Crain's Cleveland Business

$2.00/OCTOBER 17 - 23, 2011

Entire contents © 2011 by Crain Communications Inc.

Vol. 32, No. 42

07447001032

642 SPECIAL SECTION

Crain’s honors NortheastOhio’s leading financialofficers for their out-standing fiscal leadershipand asset management ■■ Page C-1

NEW

SPAP

ER

NASA looksfor launchinto autoindustryAgency to present alternativeuses for space-age technologiesBy DAN [email protected]

Building cars isn’t rocket science. But with all thechallenges facing the automotive industry, could a littlerocket science hurt?

That’s how NASA sees it, at least, which is why it’spitching 38 space-age technologies to automakers andtheir suppliers at an event at NASA Glenn Research Center on Oct. 27.

“What we’re doing isshowing them newer tech-nologies — things that didn’texist or weren’t evendreamed of 10 years ago,”said NASA technologistPaul Bartolotta, a materialscience expert and theagency’s point person forthe event.

So far, Dr. Bartolottasaid more than 100 com-panies have signed up to attend, including the Big 3 domestic automakers as well as Toyota, Honda and aslew of Tier One and Tier Two suppliers from around thecountry.

What they’ll see are technologies specifically chosen byNASA and auto industry focus groups for their potentialin the automotive industry. Each one will be presented in trade-show style by NASA’s own scientists and researchers, who will answer any questions that atten-dees might have.

JANET CENTURY PHOTOS

Kent State University officials hope the school’s Math Emporium will help combat a 30% to 35% rate of students receiving a “D” or “F” in mathor withdrawing from the university’s remedial algebra courses. Students in the lab use computer software to learn basic math.

NUMBERSMATTERAT KSU

University invests $1.2M inMath Emporium to addressstudents’ lagging abilities

By TIMOTHY [email protected]

On the first day of classes at Kent State University, a student looked math instructorTracy Laux in the eye and

remarked, “There’s no way out.” Indeed, no Facebook, no sleeping

through a professor’s lecture and, basi-cally, no way to coast through the uni-versity’s remedial math courses with-out putting the time and effort intoactually learning the material.

Seated in front of the available 247computers in a sprawling, 11,154-square-foot space on the second floorof the university’s library, students aretasked with using computer software tolearn basic mathematics. Forget the

See MATH Page 37

Issue 2 groups hope ads trigger emotion, voter action

ABOVE AND BELOW: The lab is staffed at any time of the day with 10 faculty members andteaching assistants, who are available to answer students’ questions or coach themthrough complex problems, as shown here.

SB 5 campaigns aim tobolster numbers at polls

By JAY [email protected]

Building a Better Ohio, the group

mounting the television ad campaignto support the passage of state Issue2, created a media firestorm lastweek when it was discovered usingvideo — showing a young child being rescued from a burningbuilding — that was lifted from aWe Are Ohio ad, a spot created topersuade voters to reject Issue 2

and repeal Senate Bill 5. SB 5 is the legislation passed ear-

lier this year that takes away theright to strike and sharply curtailsthe collective bargaining rights ofpublic employees.

That both sides could use thesame video to support opposingsides of an election issue demon-

strates to campaign watchers howlittle the two sides are helping votersstill undecided about Issue 2.

“I think the ads have been evenmore uninformed than they typi-cally are,” said Paul Beck, a politicalscience professor at Ohio State University who studies political

See ISSUE 2 Page 37

See NASA Page 35

INSIDEThink bigger

Solon-based miniature electronicsmaker Valtronic USA Inc. is lookingfor larger digs to accommodatethe growing demand for its prod-ucts.

The company hopes to be in alarger facility by mid-2012.

Read more about Valtronic’splans on Page 8.

“NASA is open forbusiness. We’reopening our safe,so to speak.” – Paul Bartolotta, material science expert,NASA Glenn ResearchCenter

20111017-NEWS--1-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 10/14/2011 3:42 PM

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22 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM OCTOBER 17 - 23, 2011

REGULAR FEATURES

Big Issue .....................11Bright Spots ................18Classified ....................38Editorial ......................10Going Places ...............14

List: Colleges and universities ...............34

Personal View..............10Reporters’ Notebook....39Tax Liens.....................15

COMING NEXT WEEK

We look at some of the nontraditional benefits Northeast Ohio companies offer as a way to reward employeesand stay competitive. From conciergeservices to employee discounts, somefirms go beyond the basic healthinsurance offerings.

Out-of-the-box benefits

Audit Bureauof Circulation

Subscriptions: In Ohio: 1 year - $64, 2 year - $110.Outside Ohio: 1 year - $110, 2 year - $195. Single copy,$2.00. Allow 4 weeks for change of address. Forsubscription information and delivery concerns sendcorrespondence to Audience Development Department,Crain’s Cleveland Business, 1155 Gratiot Avenue,Detroit, Michigan, 48207-2912, or email to [email protected], or call 877-812-1588(in the U.S. and Canada) or (313) 446-0450 (all otherlocations), or fax 313-446-6777.Reprints: Call 1-800-290-5460 Ext. 125

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G.D. Crain Jr. Founder (1885-1973)Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. Chairman (1911-1996)

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Component 2010 2009 2008 % change

Mortgage interest/charges $3,351 $3,594 $3,826 -12.4%

Health care 3,157 3,126 2,976 6.1

Food away from home 2,505 2,619 2,698 -7.2

Gas and motor oil 2,132 1,986 2,715 -21.5

Donations 1,633 1,723 1,737 -5.9

THAT BELT’S GETTING AWFULLY TIGHTU.S. consumers’ spending levels fell in four of five key areas from 2008 to2010, a clear sign of the toll the recession has taken on household budgets.The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that among the five categories,spending rose only for health care — a category in which prices never go downand far outpace inflation, as well as consumers’ take-home pay. Here’s howspending shaped up in the five categories:

Consumer spending patterns, 2008-2010Average annual consumer expenditures for selected components

SOURCE: U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS; WWW.BLS.GOV

20111017-NEWS--2-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 10/14/2011 3:17 PM Page 1

“(He) looked like a basketball player.” – Wes Wilcox, general manager, Canton NBA Development

League team owned by the Cleveland Cavaliers

125th Street and WoodsideAvenue in the old CaptainArthur Roth School buildingand two more in the formerWoodland Hills ElementarySchool at East 93rd Street andUnion Avenue.

The money also will sup-port the expansion of moregrade offerings for three ofthe network’s six existing schools —

Citizens Leadership Acade-my, Near West Intergener-ational School and VillagePrep. Breakthrough openedthree other schools this fall.

“The grant is certainlyvery significant,” saidBreakthrough CEO AlanRosskamm. “The fact thatwe did so well in a public

OCTOBER 17 - 23, 2011 WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS 3

INSIGHT

THE WEEK IN QUOTES“I think it’s a differentNASA than we’ve seenin the past — moreopen and wanting toshare their technolo-gies with the indus-trial community.”— Ed Nolan, vice president ofproduct development and engi-neering, Magnet. Page One

Grant boosts local charter school operatorBreakthrough will use federal money to open three new sitesBy TIMOTHY [email protected]

The federal government will injectabout $3.4 million over the next twoyears into the coffers of BreakthroughSchools, a local charter managementorganization, as it continues to expand

its footprint across Cleveland.The U.S. Department of Educa-

tion divvied a pot of $25 million tonine charter management organi-zations across the country. Break-through, which is headquartered inCleveland, received the second-largest amount doled out and was

the only recipient in Ohio. The latest grant announcement is partof a $250 million investment thisyear by the Obama administrationin charter schools.

The funds will support the openingof three new Breakthrough schoolsnext year in the city — one at East See BOOST 5

See ATHERSYS Page 36

See TRYOUT Page 12

Athersys’fundraisingharder afterstock dropIssuance of new sharesnot likely unless pricerecovers from 43% dipBy CHUCK [email protected]

Lauren Migliore can’t name onegood reason why Athersys Inc.’sstock price has fallen 43% since Aug. 1.

Regardless, the true value of theCleveland company fell with it, tosome degree, said Ms. Migliore, anequity analyst for Morningstar Inc.in Chicago.

That’s because Athersys, unlikemany companies, likely will have toraise more money at some pointover the next year or so. ConsideringAthersys’ current share price —$1.54 when markets closed onThursday, Oct. 13 — it now wouldhave to sell off a much bigger pieceof itself to generate the sameamount of money as when its shareswere selling at $2.72 on Aug. 1.

There are other tactics Athersyscan take to raise money, Ms. Miglioresaid, but any route involving the public market will be harder to takeunless the company’s stock pricegoes up.

The stock is a better buy now thatthe price is lower, but the companycertainly isn’t better off for it, shesaid, noting how she revised her es-timate of the company’s true valueto $3 per share from $4 after thestock began to slide in early August.

“The price that the firm’s tradingat is directly related to the value ofthe company,” said Ms. Migliore,one of several Athersys watcherswho see promise in its MultiStemtechnology, an adult stem cell ther-apy that is being tested on patientswho have suffered from heart at-tacks, strokes and other conditions.

Athersys officials noted that raisinga significant amount of money by issuing new shares would not be anattractive option at the current shareprice, given how dilutive it would beto existing shareholders.

The company, however, couldavoid the public market entirely byraising money through deals withstrategic partners, said Athersys CEOGil Van Bokkelen.

A (LONG)SHOT AT

THE PROSIn D-League tryout, Crain’sstaffer finds out what it’s like

to take a step up in competition

By JOEL [email protected]

Drive by my family’s old house inAustintown, Ohio, and the samebasketball hoop my dad put upin the ’80s improbably still stands

— weather-beaten, but erect nonetheless.We moved out of that house in 1999,

but the memories linger. On that hoop, Iwas Mark Price, the Cavaliers dead-eyepoint guard from the glory days of the late’80s and early ’90s. I was going to play inthe NBA, and I was going to find a way tostop the next Michael Jordan from mak-ing the next Shot over the next Craig Ehlo.

Fast forward 20-some years, and I nev-er made it to the NBA. Heck, I never madeit to the high school varsity team.

But a guy can dream, right? So whenthe Cavaliers announced they would holdopen tryouts for their new NBA Develop-ment League franchise, which calls Cantonhome, my interest was plenty piqued.

“I should try out,” I shouted at my boss,“and write about it.”

And so there I was at 7:30 a.m. on Oct.8 at Saint Ignatius High School in Cleve-land’s Ohio City neighborhood, one of 28guys vying for a spot at NBADL trainingcamp in November — but probably onlyone of a few wondering just what the heckI’d gotten myself into.

TALE OF THE TAPE

MARC GOLUB

Title: Assistant editorAge: 29Height: 5-10

Weight: 140

Résumé: Played a year of JV ball at Austintown Fitch High School, nearYoungstown. … Accomplished high schoolcross country runner. … Youth basketballcoach in Cleveland’s west suburbs.

Cra in ’ s ass i s tan t editor Joel Hammondfinishes a fast breakwith a layup at a try-out for the Cavaliers’NBA DevelopmentLeague team.

“It’s big, it’s bold, it’sinnovative. This isthe kind of thing other universities inOhio might want todo.”— Lester Lefton, president,Kent State University. Page One

“We have a lot ofcompanies interestedin this type of space.We’re excited to havemore product online.”— Tracey Nichols, economicdevelopment director, city ofCleveland. Page 9

“No job is too smallfor Duke, either. He’llgrab a broom andsweep up after anevent without beingasked. ... He’s a trueteam player.”— CFO of the Year nominationfor Richard “Duke” Jankura,JumpStart Inc. Page C-8

Rosskamm



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Volume 32, Number 42 Crain’s Cleveland Business (ISSN 0197-2375) is published weekly, except for com-bined issues on the fourth week of May and fifth week of May, the fourth week of June and first week of July,the third week of December and fourth week of December at 700 West St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, Cleveland,OH 44113-1230. Copyright © 2011 by Crain Communications Inc. Periodicals postage paid at Cleveland, Ohio,and at additional mailing offices. Price per copy: $2.00. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Crain’sCleveland Business, Circulation Department, 1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, Michigan 48207-2912. 1-877-824-9373.

REPRINT INFORMATION: 800-290-5460 Ext. 136

Gilbert’s Bizdom U protégésset to work on new startupsBy CHUCK [email protected]

Dan Gilbert is out to find the nextDan Gilbert.

This week, the first group ofCleveland-area entrepreneurs toenter Mr. Gilbert’s Bizdom U pro-gram will start trying to turn theirideas into businesses.

The five-month long entrepre-neurial boot camp is designed to spur the creation of innovativebusinesses in Cleveland. Mr.Gilbert, who owns the ClevelandCavaliers and several other busi-nesses, started the program fouryears ago in Detroit, his hometown.

The 30 entrepreneurs enteringBizdom U Cleveland were acceptedfrom a pool of 350 applicants andrepresent people of various ages,races and education levels, said Andradia Scovil, recruiting leaderfor Bizdom’s Cleveland program.

They have two things in common:They all have ideas for businessesthat can be brought to scale, oftenwith the help of information tech-nology, and they have the passion tomake it happen, Ms. Scovil said.

“They have the results-driven at-titude that we’re looking for,” she said.

Bizdom U Cleveland is almostidentical to its counterpart in

Detroit. During the “Idea Generator”phase of the program, entrepre-neurs will spend three nights aweek hashing out their businessplans with experienced entrepre-neurs and gauging consumer interestin their ideas. They’ll work out ofthe Quicken Loans call center onWest Third Street.

Then participants will pitch theirideas to Bizdom U officials, whowill select some of them to partici-pate in the Launch Labs phase ofthe program, during which they willwork full time on their businessesfor three months.

Those selected will receive$10,000 and $4,500 for each of thecompany’s founders. In exchange,Bizdom U receives an 8% stake inthe business, which is meant tohelp sustain the nonprofit program.Companies would be required tostay in the city at least until they receive money from other investors.

The entrepreneurs will be guidedby Paul Allen, who has helped startor lead several information tech-nology companies over the past 20years. He also spent six monthsleading the Shaker LaunchHouseincubator in Shaker Heights.

Mr. Allen said he wanted to joinBizdom U partly because the non-profit uses the “agile” approach to

developing startups, which focusesless on planning and more on get-ting a product to market quickly.

Plus, he also likes that Bizdom focuses on businesses at the ideastage.

“That’s where, on a regional basis, we really need to focus,” saidMr. Allen, who spent eight years living in Silicon Valley.

Over the past two years — afterBizdom U evolved into its currentform — graduates of the Detroitprogram have launched 11 busi-nesses that remain active, employingthe founders and occasionally otheremployees. Among the businessesare Launch Learning Group, whichaims to help people who want to sellinsurance pass state exams; KrysalisFit, which sells fitness products byhosting parties at people’s homes;and Pickett Report, which providesan online tool that gives peoplelooking to move information on notonly the amenities in a neighbor-hood but the lifestyles of the peoplewho live there.

Bizdom U has raised fundingfrom Mr. Gilbert, the Ewing MarionKauffman Foundation of KansasCity and the New Economy Initia-tive for Southeast Michigan. It alsoaims to raise money from organiza-tions in Northeast Ohio. ■

Duke Realty continues NE Ohio market exitBy STAN [email protected]

An investment group associated

with Pittsburgh-based financial in-vesting firm Private Wealth AdvisorsInc. and its PWA Real Estate affiliateis the new owner of the GreatNorthern Corporate Center I, II andIII office buildings in North Olmsted.

The sale last week of the 273,379-square-foot complex for $26.7 million by Indianapolis-based DukeRealty Corp. resumes Duke’s longdrive to exit the region.

The real estate investment trustbegan shedding Northeast Ohioproperties in 2005 in a quest to invest in stronger economies withhigher rents. The effort stalled as realty financing dried up in 2008with the credit crunch and wors-ened during the recession.

The new owner of the complex of three ivory-colored four-story-buildings in North Olmsted is PWAGreat Northern Corporate CenterLP, a partnership formed by PWAReal Estate LLC.

The lookalike, interconnectedbuildings at 24950 Country ClubBoulevard have a 10% vacancy rate,PWA said of the only NortheastOhio property that its websiteshows in its portfolio. The officecomplex adjoins Interstate 480, isvirtually across the street fromWestfield Great Northern mall andis surrounded by restaurants, hotelsand office-warehouse properties.

Both PWA Real Estate and PrivateWealth Advisors share the samePittsburgh address, according toCuyahoga County land records.

PWA Real Estate’s website says itholds an apartment complex inAthens, Ga., and five contemporaryoffice buildings — four in Pennsyl-vania and one in Indianapolis.

The sale is a sign that lending ismore available for prime commer-cial realty transactions, though notnecessarily from bank lenders.

PWA Great Northern acquiredthe North Olmsted complex with a$20 million loan from ArchetypeMortgage Funding I LLC, a MiamiBeach-based lender that providessecuritized mortgage loans for com-mercial investors.

Archetype is part of the Miami-based LNR Partners financial con-cern that also buys commercialproperties and serves as a specialservicer for distressed propertiesheld by banks.

Duke acquired two buildings atGreat Northern Corporate Center in1998, soon after it entered the North-east Ohio market. Duke continues toown 10 office buildings in the Rock-side Road office market in Indepen-dence and Seven Hills. Duke shed itsnine east suburban office buildingsand multiple industrial buildingsand land before the bottom fell outof the commercial realty market.

A PWA Real Estate spokesman didnot return a call. David Browning,managing director of CBRE Inc.’sCleveland office, which handled thesale, said it is a good sign that thearea is attracting interest of outsidelocal groups. ■



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Madoff case work pumps up Baker Hostetler’s New York office Law firm now plans for life after famed,shamed Ponzi schemerBy AMANDA FUNGCrain’s New York Business

NEW YORK — A recent ruling by afederal judge ultimately may slash $5billion off the amount of money thatBernie Madoff trustee Irving Picardcan claw back for the mega-fraud-ster’s victims. The decision was amajor setback for Mr. Madoff’s erst-while clients and Mr. Picard’s casesgoing forward — but don’t worry abouthis firm, Cleveland-based BakerHostetler.

Nearly three years after Mr. Madoff was arrested, one clear winnerin the biggest Ponzi scheme in historyis the New York office of BakerHostetler, which has ballooned from68 lawyers when the case began to165 today while the firm has taken in$179 million in Madoff-related fees.At the end of last month, it put in foranother $44 million in fees for thefour months of work ended May 31.

“The opportunity to take a leadrole in the Madoff matter is extraor-dinary for a law firm,” said JohnNiehoff, a partner at Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, an accounting andconsulting firm for the legal industry.

The case has transformed BakerHostetler. But the firm’s attorneyswill need to plan carefully to makethe transition after the inevitableend of the record-setting legal wind-fall. The firm’s partners say they’rewell aware of the dangers and are determined to skirt them. They notethat their big case has yielded not onlycash, but also invaluable experienceand exposure that they already arebuilding upon.

“This is the largest and most com-plex case any firm has ever handled,”said George Stamboulidis, managingpartner of Baker Hostetler’s NewYork office.

Steering the growth of the staff hasbeen an intense learning experience,as the firm’s leadership has tried tostay ahead of the mounting de-mands for space, staff and comput-ing power.

Most of the firm’s Madoff-relatedwork is done out of the New York office, located at 45 Rockefeller Center.Since moving there in 2007, the firmhas grown so fast that the office’ssole conference room, up on theninth floor, often is booked up daysin advance.

To ease the crunch, the firm willtake another 44,000 square feet inthe building, spread over five floors,in 2012. That will bring its total foot-print at the property to roughly166,000 square feet.

The new space will allow the officeto accommodate 190 lawyers. It’shard to believe that when it openedjust over a decade ago, there wereonly three lawyers in sublet space at666 Fifth Ave.

The growth is mirrored in the 95-year-old firm’s gross revenues,which totaled $386 million last year.That figure was up 17% from theyear-earlier level — representing thethird-highest gain logged by any ofthe nation’s 100 largest law firms, according to The American Lawyer.

That’s some paper trailArguably, Baker Hostetler’s biggest

advances have grown out of its needto manage a case that involves inves-tigations in 20 countries and more

than 1,000 lawsuits againstfunds that fed money to Mr. Madoff as well as to banksand other parties, includingNew York Mets owner FredWilpon.

To date, the case hasgenerated enough paper toextend for more than 5,000miles if all the sheets werelined up; if all the electronic datawere printed out, it would fill in excess of 5 million four-drawer filingcabinets. Hundreds of attorneys inthe firm must be able to manage,track and share all the information.To allow for that, Baker Hostetlerhas built its own state-of-the-artcomputer system, which will faroutlast the Madoff case.

“The case has given usstrength in other practiceareas,” said David Sheehan,chief counsel to the Madofftrustee and a BakerHostetler partner. “Whenthe case winds down, we willuse the proprietary plat-form we built for Madoffclients to support and

service other clients.”The firm is not wasting any time.

In June, Baker Hostetler created ane-discovery and technology team inNew York to use its expertise and itssystem for other cases.

Several outside observers approveof its strategy.

“So far, the firm has executedwell in investing the extraordinary

amount of income generated byMadoff in other areas of the firm,”said Peter Zeughauser, founder oflaw consultancy Zeughauser Group,which has done work for BakerHostetler.

