Issuu

FOCUS | PRIVATE AND PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS  Educators find creative solutions to long-distance learning, traditions during pandemic. PAGE 10

CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM I JUNE 8, 2020

SOCIAL JUSTICE

IN THE WAKE OF UNREST, WHAT’S NEXT FOR DOWNTOWN?

Dozens of downtown Cleveland stores and restaurants were boarded up, including Cleveland Clothing Co., after peaceful protests turned destructive. | DAVID KORDALSKI/CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Cleveland retailers express support for protesters, concerns about the city center’s ability to rebound BY MICHELLE JARBOE

Customers were dining Saturday evening, May 30, at Zanzibar on Prospect Avenue when a rioter started slamming a baseball bat into the restaurant’s windows. Employees and patrons joined owner Johnny Hutton, screaming, “Black-owned business! Don’t touch!” to ward off vandals wielding bricks and other projectiles. Hutton, 54, is the son of a Cleveland police officer and one of only a handful of black business owners in the city’s central business district. Late last week, he was sorting through a jumble of emotions — frustration and anxiety among them — surrounding the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer and a peaceful downtown demonstration that devolved into a riot, leaving dozens of Cleveland stores and eateries boarded up. See RETAIL on Page 20

Tales of tough times — and moments of hope BY MICHELLE JARBOE AND STAN BULLARD

In the wake of a protest-turned-riot in downtown Cleveland, retailers are regrouping, fundraising and con-

sidering what comes next. Here are the stories of three of them.

NEWSPAPER

Kindness of strangers Looters made off with almost all of the inventory from Intro, a women’s clothing store in downtown Cleveland, after the May 30 protest over George Floyd’s death turned violent. A homeless man brought some of that clothing back. When sisters and co-owners Emily and Elaina Kovach arrived downtown the following Sunday morning, they were greeted by a man who sleeps across the street. His arms were full. See HOPE on Page 20

P001_CL_20200608.indd 1

Cleveland sports teams, organizations vow to be part of change BY KEVIN KLEPS

On Friday afternoon, May 29, as tensions were rising in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, the Cleveland Cavaliers held a virtual town hall for all of their employees. Cavs president of business operations Nic Barlage said the gathering, which was led by the organization’s inclusion, diversity, engagement, awareness and leadership team (IDEAL, for short), was “one of the most powerful” he’s experienced in his 15 years as an NBA executive. The town hall was moderated by Kevin Clayton, who joined the organization in 2019 in the newly created role of vice president of diversity, inclusion and engagement. African American staffers who wanted to participate were given the chance to discuss how they have been affected by racism, and white employees with spouses or family members of color shared their experiences. A few hours later, the Cavs released a joint statement, first including the thoughts of two African Americans in

Kevin Clayton, the Cavs’ VP of diversity, inclusion and engagement, moderated a virtual town hall in the aftermath of the George Floyd killing. | CONTRIBUTED

leadership positions — head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and general manager Koby Altman — and concluding with the organization saying everyone should respond to Floyd’s death “with a sense of urgency.” See TEAMS on Page 22

6/5/2020 3:08:50 PM

T:10.875” S:10.25”

When you’re expanding your business,

make each moment matter. _ PNC can help.

At PNC, we understand that expanding your business for the first time can be overwhelming. That’s why we’ll work closely with you to understand your unique needs and offer customized lending solutions that will help make your life easier. So, whether you’re looking to expand your office to meet increased demand or purchase a piece of state-of-the-art equipment, we’ll be there to help your business enter its next phase of growth. Learn more at pnc.com/momentsmatter

All loans, lines of credit and PNC Bank credit cards are subject to credit approval. Requires automatic deduction from a PNC business checking account. Bank deposit, treasury management and lending products and services are provided by PNC Bank, National Association, a wholly owned subsidiary of PNC and Member FDIC. PNC Bank is a registered mark of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. ©2020 The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

T:14.5”

S:14”

We’re making business banking easier.

LAW

Lawyers coalesce to defend those arrested during recent protests, riots

Real Estate Acquisitions Development Sale-Leasebacks Distressed Assets

Attorneys stepping up to be of service during movement BY JEREMY NOBILE

If not for personal brushes with police brutality, Christopher Rivero might never have become a lawyer. Now, Rivero is among throngs of attorneys offering pro-bono representation for individuals arrested in Cleveland amid the protests organized at the end of May by Black Lives Matter, rooted in objection to systemic issues of police violence, that took a riotous turn. The son of Cuban and Spanish immigrants, Rivero grew up in inner-city Tampa, Fla., in a neighborhood rife with drugs, crime and violence. Family struggles left him homeless for a period in his youth. He recalls sleepRivero ing on benches at 12 years old. “I grew up in an area where I know that people who commit crimes are not all necessarily bad people,” said Rivero, now a solo criminal defense lawyer via Esparza Rivero Law. “They’re often good people doing the wrong things for the right reasons.” While rarely in trouble himself, Rivero and his friends were “stopped and roughed up” so often as kids, he said, that he quit counting. It was simply a part of growing up. Rivero came to Ohio for college and to escape a dangerous environment — but he couldn’t escape racism. Slurs were flung around casually among his friends at John Carroll University and by strangers. The police, he came to find, were just as rough as down South. Being exposed to years of legal troubles faced by friends and family, Rivero considered a career in law at a young age. But in Ohio, he’d landed a good job as an assistant manager for a Sherwin-Williams store. At 22 years old and earning decent money, that “flame” for being a lawyer, he said, was “getting dim.” Then came New Year’s Eve 2010.

Outpouring of support Sarah Gelsomino, an attorney with civil rights law firm Friedman & Gilbert, which works closely with the National Lawyers Guild (NLG), an association of activist legal workers, said the outpouring of support in the legal community is much greater now than it was during the Republican National Convention in 2016. Then, a handful of protesters were arrested during various demonstrations, including flag-burning. The city ended up agreeing to $925,000 in payouts related to lawsuits stemming from those protests. Gelsomino is organizing mass legal Gelsomino defense in Cleveland for the NLG in response to the recent spate of arrests. Rivero, too, said he’s received outreach from other lawyers asking how they can assist his efforts since he posted his offer for pro-bono defense on social media. His Facebook post about free legal help was shared more than 2,100 times. He’s been contacted so far about two-dozen times regarding possible cases. “In this case, I think, there’s a broader scope of lawyers who are interested in helping. There are lawyers coming out of the woodwork I’ve never heard from,” Gelsomino said. “I talked to a real estate lawyer outside of Cleveland who has never been in court who’s like, ‘What can I do?’ People are really motivated to step up and use their legal skills to be of service to this movement.” More than 100 people were arrested during the weekend of protests, according to a spokeswoman for the Cleveland Division of Police. Many are facing misdemeanor charges for disorderly conduct, failure to disperse and curfew violations. Others face felony charges for aggravated rioting. Gelsomino, who observed the protests, said those curfew-related arrests include someone who was getting off a bus after work, an individual picking up an order for Uber Eats and even a homeless man who was unable to leave downtown streets because he lives there. She also alleges that reported police orders to disperse were, in some cases, not audible, if given at all — something Cleveland.com also has reported. See LAWYERS on Page 19

Levelan Partners developed and leased a 150,000 SF industrial building in Streetsboro, Ohio. On behalf of our partners and investors, we’d like to thank the team at Weber Wood Medinger for representing the tenant, Bulten North America, LLC. Should you be interested in learning more about wealth creating opportunities available to real estate investors, we invite you to contact Brent Lieberman, Co-Founder blieberman@levelanpartners.com 440-226-3022 Levelanpartners.com

A trash barrel full of broken glass on Euclid Avenue.

