Dan Fayad, 31

General Manager

Fairlane Town Center, Dearborn

Employees: 50

Revenue: NA

College: Henry Ford College

It’s all in the details.

At least, that’s Dan Fayad’s philosophy, and it’s how, in his first 16 months as general manager of Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn, he increased the mall’s occupancy to 94 percent from 71 percent.

“I oversee every single thing in the day-to-day operation,” Fayad says. “I’m very hands-on with my managers and directors. I like to be involved from the smallest to the biggest things.”

With 1.4 million square feet of retail space on 110 acres, Fayad calls Fairlane a “behemoth of a property,” which is why every detail matters. “If you’re not involved with even the smallest things, you’ll be out of touch,” Fayad says. “That’s how malls die.”

One of the most important details, he maintains, is the people.

“You’re only as good as the leadership on the ground and how in touch they are with the community,” Fayad says. “You get the best feedback from community members because they’re the day-to-day shoppers. You’ve got to get their input.”

A Dearborn native, Fayad says his genuine care for his community sets him apart as a retail manager. He began with Fairlane in 2011 when, at 19 years old, he became a security officer. Later, he rose to security director before being recruited to manage properties in Cleveland and San Francisco. Within a few years, he got the opportunity to return home, where he soon joined the Dearborn Area Chamber of Commerce and the Dearborn Education Foundation Board of Trustees.

“I’m very hands-on, not just with my work, but with the community, because (when managing) any shopping center, any mall, if you’re not a pillar in the community and involved in it, it doesn’t make any sense to do it,” he says.

One of his focus areas is local youth. He notes Dearborn is full of potential, as the eighth largest city in Michigan with the third largest school district. To provide more opportunities in neighborhoods, Fayad built a business incubator program similar to Detroit’s TechTown that serves the area’s youth and entrepreneurs with training and resources. Most recently, he welcomed 15-year-old Kassem Elkhechen’s new shoe store to Fairlane’s family of businesses.

“I started from nothing. I started as a security officer and became general manager,” Fayad says. “It’s just showing people you can do it if you put in the hard work and hours, and learn from your mistakes.”

— Calli Newberry

Jose Luis Flores, 34

CEO, Ancor Automotive, Troy Employees: 50 • Revenue: $12M College: Tecnológico de Monterrey

When Jose Flores became CEO of Ancor Automotive in Troy early last year, the company had a familiar client base.

“We’re a very traditional company that’s been doing the same thing for 40 years. I saw a lot of opportunity,” Flores says. “I’ve always liked working for small- to medium-sized companies, because that’s where the change happens. You don’t have to go through a lot of layers to make things happen.”

And he was ready to make a change. After working for London Consulting Group in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, for several years, where he provided operational expertise across 10 different industries around the world, Flores was ready to settle down and become director of program management at Industrial Automation in Rochester Hills.

“That’s basically when my career skyrocketed. I went through five positions in five years,” he says.

Flores climbed the ladder at Industrial Automation until he found himself at a standstill. He had risen to the position of corporate director of operations, but the company’s leadership wasn’t near retirement. Two years later, he was contacted by a recruiter and, after months of negotiations, Flores took charge of Ancor in March 2022. As a young CEO, he says he faced a challenge leading older team members. He knew he needed to earn their respect, and he did so with results.

In the first four months, Flores helped acquire 60 new customers and develop two new products, which sparked new life into the company’s culture. Since then, he hasn’t slowed down.

“That boosted the morale of the company,” Flores says. “I’m a very energetic and dynamic leader. I’m always trying to find creative solutions to complex problems, and I do them in a fun approach so people get excited and want to tackle it.”

His latest project is a software innovation hub that’s working to expand Ancor beyond VIN-specific label solutions. Today, the team of developers is exploring ways to help manufacturers save time, money, and materials with programs such as the Monroney Editor, which allows on-site label editing and printing to reflect when equipment gets added to a vehicle.

“After 40 years of doing the same thing, we’re trying to break the status quo. I think the innovation hub is just the middle step for us to grow as a company,” Flores says. “I just want to get stuff done. I need to be working, because that’s part of the fun, and when you’re doing something you love, you don’t have to work a single day in your life.”

Calli Newberry

Dan Gallagher was doing well in commercial real estate and, at 29, wasn’t looking to move into a different industry. But early in 2022, he started hearing that several large insurance companies were looking to add talent who also had the ability to sell to the real estate market.

Although Gallagher was having success brokering real estate transactions at Avison Young, he was intrigued by the opportunity offered by Kansas City-based Lockton Cos. While Lockton had a strong presence in the Detroit area among industries including automotive, finance, and food, it was lagging behind in real estate and construction.

“I spent January and February 2022 interviewing back and forth between Kansas City and Detroit, and in March 2022 I came on board here,” Gallagher says.

Since then, he’s made significant inroads into the real estate and construction markets, and has helped Lockton grow its Michigan revenue to $20.8 million from its 2019 mark of $13.6 million. For that he credits his work ethic, Lockton’s support team and programs to help manage the accounts, and a strong mentorship effort.

“The Lockton model for producers is a very entrepreneurial model,” Gallagher says. “It’s your business, at the end of the day, and you run it the way you want to run it. They bring in the service teams to run that account for you, so I don’t have to be the technical expert. I have to know the fundamentals and do a good job on the producer side.”

He also calls on Lockton veterans based in both Kansas City and Detroit who can simply consult or, if needed, join him on calls and visits to clients.

Gallagher, who earned a business degree at Michigan State University, says the effectiveness of his personal efforts hinge on three things: Hard work is the first; being single with no kids is the second, because it allows him to completely immerse himself in his professional goals; and the third is being present in the community, which he does in part by volunteering with Detroit Public Schools Community District and the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, and through his involvement in institutions like the Detroit Institute of Arts Founders Junior Council and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s NextGen.

“For my position, about 50 percent of my time is learning what I’m talking about, and 50 percent is going out and winning new business,” he says. “But I also rebranded myself and found the right organization to make the move into a new industry.”

— Dan Calabrese

Dan Gallagher, 30

Associate Producer, Lockton Cos , Kansas City Employees: 8,500 • Revenue: $49M College: Mic higan State University