The firm has had a hand in lots ofother prominent cases predatingMadoff. It successfully pushed theU.S. Polo Association’s case of trade-mark infringement against designerRalph Lauren. In the Enron case,Baker was tapped by the U.S. Depart-ment of Justice to monitor MerrillLynch’s corporate compliance activ-ity. Separately, the firm was chargedwith monitoring Bank of New York.

But, there are cases and then thereare cases of the magnitude of theMadoff debacle, with the amount of

intensive labor it requires. “It’s highly unlikely that they will

be able to replace the work imme-diately once the Madoff case ends,”said Mr. Niehoff of Baker Tilly.

That’s where Baker Hostetlerpartners say that another big plusassociated with their monster casecomes into play: It has put a rela-tively unknown law firm on the map.

Two years ago, Mr. Picard him-self told The Wall Street Journal thatthe case is “something that will begood for the firm’s reputation.”

His partners maintain it has en-hanced their ability to attract clientsand lawyers. Most recently, BakerHostetler hired a new partner in itsintellectual property practice andmade offers to two other lawyers. ■

Picard



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Software outfit eyes regional move

By STAN [email protected]

MRI Software, which provides realty data tracking software forproperty companies and corporations,is focusing on a building in Solon asa potential new headquarters.

MRI has received a jobs incentivegrant from the city of Solon if itmoves its 230 employees to 28925Fountain Parkway from its currentoffices at One Harvard Crossing inHighland Hills.

David Post, CEO of MRI, said thecompany is close to signing a 10-yearlease for a new global headquartersoperation and expects to do so “onan imminent basis.”

Mr. Post said MRI searched morethan 30 buildings and ruled out theidea of moving out of state beforesettling on the former Agilysys Corp.headquarters in Solon. Agilysys ear-lier this year moved its headquartersto Atlanta and sold a remaining divi-sion here to OnX Enterprise Solu-

tions of Toronto, which moved theoperation to Bedford Heights.

“The additional space accommo-dates some of the growth we antici-pate in our three-year plan and allows for rapid expansion in thespace,” Mr. Post said. “When Agilysys renovated the building in2007, it made it a class A property.They installed the infrastructurethat suits a technology firm such asMRI. Finally, it’s about talent. To attract talent you have to offer faircompensation and a good, pleasantworking environment.”

Moreover, he said, the new officewould be on a single floor thatwould facilitate communicationamong different working groupsand create a “healthier culture.”

Abigail Plumb-Larrick, MRI’sglobal marketing officer, said the com-pany wants to secure more space forfuture growth, both through acqui-sitions and increased sales. The100,000-square-foot office in Solonwould double the amount of spaceMRI has in Highland Hills andwould accommodate growth to morethan 300 employees in the next fouryears, Ms. Plumb-Larrick said.

“It’s fantastic space,” Ms. Plumb-Larrick said of the former Agilysysspace. “It provides flexibility andSolon provides a lot of amenities foremployees while being close towhere we are.”

MRI will receive state and localincentives to help defray its costs formoving to Solon and staying in Ohio.

As MRI considered an out-of-state headquarters — Mr. Post declined to say what non-Ohio locations it eyed — the Ohio TaxCredit Authority approved a 60%credit for state income taxes over aneight-year period. The credit coversthe current $13.8 million payrollwhen the company moves to thenew location and the projected$21.5 million in additional payroll itexpects to add in the future.

Greg Woods, an Ohio Depart-ment of Development spokesman,said MRI agreed to stay in Ohio forat least 11 years and set a goal of hiring 10% of the additional payrollwith people who meet minority ordisadvantaged criteria.

MRI also received a job creation

tax credit from the city of Solonwhich will equal half the municipalincome taxes paid by the companyand its employees for the next 10years. That means the city will issueMRI a check ranging from $150,000to $250,000 annually depending onthe size its payroll reaches the prioryear, for a decade, according to PeggyWeil Dorfman, Solon economic development manager.

It’s worth it, according to Ms.Dorfman.

“This is a wonderful project,” shesaid. “We’re pleased they foundwhat they needed in Solon.” MRItaking the former Agilysys office willfill the second-largest industrial vacancy in the suburb, she said.

The likely gain for Solon and theSolon-based investor group JPSProperties that owns the FountainParkway property comes at the expense of Highland Hills and OneHarvard Crossing, an office buildingwhere MRI has occupied nearly50,000 square feet since 2005.

Donald King, managing directorof the Gotham King Fee investorgroup that owns One Harvard, saidhe hopes to retain MRI, but if it vacates there is at least one othergroup that may be in the market forthe space. Neither Mr. King nor Mr.Post would disclose specific rents.

Mr. Post said part of MRI’s desireto move is cultural. The firm occu-pied the One Harvard space when it was owned by Intuit Real EstateSolutions, but it now is an indepen-dent company.

“By changing buildings and ourspace, we’re trying to redefine thecompany’s culture by separating usfrom our old surroundings,” Mr.Post said.

MRI, which produces and main-tains software that real estate com-panies can use to track tenant dataand operations and corporationscan use to track their properties,was sold to Vista Equity Partners ofSan Francisco in 2010 by MountainView, Calif.-based Intuit.

Some of MRI’s growth will comefrom acquisitions. Earlier this month,it acquired Bostonpost Technologyof Bedford, N.H., which sells a web-based software serving owners of af-fordable housing programs. ■

Solon property provides room for anticipated growth

Signet Develop-ment, part of SignetEnterprises LLC inAkron, said it has closed a $165million debt facility with AdvancedParticle Therapy LLC to constructthe Scripps Proton Therapy Centerin San Diego.

The project, when completed,“will represent the newest and mosttechnologically advanced facility inthe treatment of tumor based cancers,” Signet Development saidin a news release. The 103,500-square-foot treatment and researchcenter will be one of just nine suchcenters offering the proton therapytechnology in the United States andwill treat up to 2,000 patients annu-ally, the company said.

Signet Development is AdvancedParticle Therapy’s joint venture part-ner in the development and will bean equity partner in the center uponits completion.

“We are honored to partner with

Advanced Parti-cle Therapy forthis landmark

project,” said Tony Manna, chairmanof Signet Enterprises, in a state-ment. “This transaction representsthe largest single source debt facilityof any U.S. proton therapy centerand marks a major milestone in ourinaugural project with APT.”

Proton therapy is an advancedform of radiation therapy that usesaccelerated protons extracted fromhydrogen atoms to precisely treatcancerous tumors throughout thebody.

Through the joint venture with Advanced Particle Therapy, SignetDevelopment said it will “continue toprovide development services forand be equity owners in future pro-ton therapy centers, including theMaryland Proton Treatment Center.”That center is scheduled to breakground by the end of this year,Signet Development said.

Signet enters joint venture to developproton therapy center in San Diego

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Space needs no small worryfor Solon electronics makerBy CHUCK [email protected]

Even companies that make reallysmall stuff sometimes need morespace.

Valtronic USA Inc. likely will buya much bigger plant in NortheastOhio in time to have it up and run-ning by mid-2012, said presidentand CEO Jim Wimer.

Given its growth, the maker ofminiature electronics will need abuilding at least twice the size of its26,000-square-foot plant in Solon,Mr. Wimer said.

“I’ve got to find some space, andquickly,” he said.

Since the start of the year, Val-tronic has added 32 people to itsstaff. Now the company employs 94and is out of space, said Mr. Wimer,noting that Valtronic is workingwith NAI Daus of Beachwood tofind an adequate plant.

The lack of space already is limitingproduction: To keep up with growingdemand, the company recentlybought four used “pick and place”machines, which put tiny electroniccomponents on printed circuit boards.Two of them, however, are sittingidle in the company’s plant at 6168Cochran Road. The company doesn’thave adequate space to use them, andit would need to have a new trans-former attached to the building before turning on more machines.

“I’m out of space, and I’m out of

power,” he said.Sales at Valtronic — which makes

electronic parts for medical devices,industrial machines and otherproducts — are up by 30% this yearover 2010, Mr. Wimer said. Lastyear’s sales beat 2009’s by about20%, he added.

One factor driving recent growthis Valtronic’s push to sell finishedprinted circuit boards along with thepackaging that houses them. Theeffort, which began a few years ago,is helping Valtronic attract customerswho would rather contract out suchassembly work, Mr. Wimer said.

Another factor is that Valtronic’scustomers have been moving aheadwith research and development projects that they had postponed because of the recession, he said.That means more new products forValtronic to help design and produce.

Valtronic had considered addinganother 25,000 square feet to itsSolon plant. The addition, however,would cost an estimated $5.5 mil-lion, while the company expects tobe able to buy and outfit a largerplant for roughly half that amount,Mr. Wimer said. Moving also wouldspeed up the expansion process byat least a few months, he said.

The city of Solon has discussedoffering Valtronic a job creationgrant if it stays within the city, but itlikely wouldn’t be big enough tosway the company’s decision, Mr.Wimer said. ■



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Developer plans $9MTyler Village investmentBy JAY [email protected]

The developer of Tyler Village inthe St. Clair-Superior neighborhoodon the eastern edge of downtown ishoping to nearly double the usableoffice space at the old industrialcomplex.

Greystone Commercial Real Estate’s Anthony Asher told a Cleve-land City Council committee lastTuesday, Oct. 11, that he plans a $9million redevelopment of one of themore than a dozen industrial-agebuildings that sprawl over morethan a city block at East 36th Streetand Euclid Avenue. The developerhopes to populate the building,called Building 42, with young,growing businesses looking forunique office space.

Building 42 is a six-story brickbuilding with 158,280 square feet.

The complex is home to about 25businesses, including Opera Cleve-land, John Deere, a charter school,an audio studio and marketing firmDigiKnow. They occupy about 170,000square feet in several buildings andemploy nearly 300 people. Whilesome space remains in those build-ings, Mr. Asher said after the meeting that it’s time to prepare an-other building for future growth —a rare example of speculative realestate development in the weakeconomy.

“We’ve got a lot of prospects (forthe remaining space in the existingbuildings) and a lot of them will roll

over into this new space,” he said. It doesn’t hurt that starting now

will allow the city of Cleveland toapply for a 2011 $4 million state JobReady Sites grant to help financethe complex. The city also plans tomake available $700,000 in low-costloans, $180,000 of which can be for-given if certain goals are met.

The plan is to gut the building, replace windows and create modernoffice space over the next 18 to 24months. The goal is to have a buildingthat meets the highest green buildingstandards, a requirement for thestate Job Ready Sites grant.

Tyler Village once was the homeof the W.S. Tyler Co., which madeelevator cabs. It built a 24-building,1 million-square-foot industrial com-plex on the 10-acre site before suc-cumbing to changes in the industryafter World War II.

Greystone took on the complex in2005 and steadily has demolishedobsolete buildings for parking andstrategically refurbished and mar-keted the better buildings.

Council committees will continueto review the financial package overthe next few weeks but the projectlikely will be approved since it hasoverwhelming council support.

City of Cleveland economic de-velopment director Tracey Nicholstold council that a market for thiskind of space exists in the city.

“We have a lot of companies interested in this type of space,” shesaid. “We’re excited to have moreproduct on line.” ■

Acquisition caps PolyOne’s specialty business forayObservers laud the vision of Avon Lake manufacturer’s CEO By ANGIE DeROSA

Plastics News

PolyOne Corp.’s acquisition ofColorMatrix Group Inc. marries amajor masterbatch house with aglobally dominant player in liquidcolorants, a formidable union asconsumer products groups seekone-stop-shop suppliers for theirpackaging needs.

The $486 million purchase, announced Oct. 3 by Avon Lake-based PolyOne, means that morethan 50% of its operating income willbe derived from specialty chemicalscompared with 2% in 2005, PolyOnechairman, president and CEO Stephen

position in injection molding andpipe extrusion. Through the 1990s, itgrew its European business. Color-Matrix set up a joint venture in theUnited Kingdom to establish thatEuropean base. By the time it wasacquired by Audax Group in 2006, ithad footholds in Hong Kong andBrazil. Audax acquired ColorMatrixat a valuation of 9.6 times EBITDA.

After Audax purchased it, Color-Matrix acquired DosiColor in LatinAmerica, and fluoropolymer firmColorant Chromatics Group, whichadded to its growth in Europe. In 2009,it opened its commercial facility inMoscow.

In terms of technology, ColorMatrixis at the forefront, sources said. Nowit has in its portfolio HyGuard OxygenScavenging System, an oxygen scav-enger additive. ColorMatrix boasts itas game-changing, engineered toenable fully recyclable, fully protec-tive PET packaging for oxygen sensi-tive beverages and food. It offers thatproduct to the likes of beer makersBaltika and Heineken, along withsoft drink companies such as Pepsi-Co and Coca-Cola Co. ■

Angie DeRosa is a correspondentwith Plastics News, a sister publica-tion of Crain’s Cleveland Business.

Newlin said.Experts are not unhappy

with the purchase price,which represents a valua-tion of 11 times earningsbefore interest, taxes, de-preciation and amortiza-tion (EBITDA). Two sourcesagreed that it’s not aboutthe purchase price, butrather the return on investment. Col-orMatrix is expected to provideabout 15% return on investment annually.

“This is a great move and I do not

have any problems at allwith price they paid,” saidBill Ridenour, owner ofPolymer Transaction Advi-sors Inc. in Newbury, Ohio.“Even if it grows modestly,it will grow out of that purchase price. Even at10% growth in earningsper year, it will be a won-

derful acquisition for them. This is adeal that they should be making. Itcould have made sense for any ofthe major masterbatch houses.”

PolyOne officials declined furthercomment until its Oct. 26 confer-ence call when it will announcethird quarter operating results.

The deal caps off an aggressivestrategy to beef up PolyOne’s specialty business. The force behindthe strategy is Mr. Newlin, who hasbeen PolyOne’s top executive since2006. Prior to that, he served aspresident of the industrial sector ofEcolab Inc. His career also includedexecutive positions with NalcoChemical Co., during which time heserved as president of both NalcoEurope and Nalco Pacific.

He has a reputation as a very

good operator, one source said. Mr.Newlin has been “ruthless in pursuitof that strategy but he’s been suc-cessful,” Mr. Ridenour said. “Thefact that the stock price dropped25% didn’t stop Newlin at all. I givehim a lot of credit.”

Dmitry Silversteyn of LongbowResearch LLC in Independence,said that Mr. Newlin deserves thebenefit of the doubt.

“PolyOne hasn’t done anythingin last few years to make me feelthey are irresponsible,” Mr. Silver-steyn said. “Goals that he put out in2007 looked so out of reach and sofantastic, I don’t think people tookhim seriously.”

PolyOne has already reachedthose goals.

“Clearly, he’s a detailed and strate-gic thinker,” Mr. Silversteyn said.

ColorMatrix is dominating theworld in liquid colorants, Mr. Ride-nour said, and has unparalleledtechnical prowess and great depthof technology and technical staff.

ColorMatrix began in Clevelandin 1978, building its expertise in liquid colorant dispersion, accordingto its website. It established its

FILE PHOTO/RUGGERO FATICA

Tyler Village, located in the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood, is composed ofmore than a dozen industrial-age buildings.

Newlin


By JAY MILLER

t may be time to review the meaningof a public-private partnership.

While media regularly championthe idea of a public-private partner-

ship, we don’t always accept the notionthat in these deals government is goinginto private business with a company,not the other way around. The company isnot going into the government business.

In recent articles, The Plain Dealer andthe weekly Scene “exposed” that MMPIInc., the Chicago company that is buildingthe new medical mart and conventioncenter, is not pursuing the kinds of med-ical technology tenants everyone expectedto populate the medical mart. (Or atleast, it’s not succeeding in the pursuit ofthose tenants.)

Their stories suggested that, behind

the scenes while no one is looking, theChicago company is jeopardizing the$465 million in public tax dollars that arebuilding the complex on Cleveland’small. They say the medical mart conceptmight not succeed.

The media report that instead of trying to sign med-tech firms to come to themedical mart, that would, in turn, attractdoctors and hospital purchasing execu-tives to Cleveland, Med Mart officials arepursuing educational institutions thatwould bring doctors interested in learningnew best practices and brushing up onold skills.

The suggestion that this private busi-ness is doing something funny, some-thing being hidden from the public, mis-

understands key issues about public-private partnerships.

I’ve not spoken to anyone from MMPIand so I’ve not heard their side of the story.But my observations are based on what Iknow about how this deal came togetherand how the private sector operates.

Before getting into specifics, a littlehistory is instructive.

This march to a medical mart andconvention center was not like con manHarold Hill in the musical “The MusicMan,” telling River City elders they neededa marching band. It was not MMPI, theprivate partner, that said a medical tech-nology showroom would succeed inCleveland, and please give us millions ofdollars to build it.

That idea was produced locally. It wasfirst floated in the 1980s and then

Years ago, my wife and I sat in thedarkness of a Playhouse Squaretheater (I’m pretty sure it wasThe Palace) and howled to the

non-stop jokes of Jerry Seinfeld. One ofthe best themes centered on him and hisfather — more specifically his angstabout becoming his father.

Many of you probably knowthe shtick, about how Jerry hadbegun making “old man noises”when he got up from a chair, andthat he was afraid it was just thestart of his becoming his dad.

The question is: Can you become your kids?

Of course not, you say. Andyou’d be right, mostly.

But let me share an experi-ence from last week, when I wasscheduled to speak before the ClevelandMetropolitan Bar Association’s corpo-rate law section. The site was its officesin the Galleria, so I looked forward to the walk from our Warehouse Districtaddress.

I got to the elevator and realized I had— gasp — left my smart phone in my

office, so back I went. Because you knowwe can’t go an hour or two withoutemails, right?

So I was thinking as I walked that I wasbeginning to realize why our kids couldnot imagine us taking so long to respondto their text messages. There was a time— not that long ago — that I would have

answered with my usual mis-sive about how not all peopleare tethered to their phone anddrop everything they do to reply to a text message, blah,blah, blah.

But that was way back then(maybe a year, maybe less).Boy, how things have changed,and my awakening began withthe realization that I went backfor my phone, despite the fact

that I would only be away from the officefor a couple hours, at most.

So there I am, walking down SaintClair Avenue, juggling my umbrella andBlackBerry, trying to check my emails. Aquick glance showed me that I had none,so I slipped it back into my pocket. Ofcourse, that was Wednesday and by now

we all know that Research in Motion, themaker of what once was the most pow-erful phone/data device on the planet,was in the midst of a major, worldwideproblem.

As I write this, my BlackBerry still hasn’t forwarded any emails for twodays, RIM’s stock was dropping, and ithad all the potential for what one tele-com analyst called a “bloodbath.” So ata time when there are actually moreAmerican wireless subscribers (327.6million) than there are Americans (315.5million), RIM and its heretofore hand-held juggernaut were on the ropes.

“Dear BlackBerry,” Advertising Agequoted one angry tweet last Thursday,“please give me a refund so I can buy aniPhone.” The AdAge Digital story wenton to say that RIM had done little in twodays other than hold a short phone con-ference with reporters and post notifica-tions on its website and Twitter.

After several BlackBerries, RIM justlost me. And I’m guessing I’ll be joinedby thousands, if not millions, of userslike me. Oh well, RIM, it was a great runfor a while. ■


ListenI

t’s easy to ridicule the Occupy Wall Street pro-testors. They’re not particularly eloquent, andtheir demands — crowdsourced, appropriately,for a social media world — aren’t very clear. You

probably wouldn’t expect a business newspaper toembrace the anti-corporate specifics of the OccupyWall Street agenda, to the extent they exist, and wedon’t. Not exactly, at least.

But as the movement spreads across the country,including to Cleveland, and heads into its secondmonth, it’s worth considering why this protestseems to be finding a voice. Those who dismiss Occupy Wall Street as just a bunch of bitter classwarriors who can’t cut it in the working world aremissing the deep feelings of anger throughout thecountry at bailouts, the lousy job market, growingincome inequality and the influence of corporatemoney on the political process.

Regardless of how you feel about their point ofview, members of the conservative Tea Party haveproven to be effective in drawing attention to, andthen support for, their vision of smaller governmentand lower taxes. But remember how they were portrayed at the start? National media focused onthe people at rallies who would hold up the mostderogatory and offensive signs. Every protest move-ment has those, but they shouldn’t invalidate thereal concerns of citizens, honestly and passionatelyexpressed.

At their base, the Tea Party and Occupy WallStreet share a core concern: This country isn’t working. Literally, for 9.1% (officially; in reality it’snearly 20%) of Americans, and figuratively, for virtu-ally everyone.

In a much-discussed post last week titled “Here’sWhat the Wall Street Protestors are So AngryAbout,” the website BusinessInsider.com ran a series of 41 charts that paint a disturbing picture ofthe American economy. (You can find the post athttp://tinyurl.com/69p3ghb.)

Trends in employment, wages, bank lending andmore all are going in the wrong direction. As BusinessInsider.com notes, “The problem in a nutshell isthis: Inequality in this country has hit a level thathas been seen only once in the nation’s history — atthe end of the 1920s — and unemployment hasreached a level that has been seen only once sincethe Great Depression. And corporate profits are at arecord high.”