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Does insurance cover riot damage? For business and property owners assessing damages sustained during recent riots, odds are good insurance will cover their losses and repairs. What’s covered will ultimately come down to each policy as they are unique to every business, of course, which is why scouring those policiesshould be a priority. Dozens of downtown Cleveland businesses and offices were damaged during the riots at the end of May. Broken windows, while inconvenient, are marginal issues. A greater challenge for many businesses, said Andrew Kobak, president of Cleveland Public Adjusters — and for his own business in serving affected businesses owners — is remediation of tear gas.

 IS MY BUSINESS COVERED? There will always be some exceptions. However, most general commercial policies should protect against damage caused during riots or civil commotion, said Jessica Jung, managing director of the property and casualty division for Cleveland-based insurance brokerage Oswald Cos. That should include property damage, stolen or damaged goods and even loss of revenue due to closing a business early because of municipal curfews. “That’s where civil authority would be triggered to cover the loss of business income,” Jung said. A more typical exclusion for coverage in commercial policies is acts of terrorism, but exclusions for riots are, generally, less common.

 WHAT ABOUT TEAR GAS? Damage from tear gas should be covered by most general commercial insurance policies as part of riot protection, Kobak surmised. But the protocols for cleaning and the cost that requires are unclear. Even though it’s similar to smoke damage, tear gas damage simply isn’t as common as cleaning up after a fire, so there are some unknowns with that remediation process. A suit shop dealing with tear gas damage may have to replace its entire inventory: Even if those clothes are dry-cleaned, they can't legitimately be sold as new anymore. A restaurant may need to replace food-handling equipment, like stoves. Any porous surface could be damaged by smoke or tear gas, and wiping them down simply isn't enough. A couple of broken windows might be a couple thousand dollars in damages, possibly not enough to even trigger an insurance claim. But if there is mass destruction of property and inventory, or if tear gas filled a business and there’s a need to clean and disinfect “every inch of it,” Kobak said. “You could jump to a claim of a couple hundred thousand dollars very quickly.” See INSURANCE on Page 19

CORPORATE LITIGATION SERVICES Apple Growth Partners provides experienced, unbiased economic damage and business valuation services for the corporate litigation process.

Apple Growth Partners @applegrowthpartners AppleGrowthPartners @apple_growth

216.674.3800

Since 1959

SAME DAY COURIER

MEDICAL • BANKING

LEGAL

WE ARE OPEN!

As an essential business during COVID-19, we are focused on meeting your delivery needs including no contact delivery.

216-696-6033 • www.bonniespeed.com JUNE 8, 2020 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 3

P003_CL_20200608.indd 3

6/5/2020 2:29:47 PM

COPING WITH COVID-19 | ENTERTAINMENT PANDEMIC PERSEVERANCE

Beachland Ballroom strives to hang on during devastating crisis

STILL STRONG. STILL LENDING.

STAY LOCAL

BY JEREMY NOBILE

Driven by a passion for the arts and dedication to the community, Beachland Ballroom & Tavern coowner Cindy Barber and her business partners managed to talk themselves out of shutting down the venue year after year. “We almost died last summer,” Barber said. “It was so bad.” Such conversations have become more routine in recent years for the 20-year-old business as competition for entertainment spending increases, costs grow and cash flow slows. At roughly 1%, margins are already razor thin for independent music venues. At the Beachland, dollars from ticket sales only cover a portion of the costs for performers. The revenue stream relies heavily on sales of booze, food and merchandise. There were again talks of shutting down after the club’s 20th anniversary celebration this spring.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE INTEREST RATES AT ALL TIME LOWS. • Loans up to $10 Million • No Prepayment Penalties • As Little as 10% Down

Your Business Lending Partner SM Contact Jonathan A. Mokri 440.526.8700 jmokri@cbscuso.com www.cbscuso.com

68,690 SF First Class Manufacturing Facility 29601 Solon Rd., Solon, OH 44139

“WE ALMOST DIED LAST SUMMER. IT WAS SO BAD.” — Cindy Barber, Beachland Ballroom & Tavern co-owner

CONTRIBUTED

“(Co-owner Mark Leddy) and I talked about getting through March and just closing it. It’s ridiculous to keep this going and losing money at our age,” said Barber, 69, who’s also been using her nonprofit, Cleveland Rocks: Past, Present, Future, to simultaneously raise money for struggling artists. But the Beachland again stayed its course, heartened this time by the first two weeks of the month that, thanks to some good deals on the talent-buying side, had income trending toward record highs for March. Things were looking up. Then the pandemic crashed the party. Now, Barber said, “We’re just struggling.” The Beachland effectively closed down March 16 as the COVID-19 outbreak spurred the shuttering of businesses, canceling months of events at music venues and triggering refunds. See BEACHLAND on Page 7

PROPERTY OVERVIEW

➤

• Total Building Size – 68,690 SF • Office Size – 8,788 SF • Shop Size – 59,602 SF • Land Size – 6.54 Acres • 16’ & 19’ Clear height • Parking – 105 spaces • HVAC – Shop 100% air conditioned • 4000 AMPS of 240/480 power • Wet sprinkler system • Lunch room & Kitchenette • Docks - 4 • Drive-in door – one 14’ door • Locker room – men’s & women’s • Priced for Sale at: $3,025,000 • Priced for Lease at: $4.50, NNN N 300 ft

www.hannacre.com

BillNice@HannaCRE.com

DavidWagner@HannaCRE.com

Ca u l e y Fe r ra r i o f D e t ro i t 7 0 7 0 O rc h a rd L a k e R d. �e � t � l o o m � e l d� � � 4 8 3 2 2 Te l e p h o n e : 2 4 8 . 5 3 8 . 9 6 0 0 w w w. Ca u l e y Fe r ra r i . co m 4 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | JUNE 8, 2020

P004_CL_20200608.indd 4

6/5/2020 2:20:43 PM

MY BENESCH “Benesch has been an extremely valuable and vital part of our growth. I wouldn’t have been able to grow our companies without their assistance, their advice, their legal knowledge—I consider them a true business partner.” MATT KAULIG Chairman and Founder Leaf Home Solutions

MY TEAM Featured team (left to right) GREGG EISENBERG COREY CLAY RISTO PRIBISICH MICHAEL MOZES MARK AVSEC MITCHELL GECHT JOHANNA PARKER GREGORY BORAK MICHAEL KLEIN KATHERINE SMITH SAMANTHA STAHLER ERIC BAISDEN JENNY CHOU JORDAN CALL MARGARITA KRNCEVIC MICHAEL MEYER JULIE FENSTERMAKER RICK TRACANNA MATTHEW DELGUYD MICHAEL MARHOFER

