’s MVP receives a ball with the leadership team’s signatures, along with a $500 gift card. ■ Wellness initiatives include weekly fresh fruit delivery and meditation. ■ Four-week sabbatical after 10 years of service.

■ Book club meets bi-monthly; employees read personal/professional development books.

34. Clarity Voice Southfield

Clarityvoice.com Gary Goerke, President

Telecommunications

28. Fifth Wheel Freight Grand Rapids

Fifthwheelfreight.com Brian Bennett, President

Transportation Number of employees: 67 Millennial employees: 65 Male/female employee ratio: 86/14 Voluntary turnover: 4 percent Paid days off after one year: 20 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: 25 Why Fifth Wheel Freight is cool: ■ Monthly meetings with the CEO. ■ Chair massages, haircuts and manicures offered to employees. ■ Tickets to Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings opening days.

15 Number of Cool Places to Work that pay 100 percent of employee medical insurance premiums. 29. Apex Digital Solutions Southfield

Apexdigital.com Jason Lambiris, CEO

Technology Number of employees: 20 Millennial employees: 12 Male/female employee ratio: 70/30 Voluntary turnover: 12 percent Paid days off after one year: 25 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 4-5 Why Apex Digital Solutions is cool: ■ Paid sabbaticals. ■ Philanthropy days allow employees to build bikes for kids. ■ Annual Apex Grit Award given to employee who has expressed outstanding resilience and adaptability throughout the year; Unicorn Award given to employee who has shown they are one-of-a-kind.

30. Community Housing Network Troy

Communityhousingnetwork.org Marc Craig, President

Nonprofit – Health & Human Services Ranking in 2017: 29 Number of employees: 84 Millennial employees: 30 Male/female employee ratio: 15/85 Voluntary turnover: 2 percent Paid days off after one year: 40 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: 5-20 Why Community Housing Network is cool: ■ Family-first policy allows children to come to work with their parents when needed, including during summer break. ■ Fun Committee and Wellness Committee plan events throughout year. ■ Individuals with disabilities are sought out as potential employees; accommodations are made for their physical needs and for them to have access to outside support systems.

31. Capital Mortgage Funding Southfield

Lowrateonline.com Harry J. Glanz, President & Co-founder

Mortgage Banking Ranking in 2017: 36 Number of employees: 59 Millennial employees: 13 Male/female employee ratio: 50/50 Voluntary turnover: 1 percent Paid days off after one year: 8 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: 10 Why Capital Mortgage Funding is cool: ■ Dog-friendly office. ■ Monthly meetings with the CEO. ■ Annual tailgates and birthday and holiday parties.

32. Interior Environments Novi

Ieoffices.com Randy Balconi and Steve Cojei, Co-owners & Co-founders

Commercial Office Furniture Ranking in 2017: 51 U.S.-based employees: 95 Michigan-based employees: 78 Millennial employees: 21 Male/female employee ratio: 23/77 Voluntary turnover: 1 percent Paid days off after one year: 26 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 5 Why Interior Environments is cool: ■ Ten paid weeks of maternity leave and two paid weeks of paternity leave. ■ Paid time off to provide on-site relief effort to aid disaster victims. ■ Bi-annual company trips to exotic places.

33. Cambridge Consulting Group Royal Oak

Cambridge-cg.com Daniel A. Cornwell, CEO

Insurance (Non-health care) Ranking in 2017: 21 Number of employees: 62 Millennial employees: 28 Male/female employee ratio: 40/60 Voluntary turnover: 3 percent Paid days off after one year: Unlimited Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 2-5 Why Cambridge Consulting Group is cool: ■ Offsite team building events yearround. ■ Wellness initiatives include onsite meditation bus.

26 Number of Cool Places to Work that let employees donate accrued PTO or vacation/sick days to co-workers in need.

Ranking in 2017: 8 Number of employees: 38 Millennial employees: 14 Male/female employee ratio: 57/43 Voluntary turnover: 16 percent Paid days off after one year: 26 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 7 Why Clarity Voice is cool: ■ Profit-sharing plan. ■ Company pays 100 percent of employees’ health insurance premiums. ■ Internal learning system helps employees improve their skills and learn new ones.

35. Arrow Strategies, LLC Southfield

Arrowstrategies.com Jeff Styers, President & CEO

Staffing Ranking in 2017: 40 U.S.-based employees: 43 Michigan-based employees: 40 Millennial employees: 18 Male/female employee ratio: 50/50 Voluntary turnover: 17 percent Paid days off after one year: Unlimited Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 6 Why Arrow Strategies is cool: ■ The company’s Emerging Leaders program provides employees opportunities to identify their strengths and map out career paths. ■ Massage Fridays and Yoga Mondays. ■ Employees who meet or exceed performance goals have an opportunity to vacation to a warm destination during the winner.

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36. Ellis Porter - The Immigration Attorneys Troy

Ellisporter.com Marc Topoleski, Managing Attorney

Legal Ranking in 2017: 31 Number of employees: 30 Millennial employees: 17 Male/female employee ratio: 30/70 Voluntary turnover: 3 percent Paid days off after one year: 18 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 5 Why Ellis Porter is cool: ■ Personalized gifts and restaurant/spa gift certificates for superior performance. ■ Foodie Field Trips to immigrant-owned/ ethnic restaurants around Detroit. ■ Employees can trade accrued time off for pay.

37. EDSI Dearborn

Edsisolutions.com Kevin B. Schnieders, CEO

Engineering is what we do. Environment is our inspiration. Excellence is our qualified professionals, technicians, and support staff.

Thank you to our talented personnel for your part in making HRC one of Crain’s 2018 Cool Places to Work in Michigan.

Workforce Development and Consulting Ranking in 2017: 49 U.S.-based employees: 640 Michigan-based employees: 58 Millennial employees: 19 Male/female employee ratio: 37/63 Voluntary turnover: 16 percent Paid days off after one year: 34 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 50 Why EDSI is cool: ■ Career sculpting program for high-performing employees, who meet with

Engineering. Environment. Excellence. 248.454.6300 | hrcengr.com |

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■ Profit-sharing bonuses at the end of the year. ■ Employees can receive up to $100 each quarter by participating in various wellness activities. ■ Employees can trade accrued time off for pay.

mentors and discuss future goals. ■ Open work environment includes standup workstations and individual pods for independent work. ■ A meditation bus visits every Monday for 15-minute sessions.

38. Zolman Restoration

44. Gongos, Inc.

Walled Lake

Working with regions, employers and jobseekers to overcome their most challenging obstacles.

Emergency Restoration Ranking in 2017: 47 Number of employees: 18 Millennial employees: 3 Male/female employee ratio: 78/22 Voluntary turnover: 6 percent Paid days off after one year: 27 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 3 Why Zolman Restoration is cool: ■ Four-week sabbatical after 10 years of service. ■ Comprehensive mentoring and training program. ■ Wellness initiatives include meditation and weekly fresh fruit delivery.

39. Northwestern Mutual - Troy Troy

Troy.NM.com Brad Seitzinger, Managing Partner

Financial Services

Honored to be recognized as one of Crain’s Detroit Cool Places to Work!

EDSIsolutions.com

Royal Oak

Zolmanrestoration.com Jeff Katkowsky, President

Ranking in 2017: 16 Number of employees: 242 Millennial employees: 82 Male/female employee ratio: 61/39 Voluntary turnover: 6 percent Paid days off after one year: 33 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 34 Why Northwestern Mutual - Troy is cool: ■ Monthly sessions for employees interested in leadership positions. ■ Every employee works with a mentor. ■ Stress relief sessions taught by a certified instructor.

40. Lormax Stern Development Company Bloomfield Hills

Lormaxstern.com Daniel Stern and Chris Brochert, Principals & Partners

Real Estate Ranking in 2017: 23 Number of employees: 31 Millennial employees: 6 Male/female employee ratio: 40/60 Voluntary turnover: 0 Paid days off after one year: 25 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 2 Why Lormax Stern Development Company is cool: ■ Dog-friendly office. ■ Unexpected bonuses are given. ■ The office closes at 3 p.m. every Friday

41. imageOne Oak Park

Imageoneway.com Joel Pearlman, CEO

Technology Services Ranking in 2017: 32 Number of employees: 59 Millennial employees: 19 Male/female employee ratio: 67/33 Voluntary turnover: 4 percent Paid days off after one year: 23 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 2 Why imageOne is cool: ■ Traveling meditation truck offers 10-minute meditation sessions. ■ Monthly meetings recognize two employees for demonstrating company’s core values. ■ Company has an open book management system.

42. Stuart Mechanical Auburn Hills

Stuart-mechanical.com Richard Broder, CEO

Commercial HVAC Ranking in 2017: 64 Number of employees: 29 Millennial employees: 7 Male/female employee ratio: 90/10 Voluntary turnover: 13 percent Paid days off after one year: 27 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 5 Why Stuart Mechanical is cool: ■ Four-week sabbatical after 10 years of service. ■ Wellness initiatives include gym membership subsidies and meditation sessions. ■ Happy hour events year-round.

43. TowerPinkster Kalamazoo

Towerpinkster.com Bjorn Green, President & CEO

Architecture Ranking in 2017: 5 Number of employees: 116 Millennial employees: 72 Male/female employee ratio: 60/40 Voluntary turnover: 5 percent Paid days off after one year: 26 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 10 Why TowerPinkster is cool:

Gongos.com Camille Nicita, President & CEO

Decision Intelligence Number of employees: 134 Millennial employees: 83 Male/female employee ratio: 34/66 Voluntary turnover: 15 percent Paid time off after one year: 28 Paid days off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 10 Why Gongos is cool: ■ Employees work from home one day per week. ■ No dress code. ■ Maven, the office dog, who was rescued from a shelter in Texas, visits employees every day.

70 Number of Cool Places to Work that have efforts to actively recruit employees of different ethnic or cultural backgrounds. 45. Midland Tool & Supply Oak Park

Midlandtool.com Brian Boychuk, President

Retail Number of employees: 51 Millennial employees: 22 Male/female employee ratio: 84/16 Voluntary turnover: 12 percent Paid days off after one year: 14 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: 10 Why Midland Tool & Supply is cool: ■ Pays 100 percent of employees’ and dependents’ health and dental insurance premiums ■ Provides employees access to trucks and equipment for personal needs. ■ Bi-weekly catered lunches, summer BBQs, potlucks and daily breakfasts.

46. Rocket Fiber Detroit

Rocketfiber.com Marc Hudson, CEO

Technology Number of employees: 67 Millennial employees: Would not disclose Male/female ratio: Would not disclose Voluntary turnover: 23 percent Paid days off after one year: Unlimited Paid time off for community service: Yes Hiring this year: Would not disclose Why Rocket Fiber is cool: ■ Bi-monthly team outings for fun activities like fowling. ■ “Culture Ops” committee ensures continuous cultural improvement is a priority. ■ Bi-weekly trivia and family dinner nights.

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47. Spire Integrated Systems, Inc.

50. Atwell, LLC

Troy

Number of Cool Places to Work that pay 100 percent of medical insurance premium for employee and dependents. They are:

Atwell-group.com Brian Wenzel, PE, President & CEO

Spireintegrated.com Navot Shoresh, President

Engineering

Technology

— JMJ Phillip

Ranking in 2017: 38 Number of employees: 24 Millennial employees: 11 Male/female employee ratio: 75/25 Voluntary turnover: 0 percent Paid days off after one year: 22 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 2-3 Why Spire Integrated Systems is cool: ■ Quarterly profits are shared with employees. ■ A work dog named Ginger. ■ Employees can trade accrued time off for pay.

— KLA Laboratories Inc.

48. Wade Trim

— Collins Einhorn Farrell PC — Greenleaf Trust

— Member Driven Technologies — Midland Tool & Supply — Preh Inc. — Secure-24 — SME — Wambatech Inc.

■ Daily trivia at 3 p.m.

Southfield

Detroit

Wadetrim.com Andrew McCune, President & CEO

Engineering U.S.-based employees: 410 Michigan-based employees: 303 Millennial employees: 111 Male/female employee ratio: 72/28 Voluntary turnover: 10 percent Paid days off after one year: 24 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 25 Why Wade Trim is cool: ■ SmartDollar, a financial wellness tool, is available to employees and their families. ■ A young professionals group focuses on leadership and networking skills.

■ Employees can receive $100 bonus checks for going above and beyond their usual job duties.

49. Cinnaire Lansing

Cinnaire.com Mark McDaniel, CEO

Nonprofit Ranking in 2017: 67 U.S.-based employees: 89 Michigan-based employees: 67 Millennial employees: 37 Male/female employee ratio: 52/48 Voluntary turnover: 2 percent Paid days off after one year: Unlimited Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 5 Why Cinnaire is cool: ■ Anniversary gifts and employee recognition awards for tenacity and extraordinary teamwork. ■ Company-paid wireless services, AAA basic membership dues and gym/health club dues. ■ Massage therapists and chiropractors available onsite.

Ranking in 2017: 24 U.S.-based employees: 496 Michigan-based employees: 125 Millennial employees: 50 Male/female employee ratio: 71/29 •Voluntary turnover: 6 percent Paid days off after one year: 28 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: More than 100 Why Atwell is cool: ■ To encourage wellness, full-time employees receive Fitbits their first week of work. ■ Employees are recognized with gift cards, service awards or travel vouchers. ■ Bi-weekly beer cart on Fridays.

51. DP+

52. Ambassador Royal Oak

Getambassador.com Jeffrey Epstein, Founder & CEO

Technology Ranking in 2017: 6 U.S.-based employees: 36 Michigan-based employees: 32 Millennial employees: 29 Male/female employee ratio: 69/31 Voluntary turnover: 23 percent Paid days off after one year: 25 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: 5 Why Ambassador is cool: ■ Company pays 100 percent of employees’ health insurance premiums. ■ Company matches employees’ community donations up to $1,000. ■ Pet-friendly office.

53. Wireless Vision

Farmington Hills

Bloomfield Hills

Dpplus.com Mark Petrosky, CEO

Wirelessvision.com Saber Ammori, CEO & Founder

Advertising/PR/Marketing Ranking in 2017: 86 Number of employees: 76 Millennial employees: 29 Male/female employee ratio: 43/57 Voluntary turnover: 20 percent Paid days off after one year: 25 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 8 Why DP+ is cool: ■ An employee-nominated MVP wins two round-trip airfare tickets annually. ■ The company’s All Star Team (also employee-nominated) wins $100 gift cards.

Retail U.S.-based employees: 3,550 Michigan-based employees: 284 Millennial employees: 2,270 Male/female employee ratio: 65/35 Voluntary turnover: 82 percent Paid days off after one year: 19 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: 900 Why Wireless Vision is cool: ■ Leadership academy preps employees for the next level of their careers. ■ Top performers are awarded with trips

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Rank U.S. Mich Mille Male Volu Paid Paid Jobs Why ■ Tra offer ■ Bi mas mas ■ Em aged fun a

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // A U G U S T 2 0 , 2 0 1 8 to tropical locations like Aruba. ■ Part-time employees are eligible for benefits.

mu-

: No

ees

Jobs to fill this year: 40 Why ESG Automotive is cool: ■ Family-oriented atmosphere includes summertime family events. ■ Financial and physical wellness lunch and learns offered. ■ Years of service awards and gifts given regularly

Farmington Hills

Mdtmi.com Larry Nichols, President & CEO

Number of Cool Places to Work that offer monetary incentives for fitness, wellness programs.

Ranking in 2017: 35 U.S.-based employees: 133 Michigan-based employees: 111 Millennial employees: 45 Male/female employee ratio: 57/43 Voluntary turnover: 4 percent Paid days off after one year: 33 days Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 3 Why Member Driven Technologies is cool: ■ Employer pays 100 percent of employees’ and dependents’ health and dental insurance premiums. ■ Plenty of employee recognition opportunities, including an Employee Appreciation Day. ■ Onsite yoga classes and quiet room, featuring zero gravity massage chairs.

57. MPRO

56. ESG Automotive, Inc.

58. Brightwing

Troy

Esg-usa.com Steve Polakowski, President

Gobrightwing.com Aaron Chernow, CEO

Engineering

Staffing

Ranking in 2017: 70 Number of employees: 235 Millennial employees: 140 Male/female employee ratio: 78/22 Voluntary turnover: 20 percent Paid days off after one year: 33 Paid time off for community service: No

Ranking in 2017: 33 U.S.-based employees: 50 Michigan-based employees: 42 Millennial employees: 16 Male/female employee ratio: 40/60 Voluntary turnover: 5 percent Paid days off after one year: 26

: No

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55. Member Driven Technologies

54. SapientRazorfish El Segundo, Calif.

Sapientrazorfish.com Anil Garapati, VP, Technology

Technology Ranking in 2017: 45 U.S.-based employees: 2,628 Michigan-based employees: 74 Millennial employees: 46 Male/female employee ratio: 55/45 Voluntary turnover: 4 percent Paid days off after one year: Unlimited Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 15 Why SapientRazorfish is cool: ■ Training and workshop opportunities offered year-round. ■ Bi-weekly company-sponsored masseuse for discounted employee massages. ■ Employees are occasionally encouraged to bring their dogs to the office for fun and stress relief.

Financial Data Processing for Credit Unions

Congratulations to KLA Laboratories Inc. for their inclusion in Crain’s Detroit Business’ 2018 “Cool Places to Work!” FOSTERSWIFT.COM

Farmington Hills Mpro.org Leland Babitch, MD, MBA, President & CEO

Nonprofit – Health & Human Services Number of employees: 53 Millennial employees: 14 Male/female employee ratio: 23/77 Voluntary turnover: 10 percent Paid days off after one year: Unlimited Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: 3 Why MPRO is cool: ■ Casual dress code. ■ Employees can bring their dogs to work on Fridays. ■ Option to work remotely when possible.