We certainly don’t begrudge people making money. Corporations should maximize their profits,for the good of shareholders and workers. Buteveryone, Republican and Democrat, should beconcerned that the income gains at the top are notbeing accompanied by gains in the middle class andamong the poor. Indeed, recent federal data showedthat working-age households saw their real incomedecline in the first decade of this century — a clearsign the nation’s economic engine has sputtered.

Both Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party arepowerful symbols of discontent. So we say, good forthem. Keep raising hell. Maybe this kind of pressurewill bring a clarity of vision to policymakers that sofar has been lacking, to the country’s detriment.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

PERSONAL VIEW

BRIANTUCKER

It’s time to hang up the BlackBerry

MMPI deal warrants more consideration

PUBLISHER/EDITORIAL DIRECTOR:Brian D.Tucker ([email protected])

EDITOR:Mark Dodosh ([email protected])

MANAGING EDITOR:Scott Suttell ([email protected])

OPINION

Mr. Miller covers government for Crain’s Cleveland Business.

See VIEW Page 11

I



KENNETH GARNERClevelandI don’t think it will changeanything. The way the poli-tics are in our country, theway things are in Washing-ton, D.C., (the rich) getwhat they want.

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THE BIG ISSUEWhat do you think of the Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Cleveland and other protests?

CHRISTINE ACKLEYTwinsburgI hope it changes some-thing as some changesare needed. Big govern-ment, big business, itdoesn’t seem to be help-ing the small person.

TOM FRISINANorth RoyaltonI am all for visible and con-spicuous voices forchange. That’s how thingshappen in a democracy. Itstarts at the grassroots.

CHUCK DELANEYClevelandI’m for it; I’ve been (onPublic Square at OccupyCleveland) a week. Whenyou have people too frus-trated, it could flash intoviolence. But that won’thappen here. There is noleader here — a leaderwould have his (or her)own agenda.

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brought to fruition by a campaigninitiated by Cleveland Clinic presi-dent Toby Cosgrove and CuyahogaCounty Commissioner Tim Hagan.Once local public support began tobuild, it was Clevelanders who soldMMPI on the idea and put togetherthe deal that brought the real estate developer to Cleveland.

If there was any deception, it wason the part of the locals. They, notMMPI, told us we should pay an additional tax to build a medicalmart and convention center, andthey painted pictures of doctors andhospital administrators coming toCleveland to shop for fancy medicalequipment.

MMPI only agreed to the conceptthe public officials proposed.

Further, let’s not forget the con-cept of a medical mart was weddedto a broader local issue. The ultimategoal is to bring conventioneers toCleveland, whether they are health careprofessionals or auto parts makers.

The city had an aging conventioncenter that couldn’t compete withmore modern facilities. The oldconvention center needed either tobe closed, taking Cleveland out of theconvention business completely, or thecommunity needed to build a new one.

In other words, the public mis-sion is not to bring medical technol-ogy companies to an industry show-room in Cleveland. The mission isto build a successful conventioncenter. But with other modern con-vention centers around the countrystruggling, selling the cost of ageneric convention center wouldhave been very difficult.

So the politicians justified thecost of the building by finding a spe-

cialty niche. They chose the healthcare industry, a growing industrywith a strong base in NortheastOhio. That may or may not prove tobe a good local decision.

It’s important, too, to rememberthat this decision to go into businesswith a private developer involvedtaking a business risk, not a politi-cian’s campaign pledge. When thecommunity hears public officialsexpound their positions on a greatmany issues, they expect thosestatements to be inviolate pledgesto follow very specific policies.

However, businesses pledge onlyto remain profitable for their owners.That mission sometimes has harshconsequences for the communitiesthat host those businesses — willCleveland ever forget Art Modelltaking his football team to Baltimore?— and cities never should forgetthat mission when they enter into apartnership with the private sector.

So, MMPI came to town andstarted to market its medical martto medical products makers. It appears the company explored themarket and found the premise pro-posed by the Clevelanders wanting.So it decided to build its marketingaround a different concept: moreeducation, less hardware.

If MMPI succeeds by attractingmedical schools to the medical martinstead of bring in medical hard-ware makers, what difference doesit make?

It would be unforgiveable for acompany to continue to build aboat it knows will leak and sink tothe bottom just because the customerasked for the leaky design. Thecompany has an obligation to builda different boat for its customer.

And since MMPI is a private com-pany and two other cities followedCleveland’s lead and announcedplans for their own medical marts, it wouldn’t be smart for MMPI to announce loudly and publicly, so thecompetition can hear, that it’s goingin a different direction. Let Nashvilleand New York continue to chase thatother market.

MMPI’s change of direction isn’tdeception. It is — we can hope, sincenothing is a sure thing — just a goodbusiness decision. ■

View: Deals change in business worldcontinued from PAGE 10

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Tryout: Hey, it’s harder than it looksI don’t remember what I was doing

on April 6, 2009, but I most likelywas watching the NCAA men’s basketball tournament championshipgame.

I do know what Travis Walton wasdoing: playing for Michigan State,against North Carolina, in an even-tual 89-72 victory for the Tar Heels.He’d just been named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

The 6-foot-2 swingman from Lima,Ohio, played professionally in Germany until May. Since then,he’s been conducting camps in Limaand East Lansing, Mich., where hewas a three-year captain and rankssixth in career assists with 555.What was he doing in Cleveland?

“I’m trying to get a shot at the(NBA),” he said.

Demetrius Fugate had the samethought — and didn’t let somethingsmall like the Pacific Ocean stand inhis way. The 6-6 “big guard,” as hedescribed himself, flew from Japan,where he was on a business trip, toColumbus the night before the tryout, and borrowed a friend’s carfor the two-hour drive. Mr. Fugateplayed collegiately at Cincinnati.

But Saturday didn’t start as wellas he would have liked. In a

warmup three-man-weave drill, heinjured his right ankle and spentsome time with the trainer. AfterSunday’s morning session, he hitcheda ride to Cleveland Hopkins Interna-tional Airport and flew back to Miami. He said he attended the Cleve-land tryout to expand his options;in two weeks, he’ll be in trainingcamp with the Idaho Stampede, anNBADL franchise located in Boise.

Options are what Jay-R Strow-bridge has, too. The Alabama native,a well-built, 5-11 point guard, playedtwo years at Nebraska before trans-ferring to Jacksonville State in Jack-sonville, Ala., to be closer to familyafter a cousin was murdered. Later,he played a year at Oregon whileearning a master’s degree in educa-tion.

Two weeks before the Clevelandtryout, Mr. Strowbridge flew toHouston for a look with the RioGrande Valley Vipers, but said hehadn’t heard anything from thatteam, whose open tryout had upwards of 80 players. So he drovefrom Ann Arbor, Mich., where hiswife attends the University ofMichigan’s Ross School of Business,to Cleveland for the tryout.

****YOU OFTEN HEAR COLLEGE

FOOTBALL PLAYERS, once theyget to the NFL, talk about how muchquicker the game is. Hogwash, I always thought — until this tryout.

I made Austintown Fitch’s juniorvarsity team as a sophomore, butplayed only when we needed to foulat the end of games. And I found inthe spring when I re-joined thetrack team that I was badly out ofrunning shape. I didn’t play hoopsagain.

Since then, I’ve played in recleagues in Lakewood and Strongsville— but banned myself from those after becoming too angry at referees.(I hate losing. And bad officiating.)Now I play twice each week beforework at a suburban high schoolwith a group of guys I know well,and it’s a long way from the NBADL.

First up was conditioning — acakewalk for me but a struggle forsome others. Then was the stan-dard-issue three-man weave drillthat most players learn as seventh-and eighth-graders. (Some in thegroup struggled, and the bosseswere none too pleased.)

Then, though, came the games,10 minutes each with teams deter-mined by the Canton team’s directorof player personnel, James Will-iams. And I immediately struggled,

continued from PAGE 3

attributable to being overmatchedand in a gigantic hurry: a jumper offa screen that was woefully short. A3-pointer nowhere close. Later,back-to-back shots rejected, one byP. Allen Stinnett, who played atCreighton and was the MissouriValley Conference’s freshman of theyear during the 2007-08 season.

On defense — where I knew I’dstruggle the most — my 140-poundframe had little chance against guyswith a 40-pound head start, letalone the 6-foot-8 post player ontowhom I somehow got switched.

Leaving the city on Saturdaynight, I was discouraged.

Then something clicked. Earlierthat night, the Cavaliers’ staff in-stalled a few plays run by the hometeam and probably everyone else inthe NBA. It was basic stuff, thoughnot all of my competitors got thegist, resulting in more frustrationfor the staff. On Sunday, my team’spoint guard — Joe Davis, a Cleve-land native who played at ClevelandState before transferring to MorganState in Baltimore — was switchedto another team, as about 10 guysdidn’t come back for Sunday morn-ing’s session.

Taking over at my natural posi-tion, I commanded my team and

started knocking down shots: a runner in the paint on a play called“fist out,” where a big man and I ran a pick-and-roll on the wing.(Think LeBron James and ZydrunasIlgauskas on the pick-and-pop for aZ jumper, with Anderson Varejaoroaming the baseline as the“dunker” if LeBron drove the lane.)

Later, a steal and on the otherend, a nifty behind-the-back pass,which the team’s general manager,Wes Wilcox, said “was at just theright time. I don’t care about the behind the back; the timing wasperfect.” After that was a nothing-but-net 3-pointer on a kickout fromMr. Fugate, and a fill-the-lanelayup, again off a nice feed from Fugate. (What you see in the pictureon Page 3.)

“You looked like a basketballplayer,” Mr. Wilcox said.

Now we’re talking.****

THE CAVS IN JULY OFFICIALLYANNOUNCED their purchase of theNBADL’s New Mexico Thunder-birds and moved them to Canton,where the Charge will play at theCanton Civic Center. The Cavs forthe past three years had shared theErie Bayhawks with the Toronto

Defense was aproblem; this isformer Cleve-land State andMorgan Stateguard Joe Davispassing overCrain’s assistanteditor Joel Hammond foran easy bucket.MARC GOLUB PHOTOS

continued on the NEXT PAGE ➤➤



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Raptors, but wanted more controlover personnel development, andthus now operate their own team.

It was fitting that the Cavs’ repre-sentatives at the tryout had taken thelong road to their current positions,because that’s the uphill battle facingany of the weekend’s players eventu-ally selected for D-League trainingcamp. Mr. Wilcox played at six differ-ent colleges before landing a job inthe Miami Heat’s video room. After10 months, he moved to the New Orleans Hornets, and when PaulSilas became the Cavaliers’ coach in2003, Mr. Wilcox joined the team asan advanced scout. For the pastthree seasons, Mr. Wilcox had beenthe Cavs’ top pro scout.

Mr. Williams, the Canton team’sdirector of player personnel, is an Atlanta native who played at BryanCollege and until August was trainingplayers privately. In April, Mr.Williams sent letters to all 30 NBAteams, expressing interest in joiningtheir staffs. The Cavs responded, andin August, he interviewed — “thelongest interview of my life,” he said— and got the job. Now he’s incharge of finding potential players,communicating with their agentsand other tasks.

And then there was Ira Newble,who played with the Cavs for 4½years — including on the 2007 teamthat advanced to the NBA Finals byfinally knocking off the Pistons —and now, at 35, is awaiting the end ofthe NBA’s lockout before making hisnext move. (And yes, Mr. Newbleagreed with me when I said that heand the other members of LeBron’ssupporting cast got a bad rap.)

Mr. Wilcox said he was looking fortalented players who understand thegame, can take instruction and play

stop. And Mr. Davis, the point guardfrom Cleveland and Morgan State, absolutely ate me up on four straightpossessions. Mr. Wilcox mercifullyrotated me out.

And despite being overmatchedin that drill, I earned more compli-ments for my play on Sunday.

“You were sharp, and controlledthe game,” Mr. Williams said. “Once you

defense. “Everyone in the NBA canscore,” he said on multiple occasions.Thus, the conditioning — “Youwouldn’t go to a job interview at aninsurance agency unprepared, sowhy come to a basketball tryout outof shape?” he asked — the offensiveplays and, at the end of Saturdaynight and Sunday morning’s sessions,a “closeout” drill, which turns into aone-on-one game from the wing.

The drill’s purpose is to see whichplayers, isolated against top compe-tition, can defend. I was a part ofSunday’s group, which also includedthe tryout’s top six players and Mr. Newble. After a few passes, itbreaks down into just two players,and you’re not done until you get a

Jay-R Strowbridge, who played pointguard at Nebraska, Jacksonville Stateand Oregon, was one of the top play-ers at the tryout.

There was a lot of looking up over thecourse of the two-day tryout, as thecompetition at times turned into a ver-itable dunk contest.

Canton’s general manager Wes Wilcoxran the show.

James Williams is the team’s directorof player personnel.

got comfortable and adjusted to thespeed of the game, you looked good.”

Mr. Wilcox told the group theCavs would be in touch if there wasa future for them in the organization.I won’t get a call, but I made enoughof an impression to walk away happy. I purposely didn’t introducemyself to him, not wanting any special treatment. And he told meafter the tryout that he had no idea

I was a reporter until Mr. Williamstold him late on Sunday. He said —this probably doesn’t speak well tomy profession’s reputation — he expected someone perhaps, ahem,a little heavier, with little skill.

“Are you a D-League player? No,”Mr. Wilcox told me. “But you hungtough and were in control. Youplayed well.”

Good enough for me. ■



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GOING PLACESJOB CHANGES

ARCHITECTUREBRANDSTETTER CARROLL INC.:Bruce Whitehead to vice president;Ray B. DelaMotte to business development director.

ENGINEERINGALBER & RICE INC.: Ronald Shawto senior civil engineer.

FINANCELIBERTY BANK NA: Christopher J.Smerglia to senior vice president,commercial lending team leader;Jamie Brotherton to senior vicepresident, senior lender; RichardParkin to vice president, commerciallending.OHIO COMMERCE BANK: JosephTymoszczuk to credit analyst.

FINANCIAL SERVICEBOBER MARKEY FEDOROVICH:Andrea M. Gauding and VanessaAnton to senior managers; JenniferElsass, Joanna Hoiles andJonathan O’Donnell to managers;Harrison Orendorf and NicholePrater to supervisors; SamanthaBuemi and Matthew Lawrence tosenior accountants.KEY EQUIPMENT FINANCE:Joseph A. DiLallo to vice president,corporate aviation finance.MCMANUS, DOSEN & CO.: ReneeM. Moenich to member, accountingand financial services group.PEASE & ASSOCIATES INC.:Elizabeth Kroll to senior staff member, CFO services department.RETIREMENT SOLUTIONS:Christine Lynch to administrative assistant.SS&G: Alyssa Lane, Matt Long,

Michele Linton, Linette Seifert,Marc Servodio, Aaron Saidel, Lauren Dunbar, Jeremy Banchek,Steve Brinker, Lindsay Turbow and Karen Cull to senior associates;Kyra Shank, Anne Marie Griffith,Lauren Larkin, Maureen Fertig,Sean Kilbane and Linda Wascoto managers; Mary Rutt and KimHocevar to associates; Theresa Wilson, Jennifer Rickenbacker and Dee Miceli to executive administrative assistants; AbbySurloff to senior administrative assistant.WEINBERG WEALTH MANAGE-MENT LLC: Jared S. Miller to investment adviser.

GOVERNMENTCITY OF CLEVELAND: Frank J.Petrik to assistant commissioner, riskmanagement and regulatory compli-ance manager, Division of Water.

HEALTH CARECLEVELAND CLINIC: Dr. Brad Borden to chairman, Emergency Services Institute.MOSKEY DENTAL LAB: AnnSchmitt to certified dental technician.

INSURANCEBROOKER INSURANCE AGENCY:Jamie Debenham to vice president,employee benefits.HYLANT GROUP: Michael Dillon toservice assistant, employee benefitsgroup.

LEGALTUCKER ELLIS & WEST: John Q.Lewis and Dustin B. Rawlin to partners.

MANUFACTURINGVITAMIX CORP.: Donald Snyderto vice president, sales, Household Division.

MARKETINGFATHOM ONLINE MARKETING:Kevin Herendeen to CFO.GLAZEN CREATIVE STUDIOS:Jake Gearhart to 3D animator, editor and motion graphic artist; Annie Murmann to producer andscriptwriter.STERN: Cortnie Redington to director of publicity and special events.

NONPROFITBENJAMIN ROSE INSTITUTE ONAGING: Geneva Anderson to vicepresident, human resources.LAKE COUNTY YMCA: GregChurch to program director, EastEnd Branch.RECOVERY RESOURCES: MeganKleidon to director of programs andservices.SUMMA FOUNDATION: Steven P.Schmidt to chief operating officer. TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURIALCENTER OF HUDSON: MichaelDeAloia to fundraising developmentdirector.

REAL ESTATECBRE: Susan Lines to senior associate.

SERVICENEO FOOD TOURS: Anya Hodgsonto vice president, event development.

AWARDSRECOVERY RESOURCES:Raymond J. Marvar (Tucker, Ellis & West LLP and Premier Physicians)received the 2011 Exemplar Award.

Send information for Going Places [email protected].

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TAX LIENSThe Internal Revenue Service filed taxliens against the following businessesin the Cuyahoga County Recorder’s Office. The IRS files a tax lien to protectthe interests of the federal government.The lien is a public notice to creditorsthat the government has a claim againsta company’s property. Liens reportedhere are $5,000 and higher. Dateslisted are the dates the documentswere filed in the Recorder’s Office.

LIENS FILEDStudio Techne Inc.12210 Euclid Ave., ClevelandID: 34-1790162Date filed: Sept. 1, 2011Type: Employer’s withholding, unemploymentAmount: $332,192

United Cable of Ohio Inc.3682 W. 136th St., ClevelandID: 34-1761468Date filed: Sept. 20, 2011Type: Employer’s withholding, unemploymentAmount: $200,107

Arb Marine Group Inc.69140 Parkland Blvd., Mayfield HeightsID: 31-1636806Date filed: Sept. 1, 2011Type: Corporate incomeAmount: $140,904

Woodside Childcare Inc.2463 N. Taylor Road, Cleveland HeightsID: 34-1750335Date filed: Sept. 1, 2011Type: Employer’s withholding, unemploymentAmount: $118,112

Furt Alliance Inc.615 Rockside Road, IndependenceID: 26-4066947Date filed: Sept. 13, 2011Type: Corporate incomeAmount: $76,001

Jatsek Construction Co.P.O. Box 41133, BrecksvilleID: 34-1972639Date filed: Sept. 26, 2011Type: Employer’s withholdingAmount: $72,913

Herbs Plumbing & Heating Inc.2562 Noble Road, Cleveland HeightsID: 34-1785963Date filed: Sept. 1, 2011Type: Employer’s withholding, unemploymentAmount: $44,387

Woodside Childcare Inc.2463 N. Taylor Road, Cleveland HeightsID: 34-1750335Date filed: Sept. 1, 2011Type: UnemploymentAmount: $42,525

South Euclid Cement Contractors Inc.5770 Alberta Drive, LyndhurstID: 34-1890971Date filed: Sept. 26, 2011Type: Employer’s withholdingAmount: $41,106

Kordiac Plumbing & Mechanical Co.11010 Union Ave., ClevelandID: 34-1808496Date filed: Sept. 7, 2011Type: Employer’s withholding, unemploymentAmount: $39,184

Twinstar Group Inc.P.O. Box 361043, StrongsvilleID: 05-0612383Date filed: Sept. 7, 2011Type: Employer’s withholding, unemploymentAmount: $35,171

Coci Management Inc.25801 Lake Shore Blvd., Euclid ID: 34-1631371

Date filed: Sept. 26, 2011Type: Employer’s withholding, unemployment, corporate incomeAmount: $33,571

Northeast Contracting LLC25446 Bryden Road, BeachwoodID: 20-4369728Date filed: Sept. 7, 2011Type: Employer’s withholding, unemploymentAmount: $33,136

Signature Interiors Inc.13275 Strathmore Drive, Valley ViewID: 34-1881664Date filed: Sept. 9, 2011Type: Employer’s withholdingAmount: $29,433

RJL Waterfront Holdings I Ltd.

1148 Main Ave., ClevelandID: 32-0035888Date filed: Sept. 7, 2011Type: Employer’s withholdingAmount: $27,504

Amroc Construction Inc.1900 Grove Court, ClevelandID: 68-0650859Date filed: Sept. 7, 2011Type: Employer’s withholding, corporate incomeAmount: $26,876

K Klass Masonry Inc.15293 Sandalhaven Drive, Middleburg HeightsID: 34-0874223Date filed: Sept. 20, 2011Type: Employer’s withholdingAmount: $26,845

Quality Care Residential Homes Inc.9402 Rosewood Ave., Cleveland

ID: 75-3189085Date filed: Sept. 26, 2011Type: Employer’s withholding, corporate incomeAmount: $22,129

Task Force Interiors LLC3574 W. 44th St., ClevelandID: 65-1313251Date filed: Sept. 26, 2011Type: Employer’s withholdingAmount: $19,148

NIA Childcare Enterprise Inc.4020 Verona Road, ClevelandID: 16-1749820Date filed: Sept. 20, 2011Type: Employer’s withholdingAmount: $18,511

Ovid Group Inc.8693 E. Craig Drive, BainbridgeID: 26-0103951Date filed: Sept. 1, 2011Type: Corporate income

Amount: $17,942

Baker Motors Towing Inc.12214 Detroit Ave., LakewoodID: 20-5027878Date filed: Sept. 26, 2011Type: Employer’s withholding, unemploymentAmount: $16,240

Toms Seafood Restaurant LLC3048 Saint Clair Ave., ClevelandID: 20-1350790Date filed: Sept. 13, 2011Type: Employer’s withholding, unemploymentAmount: $15,091

Kidz Corner Inc.3749 E. 142nd St., ClevelandID: 26-0385951Date filed: Sept. 26, 2011Type: Employer’s withholding, unemploymentAmount: $12,338



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Creditors to vote on AmFin planBy MICHELLE [email protected]

Nearly two years after it filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy protection,AmFin Financial Corp.’s plan of reorganization is in the hands of itscreditors.