As an entrepreneur who grew his LeafFilter business from humble roots (literally in his basement), Matt understands what it takes to be a leader in industry. When it came time to expand the business, he called on Benesch. Now owning several companies in diverse industries, Matt relies on Benesch for all aspects of his legal needs. From private equity to IP protection, and employment law to tax, Benesch provides the wide-ranging insight, experience, and personalized attention that keeps businesses flowing and growing. To learn more about our relationship with Matt and Leaf, visit beneschlaw.com/myteam.

www.beneschlaw.com

LeafFilter4c_10.875x14.5Ad.indd 1

10/24/19 2:11 PM

BEER

Despite pandemic, business is booming for online beer seller BY JAY MILLER

The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a crippling blow to many local businesses. But it’s been a boon to one: Belgian-Style Ales. The East Side Cleveland company, perhaps not surprisingly, has benefited from the closing of bars and craft beer taprooms since it sells beer, specifically imported Belgian beers, online across the country. The company also is an online seller of Great Lakes Brewing Co. beers. A separate, older company, Monastery Greetings, which sells greeting cards, jams and jellies and books created by American abbeys and monasteries online, also is booming. “Since March 15, the beer business has grown by four times, the Great Lakes business, in particular, has grown by six times and the monastery business has grown by about three times,” said owner Will Keller. “This is the first quarter that Belgium has outsold the monastery products.” Belgian beers, excluding a few giants like Stella Artois, which is owned by beer titan Anheuser-Busch InBev, are mostly made at Trappist monasteries. They are often compared to craft beers because they are small. Celebrity chef and television person-

ality Jamie Oliver has lauded the country’s beer styles and traditions. “But what makes Belgian beer so special is that even an amateur beer enthusiast can pick a Belgian beer out from any other,” he wrote. “Whether it’s a pale ale, a dubbel, a fruit beer or a golden ale, Belgian beers taste unique, and that’s down to one thing: yeast.” Even before the pandemic, the online beer business had a promising future. A July 2019 report on online alcohol sales, including beer, from IBISWorld, a Los Angeles business research firm, predicted annual growth of 6.9% in all online alcohol sales between 2019 and 2024, after a 9.3% growth in craft beer alone in 2019. Mary McDonald, executive director of the Ohio Craft Brewers Association, said that while her members are, broadly, suffering through the pandemic, they also are seeing the same takeoff of online sales. “Shipped sales are up dramatically,” she said. “We’ve always had the right to ship and deliver, but we never had to do it before. So while delivered and shipped sales are up, it doesn’t make up for (the loss) of taproom sales.” She said that of 339 craft brewers in Ohio, 25% might package and distribute beer for outside sale, and taproom sales

Belgian-Style Ales president Will Keller says the online retailer has benefited from the closing of bars and craft beer taprooms. | JAY MILLER/CRAIN’S

are “dramatically down or nonexistent.” Keller got into the Belgian beer business five years ago, as an offshoot of Monastery Greetings, which is now 20 years old. One of Monastery Greetings’ mainstay lines is the Trappist brand of jams and jellies from St. Joseph’s Abbey, a Trappist monastery in

Spencer, Mass. “So when the monastery started making a Belgian-style Trappist ale, we became the brewery’s mailing department,” he said. The Monastery Greetings business began after Keller, a Philadelphia native, came to Cleveland for a degree in nonprofit management at Case Western Reserve University. After graduating, he worked for several nonprofits, researching how nonprofits found for-profit revenue sources — things like gift shops and even running parking lots on the nonprofit’s property. During that research, he found some nonprofits, the monasteries, had products they needed to market. He figured out how to help them. The decision to branch out into beer selling five years ago stemmed from a realization that the monasteries were shrinking, some even closing. “It was not a lack of customers,” he said. “I was losing my vendors; monasteries are closing, they’re aging out. The success of the monastery beers pointed us to the Belgians.” Now, in the first quarter of 2020, beer sales exceed the sales of the monastery products. The company has six full-time employees, which doubles during the fourth-quarter gift-giving season. Keller now stocks about 200 beers. Though the website offers a bottle of Hoegaarden White, a 4.9% alcohol wheat beer, for $1.95, most beers are more expensive. At the high end there is a DeuS Brut des Flandres, a strong ale with 11.5% alcohol that sells for $45 a bottle. Adding shipping to the cost, which varies depending on the size of the order and how far it has to travel, means Keller’s beer targets a high-end market. Great Lakes Brewing beers were added a couple years ago and have

been a very successful addition. The West Side brewery now distributes its beer through distributors in 13 states, in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states as well as in Kentucky and Washington, D.C. However, the brand’s marketing manager, Marissa DeSantis, said it does not sell its beer online. Until now, the fourth quarter has always been Belgian-Style Ales’ busiest season. But Keller said gift-giving this year already has picked up. “What we’re seeing now is lots of gift-giving because people can’t visit,” he said. “People love sending beer as gifts. When the Indians lost the World Series (to the Chicago Cubs in 2016), that was good for me. Everybody in Cleveland lost their bet. I shipped a pallet-load of gifts out of here after the Indians lost.” Most of the 7,500 square feet Keller leases in the Glenville Enterprise Center on East 105th Street is given over to packaging and shipping. Since he’ll sell a single bottle of beer — though most customers typically put together orders of a variety of bottles — Keller has to find and stock hundreds of different pulp packages, especially since the Belgian beers come in unique bottles in several different sizes and not cans. Most Belgian beers come in glass bottles, often in unique, hard-topack designs. “So we have to find custom packing material from multiple vendors,” he said. “And then, a lot of the bottles are corked. That’s taken us lots of years to fine-tune.” And, of course, he regularly tests his products. “Do I drink the beer?” he asked rhetorically. “Oh, yeah. That’s the fun part.” Jay Miller: jmiller@crain.com, (216) 771-5362, @millerjh

Innovation that works for you.

At the heart of every legal matter–actual beating hearts.

Save time & manage cash flow with Treasury Management from Home Savings. Get real-time access to account information, automatic payments, wire transfers, ACH originations, custom reporting, single sign-on for multiple entities with user defined controls and much more. Our professional bankers are dedicated to understanding your business and innovating your day.

Responsiveness. Personal attention. Knowledge of your industry.

Call Jennifer Bidlingmyer & her Treasury Management team today!

We know exactly the kind of lawyers you’d love to hire, because we’ve hired them.