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Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 6 Why Brightwing is cool: ■ Customized training plan to develop high-potential employees into emerging leaders. ■ Half days off before holiday weekends. ■ Playing cards and outdoor games during lunch breaks.

59. KLA Laboratories, Inc. Dearborn

Klalabs.com Matthew O’Bryan, President & CEO

Technology U.S.-based employees: 132 Michigan-based employees: 112 Millennial employees: 50 Male/female employee ratio: 86/14 Voluntary turnover: 3 percent Paid days off after one year: 16 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: 20 Why KLA Laboratories is cool: ■ Company pays 100 percent of employees’ and dependents’ health, dental and vision insurance premiums. ■ Offers financial support to the schools attended by employees’ children. ■ Company offers paid internships in partnership with local colleges; most interns earn full-time positions when they’re done.

To screen potential employees, in addition to references personal and professional, Cool Places to Work say they use the following: — 53 use personality or behavioral assessments — 84 use criminal background checks — 22 use credit checks — 49 use drug testing — 60 use skills assessment tests In addition, some companies say they use: — Software skills assessment — Driving record check — Spelling tests — Social media check

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For questions about this special advertising section, contact Kate Rozek at 313-446-6086.

CONGRATULATIONS to Secure 24

on being named a Cool Place to Work in Michigan! We are proud to work with this great company! Adam C. Walsh, AIF®, CFP®

Executive Director of Financial Planning (248) 663-4768

225-20180806-468453

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60. Spalding DeDecker

HOW ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE PRACTICES IMPACT CORPORATE VALUE

FEATURED SPEAKERS INCLUDE: KEYNOTE Jackie VanderBrug Managing Director, Global Portfolio Solutions Bank of America Merrill Lynch

MODERATOR Matt Elliott Michigan Market President and Region Executive Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Alisha Cieslak Chief Legal & Risk Officer Gordon Food Service

Mike DiClaudio Principal, Advisory KPMG LLP

Nancy Moody Vice President, Public Affairs DTE Energy

Frank Venegas Jr. Chairman and CEO Ideal Group

Sda-eng.com Steve Benedettini, President & CFO

Engineering Number of employees: 61 Millennial employees: 20 Male/female employee ratio: 72/28 Voluntary turnover: 9 percent Paid days off after one year: 25 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 4 Why Spalding DeDecker is cool: ■ 100 percent employee-owned. ■ Tuition reimbursement. ■ Volleyball court, horseshoes and a bowling league for employees.

61. ABM Healthcare St. Clair Shores

ABM.com Dan Bowen, President

SEPT 6 • WATERVIEW LOFT AT PORT AUTHORITY • DETROIT

SPONSORED BY:

Rochester Hills

P OW E R E D B Y :

General disclaimer for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, visit baml.com/disclaimer. ARP5KLCW

Health Care Insurance Ranking in 2017: 25 U.S.-based employees: 436 Michigan-based employees: 39 Millennial employees: 6 Male/female employee ratio: 52/48 Voluntary turnover: 25 percent Paid days off after one year: 25 days Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 25 in Michigan; 750 nationwide Why ABM Healthcare is cool: ■ Company actively recruits veterans. ■ Monthly after-work activities like billiards and bowling. ■ Casual dress code.

62. Allure Medical Shelby Township

Alluremedical.com Dr. Charles Mok, Founder & CEO

Health Care U.S.-based employees: 157 Michigan-based employees: 151 Millennial employees: 143 Male/female employee ratio: 8/92 Voluntary turnover: 8 percent Paid days off after one year: 16 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 8 Why Allure Medical is cool: ■ Employees receive up to a 4 percent match for their retirement plans. ■ Monthly meetings with the CEO. ■ Companywide events like potluck lunches and summer parties.

OUR PEOPLE

MAKE US

POSSIBLE

63. Red Level Novi

Redlevelnetworks.com David King, CEO & President

Innovative solutions for the

Technology

transportation & energy markets.

Ranking in 2017: 83 Number of employees: 35 Millennial employees: 15 Male/female employee ratio: 70/30 Voluntary turnover: 13 percent Paid days off after one year: 22 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 5 Why Red Level is cool: ■ Gift cards given to employees spotted doing great work. ■ Wellness coaches available regularly. ■ Annual triathlon features various outdoor games, including bocce ball.

www.aanddtech.com Discover Precision

64. MCVNA Bingham Farms

Vna.org Vicki L. Welty, CEO

Health Care Ranking in 2017: 4 Number of employees: 74 Millennial employees: 9 Male/female employee ratio: 22/78 Voluntary turnover: 5 percent Paid days off after one year: 23 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 5 Why MCVNA is cool: ■ Tuition reimbursement. ■ Management book club. ■ A trivia newsletter helps break up the day.

96 Number of Cool Places to Work that offer 401k or other employee retirement plan; 89 of the companies match employee contributions to the retirement plan. 65. Collins Einhorn Farrell PC Southfield

Ceflawyers.com Michael J. Sullivan, President

Legal Number of employees: 123 Millennial employees: 34 Male/female employee ratio: 40/60 Voluntary turnover: 8 percent Paid days off after one year: 30 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: 5 Why Collins Einhorn Farrell PC is cool: ■ $1,000 given to each employee annually for their education and professional growth plan. ■ Company pays 100 percent of employees’ and dependents’ health insurance premiums. ■ Half-day Fridays during the summer.

66. Total Quality Logistics Cincinnati, Ohio

Tql.com Jeffrey Miller, Group Sales Manager

Transportation U.S.-based employees: 4,200 Michigan-based employees: 72 Millennial employees: 70 Male/female employee ratio: 92/8 Voluntary turnover: Would not disclose. Paid days off after one year: 25 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: 35 Why Total Quality Logistics is cool: ■ Six-part Leadership Development Program offers classroom instruction and mentorship. ■ Monthly massages for all employees.

SPONSORED CONTENT

No. 96

SPONSORED BY:

A balcony with a fire pit serves as a meeting and break space for Lake Trust Credit Union employees. The entryway features a living wall (below right), complementing the building’s natural design.

the

Work-nature balance Lake Trust Credit Union gives new meaning to the often-used phrase “open work environment.” At the Brighton headquarters, a conference room floods with natural light, overlooking a pond outdoors below. A hiking trail surrounds the property, and there are just as many spaces for outdoor meetings as indoor. The 20 branch locations of the 180,000-member credit union are designed in much the same open way. Lake Trust’s motto is “Moved By Good;” it is Michigan’s largest Community Development Financial Institution and is committed to finding ways to serve the financially under-served. Lake Trust embraces new talent and diverse perspectives; its culture encourages employees to follow their passions, help others, and give back to their communities, making coming to work each day more than just a job. See more of the Lake Trust’s workspaces at www.crainsdetroit.com/CoolPlaces.

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Photos by Adam Sparkes for Crain Content Studio

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Employees can take a break with a game of shuffleboard after meeting in one of the open-air conference rooms (above left). Lake Trust’s 20 branches, like the Howell branch, above, feature a similar open, modern look, designed to help the customer relax.

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■ TQL Athletics program subsidizes league fees for employees playing intramural sports.

67. SME Plymouth

Sme-usa.com Mark Kramer, Chairman & CEO

Engineering U.S.-based employees: 276 Michigan-based employees: 237 Millennial employees: 110 Male/female employee ratio: 77/23 Voluntary turnover: 4 percent Paid days off after one year: 25 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: 15 Why SME is cool: ■ Company pays 100 percent of employees’ and dependents’ health insurance premiums. ■ Employees can trade accrued time off for pay. ■ Annual companywide professional development conference includes a twoday-long community service project.

68. Friedman Integrated Real Estate Solutions Farmington Hills

Friedmanrealestate.com David Friedman, President & CEO

Birm Why Friedman Integrated Real Estate Solutions is cool: ■ FroYo Fridays featuring frozen yogurt and a toppings bar. ■ Occasional on-site barista serves coffee drinks to employees. ■ Monthly “Shining Star,” quarterly “All Star” and yearly “Super Star” trophies are among employee recognition efforts.

70 Number of Cool Places to Work that have efforts to actively recruit employees of different ethnic or cultural backgrounds. 69. Twisthink Holland

Twisthink.com Robert Niemiec, Managing Partner

Engineering and Design Services Number of employees: 26 Millennial employees: 16 Male/female employee ratio: 80/20 Voluntary turnover: 4 percent Paid days off after one year: 17 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 4 Why Twisthink is cool: ■ Every Friday all employees celebrate the past week’s accomplishments together. ■ The company matches all employees’ donations to charities. ■ A top-notch sound system plays music throughout office.

70. Preh, Inc. Novi

Preh.com/en.html Nick Lontscharitsch, President

Engineering

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Real Estate Ranking in 2017: 68 U.S.-based employees: 463 Michigan-based employees: 208 Millennial employees: 95 Male/female employee ratio: 50/50 Voluntary turnover: 30 percent Paid days off after one year: 26 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 200

Brog Ellyn

Number of employees: 74 Millennial employees: 54 Male/female employee ratio: 76/24 Voluntary turnover: 11 percent Paid days off after one year: 35 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: 10 Why Preh is cool: ■ Company pays 100 percent of employees’ and dependents’ health, dental and vision insurance premiums. ■ Foosball competitions on stressful days. ■ Employee appreciation events include Employee of the Month awards, summer picnics and holiday parties.

71. Hubbell, Roth & Clark, Inc. Bloomfield Hills

HRCengr.com Daniel Mitchell, President

Consulting Number of employees: 245 Millennial employees: 86 Male/female employee ratio: 74/26 Voluntary turnover: 12 percent Paid days off after one year: 22 Paid time off for community service: No

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Jobs to fill this year: 20 Why Hubbell, Roth & Clark is cool: ■ Mentoring program activities held on a quarterly basis. ■ Employees can trade accrued time off for pay. ■ Open door policy companywide.

75. Impact Management Services

72. Brogan & Partners

U.S.-based employees: 30 Michigan-based employees: 25 Millennial employees: 24 Male/female employee ratio: 38/62 Voluntary turnover: 23 percent Paid days off after one year: 24 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: 10 Why Impact Management Services is cool: ■ Grow Fast program enables employees to identify opportunities they’re interested in for personal and professional development. ■ Recognition board lets employees recognize one another daily. ■ Putting greens, hoverboards and pingpong tables in the office.

Birmingham

Brogan.com Ellyn Davidson, President

Advertising/PR/Marketing Number of employees: 28 Millennial employees: 14 Male/female employee ratio: 11/89 Voluntary turnover: 0 Paid days off after one year: 22 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 1 Why Brogan & Partners is cool: ■ Out of town mystery trips once a year to locations like Bermuda. ■ Monthly meetings with the CEO. ■ Manicures every other week, paid by the company.

73. United Shore

Unitedshore.com Mat Ishbia, President & CEO

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Financial Services Ranking in 2017: 59 Michigan-based employees: 2,600 Millennial employees: 1,700 Male/female employee ratio: 54/46 Voluntary turnover: 8 percent Paid days off after one year: 22 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 400 Why United Shore is cool: ■ For 10-year work anniversaries, employees receive two weeks of additional PTO and $2,500. ■ In-house doctor’s office, hair salon and convenience store. ■ There’s a 20-minute all-company dance party every Thursday afternoon.

Read more about United Shore in sponsored content on the cover of this issue.

76. Pillar Technology Columbus, Ohio

Pillartechnology.com Dave Forman, Market Curator, Great Lakes

Technology Ranking in 2017: 27 U.S.-based employees: 320 Michigan-based employees: 86 Millennial employees: 42 Male/female employee ratio: 83/17 Voluntary turnover: 13 percent Paid days off after one year: 25 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: 30 Why Pillar Technology is cool: ■ Leadership impact classes help employees grow and develop leadership skills. ■ Annual learning budget for employees to use for conferences, workshops, certifications, training or subscriptions. ■ Adoption and infertility treatment assistance up to $5,000 each.

77. Quikly Detroit

Number of Cool Places to Work that have a formal program for succession planning.

Number of employees: 29 Millennial employees: 16 Male/female employee ratio: 50/50 Voluntary turnover: 6 percent Paid days off after one year: 26 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 2 Why Quikly is cool: ■ Group breakfasts, charity events and family outings. ■ Brand new office with optimal space for collaboration. ■ Weekly awards for employees who demonstrate the company’s core values.

74. Secure-24 San Jose, Calif.

loynd

Technology

: No

Staffing

: No

Theimpactanswer.com Pete Davis, CEO

Quikly.com Shawn Geller, CEO

de mer

Southfield

Secure-24.com Shawn Peralta, CFO U.S.-based employees: 518 Michigan-based employees: 445 Millennial employees: 242 Male/female employee ratio: 80/20 Voluntary turnover: 6 percent Paid days off after one year: Unlimited Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 35 Why Secure-24 is cool: ■ Company pays 100 percent of employees’ and dependents’ health, dental and vision insurance premiums. ■ Advanced degree completion fully funded for key contributors and high-potential employees. ■ Innovation awards given six times a year to innovative employees that help solve problems.

Technology

78. MRPR CPAs & Advisors Southfield

Mrpr.com Angie Mastroionni, Managing Principal

Accounting Number of employees: 47 Millennial employees: 19 Male/female employee ratio: 42/58 Voluntary turnover: 5 percent Paid days off after one year: 9 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: 6 Why MRPR CPAs & Advisors is cool: ■ During tax season, “Minute to Win It” games let teams vie for a championship. ■ Two extra floating holidays this year. ■ Staff members are assigned a team principal, who mentors them year-round.

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ployees going above and beyond. ■ Four-week paid sabbaticals every five years. ■ Half-day Fridays in the summer.

80. Cornerstone Community Financial Credit Union

Number of Cool Places to Work that offer mentoring programs.

Auburn Hills

Ccfinancial.com Heidi Kassab, President & CEO

79. Etkin Southfield

Etkinllc.com Curtis Burstein, CEO

Real Estate Ranking in 2017: 41 Number of employees: 50 Millennial employees: 13 Male/female employee ratio: 66/34 Voluntary turnover: 10 percent Paid days off after one year: 27 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 5 Why Etkin is cool: ■ On-the-spot gift cards recognize em-

81. Wambatech Inc.

Banking Ranking in 2017: 81 Number of employees: 70 Millennial employees: 27 Male/female employee ratio: 26/74 Voluntary turnover: 18 percent Paid days off after one year: 20 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: 7 Why Cornerstone Community Financial Credit Union is cool: ■ Student loan repayment program. ■ Four hours off (with pay) for birthdays. ■ Chili cookoffs and other company-sponsored events promote teamwork.

Royal Oak

Wambatech.com Nathaniel Plane, CEO

Technology Number of employees: 21 Millennial employees: 9 Male/female employee ratio: 71/29 Voluntary turnover: 0 percent Paid days off after one year: 36 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 2-4 Why Wambatech is cool: ■ Company pays 100 percent of employees’ and dependents’ health, dental and vision insurance premiums.

LIVING AN UNREAL EXPERIENCE TO DELIVER AN UNREAL EXPERIENCE

Culture, family, accountability and structure are all words you will hear Jeff Glover & Associates Realtors say they love about their team. “Where else do you find the leader hitting the ground every day doing the same things you are,” says Realtor, Anthony Bertrand. Jeff ’s team has a strong focus on per person productivity where each agent on average closes at least 34 transactions after one full year. “I really believe my success is attributed to the daily training Jeff puts us through,” says Realtor, Erena Symchych; “We spend the first six months going through a bootcamp where we are taught the entire business from front to back.” Jeff Glover & Associates has agents in multiple locations across Michigan including Birmingham, Plymouth, Shelby Township, Grand Blanc, St Clair Shores, and Grand Rapids. They service over 1,000 Michigan Homeowners per year and hold the title as the #1 Real Estate Team in Michigan (and have since 2013). Jeff thrives to create a company that has a world so big that all of his associates have endless opportunities. “My true passion is ensuring that everyone around me lives an unreal life while on this earth,” says Jeff.

“Day after day and week after week I am inspired by the humbleness, professionalism, accountability and competitive spirit that JGA is committed to.” – Paul Loos, Realtor

The associates ranked some of their top reasons for enjoying working at Glover’s offices and listed them below. Leadership: Jeff provides a strong structure of leadership. He is in the office everyday and is usually one of the last to close up shop at the end of the day. He provides leadership training courses to ensure they are leaders in their homes as well as in the industry. The company also features an Agent Leadership Council (ALC). This council consists of the 5 top agents across the company. The ALC is consulted twice monthly on decisions for the company, state of the company, etc. As a result, the agent’s voice is always heard for future progression.

“No other team, broker or agent that I am aware of can provide the level of training, opportunity and guidance to become a successful real estate agent like JGA.” – Jane Evans, Realtor

Support: The team offers support through on-site Showing Agents, Operations Staff and Inside Sales Associates which allows the agents to have more time back and a healthy work/life balance. Events: The team hosts multiple events throughout the year including their Live Unreal Summit, Live Unreal Retreat and the popular Client Appreciation Tigers Opening Day Event. Whether the event is for training or simply the opportunity to mingle with coworkers and clients; the team always has a great time. Their most fulfilling event each year is their Glover’s Heroes, Non-Profit Charity “give back” event where they go into the community and rehab homes of those in who need it most.

To learn how to join the #1 producing Real Estate team in Michigan please visit houseSOLDname.com/careers

ADVERTISING SECTION

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Male/female employee ratio: 16/84 Voluntary turnover: 14 percent Paid days off after one year: 22 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 4 Why CredentialCheck is cool: ■ Milestone anniversary gifts include trips and cruises. ■ Numerous companywide theme days and celebrations throughout the year. ■ $5,000 per year tuition reimbursement program.

82. Dewpoint Inc. Lansing

Number of Cool Places to Work that offer formal diversity training.