Voting is under way for the plan,which contains terms of repaymentfor various groups of creditors. Ifconfirmed, it would bring an end tothe administrative phase of theChapter 11 case filed in November2009 by AmFin, the former parentcompany of failed AmTrust Bank.The deadline for voting is today,Oct. 17.

To be approved, AmFin’s planmust receive affirmative votes froma majority of voting creditors holdingtwo-thirds or more of the dollaramount of the claims. The estate hasabout 100 creditors, not all of whomwill vote, said Christopher Meyer, aSquire, Sanders & Dempsey partnerand debtors’ counsel.

Mr. Meyer anticipates approval.He estimates about 25 plan drafts wereprepared throughout the process.

“We’ve spent time negotiatingwith people about what they want andwhat they need, and we’ve tried toaddress all of that in the plan,” hesaid.

A confirmation hearing is sched-uled for Tuesday, Oct. 25, beforeU.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Pat E.Morgenstern-Clarren.

If creditors do not approve therepayment plan, AmFin wouldneed to go back to the drawingboard, Mr. Meyer said.

While the day-to-day involve-ment of the court in AmFin’s activ-ities would end if the plan is approved, an appeal brought by theFederal Deposit Insurance Corp.and other litigation are pending,Mr. Meyer noted.

The FDIC in late June appealedto the U.S. Court of Appeals for theSixth Circuit a June 6 decision byU.S. District Court Judge Donald C.Nugent, who found that the FDICfailed to prove that AmFin made a commitment to keep AmTrustBank capitalized. The FDIC hadclaimed it was owed more than$500 million because AmFin made

such a commitment, which AmFindenied.

Creditor claims in the AmFincase total $170 million, not includingthe FDIC’s claims.

The estate has in hand about $8million to $9 million, according toMr. Meyer.

AmFin’s primary assets are realestate, the value of which is uncer-tain, and a tax refund it is to receivefrom the Internal Revenue Service,Mr. Meyer said. The estate will dispose of the real estate to maxi-mize value as it can, he said.

“Our best estimate is that we willnot pay creditors in full,” Mr. Meyersaid.

The tax refund totals more than$194 million, though its paymenthas been delayed by IRS require-ments, including an audit and apayroll tax return that was requiredand since has been filed on behalfof AmTrust Bank, Mr. Meyer said.

AmFin will need to hold its moneyin reserve until its litigation with theFDIC is over, although the FDIC hasagreed to let AmFin pay downclaims of $25,000 or less, he said. ■

Thermoplastics oil pans grease Eaton’s business By RHODA MIELPlastics News

In the early 1990s, Eaton Corp.’splastics unit was turning out high-volume interior and exterior trimparts, but its leaders were not cer-tain if that was the kind of businesson which the company could buildits future.

“That kind of market had beenaround for many, many years, andit was noticeable that our return onbusiness was getting less and less,”said Stephen Roberts, manager ofglobal plastics engineering.

The company evaluated whereits strengths were, and what wouldbe better field for its plastics. Eaton,based in Cleveland, is more widelyknown in automotive for its power-train components, transmissions,chassis and other functional parts.It made sense for its plastics to focus on the same area of the car.

So Eaton shifted into highly engi-neered parts under the hood, becoming part of a shift from metalto plastic for some parts, especiallythe oil suction tube, which con-nects the oil pump to the oil pan.

Now the company sees itself asleading another leap for plasticsunder the hood, this time in inte-grated thermoplastic oil pans whichoffer automakers lighter weight andmore integrated parts, and that newbusiness may lead to more global

production.That shift is being prompted by

automakers who are both anxiousto shave weight from their cars tomeet increased fuel economy stan-dards in North America while alsocontending with new emissionscontrols in Europe, Mr. Robertssaid. Eaton has two thermoplasticoil pans in production already —used on Cummins diesel engines —and more ramping up for future vehicles.

Traditionally, oil pans have beenmade of steel or aluminum. Ther-moset plastics also have begun tosee more business. Thermoplasticoil pans promise weight savingsover metal, but the real selling pointis that molders can integrate moreparts into them.

A plastic oil pan, for instance, canbe delivered with gaskets, seals,baffles, heaters, sensors and thesuction tube that first launchedEaton’s new business focus. Themore parts that suppliers can inte-grate, the lower the productioncosts and complexity for automakers,Roberts said.

Depending on the amount of integration, automakers could cut10% to 15% of the weight for a basicoil pan configuration or 40% ormore for one with more parts. Ifeven more parts, such as oil filters,can be added to a system, thatwould lighten the weight even

more.“The limitation that we see for us

right now is that we don’t have amanufacturing footprint in NorthAmerica,” Roberts said.

Eaton’s plastics expertise coversa range of processing methods —injection molding, compression injection molding, gas-assist molding,suction blow molding — but pro-duction is centered in Europe withmanufacturing in Brierly Hill, UnitedKingdom, and Chumotov, CzechRepublic.

The company was making plansto expand manufacturing to theUnited States in 2008 — in part because of the increased interest inplastic oil pans — but backed offwhen the economy and auto pro-duction cooled down. It still is con-sidering expansion, Mr. Robertssaid.

“That would have been our entry,but that’s not to say we aren’t lookingat other opportunities,” he said.

There are also growth opportuni-ties in Europe to transfer morepowertrain parts to plastic, he said,and Eaton expects to be at the frontas lightweighting and emissions requirements push automakers toreconsider their traditional ways ofmaking parts. ■

Rhoda Miel is a staff reporter withPlastics News, a sister publicationof Crain’s Cleveland Business.

Stuart Lichter, a California realtydeveloper well known in Ohio, is part-ners in an investment group that re-cently paid $1.7 million for a 198,000-square-foot portion of the formerLucas Aerospace Building in Aurora.

Mr. Lichter and Chris Semarjian, aBeachwood-based NAI Daus brokerwho regularly partners with Mr.Lichter, on Oct. 4 acquired part ofthe 1989-vintage complex as LenaCommerce LLC. The seller was PB ILOreo LLC, according to Terry Coyne,a Grubb & Ellis Co. executive vice

president who represented the sellerand announced the transaction with anews release last week.

PB IL Oreo’s address lists to Pri-vate Bancorp, a Chicago-basedlender, according to Portage Countyland records. The lender took pos-session of that portion of the propertyJan. 10, according to a deed inPortage land records, from JDI Aerospace LLC, a Chicago-based

investor group, and kept in place aloan of undisclosed size.

The property has had multiple ten-ants through the years, and 66,000square feet of the property thatMessrs. Lichter and Semarjian acquired is empty now, according toMr. Coyne’s brokerage website.

Mark Nasca, a Chagrin Falls-basedinvestor in JDI Aerospace, said the in-vestment had been profitablethrough the long haul of its owner-ship but declined to discuss the Janu-ary bank transfer. — Stan Bullard

Stuart Lichter involved in $1.7M deal for part of Aurora complexON THE WEB Story from www.CrainsCleveland.com.



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■■ ViewRay Inc. said the Universityof California’s, Los Angeles HealthSystem and its Jonsson Comprehen-sive Cancer Center is the third oncology research center in the worldto acquire a radiotherapy systemfrom the Cleveland medical devicecompany.

ViewRay is developing its new research radiation therapy system tofeature a patented combination ofradiotherapy delivery and simulta-neous magnetic resonance imaging.

Nearly two-thirds of all cancer patients receive radiation therapyduring their illness, according toViewRay. The company said its system is designed to provide continuous soft-tissue MR imagingduring treatment so clinicians cansee where the radiation is delivered,as it’s delivered.

■ Cleveland law firm McDonaldHopkins LLC said its new office inMiami already is expanding.

The firm’s office in Miami hasmoved to Suite 3130 on the 31st floor ofthe Southeast Financial Center “to ac-commodate growth and expansion.”

“We are very excited that ourspace in the Southeast FinancialCenter enables us to grow in the Miami market,” said Raquel A. Rodriguez, managing member of thefirm’s Miami office, in a statement.“We are actively recruiting talentedand experienced attorneys to joinour national practice groups.”

McDonald Hopkins entered theMiami market in late April.

■ The Kowit & Passov Real EstateGroup announced three new deals.

Snap Fitness in February 2012 willopen a 4,700-square-foot space inthe Middlefield Square ShoppingCenter in Middlefield. GregGuyuron and Adam Zimmermanwith Kowit & Passov represented thelandlord.

The Ohio Association of PublicSchool Employees has consolidatedtwo local offices for a central loca-tion. On Nov. 1, the association willbe at 3380 Brecksville Road in Rich-field in the Alexis Park Office Build-ing. Nanci Ferrante and Mr.Guyuron represented the landlordon this 4,448-square-foot lease.

Family apparel store Citi Trendswill open Dec. 1 at the Shore CenterPlaza South in Euclid. Mr. Guyuronand Tori Nook represented the land-lord on the 12,259-square-foot lease.

Spice of Life Catering diversifies business with moveBy KATHY AMES [email protected]

Spice of Life Catering Co. is kickingup its operation.

The company that was founded in2006 by Ben Bebenroth is movingfrom its shared space with MarigoldCatering Co. at Lakeside Avenue inCleveland into a new headquartersbuilding at Detroit Avenue and West58th Street in the Gordon Square ArtsDistrict, a move that was driven bya decision to branch out its offerings.

Spice of Life, an upscale cateringcompany that sources 95% of its ingredients from small family farmswithin a 100-mile radius of Cleve-land, is incorporating a restaurantand bar, market and urban garden

setting into its business. It’s all intended to cultivate more patroninteraction and inspire customersto become local food advocates,said Jackie Bebenroth, Ben’s wifeand business partner.

The 6,000-square-foot buildingserves Spice of Life’s purpose. Thefirst floor will be dedicated to a 45-seat restaurant and bar that alsowill function as the company’s spe-cial events space. An additional 60seats will be available on the patio.Spice Kitchen + Bar’s opening datehas yet to be determined, but therestaurant will feature five to eightseasonal dishes and four to five daily specials when operational.

The second floor will house officesand private event space. Plans for a

rooftop patio also are percolating.Guests aren’t limited to the tradi-

tional dining experience, either.The Spice Rack retail space will sella carefully curated collection ofgoods made by local foods artisans.

The parking lot behind the buildingwill transform into Spice Acres, anurban garden and farm with twohoophouses that will be used togrow produce for Spice of Life dishes.

“We’ll encourage people to inter-act with the garden around them,”Ms. Bebenroth said. “Ultimately, wewould like to use it as a springboardto another extension of the business— edible landscaping consulting ser-vices. We’d consult with individualslooking to establish chef’s gardens.”

Spice of Life is retrofitting the site

for its needs. The renovation likelywill cost $250,000, and Mr. Beben-roth still is scouting for private in-vestors to raise money for the project.

The total project investment isexpected to cost $375,000. Thecompany last week received a$40,000 National Retail AssistanceProgram loan, which included a$3,000 Gardening for Greenbacksgrant through the city of Cleveland.

The couple and chefs BrandonWalukus and Andy Strizak com-mand the nine-employee opera-tion; Spice of Life plans to hire anadditional six employees.

The catering outfit is on track todo $500,000 in sales this year. Thecompany so far has that muchbooked in events next year. ■

FILE PHOTO/JASON MILLER

Ben Bebenroth, chef and founder ofSpice of Life Catering Co.


For the fifth year in a row, Crain’sCleveland Business is honoring thearea’s top fiscal officers with its CFOof the Year Awards.

The honorees all have providedstandout fiscal direction to their respective organizations, providingguidance during these times of economic uncertainty.

An independent panel of judgesreviewed the nominees, taking intoaccount the following: candidatebackgrounds; how the nomineecontributed to the company’sgrowth and/or profitability; how thenominee contributed to other areasof corporate management; and howthe nominee made contributionsoutside the company (such as social,nonprofit, family, faith-based andcommunity involvement).

This year’s judges were Marilyn A.Eisele, CFO and vice president-finance, The PDI Group; Guy Fabe,tax partner, PricewaterhouseCoop-ers LLP; J.T. Mullen, chief invest-ment strategist, Fairport Asset Management; Michael J. O’Connor,financial adviser, Morgan StanleySmith Barney; Stephen J. Smith, CFO,American Greetings Corp.; and TimPistell, retired CFO and executivevice president of finance and adminis-tration at Parker Hannifin Corp.

Finalists and nominees will behonored at an event from 5:30 p.m.to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 25 at LaCentreConference and Banquet Facility,Westlake.

Tickets to the event can be purchased at www.CrainsCleveland.com/CFOTIX or by calling 216-771-5388.

2011 CFO OF THE YEAR FINALISTS■ Bill Chorba, NineSigma Inc.PAGE C-2

■ Mark Clark, FirstEnergyCorp. PAGE C-2

■ Kathleen Dillon, Ohio Technical College PAGE C-4

■ Elizabeth A. Donaldson, De Nora Tech Inc. PAGE C-4

■ Gale W. Fisk, Greater Cleve-land Regional Transit AuthorityPAGE C-5

■ Mary Ann Freas, SouthwestCommunity Health SystemPAGE C-6

■ Betty J. Goodman, Vocational

Guidance Services PAGE C-6

■ Dave Hamrick, InfoCisionManagement Corp. PAGE C-7

■ Dennis Jancsy, Medical Mutual of Ohio PAGE C-7

■ Richard “Duke” Jankura,JumpStart Inc. PAGE C-8

■ Elaine Kapusta, Dots LLCPAGE C-8

■ Michael E. Mayher, Lake-land Community College PAGEC-8

■ Scott A. Morgan, CuyahogaCounty Public Library PAGEC-10

■ Chris Pascarella, EnprotechCorp. PAGE C-10

■ Vincent Petrella, LincolnElectric Co. PAGE C-11

■ Michael Pressnell, Clark-Reliance PAGE C-11

■ Barry Reis, Jewish Federa-tion of Cleveland PAGE C-12

■ Cameron C. Rubino, OrthoHelix Surgical Designs Inc.PAGE C-12

■ Susan Suvak, Majestic SteelUSA Inc. PAGE C-13

■ Robert Trabucco, SterlingJewelers Inc. PAGE C-13

ON THE WEB: For profiles of past winners and coverage of the last four CFO of the Year events, visit www.CrainsCleveland.com/CFO.

ELSEWHERE IN THE SECTION■ Meet the judges.

■ Check out last year’s event. A look at last year’s CFO of the YearAwards ceremony, in pictures.

■ Meet the nominees. Put names of our other CFO of the Year nominees with their faces.* PROFILE INFORMATION IS FROM CFO OF THE YEAR NOMINATION FORMS


nomination said. “Markdesigned the financialblueprint for the mergerworking to position thetransaction to be accretiveto earnings in the first fullyear after completion.”

Mr. Clark has held anumber of positions in

finance, operations and strategicplanning. He became FirstEnergyCFO in April 2009.

At the company, he has a broadrange of responsibilities. For example, he has overseen the development of new managementreports that provide transparencyand clarity to all of the company’sbusiness units.

Additionally, he serves in the capacity of being a sought-after adviser in the company, one who isfrequently called on for his adviceand insight.

“He has been instrumental in the company’s growth from a relatively small, vertically integratedregulated utility to a diversified energy company with both regulatedutility operations and a competitivegeneration business,” the nomina-tion said. “His vision and leader-ship were key to developing thestrategic focus that helped build thecompany on a solid base of financial strength and flexibility.”

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BILL CHORBANineSigma Inc. ◆ Beachwood

Bill Chorba’sbreadth of knowl-edge, positive outlook and ability

to command tough chal-lenges with integrity haveadvanced a Beachwoodcompany’s financial position.

Mr. Chorba has been a key driverbehind the growth in NineSigma’srevenue, which in 2010 was $9 million. The business developmentorganization attributes the CFO’scost-containment strategies andcapital-raising efforts to continued

growth that forecasts 25%to 30% year-over-year revenue gains over thenext several years, as wellas realized revenue growthof more than 20% lastyear.

“Budget pressures, increasing red tape,

helping with tough strategic deci-sion-making and restructuringcompanies in difficult times have become more common for the topfinance chief,” the nomination said.“Bill has handled these pressureswith class.”

Mr. Chorba’s efforts to advancethe business include outside capitalraises to spur accelerated growth,helping to identify new markets forexpansion and overhauling vendorrelationships.

His most recent initiatives includemoving many core on-premise ITplatforms to the cloud, which bolster the speed and efficiency ofNineSigma’s IT systems with littleassociated costs.

Mr. Chorba’s corporate manage-ment contributions also extend into strategic planning, human resources issues, board meetings,legal aid and compliances, teambuilding and investor relations.

“His positive attitude, creativethinking and ability to listen andlead make him a stand-out in everyproject, even those outside the finance realm,” the nominationsaid.

The CFO also has proposed anemployee wellness program aimedat increasing health awareness andfostering a more healthy work environment.

He also engages employees in thecompany’s well-being by educatingthem on the organization’s vitalstatistics.

“Understanding the importanceof upholding a high level of fiscalstewardship, he openly shares performance data status and financials with employees,” thenomination said. “This candor andhonesty has eliminated the elementof fear that developed as a result ofthe most recent economic down-turn.”

Mr. Chorba’s involvement outsideNineSigma includes participationin the Ohio Society of CPAs as anexecutive board member. He also isformer treasurer of the Pi LambdaPhi Educational Foundation, whichprovides scholarships and develop-ment programs to foster the growthof future leaders.

MARK CLARKFirstEnergy Corp. ◆ Akron

Mark Clark grewup in Akronand has spenthis career at

FirstEnergy and its prede-cessor company, OhioEdison.

With more than 30 yearsat the company, Mr. Clarkhas been with the organization during periods of significant growth,primarily through acquisitions ofother regional energy companies.

“As CFO, Mark has streamlinedthe company’s financial operationsto ensure the strategic alignmentwith business objectives,” the nom-ination said. “He improved liquidityduring the most challenging eco-nomic period in recent historywhile maintaining investment grademetrics and shareholder dividends.”

In February, Akron-basedFirstEnergy Corp.’s acquisition ofAllegheny Energy Inc. closed, marking the beginning of the utili-ties’ combined operation. Accordingto the nomination, the merger was expected to generate annual rev-enues of more than $16 billion withassets of nearly $46 billion.

“As a result of his actions tostrengthen the company’s balancesheet, FirstEnergy was in the posi-tion to capitalize on the $8.5 millionmerger with Allegheny Energy,” the

JUDGE’S PROFILEMarilyn A. EiseleCFO and vice president of finance ◆◆ The PDI Group

Marilyn A. Eisele joined Solon-based The PDI Group in April 2011.PDI is a designer and producer ofmunitions trailers, weapons containers/modules, weapons loaders, aircrafttow vehicles, weapons adapters, munitions assembly conveyor sys-tems, tow bars, specialized electronicequipment for smart weapons, steer-able axle systems and componentsused primarily by the United Statesand 38 allied air forces.

Prior to joining PDI, Ms. Eiseleworked as CFO of Five Star Tech-nologies Inc., an advanced materialscompany that developed and manufactured proprietary electronicmaterials for the mobile displays,photovoltaics and microelectronic

packaging markets.

She also wasCFO to severalinformation-based technologystartups and served as CFO to twopublic companies.

After obtaining her undergraduatedegree from Bowling Green StateUniversity, she was with PriceWater-houseCoopers for 15 years servingpublic and private companies with a specialization in mergers and acquisitions and high-growth busi-nesses.

She and her husband, Mark, live in Shaker Heights and have threechildren.


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a financial reporting sys-tem that meets the UnitedStates’ Generally AcceptedAccounting Principles andthe format required by DeNora’s new parent.

She also designed a newannual budget process andsales and costing systemsas required by the Italian company.

“(Her) disciplined and flexibleleadership through these chal-lenges have allowed De Nora tosucceed in (its) mission to be theindustry leader in providing innov-ative technologies to customersworldwide,” the nomination said.

She served as the leader for themanagement and implementationof a global transfer pricing project,which organized all De Nora com-panies — in Germany, Singapore,India, China and Brazil, in additionto the United States and Italy —under common policies accept-able to those countries’ respectivetax authorities.

Ms. Donaldson also implementedan inventory optimization initiativeand advised the company’s man-

agement team on the imminent relocation of itsU.S. headquarters, fromChardon to Concord; thatmove will be completed bythe end of this year.