FrantzWard.com

330.310.1739 | HomeSavings.com

Frantz Ward | Love Your Law Firm MEMBER FDIC

FW130_CrainsAd_20th_6x8_022820.indd 2 6 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | JUNE 8, 2020

P006_CL_20200608.indd 6

2/28/20 3:45 PM

6/5/2020 2:22:04 PM

BEACHLAND

WaterTower Plaza

Of 23 employees at the Beachland, all but five were furloughed, the survivors kept on thanks to a small Paycheck Protection Program loan. The kitchen briefly experimented with carryout, but that was a drain on finances and quickly was nixed. About $60,000-$70,000 in monthly sales for drinks and food has evaporated. An Economic Injury Disaster Loan from the Small Business Administration is helping to keep the lights on. Adversity has been an unfortunate theme for the beloved local venue, which hosted The Black Keys’ first concert in a Waterloo Road neighborhood that — unlike the Akron rock band — has never lived up to its potential. Lackluster redevelopment projects and failing, underfunded or otherwise diluted community development corporations — so spread out they become ineffective in their lack of focus — underscore the area’s stymied economic growth. To the Beachland’s chagrin, Barber said, efforts to mold that area into something like a “more participatory” Gordon Square Arts District have yet to pan out. Yet, the Beachland refuses to call it quits, for now. The pandemic, in fact, offers a rare opportunity for renovations with the space empty. “I think, in some ways, I’m trying to look at this as a way to take a deep breath and do the preservation things that the Beachland kind of always needed, but we didn’t have the time to stop,” Barber said. “We couldn’t afford to stop.” With talent-buying deals based on potential ticket sales, reopening at a fraction of full capacity wouldn’t be cost-effective. National acts are impossible to land with states varying in their reopening approaches. A few shows for July and August are hanging on in the off-chance state policies

Office Space for Lease

25200 Chagrin Blvd Beachwood, OH

From Page 4

Some renovations are underway at the Beachland Ballroom and Tavern while the space is empty amid the COVID-19 outbreak. | CONTRIBUTED

“WE JUST HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO SURVIVE UNTIL WE CAN HAVE 500 PEOPLE AT A LIVE SHOW AGAIN.” — Cindy Barber, Beachland Ballroom & Tavern co-owner

evolve in the coming weeks to allow for those. For any reopening, though, Barber said she won’t do anything that puts staff at undue risk. The venue is weighing all its options to stay alive in the meantime. As part of the ongoing renovations, the restaurant is being tweaked to allow Sunday brunches again in the ballroom. An artist is developing Plexiglas barriers to install between tables. Barber is applying to open a parking lot patio for expanded service for the end of summer or early fall and looking for capital through storefront improvement programs. The owners are also evaluating ways to monetize livestreaming. The Beachland is one of some 1,600 members in the recently formed National Independent Venue Association, which is petitioning Congress for financial support — another possible lifeline to avoid going

extinct. Barber is on the association’s marketing committee, while Happy Dog co-owner Sean Watterson is the Ohio lobbying coordinator. What may come of that is unclear, though Barber said she is hopeful. But the future remains anything but certain. “If this all goes on too long, there will be danger,” she said. “The challenge is to find a way to pivot, cut costs, change income streams somehow, which we have already done with our online merch store. … We just have to find a way to survive until we can have 500 people at a live show again.” Friends, fans and the music community help to keep Barber’s passion from burning out. However, she’s getting tired. “Whereas some people might have gotten furloughed,” she said, “getting their unemployment checks and reading a book at their desks, I am working harder than ever just trying to plan and figure this all out. “I guess you can give up,” she added, “but we have brilliant staff and lovely people supporting us, and that’s been a blessing.”

Connor Krouse | 216.282.0125 | www.leecleveland.com

Jeremy Nobile: jnobile@crain.com, (216) 771-5362, @JeremyNobile

THANK YOU TO DOLLAR BANK FOR YOUR PROMINENT PARTNERSHIP AND SIGNIFICANT SUPPORT OF THE METROHEALTH TRANSFORMATION.

To learn more about how you can become a part of the MetroHealth Transformation, please call Kate Brown at (216) 778-7509.

Available Suites from 1,965 - 10,150 SF

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SERVICES LEE CLEVELAND

Providing a private travel experience that exceeds expectations.

HOW TO FLY WITH SKY QUEST: » On-Demand Charter » Jet Card Memberships » Aircraft Ownership Opportunities

F ly Sk y Q u est. c o m 21 6 - 36 2- 9 9 0 4 Char ter@FlySkyQuest.com

JUNE 8, 2020 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 7

P007_CL_20200608.indd 7

6/5/2020 2:23:16 PM

FROM THE EDITOR

RICH WILLIAMS FOR CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Let’s start with understanding

EDITORIAL

Do better L

et’s start by acknowledging a contradiction: This space is designed as a one-way expression of opinion, and that’s about the last thing we need right now. In the wake of the violent, unconscionable death of George Floyd and the resulting anger and unrest, we need listening and respectful conversation — about racism, police brutality and inequities in our economic system. Also unavoidable: We’re a business publication, focused more on deals, expansions and capital raises than on social justice. We aim to serve our business readers with need-toknow information they need to run their businesses and build their careers. And while we work hard to be diverse in our coverage of Northeast Ohio’s business community, we know we can improve on including more sources who are people of color. That’s one reason we have the Crain’s Business Diversity Council, which advises Crain’s on equity and inclusion in its coverage and in the business community. The good news on Friday, June 5, about the gain of 2.5 million jobs in May is tempered by the numbers that, though improved, show the jobless rates for African Americans CLEVELAND HAS MORE are still higher than for THAN ITS SHARE OF whites. We, as a society, have a ways to go. PANELS AND Anger is understandable. COMMISSIONS THAT SAY Vandalism and looting are THE RIGHT THINGS BUT not, especially since some of the businesses damaged LEAD NOWHERE. THESE in Cleveland serve the encommunity. Inevitably, EFFORTS MUST LEAD TO tire that kind of random lawSPECIFIC POLICY breaking hurts many small businesses, some owned by PROPOSALS, QUICKLY. African Americans and immigrants, that already are struggling to survive the pandemic. We liked the perspective of Clevelander Treye Johnson, who tweeted this as cleanup efforts began downtown: “I wish that after all the broken glass is swept up and spray paint is removed, after properties are repaired and merchandise is replaced, we’d display the same level of passion and care for

our fellow citizens who are still angry, and sad, and hurting.” Perhaps one step in that direction came as Cleveland City Council passed a measure to designate racism a public health crisis, and the Greater Cleveland Partnership moved to establish a working group to promote racial equity. GCP’s working group will, among other things, look to promote racially equitable economic and workforce development, as well as racially equitable hiring and promotion in Cleveland. It can’t just be a symbolic measure, from council or GCP. Cleveland has more than its share of panels and commissions that say the right things but lead nowhere. These efforts must lead to specific policy proposals, quickly. Companies have to act, too. Diversity and inclusion initiatives are gaining renewed focus, but they’re often ineffective or a low priority. Get into the details, commit to diversifying the workforce and produce results. We all must do better. Now.

