August 2018 Issue of In Business Magazine

AUG 2018

Top Bankers Profiles in Excellence in Banking Special Section

The

Job Market Do we have the talent for the jobs?

Do we have the right kind of jobs for the talent?

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AUGUST 2018

COVER STORY

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The Job Market

In Business Magazine looks at two sides of the issue: Does Phoenix have the talent pool that businesses need (including how well the education system is producing candidates), and how are businesses attracting and retaining talent in today’s low-unemployment-rate environment?

FEATURES

32

Make Internal Comms Fun

Susan Bowden shares how-to tips for spicing interest in the company’s important (yawn!) topics.

38 Top Bankers

Profiles in Excellenc

MAGAZINE

AUG 2018

IN BUSINESS

e in Banking Special Section

The

THE JOB MARKET

Job Market

Tariffs: Up and Down the Arizona Craft Brewing Supply Chain

It may be stating the obvious to say that a tariff on any commodity will have a repercussion all along the supply chain it touches. Yes, that includes our favorite locally brewed beers.

Do we have Do we have the the right talent for the jobs? kind of jobs for the talent?

Make Internal

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PARTNER SECTION Summer 2O18 • aztechcouncil.org

IN THIS ISSUE 2 Impact of an Industry

Arizona Technology Report

Arizona Technology Council: The Voice of the Technology Industry

President’s Message

It’s not often that you get a front row seat to history. Make that the driver’s seat.

That’s what has been happening in Arizona, which has turned into a highprofile technology proving ground for autonomous, or “self-driving,” vehicles.

Consider some of the companies that have turned our roads into their labs — Google, Ford, General Motors, Intel 7 It Takes a Team and Uber — and you can understand Annual Report reflects combined why everyone up to Gov. Doug Ducey is Steven G. Zylstra, efforts to make things happen President and CEO, Arizona excited about the role our state is playing Technology Council in a frontier far different from our Wild West heritage.

All of this activity offers economic activity that benefits all of Arizona, whether you are The Arizona Technology Council is Arizona’s premier trade association for directly involved in the research, part of the new vehicle supply chain developing or a citizen science and technology companies. who benefits from the added tax revenue generated.

Recent proof that this is serious business with big dollars at stake was the announcement Phoenix Office

by Google spinoff Waymo that it will launch an autonomous taxi service in Phoenix later this 2800 N. Central Ave., Suite 1530 year before expanding into other U.S. markets. The company has ordered up to 62,000 specially Phoenix, AZ 85004 Phone: 602-343-8324 • Fax: 602-343-8330 modified Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans for this nationwide initiative, joining the 600 other info@aztechcouncil.org Pacifica Hybrids already in its fleet.

When you think about it, it wasn’t that long ago when Arizonans even heard of Waymo. The Tucson Office company began its testing here in 2016 then removed drivers from behind the wheel in 2017.

The University of Arizona Science and There have been so many other landmarks along the way. Uber was another pioneer as its Technology Park 9040 S. Rita Rd., Ste. 1150 (near I-10 & Rita Rd.) fleet of vehicles logged countless miles on Phoenix area streets during testing. While the fatal Tucson, AZ 85747 accident involving a bicyclist in Tempe suspended the company’s testing here, Uber is committed Phone: 520-382-3281 • Fax: 520-382-3299 to resuming testing in the United States. tucson@aztechcouncil.org Traditional automakers are even claiming a part of the action here. GM operates an IT Innovation Center in Chandler. Ford is checking its own vehicles at its test track MANAGEMENT AND STAFF near Wittmann.

Steven G. Zylstra President + CEO To help gain additional traction, partnerships have been formed. Even before Leigh Goldstein COO + Vice President, Programs + Events Waymo began its tests, Uber and The University of Arizona began working to Linda Surovick Director, Finance + Administration Lauren Witte Director, Marketing + Communication support research and development of state-of-the-art lenses and sensors, which help Deborah Zack Senior Director, Membership Services autonomous vehicles navigate. Waymo partnered with Intel’s Center of Excellence in Meredith Orr Director, Membership Services Laura DeGeorge Executive Assistant to President + CEO Autonomous Vehicles to design, build, and test its vehicles.

Jeff Sales Executive Director, Southern Arizona Regional Office Others are making progress on a more intimate scale. Arizona-based Local Jamie Neilson Operations Manager, Southern Arizona Regional Office Motors has been working on Olli, even tapping into IBM Watson to make the shuttle Don Rodriguez Editor Ron Schott Executive Emeritus, Phoenix “friendlier” to meet the needs of a variety of passengers. From its offices in Tucson Don Ruedy Executive Emeritus, Tucson and China, TuSimple is working on perfecting autonomous big tractor trailers.

Justin Williams Executive Emeritus, Tucson When you consider more than 5,000 students graduate annually from Arizona ARIZONA TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL FOUNDATION State University with an engineering degree and 76 million autonomous vehicles Jeremy Babendure, Ph.D., Executive Director are forecast to be sold by 2035, according to Greater Phoenix Economic Council, it Kelly Green, Director, Arizona Operations appears the Phoenix area and rest of the state are driven to share this new success Bruce Jones, National Systems Manager Kindra Maples, CSO Systems Coordinator since we can supply the talent to fuel this promising industry.

DEPARTMENTS

11

Guest Editor

Students take the lead at national STEM conference

WHO WE ARE

Marisa Ostos, Director, Arizona SciTech Festival Jasper Pena, IT Support Kaci Fankhauser, AmeriCorps VISTA Kal Mannis, AZ Rural and International Initiatives Sabrina Foy, Accounting Assistant

ARIZONA TECHNOLOGY REPORT

aztechcouncil.org

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43 Arizona Technology Council

Excellence in Banking

John Standring, Nicole Stanton and Jon Sweet respond to In Business Magazine’s burning business question of the month.

Briefs

“Online Car Vending Is a Towering Concept,” “Harassed?

There’s an App for That,” “Tradeable Private Investments,” “Tick, Tock … Trade,” “Local Standouts Recognized for Achievements and Philanthropy,” “Community-Minded Car Wash” and “Commercial Clients Served by Bank Opening”

15 16

By the Numbers

Startups

“Serving Food Service” and “Hospitality Newcomer Aims for Disruption”

18 FEATURING Don Garner, Alliance Bank of Arizona Steve Richins, Comerica Bank Alex H. Shaffer, Meadows Bank

51 Excellence in Banking 2018

AUG. 2018

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33

Books

New releases give fresh insights on business thinking.

34

From the Top

Jason R. Kaplan’s steering of The Driver Provider’s growth has been driven by innovation around the rider’s experience.

2018 Lexus RX 450h F Sport AWD Plus: tk

Feedback

Profiles of the Top Valley Bankers & their Companies

Jeff V. Friesen, Enterprise Bank & Trust

Legal

Article discusses why ethical data mining benefits business — and how to talk about it.

12

What is Phoenix’s urban infill development potential?

SPECIAL SECTION

24

40

13

Work is a year-round effort to prepare Legislature endorsements

6 Breaking the Mold

Technology

“Local Businesses Take to Podcasting” and “Will Blockchain Uplevel the Arizona Real Estate Market?”

Dawn Grove, chairman of Workforce Arizona Council, introduces the “Workforce” issue.

Dynamic snapshot of state tech scene features latest data analysis

4 Vote TechSmart

22

CRE

“40 Years of Change – Where the Multihousing Industry Is Headed in the Valley,” “Building Office in Perimeter Center, Scottsdale” and “Independent Living Apartments Planned”

20

42

Assets

Power Lunch

Hash Kitchen: Hash Tagged ‘Good’ Plus: A smoothie can be a satisfying lunch as well as a refreshing drink.

62

Roundtable

Change is the biggest challenge corporate leaders are facing today. Andi Simon, Ph.D., discusses how businesses can tackle the pain of business change.

ON THE AGENDA

35

Spotlight

‘Put Your Business Idea in Motion’ — Chandler Chamber of Commerce ‘International Travel Impact on Business’ — Global Chamber

36

Calendar

Business events throughout the Valley

Healthcare

“Rent Your Genetic Code,” “Caregiving Service Benefits Employees, Employers” and “Can Teletherapy Help Your People and Your Bottom Line?”

Low employee engagement and morale was ranked in the top three challenges by 45 percent of respondents in the Enterprise Bank & Trust Think Tank Survey. The healthcare industry reported an increased challenge with low morale, with 67 percent. enterprisebank.com

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Aug. 2018 In Business Magazine is a collaboration of many business organizations and entities throughout the metropolitan Phoenix area and Arizona. Our mission is to inform and energize business in this community by communicating content that will build business and enrich the economic picture for all of us vested in commerce.

PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS Kristen Merrifield, CEO Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits (602) 279-2966 www.arizonanonprofits.org Jess Roman, Interim Chief Executive Officer Arizona Small Business Association Central Office (602) 306-4000 Southern Arizona (520) 327-0222 www.asba.com Steven G. Zylstra, President & CEO Arizona Technology Council One Renaissance Square (602) 343-8324 www.aztechcouncil.org Doug Bruhnke, Founder & President Global ChamberÂŽ (480) 595-5000 www.globalchamber.org JRonit Urman, President NAWBO Phoenix Metro Chapter (480) 289-5768 www.nawbophx.org Anne Gill, President & CEO Tempe Chamber of Commerce (480) 967-7891 www.tempechamber.org Our Partner Organizations are vested business organizations focused on building and improving business in the Valley or throughout Arizona. As Partners, each will receive three insert publications each year to showcase all that they are doing for business and businesspeople within our community. We encourage you to join these and other organizations to better your business opportunities.

The members of these and other Associate Partner Organizations receive a subscription to In Business Magazine each month. For more information on becoming an Associate Partner, please contact our publisher at info@inbusinessmag.com.

ASSOCIATE PARTNERS Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce ahwatukeechamber.com Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry azchamber.com Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce azhcc.com The Black Chamber of Arizona phoenixblackchamber.com Chandler Chamber of Commerce chandlerchamber.com Economic Club of Phoenix econclubphx.org Glendale Chamber of Commerce glendaleazchamber.org Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce phoenixchamber.com Greater Phoenix Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce gpglcc.org Mesa Chamber of Commerce mesachamber.org North Phoenix Chamber of Commerce northphoenixchamber.com Peoria Chamber of Commerce peoriachamber.com Phoenix Metro Chamber of Commerce phoenixmetrochamber.com Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce scottsdalechamber.com Surprise Regional Chamber of Commerce surpriseregionalchamber.com WESTMARC westmarc.org

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© Enterprise 2018

Aug. 2018

VOL. 9, NO. 8

Publisher Rick McCartney Editor RaeAnne Marsh

Art Director Benjamin Little

Contributing Writers Susan Bowden

NATIONALLY RANKED.

LOCALLY FOCUSED.

Glenn Dean Ioana Ginsac Mike Hunter Lindsay Jurist-Rosner Liz Renninger Sarah Richardson Andi Simon David Thomas ADVERTISING

Enterprise Bank & Trust was recently ranked number 14 out of 161 nationally-ranked banks1. And while we’re proud of that fact, it’s just part of who we are. Whether your focus is on your business, your family or the quality of life in your community, you’ll find us there. We’re committed to supporting dreams, securing financial futures and delivering on community investment.

Operations Louise Ferrari

Business Development Louise Ferrari

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Learn more at enterprisebank.com/phoenix

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Events Amy Corben

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For a full monthly calendar of business-related events, please visit our website.

Inform Us: Send press releases and your editorial ideas to editor@inbusinessmag.com.

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Renaissance Phoenix Downtown For sponsorship or early bulk registration, email us at event@inbusinessphx.com

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AUG. 2018

President & CEO Rick McCartney

Editorial Director RaeAnne Marsh

Senior Art Director Benjamin Little

Financial Manager Tom Beyer

Office Manager Allie Schimmel

Accounting Manager Todd Juhl

Corporate Office InMedia Company 1 N. 1st Street, Sixth Floor Phoenix, AZ 85004 T: (480) 588-9505

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www.inmediacompany.com Vol. 9, No. 8. In Business Magazine is published 12 times per year by InMedia Company. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to InMedia Company, 1 N. 1st Street, Sixth Floor, Phoenix, AZ 85004. To subscribe to In Business Magazine, please send check or money order for one-year subscription of $24.95 to InMedia Company, 1 N. 1st Street, Sixth Floor, Phoenix, AZ 85004 or visit inbusinessphx.com. We appreciate your editorial submissions, news and photos for review by our editorial staff. You July send to editor@inbusinessmag.com or mail to the address above. All letters sent to In Business Magazine will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication, copyright purposes and use in any publication, website or brochure. InMedia accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or other artwork. Submissions will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. InMedia Company, LLC reserves the right to refuse certain advertising and is not liable for advertisers’ claims and/or errors. The opinions expressed herein are exclusively those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the position of InMedia. InMedia Company considers its sources reliable and verifies as much data as possible, although reporting inaccuracies can occur; consequently, readers using this information do so at their own risk. Each business opportunity and/or investment inherently contains certain risks, and it is suggested that the prospective investors consult their attorney and/ or financial professional. © 2018 InMedia Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

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DAWN GROVE, WORKFORCE ARIZONA COUNCIL AND KARSTEN MANUFACTURING CORP.

Magnetism in Arizona’s Employment Scene

Dawn Grove is Corporate Counsel for Karsten Manufacturing Corporation, the parent company of PING (one of the top golf equipment brands in the U.S.) and related subsidiaries, and has served on the board of directors of Karsten Manufacturing Corporation continuously since 1995. Grove chairs the Arizona Manufacturers Council and also serves on the board of directors and executive committee of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry. She served on former President Obama’s U.S. Manufacturing Council, and currently chairs Governor Ducey’s Workforce Arizona Council.

Like a magnet to steel, Arizona is pulling in modern manufacturers and other high-paying job creators that anchor our economy, and Arizona’s talented workers are being drawn to these jobs. Manufacturers and businesses cite being allured not only by Arizona’s pro-business tax and regulatory environment, but also by its attractive workforce population. Arizona swept the top five honors in the latest U.S. News & World Report ranking of the nation’s top-performing high schools, and boasts unrivalled career and technical education. Three major community college systems are jointly developing unified manufacturing curricula to meet local demand in the Advanced Technologies Corridor from Phoenix to Tucson. ASU ranks No. 1 in the U.S. for Innovation, and Arizona produces some of the highest numbers of qualified university graduates.

The Workforce Arizona Council brings together a wide cross-section of elected officials, agency directors, nonprofits, business leaders and more, to holistically ensure a prepared workforce. In order to match skilled workers to growing local businesses who need them, ARIZONA@WORK job centers provide one-stop service to job creators and job seekers alike, free of charge. Arizona leads the nation in apprenticeships served under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, its veterans are successfully entering civilian careers, and incarcerated individuals are receiving skills training and being immediately placed in jobs as returning citizens. In an effort to target a portion of west Phoenix, which has one of the highest unemployment areas in the state, the Maryvale Workforce Initiative Project brought together a coalition of workforce heroes who succeeded in placing more than 4,106 Maryvale area residents in new jobs in less than a year.

As Arizonans from all walks of life are drawn into the workforce and Arizona’s unemployment rate reaches 4.7 percent, its lowest rate in a decade, job creators are changing to attract, retain and engage employees to do their best. The cover story explores what businesses are looking for and what’s being done to fill this demand. It also looks at the other side of the issue — what kind of work environment businesses are creating, individually and as a community, to attract a workforce to support a thriving business community.

Among the issues that affect employee engagement is communication. Are business owners and managers communicating with employees in ways that get them fired up about the company mission and the value of their role? This is the subject of Susan Bowden’s feature, “Make Internal Comms Fun.” And the Roundtable discussion addresses employee engagement from another angle: helping them embrace the change that businesses incorporate for their own survival.

Debuting a special section on an industry that is a crucial cornerstone of business, this issue presents “Excellence in Banking,” with profiles of the individuals leading the banking institutions in our community.

The usual broad range of relevant content provides valuable information to help job creators and workers stick together and flourish in our magnetic community. I am pleased to help bring you this August issue of In Business Magazine, and hope you enjoy reading it.

Rick Weekly McCartney Podcast ® hosted by

OUR PODCAST Join us for interesting, informative and inspiring conversations with top local businesspeople in the Greater Phoenix area.

Listen now at inbusinessphx.com.

Sincerely,

Dawn Grove Corporate Counsel, Karsten Manufacturing Corporation Chair, Workforce Arizona Council

To Employ Arizona is a hotbed for opportunitys. Special efforts are

We want to thank Dawn Grove for helping to

being made to connect education and training to what

lead this issue. Her expertise and leadership in the

businesses need, with business also taking an active role.

manufacturing sector, and workforce in general,

And businesses must increasingly concern themselves

makes her the perfect person to direct this issue of

with role their workplace environment plays in attracting

In Business Magazine. Her work on a national level

and retaining employees, especially important in this

through President Obama’s U.S. Manufacturing Council

time of low unemployment rate. In our cover story this

brings great insight to our manufacturing community

month, RaeAnne Marsh tackles those tough issues.

as well.

Top Bankers

—Rick McCartney, Publisher

Profiles in Excellenc

MAGAZINE

AUG 2018

IN BUSINESS

e in Banking Special Section

The

DON’T MISS OUT!

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Job Market Get a year of In Business Magazine

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VALLEY LEADERS SOUND OFF

You’ve been recognized as one of BestCompaniesAZ’s “100 Best Arizona Companies,” in part because of your workplace culture. What programs and/or policies does your company promote to achieve that level of satisfaction among your workforce?

FEEDBACK QUESTION: Let us know what you want to know from the Valley’s top business leaders. editor@inbusinessphx.com

For all past Feedbacks go online to inbusinessphx.com and see what Valley executives think on various business topics.

AUG. 2018

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JOHN STANDRING

NICOLE STANTON

JON C. SWEET

Senior Vice President of Global Servicing Operations American Express Sector: Finance

Managing Partner, Phoenix Office Quarles & Brady LLP Sector: Law

Executive Vice President and Principal Ryan, LLC Sector: Tax Services

We invest heavily in people’s growth and development — we are a culture of lifelong learners. During their first two years, new associates have their own personal mentor. We also have a formal associate development curriculum. We are similarly dedicated to continuing investment with our firm’s seasoned team members, collaborating with the University of Notre Dame to offer a Certificate in Executive Management, and more.

We also strive to develop traditions that encourage collaboration, teambuilding and fun. Our Capitol School program is something near and dear to us. For nearly 30 years, several times a year we serve as this Title One school’s homeroom parents. This activity creates organic teambuilding opportunities. Other events are focused on celebrating with each other, like our annual baseball day. Each year, we dress in jerseys and enjoy hot dogs and Crackerjacks together while we watch the 2001 World Series (the one where Dbacks were victorious!). Or our regular milestone parties, where we toast champagne and sweets in honor of our team members with 5, 10, 15, 20 and more years of firm service.

Ryan provides a work environment that values innovation, offers clear paths for growth, and allows team members to create their own workflow.

Team members have the freedom and flexibility to meet their demands in whatever way works best for them.

Flexible work schedules allow team members to be successful in both their personal and professional lives. Ryan has won numerous awards for its innovative workplace flexibility programs, standing out as an industry leader in encouraging work/life success for team members.

In addition, the team members at Ryan want to make a difference in their communities, both financially and personally. The desire to contribute through community service and charitable acts are part of a Ryan team member’s DNA, as well as a motivator both inside and outside of the office.

In 2011, the Ryan Foundation was created with its main focus being to help organizations that address health, poverty and distress, and educational needs. Examples of the key organizations that benefit from Ryan Foundation include the American Heart Association, Habitat for Humanity and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

American Express americanexpress.com

Quarles & Brady LLP quarles.com

Ryan, LLC ryan.com

John Standring is senior vice president of global servicing operations at American Express.

Under Standring’s leadership, his teams perform an array of centralized operational activities that enable Amex to fulfill servicing requests, keep customer accounts running smoothly and facilitate spending on products. He also acts as the site lead for the Phoenix market, overseeing colleague engagement, emergency response, site-specific communication, local event sponsorships and more.

Nicole Stanton is Phoenix office managing partner and associate general counsel for the firm. She is a member of the prestigious American Law Institute and a board member of Charter 100 Women. Stanton also serves on the Arizona Equal Justice Foundation board of directors and is the founder of The Dion Initiative for Child Well-Being and Bullying Prevention.

Jon C. Sweet is the executive vice president and vice chairman, chief marketing strategy officer and principal at Ryan, LLC. Scottsdale, Arizona — an award-winning global tax services and software provider — and a member of the Board of Managers. Sweet holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and Finance and Economics degrees from Wheaton College.