■ A reduced summer schedule with early dismissal on Fridays. ■ Offsite vacations for staff and family members every year, including annual weekend retreat to Boyne Mountain.

Dewpoint.com Kenneth Theis, CEO & President

Technology Ranking in 2017: 62 Number of employees: 249 Millennial employees: 47 Male/female employee ratio: 70/30 Voluntary turnover: 3 percent Paid days off after one year: 29 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 50 Why Dewpoint is cool: ■ Each employee is given $150 and four hours annually to donate to a charity. ■ Annual block party and after-work social events. ■ A formal mentoring program features executives.

83. CredentialCheck Troy

84. Advia Credit Union Parchment

Credentialcheck.com Steven Smith, Chairman

Adviacu.org Cheryl DeBoer, President & CEO

Employment Background Screening and Drug Testing Services

Banking

Number of employees: 36 Millennial employees: 23

Ranking in 2017: 71 U.S.-based employees: 542 Michigan-based employees: 396

Detroit is a cool place to live. And Greenleaf Trust is a cool place to work. For the third year in a row, Greenleaf Trust has been named a “Cool Place to Work” by Crain’s Detroit Business. Not surpringly, we’re cool with that.

Millennial employees: 407 Male/female employee ratio: 27/73 Voluntary turnover: 17 percent Paid days off after one year: 24 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 100 Why Advia Credit Union is cool: ■ Company pays 100 percent of employees’ health, dental and vision insurance premiums. ■ Employees can trade accrued time off for pay. ■ Tuition reimbursement for full- and part-time employees

2 Number of Cool Places to Work that pay all or part of childcare. They are Blue Chip Talent and Ellis Porter The Immigration Attorneys. 85. JMJ Phillip

Chic

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U.S. Mich Mille Male Volu Paid Paid Jobs Why ■ Do ■ In ■ In vate

89 Ann

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Tech

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Num Mille Male Volu Paid Paid Jobs Why ■ An onsi ■ Yo ■ Em for a effor dutie

Staffing Ranking in 2017: 39 U.S.-based employees: 36 Michigan-based employees: 22 Millennial employees: 20 Male/female employee ratio: 55/45 Voluntary turnover: 20 percent Paid days off after one year: 19 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 20 Why JMJ Phillip is cool: ■ Company pays 100 percent of employees’ and dependents’ health insurance premiums. ■ Paid sabbaticals. ■ Employees can work from other cities of their choice without using vacation time.

86. Schechter Birmingham

Schechterwealth.com Marc Schechter, Senior Managing Director

Investment Advisory, Life Insurance and Private Capital Ranking in 2017: 57 Number of employees: 51 Millennial employees: 46 Male/female employee ratio: 45/55 Voluntary turnover: 9 percent Paid days off after one year: 25 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 5 to 10 Why Schechter is cool: ■ Meditation truck on site every week. ■ Once every three years, management takes staff on a trip to a villa in Punta Mita, Mexico. ■ Surprise early dismissal for holidays or other special events.

87. RedViking Plymouth

Redviking.com Randy Brodzik, President & CEO

Engineering

34977 Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, MI 48009 248.530.6200 greenleaftrust.com

■ On coor ■ Ga pong

Ranking in 2017: 53 U.S.-based employees: 222 Michigan-based employees: 209 Millennial employees: 100 Male/female employee ratio: 95/5 Voluntary turnover: 2 percent Paid days off after one year: 24 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 30 Why RedViking is cool: ■ Employee advancement is personalized for each employee and includes mentoring by a senior employee.

Aubu

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U.S. Mich Mille Male Volu Paid Paid Jobs Why ■ Fa mills ■M tenti ■ Pe perfo

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Rank Num Mille Male Volu Paid Paid Jobs Why Onsi A Fa even Mon

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: Yes

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // A U G U S T 2 0 , 2 0 1 8 ■ Onsite wellness coordinator, fitness coordinator and gym. ■ Game room with foosball and pingpong.

88. Isobar Chicago

loyce

Isobar.com Claudio DeSouza, Vice President

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: Yes

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U.S. employees: 415 Michigan employees: 29 Millennial employees: 24 Male/female employee ratio: 39/61 Voluntary turnover: 14 percent Paid days off after one year: 34 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: 30 Why Isobar is cool: ■ Dog-friendly office. ■ In-office massages once a month. ■ Interactive offices with games, rest/private areas and social/community areas.

89. A&D Technology Inc. Ann Arbor

Aanddtech.com Michael Uhl, President & CEO

Technology Number of employees: 94 Millennial employees: 25 Male/female employee ratio: 87/13 Voluntary turnover: 9 percent Paid days off after one year: 15 days Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 7 Why A&D Technology is cool: ■ An employee garden club supports an onsite garden. ■ Yoga twice a week during lunch ■ Employees can nominate co-workers for a “Spirit of A&D Award” to recognize efforts that go above and beyond normal duties.

90. Reliance One, Inc. Auburn Hills

Reliance-one.com James Beath, Chairman & Co-founder

Staffing U.S.-based employees: 79 Michigan-based employees: 55 Millennial employees: 39 Male/female employee ratio: 70/30 Voluntary turnover: 10 percent Paid days off after one year: At least 9 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 25 Why Reliance One is cool: ■ Family picnics at Comerica Park, cider mills and parks. ■ Monthly meetings to discuss high potential team members and their progress. ■ Periodic contests to recognize top performers.

55 Number of Cool Places to Work that have efforts to actively recruit an aging workforce. Number of employees: 36 Millennial employees: 19 Male/female employee ratio: 40/60 Voluntary turnover: 5 percent Paid days off after one year: 20 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 4 Why The Probate Pro is cool: ■ Company pays 100 percent of employees’ health insurance premiums. ■ Lunch and learns every two weeks with a catered lunch from a Royal Oak restaurant. ■ Company funds continuing legal education for employees.

93. GMB Architecture + Engineering Holland

Gmb.com David M. Bolt, President

Architecture and Engineering U.S.-based employees: 103 Michigan-based employees: 101 Millennial employees: 40 Male/female employee ratio: 75/25 Voluntary turnover: 3 percent Paid days off after one year: 22 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 10 Why GMB Architecture + Engineering is cool: ■ The office closes at noon on Fridays during the summer. ■ Employees receive an Apple iPhone and unlimited data service for $10 per week. ■ Free, onsite health screening — reviewed by wellness coaches — every two years.

94. CONTROLTEC Allen Park

Control-tec.com David Ploucha, CEO

Farbman.com Andy Gutman, President

Technology

Real Estate Ranking in 2017: 42 Number of employees: 110 Millennial employees: 22 Male/female employee ratio: 51/49 Voluntary turnover: 11 percent Paid days off after one year: 25 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 6 Why Farbman Group is cool: Onsite chair massages. A Farbman Fun Committee hosts monthly events. Monthly happy hours.

92. The Probate Pro Royal Oak

Theprobatepro.com Darren Findling, President

Legal

Read more about Lake Trust Credit Union in sponsored content on Page S13.

Number of Cool Places to Work that have efforts to actively recruit members of the disabled community.

91. Farbman Group Chicago, Ill.

■ Yearly allowance of wellness-related purchases such as gym memberships and Fitbits.

Ranking in 2017: 60 Number of employees: 118 Millennial employees: 85 Male/female employee ratio: 88/12 Voluntary turnover: 6 percent Paid days off after one year: 32 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: 25 Why CONTROLTEC is cool: ■ After-work clubs to play board games, video games and drink beer. ■ Monthly meetings with the CEO. ■ Company pays 100 percent of premium for long-term care insurance for employees and dependents.

97. Decypher Corporation Berkley

Decyphercorp.com Andrew Agbay, President

Real Estate

Technology

Ranking in 2017: 43 Number of employees: 46 Millennial employees: 20 Male/female employee ratio: 54/46 Voluntary turnover: 37 percent Paid days off after one year: Unlimited Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 4 Why Broder & Sachse Real Estate is cool: ■ Four-week sabbatical after 10 years of service. ■ Meditation trucks provide 15-minute meditation breaks twice a week. ■ Wellness efforts include flu shots, gym subsidies, weekly fresh fruit delivery, yoga.

Ranking in 2017: 12 Number of employees: 15 Millennial employees: 6 Male/female employee ratio: 80/20 Voluntary turnover: 0 Paid days off after one year: 26 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 2-3 Why Decypher Corporation is cool: ■ Employees can receive payouts for their entire PTO bank at any time (at their current pay rate), regardless of when their PTO was accrued. ■ Monthly meetings with the CEO. ■ Professional development through free courses and yearly class grants.

96. Lake Trust Credit Union

98. Class Appraisal

Brighton

Laketrust.org David Snodgrass, President & CEO

Financial Services Ranking in 2017: 93 Number of employees: 403 Millennial employees: 181 Male/female employee ratio: 29/71 Voluntary turnover: 10 percent Paid days off after one year: 31 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 60 Why Lake Trust Credit Union is cool: ■ Open-air work environment includes firepit; a walking trail surrounds the building. ■ Paid sabbaticals.

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99. Billhighway Naperville, Ill.

Billhighway.com Thomas Bomberski, President

Financial Services Ranking in 2017: 20 U.S.-based employees: 336 Michigan-based employees: 64 Millennial employees: 40 Male/female employee ratio: 56/44 Voluntary turnover: 10 percent Paid days off after one year: 28 Paid time off for community service: Yes Jobs to fill this year: 8 Why Billhighway is cool: ■ Flex-time policy allows employees to work anytime between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. ■ 10-day sabbatical — and cash bonus — after 10 years. ■ Children At Work policy allows employees to bring their children to work if they don’t have any other childcare options that day.

100. The Recovery Project Livonia

Therecoveryproject.net Charles Parkhill, CFO

Troy

Health Care – Provider

Classappraisal.com John Fraas, President

Ranking in 2017: 54 Number of employees: 97 Millennial employees: 65 Male/female employee ratio: 29/71 Voluntary turnover: 10 percent Paid days off after one year: 31 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: 2 Why The Recovery Project is cool: ■ Continuing education stipends. ■ Monthly catered lunches. ■ Company-sponsored yoga and wellness classes

Real Estate Number of employees: 116 Millennial employees: 55 Male/female employee ratio: 36/64 Voluntary turnover: 2 percent Paid days off after one year: 16 Paid time off for community service: No Jobs to fill this year: 25 Why Class Appraisal is cool: ■ Frequent catered companywide events with props and Snapchat filters. ■ Karaoke Fridays. ■ Weekly peer recognition programs.

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95. Broder & Sachse Real Estate Detroit

Brodersachse.com Richard Broder, CEO

VISIT WWW.CRAINSDETROIT.COM/LEADERSHIPACADEMY or contact Keenan Covington at kcovington@crain.com | (313) 446-0417.

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FOCUS

FRO

WEALTH MANAGEMENT

Wealth managers take waitand-see approach to tariffs

GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO

By Tom Henderson thenderson@crain.com

Wealth managers always have issues of the day to ponder when making investment decisions for their clients. Seven or eight years ago, the big concern was: Will there be a double-dip recession? Then it was how troubled were the once-favored economies of the so-called BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China? Then, would Great Britain vote to leave the European Union? Followed by: What will happen now that the vote for Brexit passed? Last year, the question on everyone’s mind was the near-term impact of the Donald Trump presidency. How big would infrastructure spending be, and what industries would benefit? How would corporate tax cuts and the anticipated reduction in capital gains affect

Need to know

JJA recession seems at least a year away,

but a fullblown trade war could bring one sooner

JJMost area wealth managers think China and the U.S. will manage to negotiate a way out tariff trouble soon JJSmall-cap U.S. stocks were beneficiaries of tax cuts and have less exposure to tariffs than large-cap stocks JJInterest-rate hikes are a fact of life for the foreseeable future, so don’t lock yourself into long-term bonds

Inside

JJ16 wealth managers reveal likes, dislikes and insights. Page 28

corporate spending and investment decisions on behalf of business owners and executives?

This year, area wealth managers are having one overarching conversation: Tariffs. For wealth managers, there is a range of possible impact, from almost negligible to catastrophic, and what the impact will be depends on decisions that will primarily be made by a single person, Trump, whom Congress has allowed so far to impose whatever tariffs he wants. Of the 16 wealth managers interviewed by Crain’s, a few said they supported modest tariffs, or at least the threat of them as a negotiating tactic, to get China to end its long practice of unfairly appropriating intellectual property from U.S. firms as a form of blackmail for allowing them access to a huge market. But most were opposed to tariffs on principle. There was unanimous agreement

that a full-blown trade war likely will be avoided; that even modest tariffs will slow down what had been a robust global economy; a recession likely will be avoided for now; and that it is too early to make major investment decisions on behalf of clients because of the saber-rattling in Washington and Beijing. Helping calm fears of an all-out war was the surprise appearance in the White House Rose Garden on July 25 by Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who announced that they had agreed to hold off on proposed auto tariffs and work to settle tariff disputes on steel and aluminum while pursuing a bilateral trade deal. Peter Sorrentino, chief investment officer at Comerica Bank, supports Trump’s efforts to get Europe to reduce its trade barriers and to get Chi-

na to stop taking advantage of companies that want to enter its market. “The administration takes the view that if you’re going to have fair and open trade, let’s have it, although things may have got a little ham-handed. There are going to be some beneficiaries and some victims,” he said. “I think that if tariffs are going to be considered, now is a good time,” said Scott Bork, senior vice president and director of investments at Chemical Bank in Midland. “The economy is going well. If the issue is going to be addressed, now is the time.” Melissa Spickler, managing director of Merrill Lynch’s Spickler Wealth Management Group in Bloomfield Hills, is sharply critical of Trump’s early tariffs. “The tax cuts were good for corporations, but as good as they SEE WEALTH, PAGE 27

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WEALTH FROM PAGE 26

were, tariffs are bad, rebalancing those gains. Tariffs took the steam out of these companies’ engines. But it doesn’t change how I invest. Every year there’s something. You have to learn how to mitigate the risk.” “GDP just came out and it was at 4.1 percent, the strongest growth in four years. It reinforces what we’ve been saying: The economy is strong. The U.S. has a lot to lose in a tit-for-tat trade war,” said Aubrey Lee Jr., sales manager of Merrill Lynch’s Aubrey Lee Jr. and Julius Readus Group in Farmington Hills. “At best, it would be a terrible drag on growth. At worse, it would lead the economy into recession. We aren’t doing anything to react to tariffs, yet, but stay tuned.” Leon LaBrecque, CEO of Troybased LJPR LLC, says tariffs come “at a time of great headwinds. A survey in June by the Michigan Association of CPAs showed that capital expenditures were up and hiring was up, and then the tweeter-in-chief gives us all this talk on tariffs. Tariffs are a regressive tax. They hit poor people the hardest. I don’t think anyone can explain the policy.” LaBrecque says everyone knows a recession is coming after this long bull market. He said the corporate tax cuts are basically dueling with tariffs to see what happens with the economy. “We have three or four quarters left of the bull market if the tax cuts win. If tariffs win, we can get a recession sooner.” One added problem, he says, is the Federal Reserve wants to get interest rates high enough over the next year so that when a recession hits, they’ll be able to start reducing rates to spur economic activity. But if tariffs lead to a slowdown, the Fed won’t be able to raise rates high enough to later use rate cuts as a tool. “Tariffs are front and center these days, but at the end of the day I don’t think they will have a major impact,” said Mike Dzialo, president and chief investment officer of Managed Asset Portfolios LLC in Rochester. He said that tariffs on steel and aluminum are particularly misguided. “Tariffs aren’t going to bring steel jobs back to Pittsburgh. The industry is automated. There is a steel plant in Austria that makes 500,000 tons of steel a year, and it employs 14 people in manufacturing.” Dzialo is an exception to his local peers in that he said he has already made one investment decision based at least in part on tariffs and the likely response by China. “We’ve bought Grain Corp. in Australia. Poor growing conditions are finally improving in Australia, and we like it because Australia is close to China and farmers there will benefit as China reduces farm imports from the U.S.,” he said. John Augustine, chief investment officer for the Columbus, Ohio-based Huntington Private Bank, said the implementation of tariffs to help American trade and eventually boost the U.S. economy comes at a time of particularly good economic data. “Exports rose 9 percent in the second quarter, and cap-ex spending by American companies has been pretty robust,” he said, referring to capital expenditures by companies investing part of their tax breaks into their own businesses. He said one reason for optimism regarding U.S.-China talks is that while the U.S. markets have so far

shrugged off tariff threats, with the S&P 500 continuing to rise modestly, the Chinese stock market is down 16 percent this year, with investors there seemingly more worried about the effects of a trade war. “But our equity team is cautious about the auto sector and the impact of tariffs there.” “At first, I thought all this about tariffs was just going to be a shoving match. It was like the old Soviet days, where mutually assured destruction kept things from going too far. But it’s got more intense and to the point where it’s affecting profit margins,” said David Sowerby, managing director and portfolio manager in the Bloomfield Hills office of Cleveland-based Ancora Advisers LLC, who thinks the tariffs are misguided. “They’re nothing more than a tax on consumers.” “It’s certainly going to influence investment decisions, but it’s too early to try to trade on tariff news, now,” said Jim Robinson, CEO of Grosse Pointe-based Robinson Capital LLC. “My concern is there doesn’t seem to be a plan for how it will all play out. I think talk will continue to the midterms. It’s red meat for the base. But if you’re farming soybeans, you’re screwed now.” “I wouldn’t be surprised if September comes and tariff talk calms down. I don’t think Trump wants a trade war,” said Peter Schwartz, a principal in Bloomfield Hills-based Gregory J. Schwartz & Co. “We don’t feel it’s the strategic policy of the U.S. to go to full-blown tariffs,” said Howard Margolis, senior vice president and Midwest market leader in Southfield for Citizens Bank Private Wealth Management. “We always focus on outcome and not noise, and the issue of tariffs is more noise.” Anne McIntyre, president and CEO of Annie Mac Financial LLC in Sterling Heights, takes a sanguine view. “Keeping things in perspective, it’s legitimate to see tariffs as a concern, but we’ve had tax cuts and increased federal spending that should offset any costs of tariffs and the Chinese reaction,” she said. “The fundamentals of the economy are strong, it’s not the time to panic. But tariffs are a bit of a gamble.” “Our view is obviously there is a lot of verbal jousting going on. How far will it be taken? There are certain parts of global trade that have been unfair, and we’d like to see that corrected, but if it goes too far, it could cause a global trade war,” said Lyle Wolberg, a partner in Southfield-based Telemus Capital LLC. Reuben Rashty, the head of private banking in Michigan for Fifth Third Bank, thinks the larger tariff threats between the U.S. and China likely won’t amount to much. “Tariffs won’t derail any economies. We believe both countries will come to a solution. And while tariffs are hard to implement, they are very easy to remove. It’s just a flick of a button.” “There hasn’t been much impact on GDP, yet, but if it grows to a fullblown trade war, there will be a significant impact. It that likely? I don’t think anyone can tell,” said Nancy Meconi, a partner in Auburn Hillsbased Plante Moran Financial Advisors LLC. “We hesitate to call it a trade war. We might get there, but I think they’ll resolve it in some amicable way,” said Kevin Granger, a senior vice president and senior investment adviser for PNC Bank in Troy. But even if tariffs remain relatively small, “there is going to be a slowdown in the global economy, and that isn’t good.”