Publisher and Editor: Elizabeth McIntyre (emcintyre@crain.com) Managing Editor: Scott Suttell (ssuttell@crain.com) Contact Crain’s: 216-522-1383 Read Crain’s online: crainscleveland.com

Ricky Smith had to be tired when he showed up in downtown Cleveland on Sunday morning to help clean up the destruction after the protests Saturday, May 30. That’s because he’d spent all day Saturday joining the protest. Still, there he was, broom in hand, showing that it is possible to protest injustice while loving your city. Elizabeth The comedian, actor and nonprofit McINTYRE leader is as mad as hell about the killing of George Floyd while in police custody. Smith took to the streets of downtown Cleveland that Saturday to lend his voice to the thousands of people protesting Floyd’s death by a Minneapolis police officer who knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. It wasn’t just that one incident that motivated Smith, though. He was protesting the systemic problem of racism in the police ranks. He was out there for five hours Saturday afternoon and again later that evening. “There’s frustration because we have felt like this for years,” he told me. “It’s built up and built up, and it all adds up.” It’s been building up and adding up for years. He figures he’s been involved in half a dozen such protests, including in Ferguson, Missouri, after the death by police of Michael Brown in 2014. Of the Cleveland protest, he said, “For the most part, it was beautiful.” But it did turn ugly. And by SMITH HAS DEVOTED A the time Cleveland instituted a GOOD PORTION OF HIS curfew and cleared the streets, LIFE TO HELPING cars were burned, windows were shattered, graffiti was PEOPLE UNDERSTAND sprayed, bus shelters were de- THE POWER OF SIMPLE stroyed and some establishACTS OF KINDNESS. ments were looted. Smith responded to that with action, shattering protester stereotypes some people harbor. The morning after he protested, Smith, the founder of the nonprofit Random Acts of Kindness Everywhere, convened RAKE volunteers at 10:30 a.m. at the Free Stamp to help clean up downtown. “I can love my city, and I can love being black,” he said. “You can be ‘pro’ something without being ‘anti’ something else.” RAKE, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, is an organic movement that teaches kindness and encourages people to improve the world one kind act at a time. Its mission has spread throughout the world via social media and the #RAKE hashtag, not to mention a national McDonad’s commercial in which Smith was the star. The turmoil in the streets of America, including Cleveland, has many of us searching for answers. And it goes beyond policing and forces us, people of every race, to confront the legacy, and the current reality, of racism. Smith has devoted a good portion of his life to helping people understand the power of simple acts of kindness. As he sees it, a good start to confronting the problem is for white people to try to understand the perspective of people of color. “I see people holding up signs that say, ‘Stop racism.’ That’s fine,” he said, “but let’s just start by trying to understand and be more empathetic to each other. “I am just asking for understanding of what it’s like to be a black person in this country.” To do that, we need to be open to experiences that are not our own. I can count on one hand, actually with three fingers to spare, the number of times I’ve been stopped by police. Ricky Smith has been pulled over roughly three dozen times in three years, but never ticketed. His experience driving while black is different from my experience driving while white. Perhaps we’ve reached a moment in our history where more people will seek to understand the lived experience of black people. Where more of us will confront racism at its structural foundation. It needs to be broken, and it needs to be swept away. And Smith can’t do it alone. “We need to come together,” he said. We all do.

Write us: Crain’s welcomes responses from readers. Letters should be as brief as possible and may be edited. Send letters to Crain’s Cleveland Business, 700 West St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, Cleveland, OH 44113, or by emailing ClevEdit@crain.com. Please include your complete name and city from which you are writing, and a telephone number for fact-checking purposes.

Sound off: Send a Personal View for the opinion page to emcintyre@crain.com. Please include a telephone number for verification purposes.

8 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | June 8, 2020

P008_CL_20200608.indd 8

6/5/2020 4:00:40 PM

OPINION

the spread of COVID-19

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Pleasant Valley Corp is equipped to provide the following preventive measure & cleaning services to help you ensure a safe work environment.

City leaders were asleep at the switch during downtown riot My family has lived in the Cleveland area for generations. We are businesspeople who provide more than 1,600 jobs. We are invested in Cleveland financially, emotionally and spiritually. That is why it is heartbreaking to see the great damage done to our community by those who hijacked a protest held in the name of justice and peace. Dozens of downtown businesses, including ours, sustained substantial damage during this past weekend’s riots. Those aren’t just businesses: They are the dreams of people who believe in Cleveland, who put life savings into enterprises to provide food, drink, music, baked goods, groceries, clothing and other products and services for the benefit of our community. We are Clevelanders. We support peaceful protest. We stand for the equality of all people. We abhor racebased violence, no matter who commits it. What makes Cleveland special is that people of every race, color and creed want to live and work together. I look around and I see the looting and the destruction to our downtown — that is not who we are. It is not enough to say that violence is happening everywhere in response to the killing of George Floyd. Someone has to take responsibility for what happened, or didn’t happen, in Cleveland. The city had 24-hour notice before the march. There was no preparation by city leaders to establish a strict parade route, to block off commercial districts, to protect against the infiltration of a peaceful march by those who came prepared to

commit violence. There was no call-up of off-duty police to provide additional protection in case things went out of control. When the destruction and looting began, it appears that police were told to stand down. We must have an explanation! Who is in charge of Cleveland? Where were the elected leaders in this moment of crisis? I have raised this question about our absent leadership repeatedly. This failure of leadership is why I supported council reduction. I reluctantly withdrew the issue from the ballot, in the hope that a renewed effort toward unity would be a wake-up call. Nothing doing. Cleveland City Hall leaders, especially the mayor, continue to be asleep at the switch, with devastating results for our city. First, Cleveland’s businesses had to shut down during the height of the COVID-19 virus. Then, when we try to open back up, the riots start and shut us down again. Add to that the reduction in business due to the curfew. This is a nightmare, which can end only when we have leaders who can rise up to meet the moment. A four-day curfew is not leadership. It’s a confession of an inability to control lawlessness, or a capitulation to bad actors. We don’t pay taxes for the police to be ordered to stand down in the face of looting. We don’t pay taxes to ensure the security of our streets, only to see the streets taken over. Tony George Westlake

A FOUR-DAY CURFEW IS NOT LEADERSHIP. IT’S A CONFESSION OF AN INABILITY TO CONTROL LAWLESSNESS, OR A CAPITULATION TO BAD ACTORS.

Power failure indeed

• • • •

Signage; floor markings Touchless restroom fixtures Sneeze guards on registers Curbside signage

• Cleaning Services; Non-confirmed & confirmed COVID-19 cases)

• Parking lot markings

Call 330 239 0176

Looking for warehouse space? Need logistics help? Candor Logistics is a true 3rd party logistics company offering: Premium Warehouse Space ● Local Cartage, brokerage & supply chain fulfillment ● Pick & Pack, expedite & de-vanning services ●