Through those measures,De Nora has seen revenuegrow 10% since the acqui-

sition, and it remained profitablethrough the downturn thanks to acost-reduction program devised byMs. Donaldson.

Ms. Donaldson, who oversees afinancial and information tech-nology staff of 10, also has remadethe company’s medical plan,avoiding what the nomination formestimated as a 30% cost increase,and also developed a new deferredcompensation plan that resulted in“significant” cost savings. The com-pany employs 415 and reported 2010global revenues of $210 million.

“Beth possesses many of the attributes required to be a successfulCFO, including strong communi-cation skills, confidence (and a)deep understanding of the busi-ness,” the nomination said.


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KATHLEEN DILLONOhio Technical College ◆ Cleveland

Ohio TechnicalCollege’s enroll-ment and staffhave grown

markedly in the 10 yearsKathleen Dillon has spentat the school, located onEast 51st Street in Cleveland.

Ms. Dillon’s responsibil-ities, too, have grown, as she has ahand in nearly every aspect of theschool’s operations as its executivevice president. She also is OTC’sacting chief financial officer.

OTC has grown to 256 employeesfrom 50 when Ms. Dillon arrived atthe school, and its enrollment hasspiked to 1,500 from 250. Theschool reported 2010 revenues of$19.55 million. The school in 2009opened its PowerSport Institute in

North Randall. As the school has grown,

Ms. Dillon has lowered itsbad debt percentage, from2.24% to 1%, by improvingtuition collection methods.She also collaboratesclosely with OTC accoun-tants and banks to ensure

compliance with the AccreditingCommission of Career Schools andColleges, which oversees OTC andother colleges like it.

Ms. Dillon over the last twoyears has upgraded the school’spayroll system to one that featuresmore employee-friendly access,and the school also has benefitedfrom the implementation of onlinebanking and electronic fundstransfer payments.

OTC and Ms. Dillon have tight-ened budgetary processes, “in anattempt to keep spending focusedon items that will benefit the education of our students,” thenomination said. This move has“allowed the college to have aspending guideline to follow in order to make sure the college isproperly reinvesting in itself.”

Ms. Dillon played a key role inthe expansion of the school’s bookstore, which has helped theschool’s revenues grow, and in developing an online e-commercepresence for the store. The schoolin 2009 was named the school ofthe year by Tomorrow’s Technicianmagazine and toolmaker ChicagoPneumatic.

“Ms. Dillon has had a very positiveimpact in putting OTC on the map,”the nomination said. “Without herexpertise and financial insight, theschool would not be able to expandand embark on its continued growth.”

ELIZABETH A.DONALDSONDe Nora Tech Inc. ◆Chardon

Elizabeth Donaldson hasbeen busy.

As if navigating De NoraTech Inc. through the eco-

nomic downturn wasn’t enough,Ms. Donaldson also has contendedwith developing a new reportingstructure to accommodate thecompany’s Italian-based parentcompany, Industrie De Nora.

That company acquired De Nora— a Chardon firm that specializesin electrochemical technologies —in 2005. Since then, Ms. Donaldson,De Nora’s manager of administra-tion, finance and control, has created

JUDGE’S PROFILEGuy FabeTax partner ◆◆ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Guy Fabe’s focus is primarily onpublicly held, multinational companies.He was admitted to the partnershipin July 2006 and has 18 years of experience specializing in areas suchas accounting methods, consolidatedreturns, corporate restructurings, accounting for income taxes and foreign tax credit planning.

Mr. Fabe joined PwC in 2002. Priorto that, he spent more than eightyears at Arthur Andersen.

He has extensive experience in theindustrial products and automotiveindustries.

Mr. Fabe’sleadership rolesin the businessand civic com-munities includeserving on theboards of directors for the Associationfor Corporate Growth, Clevelandchapter; Cleveland Leadership Center; and the Golden Age Centersof Greater Cleveland.

He received his undergraduate degree from John Carroll Universityand his master’s degree from theUniversity of Illinois.


OCTOBER 17 - 23, 2011 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS C-5

Dennis JancsyDennis, according to our calculations, you’re Column A, Row 1.Congratulations on your nomination for CFO of the Year from yourfriends and colleagues at Medical Mutual.

Health & Life Insurance© 2011 Medical Mutual of Ohio

GALE W. FISKGreater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority◆ Cleveland

If the budget-cutters inWashington, D.C., arelooking for some guid-ance, they might want

to call Gale W. Fisk.As the weak economy

pushed down the CuyahogaCounty tax revenues thatfuel RTA, Mr. Fisk and histeam at the transit agency’s Officeof Management and Budget had tocome up with nearly $18 million inoperational cuts in 2010 and $30million in overall expense reduc-tions. In total, expenses that yearwere cut 12.6% to $208 millionfrom $238 million in 2009. The $208million figure brought expenses to2004 levels.

Mr. Fisk also reduced RTA’s capital improvement plan by morethan half, to $53 million a yearfrom $118 million per year, to accommodate new fiscal realities.

The cost-cutting was aided significantly by the creation andimplementation of TransitStat, amanagement program that usesadvanced statistics to measure operational efficiency at RTA. Theprogram is similar to Six Sigma orTotal Quality Management leanmanagement programs in that itoffers a data-driven approach toidentifying cost savings throughoutthe organization. RTA used it tofind big savings in areas includingovertime and inventory expenses.

According to Mr. Fisk’s CFO of

the Year nomination, healso “put his financial expertise into other matters, including processimprovements and imple-menting a fuel-hedgingprogram for RTA.” Byhedging RTA’s fuel pur-chases in the commodities

market, Mr. Fisk helped the agencyreduce 2010 diesel costs by wellmore than half, or about $10 million, to $7.4 million.

Through these measures andothers, Mr. Fisk helped RTAachieve a 2010 year-end balance of$20 million, up from $2.9 millionin 2009. With the $20 million year-end balance, RTA for the first timesince 1990 met its goal of having a30-day end-of-year balance.

Mr. Fisk is a graduate of theU.S. Coast Guard Academy, andhe has an MBA from GeorgeWashington University. One ofseveral positions he held with theCoast Guard was as finance director for the Great Lakes Re-gion. In his final assignment, Mr.Fisk directed the activation of 300Coast Guard reservists to DesertStorm in 1991.

Mr. Fisk coached the Bay HighSchool girl’s soccer team for 16years, leading them to state cham-pionships in 1999 and 2002. Mr.Fisk is an assistant coach to hisdaughter on his granddaughter’sU10 travel soccer team.

PAST CFO OF THE YEAR HONOREES2010

■ Laurie Brlas, Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (Large public company)

■ Robert G. O’Brien, Forest CityEnterprises Inc. (Medium public com-pany)

■ Mark R. Widmar, GrafTech International Ltd. (Small public company)

■ Gregory Robinson, SafeguardProperties LLC (Large private com-pany)

■ Andrew Tanner, The NRPGroup (Medium private company)

■ Frank Mercuri, Vocon (Smallprivate company)

■ Michael A. Szubski, UniversityHospitals (Large nonprofit)

■ Craig Foltin, Cuyahoga Com-munity College (Medium nonprofit)

■ Brian S. Kenyon, The Rockand Roll Hall of Fame and MuseumInc. (Small nonprofit)

2009■ Richard C. Ebner, Liberty

Bank (Small private company) ■ Rick Coan, Garick LLC

(Medium private company) ■ Steven C. Glass, Cleveland

Clinic (Nonprofit global hospital) ■ John D. Grampa, Brush Engi-

neered Materials Inc. (Medium publiccompany)

■ Yvette M. Ittu, Greater Cleve-land Partnership (Nonprofit civic andcommunity)

■ Fredric “Fritz” Kohmann,Shearer’s Foods Inc. (Large privatecompany)

■ Julie McGraw, National Inter-state Corp. (Small public company)

■ C. Michael Rutherford, Summa Health System (Nonprofit regional hospital)

■ John P. Sesek, Positive Education Program (Nonprofit humanservices)

■ Stephen J. Smith, AmericanGreetings Corp. (Large public com-pany)

2008■ Bonnie Barrett, Cleveland

Foodbank (Nonprofit, human services)

■ Tom Browne, Bellefaire/Wingspan Care Group (Nonprofit,health care)

■ Jenniffer Deckard, FairmountMinerals (Large private company)

■ Mark Eisele, Applied IndustrialTechnologies (Medium public com-pany)

■ John Flanagan, Howley Bread(Small private company)

■ Patricia Gaul, Playhouse-Square Foundation (Nonprofit, artsand culture)

■ Ware H. Grove, CBiz (Smallpublic company)

■ Michael Headen, United Wayof Greater Cleveland (Nonprofit, com-munity service)

■ Karen D. Melton, KaufmanContainer Co. (Medium private company)

■ Tim Pistell, Parker HannifinCorp. (Large public company)

2007■ David K. Creamer, Kent State

University (Nonprofit, educational)■ Glenn A. Eisenberg, The

Timken Co. (Medium public company)■ Richard H. Fearon, Eaton

Corp. (Large public company)■ Richard L. Garcia, Wastequip

Inc. (Medium private company)■ Craig Kaiser, YMCA of Greater

Cleveland (Nonprofit, social services)■ J.T. Mullen, The Cleveland

Foundation (Nonprofit, charitable)■ Frank Roddy, Swagelok Co.

(Large private company)■ Kevin V. Roberts, University

Hospitals Health System (Nonprofit,medical)

■ Carole Sanderson, HerschmanArchitects Inc. (Small private company)

■ Thomas G. Smith, Forest CityEnterprises Inc. (Small public company)

FILE PHOTO/JASON MILLER

Cliffs Natural Resources CFO LaurieBrlas (center) with Crain’s publisherBrian Tucker and Marsh’s Bill Paul.


Mary Ann Freas’duties at South-west CommunityHealth System

start with numbers, but theycertainly don’t end there.

As would be expected ofa hospital system CFO, Ms.Freas is responsible for“the revenue-cycle function” atSouthwest, which primarily includes“the transparency and credibilityof the billing and collectionprocesses,” according to her CFOof the Year nomination form. Amajor — and growing — componentof that is establishing policies forfinancial assistance to uninsuredand underinsured patients. She’salso responsible for capital and operating expenditure policies.

Since Ms. Freas joined Southwestin 2008, the system’s number of

“days-cash-on-hand” hasrisen from 160 days to 232days as of mid-2011, thenomination states. Inturn, Southwest “has gonefrom an average break-even operating margin toa consistent 3% to 4% forthe past three years.” One

measure of what she does: In han-dling Southwest’s $70 million debtportfolio, she “took advantage ofrefinancing opportunities … thathave created over $600,000 in annual savings in interest expense.”

Southwest counts on Ms. Freas,a John Carroll University graduate,to play an active role in businessdevelopment initiatives.

The nomination states she has“guided senior leadership throughformal business planning to: opena new geriatric psychiatry nursing


MARSH SALUTES THE CFO OF THE YEAR NOMINEES, FINALISTS AND WINNERSWe realize that it is no small accomplishment to be considered for this award. We congratulate you on your outstanding performance as a corporate financial leader.

Partnering for impactSM

Marsh is one of the Marsh & McLennan Companies, together with Guy Carpenter, Mercer, and Oliver Wyman.

marsh.com

Copyright © 2011 Marsh Inc. All rights reserved. USDG1671

Join the Health & Wellness CrusadeParticipate in the 5th Annual Northern Ohio Employer Wellness Survey and get a

report of the latest trends in worksite wellness in Northern

Ohio. Go to www.gallagherbenefits.com/cleveland to

complete the 10-minute survey. Contact Alison Muth for

more information at 216.377.2595 or [email protected].

MARY ANN FREASSouthwest Community Health System ◆Middleburg Heights

unit; acquire state-of-the-art linearaccelerator equipment used in radi-ation treatment of oncology patients;construct a freestanding 24/7 emer-gency services facility in Brunswick;and implement major informationtechnology applications to ensurepatient safety, satisfaction andquality and efficiency of care.”

She also has been “instrumentalin enhancing the ‘Leadership Eval-uation Management’ system so thatit includes relevant, quantifiablemetrics to be used in evaluating theperformance of (Southwest’s) management team.”

Ms. Freas shares her expertiseand talent outside Southwest.

For instance, she serves as thevice president of the board oftrustees for the Ronald McDonaldHouse of Cleveland. As that organi-zation has been working on astrategic plan, Ms. Freas has pro-vided financial forecasting servicesand has connected Ronald McDon-ald House officials with consultantsto advise the organization on optimalstrategies for investing funds.

BETTY J. GOODMANVocational Guidance Services ◆ Cleveland

Over the past 20years, VocationalGuidance Serviceshas doubled the

amount of revenue itbrings in for its core mission: serving peoplewith disabilities and otherbarriers to employment.All the while, the Cleveland nonprofit’s finance departmenthas remained the same size.

For both of those achievements,Betty Goodman deserves a lot ofcredit.

Ms. Goodman has spent morethan 32 years at Vocational Guid-ance Services, including 12 yearsas the nonprofit’s controller. Shehas served as chief financial officersince June.

“It’s a big job — to be responsiblefor the financial management ofan agency upon which almost athousand individuals with disabilitiesand other barriers to employmentrely for a weekly paycheck,” thenomination said. “And BettyGoodman does that job expertly.”

Ms. Goodman’s lengthy tenurehelped her develop a base ofknowledge related to both thenonprofit’s internal fiscal mattersand compliance issues involvingfederal contracts and grants, thenomination said.

That knowledge not only has led her to teach and train others inthe nonprofit and for-profit sector,but it also has helped Vocational Guidance Services remain in compliance with federal grant

guidelines for 30 consecu-tive years.

Ms. Goodman hasplayed a key role in securingadditional funding thathas allowed the organiza-tion to create thousands ofjobs for people with barriersto employment, the nomi-

nation said. For instance, she wassingly responsible for making Vocational Guidance Services asponsor of the Ohio Department ofEducation’s Summer Food ServiceProgram, which provides meals tolow-income children at 13 locationsduring the summer. People withdisabilities prepare and packagethe food.

Ms. Goodman also worked tokeep her finance department efficient as Vocational GuidanceServices grew. Over the past threeyears, she introduced software thathas allowed both the accountspayable and accounts receivableteams to use much less paper. Shehas authored financial policies tohelp the organization conform toGenerally Accepted AccountingPrinciples and has worked to teachmanagers in other departmentshow to use financial data to analyzetheir own lines of business.

The Streetsboro resident is active with several organizations.For instance, she is president ofthe Shiloh Missionary Ministry atthe historic Shiloh Baptist Church,and she supports Kincaid KindredSpirits, an advocacy group for minorities with sickle cell disease.

ATTEND THE CFO OF THE YEAR AWARDSCrain’s Cleveland Business will hold

its fifth-annual CFO of the YearAwards next Tuesday, Oct. 25, atLaCentre Conference and Banquet

Facility in Westlake.At the event, presented by Marsh,

networking opportunities will be fol-lowed by the announcement of this

year’s winners. For more information or to

register, visit www.CrainsCleveland.com/CFOTIX.



Proof that good leadership

counts.We’re proud to recognize our own Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Mark T. Clark, as a finalist for CFO of the Year.

Congratulations Mark T. Clark

DAVE HAMRICKInfoCision ManagementCorp. ◆ Akron

Dave Hamrick has beensuch an entrusted asset inthe InfoCision Manage-ment Corp. empire, even

Gary Taylor’s family enlisted theCFO as a personal financial adviserwhen an illness had befallen the

companyfounder twoyears ago.

Mr. Hamrick’sfinancial acumenafforded theTaylor family thetime to concen-trate on criticalfamily issues

without putting their business andfinancial well-being at risk.

He “not only guided InfoCisionthrough the narrow channel to morestable financial waters, but alsotook on the additional responsibilityfor the financial and operationalmanagement of several outsidebusinesses owned by the Taylorfamily,” the nomination said. “Davecontinues to be a tireless and pas-sionate worker who always has thebest interest of the company first.”

Since Mr. Hamrick joined theAkron-based call center operationin 2007, he has upgraded companyfinancial systems and procedures,minimized expenses and hasstrengthened his department by realigning responsibilities andmaking key hires.

Some of the fiscal initiatives accomplished under his watch:

■ revamping the operation’s taxreporting process by applying IRSguidelines and rules, helping the firmrealize millions of dollars in taxbenefits;

■ restructuring a complex $37million corporate financing packagethat resulted in about $650,000 inannual savings and increasing workingcapital availability by $2 million;

■ negotiating a $6 million purchaseand improvements loan for InfoCi-sion’s expansion in Green, and coordinating a $3.2 million loan forthe leasehold improvements to twocorporate campus buildings; and

■ helping spearhead a completebusiness succession and continuityplan to ensure business continuanceand success.

“His contributions have helpedInfoCision maximize profits and reduce expenses,” the nominationsaid.

Mr. Hamrick’s cost-paring effortsstem from negotiating contracts withvendors rather than slashing em-ployee benefits; in fact, the operationhas continued to implement annualpay hikes and benefit increases.The 4,000-employee company postedrevenues in 2010 of $173 million.

“Dave has worked very closely withme on numerous initiatives includingimproved financial reporting andanalysis, cost containment andmeticulous analysis of business opportunities that will enable Info-Cision to sustain double-digitgrowth,” said Mike Van Scyoc, chiefstrategy officer, in the nomination.

Mr. Hamrick serves as treasurerof the call center operator’s boardof directors. He also is a member ofInfoCision’s executive committee.

Mr. Hamrick serves as headcoach for Ohio Storm Baseball, assistant youth wrestling coach forNorth Akron Wrestling Club, assis-tant youth football coach for theCity of Green and is an adjunctteacher at the University of Akron.

DENNIS JANCSYMedical Mutual of Ohio ◆ Cleveland

Dennis Jancsyjoined MedicalMutual as execu-tive vice presi-

dent and CFO with morethan 30 years of financialexperience in health careranging from working atErnst & Young to CFO ofAkron Children’s Hospital.

That career positioned him tomake a profound impact on thehealth insurer in just two years.

Beyond the expected role ofbulldog over the outfit’s finances,associates say he has invested intraining his direct reports in the finance department.

He has introduced new investing

techniques that will helpthe insurer with 2010 rev-enue of $3 billion obtainbetter yields. This hashelped it cope with theroller coaster representedby the 2008 recession andits aftershocks as well asthe looming challenge of

federal health care reform.Mr. Jancsy is a financial execu-

tive who brings creativity, skills asa team player and strength as aleader to this job, the nominationsaid of the former health care industry segment leader for Ernst& Young’s national audit group inCleveland. Both his bachelor’s andmaster’s degrees in business admin-

istration are from the University ofMassachusetts.

“Dennis joined Medical Mutualtwo years ago and brought strongtechnical knowledge and creativityto the finance function,” the nomi-nation said. “He challenged thestatus quo and has led importantchange throughout the organizationwhile being regarded as the ultimateteam player and creating a sense ofconfidence among our board andsenior leadership.”

Mr. Jancsy also knows how to havefun and do some good. He was instrumental in helping downtownCleveland serve as a scene for themovie, “The Avengers.”

After the movie studio paid theinsurer $20,000 for using its RoseBuilding on East Ninth Street forpart of the filming, Mr. Jancsy sawit as a chance to give back. As a result, the insurer donated the

money to the Greater Cleveland FilmCommission to help it attract moremovie productions to the region,helping diversify its economy.

He also has served as an adjunctprofessor in health care finance atCleveland State University, and hehelps safeguard finances as a boardmember of Old Trail School in Bathalthough his own children are pastschool age.

He belongs to the Healthcare Financial Management Associa-tion, American Institute of PublicAccountants and the Ohio Societyof Certified Public Accountants.

He also has served on the auditcommittee of the Catholic Dioceseof Cleveland Foundation.

Colleagues nominated Mr. Jancsyover his own objection.

“Thank you,” his nomination saidhe told them, “but I believe, ‘He whoexalts himself shall be humbled.’”


Elaine Kapusta ismore than a CFOfor a women’s fash-ion retailer with

more than 400 storesacross the country. She’san instrumental componentof Dots LLC’s journey tobecoming a national brand.

Ms. Kapusta joined Dots in 1994as controller, and her determinationto take the company to the nextlevel helped her to climb the corporate ladder, ultimately becoming vice president and chieffinancial officer for the companyin August 2007.

In fact, Ms. Kapusta was thechief architect of Dots’ sale to theNew York private equity firm ofIrving Place Capital last January,which is expected to allow the retailer to open 600 more storesnationwide and lead to a potentialpublic offering of its stock.

She has been a leaderthroughout the Dots orga-nization and has taken ona number of responsibili-ties, such as benefits planning, workers compensation, liability issues and the company’s budgeting and planning

process. She also was instrumentalin Dots’ opening a new distributioncenter and corporate headquartersin 2009.

“She goes above and beyond herrole in our company and leads herteam to attain the highest caliberof results,” the nomination said.

Simply put, Ms. Kapusta is abroad-based business leader, according to the nomination, andshe brings value to all aspects ofthe business.

“Elaine’s direct reports aspire toachieve the leadership qualitiesdemonstrated by her each day.