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SPECIAL REPORT: WEALTH MANAGEMENT

Wealth managers offer likes, dislikes, insights

ixteen wealth managers talk about what invest- Mike Dzialo Aubrey Lee Jr. ments they currently like and don’t like, and offer Founder, president and chief inSales manager of Merrill Lynch’s Auup their insights. — By Tom Henderson vestment officer, Managed Asset brey Lee Jr. and Julius Readus Group,

John Augustine

Scott Bork

Chief investment officer, Huntington Private Bank, Columbus, Ohio Likes: U.S. large- and mid-cap stocks; industrials; energy; materials; O’Reilly Auto Parts; Costco; Home Depot; TJ Maxx Dislikes: Foreign markets; consumer staples; telecom; real estate investment trusts; utilities John Augustine Insight: “Next year, as the Fed continues to raise interest rates, cash will be an asset class, again, after nine years. You’re going to go from 1 to 2 or 3 percent on what you can earn. That doesn’t sound like much, but it’s been at zero.”

Senior vice president and director of investments, Chemical Bank, Midland Likes: Domestic large- and smallcap stocks; consumer discret i o n a r y ; technology Dislikes: Emerging markets; established foreign markets; longterm fixed income securities; Scott Bork utilities; consumer staples Insight: “We like gold and silver for our younger clients who are more risk tolerant, the rising stars at Dow Chemical and Dow Corning.”

A F e e - O n l y We a l t h M a n a g e m e n t G r o u p

Portfolios LLC, Rochester Likes: Consumer staples; shortterm bonds; First Pacific Co. Ltd. of Hong Kong, a holding company with operations in consumer food products, infrastructure, natural resources Mike Dzialo and telecommunications; Grain Corp. of Australia, a storer and shipper of a wide range of grains and a supplier of malt to the beer industry worldwide; Bunge Ltd. of White Plains, N.Y., a supplier of grains and oilseeds and a producer of consumer food products Dislikes: Energy; commodities; U.S Treasuries; high-priced tech stocks Insight: “We’ve been in a bull market since March of 2009. It’s the second longest bull market in history. We’re in the eighth inning. Maybe we can go to extra innings. But it’s time to pay attention to valuations. Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google are great companies, but look at the prices people are paying, and you have to scratch your head and say it doesn’t make sense.”

Kevin Granger

Michigan’s #1 Financial Advisor* Charles C. Zhang CFP®, MBA, MSFS, ChFC, CLU Managing Partner

Charles was ranked #8 on Forbes’ list of America’s Top Wealth Advisors and is the highest ranked Fee-Only financial advisor on the list.**

We Uphold a Fiduciary Standard 101 West Big Beaver Road 14th Floor Troy, MI 48084 (248) 687-1258 or (888) 777-0126

www.zhangfinancial.com Assets under custody of LPL Financial and TD Ameritrade. *As reported in Barron’s March 10, 2018. Rankings based on assets under management, revenue generated for the advisors’ firms, quality of practices, and other factors. **As reported in Forbes September 26, 2017. The rankings, developed by Shook Research, are based on in-person and telephone due diligence meetings and a ranking algorithm for advisors who have a minimum of seven years of experience. Other factors include client retention, industry experience, compliance records, firm nominations, assets under management, revenue generated for their firms, and other factors. Minimum Investment Requirement: $1,000,000 in Michigan/$2,000,000 outside of Michigan.

Senior vice president and senior investment adviser, PNC Bank, Troy Likes: Energy; domestic smallcap stocks; regional U.S. banks; infrastructure; master limited partnerships in the energy industry; intermediate-term bonds Dislikes: TeleKevin Granger com; utilities; consumer staples Insight: “We don’t see a recession happening this year or next year. Not until 2020, at least.”

Leon LaBrecque CEO, LJPR LLC, Troy Likes: Emerging Asian markets of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines; Europe and Great Britain; infrastructure; 3M; Caterpillar; financials and regional banks Dislikes: China; Japan; pricey tech stocks such as Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google Insight: “I like small-cap stocks Leon LaBrecque because they will be hurt less by tariffs and benefit more from tax cuts. And I like emerging Asian markets because they are immune, for now, from Trump’s anger.”

Farmington Hills; first vice president, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management/Bank of America Likes: Information technology; commodities, which provide a hedge against inflation; financials; domestic large caps Aubrey Lee Jr. Dislikes: Real estate; consumer discretionary Insights: “We see housing being at the end of a long bull market.”

Anne MacIntyre President and CEO, Annie Mac Financial LLC, Sterling Heights Likes: Domestic small-cap stocks; financial stocks; consumer discretionary; emerging markets; investment-grade corporate bonds Dislikes: Developed international stocks; develo p e d international bonds; long-term Anne MacIntyre Treasuries Insight: “Financials should be helped by rising interest rates.”

Howard Margolis Senior vice president and Midwest market leader, Citizens Bank Private Wealth Management, Southfield Likes: Senior bank debt; international developed stocks, particularly Europe; hedging strategies Dislikes: Domestic large caps; fixed-income semortHoward Margolis curities; gage-related investments Insight: “We’re concerned about inflation and wage pressure. There are more job openings than people seeking jobs.”

Nancy Meconi Partner, Plante Moran Financial Advisors LLC, Auburn Hills Likes: International equities, including emerging markets; U.S. large caps; master limited partnerships in the energy industry D i s l i k e s : L ong-duration bonds; high-yield bonds; market Nancy Meconi timing Insight: “We don’t see a recession in the next year or so, but corrections are normal, and vol-

atility has returned to the market after being absent in 2017.”

Reuben Rashty Managing director, head of private banking in Michigan for Fifth Third Bank, Detroit Likes: U.S. equities; technology; energy Dislikes: Utilities; international emerging markets Insight: “The Federal Reserve assumes it will raise interest rates four times this year, which is why Reuben Rashty we are underweighting utilities, which are interest-rate sensitive. The Fed needs to get rates higher so it can bring them back down if a recession hits.”

Jim Robinson CEO, Robinson Capital LLC, Grosse Pointe Likes: High-yield corporate bonds; General Motors; emerging-market ETFs (exchange-traded funds); municipal bonds; tax-exempt closed-end funds Dislikes: Equities in general; U.S. Treasuries; real-estate inJim Robinson vestment trusts; utilities; agricultural commodities Insight: “Autonomous vehicles are going to be upon us, and what that will mean for the industry is dramatic. Computing speeds have finally caught up with the idea. It cost $1 billion to unwind a DNA strand the first time. It cost $500 million to do it a second time. Now, you can get it done for $50. Everyone is talking about Tesla, but where autonomous vehicles are really going to have an impact is fleet sales. The biggest flaw, now, in the Lyft and Uber model is the human component.”

Peter Schwartz Principal, Gregory J. Schwartz & Co., Bloomfield Hills Likes: Small-cap domestic stocks; well-established large-cap foreign stocks; dividend-paying value stocks; highyield bonds Dislikes: The high-priced FANG stocks of Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google; gold Insight: “Smallcap stocks benePeter Schwartz fited disproportionately from tax cuts, and they don’t have tentacles with an overseas reach. If there is a hiccup with trade, it will basically affect large-cap national stocks. Small caps have led the way so far this year and will continue to do so.” SEE INSIGHTS, PAGE 29

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

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Peter Sorrentino Chief investment officer and senior vice president, Comerica Inc., Dallas Likes: Small-cap domestic stocks; emerging markets; technology; consumer discretionary; financials; manufacturing that serves the aircraft, locomotive, Class A truck and natural-gas pipeline industries; small and medium-sized agriculture companies as people in improving economies in emerging markets improve Peter Sorrentino their diets Dislikes: China; Russia; Japan; western Europe; longterm bonds; U.S. Treasuries as government holds larger auctions to support fast-rising government debt Insight: “Emerging markets have been a victim of a rising dollar and people have abandoned those markets. We thought they were attractive before, and they are much more attractive, now. There’s still a lot to be done in Latin America, but there’s been significant reforms. There’s a new administration in Mexico and very positive signs in Chili, Argentina and Brazil. And Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and South Africa are attracting foreign capital.”

David Sowerby Managing director and portfolio manager, Ancora Advisers LLC, Bloomfield Hills

Likes: Smaller U.S. domestic companies less likely to be affected by tariffs than large companies; commodities; yield producing master limited partnerships in the David Sowerby energy sector; emerging markets; infrastructure Dislikes: Credit-sensitive highyield bonds; fixed-income securities; the FANG stocks of Facebook, Apple, Netflix and Google Insight: “Tariffs are one headwind for the economy. A second headwind is that debt levels in the public sector and in the private sector are starting to get extended. A third headwind? The Federal Reserve is tightening monetary policy and raising interest rates, which is creating a weakness in the bond market. When you used to de-risk your portfolio, you sold stocks and bought bonds. That has been the playbook since the early 1980s. Not anymore.”

Melissa Spickler Managing director, Merrill Lynch’s Spickler Wealth Management Group, Bloomfield Hills Likes: Technology; financials; healthcare; materials; green energy of solar and wind; domestic small caps Dislikes: Anything international Insight: “I love anything that Melissa Spickler

represents what the future looks like. Self-driving cars will be much bigger than anyone ever dreams. You have to get in, now. And I love ESG investing. Environmental, social and governance investing, which is social-impact investing. So many clients are interested now in doing the right thing and protecting the planet.”

Lyle Wolberg Partner, Telemus Capital LLC, Southfield Likes: Alternative investments that have low correlation to the stock market, such as reinsurance portfolios and catastrophe bonds issued by insurance companies to limit their exposure to catastrophic losses; companies that Lyle Wolberg do consumer-direct lending; domestic and international small caps; short-term bonds. Dislikes: Long-term bonds; lower quality high-yield bonds; variable annuities. Insight: “One of the big themes we’ve been talking about with clients is the continued aging of the developed world and how that will affect economies. There’s going to be a lot less spending. Also, as this market rally continues, there is more importance in rebalancing portfolios. You have to take some profit when you get a nice run.” Tom Henderson: (231) 499-2817 Twitter: @TomHenderson2

Architecture and Design | Arts and Sciences Business and Information Technology | Engineering

C R A I N â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // A U G U S T 2 0 , 2 0 1 8

CRAIN'S LIST: LARGEST SE MICHIGAN EMPLOYERS

Ranked by full-time employees July 2018 Rank

Company Address Phone; website

Top local executive(s)

Full-time Full-time employees employees in in Southeast Southeast Worldwide Worldwide Michigan Michigan employees employees July 2018 July 2017 July 2018 July 2017 Type of business

Ford Motor Co. 1 American Road, Dearborn 48126 (313) 322-3000; www.ford.com

Jim Hackett president and CEO

48,000

General Motors Co. 300 Renaissance Center, Detroit 48265 (313) 556-5000; www.gm.com

Mary Barra chairman and CEO

37,400

37,713

FCA US LLC 1000 Chrysler Drive, Auburn Hills 48326-2766 (248) 576-5741; www.fcagroup.com

Michael Manley B CEO

35,399

32,514

90,000

University of Michigan Ann Arbor 48109 (734) 764-1817; umich.edu

Mark Schlissel president

34,067

32,749

49,797 C

Beaumont Health 2000 Town Center, Suite 1200, Southfield 48075 (248) 213-3333; www.beaumont.org

John Fox president and CEO

28,012

28,038

28,045

28,071

Health care system

Henry Ford Health System 1 Ford Place, Detroit 48202 (800) 436-7936; www.henryford.com

Wright Lassiter III president and CEO

23,724

17,608

25,554

18,520

Health care system

U.S. government 477 Michigan Ave., Detroit 48226 (313) 226-4910; www.usa.gov

18,817

18,920

Rock Ventures 1050 Woodward Ave., Detroit 48226 (800) 251-9080

Dan Gilbert chairman and founder

17,819

16,617

29,835

28,742

Trinity Health 20555 Victor Parkway, Livonia 48152 (734) 343-1000; www.trinity-health.org

Richard Gilfillan CEO

15,899

14,676

131,000

Health care system

Ascension Michigan

Joseph Cacchione, M.D. D interim ministry market executive

11,893

23,103

Health care system

U.S. Postal Service

Karlett Gilbert district manager

11,805

9,694

503,103

508,908 Postal service

Detroit Medical Center

Anthony Tedeschi group CEO

10,047

10,279

10,050

10,282

Mike Duggan mayor

9,565

9,066

9,565

City government

City of Detroit 2 Woodward Ave., Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, Detroit 48226 (313) 224-3700; www.detroitmi.gov

Rick Snyder governor

9,458

9,377

State government

State of Michigan 3042 W. Grand Blvd., Cadillac Place, Suite 4-400, Detroit 48202 (313) 456-4400; www.michigan.gov

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan/ Blue Care Network

Daniel Loepp president and CEO

7,266

7,265

10,236

10,213

A nonprofit mutual insurance company

DTE Energy Co.

Gerard Anderson chairman and CEO

7,032

6,278

10,975

10,014

Energy and energy-technology company

Ilitch companies 2211 Woodward Ave., Detroit 48201 (313) 471-6600; www.ilitchcompanies.com

Christopher Ilitch president and CEO, Ilitch Holdings Inc.

6,740

6,420

24,920 E

Wayne State University

M. Roy Wilson president

5,910

5,780

5,910

23,534 E Food, sports and entertainment organization. Businesses include: Little Caesars Pizza, Blue Line Distribution, the Detroit Red Wings, Olympia Entertainment, the Detroit Tigers, Olympia Development of Michigan, Little Caesars Pizza Kit Fundraising Program and Champion Foods. The organization also has a joint venture interest in 313 Presents. Additionally, Marian Ilitch owns MotorCity Casino Hotel. 5,780 Public university

Detroit Public Schools Community District 3011 W. Grand Blvd., Fisher Building, Detroit 48202 (313) 873-3111; www.detroitk12.org

Nikolai Vitti superintendent

5,700

5,794

5,700

5,794 F Public school system

McLaren Health Care Corp.

Philip Incarnati president and CEO

5,551

5,864

23,172

22,500

Magna International of America Inc.

Don Walker, CEO; Jim Tobin, CMO and president, Magna Asia

5,095

4,528

172,000

159,000 Automotive parts supplier

Comerica Bank

Michael Ritchie Michigan market president

4,486

4,446

7,867

Dequindre Road, Warren 48092 10 28000 NA; www.ascension.org/michigan W. Fort St., Detroit 48233-9998 11 1401 (313) 226-8678; www.usps.com John R, Detroit 48201 12 3990 (313) 745-5146; www.dmc.org

15 600 E. Lafayette Blvd., Detroit 48226

Automobile manufacturer

221,083 Automobile manufacturer

86,900

Automobile manufacturer

48,000 C Public university and health system

2,075,006 2,086,347 Federal government

Rock Ventures LLC is an umbrella entity managing a portfolio of companies, investments and real estate, including its flagship company Quicken Loans and Greektown Casino.

Health care system

(313) 225-9000; www.bcbsm.com Energy Plaza, Detroit 48226 16 1(800) 235-8000; www.dteenergy.com

W. Warren, Detroit 48202 18 42 (313) 577-2424; www.wayne.edu

McLaren Parkway, Grand Blanc 48439 20 One (810) 342-1100; www.mclaren.org Tower Drive, Troy 48098 21 750 (248) 631-1100; www.magna.com

W. Lafayette, Detroit 48226 22 411 (248) 371-5000; www.comerica.com

7,989

Health care system

Financial services provider

This list of Southeast Michigan employers encompasses companies with locations in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw or Livingston counties. Number of full-time employees may include full-time equivalents. It is not a complete listing but the most comprehensive available. Unless otherwise noted, information was provided by the companies. Companies with headquarters elsewhere are listed with the address and top executive of their main Detroit-area office. Actual figures may vary. NA = not available.