At American Express, we know that great service starts with the people who deliver it. When employees’ work lives meet their personal needs, they are more engaged, committed, creative and effective in driving results. We offer a variety of programs and resources to inspire a culture where diversity is embraced, giving back to the community is encouraged, and overall employee health and well-being is supported, whether physical, financial, psychological or social.

We have a number of Healthy Living programs, ranging from caring for employees’ physical and mental health to offering flexibility outside the office. Our recently enhanced parental leave policy provides employees 20 weeks of full paid time off for new mothers or fathers who are growing their family via pregnancy, adoption or surrogacy. We also have onsite fitness classes, health coaches and wellness centers/nurses on location.

Amex’s commitment to employees and the Phoenix community continues.

We are currently constructing a fourth building at our existing Desert Ridge campus where employees will experience a new facility that will include upgraded amenities, covered parking and more.

Sign up for the monthly In Business Magazine eNewsletter at www.inbusinessphx.com. Look for survey questions and other research on our business community.

QUICK AND TO THE POINT

BYTES

by Mike Hunter

Harassed? There’s an App for That Now available in the Apple App Store and Google Play, the mobile app HarassmentLaw provides the answer to the question from the aggrieved employee or the accused/ inquisitive business owner, “What can I do in a potential harassment/ discrimination situation, or what steps can I take to prevent it?” The mobile app, developed by attorney Marc Garbar, offer employees and business owners 24/7 attorney access in addition to a wealth of in-depth analysis in the sexual harassment and employment discrimination arena. harassmentlaw.com

Online Car Vending Is a Towering Concept “Carvana’s mission is to change the way people buy cars. By removing the traditional dealership infrastructure and replacing it with technology and exceptional customer service, we offer consumers an intuitive and convenient online automotive retail platform. Whether your car is delivered to your driveway or picked up at one of our Car Vending Machines, we want to ensure that customers know what they’re buying, have fun while doing it, and save valuable time and money throughout the entire process,” says Ryan Keeton, Carvana co-founder and chief brand officer.

Making the old advice to “kick the tires” obsolete, every Carvana vehicle comes with a seven-day return policy. “An upgrade from the traditional four right-hand turns, 15-minute test-drive around the dealership’s block, this really gives customers the time, convenience and peace of mind to ensure their vehicle fits their life,” Keeton says.

But the biggest kick is Carvana’s proprietary automated car vending machines — the largest one to date opened just a few weeks ago in the company’s hometown of Tempe. Nine stories high, the all-glass tower hold up to 34 cars.

Upon arriving at the car vending machine, customers receive a commemorative, oversized Carvana coin to activate the vending process and transport the car into the delivery bay. The pick-up process typically takes only minutes,

compared to hours haggling at the dealership.

Customers who visit Carvana.com from home or on the go via their mobile device can shop more than 10,000 vehicles, and finance, purchase and schedule as-soon-as-next-day delivery or car vending machine pickup in as little as 10 minutes. Carvana’s inventory is held at one of the company’s four inspection and perfection centers, from which, once it is sold, it is transported to the customer’s local market — similar to an Amazon distribution/ fulfillment center — where Carvana team members prepare it for delivery or load it into one of the car vending machines, depending on which the customer has selected. For customers who live outside of a city with one of the car vending machines but would still like to pick up their car from one, Carvana will subsidize $200 in airfare and arrange transportation from the closest airport.

“We want to make car buying fun, so when we thought through what would make for a unique experience, the idea of a vending machine came up. We ran with that idea and today we have 12 car vending machines across the country,” Keeton shares, adding, “The car vending machines are great marketing, showcasing our vehicles, but they also cost a lot less than a traditional dealership and take up less real estate.”

—RaeAnne Marsh

Tradeable Private Investments Funderbeam is an award-winning Fintech startup whose platform allows everybody to invest in private startups and their business plans. Its CEO Kaidi Ruusalepp is also taking her vision to teach foundership to young people so they grow up developing a founder’s mindset, to develop a “Founder’s Playbook” for children. funderbeam.com

Tick, Tock … Trade Ticker Tocker is an integrated trading productivity platform to support both institutional and novice traders to quickly find, test, learn, share and/ or execute trades. Developed by Stephen Kalayjian, a renowned trading industry veteran, this platform is the first-of-its-kind, all-in-one offering that will be available to non-institutional investors, beginning this September. tickertocker.com

Carvana carvana.com

Technology is rapidly transforming organizations and companies will need more people in the near-term to meet the demand stimulated by automation, not less, according to a recent report from ManpowerGroup. http://bit.ly/skill-revolution-2

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QUICK AND TO THE POINT

Local Standouts Recognized for Achievements and Philanthropy ACHIEVEMENTS

Phoenix Children’s Best in All 10 Specialties Phoenix Children’s Hospital ranked in 10 out of 10 specialties in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Children’s Hospitals for 2018, as it did in 2017. This is the eighth consecutive year Phoenix Children’s has made the list compiled by the national publication, which ranks children’s hospitals annually for their clinical expertise and patient outcomes in 10 medical specialties. phoenixchildrens.org

Grimaldi’s Pizzeria a Halo Award Winner Grimaldi’s Pizzeria was named the 2018 Silver Halo Award winner in the Small Business Category for its work on Dine Out: Grimaldi’s and Share our Strength. The promotion, launched last year as an annual event, raised $115,000, which enabled No Kid Hungry to provide 1,150,000 additional nutritious meals for kids in need — an incredible impact for a brand with fewer than 50 locations. The Halo Awards are North America’s highest honor for corporate social initiatives and cause marketing, and are presented

by Engage for Good (formerly Cause Marketing Forum). grimaldispizzeria.com

PHILANTHROPY

Latina Entrepreneurs of the Year In its sixth year of honoring outstanding Valley Latina entrepreneurs, Cox Communications recognized Sandra Flores and Rosie Magaña for their talent and leadership.

Sandra Flores is the owner of Azukar Coffee (www.facebook. com/azukarcoffee); Rosaura “Rosie” Magaña is the owner of Palabras Bilingual Bookstore (www.palabrasbookstore.com).

“They are great examples of local business leaders who are contributing to our thriving economy,” said John Wolfe, SVP and southwest regional manager at Cox Communications.

cox.com/arizona

UnitedHealthcare Awards $2 Million in Grants UnitedHealthcare, long a proponent of addressing barriers that prevent individuals and families from focusing on their health and wellness, recently awarded $2 million in grants to local organizations that are expanding social services to address some of Arizona’s key social determinants of health. Food security, a lack of access to basic preventive health screenings, social isolation, financial instability and homelessness all play a role in health and wellness. Among the grant recipients are Association of Arizona Food Banks (www.azfoodbanks.org), to increase access to fresh produce at local food banks statewide, and The Arizona Partnership for Immunizations (www.whyimmunize.org) to offer community immunization clinics. uhc.com

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Community-Minded Car Wash Quick Quack Car Wash’s North Phoenix opening in June is the fourth of at least two dozen the company has planned in the Greater Phoenix area in the next few years. Its concept was built on a monthly membership model that offers customers unlimited car washes at any of four levels, with pricing ranging from $19.99 to $34.99.

“We’re thrilled to be a part of the growing business scene in Arizona,” says Travis Kimball, co-owner of Quick Quack Car Wash.

“We’re grateful to be a part of a community filled with a busy population, a thriving economy and, most importantly, a lot of sunny days, which is typically great for the car wash industry.” With interest focused in the Western states, Quick Quack operates more than 60 locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Texas and Utah. For its current concentration here in the Valley, “It has also helped that we have developed some positive relationships with key contacts in the real estate and development industry in Phoenix,” he adds.

Relationships work both ways. Establishing ties in the communities it serves, Quick Quack Car Wash is a strong supporter of events and

activities that strengthen neighborhoods and empower youth.

Quick Quack’s high-quality and environmentally friendly car washing system uses neoprene foam, soft cloth and filtered, recycled water. Customers stay in their vehicle while being automatically guided through the car wash where the vehicle is soaked, soaped, washed, polished, rinsed with spot-free water and dried, a process will usually last no more than five to nine minutes regardless of how many cars are in line. Quick Quack also makes available free vacuums for customer use and a comfortable space for customers to touchup and clean the interior of their vehicles.

—Mike Hunter Quick Quack Car Wash dontdrivedirty.com

Commercial Clients Served by Bank Opening Sunwest Bank, which is no stranger to the Phoenix-Metro market, is opening a new location to service the commercial market as well as those seeking traditional banking needs. The Raintree Drive and Loop 101 location is the first retail banking center for the company in the Scottsdale area. “This new retail branch has been in the planning stages for several years, and, with the Phoenix area enjoying a strong economy, we thought it was an ideal time to open,” says Andy Phillips, market area president of Arizona, who works out of the new branch.

The new branch will offer a range of deposit products, including checking, savings, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, as well as cash and treasury management products, lockbox services, wire transfers and specialty deposit products for homeowner associations. The bank provides real estate financing, construction financing, equipment financing, lines of credit

and Letters of Credit, as well as depository services for all commercial businesses.

Adds Phillips, “Sunwest is an entrepreneurial business bank with dynamic leadership that takes an untraditional approach to commercial banking.” Of Sunwest’s vison locally, he says, “Our philosophy promotes a collaborative approach by executives and relationship managers, tailoring a banking relationship, both loans and deposits, to fit the specific needs of the business and the principals’ longterm goals.” —Mike Hunter Sunwest Bank sunwestbank.com/scottsdale

Education is a key part of every workforce discussion. So it’s interesting to find: Arizona is at the top of the list of states with the largest cut in K-12 and higher education funding since the 2008 recession, according to a groundbreaking report by the American Federation of Teachers, released last month. http://bit.ly/decade-of-neglect

Photos courtesy of Zee Peralta (top), Sunwest Bank (bottom)

LOOKING GOOD

METRICS & MEASUREMENTS

Urban Infill Development Potential It’s not just how much vacant land is available, but how it’s developed

by Ioana Ginsac

Combining a new inventory focused on vacant parcels located in central business districts (CBDs) with in-depth research on CBD construction activity as well as a 25-city survey that gauges what developments are most desirable to the local urban population, COMMERCIALCafé research shows that recent development efforts have failed to address the needs and wants of the citizens living and working in these 25 cities. The lack of affordable housing options continues to drive working Americans out of the cities, and even out of a home; however, new residential construction is too little and too high-end to fill the demand gap. Urban sprawl has become a notable strain on residents, infrastructure and local budgets, and is far behind the sustainable, compact, walkable communities that today’s Americans aspire to.

CBD Land and Development Total Vacant CBD

Total Construction

Land

Since 2013

(acres)

(square feet)

Looking at just the 25 CBDs included in our study, we found that vacant lots sized 0.5 acres or more amount to a total of 584 acres — that’s urban core property with no improvements, that could fill roughly 442 NFL-standard-size football fields.

We also uncovered that some of the least dense urban cores have seen the slowest development activity during the past five years, while developers have been significantly busier in the more tightly packed city downtowns. Our research also showed that major metros in the South, West and Southwest harbor the most vacant lots in their urban cores.

“A current inventory of vacant urban land in America,” by G.D. Newman et al and published in the Journal of Urban Design, 2016, stated, “Ultimately, a city’s fate depends on the type of vacant land it has at its disposal, the strength of the local economy, and the policies the city enacts.” Our survey of what residents say they want shows that, rather than spreading far and wide, people wish to come closer together and long for sustainable, efficient and compact urban design. There are many ways to go about this, and almost all of them command a change of attitude. Along with implementing better, more uniform policies to ensure that vacant land in urban areas is thoroughly catalogued, cities should consider programs that encourage the sustainable (re)use — be it permanent or temporary — of undeveloped city-owned property.

Dallas

86.37

8,506,240

Las Vegas

75.16

79,967

Austin

70.72

2,096,160

San Antonio

42.39

478,272

Phoenix

31.03

1,592,330

Minneapolis

27.13

945,073

Indianapolis

24.69

436,512

Salt Lake City

22.41

1,582,976

Atlanta

22.02

707,443

Tucson

18.11

25,736

Chicago

16.86

6,979,051

New York City

16.49

29,616,844

San Jose

14.90

273,967

Cincinnati

14.22

1,584,038

Community centers

Los Angeles

12.61

4,973,752

Event venues

11% / 15%

Miami

12.07

2,042,506

Homeless shelters

34% / 29%

Rochester

COMMERCIAL Café commercialcafe.com

The Residents’ Voice What developments or projects does your city need most at this time? / What developments or projects do you want to have in your city?

23% / 24%

11.51

489,321

Housing

48% / 43%

Orlando

9.16

1,660,572

Libraries

6% / 11%

Houston

8.89

6,529,568

Medical facilities

16% / 17%

Washington, D.C.

8.87

2,289,886

Parking lots/structures

17% / 15%

Milwaukee

8.57

2,127,176

Parks

27% / 34%

Kansas City

8.32

1,714,257

Religious establishments

Buffalo

8.23

599,565

Retail centers

12% / 17%

Sacramento

6.54

304,253

Schools

17% / 19%

Tampa

6.29

635,958

Self-storage facilities

4% / 5%

5% / 3%

Source: COMMERCIAL Café “25 U.S. cities with the highest urban infill development potential” study http://bit.ly/urban-infill-potential

Phoenix is home to one of the roomiest downtown areas on the COMMERCIAL Café list, its 31 acres of vacant land making it the fifth largest urban core in terms of development potential. With approximately 1.6 million square feet of core construction finalized in the past five years, its downtown area is one of the most active in the nation.

STUDY SOURCES We combed Yardi Matrix and PropertyShark data, as well as online government records to determine the amount of land that currently remains undeveloped in the urban cores (or CBDs) of 25 American cities.

Only the neighborhoods designated as pertaining to the CBD area were selected for each city.

Information on recent construction was compiled with the help of PropertyShark data, and is expressed as of February 2018, going back to the start of 2013.

Information on prospective, planned, or current construction was compiled using Yardi Matrix data, and the numbers reflect total office square footage and total residential units as of February 2018. We considered the property status as follows: “property status: under construction” reflects property on which construction is actively being carried out; “property status: planned” — project plans have approval, but construction is not yet being actively carried out; “property status: prospective” — project plans have been submitted, but are still pending approval. bit.ly/urban-infill-potential

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ENTREPRENEURS & INNOVATORS

Serving Food Service Opening a food station in Tempe’s Marina Heights complex, Foodworks brings to the metro Phoenix area its restaurant incubator concept.

A newly formed division of Compass Group/Eurest Division, Foodworks establishes food stations in prime locations in office buildings and other Eurest-operated dining venues. It then partners with woman- and minority-owned businesses and neighborhood restaurants, offering them the space, technology and equipment, along with expertise and advice that ranges from what to sell and which products will be most successful to marketing. The restaurants rotate in the space, usually on a weekly basis, with an opportunity to come back as often as they like.

There will be four restaurants, initially, operating out of Foodworks’ Marina Heights station, serving breakfast and lunch five days a week. They include family-owned Chon Thai Food; Made in Argentina, a one-woman empanada maker; It’s All Greek To Me, a modern Greek spot in Tempe; and Bowls & Rolls+Smoothies by BodyFuel Foods, a purveyor of healthy prepared meals.

“They can stay and remain a partner of Foodworks as long as they’d like. We’d like to open up the door for them, and want to introduce these folks to many new locations and create opportunities for additional revenue flow,” explains a Foodworks spokesperson. “Foodworks also helps them expand their reach and presence throughout the community, without opening a new brick-and-mortar restaurant.”

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Foodworks foodworkslocal.com/Our-Partners-Phoenix

Hospitality Newcomer Aims for Disruption Armed with three decades in real estate, his most recent role sourcing hotels for investment coupled with extensive worldwide travel, Peter Anadranistakis recognized a huge opportunity within the hospitality industry to be disruptive.

Founding Oxygen Hospitality, he and co-founder Merv Chia immediately brought in Yaron Ashkenazi, an award-winning international hotelier, as chief executive officer, and the three have begun building a real estate investment and hotel management company based on several factors that will position it in the market, among them seeking out real estate and hotel assets they can purchase for half price and turn them around to double their equity, infusing technology into real estate as a key market enabler to create disruption in today’s hotel industry, and living up to the company name by breathing new life and beautifying older properties in great locations — including customizing each property to be representative of the local market, from food to design to experiences.

“The pace of what I see happening in Phoenix is a strong indicator that it’s a place of opportunity,” says Anadranistakis, noting that people are moving to the state, tourism is strong — meaning people want to visit the state — executives

are setting up business operations here due to government and a taxfriendly atmosphere, there’s investment in Sky Harbor and revitalization of Downtown Phoenix. “All these growth factors, when coupled with hospitality, makes investment in hospitality that much more attractive.”

Based in Phoenix, Oxygen Hospitality is focused on developing a distinctive portfolio of branded and independent hotel assets in Phoenix and across the Sun Belt and other advantageous U.S. destinations. The company partners with registered investment advisors and accredited investors. Its first acquisition, last May, was The Ivy Palm Resort & Spa in Palm Springs, California, a 4-building, 100-room independent boutique hotel. Following minor property renovations with extensive asset management restructuring, Oxygen Hospitality will implement a second phase redevelopment plan to transform the property into a hip, tech-forward boutique hotel that complements Palm Springs.

—Mike Hunter Oxygen Hospitality oxygenhospitality.com

In the latest Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurship series, for 1997–2016, Arizona ranked No. 4 in the Startup Activity Index and No. 6 in the Kauffman Index of Growth Entrepreneurship. kauffman.org

Photo courtesy of Foodworks (top)

Top Bankers

Foodworks is committed to quality, sustainability and community involvement, and seeks partners who share those values. “We do a vetting process of all entrepreneurs that we discover by word-of-mouth and any connections. We look for the local up-and-coming chefs, [businesses] that are minority- and woman-owned, as well as how long they have been in the community.”

Foodworks also partners with culinary schools to give students internship opportunities in its cafés. —RaeAnne Marsh

Criminals Have A Plan To Steal Your Money.

1

2

3

Make sure two people approve every wire, every time.

Always verify changes in vendor payment instructions via telephone or in person with someone you know.

Tell employees you will never communicate payment instructions via personal email.

At Bank of Arizona, we offer a variety of fraud prevention services that can help you detect and prevent criminal activity. Call us today to discuss how we can help you fight fraud.

Bill Halsted | 602.808.5331 | www.bankofarizona.com

Š 2017 Bank of Arizona, a division of BOKF, NA. Member FDIC.

PROPERTY, GROWTH AND LOCATION

BY MIKE HUNTER

40 Years of Change – Where the Multihousing Industry Is Headed in the Valley

OPPORTUNITY FUND DEBUTS Phoenix-based Virtua Partners, a global private-equity real-estate investment firm, recently launched the first-ever Opportunity Zone Fund.

This ground-breaking fund is the first vehicle designed to invest in the newly created Opportunity Zones — one of the lesser known provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Virtua Opportunity Zone Fund I, LLC aims to raise $200 million and is designed to utilize the tax-savings opportunities created by the tax-reform law. virtuapartners.com [Marc L. Schultz discusses Opportunity Zones and Opportunity Zone Funds in “The Opportunity Zone Program” parts 1 and 2, which can be accessed at www.inbusinessphx.com/ department/legal]

Starting out as a necessary form of housing in the Valley, the multihousing industry has evolved to be a go-to choice for residents, which has helped keep the health of this industry strong. There has always been demand for apartments, but demand has risen as a result of demographic changes and as the renters of choice have increased. Expect the market to remain strong; rent growth has slowed, but continues to be on the rise.

kitchen tile back splashes, hardwood faux floor and more.

Today, management companies such as P.B. Bell can manage multiple communities with dedicated staff who not only take care of leasing and maintenance duties, but often act as personal concierges. Four decades ago, communities were managed individually, usually by a husband-and-wife team.

FROM PAST TO PRESENT

Today, it’s all about amenities — the latest and greatest communities have to offer. Convenience is the name of the game, hence the explosion of 24-hour gyms, and clubhouses with their own social scene where residents can invite friends and family. Apartments are now viewed as homes rather than a small space to live in, and, because of this, residents are looking for well-appointed apartment homes where they can entertain without the hassle of taking care of an actual home. With technology advances, communities are incorporating “Smart Home” gadgets that include smart thermostats, entry door locks operated by smart phones and more.

Forty years ago, luxury apartment communities had a different meaning from what they do today. Luxury then meant communities offered a small exercise room, a swimming pool and maybe a spa or charcoal BBQ. Individual apartments often had avocado green shag carpet and butcher-block Formica countertops. Now that apartment communities are more of a choice for people instead of a necessity, the term “luxury” means communities offer stateof-the-art gyms, dog spas, resort-style pools, social areas and much more.

Individual apartment homes now offer granite countertops, custom cabinets,

TRENDS SEEN TODAY

P.B. Bell has also noticed that there are new players in the multihousing industry, including national home builders.