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RICHARD “DUKE” JANKURAJumpStart Inc. ◆ Cleveland

Richard “Duke”Jankura brings toplevel corporate experience and a

Marine’s “first-to-fight”discipline to undertakinghis post as CFO at theJumpStart Inc. nonprofitthat helps ready early stagecompanies for venture capitalinvestments.

He leads the finance, informationtechnology and administrationteam at the $14 million nonprofitwhere he instituted the financialsystems after JumpStart’s 2004founding.

Those systems have a twist because the government and non-profit foundation sources of itsfunding require trustworthy datato gauge the effectiveness of investments. He also managedJumpStart’s organizational growthfor seven years and supervised details from ensuring regulatorycompliance to helping early stagefirms find funding.

At JumpStart, he has a staff ofthree direct reports while earlier inhis career he served as controllerof the McDonald Investmentsstock brokerage, both as an inde-pendent company and after it became a subsidiary of KeyCorp.

At the brokerage and investmentbanking house he managed a staffof five financial professionals. AtMcDonald he led the automationof its accounting system in the1990s, standardized incentive programs and ran the challengingfinancial side of going throughmultiple mergers. That backgroundequipped him to organize JumpStartin 2004 when it was created by themerger of four predecessor outfits.

Mr. Jankura is a veteran of the

U.S. Marine Corps, wherehe was a first lieutenant inlogistics. He continues tosupport the Marines today. He attends after-hours events in uniform,the nomination said, andhis service is as much apart of who he is as his

MBA and undergraduate businessdegree from the University of Hart-ford in Connecticut.

“He’s not just a financial pro.Duke is the voice of positivity 100%of the time within the organization,has a great sense of humor and impeccable ethics,” the nominationsaid. “He’s the first to compliment ateam member or pass along another’s achievement to the entirestaff. No job is too small for Duke either. He’ll grab a broom and sweepup after an event without beingasked, even if he was the one givingthe keynote presentation. He’s a trueteam player.”

A product of Leadership Cleve-land, Mr. Jankura served on theboard of Old Brooklyn CommunityDevelopment Corp., is a past president of Young Friends of theCleveland Museum of Art and istreasurer of the Institute of CreativeLeadership, a nonprofit that pro-vides experience-based leadershiptraining programs to area businessand other groups.

At the community developmentlevel, he’s helped write strategicplans. He also helped organize a“Main Street” initiative, a state andnational program that assists marketing and development of aging commercial districts.

Mr. Jankura and his wife, Janet,have two young children. Mr.Jankura coaches his son’s baseballteam.

ELAINE KAPUSTADots LLC ◆ Glenwillow

They are impressed by her abilityto think on her feet and quickly analyze difficult situations, askingthe right questions to drive results,” the nomination said. “Shepushes them to the next level oftheir abilities by communicatinghigh expectations while supportingtheir efforts and removing thebarriers to success.”

Prior to her work at Dots, Ms. Kapusta was at Ernst & Young,where she worked to improve profitability through solid budgeting,staffing and progress monitoring.She rose to the rank of senior manager in her 11-year career atErnst & Young.

Ms. Kapusta, a graduate of JohnCarroll University, is married withthree children and is actively involved in their extracurricular activities, such as show choir,cheerleading and the drama club.Somehow, she manages to squeezein time to volunteer at the ClevelandFood Bank.

“Her inherent devotion and pas-sion for success allows her to leadby example,” the nomination said.

MICHAEL E. MAYHERLakeland Community College ◆ Kirtland

Michael E. Mayhernot only bringsinsight and innovation to

Lakeland Community College as its top businessofficer, he contributes to thestate’s entire higher edu-cation community as well.

For one, Mr. Mayher, who servesas Lakeland’s senior vice presidentfor administrative services andtreasurer, co-chaired a state taskforce charged with developing energy conservation goals for public

colleges and universities— something that promptedseveral higher educationinstitutions across thestate to invest millions ingoing green.

He also was instrumentalin developing Lakeland’s20-year energy master

plan, which serves as a road map toreduce the college’s direct and indi-rect greenhouse gas emissions by60%. Under his leadership, the college also initiated a $6.3 millionenergy conservation project in2008, which translates to more than$500,000 in annual energy savings.

“Lakeland’s energy savings pro-ject has been identified as the bestpractice example and benchmarkfor post-secondary institutionsthroughout the state and country,”the nomination said.

Mr. Mayher consistently thinksoutside the box and embraces innovative ideas to cut costs whileat the same time securing the bestservices. He oversees the departmentsof business services, administrative

technologies and facilities manage-ment, three of the largest departmentsat the college.

“He encourages his managers toinvestigate and propose new ideasfor efficiency and sustainability,and is always open to suggestions,”the nomination said.

He led the way for Lakeland andnearby school districts to savemoney on insurance in an effort toband together to gain more leveragein price negotiations.

Mr. Mayher currently is servingas the chairman for the Ohio Asso-ciation of Community College’srisk management task force to implement a group risk manage-ment and procurement program.

“Mike Mayher is an outstandingbusiness officer and brings insightand innovation not only to LakelandCommunity College, but also to otherinstitutions of higher learning inOhio and across the nation,” thenomination said.

Mr. Mayher is involved in severalnonprofit efforts on the local level.For example, he serves on the boardof trustees for the Lake County YMCAand volunteers for the United Way.

Mr. Mayher is married with oneson. He is a graduate of ClevelandState University.


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OF CLEVELANDJewish Federation

SCOTT A. MORGANCuyahoga County Public Library ◆ Parma

As keeper of thebooks for Cuya-hoga County PublicLibrary, Scott A.

Morgan has made his mark.Mr. Morgan, the library’s

finance director since 2003,assisted in the successfulpassage of an operatinglevy for the library, and he madecontributions to the library’s long-range financial plan and capitalplan that were essential in securinga AAA bond rating in 2010, thenomination said.

That rating enabled the library

to sell $75 million in notesat a 3.79% interest rate tofund the library’s capitalplan, which will reduce the library’s dependenceon state funding and allowit to live within its 2.5-milloperating levy. (The library’s levy is the lowest

of nine library systems in CuyahogaCounty, according to the nomina-tion.)

Additionally, Mr. Morgan hasbeen instrumental in securing newrevenues through grant fundingand instituting new revenue-

generating services, such as pass-port processing and photo services,at a time when public library funding is significantly reduced.

Described as a man of “infectious”spirit, dedication and profession-alism, Mr. Morgan this year assumedthe additional responsibility for directing the library’s facilities operations.

Now, he is operations director ata time when the library is engagedin the most significant capital pro-gram in its 87-year history. Underthe capital plan, five to six newbranch libraries are to be built —the first major public investmentsin some communities in decades.

“Scott’s generous spirit and support for new initiatives haveplayed an important role in thesuccess of Cuyahoga County PublicLibrary, which has been indepen-dently rated the nation’s best large

library for two consecutive years,”the nomination said.

All the while, Mr. Morgan is anopen book: His commitment totransparency in government andresponsible use of public funds hasearned the library recognition foraccountability in financial reporting.

A University of Akron graduate,Mr. Morgan previously worked fortwo other libraries, more recentlyas finance director for Akron-Sum-mit County Public Library and alsoas clerk/treasurer from 1986 to 1995for Stark County District Library.

Mr. Morgan has held nonprofitleadership roles, too: He is pastpresident and vice president ofboth the American Cancer Society,Stark County chapter, and the Bat-tered Women’s Shelter of Summitand Medina counties, as well as apast board member of other orga-nizations.

CHRISPASCARELLAEnprotech Corp. ◆Cleveland

Chris Pascarella has had hishand in shaping the Enpro-tech Corp. that exists today.

In his time as CFO for theCleveland company, he has led

initiatives thatclosed one divi-sion, divestedtwo companies,discontinuedmajor productlines and elimi-nated more than30% of the company’s head

count as part of restructuring plans.Enprotech is a provider of services

and products for a wide range of

industries including automotive,beverage and steel.

Described as an “extremely talented and passionate individual,”Mr. Pascarella has led the organiza-tion to generate additional revenueand reduce costs. Since 2006, he’smanaged a $20 million reduction inworking capital requirements, whichcontinue to decline on an annualbasis.

“He has the proven ability to create measurable change that directly impacts profitability,” thenomination said.

Mr. Pascarella achieved aggressiveearning targets for 2007, 2008 and2010, and developed and imple-mented a new and consistent finan-cial statement reporting, budgetingprocess and forecasting model toenable more accurate informationfor decision making. The companyis on track to meet or exceed its financial plan for 2011.

“Leadership is what sets Chrisapart from other CFOs,” the nomi-nation said, noting that Mr. Pascarellais not only the company’s top finan-cial person, but a strong supporterof the company’s overall missionand a promoter of its culture.

In fact, in 2011, Mr. Pascarellawas one of 30 senior executives selected to participate in the GlobalLeadership Program, a 12-day intensive leadership and networkingactivity held in Japan and sponsoredby Enprotech’s international parentcompany, ITOCHU Corp.

Mr. Pascarella and his wife, Severine, have three young children.Mr. Pascarella coaches his childrenin the North Royalton munchkinsoccer program.

A graduate of Hiram College, KentState University and Groupe ESC inRennes, France, Mr. Pascarella nowis in his third term on the LawrenceSchool board, for which he previ-ously served as treasurer. LawrenceSchool is an independent, coeduca-tional day school serving studentswith learning differences and atten-tion deficits.

Additionally, Mr. Pascarella is amember of the advisory council atSaint Albert the Great School inNorth Royalton.

JUDGE’SPROFILEJ.T. MullenChief investment strategist ◆◆Fairport Asset Management

J.T. Mullen joined Fairport AssetManagement in 2011, bringing morethan 30 years of experience as an

investment and finance professional.

As chief investmentstrategist, heprovides leadership and strategic oversight to

Fairport’s Investment Committee.Prior to joining Fairport, Mr.

Mullen was senior vice presidentand CFO at The Cleveland Founda-tion. During his 23-year tenure, hecrafted an investment philosophythat led to substantial growth of thefoundation’s endowment — from$400 million to $1.8 billion.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Mullenwas a manager with Arthur Young &Company and also with the CuyahogaCounty Board of Commissioners.He earned his bachelor’s degreefrom Cleveland State University.

His current involvement includesthe investment committees of Unit-ed Way of Greater Cleveland andthe Catholic Diocese of ClevelandFoundation.

Mr. Mullen and his wife, Mary,have five children and four grand-children.



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VINCENT PETRELLAThe Lincoln Electric Co. ◆ Cleveland

Thanks to the fiscalmanagement ofVincent Petrella,The Lincoln

Electric Co. has been ableto implement its strategicand global growth plans inan effective manner.

“Under Vince Petrella’sleadership, Lincoln has main-tained an outstanding financialprofile, a stellar reporting recordand an excellent investor relationsprogram during a time of substantialgrowth in the company’s profitsand sales,” the nomination said.

Mr. Petrella was elected CFO ofLincoln in 2004. He initially joinedthe company in 1995 as managerof internal audit, becoming corpo-rate controller in 1997 and beingelected an officer in 2001. Prior tojoining Lincoln, Mr. Petrellaworked for 13 years for Pricewater-houseCoopers LLP.

“Under Mr. Petrella’s managementand direction, Lincoln has put inplace a compelling strategy tomaintain a strong balance sheetand performance,” the nominationsaid. “The company always empha-sizes that it is investing its strongcash flow in profitable growth andglobal expansion and shows thatthe company is earning a solid return via its organic growth.”

Additionally, Mr. Petrella, a 1982graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College, is lauded for his work in financial reporting and compli-

ance, as well as his creation of an investor relations program that hasbecome more professionaland proactive.

“Under his direction,Lincoln has achieved ahigh level of professionalism,transparency and sophis-

tication in its financial affairs,” thenomination said. “As a result ofsmart financial management underMr. Petrella’s leadership, Lincolnhas avoided restatements and hasa good system and process in placeto continue providing financial reports of the utmost integrity.”

The company’s strong financialperformance and proactive investor relations have aided in itreceiving positive media coverage.(MSNBC’s Jim Cramer has calledLincoln one of the nation’s premier industrial companies.)

“Feedback from institutional investors states that accessibility tosenior management and credibilityof the CFO are the top factors in asuccessful corporate investor relations program,” the nomina-tion said. “Mr. Petrella’s record inthis area is exemplary.”

In addition to his work in guidingthe fiscal strategies of the company,Mr. Petrella also is known for acquiring and growing talent. Heand his staff also have played a leadrole in the company’s conversionto defined contribution retirementplans.

MICHAEL PRESSNELLClark-Reliance Corp. ◆ Strongsville

Numbers can do alot to representthe impactMichael Pressnell

has had on Clark-Reliance.But he certainly isn’t

obsessed with numbersthemselves. Instead, Mr.Pressnell wants to knowabout the factors that influence the numbers.

“He has a passion for under-standing what drives the numbershe reports and in his quest to under-stand these costs, he is very oftendesigning the process to reducethe costs,” the nomination said.

For instance, Mr. Pressnellworked with insurance brokers toreduce Clark-Reliance’s annualpremiums to $350,000 from $1.5million, all while increasing coveragefor the company, which makesproducts for the power generation,petroleum, refining and chemicalprocessing industries.

Plus, he played a key role inhelping Clark-Reliance controlcosts throughout the recession. Asa result, the company laid off onlythree people and remained prof-itable, even though sales fell 16%.

Mr. Pressnell also is known as astrong collaborator, the nominationsaid.

For example, Mr. Pressnell works

closely with other depart-ment heads, helping themmanage the day-to-dayoperations of the businessand providing them theinformation they need tohold down costs, accordingto the nomination. Plus,every morning, he stops in

the manufacturing departmenthead’s office to go over the day andoffer help as needed, the nomina-tion said. He helps complete duediligence on acquisitions, too.

Mr. Pressnell graduated fromBowling Green State Universitywith a bachelor’s degree in busi-ness administration and afterwardspent 15 years auditing middlemarket companies for Deloitte &Touche. He spent 15 months asCFO of the Carbone family’s realestate group before joining Clark-Reliance in April 2001. He alsodoes work for other businessesowned by the Figgie family.

Outside of work, Mr. Pressnell isactive with the Living WordLutheran Church in Medina,where he is treasurer.

“In addition to being a greatCFO, Mike is truly one of the goodguys who has made a real impacton Clark-Reliance and on everythingelse he touches,” the nominationsaid.

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BARRY REISJewish Federation of Cleveland ◆ Beachwood

You might thinkrunning money forthe Jewish Federa-tion is not the big

leagues — you know,nothing compared withmanaging the coffers of asizable company, right?

Wrong.Barry Reis has $1.9 billion he has

to manage for the big nonprofit. Itmight be partially his own fault hehas so much responsibility,though. After all, the federation’saccounts only had about $300 million before he came on boardin 1984. It’s little wonder he wasnamed CFO by 1991.

“Barry Reis is a gifted financialprofessional who has provided excellent financial leadership tothe Jewish Federation of Clevelandduring his 27 years as it has grownto include $1.9 billion in assets,”the nomination said.

A graduate of Cleveland HeightsHigh and Miami University, Mr.Reis cut his accounting teeth atArthur Anderson, but spent onlytwo years there before joining theJewish Federation.

And, while a corporate CFOmight only have to worry about hisCEO and board of directors, Mr.Reis has far more constituents andbenefactors to keep happy. Thefederation has more than 45 supporting foundations, alongwith more than 900 donor advisedfunds and 43 trusts, all of whichMr. Reis continually monitors,evaluates and works to improve.

The federation’s pooled invest-ment funds are available to other

Jewish organizationsaround Cleveland and it has $570 million inpooled money, from approximately 40 partici-pating agencies, that italso invests under Mr.Reis’ direction.

“Through hands-on involvement, he has successfullycultivated close relationships withagency leadership and manydonors who trust and seek out hisfinancial expertise,” the nominationsaid. “This trust has contributed tothe federation’s growth and suc-cess in the development of donoradvised funds and endowments.”

In addition to his role as CFO,Mr. Reis is a senior vice presidentand member of the Jewish Federa-tion’s senior management team.

Mr. Reis leads a fiscal staff of 18,and is responsible for the informa-tion technology and donor servicesdepartments. He also manages theJewish Federation’s multi-employerdefined benefit pension plan,which covers more than 3,000 employees at 15 agencies, and thefederation’s 403(b) defined contri-bution plan.

Of course, that’s just Mr. Reis’day job. He spends the rest of histime helping to raise four childrenand working in the community.

Mr. Reis also has served on theUniversity Heights Finance Com-mittee and is the treasurer of theMaltz Museum of Jewish Heritage.He donates his time to Park Syna-gogue and was a member of thesynagogue’s insurance, audit andinvestment committees.

CAMERON C. RUBINOOrthoHelix Surgical Designs Inc. ◆ Medina

Cameron Rubinohas been CFO ofOrthoHelix SurgicalDesigns Inc. since

May 2007, coming into therole two years after thecompany’s founding.

You know a CFO is doingsomething right when he’snominated by an investor in thecompany at which he works.That’s the case with Mr. Rubino,who was nominated by WayneWallace of Mutual Capital Part-ners, an investor in OrthoHelix.

OrthoHelix makes highly spe-cialized implants and instrumentsthat are used in reconstructivesurgery on the hands and feet.

“The company had a great productbut little in the way of proceduresand controls,” the nomination said.

“From the date Cameron startedall of that began to change andthank the heavens it did becausewith Cameron’s help the companystarted a period of record growth,growing monthly revenue from$200,000 to $2,000,000 per month.During Cameron’s tenure withOSDI annual revenues have increased in excess 2,567%.”

It should come as no surprisethat Mr. Rubino knows how tokeep an investor happy. After all,before joining OrthoHelix in 2007he himself was working the investor angle, as CFO of theCleveland-based international investment firm Crystal Ventures.

At OrthoHelix, though, he’s takenon a whole new set of challenges

and succeeded in newways. He has led the com-pany through stock offeringsand raised other equity investments, totaling $30million, to fuel the com-pany’s growth. On top ofthat, he’s secured debt, including a $2 million term

loan and a $2.5 million line ofcredit, as well — and has evenwritten two Third Frontier grantapplications netting the company$1 million each.

“When Cameron joined, OSDIwas a true startup with just a cou-ple of employees,” the nominationsaid. “It was multiple years beforeCameron even had a payables/re-ceivables clerk.”

Mr. Rubino proves that it’s oftenthe job of a CFO not just to managemoney, but to help make it — andhe works closely with the company’sCEO, its board and even its salesand product development teams toset and execute financial strategy.

At home, he and his wife are expecting their third child. He is an advisory board member of theGeorge W. Daverio School of Ac-countancy at the University ofAkron.

“In my position, I meet andknow many CFOs,” Mr. Wallacesaid in nominating Mr. Rubino. “Ifyou guys know of any that has thistype of track record I would love tomeet them. We have few real earlystage successes in Northeast Ohioand Cameron is a major part ofone!”



ROBERT TRABUCCOSterling Jewelers Inc. ◆ Akron

Like a growing number of CFOs,Robert Trabucco ofSterling Jewelers

Inc. is more than a numbercruncher, as his additionaltitle, executive vice presi-dent suggests.

“Bob’s role is more of astrategic partner and adviser toSterling’s CEO and COO,” said thenomination. “For example, Bob,along with our senior managementteam, are the critical authors andcontributors to our five-yearstrategic vision.”

Sterling Jewelers is the U.S. operating company of Bermuda-based Signet Jewelers Ltd. It manages more than 1,300 jewelrystores, many under the familiarKay Jewelers, Jared the Galleria ofJewelry and JB Robinson Jewelersmarquees.

On the financial side, Mr. Trabucco’s domain includes capital planning, finance and treasury, taxes, legal, compliance,loss prevention, risk managementand credit operations.

In addition, his team creates andupdates sales plans and has kept aclose eye on expenses. The company

estimates financial restructuring is reducingexpenses by over $100 million a year.

The nomination alsopraised Mr. Trabucco for akey role in the companyout-performing manycompanies in other retail

sectors as well as out-performingits peers in the specialty jewelrybusiness. It also attributes to himthe success of the firm’s in-housecredit program, which handles54.2% of store sales in the face ofcompetition from ubiquitous inter-national credit card brands.

Mr. Trabucco also gets credit foragreements with the chain’s namejewelry brands including Jane Sey-mour’s Open Hearts line and LeoSchachter’s Leo Diamonds.

Before joining Sterling in 2003Mr. Trabucco served as a retailconsultant for several years afterserving as CFO and then COO ofNordicTrack, a Logan, Utah, fitness products retailer.

He has a master’s degree in economics from Boston Collegeand undergraduate degrees fromBabson College and the Universityof Massachusetts.

SUSAN SUVAKMajestic Steel USA Inc. ◆ Pepper Pike

Susan Suvak’s title atMajestic Steel USAInc., one of theleading steel service

centers in the country according to AmericanMetal Market newspaper, isCFO. But her responsibilitiesgo well beyond the com-pany’s financial well-being.

The 13-year company veteran’spurview includes human resources,in-house legal counsel, office administration and the company’s401(k) plan.

She also guides Majestic’s philanthropic activities, and she’splayed a significant role in the certification of the company’squality management standards.