B Succeeded Sergio Marchionne as CEO on July 21. C Includes approximately 15,000 in-state part-time employees. D Succeeded Gwen MacKenzie, who resigned on April 30. E Figures are FTE counts. F Figures are FTE counts from the Center for Educational Performance and Information. LIST RESEARCHED BY SONYA D. HILL

An expanded version of this list is available with a Crainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s membership at crainsdetroit.com/lists

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

Q&A: Duo Security’s Dug Song wants to ‘double down’ on local ties By Annalise Frank afrank@crain.com

Ann Arbor-based Duo Security Inc. is getting a new San Jose, Calif.-based owner, but co-founder Dug Song says he’s not taking his magnifying glass off of Southeast Michigan. Duo Security has agreed to a $2.35 billion acquisition deal with global networking giant Cisco Systems Inc. The acquisition, believed to be the biggest of a venture capital-backed startup in Michigan history, set experts abuzz with expectations of ripple effects. It came less than a year after a venture capital funding round that valued the quickly growing cybersecurity firm at $1.17 billion last fall, showing a change in how investors on the coasts view Michigan firms. Crain’s spoke Tuesday with Song, a self-proclaimed hacker who’s known for entrepreneur mentorship efforts. The Crain’s 2017 Newsmaker and Michigan Change Maker chatted about how his 8-year-old tech firm came to be acquired by Cisco, Southeast Michigan regionalism and what the local startup community is missing — he says the big problem isn’t capital. The transcript has been edited for length and clarity. Crain’s: I want to go back a little, to the time period between now and last fall, when Duo Security was valued at $1.17 billion after a $70 million venture capital round. What happened? Song: To be frank, we weren’t look-

ing to be acquired. We were continuing on our path to build an enduring company, and ... in the (Series D funding round last fall, we) had Cisco come in as a contributing investor … They had also been a strategic partner to us for some time even ahead of that ... In the last year, (Cisco) had gotten a lot more conviction and excitement around the opportunity not just to work with us, but to have us be part of them. So, yeah, they came pretty hard at us this year and very recently, and we were kind of surprised and when we came to understand what was going on, we thought it made a lot of sense. ... I think Cisco has a lot of what we ended up looking for, (including on diversity and inclusion). Cisco is headquartered in San Jose, but they have all these offices all over the place … they’re big believers, as I am, that talent is equally distributed but opportunity is not.

Does that mean staying in Ann Arbor for the foreseeable future?

Yeah, I mean, we’re here and we’re gonna double down. Cisco has, as much as our interest in their global footprint, they have a very significant interest in our Michigan footprint. We’ve always been committed to developing success in ourselves and all the communities in which we operate ... there’s going to be lots more (involvement). It seems people are pretty excited about some of the possible effects of the acquisition. Potential

“I think there’s something special about solving for the needs of the vast majority of folks from the heartland of America.” Dug Song investment from Duo Security leadership in other ventures and growing the tech community financially. Could you speak to that expectation?

Clearly, I think this is going to have a big impact on Ann Arbor. My hope is it has an impact more broadly, regionally. And some of it will be direct from, literally, our capital that flows directly into this community and through our people, but just as much, it’s also a bit of a mind shift, right. You see more and more a lot more investment in (Silicon) Valley leaving the valley in search of the next best opportunities elsewhere, because there’s just too much noise. ... When startups are the local industry, you end up with a lot of stuff. I think things in the valley sometimes become very esoteric. Rich people solving for rich people’s needs … I think there’s something special about solving for the needs of the vast majority of folks from the heartland of America. The best opportunity and all the resources to go and build a company, a multibillion dollar company, is here, you don’t have to go somewhere else. I do think it’s meaningful to have a big milestone like this, where people can point to and say, ‘Look, if Duo can do it, so can any of us.’ There were doubts you could grow such a successful tech firm from Ann Arbor, as opposed to one of the coasts. We can talk about mentorship broadly, but what are the specific ways you expect to grow more success here?

It’s not about capital. Everyone says ‘Oh, if only we had more venture capital in Michigan.’ But that’s just nonsense. That’s not the limiting factor. The limiting factor here in Michigan is the support for founders and the founders supporting each other.

The founder network (has) been here for some time, but what hasn’t been here as much has been the commitment from folks to pay it forward and to make sure they’re helping each other in a way that is highly visible, number one, and two, can be replicated. There are many different perspectives and models and frameworks, and that’s what innovation is. Just like sexual reproduction, you know, you need the mix of DNA to produce something different and new. That’s sort of how I see a community that wants to grow and innovate and see new things happen. It has to be open to the idea that this stuff is messy. It doesn’t look like anything. It looks like a skateboarder, a hacker in flip-flops (Duo cofounder Jon Oberheide), and a talking duck. That’s what it kind of looks like. What do you see for the connection between Ann Arbor and Detroit, and their tech scenes?

Detroit is critical to the success of our state ... Regionally, obviously, Ann Arbor is doing great, right, it’s the city that has sort of an economic engine of brains. It imports brains, it grows them, it sometimes sends them back and sometimes keeps them. That’s not a bad engine of growth to rely upon, but what we need regionally and for the state is progress that’s equitable. ... Ann Arbor, they say it’s the highest number of PhDs per capita, most educated city, all that kind of stuff. And then you have a city like Detroit where, you know, we’ve let it fall this far ... So three things have to move together for there to be progress and growth in a way that accommodates all: development, public transit and affordability. Without transit and the ability to have opportunity and talent meet each other and dollars to move, it’s hard. You get locked into these locations. So my great hope here is that we approach success here in a way that’s bigger than ourselves. And the startup community can be highly involved in that process?

The startup community needs to be. Because I think the reality is that industries at scale in mature economies, they don’t grow that fast. And in order to find opportunity for growth, you really have to create new paths to it. We have a tremendous engine of intellectual capital and growth here. What I think is needed ... is a commitment to each other in this journey so we can see success in Ann Arbor help lift Detroit and vice versa. We can think ... about everything between Ann Arbor and Detroit as one big economic area. Because, you know, that distance, it’s shorter than San Francisco to San Jose (around Silicon Valley). So there’s no reason for us to carve it up all this way, and I know Ann Arborites don’t like to think of this still as metro Detroit, but we’re in the shadow of one of the world’s greatest cities. We have nothing to be ashamed of there, right. We should be working to make sure that we become part of that story and help drive it.

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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 // A U G U S T 2 0 , 2 0 1 8

CRAIN'S LIST: LARGEST MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESSES

Ranked by 2017 revenue Company Address Rank Phone; Web site

Majority owner

Local Revenue Revenue employees ($000,000) ($000,000) Percent Jan. 2018/ Minority group of 2017 2016 change 2017 ownership

Type of business

Bridgewater Interiors LLC 4617 W. Fort St., Detroit 48209 (313) 842-3300; www.bridgewater-interiors.com

Ron Hall Jr. president and CEO

Piston Group B 3000 Town Center, Suite 2440, Southfield 48075 (313) 541-8674; www.pistongroup.com

Vinnie Johnson chairman

1,707.9

1,581.9

1,108 1,108

The Diez Group 8111 Tireman Ave., Dearborn 48126 (313) 491-1200; www.thediezgroup.com

Gerald Diez chairman and CEO

1,190.0

1,152.0

450 NA

Detroit Manufacturing Systems LLC C 12701 Southfield Road, Building A, Detroit 48223 (313) 243-0700; dmsna.com

Bruce Smith C CEO

981.8

1,039.7

-6

829 836

Arvind Pradhan chairman

538.0

471.0

56 59

Asian

Camaco LLC 37000 12 Mile Road, Suite 105, Farmington Hills 48331 (248) 442-6800; www.camacollc.com

Supplier of complete structures, concept through design, including validation, testing, prototype developments, manufacturing and vertical integration

NYX Inc. 36111 Schoolcraft Road, Livonia 48150 (734) 462-2385; www.nyxinc.com

Chain Sandhu chairman

423.0 D

402.0

NA 1,991

Asian

Plastic injection molding

Acro Service Corp. 39209 W. Six Mile Road, Suite 250, Livonia 48152 (734) 591-1100; www.acrocorp.com

Ron Shahani president and CEO

354.1

331.8

NA 1,683

Asian

Staff-augmentation, outsourcing and IT and engineering consulting

Prestige Automotive 20200 E. Nine Mile Road, St. Clair Shores 48080 (586) 773-2369; www.prestigeautomotive.com

Gregory Jackson chairman, president and CEO

350.1

360.7 E

-3

150 NA

Elder Automotive Group 777 John R Road, Troy 48083 (248) 585-4000; www.elderautogroup.com

Tony Elder president

331.5 F

326.5

NA 225

Hispanic

Automobile dealerships

The Ideal Group Inc.

Frank Venegas Jr. chairman and CEO

321.7

307.0

313 360

Hispanic

General contracting, specialized miscellaneous steel manufacturing and distribution of protective barrier products

HTC Global Services Inc. 3270 W. Big Beaver Road, Troy 48084 (248) 786-2500; www.htcinc.com

Madhava Reddy president and CEO

320.0 F

267.7 F

NA NA

Asian

Global Automotive Alliance LLC

William Pickard chairman

255.7

234.4

207 220

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

Royal Oak Ford/Briarwood Ford

Eddie Hall Jr. president

198.8

202.9

-2

231 217

African-American Automobile dealerships

Bill Perkins Automotive Group

Bill Perkins president

167.6

175.6

-5

131 153

African-American Automobile dealerships

Devon Industrial Group

David Burnley Sr. president and CEO

145.0

160.0

-9

70 60

African-American Contracting and construction management

Technosoft Corp.

Radhakrishnan Gurusamy president and CEO

130.0

126.0

150 113

Asian

IT services and technology enabled health care solutions to Fortune 500 companies.

Systems Technology Group (STG)

Anup Popat chairman and CEO

130.0

105.0

550 NA

Asian

Information technology outsourcing, digital services transformation, big data analytics, mobility, cloud integration, software application development

Global Parts & Maintenance

Paul Ureste, CEO and managing member

129.0

NA 24

Hispanic

Avis Ford Inc.

Walter Douglas Sr. chairman and CEO

128.5

131.0

-2

124 121

African-American Automobile dealership

James Group International Inc. 4335 W. Fort St., Detroit 48209 (313) 841-0070; www.jamesgroupintl.com

John James chairman

128.0

129.0

-1

114 107

African-American Logistics and supply chain management

ChemicoMays LLC

Leon Richardson president and CEO

124.0

108.5

215 199

African-American Chemical management and supply

Advantage Management Group Inc-Advantage Living Centers 25800 Northwestern Hwy #720, Southfield 48075 (248) 569-8400; AdvantageLiving.net

Reginald Hartsfield and Kelsey Schwartz-Hastings, owners

108.0

103.3

1,671 1,609

MPS Group Inc.

Charlie Williams chairman

106.0

83.0

174 158

African-American Waste management and environmental program management services, industrial cleaning and maintenance, emergency response and scrap metal management

Rush Trucking Corp. 35160 E. Michigan Ave., Wayne 48184 (800) 526-7874; www.rushtrucking.com

Andra Rush founder and chairman

103.0

121.3

-15

166 245

Native American

Michael Bates Chevrolet G 23755 Allen Road, Woodhaven 48183 (734) 676-9600; www.michaelbateschevy.com

Michael Bates owner

87.4 F

86.1

NA 63

African-American Automobile dealership

Clark St., Detroit 48209 10 2525 (313) 849-0000; www.weareideal.com

Clark St., Detroit 48210 12 2801 (313) 849-3222; www.gaasolutions.com Woodward Ave., Royal Oak 48067 13 27550 (248) 548-4100; www.royaloakford.com S. Telegraph Road, Taylor 48180 14 13801 (734) 287-2600; www.taylorchevy.com Griswold St., Suite 2050, Detroit 48226 15 535 (313) 221-1600; www.devonindustrial.com Towne Square, 6th Floor, Southfield 48076 16 One (248) 603-2600; www.technosoftcorp.com W. Big Beaver Road, Suite 500, Troy 48084 16 3001 (248) 643-9010; www.stgit.com Executive Drive, Westland 48185 18 6112 NA; www.globalpartsllc.com Telegraph Road, Southfield 48034 19 29200 (248) 355-7500; www.avisford.com

Telegraph, Suite 120, Southfield 48033 21 25200 (248) 723-3263; www.thechemicogroup.com

Hills Tech Drive, Farmington Hills 48331 23 38755 (313) 841-7588; www.mpsgrp.com

$2,009.5

$2,205.6

-9%

1,099 1,026

African-American Automotive seating/interiors

African-American Automotive supplier

Hispanic

Aluminum and steel sales, blanking, CTL, laser welding, slitting, milling, wash and oil, and warehousing and logistics

African-American Automotive component manufacturing, module assembly and sequencing services

African-American Automobile dealerships, insurance and real estate

Application development and maintenance, business process management, document and content management and project management office services

OEM replacement parts, commodity supply management and procurement services

African-American Nursing homes, assisted living

Motor carrier

This list of minority-owned businesses is an approximate compilation of the largest such businesses based in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw or Livingston counties. It is not a complete listing but the most comprehensive available. Unless otherwise noted, the companies provided the information. NA = not available.

B Holding company for Piston Automotive, Irvin Automotive, Detroit Thermal Systems and Airea. C Andra Rush stepped down as CEO and sold her majority share in the company to Bruce Smith in August. D Company estimate. E Automotive News. F Crain's estimate. G Formerly Rodgers Chevrolet Inc. Bates purchased Rodgers Chevrolet in July 2017. An expanded version of this list is available with a Crainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s membership at crainsdetroit/lists

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DMC outpatient pharmacy plan with Walgreens encounters problems By Jay Greene jgreene@crain.com

When Detroit Medical Center sold its seven hospital outpatient pharmacies to Walgreens Co. earlier this year, DMC pharmacy managers warned that Walgreens at DMC had no contractual relationship with Molina Healthcare of Michigan, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network— major insurers for hundreds of DMC patients. Since July 30, when Walgreens assumed management of the pharmacies at DMC, some patients seeking care at DMC hospitals have had to travel 10 miles or more to get their outpatient prescriptions filled at other pharmacies to receive discounts under their health insurance plans. Some patients paid out of pocket and others left the DMC pharmacies without having prescriptions filled, said a DMC pharmacy source, who asked for anonymity. Some advanced medications that require complex compounding by pharmacists also can't be mixed at the Walgreens at DMC because of various licensing and staffing limitations, the DMC source told Crain's. Another DMC source said Walgreens has a pharmacy near DMC's main campus in Detroit's Midtown that can mix some compounded formulas. Walgreens declined comment on compounding prescriptions. Spokespersons for Walgreens and Molina tell Crain's that they have nearly resolved the outpatient prescription issues. They say patients will soon be able to fill their prescriptions at the Walgreens pharmacies at DMC as they are negotiating a contract. A Blue Cross official said the company signed a contract Thursday with Walgreens at DMC and will reprocess claims that were previously denied. "We’ve been working closely with payers in the area to help ensure that the prescription drug needs of patients at these locations are met during this transition," Walgreens said in a statement to Crain's. "While Walgreens accepts most insurance, a small percentage of patients within one insurance plan have experienced a change in coverage at the pharmacies since the recent transfer. In these instances, our pharmacy staff has offered to transfer their prescriptions to other nearby pharmacies where their plan is accepted. We’re continuing to work closely with this payer to find alternative solutions for patients." A Molina spokesman said arrangements have been been with CVS Caremark, Molina's pharmacy benefit manager, to allow members to continue filling prescriptions at "DMC-affiliated pharmacies." The Molina spokesman said the company does not have a date when the contract will be completed. A DMC official was unavailable for comment Friday afternoon. In May, DMC sold its retail and seven outpatient pharmacies to Walgreens as part of a pharmacy reorganization. Terms of the transaction were unavailable, but the deal allowed DMC to save hundreds of thousands of dollars in salaries, bank the purchase price and collect regular rent from Walgreens, another DMC source said. DMC operated the outpatient pharmacies at Huron Valley Medical Center, Sinai-Grace Hospital, Harper-Hut-

Vinnie Johnson has never stopped scoring for Detroit. After his last game, Vinnie Johnson took the ball

Detroit Medical Center sold its seven hospital outpatient pharmacies to Walgreens Co. earlier this year.

zel Hospital, Detroit Receiving Hospital and Children's Hospital of Michigan. Walgreens now operates four pharmacies at Children's, Receiving, Sinai-Grace and Harper with shorter hours than under DMC ownership. It was unclear what is the status of the other three pharmacies Walgreens bought from DMC. Over the past two years, DMC has been reorganizing its outpatient pharmacy operations, laying off and reassigning at least two dozen employees. Some DMC pharmacists were rehired by Walgreens, DMC previously said.

Compounding problem Besides the contracting problem, another issue has arisen involving DMC Walgreens pharmacists mixing advanced prescription compounds, primarily for young patients at Children's Hospital of Michigan. Walgreens lacks a special license at its DMC sites to mix complicated compounds, the DMC pharmacy source said. In an Oct. 13 email memo to Children's Hospital staff, Rudolph Valentini, M.D., DMC's group chief medical officer in Michigan and Illinois markets for Tenet Healthcare, DMC's Dallas-based owner, explained the problem: "We regret the challenges faced by our patients and families as this had not been anticipated," said Valentini, who also is a professor of pediatrics at Wayne State University School of Medicine. "One question you may have is regarding hazardous compounded medications. This refers to medications that require a special compounding process due to the potential risks to the pharmacists in the preparation process. Please know that members of the (Children's) leadership team is meeting regularly to help resolve issues in this transition." One of the problems is many Molina and Blue Cross patients who go to DMC live in Detroit and take public transportation to come to the hospital, the DMC pharmacy source said. "Many pediatric medications have to be compounded and the pharmacy has to have a special license to mix these into nonstandard forms," the DMC source said. "The most common reason is that there is no pediatric formulation or the formulation is too high a dose for kids. The pharmacy has to make a small child version of the drug." The DMC pharmacy source said many children need compounded formulas because of kidney, heart and liver transplant programs at Children's and the number of children with congenital heart conditions. These patients have to travel distances to get these medications or wait 10 days to two weeks for mail order.