FROM PRESENT TO FUTURE

Although amenity wars will continue, one trend gathering speed in the Valley is single-story detached rentals. The industry is meeting a demand that the hassle-free living apartments provide, with the luxury of having a single family detached home. This design has been successful for people who still want to rent but not have neighbors above, below or next to them. —R. Chapin Bell, president and CEO of P.B. Bell (www.pbbell.com), a family-owned multifamily development, management and acquisition company, headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., that has earned multiple awards for its design, development and management services throughout the years since Philip Bell founded the company in 1976

GET REAL

by Mike Hunter

Building Office in Perimeter Center, Scottsdale A local partnership known as DBM Ventures has purchased 2.79 acres at 8399 E. Hartford Dr., within Perimeter Center in the dynamic Scottsdale Airpark submarket, with plans to develop a $9-million, 32,054-square-foot office building. Construction is slated to begin at the end of this year with occupancy scheduled for summer 2019. LGE Design Build will be handling both architectural Scottsdale office of Colliers International in Greater Phoenix, negotiated the land sale transaction and will serve as exclusive leasing/sales agent for the development project. colliers.com

Independent Living Apartments Planned The Wolff Company — a Scottsdale-based private equity firm and developer — has purchased property in Scottsdale, Arizona, with plans to develop a refined senior community called Revel Scottsdale. The finished property will include a commercial kitchen, dining room and bistro, resortstyle saltwater pool and spa, state-of-the-art fitness center, modern club room, and media lounge.

The property at 8225 E. Indian Bend Rd. will have 270-degree unobstructed views to west, north and east of Camelback, Mummy, McDowell and the Superstition mountains. Located at the heart of an affluent community, Revel Scottsdale will be minutes away from the future Paradise Valley Ritz Carlton, and near other high-value amenities. awolff.com

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Reports released in March 2018 by the U.S. Census Bureau list Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale as the fourth-fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States, increasing the demand for housing.

Photos courtesy of Colliers International, The Wolff Company (bottom, l to r)

services, as well as general contracting for the project. Jim Keeley, SIOR, founding partner of the

YOUR BENEFIT IN BUSINESS

WELL WELL WELL

Rent Your Genetic Code Seeking to incentivize individuals to share their genetic code information, Nebula Genomics and Longenesis have joined in an exclusive collaboration.

Nebula Genomics is a San Francisco-based company co-founded by genomics pioneer George Church, Ph.D., that is using blockchain to build a marketplace for genomic and clinical data, and Longenesis is a Hong Kong-based partnership between Insilico Medicine and the Bitfury Group that is applying deep learning and blockchain technologies to make a platform for the exchange of healthcare data.

“By allowing individuals and large data providers such as biobanks to maintain ownership of their genomic data on our platform and profit from it, Nebula Genomics seeks to incentivize generation of genomic data. In doing so, we will gather the data on a single network where it can be conveniently and securely accessed by researchers,” says Dr. Church. “In other words, we will make a marketplace that will create an equitable and efficient economy for genomic data.

Longenesis has built a similar platform that instead focuses on longitudinal health data, so our platforms complement one another very well.” —Mike Hunter bitfury.com • insilico.com • longenesis.com • nebulagenomics.io

Caregiving Service Benefits Employees, Employers There’s a silent crisis affecting one of every five working adults across all genders, races and classes: the challenge of caring for an aging or sick loved one, such as a parent with dementia or child with autism. As employers provide programs to support employees bringing their best selves to work, the caregiving struggle is often overlooked.

Wellthy provides modern, best-in-class caregiving support that employers provide to employees.

Employees are assigned a dedicated Care Coordinator (think personal healthcare assistant) who creates a plan and gets time-consuming healthcare tasks done through a modern online experience. Employees get much-needed expertise, time-back, cost savings and relief. Employers get increased productivity, retention, loyalty and presenteeism, which results, on average, in a two-times return on investment.

—Lindsay Jurist-Rosner, CEO of Wellthy wellthy.com

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Can Teletherapy Help Your People and Your Bottom Line?

Mental health has been propelled into the national spotlight. As we overcome national tragedies and household names share their mental and emotional struggles, the sobering truth is that people from all walks of life and backgrounds are affected — and that access to the right care is critical.

Employers are in a unique position to address behavioral and mental health care, and they have multiple reasons to do so. Not only is it an altruistic and responsible value-add for benefits packages, but providing easy and convenient access to behavioral health care contributes to a more productive and present workforce and, ultimately, a positive bottom line impact.

Behavioral health issues tend to have a silent yet prominent impact in the workplace in the forms of lost productivity and increased absenteeism.

People come to work and their bodies may be in their chairs, but their minds are elsewhere.

Traditionally, this has been a difficult issue for employers to address. Teletherapy — a growing facet of telehealth — is changing that.

It’s fairly commonplace these days for businesses to use online, on-demand services to help their employees address common illnesses and injuries such as the flu, allergies or a sprained ankle. It’s a big-money and time saver for the business, plus it’s significantly more convenient for employees.

Now, businesses can offer their workforce access to mental health care in the same manner — conveniently and confidentially over a computer or mobile device.

Teletherapy is quickly becoming a game changer for employers of all types and sizes.

Here’s why: Ignoring mental health is costly. The Center for Prevention and Health Services found that a failure to address mental health costs employers between $79 and $105 billion each year in decreased productivity, absenteeism and increased healthcare costs. Employees miss more work due to mental health issues than other chronic and common conditions like arthritis, asthma, diabetes, heart disease and hypertension.

Employees are seeking alternatives to inoffice visits. Albeit diminishing, stigma around seeking treatment for mental health issues exists.

Teletherapy allows employees to access critical assistance confidentially, without taking time off to attend regular therapy sessions in person.

According to a 2017 report from Salesforce Research, people are beginning to prefer talking with a provider remotely rather than visiting an office. In some regions, there may be few providers, or those providers could be far away.

Mentally healthy employees are more productive. According to Workplace Mental Health, 80 percent of employees who received treatment for mental health issues reported improved workplace productivity and satisfaction. That equates to a higher level of service and greater retention.

Teletherapy creates meaningful ROI. Research has shown that mental health promotion has a direct return on investment through increased productivity, reduced absenteeism and lower healthcare costs. Customized implementation and communications strategies that drive utilization of teletherapy will further increase ROI. Low-cost copays and ease of use extend the ROI of teletherapy even further.

IT’S EASY TO IMPLEMENT

Teletherapy services can be integrated into an existing health plan with ease, either as an ancillary service or a stand-alone benefit. When designed right, the resources needed to build a cohesive benefit solution are minimal.

Teletherapy can bring numerous benefits to employees and employers alike. When choosing a vendor, it’s important to assess cost, implementation and utilization strategies, an easy-to-use platform and a robust provider network.

—Glenn Dean, president and CFO of Scottsdale-based MeMD (www.memd.me), a national telehealth and teletherapy provider

“Recent advances in science and technology already allow us to transform human life data such as blood tests and genomic data into life-saving products and services,” said Alex Zhavoronkov, Ph.D., CEO of Insilico Medicine and the CSO of Longenesis, discussing future advances that will be enabled by his company’s collaboration with Nebula Genomics as reported in “Rent Your Genetic Code” on this page.

Striving to help make every day better for Arizona business.

Your business succeeds when you take care of your people. We succeed when we take care of you.

United Healthcare offers a broad portfolio of health plans designed to help every Arizona business give their employees access to affordable, quality care and resources so they can live healthier lives.

Insurance coverage provided by or through UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company or its affiliates. Administrative services provided by United HealthCare Services, Inc. or their affiliates. Health Plan coverage provided by or through UnitedHealthcare of Arizona, Inc. ©2017 United HealthCare Services, Inc. MT-1127685.0 3/17 ©2017 United HealthCare Services, Inc. 17-4120

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INNOVATIONS FOR BUSINESS

TECH NOTES

by Mike Hunter

Local Businesses Take to Podcasting Podcasts have become a popular medium for businesses to connect with their customers and target market.

Here’s a sampling from our local entrepreneurs.

“Relentless Mentality” is a new podcast launched by Bayless Healthcare CEO and community leader Justin Bayless. It features conversations with change agents, leaders and individuals of achievement. Says Bayless, “My podcast strategy is not about driving business to Bayless Integrated Healthcare; rather, it is about inspiring passionate people to make a difference in our local community and the world ... for me that difference is in the way we approach our relentless pursuit of a better patient experience.” relentlessmentality.net “G.O.A.T. Show” features interviews with true “greats” across a variety of fields. “I do the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) Show podcast for a couple different reasons.

Primarily because I want to develop myself and surround myself with really high-level people in both business and life. I want to ask these people the questions I need answers to in my life and in my business. The networking is also a huge benefit to growing my business,” says Mike Arce, founder and CEO of Loud Rumor. goatshowpodcast.com “Journey to 7 Figures” is hosted by local tech software co-founder Jeremy Ellens of Lead Quizzes and is all about the journey successful leaders have taken to get their brand over the seven-figure mark — strategies that led to their greatest breakthroughs and the mistakes that held them back. “We decided to launch our podcast mainly to nurture and provide exceptional content to the people on our email list,” says Ellens. leadquizzes.com/podcast “The Russ Perry Show” was created by the founder of Design Pickle & Jar and author of The Sober Entrepreneur. In his weekly show, Perry shares what it means to live a sober lifestyle and how this lifestyle has fundamentally changed all areas of his life, business and personal. “I’m not a great writer, so with podcasting, I can just talk, a lot, about things that are passionate to me. And the crazy part is, people listen!” he says. russperry.co/show

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Will Blockchain Uplevel the Arizona Real Estate Market?

Love it or hate it, blockchain is disrupting nearly every industry. And while most associate blockchain with Bitcoin or cryptocurrency, it really refers to its underlying technology — and that technology holds a tremendous amount of promise to a range of industries and uses, including real estate.

What exactly is blockchain? In a nutshell, it’s a decentralized, distributed and public ledger used to record transactions. The format is similar to Wikipedia, in which many people can write and contribute to the records of information rather than there being a single publisher. Currently, blockchain is considered one of the most secure technologies for digital asset transfer. This is because every transaction is cryptographically linked to the next one, making it nearly impossible to change the existing data. Like Wikipedia, decentralizing the information keeps a system of checks and balances in place.

How does blockchain apply to real estate?

At a high level, it’s starting to be used to make buying and selling more secure, and streamline cross-border transactions — a sector that’s growing tremendously. In fact, between 2009 and 2016, the demand for cross-border real estate transactions increased 334 percent.

Until now, however, there’s not been a set of standards for international transactions. It is a time-intensive process that often involves multiple international trips.

International buyers also had to transfer their money through a lengthy international exchange process and get heavily taxed on the money before they could make the purchase. Now, with blockchain technology,

those buyers can view and express interest in a listing anywhere in the world, finalize all documentation, and complete the transaction using traditional fiat currency or cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin or Ethereum.

Additionally, all parties involved in the contract can verify and exchange records digitally, allowing greater transparency through the decentralization of the data. The Ethereumbased blockchain technology works by enabling “smart contracts” or programs stored in the blockchain, which enable sophisticated transactions to be executed, and processes like paying taxes and performing the role of escrow to be automated.

At my brokerage, we saw blockchain as an opportunity to open Arizona residents to the international real estate market and made the decision earlier this year to start using a platform called Propy, a blockchain-based technology real estate platform. Implementing this platform gives clients an extensive global presence and the ability to conduct transactions around the world, potentially in as short of time as a single day.

Naturally, blockchain still has a long way to go in terms of adoption. There’s a lot of awareness and education that needs to be communicated before it hits mass adoption, but it is starting to gain real traction. There are more successful transactions being recorded on blockchain around the world every day, and the first in the U.S. was just completed earlier this year in Vermont. As buyers and sellers start to see more blockchain transactions occurring, and understand how the technology works, demand will skyrocket.

—Sarah Richardson, founder and principal of Tru Realty (www.trurealty.com)

In its “Best Blockchain Careers for the Future,” BusinessStudent.com named blockchain developer and blockchain engineer at the top and noted that, last year, there were 14 jobs for every one blockchain developer or engineer. businessstudent.com

LAW MATTERS TO BUSINESS

Ethical Data Mining How doing the right thing is good for business

by David Thomas

A recent data breach involving Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm, affected at least 87 million Facebook users. People’s data was unknowingly used for politically manipulative ads.

While an extreme example of unethical data mining, the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal challenges businesses and marketers to think about the ways they collect, use and share data. Simply following the law is not enough to meet ethical data standards. Businesses need to show ethical proactivity when interacting with user data — and not just because it’s the right thing to do. Ethical data mining is also a no-brainer that leads to enormous benefits for business.

WHEN THE ETHICAL LINE BLURS

It’s possible for businesses to follow the law and yet cross an ethical line when mining data. The following are areas of concern.

Personal data — No consistent legal definition of personal data exists in the United States, giving businesses potentially risky latitude to define what is worthy of more security.

Transparency — A lot of legal leeway about personal data means businesses aren’t necessarily incentivized to be transparent.

Governance — Who enforces policies at a company? Who oversees what third parties do with personal data? Even if legal requirements are met, many ethical gaps often exist when businesses lack governance — even if they have good intentions.

Merely following laws and regulations only to exploit loopholes and legal gray areas can lead companies into unethical territory when handling personal data. That’s one reason why the EU developed the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in an attempt to clarify such legal, and ethical, ambiguity around how companies handle personal data.

David Thomas, CEO at Evident ID, is an accomplished cybersecurity entrepreneur. He has a history of introducing innovative technologies, establishing them in the market, and driving growth — with each early-stage company emerging as the market leader. Today, as CEO of Evident, he helps provide innovative business solutions to simplify interactions with personal data assets. facebook.com/evidentid

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DON’T BET ON GDPR TO HELP DEFINE DATA-MINING ETHICS On May 25, 2018, the GDPR took effect. This regulation strengthens and consolidates data privacy laws for EU residents. Much stricter than any U.S. data privacy law, GDPR directly impacts any company handling EU resident personal data. Before businesses collect any personal information, EU residents must provide informed consent — meaning these residents understand they are giving businesses access to their data and clearly know what will be done with it. And if EU residents decide to reverse their decision, businesses must comply and withdraw or delete their data.

However, while GDPR does set some clear guidelines and definitions, the regulation does not necessarily clarify how to implement them. For example, GDPR requires “data protection by design and by default,” but what does that look like in terms of execution? Companies will need to continually evaluate and assess their existing solutions to meet this expectation without much specific instruction as to the definition.

While court battles scouring the details of the legal wording included in GDPR will take place for a long time, it’s not wise to just adhere to legalities. Focusing only on what a business can and can’t do while complying with GDPR still does not fully address all concerns with ethical data mining.

WHY ETHICAL DATA MINING BENEFITS BUSINESS — AND HOW TO TALK ABOUT IT

An ethical approach to data mining that goes beyond U.S. law or GDPR helps more than just a company’s brand reputation. As hackers grow more sophisticated and breaches are now commonplace, eliminating any risks around handling personal data also helps a company’s ability to secure its data and fend off cyberattacks.

To fully embrace these business benefits and mitigate reputational and security risks, businesses need to: Align the organizational vision with how a company uses data. Some businesses use data in ways that do not connect to the organization’s vision. Clearer alignment often leads to more trust.

Go beyond even GDPR’s requirements about informed consent. If businesses conduct activities like background checks, partnering with third parties or using data to influence audiences, they need to explain that to customers in clear, transparent language. A good example of this is The Guardian, which clearly explains to readers how their data is used and why.

Become an evangelist for ethically mining data.

Businesses often unintentionally commit data-mining ethics breaches. To avert such problems, businesses can invest in education and training for employees, prioritize protecting user information, and be more transparent with users about how their data is shared.

Businesses need to think beyond just collecting as much personal information as possible and using it when needed.

Instead, they need to proactively ask, “Why am I collecting data? What am I doing with it? And how am I letting users know about and consent to its use?” And answering those questions — beyond the requirements of laws and regulations — will pay off for those businesses in more ways than one.

U.S. businesses that operate in the European Union are subject to the GDPR. The Legal feature in the March 2018 issue of In Business Magazine discusses this new regulation. http://inbusinessphx.com/in-business/gdpr-deadline-looming-companies-not-ready

Your local Phoenix commercial banking team.

Local expertise to help Phoenix businesses prosper.

BMO Harris Commercial Bank is in the Phoenix region, with a banking team that has deep local roots and expertise in a range of industries. Combined with our decades working in Arizona, and supported by strong cross-border capabilities, we’re uniquely positioned to help Phoenix companies uncover more possibilities here at home and all the places you do business.

Brian Harbin 602-730-7562 brian.harbin@bmo.com bmoharris.com/commercial

Banking products and services subject to bank and credit approval.

BMO Harris Commercial Bank is a trade name used by BMO Harris Bank N.A. Member FDIC

The

Job

Market

Do we have the talent for the jobs?

Do we have the right kind of jobs for the talent?

by RaeAnne Marsh “The Greater Phoenix Chamber’s economic development team talked to over 900 businesses last year with our partners and by far the biggest issue was workforce,” said Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Todd Sanders earlier this year, when discussing the Chamber’s legislative priorities for 2018.

FILLING THE TALENT POOL “Workforce” is sometimes referred to as a talent pool, and Valley resident Nick Murphy — who took his experience at CareerBuilder, Monster and Indeed.com to start his own thought leadership and career consulting services businesses Job Spot and Mid-America Careers and now hosts The Job Lab podcast — points out that “talent” is a dynamic term that shifts with current business needs.

“While some businesses have a surplus of talent, other industries, like healthcare, IT and even retail, can’t find enough talent to staff their needs.” He has found that companies that commit to hiring the right persona for a role and work to align the employee’s motivation and needs to the job while training them on the details are better positioned than companies operating from a “here are the requirements” mindset.

Noting, “Many businesses looking to relocate or expand would say accessing a solid talent pool is one of their greatest concerns,” Chris Camacho, president and CEO of Greater Phoenix Economic Council, points out the Greater Phoenix region features nationally ranked schools and globally renowned universities, all geared toward preparing a talented workforce for the in-demand jobs of today and tomorrow. “Companies moving here have access to students from more than 40 universities and other institutions of higher learning, producing hundreds of National Merit Scholar semifinalists each year.

Most notably, ASU is ranked No. 5 in the nation for best-qualified graduates according to the Wall Street Journal, and is in the top 1 percent of the world’s most prestigious universities according to 2018 rankings announced by Times Higher Education.”

Not to mention a wealth of highly regarded schools with vocational training programs. Plus, organizations such as Arizona Women’s Education and Employment are also training to meet the needs of employers in particular industries: food, retail, hospitality and administrative, customer service, and banking. For instance, says Trina Jenkins, AWEE program director, “AWEE does offer a Bank Teller training to help meet the needs of our financial partners.”

She adds, “AWEE does not have funding for vocational or college; however, we recognize that training is often needed on both employee and employer side, so we have established a partnership with the City of Phoenix where we are able to connect them to a City of Phoenix job center for training opportunities.”

Camacho, observing that schools and career-based technology programs here are training students to meet the needs of employers in Greater Phoenix, points out Arizona has the fourthhighest concentration of aerospace manufacturing jobs in the

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nation and this workforce demand is being supported by Arizona State University and its engineering college — which is the largest in the country. “Additionally,” he says, “the Maricopa County Community College District is educating more than 250,000 students annually to support various career pathways, and the University of Phoenix is headquartered in the region offering campus and online-based degrees. On top of offering more than 200 academic programs, Grand Canyon University is home to the West Valley Cyber Warfare Range. The range is a perfect testament to providing hands-on learning experiences for students to finetune their skills before heading off into the post-college world.”

According to Sethuraman Panchanathan, executive vice president of ASU Knowledge Enterprise, in addition to just the numbers — 75,000 students on campus and 30,000 online, making ASU the largest provider of workforce here — ASU “provides all kinds of majors that are expected, that companies would need from an institution, and the quality and skill and diversity in terms of the students and potential employees that are required.”

But the best way of meeting the needs of employers, Panchanathan says, is to engage with them, asking: What is it that you need? What are the kinds of skill sets that you need? And not just ask them but be responsive to what they need.

“What I’ve done at ASU is develop what they call a concierge service,” Panchanathan says. “When you have a large university like ASU, it’s a fantastic thing because you can get scale, quality and diversity of the candidate you are looking for. But at the same time, it can also make it harder for you to reach through the university when you want something, because there are so many touch points.” The concierge service enables companies to come to one point in the university. Perhaps they need 15 computer science graduates, 20 business school graduates, three humanists, and maybe two policy folks. “I navigate them inside the university to the appropriate talent.”

ASU also operates innovation campuses, such as SkySong in Scottsdale and others in Mesa, Phoenix and Chandler, developed, Panchanathan explains, to address “How might we have companies co-locate with ASU assets so that they might have much more of a synergistic relationship to get all that they need?”