“Susan brings an invaluable balance between the realities ofthe marketplace and the company’sstrong desire for growth,” said thenomination. “Susan’s tactical- andstrategic-thinking skills allow Majestic Steel to make prudentbusiness decisions which impacttoday’s challenges, while continuingto build the company’s futuregrowth capabilities.”

Ms. Suvak also helped expandMajestic’s executive team of two toa management structure that hasallowed the company to handle itsgrowth, and she was involved inhiring a chief information officer, achief marketing officer, directors ofmarketing, sales and enterprise riskmanagement, controller and in-house legal counsel.

The graduate of Ohio State

University’s Max M. FisherCollege of Business joinedMajestic Steel in 1998 andbecome CFO in 2006 afterspending nearly a decadeas an accounting managerat a hospital and creditunion.

While doing the typical,such as negotiating a new long-term lending arrangement, Ms. Suvak has been cited for the devel-opment of the company’s philan-thropy committee, establishing relationships with the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland, theAchievement Centers for Childrenand its Camp Cheerful, the U.S.Marine Corp.’s “Toys for Tots”program and with the charitableactivities of the region’s profes-sional sports teams.

She also has been involved inbuilding sales relationships withcustomers and in spreading accountability for customer servicethroughout the company.

“Throughout her career at Majestic Steel, Susan has led the financial area and company as awhole through myriad market cyclesand fluctuations, where timely andprudent purchasing and selling decisions are of utmost importanceto the organization’s financialhealth,” the nomination said.“Once again, Susan’s sound judg-ment, fact-based approach andability to stay composed in pres-sure-packed situations allows forprudent decision-making relativeto success-critical issues.”

Michael J. O’ConnorFinancial adviser ◆◆ MorganStanley Smith Barney

Michael J. O’Connor has had along career in the finance and treasury field at public firms such

as LincolnElectric Hold-ings Inc. andCedar Fair LP.

Prior to joining MorganStanley SmithBarney’sWealth Management

division in 2009, Mr. O’Connorserved as director in the investmentbanking group at Union PartnersLLC.

Among other activities, Mr. O’Connor serves as a board member for Financial Executives International, and he was the president of Financial Executives International when the Crain’s Cleveland Business CFO of the Yearprogram was founded.

Mr. O’Connor and his wife live inMoreland Hills along with two sons,who are away attending college.

JUDGE’SPROFILE


Stephen J. Smith has been seniorvice president and CFO of AmericanGreetings Corp. since 2006.

He oversees all aspects of Ameri-can Greetings’ financial activities, in-cluding accounting, audit, financialplanning and reporting, retailer con-tract management, retailer financialservices, risk management, scan-based trading, shared services, taxand treasury operations.

Prior to this role, Mr. Smith was

vice presidentof both treasuryand investor re-lations, a positionhe held from2003 until 2006.

He received his bachelor’s degreefrom the University of Notre Dameand his master’s degree from the Uni-versity of Texas at Austin.

He received Crain’s Cleveland Busi-ness CFO of the Year honors in 2009.

Timothy K. Pistell retired fromParker Hannifin Corp in March 2011.

He had been with Parker since1969, joining the company as a corporate accounting trainee, and hehad served in various financial man-agement posts within Parker.

Previously, he was vice president,finance and administration and CFO.In addition to other positions, heserved as vice president, treasurer ofParker with responsibility over all trea-sury functions and investor relations.

Mr. Pistell earned his bachelor’sdegree from Miami University and hismaster’s degree from Baldwin-Wal-lace College.

Among his involvements, Mr. Pistell

is on the boardof directors forFerro Corp., andhe is a memberof the Associa-tion for Financial Professionals and The Financial Exec-utives Institute.

He serves on the executive boardsof the Northeast Ohio Buckeye Chap-ter of the Multiple Sclerosis Societyand the Great Lakes Theater Festival,and in September 2007, he was ap-pointed to the board of trustees ofthe Playhouse Square Foundation.

Mr. Pistell received Crain’s Cleve-land Business CFO of the Year hon-ors in 2008.


www.SSandG.com

SS&G congratulates our clients,friends and all those honored …

Discover what makes us different.

Elizabeth A. Donaldson, De Nora Tech, Inc.

William E. Goodill, Western Reserve Partners LLC

Dave Hamrick, InfoCision Management Corporation

Richard “Duke” Jankura, JumpStart Inc.

Mike Jeziorski, CPA, Delta Systems, Inc.

Elaine Kapusta, Dots, LLC

Michael E. Kovack, Medina County

Barry Reis, Jewish Federation of Cleveland

Cameron C. Rubino, OrthoHelix Surgical Designs, Inc.

Susan Suvak, Majestic Steel USA, Inc.

Bradford J. Welch, Godfrey & Wing, Inc.

Dots is proud to congratulate its Chief Financial Officer, Elaine Kapusta, and all the finalists on their nominations for the 2011 CFO of the Year Award!

Elaine’s leadership and dedication has helped guide Dots in becoming a vibrant and growing force in the women’s fashion industry.

Thank you, Elaine! We admire you for your passion and your wealth of contributions!

INSPIRING ENERGETIC FABULOUS AND THE PERFECT FIT!

Other 2011 nominees for CFO of theyear are:

■ Richard Boyson, Therapy Partners■ Randy Carver, Carver Financial

Services Inc.■ Joel C. Domino, Kent Displays Inc.■ William E. Goodill, Western

Reserve Partners LLC■ Leslie F. Graf, Convention &

Visitors Bureau of Greater ClevelandInc. (Positively Cleveland)

■ Arthur B. Hill, Salvation Army■ Jeff Hrehocik, Bearing Technolo-

gies Ltd.■ Michael R. Jeziorski, Delta

Systems Inc.■ Steve Jones, Hiram College■ Joseph Kohut, Max-Trac Tire Co.,

subsidiary of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.■ Michael E. Kovack, Medina County■ Thomas Kramer, Dar-Tech Inc.■ Janice Matteucci, Conservancy

2011 CFO OF THE YEAR NOMINEES

DominoCarverBoyson HillGrafGoodill

JonesJeziorskiHrehocik KramerKovackKohut

PincuraMcMahonMatteucci SmallShieldsScharf

Stack Welch

for Cuyahoga Valley National Park■ James McMahon, Saint Martin

de Porres High School■ David Pincura, SportsTime Ohio■ Thomas G. Scharf, Walthall,

Drake & Wallace LLP■ Kathleen M. Shields, Eliza

Jennings Senior Care Network■ Mark Small, Cleveland Construc-

tion Inc.■ Sean Stack, Aleris■ Bradford J. Welch, Godfrey &

Wing Inc.

JUDGES’ PROFILESTimothy K. Pistell Retired executive vice president, finance and admin-istration and CFO ◆◆ Parker Hannifin Corp.

Stephen J. SmithCFO ◆◆ American Greetings Corp.



2010 CFO OF THE YEAR AWARDSScenes from last year’s reception, held in October at LaCentre Conference and

Banquet Facility in Westlake.

JASON MILLER PHOTOS

ABOVE: Brian Kenyon, of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Inc. and awinner in the nonprofit category, with his wife, Lori Kenyon. BELOW: Jessica Shulevaof Saint Martin de Porres High School and Jeff Walters of event sponsor CBiz.

James Abel, most recently CFO of Lamson & Sessions, was honored with thelifetime achievement award.

ABOVE: The 2010 winners gather onstage after the awards presentation.LEFT: Rachel Stallard, nominee NickStallard, Maria Stallard and Don Stal-lard of The Reserves Network.



for your accounting, tax, and business consulting needs. Visit yes.plantemoran.com Dan Hursh, Partner, 216.274.6519FIND OUT WHY YOU DESERVE PLANTE & MORAN

LARGEST COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIESRANKED BY FALL 2011 FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT ENROLLMENT

Full-time equivalentenrollment

Rank

Name of college or universityAddressPhone/Web site Fall 2011 Fall 2010

%change

Student/faculty ratio

Annual tuitionRoom & board

% of enrollmentundergraduate

graduate

Type ofinstitutionAffiliation

Operating budget(millions)

Year foundedEndowment($ millions) President

1Kent State UniversityP.O. Box 5190, Kent 44242(330) 672-3000/www.kent.edu

30,520 29,371 3.9% 20:1 $9,346.0$8,830.0

85.0%15.0%

4 yearpublic

$453.01910 90.5 Lester A. Lefton

2University of Akron302 Buchtel Common, Akron 44325(330) 972-7111/www.uakron.edu

23,219 22,875 1.5% 21:1 $8,947.2$9,160.0

85.0%15.0%

4 yearpublic

$390.81870 186.5 Luis M. Proenza

3Cuyahoga Community College(1)700 Carnegie Ave., Cleveland 44115(800) 954-8742/www.tri-c.edu

18,387 18,903 -2.7% 19:1 $2,736.6NA

100.0%0.0%

2 yearpublic

$213.61963 27.7 Jerry Sue Thornton

4Youngstown State UniversityOne University Plaza, Youngstown 44555(330) 941-3000/www.ysu.edu

14,541 15,194 -4.3% 20:1 $7,451.0$7,900.0

92.0%8.0%

4 yearpublic

$158.81908 151.6 Cynthia E. Anderson

5Cleveland State University2121 Euclid Ave., Cleveland 44115(216) 687-2000/www.csuohio.edu

12,593 11,931 5.5% 17:1 $8,952.0$11,848.0

66.0%34.0%

4 yearpublic

$221.01964 NA Ronald M. Berkman

6Case Western Reserve University10900 Euclid Ave., Cleveland 44106(216) 368-2000/www.case.edu

8,815 8,939 -1.4% 10:1 $38,760.0$11,938.0

42.0%58.0%

4 yearprivate

$941.71826 1,703.0 Barbara R. Snyder

7Lorain County Community College1005 N. Abbe Road, Elyria 44035(800) 995-5222/www.lorainccc.edu

7,888 8,375 -5.8% 20:1 $2,679.3NA

100.0%0.0%

2 yearpublic

$66.21963 22.6 Roy A. Church

8University of Phoenix, Cleveland Campus5005 Rockside Road, Suite 130, Independence 44131(216) 447-8807/www.phoenix.edu/cleveland

7,400 7,900 -6.3% NA NANA

NANA

4 yearprivate

NA2000 NA Bill Pepicello

9Lakeland Community College7700 Clocktower Drive, Kirtland 44094(440) 525-7000/www.lakelandcc.edu

5,828 6,059 -3.8% 20:1 NANA

100.0%0.0%

2 yearpublic

$58.71967 NA Morris W. Beverage

Jr.

10Stark State College6200 Frank Ave. NW, Canton 44720(330) 494-6170/www.starkstate.edu

4,603 4,576 0.6% 20:1 $140.5NA

100.0%0.0%

2 yearpublic

$68.01960 2.3 Thomas Chiappini

11Ashland University401 College Ave., Ashland 44805(419) 289-4142/www.ashland.edu

4,429 4,823 -8.2% 10:1 $27,654.0$9,352.0

52.0%48.0%

4 yearprivate

NA1878 NA Frederick Finks

12Baldwin-Wallace College275 Eastland Road, Berea 44017(440) 826-2900/www.bw.edu

3,700 3,834 -3.5% 15:1 $26,396.0$7,346.0

84.0%16.0%

4 yearprivate

$110.81845 119.7 Richard W Durst

13John Carroll University20700 North Park Blvd., University Heights 44118(216) 397-1886/www.jcu.edu

3,624 3,572 1.5% 14:1 $30,660.0$9,150.0

81.0%19.0%

4 yearprivate

$78.01886 169.3 Rev. Robert L.

Niehoff, S.J.

14Oberlin College101 N. Professor St., Oberlin 44074(440) 775-8400/www.oberlin.edu

2,983 2,974 0.3% 9:1 $42,842.0$11,550.0

99.2%0.8%

4 yearprivate

NA1833 NA Marvin Krislov

15Walsh University2020 E. Maple St. NW, North Canton 44720(330) 490-7090/www.walsh.edu

2,883 2,963 -2.7% 15:1 $22,500.0$9,360.0

82.0%18.0%

4 yearprivate

NA1960 63.6 Richard Jusseaume

16University of Mount Union1972 Clark Ave., Alliance 44601(330) 821-5320/www.mountunion.edu

2,202 2,226 -1.1% 13:1 $25,700.0$8,150.0

97.0%3.0%

4 yearprivate

$50.91846 115.0 Richard Giese

17Malone University2600 Cleveland Ave. NW, Canton 44709-3897(330) 471-8100/www.malone.edu

2,201 2,279 -3.4% 13:1 $22,832.0$8,090.0

81.0%19.0%

4 yearprivate

$39.31892 14.9 Will J. Friesen

18The College of Wooster1189 Beall Ave., Wooster 44691(330) 263-2000/www.wooster.edu

1,970 1,951 1.0% 11:1 $38,290.0$9,310.0

100.0%0.0%

4 yearprivate

$73.01866 258.0 Grant H. Cornwell

19Notre Dame College4545 College Road, South Euclid 44121(216) 381-1680/http://notredamecollege.edu

1,807 1,676 7.8% 14:1 $24,002.0$8,054.0

86.0%14.0%

4 yearprivate

$43.21922 7.5 Andrew P. Roth

20Ohio Technical College1324 E. 51st St., Cleveland 44103(216) 881-1700/www.ohiotech.edu

1,511 1,492 1.3% 13:1 NA(2)NA

100.0%0.0%

2 yearprivate

$20.01969 NA Marc Brenner

21Hiram College(3)P.O. Box 67, Hiram 44234(330) 569-3211/www.hiram.edu

1,334 1,396 -4.4% 12:1 $28,000.0$9,460.0

NANA

4 yearprivate

NA1850 NA Thomas V. Chema

22Lake Erie College391 W. Washington St., Painesville 44077(440) 296-1856/www.lec.edu

1,165 1,216 -4.2% 14:1 $26,550.0$3,959.0

86.0%14.0%

4 yearprivate

$23.31856 NA Michael T. Victor

23Remington College-Cleveland Campus26350 Brookpark Road, North Olmsted 44070(440) 777-2560/www.remingtoncollege.edu

986 1,170 -15.7% 15:1 $16,995.0NA

100.0%NA

2 yearprivate

NA1986 NA Gary A. Azotea

Patrick Resetar

24Ursuline College2550 Lander Road, Pepper Pike 44124(440) 449-4200/www.ursuline.edu

903 949 -4.8% 8:1 $24,660.0$8,288.0

64.0%36.0%

4 yearprivate

$29.51871 34.0 Diana Stano, O.S.U.

25Northeast Ohio Medical University4209 State Route 44, Rootstown 44272(330) 325-2511/www.neomed.edu

778 767 1.4% NA NA(4)NA

0.0%100.0%

4 yearpublic

$45.51973 11.3 Jay Alan Gershen

26The Cleveland Institute of Art11141 East Blvd., Cleveland 44106(216) 421-7000/www.cia.edu

530 534 -0.7% 9:1 $31,760.0$11,354.0

100.0%0.0%

4 yearprivate

$15.91882 NA Grafton J. Nunes

Source: Information is supplied by the companies unless footnoted. Crain's Cleveland Business does not independently verify the information and there is no guarantee theselistings are complete or accurate. We welcome all responses to our lists and will include omitted information or clarifications in coming issues. Individual lists and The Book ofLists are available to purchase at www.crainscleveland.com. (1) Annual tuition is for a full-time student, (30 credit hours). (2) Annual tuition is $17,520 to $18,200. (3) Tuitionnumber is for the incoming class, Fall 2011. Tuition for students enrolling with Tuition Guarantee remains the same through the student's fourth year. (4) M.D. tuition is $33,003.PharmD tuition is $19,947.

RESEARCHED BY Deborah W. Hillyer

20111017-NEWS--34-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 10/14/2011 10:30 AM Page 1

process is a nice validation of thework we’re doing. Those are criticaldollars that enable us to replicatethe successful school model and expand the Breakthrough network.”

Breakthrough was pitted againstapplications from 34 other chartergroups around the country. Break-through’s leaders attribute its acad-emic results as the key factor in securing the funding.

U.S. Department of EducationSecretary Arne Duncan said in astatement that grantees serve “astudent population that is majoritylow-income and virtually all exceedthe average academic performancefor all students in their state.”

Breakthrough Schools doesn’t receive any funding from local gov-ernments for its efforts, but it doesreceive state and federal dollars,though significantly less than theCleveland Metropolitan School Dis-trict. Still, the group’s leaders main-tain its students outperform studentsin Ohio’s urban and suburban schools.

According to data from Break-through, its students, who are 95%African American and 80% fromlow-income families, outperformedother Ohio students on every test atevery grade level last year.

“We’re gaining some notoriety

and publicity, but it’s because ofwhat’s happening in the schools —the job the teachers are doing andour kids work hard to get good aca-demic results,” Mr. Rosskamm said.

Breakthrough’s goal is to have 20operational charter schools in itsnetwork by 2020, serving more than7,000 students in the area, accordingto John Zitzner, president of Friendsof Breakthrough, the fundraisingand advocacy arm of the charterschool network. The network nowserves about 1,300 children.

Mr. Zitzner said Breakthroughplans to raise as much as $4 millionover its next fiscal year, which endsin June, to support the organization’srapid growth strategy. Last year, theorganization brought in more than$2 million with the help of majorgifts from the Cleveland-based ironore producer Cliffs Natural Resourcesand the Wickliffe-based specialtychemicals company Lubrizol Corp.

Mr. Zitzner said the organizationcontinues to talk with area compa-nies, foundations and individualsabout financially backing its efforts.

“It’s a very significant grant thatwe deserve, and it’ll help us towardthat $4 million, but by no meansdoes it take us where we need togo,” he said. “It just puts us in rightdirection.” ■


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The technologies are far rangingand include things like a specialcopper alloy that NASA developedfor rocket nozzles. Those nozzles haveto withstand tremendous tempera-tures and other harsh environmentalconditions.

As it turns out, they also makegreat welding electrodes that can beused on robotic welders — electrodesthat last far longer than those avail-able using other metals, NASA says.

“If you have a bunch of weldingrobots, and you don’t have to stopeverything to change electrodes asoften as before, that’s a big deal,”Dr. Bartolotta said. “That’s one ofthe things that’s going to be intro-duced at the show.”

What color’s your technology?Also set to be unveiled is the

material NASA developed to keepjet engine blades from penetratingthe bodies of jet engines and planefuselages.

The material, a type of foamsandwiched between special layersof something similar to carbonfiber, is super tough, but it’s alsolight. It might even serve as a new,lighter skin for NASA’s next rocket,though it could be useful in makinglighter and stronger car bodies, Dr.Bartolotta said.

Other technologies include sensorsand controls that could help hybridor electric cars become more effi-cient; solid oxide fuel cells to powervehicles; new materials that can beused to contain pressurized naturalgas; and green polymers that putout only water and not noxious gaseswhen they are used.

It’s not as though NASA or evenNASA Glenn in Cleveland hasavoided commercializing technolo-gy in the past. But Dr. Bartolottasaid much of the agency’s past attempts at commercialization haveinvolved working with the aero-space industry. Now, he said, the

agency is branching out to help abroader swath of U.S. manufactur-ing — and potentially help NASApay for itself via licensing agree-ments, development partnershipsor other projects where industrypays to use or even further developNASA’s inventions.

“NASA is open for business. We’reopening our safe, so to speak,” Dr.Bartolotta said.

In its last fiscal year that endedSept. 30, 2011, NASA Glenn broughtin $41.8 million in new business fromits technology transfer efforts, saidagency spokeswoman KatherineMartin. About $17 million of that involved letting companies use NASA’slabs and facilities, for things likewind-tunnel testing of wind-energyequipment; and the remaining $24.8million came from licensing andcollaborative research efforts withindustry, like what it hopes to con-duct with automakers, she said.

Dr. Bartolotta said NASA is tryingto be easier to work with than before, and described the currenteffort as a “product pull,” ratherthan a technology push. What’s thedifference?

“A technology push is when I say,‘I have this new material for you,’and then you say, ‘I like it, but Ineed it in green.’ Then I say, ‘I haveit in yellow, here, take it’ — that’sthe way technology has been pushedin the past,” Dr. Bartolotta said.

Now, he said, NASA is seeking notonly to introduce its technologies,but to work with industry to advance and amend them to suitbusiness needs. In other words, hesaid, if you need it in green, NASAwill try to make it that color.

Eager to launchThe manufacturing sector seems

interested too, and the Oct. 27 eventis being co-sponsored by the Centerfor Automotive Research at OhioState University and the Cleveland-based manufacturing advocacy and

Boost: Operator eyes 20 morecontinued from PAGE 3


NASA: Manufacturers show interestconsulting group Magnet.

“I think it’s going to be very good— NASA’s got a lot of great technologyto share,” said Ed Nolan, vice presi-dent of product development andengineering at Magnet and a mem-ber of the focus groups that helpedselect the technologies NASA willpresent.

Mr. Nolan said today’s auto indus-try faces many of the same challengesconfronted by aerospace companies— how to make vehicles lighter, moreefficient, more powerful and easier orless costly to manufacture. It makessense to turn to NASA for ideas onhow to do that, he said, and he’s gladto see NASA embrace the opportunity.

“I think it’s a different NASA thanwe’ve seen in the past — more openand wanting to share their technolo-gies with the industrial community,”Mr. Nolan said.