"As for the toxic compounding: all of our sickle cell kids (Molina) are on hydroxyurea," the DMC pharmacy source said. "Because this medication can be toxic to the pharmacist making the solution (it is only available in tablets), a special setup is needed to do the compounding. This has become a greater issue because there are fewer compounding pharmacies that will do this."

Shorter hours At Children's Hospital, Walgreen's pharmacy is open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m.-noon on Saturday. The DMC source said the new Walgreens hours are far shorter than when DMC operated the pharmacy and poses a problem for some patients, especially those having outpatient surgery. The nearest Walgreens after hours is in Troy, creating transportation problems for some patients, the source said.

and ran with it. With a will to make things happen, he started his own manufacturing company. Today, as CEO of Piston Group, Vinnie leads four companies with over 9,500 full-time employees and $2.9 billion in annual sales. Any way you look at it, Vinnie Johnson continues to post impressive stats for the Motor City.

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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 // A U G U S T 2 0 , 2 0 1 8

DEALS & DETAILS

PEOPLE ACCOUNTING JJRenee Reynolds to managing director, Grant Thornton LLP, Southfield, from director.

BANKING JJPaula Roman to retail market executive for Southeast Michigan, PNC Bank, Troy, from senior vice president, client and experience manager.

CONSULTING JJJohn Lisiecki to executive director, ardentCause L3C, Troy, from IT project manager, Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, Bloomfield Hills.

ENGINEERING JJKeith Vandenbussche to client executive, IMEG Corp., Wixom, from project executive.

Partners, Detroit, from manager, sales marketing, Comcast Spotlight, Bingham Farms.

NONPROFITS JJMichael Mirto to vice president of philanthropic services, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, Detroit, from associate vice president of giving, Wayne State University, Detroit. JJCynthia Hutchison to senior director, Automation Alley, Troy, from director of business development and government affairs. Also, Maryann Daddow to senior director of finance, from director of finance.

STAFFING JJKurtis Hine to president and CEO, Spartan Capital Group, Clarkston, from area managing director, Adecco Group NA, Troy and Grand Rapids.

MARKETING J Charles Pleiness to media relations manager/writer, Your People LLC, Huntington Woods, from sports writer, The Macomb Daily, Clinton Township. J Dawn Crowley to partner, Finn

To submit news of your new hires or promotions to People, go to crainsdetroit.com/peoplesubmit and fill out the online form. Please limit submissions to management- or partner-level positions.

ADVERTISING SECTION

To place your listing, please visit: www.crainsdetroit.com/ onthemove or for more information, call Debora Stein at (917) 226-5470, email: dstein@crain.com

REAL ESTATE

ACCOUNTING Renee Reynolds Managing Director

Grant Thornton LLP

Gregg Wysocki Principal Realtor - Luxe Collection

Arterra Realty Arterra CEO and founder, Vito Terracciano, has announced that Gregg Wysocki of the Wysocki Group has joined Arterra Realty to continue his focus on the luxury home market in the greater Rochester area. Wysocki’s proprietary demographically targeted marketing strategy and deep industry experience have landed him among the top 2% of metro Detroit Realtors. The Wysocki Group is headquartered at Arterra Realty’s downtown Rochester office located at 425 South Main Street.

Grant Thornton promoted Renee Reynolds to managing director in the firm’s Southfield office. She previously served as a tax director in the private wealth services practice. Reynolds has more than 17 years of experience serving a wide range of companies in various manufacturing, sales and distribution, and service areas. She specializes in the private wealth area, including family owned businesses, their owners and other high net worth individuals. She joined Grant Thornton in 2014.

KNOW SOMEONE ON THE MOVE?

For more information or questions regarding advertising in this section, please call Debora Stein at (917) 226-5470 or email: dstein@crain.com

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS J Cirrus Group LLC, Rochester Hills, an online Software-as-a-Service provider for childcare facilities, school districts and community education centers, has signed an agreement to be acquired by Procare Software LLC, Medford, Ore., a provider of child care management software. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Websites: CirrusGroup.com, procaresoftware. com

CONTRACTS J Ulliance Inc., Troy, a human resources consulting firm, has an agreement with International Automotive Components Group LLC, Luxembourg, an automotive interiors specialist, to use Ulliance’s Human Effectiveness Training for employees. It provides guidance in compliance and legal issues, wellness, workplace skills, relationships and leadership. Programs emphasize diversity, harassment, healthy behaviors, team building and development. Websites: ulliance.com, iacgroup.com J Beaumont Health, Royal Oak, a health system, has selected Omnicell Inc., Mountain View, Calif., a medication management provider, to provide its medication management platform to eight Beaumont hospitals. The platform will provide new automation on hospital floors, as well as in anesthesia procedural areas and the central pharmacy. Websites: beaumont.org, omnicell. com J Pentastar Aviation, headquartered at Oakland County International Airport, Waterford Township, a provider of business aviation, has an agreement to provide travel services to the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club, a private marina and sailing club on Lake St. Clair in Grosse Pointe Shores. Websites: pentastaraviation.com, gpyc.org J The SME Education Foundation, Southfield, a foundation that supports the manufacturing workforce through education, has a partnership with the National Coalition of Certification Centers, Pleasant Prairie, Wis., a network of education providers and corporations; Snap-on Inc., Kenosha, Wis., a manufacturer of tools, diagnostics, equipment, software and service solutions; and the L.S. Starrett Co., Athol, Mass., a manufacturer of measuring tools and gages, to provide training in precision measurement for schools in the SME Prime Schools network, a group of 46 schools that work with industry on technological and manufacturing curricula. Websites: smeef.org, nc3. net, starrett.com J Near Perfect Media, Bloomfield Hills, a public relations firm, has been named the agency of record for Adam Merkel Restaurants, Howell, a restaurant group; Fire Rover, Ferndale, a fire protection consultant; Insight Institute of Neurosurgery & Neuroscience, Flint, a neurologist; and The Italian Dish, Birmingham, a gift shop. Websites: nearperfectmedia.com, merkelrestaurants.com, firerover.com, iinn.com, theitaliandish.com J Fathead LLC, Detroit, a maker of

life-size wall graphics of professional athletes and team logos, has entered into an agreement with SP Images LLC, Franklin, Mass., a sports-licensed merchandise distributor, to distribute their Tradeable and Teammate brands. Websites: fathead.com, spimages.com

EXPANSIONS J Best Western Hotels & Resorts, Phoenix, Ariz., a hotel chain, has opened the Best Western Warren Hotel, 7447 Convention Blvd., Warren. Owned by Thrive Hospitality Group Inc., West Bloomfield Township, the newly remodeled hotel features 114 guest rooms and four suites. Phone: (586) 977-7270 or 1-800-WESTERN. Website: bestwestern.com J Jet Linx, Omaha, Neb., a private aviation company, has opened a private terminal at Oakland County International Airport, Waterford Twp. Jet Linx initiated base operations out of the airport in 2016 and is now establishing a local foundation in Detroit through the new, member-only facility. The terminal offers a private meeting room, executive lounge, Wi-Fi connectivity and dedicated local staff. Websites: jetlinx.com, oakgov.com/aviation

NAME CHANGES J SmithGroupJJR, Detroit, a design firm, has changed its name to SmithGroup. Website: smithgroup. com

NEW PRODUCTS J Skinny Pete’s Catnip LLC, Rochester Hills, a gourmet catnip company, is now offering “Skinny Pete’s Classic Catnip” in a 25 gram tin. Website: skinnypetescatnip.com

NEW SERVICES J North American Bancard Holdings LLC, Troy, a payment solutions provider, has introduced Payments Hub, an online merchant portal, to all businesses signed up for payment processing through NAB. Payments Hub provides a virtual terminal to every merchant, enabling them to accept online, phone and other card-not-present payments. Website: nabancard.com J Argus Logistics, Troy, a logistics management company, has launched a new logistics licensee model called Argus Worldwide, to provide logistics management services, including transportation management software, back-office support, track-and-trace technology and analytics. Websites: argussolutions.net, argusww.com

STARTUPS J Spartan Capital Group, Clarkston, an executive search and staffing firm, has launched two new branches servicing the metro Detroit and Washington, D.C., markets — to support job seekers and employers in the areas of human resources, administration, accounting, finance and non-clinical health care. Phone: (248) 328-4890. Website: TheSpartanCapitalGroup.com

Submit Deals & Details items to cdbdepartments@crain.com

SPOTLIGHT American Center for Mobility parts ways with CEO

The American Center for Mobility, a publicly and privately funded advanced automotive technology test site in Ypsilanti Township, announced last week that M i c h i g a n ’s transportation head Kirk Steudle will serve as its inSteudle terim president and CEO. Steudle replaces John Maddox, who launched ACM as its top executive in 2016. It’s unclear whether Maddox was terminated from the organization and representatives from ACM declined to comment. Steudle will remain director of the Michigan Department of Transportation while serving as ACM’s top executive in an interim role. He is not being considered for the permanent position, the board of directors said in a news release. Steudle will receive no compensation for the role.

Stahl names new CEO

Groupe Stahl North America, a custom textile manufacturer with headquarters in Sterling Heights, has promoted Carleen Gray to CEO. Gray takes over the office that was vacated by Chris Lawson earlier this year for reasons that are unknown. Gray Crain’s placed a request for comment with the company. With more than 20 years at Groupe Stahl under her belt, Gray was most recently chief marketing officer and vice president of sales and marketing. Gray is asked to lead Stahl through its North America business expansion strategy and expand its inventive and creative brands, the release said.

MLive picks chief revenue officer

The former Michigan regional president and publisher of the company that owns The Oakland Press and Macomb Daily, Digital First Media, will become MLive Media Group’s chief revenue officer. MLive reported the move last Parent week. Jeannie Parent will oversee sales leadership for the media organization whose publications include The Grand Rapids Press, The Flint Journal, The Ann Arbor News and the Jackson Citizen Patriot. Parent will work out of MLive’s Farmington Hills office.

August 20, 2018

CLUBS FROM PAGE 3

after-school and out-of-school programing, Jackson said. At the same time, Boys & Girls Clubs plans to lift up workforce development lessons it’s long taught kids, beginning at age 13. Things like how to dress, show up to work on time and provide good customer service, along with “yes, sir; no, sir; (and) pull up your pants,” have long been a part of the club’s ethos. But they haven’t been marketed as workforce development. “We think this could be a game changer for us: meeting families where they are, strategic partners to expand the programs closer to where kids live and play and workforce development,” Jackson said. Last week, Boys & Girls Clubs — which operates separately from other affiliates in Macomb and Oakland counties — closed its Huron Valley Club in Ypsilanti and said it would shutter a second site, Wertz Club in Shelby Township, this week. Attendance at those two clubs had gone down, Jackson said, noting there are several after-school programs in the school systems in those two communities. Huron Valley had average daily attendance of 30 during the school year and 50 during the summer. Wertz Club had average daily attendance of 16 kids during the school year and 240 during the summer. Boys & Girls Clubs plans to sell its Shelby Township building but to continue to offer summer programs to kids there through a new strategic partnership or rental of space that is more cost-efficient, Jackson said. “The dollars we’re spending relative to the number of kids we’re serving, those ratios were off based on the metrics we set.” The moves will save about $300,000, but Boys & Girls Clubs plans to announce expansion in other program areas in the near future

CORE FROM PAGE 1

Burton said a handful of former Core Partners employees joined Farrell in splitting off: Jeremiah Preston, who was vice president of brokerage services; James Akouri, who was vice president of advisory services; and Philip Wojtowicz, who was also vice president of brokerage services. “Essentially the only difference is that Matt is not with Dominion,” Burton said, adding that while the process was difficult, the company’s executive leadership is pleased with the outcome. “When a company busts up, of course there is going to be some tension. It’s impossible for there not to be. But he’s already happy to be on his own and we are very happy to be where we are. The joy of having our own organizations the way we like them overcomes any acrimony in the process.” A press release said Core Partners Associates and Core Construction Services are “winding down due to differences in strategic vision and alignment amongst the former principals.” Burton said Farrell “had an ultimate vision of what he wanted the company to look like, and it was different than everyone else’s.” “The structure of it, how it ran, the

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I TCRAIN B U’SSDIETROIT N E SBSUSINESS // A U G U S T 2 0 , 2 0 1 8 that will offset those savings, Jackson said. “It didn’t make a lot of sense to spend the dollars in these locations. We want to shift where we’re spending the money into growing communities … where there’s a higher need and we ... can have a bigger impact,” Jackson said. Boys & Girls Clubs, which serves about 15,000 kids each year across all of its clubs, is operating on a budget of about $4 million for this year. The closures of two of its clubs follows several years of losses. The nonprofit said it saw a $959,000 deficit in 2017 on a $4 million budget. As Crain’s reported in January, Boys & Girls Clubs brought in to its national system interim CEO Brad Baumgardner, someone known as a change agent, to help turn around its finances and fix other issues, including a culture that led to high employee turnover. The goal is to name a permanent CEO by year’s end, Jackson said, but for now, Mary O’Connor, national director of major metro services at Boys & Girls Clubs of America, is on loan to the local affiliate, serving as interim CEO. She’s helping look at how it can expand in the region, where it should offer programs and the programs it offers, working with executive vice president and COO Hervey Jenkins. The two are also focusing fundraising, Jackson said.

Stabilizing finances Late last year, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson was in Detroit at the Boys & Girls Clubs’s Dick & Sandy Dauch Campus — home to the NFL/YETBoys & Girls Club — to announce a plan for 10 of the centers nationwide to serve as hubs for neighborhood services. That club would be the first of the centers in the country. Then, in June, Carson was back in Detroit, this time at Life Remodeled’s Durfee Innovation Society building in Detroit, designating that as the Depersonality of the organization ... he just viewed it differently than everyone else.” Burton declined to elaborate on specific disagreements between Farrell and the rest of Core management. The split had been in the works for months. In the end, Burton said, all parties are basically back to where they were five years ago, when a blockbuster wedding was announced. “There really was not a buy-out” of Farrell, Burton said. “Essentially what happened is that everyone left more or less with what they came with, and what they got in the meantime.”

New company, big portfolio Core Partners Associates was formed in 2013 when Core Partners LLC purchased the assets of Burton Share Management Co. and Realta Group Midwest LLC, the entity with property management contracts for New York-based Realta Group’s properties in the Midwest. The acquisition transformed Core Partners from a brokerage company to a full-service firm, offering not only commercial brokerage, but also third-party asset, property and project management; and construction and design services for multifamily, commercial and industrial properties.

troit EnVision center. No mention was made of the earlier plan for Boys & Girls Clubs to host the first center. “We were excited about the opportunity,” Jackson said. “We felt we had the right demographics ... (and) the program was needed ... but the ideas came with no money, so we took a pass. “We look forward to doing business with them in the future. We like the concept of EnVision centers.” As it looks to stabilize its finances, Boys & Girls Clubs is also looking at ways to increase earned revenue, Jackson said, to build on the revenue it gets largely from special events and gifts from corporations and individual donors. It’s looking at a possible increase to the $50 membership it charges each academic year and other charges for summer programs. Another consideration is providing more fee-based programs through opening the clubs on Mondays (when they are now closed) to help working parents, expanding summer programs or offering programs to parents or other family members during the school day, Jackson said. “We believe if we’re helping parents, we’re helping kids.” The affiliate launched a $2 million campaign in July to raise funds general fund and programmatic revenue. Its national organization has committed to match every $1 it raises with $3 during the effort which is slated to run through the end of the year. Boys & Girls Clubs of America is contributing another $500,000 in personnel and consultant costs, an undisclosed amount of cash and paying for the CEO search with Korn Ferry, he said. “They’ve come in town and helped us pitch corporations,” Jackson said. “We really want to leverage what they’re leveraging across the country in how to expand and serve communities of need.” Sherri Welch: 313 (446-1694) Twitter: @SherriWelch Burton-Katzman LLC, which owned Burton Share, was unaffected by the acquisition. The deal grew Core Partners by more than 10-fold in terms of the size of its commercial property management portfolio, ballooning it from 700,000 square feet to about 7.1 million. As of last year, it had a nonresidential management portfolio of 6.64 million square feet, making it the 10th largest nonresidential property manager based in the region, according to the 2018 Crain’s Book of Lists. The new company, based in Bingham Farms, will work in brokerage, property management, construction, development and other advisory services. It has a portfolio more than 7 million square feet of commercial, industrial, retail, multifamily and a development pipeline of more than 2 million square feet of light industrial, mixed-use and multifamily projects in Southeast Michigan, the press release says. Farrell started Core Partners in 2006, leaving Farmington Hillsbased Friedman Real Estate LLC to start his firm along with seven of his colleagues. He was a Crain's 40 Under 40 honoree in 2009 and on the Crain’s list of 50 Names to Know in Real Estate in 2016. Kirk Pinho: (313) 446-0412 Twitter: @kirkpinhoCDB

35 1 Page

@CRAINSDETROIT

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Grand Valley State University (GVSU) invites applications for the position of Executive Director for the Michigan Small Business Development Center (SBDC). Under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the Executive Director is responsible for program development, its implementation, success and impact, reflective of the SBA initiatives and requirements. In addition, the Executive Director is responsible for the management of the longstanding partnership with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), and providing services for new business launches, growth companies, and those commercializing technologies. The Executive Director leads, coordinates, and manages human, financial, and administrative resources within a multi-faceted, multi-location business development program/network. The Executive Director will oversee the activity of over 100 employees and contractors of GVSU and the SBDC’s university, community college, and economic development host offices throughout the state. This position reports to the Dean of the Seidman College of Business. For more information and how to apply online, visit jobs.gvsu.edu.