To illustrate how ASU and businesses work together, Panchanathan relates an experience with Motorola. “Seven years ago, Motorola wanted to develop a new concept of embedded systems. I was chair of Computer Science and Engineering at that

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time. I engaged with a relationship with Motorola, visited with them over the technical managers and leaders, to ask, ‘What is it you wish you had?’

They said they wanted this, this and this skill sets in the students that come out of the university. So, immediately, we set up a consortium between Intel, Motorola and ASU and developed a completely new curriculum on embedded systems — internships, new curriculum design — in partnership with the companies, and they participated in the design also, and in different projects associated with those. It became a huge success.”

In addition to the curriculum design — in fact, what Panchanathan refers to as “more importantly” — ASU encourages the businesses to participate in offering a lecture or two at the university, mentor students and mentor projects. “It makes the skill sets more state-of-the-art,” Panchanathan

says. “That’s why we have industry advisors in every school, where the industry comes in and participates in the curriculum reviews and gives them feedback in how the curriculum matches up in terms of the skill sets they need and what’s being produced in the units.”

Panchanathan will be launching a new program this fall — Practice Labs.

“Companies can come and set up a presence at ASU so that they may have students and faculty working on their problems. For instance, if they want to create a prototype, they can have one or two people from the company engage with the lab and develop it together. They get good development outcomes as well as students who are well-trained in that so that they can come in and work for the company.” One of the first companies in the program will be Verde Solutions, an energy consulting firm.

THE MARKET OF EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY “With a host of career opportunities for students, 70 percent of ASU graduates remain in the state following graduation,” Camacho says, describing Greater Phoenix as one of the fastest-growing and dynamic metropolitan regions in the country, offering an excellent quality of life and low cost of living that further entices a vibrant workforce. “Our region is home to a variety of industries, such as advanced business services, aerospace, financial services, healthcare and biomedical, semiconductors, emerging tech and software.

With low operating costs, low natural disaster risk and established infrastructure, Greater Phoenix also offers an ideal place for startups, data centers, headquarters and service centers to operate.

“During my tenure, GPEC has led the attraction of more than 322 companies, creating 55,617 jobs and $5.6 billion in capital investment. Recent graduates from all over the country have moved to Arizona to work at companies like Apple, Intel, Silicon Valley Bank, GoDaddy, Yelp, Amazon, Garmin, General Motors and many others.

The business community here is expected to grow at a rapid pace over the next ten years. With numerous companies in the pipeline to relocate or expand in Greater Phoenix, college grads can be sure they will find a job in Greater Phoenix while business can be certain they will have access to a rich and robust talent pool.”

Observes Murphy, “With the job market nearing full employment, today’s job seekers have options. So perhaps it’s no surprise that the thing many potential candidates want to know most is how your opportunity can move their career goals forward.” Whether they’re looking to move from a sales rep into management, add new areas of responsibility to their role or add new skills to their résumé, everyone wants to move forward.

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“If you can learn to focus on your unique advantages, you’ll be able to craft a story and employment brand that highlights the opportunities your roles offer,” Murphy says. There’s value in effectively communicating the opportunity for upward mobility to potential candidates — the opportunity for them to more quickly and efficiently expand their skillsets and responsibilities to move their careers forward.

Additionally, Murphy notes, “In today’s connected world, employers are running out of excuses to chain their employees to a desk for 40 hours per week. In most companies, at least some of the jobs could easily accommodate a flex arrangement of some kind.” Alternative work arrangements can take many forms. Some of the most common and attractive flexible work arrangements include half-day Fridays; working “Four 10s” (ten hours per day, four days per week); and remote, or workfrom-home, opportunities. “The specific form your flex arrangement takes isn’t important. What is important is that you understand how meaningful a flex work schedule is to potential employees and include it as a part of your candidate messaging if you decide to offer one.”

Suggests Karen Pierce, executive coach, author and president of TKPierce, LTD, “As you offer more flexibility, your management style will need to be more creative and communicative. Start small, with a few positions in one area of your business, then re-evaluate, get input and expand from there. Demonstrating that work-life balance is important will show up in productivity, less absenteeism, more creativity and less turnover. All of which means fewer headaches for you, happier employees and a more successful business.” More than ever before, she observes, the 20- to 40-year-olds are interested in having a life and connecting to purpose; more than ever before, 40- to 60-year-olds are raising their kids and taking care of aging parents at the same time.

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FILLING THE POSITIONS “The greater Phoenix area continues to be a magnet for ambitious, talented, and generosity-minded entrepreneurs,” says Brian Mohr, co-founder of executive search firm Y Scouts. Observing that the local Phoenix economy, which was historically rooted in travel and real estate, has blossomed into a diverse ecosystem of both service and product-related businesses, he notes that as these businesses continue to grow and thrive, the need for new employees grows with it.

Recruiting and retention were among the top three business issues for 80 percent of the survey respondents in Enterprise Bank & Trust Think Tank survey released last month. Responding to an increasing need for companies to gauge staffing recruitment and retention practices, Enterprise Bank surveyed 110 of its corporate clients to learn of shared challenges and opportunities. The survey results provide rationale for what’s happening in today’s economy and offer solutions for achieving improved efficiency and financial goals. Says Jeff Friesen, president of Enterprise Bank & Trust’s Arizona Region, “Inefficient staffing practices directly influence the profitability of a company,” Addressing this, Murphy says, “The first thing that any hiring manger or business owner needs to understand about attracting talent is what today’s job seekers care about. According to a recent PwC survey, candidates’ career decisions revolve primarily around three things: opportunity for career growth, earning a competitive wage, and the availability of flexible or alternative work arrangements.”

“Let’s take a look at the people in the workplace,” says Pierce. “It’s multigenerational, multicultural, millennial and more than half of the new college graduates are female.”

Pierce points out that women not only make up more than half the workforce but, unlike men, if they are the main breadwinner in the household, they are likely the main care giver. In addition, her experience is that most of women who are breadwinners are singlemothers. “If you are an employer who worries that single mothers may need more time off, are more distracted at work and less reliable, you might be surprised to know that they often are the most committed, productive and career-minded employees. They have to be! Their family depends on them.”

There are many studies that show companies with a significant number of women leaders experience not only greater job satisfaction among all employees but more organizational dedication. And then there’s the financial bottom line: “A study of Fortune 500 companies showed that those with the highest percentage of women on their boards saw an average of 53-percent higher return on equity, 42-percent higher return on sales and 66-percent higher return on invested capital.”

Another force in the labor market is millennials, roughly one-third of the U.S. workforce. Says Pierce, “The No. 1 thing a female millennial is looking for in a company is the opportunity to advance. And millennials, in general, are desiring more interaction and collaboration — which are usually identified as female leadership traits. In a world

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of impersonal social media, they want to feel they are a valued part of the organization, able to question for understanding, encouraged to come up with new ideas and to continue learning. When they do well, they want to be recognized and are further motivated by it.”

Successful businesses, Pierce believes, will be those that find their “softer side” — attractive to women, millennial and multi-cultural candidates, who all are looking for this in their employers. “Bottom line is, a more considerate, compassionate culture means they have the opportunity for success.”

Not that pay doesn’t matter. “Unsurprisingly, all candidates want to be paid what they’re worth,” Murphy says, emphasizing that isn’t greed, it’s common sense. “However, the amount you pay your people should be driven by the market. And today’s market is a seeker’s market, meaning that submitting low-ball offers to great people is a big mistake. While it can be a painful realization that you may need to dish out more money than you originally planned, the cost of training and developing talent that leaves to earn more elsewhere is far more expensive.” A search online for similar jobs or a visit to sites like PayScale.com will give employers information to help them understand the current market rate for their jobs.

However, Mohr points out, “Experts have been predicting the talent shortage, commonly referred to as the ‘War on Talent’, for many years, and the best companies recognize that in order to attract and retain the ‘A’ players, the singular focus on monetary incentives isn’t as effective as it once was.” Today’s employees demand a sense of purpose from their organizations, not just ‘corporate social responsibility.’ Employees want to feel a deep sense of pride in what their company stands for, and will flock to the organizations that inherently understand this concept.

The Enterprise Bank & Trust survey supports this position. It found that, while companies often do a good job of addressing the rational needs of employees — with salaries and bonuses ranked as the most effective way to address staffing issues among 53 percent of the respondents — what companies often fall short on are the emotional components. This involves thinking about a nurturing culture, which is subjective and different by industry but was mentioned frequently in the survey feedback. While some aspects of culture are about attitude and approach — being respectful, inclusive, communicative and trustworthy — other opportunities can be simple and fun.

SmartHealth CFO Dan Nahom told Enterprise Bank & Trust his Phoenix-based company has created benefits such as wellness programs, on-site nurse practitioners, a gym and an annual physical biometric evaluation. “We want to boost the sense of signing on for a career with us, not just the next job. We are always looking for ways to keep employees’ work interesting, motivating, and rewarding,” he concluded.

Similarly, at Phoenix-based SmartPractice, a family-owned health care services company, VP of Human Resources Michelle Shaw shared

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with Enterprise Bank & Trust that her company maintains a top-notch wellness program, including onsite clinic, gym, educational classes and counseling. “Our wellness benefits are a reason people come to us, and a reason people stay. We work hard to be innovative in retention so that joining SmartPractice is a career move, not just the next job.”

Finding the right people is far more challenging than retaining them or managing them, according to the Enterprise Bank & Trust survey. The most compelling statistic impacting staffing is that unemployment has fallen below 4 percent for the first time since 2000, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. For smaller companies with under $1 million in revenue, 83 percent listed that finding the right people is the most challenging issue. Specific issues include the shift of employee expectations, especially among the millennials and underqualified workers that require additional training and skills development to meet job expectations.

In addition, training and coaching ranked at the top for companies in both the $1-5 million and $5-50 million revenue ranges. Increased manager coaching was reported as the top tactic for companies with more than $100 million. While not ranking as high among small and mid-sized businesses, coaching is one of the tools being used to address staffing issues among all revenue brands.

Workplace technology adds another layer of complexity for companies in an already fiercely competitive talent landscape, according to a Harvard

Business Review Analytic Services report commissioned by Insight Enterprises that found 58 percent of respondents say their organization’s technology offerings factor into a candidate’s decision to take the position.

Yet 51 percent say outdated and inadequate office technology impedes their ability to retain employees with high-value skills and experience.

Harvard’s report concluded that, to effectively build a connected workforce, appeal to candidates and reinforce employee loyalty, companies need to give their workforce control, with 63 percent of respondents identifying that they want more opportunities for self-service access to critical knowledge/data, followed by the ability to choose their own device (50 percent) and more self-service setup and installation of software and devices (45 percent).

“The workforce is increasingly tech-savvy and accustomed to highly personalized user experiences. Coupled with the fact that legacy systems are keeping modern technology out of the hands of employees, organizations have a real opportunity to tackle an IT strategy that helps them manage their IT better, facilitate transformation and create an IT environment that improves employees’ ability to do their jobs well,” says David Mayer, vice president and general manager of Connected Workforce at Insight. For many organizations, their current technology and IT environment is working against the business.

HIRING “The labor shortage is in a crisis. We’ve adjusted our recruiting strategy to include more high school graduates and we’ve also been running social media ads to reach potential employees,” Mike Brewer, president and CEO of The Brewer Companies, a leading local plumbing company for the commercial and residential industries, told Enterprise Bank & Trust. “Approximately 80 percent of my time is spent on building and developing the construction trade workforce.

“In response, we’ve recently hired a Training Program Manager to help us find and train talent. This person is a professional coach and educator and has direct connections to new graduates,” Brewer added. “Our company culture is attractive and we have many employees that have been with us for 10 to 20-plus years to prove it.”

Says Pierce, “Words matter, and millennials, women and multiculturals are paying attention. If you want to attract the best people, you need to start with how you write a job posting. You get what you advertise for. Are you gender neutral? Do you use oldfashioned, good ’ol boy words like ‘go-getter’ and ‘do whatever it takes,’ or do you talk about ‘collaboration’ and ‘teamwork’?”

The better route, she believes, is to make sure the qualifications listed for the job are the requirements, leaving off those that are not essential. “Women won’t apply for jobs they don’t have at least 80 percent of the qualifications listed already on their résumé. By contrast, men will apply with only 30 percent. Stick to a job posting

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that is clear, illustrates inclusiveness and team culture, and lists the minimum qualification requirements.” Including a line that says, “Do not to apply if all the above qualifications are not met” can help weed out the overexcited and under-qualified.

Mohr believes companies need to redefine their hiring processes.

“Relying on keyword matching between a job description and a résumé will no longer suffice,” he says. “People are more than what’s written on their résumé, and the skills needed for the future of business are constantly evolving.”

Arizona Women’s Education and Employment, Inc. awee.org Arizona State University asu.edu ASU Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development Research research.asu.edu The Brewer Companies brewercompanies.com Enterprise Bank & Trust enterprisebank.com Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce phoenixchamber.com Greater Phoenix Economic Council gpec.org Insight insight.com The Job Lab facebook.com/thejoblabpodcast Mid-America Careers midamericacareers.com SmartHealth, Inc. smarthealth.com SmartPractice smartpractice.com TKPierce, LTD alignable.com/chandler-az/tk-pierce-ltd Y Scouts yscouts.com

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LOUDER THAN WORDS

Make Internal Comms Fun

How-to tips for spicing interest in the company’s important (yawn!) topics

by Susan Bowden

Susan Bowden is marketing manager at SnapComms, a leading provider of digital internal communication solutions. She has 20 years’ experience in journalism, marketing and PR, including senior roles at Virgin Media and Vocus Communications.

She has also led the Telecommunications Forum Council in New Zealand, and continues to be an active participant in internal communication communities worldwide.

SnapComms tools are used by more than 1.6 million users in 75 countries, delivering urgent notifications, raising employee awareness and driving behavioral change.

Founders Sarah Perry and Chris Leonard took the company “from zero to hero” in their business sector within three years of its launch in 2007. snapcomms.com

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Most employees dread the “Company Update.” Newsletters and messages often gather dust in staff members’ inbox — unopened and unloved.

When this happens, chances are the business has a case of boring comms.

Gone are the days when internal communications were an afterthought, comprising a quick email sent to all staff — job done. Nowadays, internal communications are regarded as a critical function. There’s a wider appreciation about its impact, and a deeper understanding of what does and doesn’t work.

If content is consistently long, dull or irrelevant, engagement levels suffer and messages cease to be effective.

So how can internal comms professionals create messages that employees will look forward to seeing and interacting with?

Here are six suggestions sure to spice up internal comms.

1. Liven up your content. Good communicators know that keeping interest and engagement levels up are crucial — nobody wants to be faced with giant walls of text. Disrupt wordy comms messages with some visually appealing images, infographics or video to keep attention levels peaking.

Most of us love gifs and memes (even though we’re often reluctant to admit it). The old saying “a picture speaks a thousand words” still rings true. Boring or difficult topics can have the edge taken off them when humor is involved. Using a fun image or caption can make a world of difference. The perfect picture can enhance a lifeless comms piece — and if it gets a few giggles as well, that’s an added bonus.

Adding relevant gifs into comms helps illustrate the message. A fun way to engage with staff is to get their feedback to questions using a meme, which can be made quickly with any of the

free meme generators found online. These memes provide shareable, humorous results while providing useful insights to the questions.

2. Use language that grabs attention. The headline used in comms can make or break whether anyone reads it. A third of people choose to open emails based on subject line alone.

Liven up headlines with some humor to ensure messages get opened. Keep an ear to the ground for trending topics in the workplace and try incorporating these into the comms.

Interesting, topical comms have a better chance of being remembered and shared across the workplace. For example, weave in references from popular culture, such as the latest Star Wars movie, “Game of Thrones,” celebrity gossip or hot news topics, that people can relate to. These can help deliver messages that get noticed and talked about.

It’s also useful to use the language of the workplace. Drop the industry jargon and formal tones in favor of more natural and relaxed wording.

3. Tantalize and excite readers. Even the most boring internal comms can be made fun by not only what is said, but also by how it’s said. Build anticipation and generate interest by teasing staff with hints of the full announcement to follow.

Think of the best movie trailers released. They reveal small pieces of information, show glimpses of exciting incidents — but leave audiences wanting to see more. Internal comms can work exactly the same way.

Drip-feed details of any announcement in a couple of teasers first — don’t just send out a single staff email which falls flat.

Whet the appetite, get staff talking, then announce with a bang.

This might begin by sending around a single image alongside a message saying, “Watch this space.” Next comes a follow-up revealing a bit more, but not giving the game away — this is the comms movie trailer. Finally, the full details are unveiled when the audience’s interest is at its peak — the movie now has its red-carpet premiere.

Research indicates information overload is a significant and growing problem preventing organizations from being operationally effective and employees from being well-informed.

BETTERING YOUR BUSINESS 4. Incorporate employee quizzes and surveys. Quizzes and surveys typically get high engagement rates across the workplace due to their less formal and mostly “checkbox” style.

A timely quiz can help reinforce staff knowledge, generate feedback and improve the onboarding experience of new employees, but they don’t need to be boring.

Internal quizzes can be used to create a fun, competitive environment across different teams. These can include images and free-form answers to give employees the chance to be more creative.

Surveys can motivate and inspire employees, while at the same time allow the gathering of valuable insights into the workplace. For example, businesses might want to focus on productivity or new services, and get some feedback from their staff.

Try using staff surveys that pop up as a desktop alert with autoreminders for completion. These get a much higher response rate than email links to online surveys. The ability for survey answers to be sent anonymously can encourage even the most introverted members of a team to speak up and have their say.

5. Employ competitions, gamification and leaderboards. Adding a competitive element into internal comms might be the answer to raising interest levels among staff.

Quizzes can be taken to the next level by gamifying them to encourage employees to focus on a specific topic. Players can be given the option to challenge each other. For businesses feeling generous, prize incentives can be offered to encourage participation and some friendly rivalry between individuals, teams or locations.

Staff training and engagement can be increased by using this style of information delivery. A little bit of competition goes a long way to improving learning and results in a team environment.

6. Involve your staff. Get employees involved in the content creation process. Anyone could film selfie-style videos to deliver messages about those more yawn-inducing topics in the workplace. Video of any kind is an effective means of breaking up walls of text, and it’s even more engaging when staff members are featured.

Peer-to-peer communication is highly effective in delivering messages, and many employees love the chance to get more involved in their workplace and show off their wit and talents.

Is there an employee who can sing a short, catchy song about new compliance measures? Someone who can juggle while talking about health and safety? A closet stand-up comedian who can turn boring into brilliant?

The creativity and abilities of the people in a workplace can often be surprising. This can be a goldmine for creating more interesting comms while, at the same time, learning more about the employees.

“Boring content is a complete turn-off. It bores you. It bores your readers. It discourages your brand. To punch boring in the face, you’ll have to do more than use active verbs and italicize words. You’re going to need to do something absolutely new.” —Neil Patel, Quick Sprout Internal communication should not equal boring. While there is a place for formal messages, there is also a place for messaging that appeals to our sense of humor and fun. Taking a more relaxed approach with communication styles will help internal comms managers better enjoy the content creation process, and ensure staff will actually read the communication and engage with the message.

Hyperfocus A practical guide to managing one’s attention — the most powerful resource a person has to get stuff done, become more creative and live a meaningful life.

Our attention has never been as overwhelmed as it is today. Many of us recognize that our brains struggle to multitask. Despite this, we feel compelled to do so anyway, while we fill each moment of our lives to the brim with mindless distraction.

Hyperfocus provides profound insights into how one can best take charge of one’s attention to achieve a greater sense of purpose and productivity throughout the day and be better able to manage every aspect of one’s life.

Hyperfocus: How to Be More Productive in a World of Distraction Chris Bailey

256 pages

Publisher: Viking

Available: 8/28/2018

$27

Future-Ready Leadership Groscurth provides executive leadership teams with the information, tools and advice they need to lead their organizations into the “future of work,” characterized by transformative, smart and connected technologies already underway, including artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and automation. This book fully unpacks what 4IR and the rise of new industries will require from leaders and illuminates the central role played by behavioral economics in the 4IR era, rather than just the macroeconomic implications for society of the convergence of the megatrends under way. This book introduces tools for helping leaders to prepare themselves and assess their organization’s readiness for managing high-velocity change and provides a roadmap for rethinking how learning and development are fostered in “always-on” learning organizations of the future.

Future-Ready Leadership: Strategies for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Chris R. Groscurth, Ph.D. Publisher: Praeger

180 pages Available: 8/31/2018

$37

Entrepreneurial Negotiation The great majority of startups fail, and most entrepreneurs who have succeeded have had to bounce back from serious mistakes. Entrepreneurs fumble key interactions because they don’t know how to handle the negotiation challenges that almost always arise. They mistakenly believe that deals are about money when they are much more complicated than that.