Certified to handle any The title to the “Power failure” editorial on page 8 of pill is guised behind an environmental pretense. product regardless of size, This is tragically unfortunate for Northeast Ohio. the June 1 Crain’s Cleveland Business edition regarding field of industry or scope. the Ohio Power Siting Board’s (OPSB) ruling affecting The economic development and job creation that the Lake Erie Energy Development Corp.’s (LEEDCo) Icebreaker represents are enormous. That’s why the Call now to discuss your Cleveland Foundation, the CleveIcebreaker wind project was well chowarehousing and logistics needs! land-Cuyahoga County Port Authorisen. It speaks volumes to a lack of lead- IT’S UNFATHOMABLE ty, and the counties of Ashtabula, ership among our politicians, especial216.378.7100 ● Bedford Hts, OH ● www.candorlogistics.com HOW A LEADER OF A Lake, Cuyahoga and Lorain have been ly Gov. Mike DeWine. longstanding and steadfast supportDuring the 2018 campaign, candi- POLITICAL PARTY ers. It’s unfathomable how a leader of date DeWine was asked about his stance concerning power generation THAT PROCLAIMS IT’S a political party that proclaims it’s business-friendly and desires to crein Ohio. Did he favor fossil fuel, nu- BUSINESS-FRIENDLY ate jobs can stand idly by, especially clear or renewable? His reply: “All of now that Ohio’s economy is suffering the above.” However, his appointment AND DESIRES TO Candor Logistics Ad-4-8 copy.indd 1 staggering economic losses because of Sam Randazzo, a known friend of CREATE JOBS CAN of COVID-19. the fossil fuel industry and opponent I urge all of Crain’s Cleveland Busiof renewables, as chairman of the STAND IDLY BY. ness readers to call Gov. Mike DeWine Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and, by default, chairman of the Ohio Power Siting immediately and implore him to intervene in this matBoard, called into question DeWine’s commitment to ter. The OPSB needs to reverse its onerous ruling so “all of the above.” At the time, there was hope that the Northeast Ohio can move forward with the economic governor would leash the pooch known as the “Ran- development and job creation that is Icebreaker. Patrick J. O’Connor dazzler.” Sorrowfully, that hasn’t happened. The tail Rocky River is wagging the dog. Adding insult to injury, the poison

4/20/20 11:03 AM

Real estate feature missed the mark I have to say that I was disappointed to read the May 18 essay titled, “This is where big realty ideas go to die” in the Crain’s Cleveland Look Back series. In all honesty, I saw no redeeming value to the essay. Most of it was a rehashing of the history of a few big projects that never came to fruition. There were a few lines about what should be learned from these events, but no development of the simple one-line statements. Every city has its flop projects, but to say that Cleveland is a place where big ideas die is simply false. If all you’re interested in doing is printing criticism, then you’re wasting ink. There are plenty of lessons that could be learned from these projects, including how current

economic development has evolved over time, in part because of these experiences. Instead, you chose to write a disparaging commentary on projects doomed by timing, bad decisions or just plain bad ideas. Crain’s should strive to avoid this kind of useless criticism. It’s OK, even necessary, to challenge the businesses and institutions of the day, but you have to provide useful information if you expect to be treated as anything other than a bunch of cranks. This is not the kind of work to which I am interested in subscribing. Please make an effort to improve. Chuck Tackett Shaker Heights JUNE 8, 2020 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 9

P009_CL_20200608.indd 9

6/4/2020 4:18:05 PM

KEEPING FOCUSED The pandemic challenges schools to monitor students’ well-being and offer counsel if needed. PAGE 14

PRIVATE AND PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS

LESSONS LEARNED

Senior Vincent Janolo poses for a photo in front of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School on graduation day. | ANTHONY BOARMAN/ST. VINCENT-ST. MARY HIGH SCHOOL

When COVID-19 forced Northeast Ohio’s high schools to go remote, they got creative

BY RACHEL ABBEY MCCAFFERTY

hysics labs inspired by TikTok. Cooking videos from dining services. A backyard art project. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced Northeast Ohio’s high schools to go remote, they got creative. That’s not to say there haven’t been challenges, but the region’s teachers and administrators have been finding ways to make the best of a tough situation. Here's a look at some of the approaches five schools took to keep students engaged this spring.

Nourishing students from afar

Dining services at Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights didn’t stop when the allgirls school went remote this spring. Instead, Nick Keck, resident director of dining services, took to creating videos for the school’s social media channels and website to show students and their families how to do everything from prep a piece of salmon to whip up an easy lemonade. Typically, Keck and the dining services team would be actively prepping food on Ha-

Below: Using #HBatHome, Hathaway Brown School’s resident director of dining service and his daughter, Leah, demonstrate a recipe for an easy lemonade. | YOUTUBE

thaway Brown’s campus, feeding students or catering events. A few years ago, pre-pandemic, the school started to try different methods, such as “tasting samples,” to expose students to new or potentially unfamiliar foods like quinoa. “I’m all about any way possible to encourage our students to make better choices and to understand that quinoa may look funny, but it’s delicious and it’s got a lot of great health benefits for you,” Keck said. See LESSONS on Page 12

10 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | JUNE 8, 2020

P010_CL_20200608.indd 10

6/4/2020 4:06:31 PM

Ohio, we’re committed to helping you through this At Bank of America, we recognize this health and humanitarian crisis has impacted everyone in different ways. Across our company, we’re focused on supporting the wellbeing of our teammates, providing the essential financial services our clients need, and helping communities across the country move forward. We know small businesses have been especially impacted. We feel a deep sense of responsibility for helping them navigate the current environment, and to secure vital funding to stay operational and be able to pay their employees. This includes our around-the-clock efforts to support clients through the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Our teammates are also focused on helping customers access additional resources. Through our Client Assistance Program, we’ve provided more than 1.6 million deferrals of mortgage, credit card and auto loan payments. I am inspired and proud of the way all of us in Ohio have come together during this difficult time. Please stay safe.

Jeneen Marziani Ohio Market President

For more information, please visit bankofamerica.com/community.

Data as of May 15, 2020 Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender

Over 300,000 of our small business clients have received PPP funding for more than $25 billion in relief. Of the funded PPP loans to date, • 98% are for companies with fewer than 100 employees. • 81% are for companies with 10 or fewer employees. • 23% are from low- to moderateincome neighborhoods. In Ohio, this includes funding for 387 of our small business clients totaling $105 million.

FOCUS | PRIVATE AND PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS

LESSONS

From Page 10

The videos were also a way to keep the school’s community connected. Keck said he’d love to find a way to encourage good eating habits when school starts back up in the fall.

 LESSONS LEARNED “I’ve learned that short and sweet trumps long, drawn-out, and that’s OK,” Keck noted. Even though some people may have had more time at home in recent months, everyone’s still busy, he added. A short educational video is more likely to get views than one stretching past 20 minutes.

Beaumont School math teacher Stephanie Moran provided students with not just slides but recordings showing the work behind the solutions. | BEAUMONT SCHOOL

Janca came across versions of this project on social media, as she’s involved in groups where high school teachers and art teachers trade ideas. Teachers have shared ideas both for projects and for materials students could use in place of supplies they may not have at home, such as using condiments like ketchup for printmaking. “Seeing what other teachers are doing and how they’re approaching different areas of their course is super-important,” she said.

Creating art at home A lesson on the temporary artwork of Andy Goldsworthy had students at Saint Joseph Academy in Cleveland looking for ways to create art in their back yards. Terise Janca, a teacher at the allgirls Catholic school, had students craft their own art using natural materials like rocks, sticks and flowers. Had this project been done on the Saint Joseph Academy campus, students would have been limited in the materials they found. Doing this project remotely, where students had to search in their own yards and neighborhoods, led to greater variety.