Even some in the automotive sec-tor who had not yet heard of theevent said they thought it was a goodidea that sparked their interest.

“I hadn’t received an invite for thisevent yet, (but it) sounds pretty inter-esting,” said Bill Adler, president ofCleveland-based Stripmatic Products,a maker of tubular products used insuspension systems and other auto-motive components.

U.S. companies in the automotivesupply chain constantly are lookingfor ways to be more competitive, including by looking out for newtechnologies and materials, Mr.Adler said.

The show is not open to everyone,though. NASA, Magnet and othershow sponsors invited 600 compa-nies from around the nation; about110 already have signed up, Mr.Nolan said. Others can attend, bycontacting Magnet, he said, but onlyif they are representatives of manu-facturers in the auto industry. ■



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For instance, Athersys in December2009 signed a deal with Pfizer Inc.that gave the pharmaceutical giantrights to sell MultiStem to treat patients with inflammatory boweldisease. In exchange, Pfizer agreedto pay Athersys $6 million up frontand another $105 million as thecompany hits certain goals. Pfizeralso agreed to reimburse the com-pany for clinical trial costs and givethe company royalties from productsales.

Athersys, then, could strike dealswith other companies interested inacquiring the rights to sell Multi-Stem to treat patients with otherconditions.

In October, Athersys began enrolling patients in phase two clinical trials intended to test MultiStem’s effectiveness in treatingstroke patients, but it has yet to strikea deal with a partner to commer-cialize the technology for that condition.

Stroke represents “a huge marketopportunity” for MultiStem, Ms.Migliore said. Early data suggest thetherapy could help stroke patientsrecover even if they receive treatmenta week after they have the stroke.Today, patients have no good

options if they aren’t treated withinthree hours, she said.

It’s happened elsewhereOther big companies have shown

a willingness to invest in adult stemcell technologies, Dr. Van Bokkelensaid. He mentioned how drug makerCephalon Inc. of Frazer, Pa., paidMesoblast Ltd. of Australia $130million — an amount that couldrise to $1.7 billion as Mesoblast hitscertain goals — to receive globalrights to market its adult stem celltechnology as a treatment for car-diovascular and central nervoussystem conditions.

“There are companies out therewho recognize that (adult stem celltherapies) could be a game changer,”Dr. Van Bokkelen said.

Cephalon also paid $220 millionto buy a 20% stake in Mesoblast. So could a large equity investmentor an outright acquisition be inAthersys’ future? Dr. Van Bokkelensaid it wouldn’t surprise him if acompany showed interest in acquiring Athersys, but he said hedoesn’t “spend a lot of time thinkingabout that as a possibility for thecompany,” he said.

If Athersys can produce solid results in a phase two clinical trial,

its technology will become moreappealing to strategic partners andother investors — but it likely won’tcomplete a phase two trial until latenext year or early 2013, Dr. VanBokkelen said. The company mighthave to raise more cash or cut expenses before then, though: Unless it makes significant changes,the company’s cash reserves willlast “well into the second half of 2012,”said Athersys president William“B.J.” Lehmann.

Both Ms. Migliore and SteveBrozak, president of San Diego-basedWBB Securities LLC, said Athersys’stock suffered because investorshave been avoiding small compa-nies with uncertain prospects.

In selling Athersys stock, investorsmade a big mistake in Mr. Brozak’seyes. He said company executivesknow the science behind their tech-nology better than their competi-tors and that they “basically maketheir dollars go longer and furtherthan anybody else on the planet.”Plus, the technology is extremelypromising, he said, which mighthelp Athersys deal with its decreasedstock price.

“If you’ve got something and youneed money, there’s room to nego-tiate,” he said. ■

Athersys: Technology has potentialcontinued from PAGE 3

MARC GOLUB

Gil Van Bokkelen, CEO of Athersys, says in regard to a potential acquisition,“There are companies out there who recognize that (adult stem cell therapies)could be a game changer.”


traditional lecture course; considerthis math boot camp in a computerlab on steroids (and decorated withcouches resembling addition signs).

Based on diagnostic testing,freshmen who come to Kent Stateprepared for college-level mathe-matics can bypass the emporium,but this fall more than 1,400 stu-dents are enrolled in the program.

“In order to pass the course andsucceed in the course, the studenthas to do the mathematics. Theyhave to sit there and work problemafter problem,” Mr. Laux said. “Thereis no more passive learning or evenan attempt at passive learning.”

The computer software is compa-rable to a video game of sorts. Stu-dents, for one, are given individual-

ized lesson plans and must mastereach task at their own pace beforemoving on to the next. Also, last-minute cramming won’t do, assteady progress is required to getthrough the class.

The university this fall investedabout $1.2 million in the facility,now dubbed the “Math Emporium,”to combat a 30% to 35% rate of students receiving an “F” or “D” orwithdrawing from the university’sremedial algebra courses — a prob-lem all too familiar for colleges anduniversities throughout the country.

Students aren’t coming to collegewith the proper background inmathematics, which often leads topoor academic performances andperhaps a decision to leave the uni-versity. That hurts the university’s


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Math: University may apply concept to other areas

Issue 2: Ads not necessarilyintended to inform voterscampaigns. “Voters who don’t payclose attention to what’s been goingon will be very hard-pressed toidentify what the key issues are.”

The University of Akron’sStephen Brooks said that informingcitizens about the reasons they shouldbe for or against the issue is not agoal of either Issue 2 campaign, ormost contemporary election adver-tising.

“These days, most political cam-paign ads are not really focused onchanging minds or debating the issue,” said Dr. Brooks, associate director of the Ray C. Bliss Instituteof Applied Politics. “They are usedas motivational tools” to get asmany potential voters on one sideof the issue or the other out to vote.

Dr. Brooks said it appears to himthat both sides believe that mostpotential voters already have madeup their minds on this issue. So given that, especially for the pro-Issue 2 side that polls say is down byabout 10 percentage points, thegoal of the Issue 2 advertising is todrive more voters who have alreadymade up their minds to the polls.

“You might see a more sophisti-cated discussion of the issue in aclose race where you have a largenumber of undecided or persuad-able voters,” he said.

The clips of firefighters rescuing achild from a burning buildingworked for both sides because therescue strikes an emotional chordthat the advertising on both sides istrying to reach.

Many television stations havepulled the ad, but Building a BetterOhio continued to use the video inemails.

Complex issue, simple adsSB 5 restricts the collective bar-

gaining rights of public employees,public school teachers and statecollege faculty and it prohibits themfrom striking. It also requires thatmerit be a factor in setting teachersalaries and ends the practice ofbasing layoffs strictly on seniority.

At a 90-minute debate among labor lawyers at Cleveland StateUniversity’s College of Law lastWednesday, Oct. 12, local attorneysCraig Brown, who represents man-agement, and Susannah Muskovitz,who represents unions at the bargaining table, delved more

deeply into the nuances of the issue,and spoke more frankly, than televi-sion advertising could ever do.

Mr. Brown conceded that SB 5“eviscerates collective bargaining”in the public sector, but argued thatpublic sector labor relations havebecome dysfunctional because ofthe ability of union campaign con-tributions to sway public officialsinto labor agreements more gener-ous to employees.

Ms. Muskovitz agreed with Mr.Brown on at least one point, sayingSB 5 “destroys collective bargaining.”

But she pointed out to an audi-ence that included lawyers andCleveland State faculty membersand students that a provision thatwould take away tenure from someuniversity professors at schoolswhere the faculty is unionized, willmake those colleges less attractiveplaces to teach.

“If Ohio wants to attract the bestand the brightest faculty, having notenure will kill that,” she said.

Most state colleges with union-ized faculty are in the northern partof the state. Faculty at Miami, Ohioand Ohio State universities are notaffiliated with a union.

Those distinctions, which are important in assessing whether thelegislation deserves to survive, arenot being discussed in television ad-vertising, which has a much largerreach. That’s because, Dr. Brookssaid, contemporary campaign advertising is geared to promotingcandidates rather than issues.

“Issue voting is much more com-plex than candidate voting,” he said.“In a candidate campaign, what you’retalking about is the future, so youtalk about trust and that sort of thing.

“Issue campaigns, even a schoolboard tax levy, it’s not just about‘We’re going to raise your taxes’ butit’s what happens to the schools, theprice of your home. It’s hard to getthat stuff into ads so you fall back onsound bites and emotions.”

So, he said, the campaign sup-porting SB 5 is trying to say to voters, “This is a way to take care of(the financial problems facing) stategovernment and trust us that thiswill take care of it.”

The campaign to repeal is arguingthat, “This legislation is disrespectfulof you and your kids and it will makelife miserable for them, but let’s not talkabout how it will do that,” he said. ■

retention rate and ultimately its finances.

“Kids with low GPAs typically don’treturn,” Kent State provost RobertFrank said. “This is fundamental tograduation and retention rates.”

Robot U.?Kent State president Lester Lefton

said the math emporium is designedto pick up the slack for the nation’slagging K-12 system, which he believes is churning graduates whoaren’t ready for a college workload.

“It’s big, it’s bold, it’s innovative,”Dr. Lefton said about the emporiumconcept. “This is the kind of thingother universities in Ohio mightwant to do.”

Despite some initial concerns,parents need not worry their chil-dren are being educated by machines, Kent State officials said.The lab is staffed by 10 teaching assistants and faculty at any timethroughout the day.

Before starting the course, stu-dents are given diagnostic tests toplace them at the appropriate levelof coursework. If students need helpbeyond the digital tools offeredthrough the software, faculty mem-bers are willing to work one-on-one

with students.“We’re teaching our students,”

Mr. Laux said. “We’re incorporatingsoftware just like many classroomsincorporate textbooks, but the soft-ware is much more responsive.”

Andrew Tonge, chairman of theDepartment of Mathematical Sciencesat Kent State, said the early datasuggest students are learning in theemporium model and progressingthrough the software at a steady pace.

Of the 1,400 students enrolled inthe emporium this semester, about200 have finished the coursework.

Mr. Laux said while the early results are encouraging, he’s inter-ested to see how well the studentsretain the material as they advancein their studies.

“I’m quite interested to whathappens when they step outside theemporium model and take their firstcollege-level course, he said. “Totell you the truth, only time will tell.”

Adding to the equation The math emporium concept

was first developed in 1997 at Vir-ginia Tech University. While uni-versity officials at Virginia Tech saythey don’t have any concrete datato share that suggest the model is

working, they’re confident studentsare learning the material.

“All aspects of our instructionalmodel, including the online text,on-demand help, and unlimitedpractice problems, emphasize thatstudents learn math by doing math,”said Terri Bourdon, manager of Virginia Tech’s math emporium inan email. “The large numbers ofstudents who use our facility towork on their math courses without being required to do so providessubstantial evidence of our success.”

Kent State officials maintain theinvestment will save the universityand students money in the long haul,and it would only take the universitytwo or three years to recoup the $1million price tag of the facilities.

In the meantime, the university isconsidering using the emporiummodel in other areas of study, withforeign languages being a top con-tender.

But for Mr. Laux, witnessing a seaof students learning is a sight to behold.

“Every time I walk in, there are240 students learning and talkingmathematics,” he said. “There’s noway out. I had a big smile on myface on Day One.” ■



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Give Lubrizola gold star ■ They’re only formulating, making andmixing a bunch of chemicals.What could go wrong?

Plenty, if you’re not careful or professional. But the point is,nothing of consequence has gonewrong at the Wickliffe plant of Lu-brizol Corp., a company that makesoil additives, specialty coatings andother advanced chemicals. That’s one reason the plant recently was recertified asa Voluntary Protection Program Star site bythe U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

In making the announcement, OSHA noted both Lubrizol’s ability to respond toemergencies and hazard materials inci-dences, an excellent incident reporting sys-tem and even its “exceptional recycling andwaste stream management.”

Better yet, as Lubrizol itself reports, the site has 90% fewer accidents than the average for plants in its industry. — DanShingler

Sun shines on Fla. office of Weltman Weinberg■ A year ago, there were four. Now, Welt-man, Weinberg & Reis Co. LPA’s Florida staffnumbers more than 60.

As a result, the Cleveland-based creditors’rights law firm moved its Fort Lauderdale office in early October from a 2,700-square-foot location to one next door measuring

more than 12,000 square feet.National clients are hiring Weltman

Weinberg to do more of their work and aredriving the growth, said Peter Winzig,

director of marketing and cor-porate development. Once the

firm’s new office was operational,it had an immediate influx of workand was able to add 13 attorneys, hesaid.

The Florida office’s initial focuswas on real estate default — oppor-

tune, considering that Florida is one of thecountry’s busiest states in terms of delin-quent real estate loans.

The office now has added bankruptcy, litigation and defenseteams, and plans to addstaff to do collectionswork, Mr. Winzig said.

Alan Weinberg, man-aging partner of thefirm, said he’s proudthat it continues to cre-ate opportunities forpeople at a time whenthere’s much talk aboutthe need for job cre-ation.

In all, Weltman Weinberg operates 10 offices in five states. — Michelle Park

Putting its signature on a historic hotel■ Signature Health, a mental health servicesprovider in Willoughby, is expanding its operations in Ashtabula and taking over the

historic Ashtabula Hotel on Main Avenue toserve as its new office space.

Sandvick Architects in Cleveland, the firmthat renovated the Old Arcade in downtownCleveland, will draft the redesign of thestructure, which has been vacant since 1989.The project is slated to cost $3.8 million.

The hotel was added to the National Reg-ister of Historic Places in 1985.

“This was very attractive for a few reasons,” said Jonathan Lee, SignatureHealth’s CEO. “In Ashtabula there is oldbuilding stock and not a lot of places to build new. It’s interesting to me thatthere’s also a chance to preserve something

historic.”The construction

project, which shouldbe finished by fall2012, will double Sig-nature Health’s officespace in Ashtabula toabout 32,000 squarefeet.

The expansion isexpected to lead to 35to 40 additional hiresfor Signature Healthover the next two

years, Mr. Lee said.The for-profit Signature Health has loca-

tions in Cuyahoga, Lake, Ashtabula andGeauga counties. Mr. Lee said the company,which employs more than 200, has beenable to continue to expand its operationssince its founding in 1993 by entering areaswith low levels of uncompensated care. —Timothy Magaw

WHAT’S NEW

COMPANY: Team Wendy, ClevelandPRODUCT: EPIC Air Combat Helmet Liner System

The company, which makes protectiveequipment for the U.S. Army, the MarineCorps and law enforcement, says the EPICAir system is the “next generation” of TeamWendy protective helmet liners, and it fea-tures several key design and technology improvements.

The design “incorporates three main pads(front, rear and crown) for impact protection,an assortment of ergonomically designedcomfort pads, and patent-pending air chan-neling technology to keep (users) coolerwhile maintaining maximum comfort and sta-bility,” according to Team Wendy.

The comfort pads and air channels “canbe used in any configuration to customize thecomfort and fit to each individual user,” thecompany says. EPIC Air comes in a varietyof cuts and sizes to fit any style of groundcombat helmet and is compatible with allstyles of communication headsets.

It uses Team Wendy’s patented Zorbiumfoam, the same material used in the standardissue pad sets for the Advanced Combat Helmet,Marine Lightweight Helmet and EnhancedCombat Helmet.

For information, visit www.TeamWendy.com.

Send information about new products to managing editor Scott Suttell at [email protected].

REPORTERS’ NOTEBOOKBEHIND THE NEWS WITH CRAIN’S WRITERS

THEINSIDER

THEWEEK OCTOBER 10 - 16

The big story: Case Western Reserve Univer-sity publicly launched a $1 billion fundraisingcampaign that so far has brought in about $660million — $50 million of which is anchored by arecent pledge from the foundation of the late industrialist Albert J. Weatherhead III. The uni-versity has been raising money quietly for thecampaign for the last four years. It plans to usethe public portion of the campaign over the nextfive years to reach a larger pool of donors.Fundraising priorities will be driven by the school’s2008 strategic plan, which is focused on strength-ening the base of scholarships, increasing thenumber of endowed professorships, expandingacademic programs and building new facilities.

An interesting turn: The Cleveland Indianssaid they’re working with Cleveland State University’s Fenn College of Engineering to install a 15-foot-tall wind turbine at ProgressiveField before next season. Grants from the U.S.Department of Energy and the state of Ohio will cover the cost of the turbine and installation.Indians spokesman Curtis Danburg said theproject has been in the works for a couple years.“It’s another opportunity to partner with aCleveland institution,” Mr. Danburg said.“We’ve been an industry leader in the (sustain-ability) field, and this is an extension of that.”

Best Buy buy: Monmouth Real Estate Invest-ment Corp. of Freehold, N.J., acquired the just-completed Best Buy warehouse in Streetsboro’sInterstate Commerce Center industrial parkfrom Geis Development Co. for $19.6 million.Best Buy Warehousing Logistics Inc. has leasedthe newly constructed building through Aug. 31,2021, Monmouth said. Best Buy moved 40 employees to Streetsboro this fall as it consoli-dated operations from three buildings in Glen-willow to a single property.

Statewide coverage: Cleveland law firmCalfee, Halter & Griswold LLP said it’s opening

a Cincinnati office led by twoprominent political figures inthe state — former CincinnatiMayor Charlie Luken and former state Sen. Richard Finan.The new location gives Calfeea presence in Ohio’s three

largest cities, as it already hasoffices in Cleveland andColumbus. Both attorneyshad been based in Calfee’sColumbus office and will

continue to serve their clientsthere and elsewhere while working

out of the Cincinnati office.

Wired up: B&B Electronics of Ottawa, Ill., amaker of rugged wireless connectivity and com-munication products, bought Quatech Inc. ofHudson. In August, DPAC Technologies Corp.,the owner of Quatech, said B&B Electronicsagreed to acquire substantially all the assets ofQuatech for $10.5 million. Sean Harrigan, CEOof B&B Electronics, said Quatech’s products “enable reliable machine-to-machine commu-nications” via secure wireless or traditionalwired networks, with industrial-grade embeddedradios, modules, boards, and external deviceservers and bridges.

A new spark: Blue Spark Technologies ofWestlake, a maker of thin, flexible disposableprinted batteries, said it has named John Gannonas president and CEO, effective immediately.The company’s former CEO, Norbert Dawalibi,will remain with the company in an active roleas the new executive chairman of the board. Mr.Dawalibi had been in the job only since lastApril, when he replaced Gary Johnson as chiefexecutive.


BEST OF THE BLOGSExcerpts from recent blog entries onCrainsCleveland.com

Why did the chicken farmercross the country?■ Ever thought about chucking the corpo-rate career to do something you really love?(Of course you have; it’s thatmoney thing that probablygets in the way.) If so, checkout a CNNMoney.com videoabout Ami Gignac, who runsBreakneck Acres, a certifiedorganic farm in Ravenna.

Ms. Gignac, a former execu-tive at a mining company inSan Francisco, left the corporate career andnow raises organic crops and chickens. According to the company’s informativeFacebook page, its products are currentlybeing sold on the farm and at the HaymakerFarmers’ Market in Kent.

The video isn’t great on details, but it hassome terrific images of a great idea by Ms.Gignac and her partner, Tim Fox. Instead ofkeeping chickens in a traditional coop, theybought and retrofitted an old school bus.Ms. Gignac says the bus offers twice thespace at half the cost.

Now that’s the kind of innovation anybusiness — a big corporation or a smallfarm — can use.

There’s no businesslike snow business■ Cleveland figured prominently in a storyfrom TheAtlanticCities.com about how stadiums nationwide are being put to useoutside their traditional seasons.

Progressive Field’s “Snow Days” eventwas held up as a model for making use of abaseball stadium without a roof in the Mid-west in mid-winter.

“When you have lemons, you makelemonade,” said Kurt Schloss, senior directorof merchandising and licensing for theCleveland Indians. “In our particular case, wewanted to embrace the cold, embrace North-east Ohio, because that’s what it is. Youcan’t put up palm trees and hope for sand.”

The team is augmenting Snow Days thisyear with an outdoor hockey game

on Jan. 15 between Ohio Stateand Michigan. Organizers areexpecting a sellout.

“We’ve got an opportunity,given the proximity of the sta-dium in our downtown core,that we can build on this,”

said Joe Marinucci, president ofthe Downtown Cleveland Alliance

Pop goes the sale,likely at a big price■ There are some old-time Cleveland ties to a painting that’s expected to fetch $35million when it’s auctioned off in New York.

The Wall Street Journal reported thatCourtney Ross, the New York widow of formerTime Warner CEO Steve Ross, has enlistedChristie’s to auction off a Roy Lichtensteinpainting for at least $35 million on Nov. 8. Thecouple paid $2 million for the 1961 painting23 years ago. The painting, part of the popart movement, is called “I Can See theWhole Room … and There’s Nobody in It!”

Before Ms. Ross, the work was owned byBurton and Emily Tremaine. Mr. Tremaine,a Cleveland native who died in 1991 at age89, was the son of a co-founder of Nela Park.He began his business career in his early 20sas president of the Superior Screw and BoltCo. of Cleveland.

The Tremaines’ collection included“Three Flags,” an early painting by JasperJohns, as well as works by Pablo Picasso,Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol and others.


Crain's Cleveland Business

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