This book presents entrepreneurship as a series of interactions between founders, partners, potential partners, investors and others at various stages of the entrepreneurial process — from seed to exit. There are plenty of authors offering tips on how to succeed as an entrepreneur, but no one else scrutinizes the negotiation mistakes that successful entrepreneurs talk about with the authors.

“Information overload” was coined by Bertram Gross, a professor of political science at Hunter College, one of the City Universities of New York, in The Managing of Organizations: The Administrative Struggle, published in 1964.

Entrepreneurial Negotiation: Understanding and Managing the Relationships that Determine Your Entrepreneurial Success Samuel Dinnar and Lawrence E. Susskind

221 pages

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

$37.99

Available: 9/19/2018

2018 33 AUG. INBUSINESSPHX.COM

MINDING THEIR BUSINESS

Jason R. Kaplan: Steering The Driver Provider’s Growth

Innovation has been all about the rider’s experience

by Liz Renninger

THE ROAD TO SUCCESS • Jason Kaplan founded The Driver Provider on the premise of driving clients in the comfort of their own vehicle.

• A chance encounter at an event with multiple CEOs convinced Kaplan to transition The Driver Provider from a taxi service into a premier luxury chauffeur service.

• Today, The Driver Provider offers transportation globally, still with a focus on customer service, value, reliability, timeliness, convenience and consistency for its clients.

AUG. 2018

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Sometimes a business takes shape over time and the end result is very different from the initial model. In 1994, Jason Kaplan had just graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in marketing. Having worked as a nightclub bouncer through college, Kaplan recognized a need to improve the late-night taxi experience: After taking a taxi home, riders were left stranded without their vehicle the following morning. The only ways to get back to their car were to call someone for a ride or pay another fee for a different taxi to take them back to their vehicle.

“I just felt there had to be a more convenient way,” says Kaplan. “You were stranded until someone came to help you. It just didn’t make sense to me.”

Kaplan had the idea to offer a service that would pick up both the rider and rider’s car. This offered an option that other taxi companies didn’t provide. “I would bring an extra person with me when someone called for a pickup. Then I would take the customer home in their car and the other person would follow us home driving their own car. It seemed like a fantastic solution and I was excited to launch this new idea,” Kaplan says. It was the beginning of what is known today as The Driver Provider, which officially launched in 1997.

A serendipitous experience servicing the top CEOs of America for a Forbes Magazine conference in the late ’90s showed Kaplan another sector of transportation. It was about more than just drivers and getting from point A to B. The luxury chauffeur service was its own growing niche and more mainstream.

With this knowledge, Kaplan took a leap of faith and sold his personal car to purchase The Driver Provider’s first Cadillac Sedan de Ville. Focusing on corporate transportation, Kaplan’s fleet quickly expanded to include luxury SUVs, executive vans, limousines and buses. His focus on customer service, value, reliability, timeliness, convenience and consistency set Kaplan apart from his competition and he quickly developed partnerships with luxury resorts, corporations, and destination and meeting planners.

The Driver Provider is ranked nationally for having the 22nd-largest fleet of vehicles in the chauffeured car industry.

Two decades later, The Driver Provider operates a fleet of more than 150 company-owned vehicles. Headquartered in Phoenix, with offices in Tucson, Ariz.; Salt Lake City and Park City, Utah; and Jackson Hole, Wyoming; The Driver Provider continues to support a corporate clientele with an emphasis on service. Kaplan believes staying competitive means understanding the needs of the executive traveler. It’s why standard vehicle amenities include chilled bottled water, the daily newspaper and complimentary Wi-Fi. Clients can easily book reservations via a mobile app, as well as monitor the status of their scheduled vehicle via live GPS tracking.

Today, not only does The Driver Provider have contractual relationships with Arizona’s most luxurious resorts, it offers executive ground transportation around the globe. Clients appreciate the standardized service and centralized billing, regardless of where their travels take them.

Looking ahead, Kaplan says The Driver Provider is continuing to focus on customer service, technology advances and the company’s worldwide affiliate program. “The goal of any successful business is to continue that growth. Growth can mean expansion, but you also have to think outside the box.

It encompasses relationships — like those we have with our resorts and concierges we work with.

“It’s also being knowledgeable of the trends and advances in the industry,” says Kaplan, who has served as president of the Arizona Livery Association for two terms and is currently a board member for the National Limousine Association.

The road from young college graduate to CEO of a major transportation company is one that changed lanes a few times — a thought not lost on Kaplan today. “When you’re in the middle of starting your own business, there are so many decisions you have to make. You have to be able to change and adapt if the industry calls for it,” Kaplan says. “I’m still learning and growing every day and I don’t think I’ll ever stop.”

The Driver Provider driverprovider.com

AUGUST 2018

Chandler Chamber of Commerce

‘Put Your Business Idea in Motion’ Fri., Aug. 17 | 9:00a – 10:00a Are you an entrepreneur in the early stage of exploring and planning a new business venture?

Are you confused by how to get started and what steps to take? Think you have a great idea, but maybe you are not sure if it is a viable business idea, an idea that customers want or need? If you answered yes to any of these questions, our Put Your Business Idea in Motion program is for you.

Using presentations, group discussion, and activities, participants are introduced to the critical topics of how to explore and validate a business idea, learn best practice tips for building a solid financial foundation on which to grow a business, review the steps to setting up and doing business in Arizona, and be introduced to the services offered by SBDC and other resources.

This program is intended for new entrepreneurs and first-time business owners who have not yet opened their doors for business.

Free Chandler Chamber of Commerce 25 S. Arizona Pl, Chandler chandlerchamber.com

Global Chamber

Globinar on Cross-Cultural: International Travel Impact on Business Tues., Aug. 28 | 7:30am – 9:15am PDT/MST This multi-metro event will be a discussion on international travel to help businesses avoid mistakes and ensure a successful trip is completed with positive results. Global Chamber has gathered experts in protocol, business and safety, among other important aspects of concern in an international trip. The program is directed to CEOs; COOs; CFOs; and EVPs of finance, and sales and marketing for companies doing business across metros and borders.

The presentation is a webinar, allowing those interested to attend virtually from anywhere. Those who register for the webinar will receive a zoom login. There is also an opportunity to attend the presentation in person, at SkySong, with time scheduled for gathering and networking for a half hour prior and again post-event.

Three speakers are confirmed at this time.

Gloria Petersen, CPP, is founder and president of Global Protocol, Inc. Her dynamic presentations have inspired audiences for more than 30 years to handle professional and social situations with class and finesse. She is a graduate of the Protocol School of Washington®, a renowned Certified Protocol Professional and author of The Art of Professional Connections.

Roger Hurni is chief creative officer at Off Madison Ave. His background spans regional, national and international agency and entrepreneurial experience. Client experience includes Doubletree Hotels, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, PetSmart, Nike, ABC Network and Wells Fargo. His belief is that great creative and marketing results stem from the alignment of behavioral triggers along the lifetime customer engagement path.

Doug Bruhnke is the founder of Global Chamber®, leading growth around the world. In more than 30 years of cross-border business, he›s been part of a lot of good international visits and a few clunkers. He is a two-time expat with the Dupont Company (Tokyo and Singapore) and has worked in nearly every global market segment with travel to more than 60 countries. Now Global Chamber® is in 195 countries — everywhere.

He is a member of the Arizona District Export Council, past president at Global Ties AZ and regional advisor for U.S. Global Leadership Coalition.

Rick Weekly McCartney Podcast ® hosted by

OUR PODCAST Join us for interesting, informative and inspiring conversations with top local businesspeople in the Greater Phoenix area.

Listen now at inbusinessphx.com.

SAVE THE DATE

Upcoming and notable Creating Your 2019 Road Map for GrantSeeking Success Sept

Fri., Sept. 7

7

Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits presents this information-filled session with The Dream Team (Dr. Bev Browning, CSPF, and Kim Joyce, GPC) for nonprofit organizations. arizonanonprofits. site-ym.com/default.aspx

Members: free; non-members: $30

AUGUST 2018

S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4

Webinar or in-person at ASU SkySong 1475 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale globalchamber.org

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 NO AUGUST 2018 NOTABLE DATES 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

2018 35 AUG. INBUSINESSPHX.COM

AUGUST 2018 Wed., Aug. 8

11:00a – 1:00p

Monthly Meeting and ‘Five Steps for Healthy Habits’ National Association of Women Business Owners – Phoenix Luncheon presenter Heather Lynn Moreno of Weight Breakthrough and NAWBO Central Coast California will share information about how to get a new perspective on building habits, setting boundaries, and making health a priority, in her presentation “Five Steps for Healthy Habits.” The life of a business owner is often very hectic, with health and fitness taking a back seat to the business. Moreno will help attendees learn how to stick with healthy habits even when things get crazy.

Members: $43; non-members: $53 Gainey Ranch Golf Club

7600 E. Gainey Club Dr., Scottsdale

www.nawbophx.org Thurs., Aug. 2

Wed., Aug. 8

1:00p – 2:00p

Tues., Aug. 14

6:00p – 9:00p

11:00a – 1:00p

Get to Know Your Legislators

Winning Wednesdays

Signature Education Lunch

Arizona Small Business Association

Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

North Phoenix Chamber of Commerce

This Q&A panel session is an opportunity to get face-to-face with state Legislators. Our Legislators are interested in the needs and concerns of business owners like you. So, help them make better decisions by meeting them in-person and letting them know how the issues they work on impact you and your business.

Power Couples Collaboration! Event encourages couples, partners, colleagues and professionals to team up, to share ideas, form partnerships, build referrals and create business opportunities. Free parking garage validation.

Drink specials, appetizer menu, door prizes and more.

Monthly networking luncheon. Featured guest speaker will be Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Famer Nick “The Kick” Lowery.

Free

Free

Stonecreek Golf Club

ASBA Business Education Center

4600 E. Washington St., Phoenix

www.asba.com 1

MercBar

Members: $20; non-members: $25; at the door: $30, cash only

2525 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix

4435 E. Paradise Village Pkwy. S., Phoenix

www.azhcc.com 2

Wed., Aug. 1

www.northphoenixchamber.com

3

8

Fri., Aug. 3

9:30a – 11:30a

14

7:00a – 9:00a

Strategic Business Introductions

First Friday Networking Breakfast

eWomenNetwork: Phoenix/Scottsdale

Glendale Chamber of Commerce

This intimate networking event focuses on new client acquisition, marketing and promoting business, connecting with needed resources, providing help and guidance.

Each month, this event will showcase a featured speaker, an opportunity for all members in attendance to introduce their company and/or products and services. In addition to the great connections over breakfast, the event always closes with a raffle.

Members: $50; non-members: $85

Members: $15; non-members: $60

Scottsdale Professional Building

Cuff Restaurant

Tues., Aug. 14

14301 N. 87th St., Scottsdale

5819 W. Glendale Avenue, Glendale

www.ewomennetwork.com

www.glendaleazchamber.org

Being a Winner in the Locate Process

Wed., Aug. 8

6:45a – 8:30a

Mesa Morning Live Mesa Chamber of Commerce Produced by the Mesa Chamber of Commerce, “Mesa Morning Live” is a monthly morning talk show that discusses a variety of topics with hilarious one-liners from host and veteran Valley comedian Mark Cordes. Not only are attendees getting access to a unique event unlike any other, they have access to other business professionals interested in building their networks.

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For more events, visit “Business Events” at www.inbusinessphx.com

Arizona Association for Economic Development Explore how cities and private sector organizations can be impactful, competitive and win in the locate process. A panel of a regional economic development expert and private and public-sector strategists will dispel myths for success. A realtime anonymous polling of attendees will create an interactive and honest dialogue.

Members: $45; non-members: $65, after Aug. 9: $75

$20 in advance; $30 day of show

Phoenix Country Club

Crescent Crown Distributing

2901 N. 7th St., Phoenix

1640 W. Broadway Rd., Mesa

www.mesachamber.org

AUG. 2018

11:30a – 1:15p

Please confirm, as dates and times are subject to change.

www.aaed.com

Wed., Aug. 15

8:30a – 9:30a

Economic Development Insider Series Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce

Wed., Aug. 22

This exclusive series featuring insider information about the hottest economic and workforce development trends in Greater Phoenix. Sharon Harper, president & CEO of Plaza Companies, will share Plaza Companies’ most recent and emerging development projects, and the economic impact it will have on Arizona. She will share how these projects are creating new jobs, bringing businesses to our region, and contributing to our overall economic vitality.

Business Leaders Breakfast and ‘State of the American Workplace’ Gilbert Chamber of Commerce The Gilbert Chamber hosts GALLUP for an abbreviated overview of the recent report, ‘State of the American Workplace.’ Attendees will also learn about the latest Workforce and Business Retention efforts on behalf of the Gilbert Chamber Foundation and hear from Mayor Jenn Daniels as she shares an overview of the latest economic development announcements, workforce projections, and industry needs.

Members: $25; non-members: $90 Fennemore Craig

7:45a – Noon

2394 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix

www.phoenixchamber.com

Wed., Aug. 29

Global Chamber – Phoenix

Members: $40; non-members: $50

Members: $149; non-members: $199

Men, women ... it’s time to gather and discuss global leadership with extraordinary global leaders, many of whom happen to be women. This year, the program includes men who are advocates and who recognize that diverse and gender-balanced teams can be smarter, and lead to better results. Moderator is Jaime Daddona, a partner at Squire Patton Boggs. Speakers include Debi Lane, CEO of Lunchbox Wax. Free parking at Cityscape underneath the building.

Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass

The Falls Event Center

Members: free; non-members: $30

5594 W. Wild Horse Pass Blvd., Phoenix

4635 E. Baseline Rd., Gilbert

Squire Patton Boggs

www.ahwatukeechamber.com

www.gilbertaz.com

www.globalchamber.org

Fri., Aug. 17

8:00a – 10:00a

Chamber Day of Champions Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce Recognition and Awards for Chamber members in the following categories: Small Business of the Year, Business of the Year, Community Champion of the Year, Educational Mentor of the Year & Non-Profit of the Year.

15

16

17

21 Tues., Aug. 21

22 8:00a - Noon

Business On Board – Phoenix Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits Designed specifically for business professionals and community members interested in serving on a nonprofit board, this half-day in-person workshop will explain the roles, responsibilities and expectations involved. For those thinking about committing to board service or already on a board, this workshop features nonprofit leaders and partners working together for a half day of valuable insight on a range of board service roles, including the fiduciary, legal and fundraising roles.

Members: $49; non-members: $69 Thurs., Aug. 16

5:00p – 7:00p

Business After Hours

Matson Money

18760 N. Pima Rd., Scottsdale

www.arizonanonprofits.org Thurs., Aug. 23

These events provide an opportunity for Chamber Members and their guests to come together in a relaxed atmosphere while sharing ideas, products and services offered. Attendees are encouraged to bring flyers or brochures on their company for the member display table.

West Valley Biz2Biz 2018

Members: free; non- members: $60 Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers 6718 W. Deer Valley Rd., Glendale www.glendaleazchamber.org

MAGAZINE

AUG 2018

IN BUSINESS

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THE JOB MARKET

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Comms Fun Data Mining – Ethically Tariffs and AZ Craft Brewing $4.95 INBUSINESSPHX.COM

30 8:30a – 9:30a

Mindshare: Using Technology to Network Arizona Small Business Association Attendees will learn how to transform their workforce with business training, assessments, in-demand skills and leading-edge talent.

Speakers cover topics in tech, accounting, procurement, HR/staffing, funding, social media, marketing and more. Each session focuses on a different area of interest to the small business community.

ASBA Business Education Center 4600 E. Washington St., Phoenix www.asba.com

Hosted by all six West Valley Chambers of Commerce, this Expo offers an unparalleled opportunity for all businesses throughout the West Valley and beyond to showcase their products and services to hundreds of decision makers and buyers. Attendees can enjoy the cash bar, prizes and develop critical relationships with surrounding businesses and leaders throughout Avondale, Buckeye, El Mirage, Glendale, Peoria, Surprise, Tolleson, Goodyear, Litchfield Park, Sun City, Sun City West, Wickenburg and Youngtown.

Free Glendale Civic Center

5750 W. Glenn Dr., Glendale

www.glendaleazchamber.org

DON’T MISS OUT!

Job Market Get a year of In Business Magazine Council

4:00p – 7:00p

West Valley Chambers of Commerce

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1 E. Washington St., Phoenix

Members: free; non-members: $35

Glendale Chamber of Commerce

Top Bankers

8:00a – 10:00a

3rd Annual Women in Global Leadership

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If your event is directed to helping build business in Metro Phoenix, please send us information to include it in the In Business Magazine events calendar. Full calendar online. events@inbusinessmag.com

2018 37 AUG. INBUSINESSPHX.COM

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Job Market

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“Huss Brewing Company uses just over three million cans per year. Yes, the tariffs will have an impact on the cost of our cans from the manufacturer, but the situation is everchanging and the ultimate outcome remains to be seen. We do not plan to pass the cost increase on to our customers and remain hopeful that this situation will not create a shortage for our brothers and sisters in the brewing industry, as well as ourselves.

We’re concerned about the ultimate outcome, but also acknowledge that sometimes, with situations such as these, it is just the cost of operating a small family-owned business.” —Leah Huss, co-owner and operator of Huss Brewing Co.

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Tariffs: Up and Down the Arizona Craft Brewing Supply Chain The obvious and the not-so-obvious

by RaeAnne Marsh

It may be stating the obvious to say that a tariff on any commodity will have a repercussion all along the supply chain it touches. Yes, that includes our favorite locally brewed beers.

In Business Magazine spoke with Rob Fullmer, executive director of the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild, to learn how President Trump’s recent tariffs impact these businesses and the businesses that serve them — specifically, the 301 tariff on Chinese stainless steel and the 232 tariff on aluminum.

“The entire process of brewing requires stainless steel — the brewing kettle, fermentation vessels, large tanks, all the fittings and pipes, and the kegs [the beer] is put into,” Fullmer says, noting, “A lot is Chinese-sourced. Even American companies that fabricate use it or a portion of it.”

Members of the Guild were in Washington, D.C., in early June when the tariffs were announced, and were able to communicate some of their concern to legislators. Recalls Fullmer, “There was an announcement that the equipment involved in brewing would be exempt from the tariffs.” But that left a huge gray area. “We heard it was just vats and tanks,” he says, observing that the legislators’ idea of what brewing equipment is, is a lot different from what is actually used. “The exemption is not clear regarding fittings and hatch doors,” which are on the vats and tanks.

The result of that lack of clarity is, in itself, causing uncertainty — and, therefore, hesitation — in an industry that Fullmer describes as having been growing quickly and is attached to other businesses. “Even casually increasing production is becoming a gamble,” he says. “When you invest money in equipment, you have to have a keen sense of what the return is on your investment.” In industries that depend on using that raw stainless steel in fabricating parts or combining parts to support the breweries here, the tariff uncertainty

is, at the least, causing delays “because no one knows how to price anything.” For instance, Fullmer says, “Depending on when the equipment could hit the Port of Los Angeles, it could cost 25 percent more.

More and more breweries have been getting into the packaging market, and this is where the tariff on aluminum hits home, Fullmer explains. “The can is the product that allows them to explore the packaging industry,” he says. Breweries have been producing cans of beer in limited quantities as a promotional product, for instance, with the couple-of-cents-per-package cost being too small to pass on to the distributor or retailer.

“Smaller breweries might be shut out by being priced out or given minimum quantities that they can’t order.” While that’s a “might be” that hasn’t happened yet, impact on cost of shipping has been seen. “When the tariff was announced the Midwest Aluminum Premium pricing index immediately went up.”

On the other side of the brewery process, breweries are impacted because farmers are impacted by a retaliatory tariff on American pork. Breweries use grain in the brewing process, and the spent husks are packaged and sent to farmers to use for feed. “When farmers are getting tariffed, they’re not selling as much” — so they don’t need all those spent husks. While the husks were not a revenue stream — “We don’t charge for it; we just give it to the farmers.” — losing that outlet means the spent grain will have to be sent to a landfill. So, there’s waste disposal cost along with a sustainability setback.

“Our businesses are interested in helping the economy,” Fullmer makes clear. “But there’s not a lot of clarity regarding these items, which are deemed ‘national security’ (the mechanism President Trump used for his executive order).” It is also yet to be seen if there will be other retaliatory tariffs that will hit the brewing industry.

There are approximately 92 independent businesses in Arizona’s craft brewing industry, which, because some of them have multiple breweries, restaurants and tap rooms, represents more than a hundred breweries with more than a hundred bar/restaurant breweries, according to Rob Fullmer, executive director of the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild.