 LESSONS LEARNED Working from home, Saint Joseph Academy students created art projects using natural materials from their own back yards. | TERISE JANCA

“Good communication is important with your students,” Janca said. Teachers have to make sure they

Senior Quincy Powers is greeted by lines of St. Vincent-St. Mary faculty and staff members as she departs the campus in her car after receiving her diploma.

know what they’re looking for from students and communicate that clearly and concisely, she said. It’s easier to answer questions in person than online.

Solving for X virtually It can be tough to teach complex math without showing the work behind it — and when students and

PREMIUM BEACHWOOD OFFICE SPACE AVAILABLE Maximum Visibility and Recognition Enterprise Place 3401 Enterprise Parkway | Beachwood, OH 44122 Maximize your business potential with an office at Enterprise Place, the most recognizable Class A office building in Beachwood. Strategically located at the intersection of I-271 and Chagrin Blvd. with prime visibility, Enterprise Place is ideal for both established and growing businesses.

CALL TODAY! 216.910.9317

• Building signage for anchor tenant with visibility from I-271 (average traffic count of 125,000 cars per day) • Contiguous space available from 6,700rsf to 20,171rsf • 10 private, 900 square foot rooftop terraces for tenant use • Three (3) new high-speed electric passenger elevators • Full 5th floor available • 24-hour keycard access • Conference room with WiFi • Ample free surface parking • Heated indoor parking • Full-time on-site maintenance staff • Walkability to shopping and dining • Café and outdoor picnic areas • Owner-managed Dennis Bush Vice President, Director of Commercial Real Estate GoldbergCompanies.com | 216.831.6100

dbush@goldbergcompanies.com

12 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | JUNE 8, 2020

P012_P013_CL_20200608.indd 12

6/4/2020 4:10:06 PM

ANTH

teac or n B Heig that stud usu mat at th way leng clas show as sh Post bee boo “I mor get ran A pose tried in h avai of ev

 LE

“I the Mor Th ers c wan the can the

Tes

L labs whi STE tran tere base tool and labs wer sess den thei “S

plex beand

this is the right answer, but we’re still focusing on the process and making sure that they understand the how, the why, that really learning and reasoning part,” Sun said. She also found creative ways to get students engaged. For example, instead of asking more traditional review questions, students were asked to create group videos in the style of a TikTok or Instagram challenge for a lesson on projectile motion. One student might drop a ball out of frame, with the next student pretending to catch it in their clip. The students would then pair those actions with relevant word problems to solve.

Congratulations to the Gilmour Academy CLASS OF 2020

 LESSONS LEARNED

ANTHONY BOARMAN/ST. VINCENT-ST. MARY HIGH SCHOOL

teachers aren’t in a classroom, virtual or not, at the same time. Beaumont School in Cleveland Heights had suggested to teachers that class times stay flexible, in case students couldn’t attend during the usual time, said Stephanie Moran, a math teacher and department chair at the all-girls Catholic school. One way that Moran addressed that challenge was by adapting her existing classroom slides with recordings that showed problems being written out as she explained what she was doing. Posting the slides alone would have been akin to handing students a textbook. “It just allows me to give them more information than they would get if they were just reading it,” Moran said. Answering student questions posed a bigger problem, but Moran tried to anticipate the common ones in her slides. She also made herself available online for the last half hour of every class.

“One of the lessons that I think has been so important is just how important a lot of our subtle interactions are,” Sun noted. That ranges from being able to read someone’s body language to how quickly someone can react to a statement. Sun said she’s had to learn to pause and give students more time in a world where they need a moment to think (and unmute their microphones).

Learn how Gilmour can prepare your student for the future at gilmour.org. Limited spaces available for the 2020-21 school year.

Finding a socially distant way to graduate

“I still have a lot to learn as far as all the different tools that are out there,” Moran said. There are a lot of resources teachers can take advantage of, and Moran wants to take a look at those during the summer months to see what she can incorporate into her classes in the future.

Soon after St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron went remote, students and their families reached out to ask school leaders to find a way for seniors to graduate in person, said principal Kimberlee Gorr. They weren’t interested in a virtual option. The school initially planned to move its traditional ceremony to July, but too many students said that conflicted with their post-high school plans of reporting to college or the military, so leaders went back to the drawing board. “We’re making it up as we go along,” Gorr said. St. Vincent-St. Mary arranged for socially distanced graduation events on June 1. Families were encouraged to decorate their cars for a procession to the student parking lot and were allowed to exit for a photo in front of the school’s sign. Students were called to receive their diplomas in person at a staged area on campus from administrators who planned to be wearing gloves and masks. When the families’ cars left campus, they were greeted by faculty and staff lining the street. The school wanted to give students a way to return to campus with both their families and the faculty present, Gorr said.

Testing hypotheses online

 LESSONS LEARNED

Laurel School strongly relies on labs to teach its physics courses, which Jessie Sun, director of STEAM engagement, said made the transition to remote learning “interesting.” The Shaker Heightsbased school was able to use online tools to replicate some of that work, and Sun ultimately ran three to four labs for each class while students were learning at home. She did assessments online and asked students to take pictures or videos of their work. “So really getting at not just, hey,

“I have learned that more minds are better than one,” Gorr reported. She turned to members of the St. Vincent-St. Mary community to create the plan for this year’s graduation ceremony, but also to her peers across the country. Gorr is involved in groups designed to connect educators around the globe with one another, which gave her the chance to share ideas and brainstorm solutions to problems.

 LESSONS LEARNED

Competence. Courage. Resiliency. Gratitude. Grace. You have exhibited everything we hope for in a Lancer even during a trying time. We couldn’t be more proud as we look forward to watching you continue to make the world a better place.

Rachel Abbey McCafferty: (216) 771-5379, rmccafferty@crain.com

Gilmour Academy is an independent, Catholic, coed school in the Holy Cross tradition. Montessori (18 months - Kindergarten) and Grades 1-12 gilmour.org

YOUR STORY. YOUR STAGE.

SPONSOR AN EVENT TODAY • Learn More: scott.carlson@crain.com

Get ready to do school differently. hawken.edu

Coed Toddler – Grade 12

Lyndhurst

Cleveland–West

Gates Mills

University Circle JUNE 8, 2020 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 13

P012_P013_CL_20200608.indd 13

6/4/2020 4:24:32 PM

FOCUS | PRIVATE AND PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS

Caring for the whole student — remotely With classrooms shut by the pandemic, schools have had to find new ways to engage students, monitor progress BY FRANK DIMARIA

Many high school and college students rely on social and emotional support systems comprising a select group of their friends. The COVID-19 pandemic all but stripped students of those support systems, while separating them from the comfortable school environment to which they’ve grown accustomed. “It’s a big loss,” said Suzanne Walker Buck, head of school at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson. “For some kids, this school really is home and they feel as though they have been taken away from their home.” For those suffering emotional distress, especially depression and anxiety, the transition to remote learning has stirred up unwanted

feelings and emotions. To assist Western Reserve Academy students in coping with the transition and to fill the void left by isolation, Buck created opportunities for her students to connect with one another remotely as they scattered to shelter in their home states and countries. Advisory groups hosted meetings and teams gathered to create videos and online games, allowing students to connect in real time. “We tried to replace that element of spontaneous relationships students felt prior to leaving,” Buck said. Benedictine High School on Cleveland’s East side was founded in 1927. | CONTRIBUTED

Ensuring access to counselors When the all-male student body of Benedictine High School in Cleve-

Grad_Ad_2020_Crains.qxp_Layout 1 5/19/20 6:49 PM Page 1

land was forced off campus and entered a remote learning environment, Ryan Ryzner, the school’s principal, needed to ensure his stu-

Forever green and white. No matter what colors come next.

est . 1896

Congratulations to the Laurel School Class of 2020.