Harman Connected Services - Program Manager, Job code: PGM-J-001 Pgm Manager required supporting the Prd and Business Owners in managing customer expectations for pgm delive, mang stakeholder comm, and helping to implement an effective system of pgm/project governance. Individual will be accountable for all infrastructures and applications delivery for the managed services programs. Req: Bach’s deg (or foreign equivalent) in Comp Sci, Eng, Elec or Comm or rel field with 9 yrs of Managerial exp. Alt: Mast’s deg (or foreign equivalent) in Comp Sci, Eng, Elec or Comm or rel field with 7 yrs Managerial exp. Exp include: 3 years of experience in ITIL practices; 5 years of experience in IT Services Business Global delivery execution experience; Prog/Proj Manag Good Knowledge of IT techno like Amazon Web Services EC2, ELB, Route53, RDS, VPC, EBS, Microsoft Techn - MS SQL Server, MS Windows Server 2012, 2016, Virtualization technologies like VMWare, HyperV. Microsoft Project, Visio, and all Office Tools (required). Please send resumes to Harman Connected Services Inc, Attn: Mahesh G M/Job Code PGM-J-001, 2002 156th Avenue NE #200, Bellevue, WA 98007. Work location: Livonia, MI.

PROGRAMMER ANALYST, CRM

ASSOCIATE. DIRECTOR MARKETING CONTENT University Communications. The Associate Director leads the creation of dynamic and engaging content for multiple channels in support of the university’s strategic branding and marketing initiatives. This individual collaborates closely with members of the creative team, managing priorities and deadlines while ensuring consistency of messaging and brand across all communications. Leadership skills and a collaborative, goal-oriented mindset are a must. Required: Bachelor’s degree, 3 years of relevant experience. For a complete list of requirements and to apply on-line please visit www.jobs.cmich.edu CMU is an AA/EO institution, providing equal opportunity to all persons, including minorities, females, veterans, and individuals with disabilities (see www.cmich.edu/ocrie)

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CENTER FOR YOGA - BIRMINGHAM Busy Downtown Birmingham Yoga Studio seeking a motivated and creative individual with prior experience in customer service, sales & marketing. Responsibilities include managing client relationships, hiring and retaining reception team, general studio organization and social media outreach. Must be an ambitious self-starter interested in growing with a well established company! 40 hours / $15 per hour starting wage Call: 248-229-2919

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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 // A U G U S T 2 0 , 2 0 1 8

How a Grand Rapids doctor helped win STAR Act OK By Jay Greene jgreene@crain.com

New federal legislation that will help children with cancer had a crucial advocate in Michigan. On June 5, President Trump signed the Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research Act into law. It was a major victory for the childhood cancer community, including Spectrum Health’s David Dickens, a pediatric oncologist at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, who championed the issue the past four years. After accidents, cancer is the No. 2 cause of childhood death in ages 1-14. More than 15,000 kids are diagnosed with cancer each year. More significantly, 80 percent of children with cancer now survive five years or more, a huge increase from 30 years ago when the five-year survival rate was about 58 percent. As a result, more than a half-million children have survived into adulthood, although many need additional medical, social and psychological services. “There are hundreds of different childhood cancers. Some similar, many different,” including those ultra rare diseases that affect 25 to 100 children per year, said Dickens. “This gives researchers a comprehensive way to address specific needs of children who have cancer, because the pediatric population is different than adult cancer.” The other three pediatric oncologists who worked closely with Dickens are Peter Adamson of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Amy Billett of Boston Children’s Hospital and Michael Link of Stanford University School of Medicine. The doctors also collaborated with several child cancer advocacy and family support groups. Dickens said the STAR Act addresses a critical need to help expand knowledge about pediatric cancer research, treatment and survivorship. He said provisions in the bill provide greater resources for researchers, families and survivors. One provision will allow for the National Institutes of Health to build a registry of childhood cancer biospecimens, Dickens said. “Biospecimen collection will improve care and contribute to a greater understanding of pediatric cancer,” he said. Some children have rare cancer that’s probably not curable at the moment. “We talk with the family about saving the specimen for research,” he said. “It may have no impact on their care, but one father told me ‘if I can help out some other child in the future, I will do it.’” Dickens said a cancer registry can collect specimens for dozens of diseases, including rare diseases that affect fewer than 100 kids. “It becomes big data and the power of numbers can help researchers get to a proper conclusion,” Dickens said. “This can help us one day come forward with a new treatment standard that is proven and validated. You can't do that now with rare diseases.” Adamson said the STAR Act with funding will provide more resources to help local children’s hospitals manage survivors of childhood cancers, make available research programs for doctors and give hope to many parents and children with

CHRIS CLARK/ SPECTRUM HEALTH

Dr. David Dickens meets with young patient Jed Comden last week at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.

Need to know

Federal STAR Act will help coordinate childhood cancer research, especially for children with rare diseases J

J Grand Rapids pediatric oncologist David Dickens at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital is one of four doctors who championed the bill J STAR Act still needs congressional appropriation of $30 million to get ball rolling

cancer. “Hope is found at a few different levels. There will be help to guide children as they transition into adulthood and tools and programs to help create an infrastructure for survivors,” said Adamson, who also is chair of the Children’s Oncology Group, the largest research consortium for children with cancer in the world. “On the research side, researchers will have more resources to tap into and to make them more successful with grant applications.” Nationally, childhood cancer patients receive care at about 220 children’s hospitals and cancer centers, including those that are freestanding and those part of a larger hospital like Beaumont Children’s Hospital in Royal Oak. In Michigan, many hospitals have oncology programs and physicians looking for cures and treatments through research. Besides DeVos, two of the other large cancer children’s hospitals in Michigan are at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor and Detroit Medical Center’s Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit. DeVos, Mott, Beaumont, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Hospital and DMC Children’s, St. John Hospital, Bronson Methodist and Michigan State Clinical Center are part of the Children’s Oncology Group, which represents children’s hospitals, universities and cancer centers. COG members have more than 60 active pediatric and adolescent cancer clinical trials that enroll 9,000 patients annually.

Jeffery Taub, M.D., chief of pediatric hematology at DMC Children’s, said additional NIH funding will help doctors, who are mostly Wayne State University faculty members, conduct a variety of research projects including those on leukemias, brain tumors, solid tumors and bone tumors. “Helping to develop new cancer treatments can make treatments safer and reduce the potential longterm side effects that patients may develop as adults after being treated for cancer in childhood,” Taub said. Greg Yanik, M.D., a pediatric hematologist, oncologist and researcher at Mott, said the STAR Act will greatly enhance Mott’s own biospecimen and pediatric database that now includes about 1,000 children. “We’ve been blessed to have a great team that has given lots of thought already to ideas” in the STAR Act, said Yanik. “We address survivorship issues, not just to get them through therapy, but to get them through five years and 20 years” into the future. Mott’s database includes biospecimens, blood and tissue samples along with information on outcomes and how patients are doing with their lives, including whether they completed college, got married, developed depression or had setbacks. “We can look back and see certain genes that we can use to predict which patients” might develop problems decades later, he said. Mott has one of the nation’s most robust clinical trials on childhood cancers with several dozen studies underway. Many of the 125 new children diagnosed with cancer and treated each year at the hospital are participating, Yanik said. Yanik said many health insurance companies don’t recognize that childhood cancer survivors have a greater chance of developing other diseases years after they have been cured of their initial cancer. For example, women may need regular breast cancer screening before age 40 or colonoscopies may be needed before the recommended age 50, he said.

Funding STAR a question mark The STAR Act also is designed to fund various pilot programs at the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to “develop, study, or evaluate model systems for monitoring and caring for childhood cancer survivors across the lifespan,” Dickens said. But the STAR Act requires an appropriations bill to fund the programs from 2019-2023. The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee has approved a fiscal year 2019 spending bill that includes funding for STAR. The House has yet to approve its appropriations bill for STAR. While the anticipated $30 million won't make a dent in research needs, Dickens said it would allow pediatric hospitals and the research community to build infrastructure that will help research difficult cancers. “A fair amount can be done. We can pilot programs that address survivors of childhood cancers” later on in life, Dickens said. Dickens said 70 percent to 80 percent of kids with cancer eventually will be cured. “But to cure them we have to expose them to treatment. We need psychosocial programs, innovations to bring value-based quality care for people doing research,” he said. One of the major problems in pediatric cancer research is that childhood cancer only gets 4 percent of the NCI’s $5.7 billion budget for 2018, Dickens said. Researchers and children need more funding from government and private industry, he said. But the STAR Act also mandates adding at least one pediatric oncologist to the board of the NCI, which could mean a strong voice for childhood cancer patients and possibly more NCI funding, said Adamson, who currently is the only pediatric specialist to serve on the National Cancer Advisory Board. He was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2015. “Many people might be surprised to hear that the largest funder of bio-

medical research is not the NIH. It is the private sector, which funds 60 percent of biomedical research. The NIH funds 25 percent with state and local philanthropic making up the remaining,” Adamson said. However, Adamson said private industry provides very little for childhood cancer research. “They are not at the table. They lack economic models,” he said, adding that the truth is because there are so many rare childhood cancers and they affect relatively few, industry profit margins are not the same as for adult cancer patients. “Parents want the best treatment and we try as hard as we can, but the resources are not there,” Adamson said. “The legislation could start to close some of the gaps.” For parents, clinicians and researchers, Adamson said the return on investment in childhood cancer cases isn’t measured in biomedical company profits — it is in lives saved. “We are very fortunate the ROI is paid off significantly. There are 400,000 (children) alive in the U.S. But there are high treatment costs,” he said. By 2020, more than a half-million people in the U.S. will be survivors of childhood cancer, Dickens said. NIH would create the Workforce Development Collaborative on Medical and Psychosocial Care for Pediatric Cancer Survivors to develop support programs for many. “Cancer survivors (have) five to 10 health problems — cardio, GI, mental health, oncology. It gets very confusing and overwhelming. One idea is to create a navigator to help make appointments, coordinate care, or just to understand bills,” Dickens said. Dickens said he envisions the STAR Act helping children’s hospitals in Michigan and the Children's Hematology Alliance of Michigan, an organization of pediatric cancer teams, to work more effectively together on the payer treatment policies and reimbursement for childhood cancer survivors. He said the University of Michigan and Michigan State University are already discussing plans for collaboration to treat children with medical conditions regardless of where they live. “We need to collaborate with the state (through CHAM) at the payer level” with Medicaid and commercial health insurers, Dickens said. “We can't start yet until we get appropriations. Then we will work together to improve care and build access to medical care that we need.” Dickens said the provision in the STAR Act that was his personal idea was palliative care for cancer survivors. “This was my fingerprint on the bill. There are situations where we recommend health care monitoring and screening that are not recognized by the payer system,” he said, adding that one test sometimes needed is an echocardiogram because of the increased risk of heart problems. “There is a lack of evolution in payer policies. This is a problem because we are changing. Pediatric cancer was not curable when I was a child. There were 5 to 10 percent cure rates. Now we are up to 80 to 90 percent. This will get (payers) them up to speed because insurance doesn’t recognize all we are doing.” Jay Greene: (313) 446-0325 Twitter: @jaybgreene

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ARETHA FROM PAGE 3

Franklin, who was private about her health issues in recent years, announced her retirement from touring in 2017. Her most recent performance was Nov. 2 for the Elton John AIDS Foundation in New York. Her final public performance was at the Mann Center in Philadelphia in August 2017. Franklin last performed in Detroit in June 2017 as part of the inaugural Detroit Music Weekend festival, during which a street was named in her honor. Aretha Franklin Way runs on Madison between Brush and Witherell in an entertainment district. The frail-looking Franklin ended the Detroit performance with an appeal to the hometown crowd: “Please keep me in your prayers,” according to a WDIV report. Franklin was recording an album that was set for release in September. She told WDIV that she would record in Detroit. “I keep my business in Detroit, or as close to Detroit as possible,” Franklin said in the WDIV interview. In August last year, Franklin said she planned to move from her Bloomfield Hills home back to Detroit and that her longtime desire to open a nightclub in her hometown was taking shape. She told the Detroit Free Press that she was working with Dan Gilbert-owned Bedrock Detroit LLC to find just the right spot. There have been no details released on such a plan.

ANDY KROPA/INVISION/AP

Aretha Franklin attends the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s 25th Anniversary Gala at The Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Nov. 7, 2017, in New York.

Greatest vocalist of era A professional singer and accomplished pianist by her late teens, a superstar by her mid-20s, Franklin had long ago settled any arguments over who was the greatest popular vocalist of her time. Her gifts, natural and acquired, were a multi-octave mezzo-soprano, gospel passion and training worthy of a preacher's daughter, taste sophisticated and eccentric, and the courage to channel private pain into liberating song. She recorded hundreds of tracks and had dozens of hits over the span of a half century, including 20 that reached No. 1 on the R&B charts. But her reputation was defined by an extraordinary run of top 10 smashes in the late 1960s, from the morning-after bliss of “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” to the wised-up “Chain of Fools” to her unstoppable call for “Respect.” Her records sold millions of copies and the music industry couldn't honor her enough. Franklin won 18 Grammy awards. In 1987, she became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Fellow singers bowed to her eminence and political and civic leaders treated her as a peer. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was a longtime friend, and she sang at the dedication of King’s memorial, in 2011. She performed at the inaugurations of Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, and at the funeral for civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks, who lived much of her life in Detroit. Clinton gave Franklin the National Medal of Arts. President George W. Bush awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in 2005. Franklin’s best-known appearance with a president was in January 2009, when she sang “My Country ’tis of Thee” at Barack Obama’s inauguration. She wore a gray felt hat with a huge, Swarovski rhinestone-bordered bow that became an internet sensa-

MAGIC BAG

The marquee at the Magic Bag in Ferndale paid tribute to Aretha Franklin, who died Thursday at her home in Detroit.

tion and even had its own website. The hat was designed by Southfield-based milliner Luke Song.

Detroit roots Despite growing up in Detroit, and having Smokey Robinson as a childhood friend, Franklin never recorded for Motown Records; stints with Columbia and Arista were sandwiched around her prime years with Atlantic Records. But it was at Detroit’s New Bethel Baptist Church, where her father was pastor, that Franklin learned the gospel fundamentals that would make her a soul institution. Aretha Louise Franklin was born March 25, 1942, in Memphis, Tenn. The Rev. C.L. Franklin soon moved his family to Buffalo, N.Y., then to Detroit, where the Franklins settled after the marriage of Aretha’s parents collapsed and her mother Barbara returned to Buffalo. C.L. Franklin was among the most prominent Baptist ministers of his time. He recorded dozens of albums of sermons and music and knew such gospel stars as Marion Williams and Clara Ward, who mentored Aretha and her sisters Carolyn and Erma. (Both sisters sang on Aretha’s records, and Carolyn also wrote “Ain’t No Way” and other songs for Aretha). Music was the family business and perform-

ers from Sam Cooke to Lou Rawls were guests at the Franklin house. In the living room, the shy young Aretha awed friends with her playing on the grand piano. Franklin was in her early teens when she began touring with her father, and she released a gospel album in 1956 through J-V-B Records. Four years later, she signed with Columbia Records producer John Hammond, who called Franklin the most exciting singer he had heard since a vocalist he promoted decades earlier, Billie Holiday. Franklin knew Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. and considered joining his label, but decided it was just a local company at the time. Franklin jumped to Atlantic Records when her contract with Columbia ran out, in 1966. Of Franklin’s dozens of hits, none was linked more firmly to her than the funky, horn-led march “Respect” and its spelled out demand for “R-E-S-PE-C-T,” released in 1967. Franklin had decided she wanted to “embellish” the R&B song written by Otis Redding, whose version had been a modest hit in 1965, Wexler said. “When she walked into the studio, it was already worked out in her head,” the producer wrote. “Otis came up to my office right before ‘Respect’ was released, and I played him the tape.

He said, ‘She done took my song.’ He said it benignly and ruefully. He knew the identity of the song was slipping away from him to her.” In a 2004 interview with the St. Petersburg Times, Franklin was asked whether she sensed in the '60s that she was helping change popular music. “Somewhat, certainly with ‘Respect,’ that was a battle cry for freedom and many people of many ethnicities took pride in that word,” she answered. “It was meaningful to all of us.” Her popularity faded during the 1970s despite such hits as the funky “Rock Steady” and such acclaimed albums as the intimate “Spirit in the Dark.” But her career was revived in 1980 with a cameo appearance in the smash movie “The Blues Brothers” and her switch to Arista Records. Franklin collaborated with such pop and soul artists as Luther Vandross, Elton John, Whitney Houston and George Michael, with whom she recorded a No. 1 single, “I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me).” Her 1985 album “Who’s Zoomin’ Who” received some of her best reviews and included such hits as the title track and “Freeway of Love.” From her earliest recording sessions at Columbia, when she asked to sing “Over the Rainbow,” she defied category. The 1998 Grammys gave her a chance to demonstrate her range. Franklin performed “Respect,” then, with only a few minutes' notice, filled in for an ailing Luciano Pavarotti and drew rave reviews for her rendition of “Nessun Dorma,” a stirring aria for tenors from Puccini’s “Turandot.” “I’m sure many people were surprised, but I’m not there to prove anything,” Franklin told the Associated Press. “Not necessary.”

Cultural touchstone Franklin leaves behind a legacy not just in music, but in pop culture, car culture and advertising. Her songs including “Natural Woman” and “Respect” were the soundtracks for many commercials over the years. But the Queen of Soul herself appeared in ads. When Bill Ludwig, former CEO of Detroit-based Campbell Ewald advertising agency, worked with Franklin on a commercial for Chevrolet, he found out she was much more than just an amazing voice.