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WE VALUE WHAT WE OWN

2018 Lexus RX 450h F Sport AWD

2018 LEXUS RX 450H F SPORT AWD Combined mpg: 30 Trans: 8-speed automatic 0-60 mph: 7.3 sec MSRP: $51,255

With a 3.5-liter V6 engine with direct and port fuel injection, the RX 450 is specially tuned for fuel efficiency and low emissions. Engineered to tap into the power of the robust chassis, the optimized suspension offers precise handling with a strikingly smooth ride. For even greater control, an innovative dual Variable Valve Timing with intelligence system (VVT-iW) offers precise engine performance as it reduces emissions and enhances fuel efficiency.

To forge an even greater connection to the road, the suspension on the RX F SPORT was exclusively tuned for exceptional performance. The RX F Sport is also exclusively equipped with standard Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS) and an AVS-enhanced Sport S+ mode so that the RX F Sport delivers thrilling handling, a linear steering feel and a ride as smooth as it is stylish.

The RX F Sport features an exclusive full-color electronic gauge dash that provides real-time information such as G-force metrics, navigation information, power distribution and more.

The styling elevates the edge of the RX F Sport inside and out. The signature mesh grille and F Sport badging announce every arrival as the lower spoiler and F Sport-only 20-inch Dark Graphite alloy wheels enhance the vehicle’s lowered, powerful

stance. The interior of the RX F Sport is a sleek and aggressive command center. While its enhanced high-backed bolstered sport seats are engineered to grip driver and passenger through every turn, a heated steering wheel trimmed in perforated leather, aluminum pedals, exclusive paddle shifters and race-inspired instrumentation help satisfy a driver’s craving for performance.

—Mike Hunter Lexus lexus.com

It’s Time to Hang It Up On the wall, that is. Add some freshness to the office décor with art. Different colors and shapes create their own moods and can impact everything from first impressions to productivity. Businesses can avail themselves of services that will provide artwork to suit the site — some with options to rotate so the business can change it out periodically —

AUG. 2018

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Art.com

HangArt

TurningArt

A great selection of art, plus custom

HangArt maintains a brick-and-mortar

With a catalog of more than 25,000 works

framing. Let Handy hang your art. Styles:

gallery in San Francisco, but ships anywhere.

of art and advisors to help in selection,

Framed art, canvas prints, fine art prints,

Clients rent original art for three months at a

TurningArt works with business from

home décor.

time, with the option to purchase.

startups to Fortune 500 companies.

art.com

hangart.com

turningart.com

(pictured)

The available Lexus Enform App Suite offers access to favorite mobile applications through the vehicle’s center-console display. After the user downloads the app on a compatible smartphone, the user can search local listings, stream music, listen to live radio nationwide, check fuel prices and keep tabs on stocks and sport scores — all from the center-console display.

Photos courtesy of lexus (top), TurningArt (bottom)

from the ease and comfort of an Internet connection. —RaeAnne Marsh

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MEALS THAT MATTER

e in Banking Special Section

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Gainey Village location

Profiles in Excellenc

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Job Market

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BLACKENED SHRIMP Eggs Benedict with jumbo shrimp, two poached eggs and Old Bay hollandaise $16

CRISTINA’S TAMALE CAKES Eggs Benedict with sweet corn cakes, green chili pork, poached eggs and green chili hollandaise $14

AUG. 2018

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Hash Kitchen: Hash Tagged ‘Good’ Very open and friendly, Hash Kitchen goes in for simplicity in its décor. Simplicity and comfort. Tables are widely spaced and booths allow leg room. Patios vary in size with location, but the outdoor seating option is available at all the restaurants.

The new design puts more emphasis on the restaurant’s Bloody Mary offerings. Its newest location, opened last month in Chandler, makes the Bloody Mary bar a focal area of the interior design. And it certainly deserves it, given the extensive selection of fixin’s patrons can use to customize their drink to taste. Older locations will be getting a makeover to match.

The breakfast/lunch menu is where creativity really stands out. There’s the Jumbo Shrimp & Sweet Potato Hash, with blackened shrimp that live up to their billing served in a bed of soft-cooked shredded sweet potatoes and topped with a poached egg, served with Hollandaise Sauce on the side. The other namesake HK hashes are built on the more usual hashbrowned white potatoes. There’s Southwest influence in the Huevos Ranchero Hash, made with black beans, crispy hashed potatoes, cotija cheese, crispy tortillas, fried eggs, avocado, cilantro, charred carne asada and a red chili sauce. And the restaurateur known for Tomaso’s includes Mediterranean influence in dishes such as Paella Hash, made with caramelized onions, jumbo shrimp, chicken, sausage, potatoes, manchego cheese, saffron hollandaise and fried onions.

Specialties of the house range from dessert-worthy French toasts – Banana Split Brioche, S’Mores — and French Toast Bread Pudding to Flat Iron Steak & Eggs. An assortment of eggs Benedict includes the Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict, with Hollandaise sauce over roasted tomatoes, sautéed spinach, crispy capers and smoked salmon that’s fresh (if we can say that about a smoke fish) and tasty. There’s Herb Fried Chicken & Waffle on the menu as well.

While the emphasis is on breakfast dishes, there’s also a nice variety of usual and unusual salads, sandwich and burgers, such as the Blackened Shrimp Loui salad made with butter lettuce, grape tomatoes, avocado, cucumber, hardboiled eggs and chili mayo; the SBLT made with mesquitesmoked salmon, bacon, tomato, Bibb lettuce and a spicy remoulade; and a no-meat Quinoa Burger.

Locations now cover the central Valley north to south, and the fast service also makes this a convenient choice for a “power lunch.”

Hash Kitchen 14838 N. Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd., Scottsdale • (480) 361-5228 8777 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale • (480) 947-3214 2855 W. Ray Rd., Chandler • (480) 909-4270 hashkitchen.com

Smoothie Moves In the heavy heat of summer, a smoothie can be a satisfying lunch as well as a refreshing drink. Here are some restaurants that allow patrons to increase the nutritional value with some whey protein or any of their own selection of add-ins.

Juby True by True Food Kitchen

Luci’s at the Orchard

Nékter Juice Bar

Health-focused menu offers smoothies,

Juices and smoothies, made with

Offering smoothies

juices, almond “mylks” along with a few

fresh fruits and vegetables,

plus a wide selection of

salads and some snacks and sweets.

share the menu with coffees and

juices and fusion blends,

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heartier choices for breakfast

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Top Bankers

BY RAEANNE MARSH

Summer 2O18 • aztechcouncil.org

IN THIS ISSUE 2 Impact of an Industry

Arizona Technology Report

Arizona Technology Council: The Voice of the Technology Industry

President’s Message

It’s not often that you get a front row seat to history. Make that the driver’s seat.

That’s what has been happening in 4 Vote TechSmart Arizona, which has turned into a highWork is a year-round effort to profile technology proving ground for prepare Legislature endorsements autonomous, or “self-driving,” vehicles.

6 Breaking the Mold Consider some of the companies that Students take the lead at national have turned our roads into their labs STEM conference — Google, Ford, General Motors, Intel 7 It Takes a Team and Uber — and you can understand Annual Report reflects combined why everyone up to Gov. Doug Ducey is Steven G. Zylstra, efforts to make things happen President and CEO, Arizona excited about the role our state is playing Technology Council in a frontier far different from our Wild West heritage.

All of this activity offers economic activity that benefits all of Arizona, whether you are The Arizona Technology Council is Arizona’s premier trade association for directly involved in the research, part of the new vehicle supply chain developing or a citizen science and technology companies. who benefits from the added tax revenue generated.

Recent proof that this is serious business with big dollars at stake was the announcement Phoenix Office by Google spinoff Waymo that it will launch an autonomous taxi service in Phoenix later this 2800 N. Central Ave., Suite 1530 year before expanding into other U.S. markets. The company has ordered up to 62,000 specially Phoenix, AZ 85004 Phone: 602-343-8324 • Fax: 602-343-8330 modified Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans for this nationwide initiative, joining the 600 other info@aztechcouncil.org Pacifica Hybrids already in its fleet.

When you think about it, it wasn’t that long ago when Arizonans even heard of Waymo. The Tucson Office company began its testing here in 2016 then removed drivers from behind the wheel in 2017.

The University of Arizona Science and There have been so many other landmarks along the way. Uber was another pioneer as its Technology Park 9040 S. Rita Rd., Ste. 1150 (near I-10 & Rita Rd.) fleet of vehicles logged countless miles on Phoenix area streets during testing. While the fatal Tucson, AZ 85747 accident involving a bicyclist in Tempe suspended the company’s testing here, Uber is committed Phone: 520-382-3281 • Fax: 520-382-3299 to resuming testing in the United States. tucson@aztechcouncil.org Traditional automakers are even claiming a part of the action here. GM operates an IT Innovation Center in Chandler. Ford is checking its own vehicles at its test track MANAGEMENT AND STAFF near Wittmann.

Steven G. Zylstra President + CEO To help gain additional traction, partnerships have been formed. Even before Leigh Goldstein COO + Vice President, Programs + Events Waymo began its tests, Uber and The University of Arizona began working to Linda Surovick Director, Finance + Administration Lauren Witte Director, Marketing + Communication support research and development of state-of-the-art lenses and sensors, which help Deborah Zack Senior Director, Membership Services autonomous vehicles navigate. Waymo partnered with Intel’s Center of Excellence in Meredith Orr Director, Membership Services Laura DeGeorge Executive Assistant to President + CEO Autonomous Vehicles to design, build, and test its vehicles.

Jeff Sales Executive Director, Southern Arizona Regional Office Others are making progress on a more intimate scale. Arizona-based Local Jamie Neilson Operations Manager, Southern Arizona Regional Office Motors has been working on Olli, even tapping into IBM Watson to make the shuttle Don Rodriguez Editor Ron Schott Executive Emeritus, Phoenix “friendlier” to meet the needs of a variety of passengers. From its offices in Tucson Don Ruedy Executive Emeritus, Tucson and China, TuSimple is working on perfecting autonomous big tractor trailers.

Justin Williams Executive Emeritus, Tucson When you consider more than 5,000 students graduate annually from Arizona ARIZONA TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL FOUNDATION State University with an engineering degree and 76 million autonomous vehicles Jeremy Babendure, Ph.D., Executive Director are forecast to be sold by 2035, according to Greater Phoenix Economic Council, it Kelly Green, Director, Arizona Operations appears the Phoenix area and rest of the state are driven to share this new success Bruce Jones, National Systems Manager Kindra Maples, CSO Systems Coordinator since we can supply the talent to fuel this promising industry.

Dynamic snapshot of state tech scene features latest data analysis

WHO WE ARE

Marisa Ostos, Director, Arizona SciTech Festival Jasper Pena, IT Support Kaci Fankhauser, AmeriCorps VISTA Kal Mannis, AZ Rural and International Initiatives Sabrina Foy, Accounting Assistant

aztechcouncil.org

ARIZONA TECHNOLOGY REPORT

1

Impact of an Industry

Dynamic snapshot of state tech scene features latest data analysis It was a rather simple question: How many technology-based companies are in Arizona?

A few publications had put the total at more than 8,000. But staff at the Arizona Technology Council weren’t buying it since they didn’t see that many companies as they made their contacts in the sector here.

They needed some proof.

That came with the new Arizona Technology Council Industry Impact Report, a lively analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CompTIA, AngelList and others. The report is available at: http://bit.ly/aztech-impact-report To help compile the right data for this report based on current information, Steven G. Zylstra, the Council’s president and CEO, went through all of the NAICS (North American Industry Classification

2

ARIZONA TECHNOLOGY REPORT

System) codes and identified every code under which at least one of his member companies would qualify. He was guided by the seven verticals upon which the Council focuses: • aerospace, aviation, defense and manufacturing • energy • health and bioscience • information technology • optics • semiconductors and electronics • telecommunications Once the data was run, the Council had its proof: 8,010 firms. “That was interesting to us,” Zylstra says.

The wheels for this project actually started turning a few years ago when Zylstra met the principals of eImpact, an Oregon-based organization that creates Web-based data-reporting solutions designed to help engage stakeholders, drive effective policy and create new growth.

He was familiar with work eImpact had done work for the Technology Association of Oregon, whose leadership spoke highly of the company.

When Zylstra headed the Pittsburgh Technology Council, his group commissioned a group of economists from Carnegie Mellon University to do a state-of-the-industry study, so he was familiar with the level of numbers crunching and expense that could be involved. What intrigued him with eImpact was the technology platform they had built to garner the data and the relatively low cost associated with doing so. The target remained the same. “The idea was — then and for this new version — to collect all the data that helped define the sort of innovation/ technology ecosystem,” he says.

What helped in generating the Arizona Technology Council Industry Impact Report was eImpact’s previous work with the Oregon group and the Utah Technology Council, says Erin Barbaro, who leads its client services.

“We’re trying to help organizations create things that are really interactive and dynamic that they can share with others and people can kind of dig in and explore on their own,” she says, adding that eImpact also works with a number of cities and regional development organizations interested in learning more about the geographic impact of their communities.

With expertise in the data arena, Barbaro stayed closely involved with the Arizona project as they were looking at unique data sets outside of the core sets established with the two other technology groups. “Steve and his team, they definitely had some core objectives that they were working on around workforce development and, in particular, some of the activities they’re doing around tracking all the investment that’s gone into the state,” Barbaro says. “That was something a bit new in terms of the tech councils that we had been working with.”

Zylstra says some attributes of the ecosystem that define its robustness well are how much is being invested and generated in research. That includes both corporate entities such as Intel with its IOT Center of Excellence and the state academic institutions that raise money, through the federal systems like the National Institutes of Health that invest in research to develop new innovations leading to new technologies and new products through technology transfer.

“We wanted to know about startups and spinouts. We wanted to know about patents, one of the measurements of your innovation capacity,” he says. “And what was cool about both the platform and their data

aztechcouncil.org

collection techniques is they can go back decades in some cases and look at the data so you can see the trends over the years.”

Another area of focus was Small Business Innovation Research awards, which are the largest investment in technology innovation in the nation. Zylstra says the federal government spends $2 billion annually through 11 agencies on research done by small technology companies.

“Those are some of the highlights that we wanted to capture — those things that define both the existing magnitude and trends associated with the growth of the technology sector in Arizona,” he says.

“It was really focusing on the innovation and the technology investments such as [venture capital] firms and also the small-business development grants and that kind of thing that they’ve been really involved in,” Barbaro says of the Arizona effort. “Those were unique to this state.”

In addition, the Council wanted the report to include employment data and its trends: what’s up, what’s down and how many people are employed in the tech industry in Arizona. “Of course, these are the highest-paying, highest-quality jobs as well, so that’s a pretty significant number,” Zylstra says.

To prevent the report being, as Barbaro puts it, one “that’s generated maybe once every couple of years then sits on a shelf,” technology is at the heart. That is due in large part to availability of data and open data standards. “Our interface can directly pipe into the sources of the data and ask the data source to update that information where we’re able to get it instantly,” she says. “It’s instant as soon as the source updates it.” For the Council, this means its report can be periodically updated without investing huge amounts of money in redoing the work again because they already have the data sources that feed into the platform. While updates could be done often, Zylstra says the plan now is to do them quarterly.

So far, the feedback on the report and the information it offers is positive. “I think people want to know from a strategic standpoint that the economy is moving in the right direction,” he says. “I think tracking our success is important. I think people appreciate that.”

Another reason for favorable comments is the report focuses on what the Council does, and doesn’t try to match the results that can found in technology community updates issued by other groups.

“We’re trying to be more broad, comprehensive,” Zylstra says. “Our data set is more reflective of the constituency that the Arizona Technology Council serves.”

ARIZONA TECHNOLOGY REPORT

3

2018 VOTE TECHS MART

Vote TechSmart

A PLAC

E TO

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ARIZONA TECHNOLOGY REPORT

and sends it out to all incumbents and new legislative candidates who have filed to run in the upcoming election. Here’s an example of the questions asked in the most recent survey: Arizona boasts a wide impact to both national security and our state economy with over 1,200 companies in aerospace, aviation and defense representing thousands of high-paying private-sector, military and civil service jobs, including those at military installations across the state. What do you feel can be done to protect and enhance Arizona’s competitiveness when it comes to the aerospace, aviation and defense sector of the state economy?

Any new candidate seeking a Council endorsement also must agree to a June interview with members of the committee and its lobbying firm, Public Policy Partners (P3). This year, more than 60 candidates were interviewed. After the interviews, the Council sends out a press release with a list of endorsements.

When published in the Vote TechSmart Guide, however, the endorsements feature more than a list. The names are accompanied by brief highlights of what each candidate indicated in his or her survey and interview, if applicable. Every recommendation is earned.

“The committee sometimes endorses multiple

ECT +

GROW AZTE CHCO

Work is a year-round effort to prepare Legislature endorsements As every other session of the Arizona Legislature ends, the campaigning to fill seats of both chambers in the next session begins in earnest. But long before the drop of the gavel, a small group of people has already been working on the election outcome — except you won’t find any of their names on a ballot.

They are members of the Arizona Technology Council’s Public Policy Committee who work to develop endorsements of those candidates they believe will best represent the state’s technology scene if elected. The recommendations and other information from the committee can be found in the biennial Vote TechSmart Guide published by the Arizona Technology Council.

Work starts as the legislative session proceeds each year and the committee members track the outcomes. “The legislative priorities for the technology industry that are championed and supported by the Council are a key starting point,” says Ron Schott, the Council’s executive emeritus who serves as staff liaison to the committee. “We seek legislators to sponsor and support bills that will make the technology industry in the state of Arizona thrive and grow.”

As alternating sessions end, Schott explains, the committee generates a survey

CONN

UNCIL

.ORG

candidates from the same party in the same district and sometimes endorses no candidate from any party,” Schott says.

The performances of incumbents are graded in the “Tech Hot, Tech Not” section of the guide. Grades are determined through a two-fold process that includes legislators’ responses to a survey. After the legislative session ends, the committee tallies the votes by all the legislators on 12 to 15 bills critical to the Council and weighs whether they have followed through on what they claim in the survey. The committee then awards each incumbent a grade that reflects the past two years he or she has served. Schott says some legislators support all bills favored by the Council, usually bringing them an “A” grade.

This grading also guides the Public Policy Committee in selections later for the top legislators of the year and top senator and representative of the year. This group is recognized at the annual Governor’s Celebration of Innovation in early November.

The Council also has a state political action committee (PAC) funded by individual members, committee members and board members. Funds are used to assist many of the endorsed candidates in their campaigning, Schott says.

Arizona Technology Council Endorsements Brief explanations of why candidates were named are in the complete Vote TechSmart Guide available at www.aztechcouncil.org.

Senate: District 1: Karen Fann (R) District 2: Andrea Dalessandro (D), Shelley Kais (R) District 4: Lisa Otondo (D) District 5: Sonny Borrelli (R) District 6: Sylvia Allen (R) District 7: Jamescita Peshlakai (D) District 8: Frank Pratt (R) District 9: Jim Love (D) District 10: David Bradley (D) District 11: Vince Leach (R) District 12: Jimmy Lindblom (R) District 14: Drew John (R) District 15: Heather Carter (R) District 16: David Farnsworth (R) District 17: J.D. Mesnard (R) District 18: Sean Bowie (D) District 19: Lupe Contreras (D) District 20: Paul Boyer (R) District 21: Rick Gray (R) District 22: David Livingston (R) District 24: Lela Alston (D) District 28: Kate Brophy McGee (R) District 30: Tony Navarrete (D)

House of Representatives: District 1: Noel Campbell (R) District 2: J. Chris Ackerley (R), Daniel Hernandez (D) District 3: Andrés Cano (D), Alma Hernandez (D) District 4: Charlene Fernandez (D) District 5: Regina Cobb (R) District 6: Bob Thorpe (R) District 8: David Cook (R), T.J. Shope (R) District 9: Randall Friese (D), JP Martin (D) District 10: Todd Clodfelter (R), Kirsten Engel (D) District 11: Mark Finchem (R) District 12: Warren Petersen (R), Blake Sacha (R) District 13: Darin Mitchell (R), Tim Dunn (R) District 14: Becky Nutt (R), Gail Griffin (R)

District 15: John Allen (R), Nancy Barto (R) District 17: Jeff Weninger (R) District 18: Jill Norgaard (R) District 19: Diego Espinoza (D) District 20: Anthony Kern (R), Chris Gilfillan (D) District 21: Kevin Payne (R), Tony Rivero (R) District 22: Ben Toma (R) District 23: Jay Lawrence (R), John Kavanagh (R) District 24: Ken Clark (D), John Glenn (D) District 25: Rusty Bowers (R), Michelle Udall (R) District 27: Reginald Bolding (D) District 28: Kelli Butler (D), Maria Syms (R) District 29: Cesar Chavez (D) District 30: Robert Meza (D), Bill Brotherton (D)

Tech Hot, Tech Not Critical to the grades are incumbents’ voting records on issues affecting technology.

Grade A Sen. Sonny Borrelli Sen. Sean Bowie Sen. Kate Brophy McGee Sen. Karen Fann Sen. Rick Gray Sen. Gail Griffin Sen. Frank Pratt Sen. Bob Worsley Sen. Steve Yarbrough Sen. Kimberly Yee Rep. Noel Campbell Rep. Heather Carter Rep. Todd Clodfelter Rep. Regina Cobb Rep. Doug Coleman Rep. David Cook Rep. Drew John Rep. Jay Lawrence Rep. David Livingston Rep. Becky Nutt Rep. TJ Shope Rep. Bob Thorpe Rep. Michelle Udall Rep. Jeff Weninger

aztechcouncil.org

Grade B Sen. Sylvia Allen Sen. Nancy Barto Sen. David Bradley Sen. Judy Burges Sen. Lupe Contreras Sen. Andrea Dalessandro Sen. Steve Farley Sen. David Farnsworth Sen. John Kavanagh Sen. Sine Kerr Sen. Robert Meza Sen. Catherine Miranda Sen. Lisa Otondo Sen. Jamescita Peshlakai Sen. Warren Petersen Sen. Steve Smith Rep. John Allen Rep. Lela Alston Rep. Brenda Barton Rep. Reginald Bolding Rep. Rusty Bowers

Rep. Paul Boyer Rep. Kelli Butler Rep. Cesar Chavez Rep. Ken Clark Rep. Tim Dunn Rep. Kirsten Engel Rep. Diego Espinoza Rep. Charlene Fernandez Rep. Mark Finchem Rep. Randa Friese Rep. Daniel Hernandez Rep. Anthony Kern Rep. Vince Leach Rep. J.D. Mesnard Rep. Darin Mitchell Rep. Tony Navarette Rep. Jill Norgaard Rep. Kevin Payne Rep. Tony Rivero Rep. Maria Syms Rep. Ben Toma

Grade C Sen. Olivia Cajero Bedford Rep. Richard Andrade Rep. Mark Cardenas Rep. Eddie Farnsworth Rep. Rosanna Gabaldon Rep. Travis Grantham

Rep. Ray Martinez Rep. Paul Mosley Rep. Macario Saldate Rep. David Stringer Rep. Kelly Townsend

Grade D Sen. Katie Hobbs Sen. Juan Mendez Sen. Martin Quezada Rep. Wenona Benally

Rep. Eric Descheenie Rep. Mitzi Epstein Rep. Rebecca Rios Rep. Michelle Ugenti-Rita

Grade F Rep. Isela Blanc Rep. Sally Ann Gonzales Rep. Geraldine Peten

Rep. Pamela Powers Hannley Rep. Athena Salman

ARIZONA TECHNOLOGY REPORT

5

Breaking the Mold

Students take the lead at national STEM conference It’s not the norm.

When it comes to presentations at the Institute for Learning Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers conference, it’s not the supposed-to-be-theadults learning — let alone even hearing — from children. But then again, participants in the Chief Science Officers (CSO) program do anything but follow the norm.

Recipients of National Science Foundation (NSF) grants are invited to talk about their programs at the annual conference staged by the STEM Learning and Research (STELAR) Center near NSF’s Alexandria, Va., headquarters. It’s rare to even mingle with others at the conference due to its immense size. At least, that was the experience last year of Jeremy Babendure, executive director of the Arizona Technology Council Foundation, which counts CSOs among its programs.

What a difference a year makes.

This time, the students staged their own panel workshop in addition to presenting during the poster session. They also appeared

Arizona Chief Science Officers Shalae (right foreground, 7th grade) and Brandon (right background, 9th grade) discuss their program with attendees of the STELAR ITEST Principal Investigator and Evaluator Summit.

on panels of other grant recipients’ sessions.

Babendure estimated at least three-fourths of all conference participants had interacted with the CSOs at some point. “I think [NSF was] looking for an opportunity to make this happen,” Babendure says. “And what better way than to leverage one of their funded programs to do that.”

NSF awarded the foundation and the Institute for Learning a $1 million research grant to evaluate the CSO program and the effectiveness of its K-12 and business/ industry/community partnership model.

“I think they recognize the importance of student voice,” Babendure says. “It helps to build our respective rapport with NSF

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ARIZONA TECHNOLOGY REPORT

2800 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85004 602.343.8324

2017 Annual

Events 32.1% | $515,2 10

Suite 1530,

c/o Global Advantage 1550, 9070 South Rita Road, Suite Tucson, Arizona 85747 520.382.3281

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Membersh ip 27.2% | $468,2 85 Arizona Tech nology Coun cil REVE EXPE NUE NDIT

BY SOU URESRCE Fiscal Year 2017

Marketing 13.6% | $234,7 28 Programs & Events 28.3% | $486,5 29

REPORT 2017

It Takes a Team

ANNUAL

aztechcouncil.org

5

Administr ation 20.2% | $346,8 52

Membersh ip 40.7% | $652,9 26

Arizona Tech nology Coun cil REVENUE

BY SOURCE Fiscal Year 2017

aztechcouncil.org ncil.org membership@aztechcou

Chief Science Officers from Arizona and Michigan with Nancy Welch (front center) of the National Science Foundation

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Sc.D. (Ho G. Zylstra, Steven

T 2017 REPOR ANNUAL

because they can actually see us in action doing what we say we’re doing. We also increase our credibility with potentially getting additional grants.”

Also helping was the fact that two CSOs from Michigan joined the four from Arizona to make the presentations.

NSF earlier awarded a supplemental $100,000 grant to extend evaluation of Phoenix the program’s rollout to national and international regions. “We had been Tucson growing so quickly that when we got the [initial] grant, we hadn’t even projected we would have other states by now,” Babendure says.

For CSOs who go on trips such as this, they become more engaged and enthusiastic about the program because they see its potential. Says Babendure, “It’s a huge confidence booster for them and it rallies them.”

The same students also become part of the CSO Leadership Council, which means they are called upon to help with and co-facilitate sessions at events such as the annual Summer Institute, which was scheduled to be held in mid-July at Arizona State University. The Summer Institute offers students the chance to focus on creating action plans for their schools in the upcoming school year.

With ASU as the host this year, other university partners including The Biodesign Institute, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the Department of Chemistry provide inspirational experiences to build the CSOs’ interest and excitement about science, Babendure says. Also, for the first time, the CSOs in Arizona are expected to get a taste of the international outreach as 20 students from Kuwait and another 15 from the Mexican state of Sonora were scheduled to attend the Summer Institute.

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39

Annual Report reflects combined efforts to make things happen While the year 2017 was one in which the Arizona Technology Council continued to best represent the interests of the state’s technology community, perhaps it was the partnerships that evolved during the year that demonstrate exceptional results can happen when people work together.

Examples of such results are among the details of Council achievements included in the 2017 Annual Report, a recap of the year’s activities and results. To access the complete report, go to bit.ly/aztech-annual-report.

Examples of how the Council coordinated with others for lasting impact occurred in public policy work at the Arizona Capitol. Heading the efforts was the Public Policy Committee, which often teamed with lobbying firm Public Policy Partners (P3) to work on the Council’s agenda. A prime example of the level of achievable results was their working with lawmakers to help get the Angel Investment Tax Credit recapitalized.

House Bill 2191, as it was formally known, passed through the Legislature and Gov. Doug Ducey ultimately signed the measure into law.

Senate Bill 1114, originally designed to maintain Arizona’s “dark skies” so researchers can conduct their studies with minimal light pollution, faced modification attempts at the 11th hour. Again, P3 successfully kept the bill on track until it eventually passed in the Legislature before gaining the governor’s signature.

Sometimes the teamwork to get things done starts with lawmakers themselves. The state’s enhanced R&D tax credit was to sunset in 2018, so an extension was needed. Rep. Jeff Weninger initially sponsored House Bill 2492, but the push ultimately was driven by Sen. Frank Pratt’s Senate Bill 1416, which covered multiple different programs. The measure

ultimately made it through the Legislature and was signed by the governor to extend the credit through the 2021 tax year.

Members of the Council’s Public Policy Committee claimed another type of victory, as explained in the annual report. Their 2017 Public Policy Guide designed to detail the Council’s agenda for lawmakers, members and other stakeholders was awarded the Excellence in Communications Award by the Arizona Society of Association Executives.

The Council also works with other groups in the state. An example cited in the annual report is its working collaboratively with the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce Foundation (GPCF) to develop solutions with employers, educators and community partners that better address identified skill gaps by aligning needs with education and training. This skills gap is impacting the ability of companies to expand.

Availability of a skilled labor force has become the top priority for companies looking to expand or relocate. According to a recent study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, approximately 49 percent of employers indicated they were unable to fill open positions. In Arizona, more than 6,000 of those positions are in cybersecurity.

Members of the Council have partnered with GPCF’s Cybersecurity Workforce Collaborative to lead and advance this critical work by developing a continuum of workplace experiences and sharing best practices that help develop the cybersecurity talent needed in Arizona. The group consists of industry professionals, educators and training partners working to address talent shortages of security analysts at the junior, mid and senior levels.

ARIZONA TECHNOLOGY REPORT

7

2018 Governor’s Celebration of Innovation:

Transformation Thursday, November 8 | 4:00-8:30PM at Phoenix Convention Center This event is the premier awards gala in Arizona recognizing innovative thinkers and technologists from across the state. Attracting more than 850 attendees each year for a night of networking, food, and entertainment, 2018 marks the 15th year of this prestigious event.

AZTC Members: $125 | Non-Members: $150 Sponsorships Starting at $2,500

Learn more and register at aztechcouncil.org/event/gcoi2018/

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ARIZONA HAS DONE a remarkable job of diversifying its economy since the Great Recession.

With the incredible growth we are now experiencing, we will continue to thrive in many areas. Our banks are an indispensable partner to the business community here. In this “Excellence in Banking” special section, In Business Magazine has compiled a list of some remarkable Arizona banks and their senior bankers as a reference for the business community to get to know these leaders and strong proponents of business.

According to the most recent data available from the American Bankers Association (http://bit. ly/az-banks-impact), the banking industry here fuels Arizona’s economic growth with new home, small-business and farm loans to 7.6 million customers. In 2016 alone, Arizona’s banks booked 54,458 new home loans valued at $15.6 billion. Our banks had $6.4 billion in outstanding smallbusiness loans and close to $152 million in small-farm loans that year as well.

Arizona’s banks are also giving back in the form of employment, tax revenue and philanthropy.

The 67 banks operating in our state insure close to $125 billion in deposits and operate out of 1,224 branches and offices throughout the state. In 2016, Arizona’s banks employed close to 55,000 people, providing more than $4.7 billion in total compensation. These are relatively high-wage jobs with benefits that also provide significant tax revenue at all levels of government. Those employees, in turn, donated more than 260,000 volunteer hours to philanthropy and charity work in our communities.

I hope you find this to be a strong reference and useful tool for getting to know those behind our great banking institutions here in Metropolitan Phoenix. These institutions are tirelessly working to assist those building businesses within our community and are unsurpassed in their efforts to support strong financial success.

Please enjoy this “Excellence in Banking” special section.

Sincerely,

Paul Hickman CEO & President Arizona Bankers Association

Excellence in Banking

Profiles of the Top Valley Bankers & their Companies

FEATURING Jeff V. Friesen, Enterprise Bank & Trust Don Garner, Alliance Bank of Arizona Steve Richins, Comerica Bank

Banking Matters to Business In Business Magazine is proud to present the first annual “Excellence in Banking” special section showcasing top bankers and bank executives in the Valley. These top professionals work day in and day out with business owners to assist in ways that can only be classified as a true asset to business. We sought out professionals at each of the community and national banks with a strong local presence and hand-picked the following as examples of the incredible work that our banking community does, and in a financial climate that is mired in regulation and change.

Thanks go out to all the banks in metropolitan Phoenix, who responded to our request for suggestions and assistance in compiling this section and for working with us throughout the years on various articles and editorial so that our readership is in the know when it comes to banking business. We also thank the Arizona Bankers Association and Paul Hickman for their leadership and steadfast support of the banking community here. With technology and government regulation, banks are quickly adapting to change, and business truly benefits from their incredible work.

Alex H. Shaffer, Meadows Bank

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TOP BANKS Alerus Bank 17045 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85255 Contact: Rob Schwister Phone: (480) 905-2407 Website: alerusfinancial.com Types of Loans/Services: SBA loans, term loans, lines of credit Alliance Bank of Arizona 1 E. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85004 Contact: Don Garner Phone: (602) 389-3500 Website: alliancebankofarizona.com Types of Loans/Services: corporate banking, commercial real estate lending, public finance, business and professional banking, SBA lending, treasury management services, nonprofit financing, equipment financing Arizona Bank & Trust 2036 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85016 Contact: Troy Norris Phone: (480) 844-4558 Website: arizbank.com Types of Loans/Services: commercial loans, including lines of credit, equipment, real estate, construction Arizona Business Bank 2600 N. Central Ave., Ste. 2000, Phoenix, AZ 85004 Contact: Kyle Kennedy Phone: (602) 240-2700 Website: azbizbank.com Types of Loans/Services: revolving lines of credit, term loans, letters of credit, real estate, SBA loans Bank of America, NA 201 E. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85004 Contact: Small Business Banking Phone: (888) 287-4637 Website: bankofamerica.com Types of Loans/Services: lines of credit, term loans, SBA lending Bank of Arizona, NA 16767 N. Perimeter Dr., Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Contact: David Rolston Phone: (602) 808-5331 Website: bankofarizona.com Types of Loans/Services: revolving lines of credit, real estate lines of credit, equipment or vehicle term loans, real estate term loans, construction financing, equipment leasing, SBA loans BBVA Compass Bank 4010 E. Thomas Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85018 Contact: Dominique Morales Phone: (602) 522-2580 Website: bbvacompass.com Types of Loans/Services: SBA loans, lines of credit, commercial real estate lending, working capital financing, residential construction, energy lending, business leasing, business credit cards

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BMO Harris Bank 1 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85012 Contact: Don Satiroff Phone: (602) 650-3850 Website: bmoharris.com Types of Loans/Services: business and corporate lending, lines of credit, equipment leasing, asset-based lending, commercial real estate, SBA & community development loans, treasury management services BNC National Bank 20175 N. 67 Ave., Glendale, AZ 85308 Contact: Scott Spillman Phone: (602) 508-3760 Website: bncbank.com Types of Loans/Services: revolving lines of credit for short-term operating needs, working capital loans, term loans for business equipment, commercial real estate loans, SBA loans, 504 commercial real estate loans, business agricultural loans, letters of credit Comerica Bank 425 S. Mill Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281 Contact: Holly Pennington Phone: (480) 966-0846 Website: comerica.com Types of Loans/Services: commercial property loans, business lines of credit, business loans, credit cards Commerce Bank of Arizona 4110 N. Scottsdale Rd., Ste. 120, Scottsdale, AZ 85251 Contact: Chris Webster Phone: (480) 253-4511 Website: commercebankaz.com Types of Loans/Services: all types of business loans, including lines of credit, equipment loans, acquisition finanacing, commercial construction, commercial real estate, SBA loans Enterprise Bank & Trust 3900 E. Camelback Rd., Ste. 180, Phoenix, AZ 85018 Contact: Jeff V. Friesen Phone: (602) 824-5700 Website: enterprisebank.com Types of Loans/Services: commercial loans, equipment, real estate, construction, SBA loans, lines of credit First Fidelity Bank 6232 N. 32nd St., Phoenix, AZ 85018 Phone: (602) 912-5555 Website: ﬈.com Types of Loans/Services: revolving lines of credit, commercial real estate, residential real estate, equipment, SBA, oil & gas production loans, commercial leasing First International Bank & Trust 2231 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85016 Contact: Ben Jarman Phone: (480) 946-2967 Website: firstintlbank.com Types of Loans/Services: commercial lending, SBA loans, mortgages

FirstBank 4925 N. 20th St., Phoenix, AZ 85016 Contact: Humphrrey Shin Phone: (602) 667-6900 Website: efirstbank.com Types of Loans/Services: commercial real estate, construction, SBA loans, lines of credit, residential real estate Gateway Bank 6860 E. Warner Rd., Mesa, AZ 85212 Contact: James L. Christensen Phone: (480) 358-1000 Website: gcbaz.com Types of Loans/Services: commercial lending Goldwater Bank 2525 E. Camelback Rd., Ste. 1100, Scottsdale, AZ 85016 Contact: Julie Merhegee Phone: (480) 281-8200 Website: goldwaterbank.com Types of Loans/Services: business lending, mortgage lending, consumer lending Great Western Bank 1721 N. Arizona Ave., Ste. 1, Chandler, AZ 85225 Contact: David Telya Phone: (480) 917-0139 Website: greatwesternbank.com Types of Loans/Services: commercial and consumer loans JPMorgan Chase 201 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85004 Contact: Craig Zollinger Phone: (800) 242-7324 Website: chase.com Types of Loans/Services: commercial lending, SBA lending Johnson Bank 3131 E. Camelback Rd., Ste. 100, Phoenix, AZ 85016 Contact: Cathy Camacho Phone: (602) 381-2100 Website: johnsonbank.com Types of Loans/Services: lines of credit, commercial mortgages, equipment leasing, SBA loans KS StateBank 5110 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85012 Contact: Frank Coumides Phone: (602) 332-7828 Website: ksstatebank.com Types of Loans/Services: commercial loans to small and mid-sized businesses for equipment, real estate, expansion Meadows Bank 2141 E. Camelback Rd., Suite 120, Phoenix, AZ 85016 Contact: Alex H. Shaffer Phone: (602) 474-5000 Website: meadowsbank.bank Types of Loans/Services: business term loans and lines of credit, commercial real estate loans, law firm and medical practice financing, SBA lending, HOA lending, depository services

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Excellence in Banking

Jeff V. Friesen

President of the Arizona Region, Enterprise Bank & Trust

Jeff V. Friesen is the President of the Arizona Region. He is responsible for overseeing current clients’ business and personal banking needs and generating new commercial loan relationships. Friesen is also responsible for C&I and CRE Lending, as well as, all Tax Credit Finance, which included New Market Tax Credit, Opportunity Zones and Historical Tax Credits.

Enterprise Bank & Trust is a financial services partner focused on guiding people to a lifetime of financial success. Our activities fall into three main categories, all related to growth. We: • Empower private businesses to improve their success • Help families to secure their financial futures • And invest in our communities to advance quality of life.

Enterprise Bank & Trust offers a range of business and personal banking services, and wealth management services as well as specialized expertise that other banks don’t have including aircraft financing, enterprise value lending, tax credit services and life insurance premium finance. We are committed to supporting communities we serve in our current markets of St. Louis, Kansas City and Phoenix by investing in regional economic development initiatives and by continuing

to strengthen Enterprise University, our highly acclaimed business education program available to current and prospective clients at no charge.

financial capability of the communities where you live, work, and serve through unique digital education programs.

OUR WORK IN STATISTICS

• Founded as a startup in St. Louis in 1988.

• Our net promoter score (NPS) is 65 – almost double the industry average of 34.

• The average tenure of associates is 7 years (considered excellent in the banking industry).

• Over 17,500 educated at no cost through Enterprise University.

RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS

• Ranked #49 on S&P Global Market Intelligence’s list of top 100 banks for 2017.

• Winner of 5 Greenwich Excellence Awards for outstanding banking based on interviews with nearly 25,000 executives across the country.

• We were ranked #14 out of 161 banks in our size range based on financial performance scorecard in Bank Director magazine • National Award of Merit from Boys and Girls Club presented to a corporation that provides outstanding support to local Clubs.