“We thought we were going to get Aretha Franklin the singer,” Ludwig said. “We didn’t realize we were going to get Aretha Franklin the arranger and producer and director.” It was 1987 in Detroit, Ludwig was creative director of the ad agency and the campaign was “Heartbeat of America.” The colors, graphics and tune of the minutelong advertisement are quintessentially '80s, but Franklin's powerhouse vocals are unmistakable. "She brought incredibly high standards to the recording," Ludwig said. "She didn't just perform vocals — she was orchestra leader for the entire band, she produced the track over the engineer's shoulder. She did everything. Listen to her performance. It was amazing. What she put into it was amazing." Franklin made a host of other appearances on the small screen throughout the years. She joined a cast of iconic celebrities in a long-running Snickers campaign making fun of "diva behavior." She was also one of the rare celebrities to sing the praises of both Coke and Pepsi, in 1968 and 1999 respectively. She also appeared in ads for McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Prodigy and Amoco — in which she pumps her own gas for her pink Cadillac. Her award-winning song, "Freeway of Love," released in 1985, spotlights the manufacturing of several vehicles of the 1970s, including the Ford Mustang and Cadillac Cimarron. The streetwise lyrics and black-and-white video paid homage to Detroit and became one of the most popular driving tunes of all time. At its core, the video conceptualizes Detroit's joyful, industrial spirit. Mechanics dance in harmony as Franklin sings alongside saxophonist Clarence Clemons, with a young Randy Jackson on bass. Parts of the video were shot at Doug's Body Shop in Ferndale, according to the Detroit Free Press, and includes scenes from the headquarters of Ford Motor Co. and General Motors, along with the giant Uniroyal tire in Allen Park. A true optimist, Franklin was vocal in her unwavering support and commitment to the city, with high hopes for GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. “Between new and dynamic leadership with the Big 3, the private sector and a little help from D.C., Detroit's best and most glorious days are still ahead,” Franklin, weighing in on the city's bankruptcy, said in 2013. In 1965, it was Franklin who suggested a new title for a song that would became a calling card for the first pony car: “Mustang Sally.” It was written by Mack Rice, who initially called it “Mustang Mama,” according to the Commercial Appeal, taking note of the chorus. Franklin played piano on the song's original demo. It wasn’t until the next year when the song rose to new heights, gaining national popularity when it was covered by Wilson Pickett. Fame never eclipsed Franklin’s charitable works, or her loyalty to Detroit. Franklin sang the national anthem at Super Bowl in her hometown in 2006, after grousing that Detroit's rich musical legacy was being snubbed when the Rolling Stones were chosen as halftime performers. “I didn’t think there was enough (Detroit representation) by any means,” she said. “And it was my feeling, ‘How dare you come to Detroit, a city of legends — musical legends, plural — and not ask one or two of them to participate?’ That’s not the way it should be.”

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COMPETITION FROM PAGE 1

But Patterson is wrong about economic development and competition. Oakland County competing with its neighbors to land a new automotive technical center or Fortune 500 headquarters is wholly inefficient and results in wasted tax dollars. For context, in 2017, the state of Michigan, the three metro Detroit counties and municipalities committed $344.3 million in public tax dollars for the promise of creating 9,937 jobs, according to data provided by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. That’s $34,648 per job. Granted, some of those tax dollars go toward non-job creation projects, such as training services. Economists argue that regional economic development organizations, united around a common strategy to boost jobs in a local labor market, are more efficient than individual organizations competing against each other. “In general, it makes more sense for local economic development strategies to be developed on a local labor market basis, e.g. metropolitan areas, or commuting zones, or some such area defined by sufficient commuting within the area that local labor market conditions — employment rates, wages — for similar workers tend to be equalized,” Tim Bartik, senior economist for Kalamazoo-based W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, said in an email to Crain’s. “... in terms of determining local labor market outcomes, it is more important how many jobs the local labor market attracts overall rather than where in the metro area they are located.” That’s not to say there aren’t advantages for Oakland County to secure a new headquarters in its borders rather than in the city of Detroit, but those gains are marginal, Bartik said. The result of the competition between Oakland County and Wayne County and Macomb County and Detroit is inefficiency: wasting tax dollars to redistribute jobs within the same metro area. Inefficiency is so rampant in economic development that 75 percent of projects would have occurred without any tax incentives, according to a July study by Bartik. A 2012 study by The Pew Charitable Trusts put that figure as high as 90 percent when you include incentives given to replacing existing jobs — job requisitions that were already available. Plus, incentives cause budget constraints down the road that most often affect education and services for the most vulnerable low-income residents. Economic development tax incentives lead to increased taxes and public spending cuts, accounting for an 11 percent cut in K-12 spending, according to another Upjohn study. This is important because Upjohn’s research estimates show that a 10 percent cut in K-12 education spending will decrease future wages by 8 percent while tax incentives are linked to raising wages by only 0.2 percent. The reason is relatively simple. By the time economic development agencies are involved in locating a business here or there, the decision is nearly final. A site selector has all but determined two to three possible, disparate locations for a development. Variables like available workforce, logistics and amenities like available housing and public

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Flex-N-Gate Corp. has a manufacturing plant on Detroit’s east side. Average home transaction price growth, 2009-2017 While home sales prices in the tri-county region exceeded the state average as a whole, Oakland County residents saw a greater increase in home values since the Great Recession.

38.2%

Oakland County Macomb County Wayne County Michigan

21%

28.6% 27.2%

Source: U.S. Federal Reserve Housing Finance Agency

transit play a much larger role than tax incentives. “Creating a talented workforce comes from investing in people along the education pipeline, pre-K to higher ed; so it’s those bigger-picture things like infrastructure investment and workforce development that tend to be ranked at a higher priority than tax incentives when it comes to location decisions,” said Megan Randall, research analyst at Washington D.C. thinktank Urban Institute. “Competition between cities (and counties) has the possibility to allow them to play to their advantages, but it can create harms if incentives compromise investments. That might not really be a win.”

It works elsewhere But regional economic development organizations allow a labor market region, i.e. metro Detroit, to streamline incentives packages, stymie tax-funded competition among local communities and develop strategies to target industry clusters, which create new jobs and new opportunities at a greater capacity than chasing individual companies. The Central Indiana Corporate Partnership is an example of regional development success. The leadership of CICP, based in Indianapolis, leadership consists of 55 CEOs, three philanthropic leaders and seven university presidents. The group, created 20 years ago, focused its efforts on creating business clusters around life sciences, technology, advanced manufacturing, logistics, agbiosciences and energy technology. It focuses less on securing tax incentives and more on building successful business, such as operating a training center, several

seed and venture capital funds and business services. For example, its BioCrossroads public-private partnership continues to grow the state’s life sciences sector. In 2017, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration approved 80 new products developed by Indiana companies to the 1,689 life sciences companies that operated across the state, employing nearly 57,000 people. Indiana’s average life sciences wage was $94,749, contributing to a statewide economic impact of $78 billion last year. A recent study by the Brookings Institute singled out the CICP as a success because it established a robust ecosystem, not focused just on job gains; is industry-driven, university-fueled and government-funded; and placed its big bets on unique opportunities like growing the region’s then-nonexistent life sciences sector. Metro Detroit’s internal competition for development projects poses a greater risk as more and more metros coalesce around regional plans, such as Minneapolis-St. Paul, Atlanta, Boston, Austin, Texas and Phoenix, among others.

Widespread vision Detroit’s CEO-led group wants to be only part of an umbrella organization that would include leaders from Automation Alley, Ann Arbor Spark, Detroit Regional Chamber, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, the city of Detroit, Wayne County, Macomb County, other local economic development organizations and Oakland County. Patterson remains staunchly against his county joining the group. He was lambasted by area business leaders and columnists, saying Patterson is biased against Detroit

L. Brooks Patterson: Against joining CEO group.

Tim Bartik: Number of jobs more important than where.

and an enemy of regional cooperation. They are right, but Patterson’s aversion to a regional economic development authority is so much more. Economic development wins may be paid for in taxes but the real return on investment is political currency. Politicians, like Patterson, can point to the incentives provided as evidence of success and jobs creation. County officials can take direct credit for jobs that may or may not have been heading to Oakland County without any incentives at all. The guts of economic development is providing business looking to expand or locate a new office or plant with readily available information on zoning, regulations, services, costs, permitting, available workforce training, etc. All the things site selectors get paid in spades to determine. When it comes to economic development, it turns out bureaucracy matters most. Most governments don’t do that well, so they overcompensate by throwing money — tax incentives — at the prospect. Politicians recognize the public gets excited about big wins with big companies and big numbers and attaching themselves to those “wins” buys a few more votes in election season. It’s far less exciting and sexy to report, discuss and analyze the impact of an incubator in Detroit or a skilled-labor program in Warren. Patterson recognizes his team will see fewer ribbon-cutting photo ops and sharing the limelight with the new group’s already recognizable CEOs. To him, that may be the real threat of regional cooperation. Dustin Walsh: (313) 446-6042 Twitter: @dustinpwalsh

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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 // A U G U S T 2 0 , 2 0 1 8

THE WEEK ON THE WEB

RUMBLINGS

Henry the Hatter makes a new beginning

County jail site cleared as demo continues

AUGUST 10-16 | For more, visit crainsdetroit.com

ometimes, change is good. Most of the time it can be inconvenient, frustrating, daunting and every other negative descriptor in the book. But in the end, disruption can be worth it and reveal what’s possible. That’s been the case for longtime Detroit hat seller Paul Wasserman, who has run the family-owned Henry the Hatter for nearly five decades. The retailer, which was confronted with change a little more than a year ago, operated at the corner of Broadway Street and Gratiot Avenue for 65 years until rising downtown rents forced Wasserman to consider closing shop or moving into a new home. Four months later, Henry the Hatter migrated about a mile away to Eastern Market. Deciding to pack up was the frustrating part for Wasserman, who owns several display cases that are 8 feet tall and 7 feet wide. “At one point we had things stored in five different locations,” he said. But the move, indeed, revealed to Wasserman what’s possible. Since reopening the iconic business in the popular Eastern Market in December, Wasserman said sales are up 15 percent. He also credits media coverage for boosting the number of shoppers who have visited his hat store. “The only month that hasn’t been better than what we had at the old location was February,” he said. “It’s been a complete positive in revenue, foot traffic and any other way.” Henry the Hatter has taken advantage of the crowds that visit the historic Detroit market, particularly on Saturdays. The marriage between the two organizations, whose foundings predate the launch of Detroit’s iconic Big 3 automotive companies, seems fitting. Both opening in the early 1890s, they rank among the city’s longest-operating businesses. While downtown Detroit booms, Wasserman is not concerned about what Broadway Street could offer. “We never would’ve seen the traffic that the market provides. We would’ve been going along business as usual not knowing what was out there beyond Broadway and Randolph,” he said. With more feet walking into the quasi-museum hat store at 2472 Riopelle St., Henry the Hatter is trying a new selling point for a potential new customer: women. And in another shift, the hat seller, whose career spans 46 years, has made a deal to sell the family business and retire in the next decade. Joe Renkiewicz, 55, a longtime Henry the Hatter associate who manages the Southfield store near 10 Mile and Greenfield roads, will be the successor. A contract, which was made in April, calls for Renkiewicz to buy the business over the next 10 years. “It’s going to be a slow process where I will be active for hopefully five years,” Wasserman said. “He knows a lot and he’s the perfect guy to take over, but there are a few things to teach him.”

BUSINESS NEWS J Twenty-eight small businesses in Detroit are promised $358,000 to as-

COREY LAMONT PHOTOGRAPHY

Paul Wasserman assists a customer trying on a hat at Henry the Hatter in downtown Detroit. Wasserman told Crain’s: “We have so much merchandise on the shelf. I don’t want everyone to leave with the first thing they try on. We don’t want to sell a hat, we want a customer for life.”

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

$740 million

The amount Ford Motor Co. plans to spend redeveloping Michigan Central Station and other nearby Corktown properties

10,000

The number of Tigers fans who didn’t get their promised Jack Morris replica jerseys last Sunday, due to a shipping delay. They were given redeemable vouchers instead.

The number of sites the nonprofit Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan is closing, after declines in use.

sist with storefront improvements via the Motor City Re-Store program. Seven small business owners were chosen to receive a total of $148,000 in grants to repair facades, while the others were picked for a total of $210,000 worth of assistance in preconstruction design. J Three years since its launch, Detroit's Motor City Match grant program has distributed around half of its promised $6 million in awards and 40 small businesses have opened. Officials now are moving to push the program further from a grant-making machine to a more refined tool for small-business incubation in neighborhoods outside of downtown. J West Village-neighborhood record store and party house Paramita Sound is reopening as a combined bar and retail shop at the boutique Siren Hotel in downtown Detroit. The record shop closed its 3-year-old location on Van Dyke Street in January, popping up afterward in retailer Detroit is the New Black's 1426 Woodward Ave. store. J The new owner of a land parcel near Michigan Central Station in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood plans to build apartments and rehab existing homes. Andrus McDonald of Detroit-based outdoor advertising firm Brooklyn Outdoor sold the land to

Patrick Beal, CEO of Detroit Training Center.

he “fail jail” has fallen. Demolition of the aboveground structures at the unfinished Wayne County jail site appeared to be completed late last week as crews made quick work of the last tower and walls and cleared away debris at the 15-acre site at Gratiot Avenue and I-375 in downtown Detroit. Demolition work started in July. Bedrock spokeswoman Whitney Eichinger previously told Crain’s that demolition was expected to continue through the fall. There is also demolition work to be done underground of tunnels and other infrastructure that was built for the jail project. Crain’s reported in May that the development would involve mixed-

use space in the way of retail, office and restaurant. Bedrock has not provided an update since that time. Dan Gilbert’s Rock Ventures acquired the site after striking a deal with Wayne County to build a new $533 million criminal justice complex at East Warren Avenue near the I-75 service drive to replace the one on Gratiot. The move paved the way for the demolition of the “fail jail,” which has been an eyesore and symbol of municipal mismanagement at the foot of downtown for years. Rock Ventures will also acquire the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, Division I and II jails and the Juvenile Detention Facility following the expected 2022 completion of the new complex.

OTHER NEWS J United Way for Southeastern Michigan is leaving the Bedrock-owned First National Building in downtown Detroit for The Platform’s Fisher Building in New Center. Darienne Driver, the nonprofit’s president and CEO, said the corporate office move is being driven by “fiscal responsibility” and its mission of filling social service gaps. J An external examination last Monday by Detroit city inspectors leads them to believe the Alden Apartments building that is facing demolition by the Ilitch family’s Olympia Development of Michigan in the Cass Corridor is not “in imminent danger of collapse.” J After growing quietly for the past 15 years, Maggie’s Wigs 4 Kids of Michigan Inc. plans to break ground on a new site it says will enable it to serve twice as many children and to offer new services for its young clients and the public to generate new earned revenue. At 6,400 square feet, the new building on Harper Avenue just north of 12 Mile Road in St. Clair Shores will be more than double the size of its current leased space right next door. J The city of Detroit has rejected three bids it received earlier this year to redevelop the long-vacant Lee Plaza tower on West Grand Boulevard, about a mile west of the New Center area. Detroit officials have been taking fresh ideas for the historic 15-story building since scuttling the trio of proposals last month. In the meantime, an approximately $400,000, two-stage stabilization project is underway. J A historic Detroit neighborhood, the site of an infamous mob attempt to prevent integration by a black physician and his family, is getting rehabilitation funding. City officials last week announced plans to rehabilitate the Ossian Sweet home, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and two neighboring houses on Garland Avenue on the city’s east side. The structures will get a facelift and in-depth research will be conducted to “preserve the famous site in perpetuity, and memorialize an authentic Detroit civil rights story” with a $500,000 grant through the Historic Preservation Fund.

KURT NAGL/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Demolition of the above-ground structures on the 15-acre Wayne County jail site in downtown Detroit appeared to be completed on Thursday.

Lions fans can chow down on new Ford Field food T

here’s one sure thing at Ford Field this season: Lions fans will get their fill of interesting food choices. Ford Field last week unveiled new menu items that debuted at the Lions’ preseason home game Friday. And reason for further rejoicing by fans: It was the same day the Lions announced lower concession prices, including $2 hot dogs and $3 beers. There was this year’s “wow” item front and center: Michigan Cherry Chocolate Nachos, or dessert nachos. Its base is tortilla chips fried in-house and coated with cinnamon sugar. It then gets a blanket of smoked chocolate sauce with Nutella, marshmallow fluff, graham cracker crumbles and Snickers. Putting it over the top: chocolate-covered cherries and silver sprinkles, Executive Chef Lamar Nolden said. There’s also an impressive lineup behind those nachos. Nolden said his favorite new food is the Smoked Buffalo Chicken Totcho, which is a deliciously deviant nacho. Instead of tortilla chips, tater tots form the base and are covered with smoked Buffalo pulled chicken, applewood bacon, blue cheese sauce and green onions. It’s not all about indulgence. Joining the menu is the plant-based Im-

possible Burger, which made its Midwest debut at Michael Symons' B Spot locations in metro Detroit last year. (Why Impossible? It’s that difficult to tell the difference between it and a beef burger. They say.) Also new on the menu are bacon-wrapped hot dogs and housesmoked meats including cherry pepper brisket and hickory smoked pork. Some meats will come from Corridor Sausage Co. in Detroit and Farm Field Table in Ferndale. Each of these items ranges between $10 and $14, Svacina said. To wash it all down there are some new drinks: the Michigan Mary, which is a Bloody Mary made from Brewt’s Bloody Mary mix from Grand Rapids and Michigan-sourced vodka, as well as three hand-crafted, fruit-infused mule cocktails. The new cocktails — which will set fans back $14.50 — are all made inhouse with vodka and gin from Iron Fish Distillery LLC in Thompsonville, Ann Arbor Distilling Co. in Ann Arbor and 6th Element Vodka, a brand of Temperance Distilling Co. in Temperance, near the Ohio border. Each mule contains jalapeño-infused vodka, raspberry-infused vodka and blueberry-infused gin.

UNI_CB-67110-02 Knowledge_Crains Detroit Bus Journal.pdf

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