• Everfi award for innovation based on extraordinary efforts to improve the

About Banker of Excellence: Jeff Friesen Position: President – Arizona Region Company Name: Enterprise Bank & Trust Main Local Office Address: 3900 E. Camelback Rd., Suite 180, Phoenix, AZ 85018 Phone: (602) 824-5744 Website: www.enterprisebank.com Number of Offices in Metro Phoenix: 2 Year Established Locally: 2009 Headquartered: Clayton, MO No. of Years with Firm: 6 Industry Expertise: C&I and CRE Lending, Tax Credit Finance including New Market Tax Credit, Opportunity Zones, Historical Tax Credits

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TOP BANKS (con't) Metro Phoenix Bank 4686 E. Van Buren St., Ste. 150, Phoenix, AZ 85008 Contact: Michael Morano Phone: (602) 346-1800 Website: metrophoenixbank.com Types of Loans/Services: commercial lending MidFirst Bank 3030 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85016 Contact: Jeff Lowe Phone: (602) 801-5000 Website: midfirst.com Types of Loans/Services: SBA loans, business express loans, business lines of credit, business term loans, commercial real estate lending, business equipment lease financing Mutual of Omaha Bank 9200 E. Pima Center Pkwy., Scottsdale, AZ 85258 Contact: Kevin Halloran Phone: (480) 458-2249 Website: mutualofomahabank.com Types of Loans/Services: commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, SBA, mortgage, personal and association lending

National Bank of Arizona 6001 N. 24th St., Phoenix, AZ 85016 Contact: Mike Casa Phone: (602) 235-6000 Website: nbarizona.com Types of Loans/Services: consumer, residential real estate, commercial, corporate, treasury management, commercial real estate, wealth management, nonprofit, energy lending

Pinnacle Bank 14287 N. 87th St., Ste. 123, Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Contact: Tim Romano, Scott Willits Phone: (480) 609-0055 Website: pinnaclebankaz.com Types of Loans/Services: lines of credit, equipment loans, term loans, real estate construction loans, standby letters of credit, SBA loans

Parkway Bank 11011 N. Tatum Blvd., Phoenix, AZ 85028 Contact: Michael Doan Phone: (602) 765-8501 Website: parkwaybank.com Types of Loans/Services: an array of conventional business loans as well as SBA financing

Republic Bank of Arizona 645 E. Missouri Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85012 Contact: Ralph Tapscott Phone: (602) 277-2500 Website: republicbankaz.com Types of Loans/Services: commercial loans and lines of credit, commercial real estate loans, commercial construction loans, SBA loans

Pacific Premier Bank 5055 N. 32nd St., Phoenix, AZ 85018 Contact: Richard Endicott Phone: (602) 992-5055 Website: ppbi.com Types of Loans/Services: commercial lines, SBA, USDA, solar, SFR pools, Arizona Commerce Authority, industrial, treasury management products

Stearns Bank N.A., Arizona 9225 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Contact: Tom Hosier Phone: (480) 314-4200 Website: stearnsbank.com Types of Loans/Services: SBA loans, commercial and construction lending, equipment finance and leasing, USDA rural development loans

Don Garner

CEO, Alliance Bank of Arizona Don H. Garner is chief executive officer of Alliance Bank of Arizona, a key division of Western Alliance Bank, Member FDIC, the largest locally headquartered bank in Arizona and ranked No. 2 on the Forbes 2018 “Best Banks in America” list.

Part of the organization’s original management team, Garner has 30 years of experience in commercial and real estate lending in Arizona. Alliance Bank of Arizona, the go-to banking company for business, delivers unparalleled local market knowledge, expertise and customer service.

Prior to joining Alliance Bank of Arizona, Garner spent 14 years with Valley National Bank focusing on real estate lending in the Tucson and Phoenix markets.

He is an active member of Arizona’s business and philanthropic communities and is currently a member of the board of directors of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council and the Arizona Bankers Association.

He also has served on the boards of the

About Banker of Excellence: Don Garner Position: CEO Company Name: Alliance Bank of Arizona Main Local Office Address: 1 E. Washington St., Suite 1400, Phoenix, AZ 85004 Phone: (602) 389-3500 Website: alliancebankofarizona.com Number of Offices in Metro Phoenix: 10 Year Established Locally: 2003 Headquartered: Phoenix No. of Years with Firm: 15

American Heart Association in Phoenix and the Metropolitan Pima Alliance. As well, Garner is a member of the National Association of Industrial & Office Properties (NAIOP) and the Urban Land Institute.

Industry Expertise: Accounting, Architecture & Engineering, Education, Healthcare, Homeowner Associations, Legal, Manufacturing & Distribution, Municipal & Local Government, Nonprofits, Real Estate & Construction, Renewable Resources, Small Business, Technology, Timeshare Resorts

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Excellence in Banking

Steve Richins

President of the Arizona Market, Comerica Bank On May 1, 2018, Comerica Bank named Steve Richins its Arizona Regional President.

In addition to this role, Richins retained his existing duties as senior vice president and group manager of Commercial Banking.

As regional vice president, Richins oversees business and community development efforts across the Retail, Business and Wealth Management lines of business in Arizona, reporting to Texas Market President Peter L. Sefzik.

“We are delighted to have Steve preside over our Arizona Market,” says Sefzik. “He has demonstrated the ability to build and manage business during his tenure at Comerica, and we are confident the market will reflect that success under his guidance. We anticipate the Arizona market will continue to thrive with Steve at the helm.”

Richins, a 17-year banking veteran, joined Comerica in 2014 as a middle market lender, and has served as the group manager leading the commercial lending effort in Arizona since 2015. Over the last 12 years, Richins

has managed several large corporate, middle market and business banking accounts.

A third-generation Arizonan, Richins is actively involved in the community, volunteering with A New Leaf, Paz de Cristo, Junior Achievement and The Boy Scouts of America.

Richins received his bachelor’s degree in business management with a minor in Spanish from Arizona State University, and his MBA from Grand Canyon University. He is bilingual, fluent in English and Spanish.

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) is a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and strategically aligned by three business segments: The Business Bank, The Retail Bank and Wealth Management.

Comerica focuses on relationships, and helping people and businesses be successful. In addition to Texas, Comerica Bank locations can be found in Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan, with select businesses operating in several other states as well as in Canada and Mexico.

Comerica reported total assets of $72.0 billion at June 30, 2018.

About Banker of Excellence: Steve Richins Position: Arizona Regional President Company Name: Comerica Bank Main Local Office Address: 3200 E. Camelback Rd., Suite 150, Phoenix, AZ 85018 Phone: (602) 333-7469 Website: www.comerica.com Number of Offices in Metro Phoenix: 17 banking centers and 1 main office Year Established Locally: 2000 Headquartered: Dallas, Texas No. of Years with Firm: 4 Industry Expertise: Commercial Banking

High-tech “banking center of the future” located in Maricopa County at 75th Ave. and Thunderbird Rd.

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UMB 2777 E. Camelback Rd., Ste 100, Phoenix, AZ 85018 Contact: Sean Scibienski Phone: (602) 912-6720 Website: umb.com Types of Loans/Services: term/installment loans, business line of credit, SBA loans, commercial loans U.S. Bank — SBA Division Regional Office 2222 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85016 Contact: SBA Division Administrative Office Phone: (800) 431-7101 Website: usbank.com Types of Loans/Services: SBA loans, lines of credit, equipment leasing, term loans, agricultural loans, quick credit, commercial real estate Washington Federal 2196 E. Camelback Rd., Ste. 100, Phoenix, AZ 85016 Contact: Scott Stemm Phone: (602) 553-7434 Website: washingtonfederal.com Types of Loans/Services: commercial lending, commercial real estate financing, lines of credit, term loans, business credit cards, SBA loans Wells Fargo Bank 100 W. Washington St.,, Phoenix, AZ 85003 Contact: Jennifer Anderson Phone: (602) 378- 5133 Website: wellsfargo.com/biz Types of Loans/Services: business loans of all types, including real estate, lines of credit, equipment, SBA

West Valley National Bank 5635 N. Scottsdale Rd., Ste. 150 Scottsdale, AZ 85250 Contact: Debra Ingle Phone: (480) 429-6750 Website: wvnb.net Types of Loans/Services: SBA 7(A), SBA 504, working capital, owner-occupied real estate, A/R lines of credit Western State Bank 7001 N. Scottsdale Rd., Ste. 1000 Scottsdale, AZ 85253 Contact: Shane Randall Phone: (480) 596-0883 Website: westernbanks.com Types of Loans/Services: commercial term loans, commercial lines of credit, construction lines of credit, lease financing, corporate credit cards, agricultural loans

TOP CREDIT UNIONS Arizona Central Credit Union 2020 N. Central Ave., Ste. 800 , Phoenix, AZ 85004 Contact: Jeffrey Frank Phone: (602) 523-8342 Website: azcentralcu.org Types of Loans/Services: SBA loans, commercial real estate loans, lines of credit, term loans

Credit Union West 350 E. Dunlap Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85020 Contact: Business Service Center Phone: (602) 631-3200 Website: cuwest.org Types of Loans/Services: business loans Desert Financial Credit Union 148 N. 48th St., Phoenix, AZ 85034 Contact: Herb Ramirez Phone: (602) 663-8674 Website: desertfinancial.com Types of Loans/Services: working capital financing, equipment loans, owner-occupied real estate, commercial real estate OneAZ Credit Union 2355 W. Pinnacle Peak Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85027 Contact: Pat Blaine Phone: (602) 467-4262 Website: azstcu.org Types of Loans/Services: term loans, unsecured lines of credit, commercial real estate mortgages, business vehicle loans, business credit cards, business overdrafts TruWest Credit Union 1345 W. Warner Rd. , Tempe, AZ 85284 Contact: Daniel Desmond Phone: (480) 441-5900 Website: truwest.org Types of Loans/Services: business loans, secured and unsecured lines of credit, business credit cards, commercial real estate lending, equipment financing

Alex H. Shaffer

Regional President, Meadows Bank Alex Shaffer recently joined Meadows Bank as the regional president in Arizona. He is an 18year veteran of commercial banking in Phoenix, Ariz.; Tucson, Ariz.; Las Vegas, Nev.; and Sacramento, Calif. markets. He has a deep desire to help businesses and owners achieve their short- and long-term goals through promoting, developing and managing innovative credit and banking solutions. Using a consultative approach and focusing on long lasting and expanding relationships, Alex has developed a strong understanding of a variety of industries, including, but not limited to, commercial real estate, construction, manufacturing and automotive. The business owners and entrepreneurs that Alex has the privilege of partnering with make his job exciting and new each day. Shaffer proudly serves on the advisory board of LISC, Arizona, a leading community development organization.

Meadows Bank is a financially strong community banking partner. At Meadows Bank,

About Banker of Excellence: Alex H. Shaffer Position: Regional President Company Name: Meadows Bank Main Local Office Address: 2141 E. Camelback Rd., Suite 120, Phoenix, AZ 85016 Phone: (602) 474-5000 Website: www.meadowsbank.bank Number of Offices in Metro Phoenix: 1

we understand that earning your relationship is a privilege, not an expectation. Our relationshipbased approach to banking allows us to develop close ties with our clients, meet all their banking needs and become their trusted financial advisor. We offer a knowledgeable, friendly staff; an experienced management team; and an exceptional board of directors, along with customized products and services.

Year Established Locally: January 2016 Headquartered: Las Vegas, NV No. of Years with Firm: 1 Industry Expertise: Relationship Management, Commercial Lending, Business Banking, Treasury Management

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WE PUT SOME OF THE VALLEY’S TOP BUSINESS EXPERTS IN ONE PLACE. Business Resource Center. You need timely, relevant information to help you manage your business. But finding it can be a hassle. That’s why SRP has partnered with local business organizations to bring you professional insights on everything from marketing and human resources, to financing and forecasting.

All in one place. All from experts in their fields. SRP is happy to provide this free service because what’s good for business is good for all of us. Learn more at srpbizresource.com.

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ADVERTISING PROFILE Salt River Project received the highest numerical score among 13 large utilities in the West in the J.D. Power 2016 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study, based on 21,852 responses, and measures the experiences and AUG 2018 perceptions of business customers surveyed March-November 2015. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com.

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Get to know the

BUSINESS SIDE OF COX. Cox Business has built a robust Arizona infrastructure with 23,000 miles of 99.99+% reliable Hybrid Fiber/Coax connecting to a fully redundant national backbone. Cisco-certified technicians on the ground and continuous monitoring from our Regional Operations Center resolve problems before they impact your enterprise. It’s a network designed to exceed business continuity requirements and service designed to exceed expectations. That’s how we do business.

623-594-5238 coxbusinessaz.com

Internet. Data. Phone.

Anadranistakis, Peter, 15

Dinnar, Samuel, 33

Kaplan, Jason R., 34

Richins, Steve, 57

Arce, Mike, 22

Ellens, Jeremy, 22

Keeley, Jim, 18

Ruusalepp, Kaidi, 13

Ashkenazi, Yaron, 15

Friesen, Jeff V, 26, 55

Keeton, Ryan, 13

Sanders, Todd, 26

Babendure, Jeremy, 48

Fullmer, Rob, 38

Kimball, Travis, 14

Shaffer, Alex H, 58

Bailey, Chris, 33

Garbar, Marc, 13

Mayer, David, 26

Shaw, Michelle, 26

Bayless, Justin, 22

Garner, Don, 56

Mohr, Brian, 26

Simon, Andi, Ph.D., 62

Bell, R. Chapin, 18

Groscurth, Chris R., Ph.D., 33

Murphy, Nick, 26

Standring, John, 12

Bowden, Susan, 32

Grove, Dawn, 11

Nahom, Dan, 26

Stanton, Nicole, 12

Brewer, Mike, 26

Hickman, Paul, 53

Panchanathan, Sethuraman, 26

Susskind, Lawrence E., 33

Bruhnke, Doug, 35

Hurni, Roger, 35

Perry, Russ, 22

Sweet, Jon C., 12

Camacho, Chris, 26

Huss, Leah, 38

Petersen, Gloria, 35

Thomas, David, 24

Chia, Merv, 15

Jenkins, Trina, 26

Phillips, Andy, 14

Zylstra, Steven G., 43

Church, George, Ph.D., 20

Jurist-Rosner, Lindsay, 20

Pierce, Karen, 26

Dean, Glenn, 20

Kalayjian, Stephen, 13

Richardson, Sarah, 22

Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce, 37

Comerica Bank, 57

Juby True, 42

SmartHealth, Inc., 26

COMMERCIALCafé, 15

Karsten Manufacturing Corp., 11

SmartPractice, 26

Cox Business, 60

Lead Quizzes, 22

SnapComms, 32

DBM Ventures, 18

Lexus, 40

Snell & Wilmer, 3

Delta Dental of Arizona, 4

LGE Design Build, 18

SRP, 59

Design Pickle & Jar, 22

Longenesis, 20

Sunwest Bank, 14

Driver Provider, The, 34

Loud Rumor, 22

Ticker Tocker, 13

Enterprise Bank & Trust, 10, 26, 41, 55

Luci’s at the Orchard, 42

TKPierce, LTD, 26

Mayer Hoffman McCann PC, 52

Turning Art, 40

Mayo Clinic, 23

UnitedHealthcare, 21

Meadows Bank, 58

VirtuaPartners, 18

MeMD, 20

Wallbeds “n” More, 39

Mesa Chamber of Commerce, 36

Wells Fargo, 48

Mid-America Careers, 26

Wellthy, 20

National Association of Women Business Owners – Phoenix, 36

West Valley Chambers of Commerce, 37

Alliance Bank of Arizona, 2, 56 Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits, 37 American Express, 12 APS, 7 Arizona Association for Economic Development, 36 Arizona Bankers Association, 53 Arizona Craft Brewers Guild, 38 Arizona Diamondbacks, 9 Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 36 Arizona Small Business Association, 36, 37 Arizona State University, 26 Arizona Technology Council, 43 Arizona Women’s Education and Employment, Inc., 26

Equality Health, 63 Evident ID, 24 eWomenNetwork: Phoenix/Scottsdale, 36 FirstBank, 8 Foodworks, 16 Funderbeam, 13 Glendale Chamber of Commerce, 36, 37 Global Chamber, 35, 37

Nebula Genomics, 20

Art.com, 40

Global Protocol, Inc., 35

Bank of Arizona, 17

Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, 26, 37

Bayless Healthcare, 22 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, 64

National Science Foundation, 48

Greater Phoenix Economic Council, 26 HangArt, 40

Nékter Juice Bar, 42

Workforce Arizona Council, 11 Y Scouts, 26

North Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, 36 Off Madison Ave, 35

BMO Harris Bank, 25

HarassmentLaw, 13

Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development Research, 26

Brewer Companies, The, 26

Hash Kitchen, 42

Oxygen Hospitality, 15

Carvana, 13

Huss Brewing Company, 38

P.B. Bell, 18

CBIZ, 52

Insight, 26

Quarles & Brady LLP, 5, 12

Chandler Chamber of Commerce, 35

Jive, 8

Quick Quack Car Wash, 14

CO+HOOTS Foundation, 17

Job Lab, The, 26

Ryan, LLC, 12

Colliers International, 18

JLL, 19

Simon Associates Management Consultants, 62

In each issue of In Business Magazine, we list both companies and indivuduals for quick reference. See the stories for links to more.

Wolff Company, 18

Bold listings are advertisers supporting this issue of In Business Magazine.

OUR PODCAST: Join us for interesting, informative and inspiring conversations with top local businesspeople in the Greater Phoenix area.

Listen now at inbusinessphx.com.

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Profiles in Excellence in Bankin g Special Section

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Tackle the Pain of Business Change Embrace change, and develop skills and processes to manage it

by Andi Simon, Ph.D.

Get a year of In Business Magazine Subscribe now at inbusinessphx.com

Andi Simon, Ph.D., author of award-winning book On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights, is a corporate anthropologist. She is the founder and CEO of Simon Associates Management Consultants, designed more than a decade ago to help companies use the tools of anthropology to better adapt to changing times.

Dr. Simon is a public speaker and an Innovation Games® facilitator and trainer. She served as a tenured professor of Anthropology and American studies at Ramapo College of New Jersey and was a visiting professor teaching entrepreneurship at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Simon has appeared on “Good Morning America” and has been featured in the Washington Post, Business Week and was a contributor to Forbes. com, Huffington Post and Fierce Health. Her global podcast can be heard at andisimon.com/podcast. simonassociates.net

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Forget what they say about love. It’s change that hurts.

Corporate leaders say it is the biggest challenge they’re facing today. Constant change makes it difficult to remain relevant and to create value for customers. What is worse is that most people don’t know how to manage the changes they believe are essential for their business to thrive.

Whether it’s introducing a state-of-the-art computer program or transitioning a company to a wholly new and innovative way of working, learning something new is painful.

The brain creates chemical reaction that says, “This hurts. Stop all that new work.”

Humans have a problem. We get really good at what we know and do. The habits take over. We look in the mirror and see ourselves as the “right way to do things.” Instead of enjoying the challenges that come with trying something new, we resist. We immediately see the new as something that doesn’t fit our brain map of reality and “delete” it — before we even know what it is.

To be sure, our brains are elastic and can, in fact, adapt. It’s not a smooth, easy or comfortable process. It is like learning a new sporting game or a role in a play. It takes rehearsal time, mentoring and applause.

Every small change has an impact on the culture of the larger organization. Moreover, that culture becomes the essence of who people are and what they value and do — it is not the clothes they are wearing. It’s harder to change who you are then what you wear!

WHAT TO DO DURING FAST-CHANGING TIMES?

When change is essential and the corporate culture has to evolve, getting employees on board can be a challenge.

However, if company leaders can provide purpose to the changes — by showing how they’ll improve business and create stability after the transition — they have a better shot at a quicker buy-in. Explaining “why” is extremely important, but not sufficient.

We developed a ChangeMap™ process to lay out a path for leaders to tackle change systematically. Think of it as a Google map — you need to know where you are going, and the map will help you get there.

Here are three first steps to think about: Make the undesirable desirable. Corporate leaders should realize they are asking people to do something that, at the moment, appears to be counter to what they would think is the “right” or the ‘best” way to do something.

Perhaps the goal is for them to work in self-managed teams without a manager to solve problems. Or management needs more ideas coming from the field staff, but they lack confidence that their ideas will be respected and that they won’t be at risk. Maybe the business has introduced a new online system, and the old computers are going away.

Whatever it is, corporate leaders need to think about how they are going to explain to their folks “why” they are doing this and “why” the employees must change — now, and not someday in the future. The employees are going to think this is undesirable. Leadership needs to flip it to something essential.

Visualize the “new.” The brain must “see” and “feel” the new; it’s not enough for employees to just hear about it or be shown a graph or chart about how much better it will be.

The best way to get them to experience or picture this is to have them create a story or a visualization of what it will be like when the new replaces the old. They will need a shared story that they can begin to live and that others share.

And the corporate leaders should let employees be part of creating this.

Small wins, and a lot of them. Then the company leadership should get employees to set up small wins where both can experience the new way of doing something together. Small wins start the change process without huge risks.

It’s important to have some metrics to evaluate the new, adjust it, and do it again.

As corporate leaders begin to map out the business’s changes, it’s also important those leaders not forget there is a need to build the skills of the staff or they will continue to abort the changes and return to the prior habits that they knew so well. People do find change painful. Just as a person would not go out to a golf tournament on his or her second day of playing golf; employees faced with changes in their workplace need some practice time, too.

In an article for “Industry Tap,” David Russell Schilling pointed out: Until 1900 human knowledge doubled approximately every century; by the end of World War II, it was doubling every 25 years; it is now increasing exponentially, and IBM has predicted that the build-out of the Internet of Things will lead to the doubling of knowledge every 12 hours. http://bit.ly/knowledge-doubling

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