“OUR COUNSELORS TOOK THE dents could still access their supDATA FROM THE SURVEYS port system and AND ANECDOTAL DATA FROM that his school was addressing OUR TOWN-HALL MEETINGS the needs of the AND IT GAVE THEM A GREAT whole student, not just the acaSENSE OF SOME STUDENTS demic side. WHO MIGHT HAVE NEED FOR OPPORTUNITIES He charged his four coun- TO TALK TO SOMEBODY.” selors with set- — Ryan Ryzner, principal, Benedictine High School ting up virtual To ensure her students had access counseling sessions. Students could attend any of the four ses- to mental health resources during sions offered each day. Through the disruption caused by the pansurveys, Ryzner gathered data on demic, Buck first consulted with her how his students were coping so- school’s psychologist to make sure cially and emotionally. To further her three mental health professionevaluate his students’ and their als could offer teleconference sesparents’ emotional well-being, his sions for those who needed counselcounselors moderated weekly ing. “We knew this disruption to the town-hall meetings. “Our counselors took the data school year was going to be difficult from the surveys and anecdotal data and we wanted students to have the from our town-hall meetings and it opportunity to seek help … and that gave them a great sense of some stu- they had all the tools (they needed) dents who might have need for op- at their disposal,” Buck said. portunities to talk to somebody,” Ryzner said. See MONITORING on Page 16

Planning. Protection. Peace of Mind. For all life’s legal matters. We work with parents and family members who care about the future life and well-being of a special needs child. At Solomon, Steiner & Peck, Ltd., we listen to you concerns, thoroughly explain the legal issues involved, outline your options, and find practical solutions that meet your unique situation. How can we help you? Laurie Steiner, Esq.

The 65 members of the Class of 2020 have been accepted to 134 colleges and universities to date and have been granted over $6.5 million in merit scholarships. American University • Boston University (3) • Case Western Reserve University • College of Charleston • Cornell University • Dartmouth College • Davidson College • DePaul University • Elon University (2) • Fordham University • George Washington University • Harvard University (2) • High Point University • John Carroll University • Kent State University (2) • Kenyon College (4) • Lehigh University • Loyola University Chicago • Miami University, Oxford (4) • Michigan State University • North Carolina State University • Rochester Institute of Technology • SUNY at Binghamton • The College of Wooster • The Ohio State University, Main Campus (10) • Tufts University • Tulane University • University of California, Los Angeles • University of Chicago • University of Cincinnati • University of Kentucky • University of Miami • University of Michigan (3) • University of Notre Dame • Wake Forest University • Washington University in St Louis (2) • West Virginia University • Xavier University • Xavier University of Louisiana • Yeshiva University

Laurie Steiner, Esq., a partner at Solomon, Steiner & Peck, Ltd., is a Certified Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation and practices in the areas of Elder Law, Special Needs Planning, Estate and Trust Planning and Administration.

•

LYMAN CAMPUS One Lyman Circle, Shaker Heights BUTLER CAMPUS 7420 Fairmount Road, Russell Twp.

Girls Kindergarten-Grade 12 and Coed Pre-Primary 216.464.0946 LaurelSchool.org College choices as of May 20, 2020.

/LaurelSchool

@LaurelSchool

Estate Planning

Dream. Dare. Do.

Probate & Trust

Elder Law CE

L E B R AT I N

Business Law

216-765-0123 SSandPlaw.com

14 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | JUNE 8, 2020

P014_CL_20200608.indd 14

6/4/2020 4:13:30 PM

We're looking for the best, the brightest and

We want strong individuals, driven for success, with a collaborative mindset and the desire to be the best in the business.

Weâ€™ll never settle for good enough. And neither should you.

ham, out joining Bucking To learn more ab /careers or contact visit bdblaw.com atti@bdblaw.com Caytie Matti at cm

AKRON | CLEVELAND | CANTON

bdblaw.com May 18 ad.indd 2

5/29/2020 11:36:23 AM

Cleveland’s Premier Real Estate Developer

FOCUS | PRIVATE AND PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS

PREMIER

Development Partners

Proven Process Proven Relationships Premier Difference

( 2 1 6 ) 3 4 1 - 1 2 0 0 | premierdevelop.com

STAY IN THE KNOW with Crain’s email newsletters

Subscribe FOR FREE by visiting CrainsCleveland.com/enewsletters

Head of school Suzanne Walker Buck and the Western Reserve Academy staff hand-delivered graduation boxes containing diplomas, handwritten teacher notes, neckties and necklaces to 82 of the 117 Western Reserve Academy graduates. | CONTRIBUTED

MONITORING

From Page 14

For boys, Junior K - 12

Meeting students’ learning styles remotely

NEEL AGARWAL · DAN ANSELMI · JOSH ANTHONY · FRANK APPLEBAUM · ERIC AREKLETT JOEY AVERILL · THAROON BALAJI · KYLE BASHEIN · NOLAN BINGAMAN · GARRETT BLUM JACK BORROW · CHARLIE BRENNAN · NOAH BROCK · THOMAS BUTLER · TRISTAN CAVOTTA · WILL CHA NEHAL CHIGURUPATI · GRAHAM CLARK · BEN CLEGG · BROOKS CROWLEY · PARKER CROWLEY NIKITA DAVIDENKO · PETER DAWSON · JOHN DESANTIS · RYAN DEVINE · JIMMY DONOHUE NATE ELLIOTT

COLE FLUKER

BRAD

ELLIS

DOM FRACASSA

PARKER ERNST ·

MITCH FRAGASSI

CARTER FAULKNER ·

TATE FLACK

CAMERON GABLE

ALI

GARDEZI

ANDREW GOODMAN · MIKE GRASSI · CHARLIE GROOFF · PRAJWAL GURUPRASAD · ADAM HOLTHAUS MICHAEL

HOLTZ

CHARLIE

JORANKO

BRIAN

JARED ·

HUSNI

ADAM

KAHN

DYLAN LOCONTI

JUSTIN ·

SUKHM

WILL

ILER

KANG

LVOVICH

JACK ·

SAI

DAVID

JOHNSTON KARNATI

JOSEPH

JAMES

MACGREGOR

JOHN

JONES

KEHERLY MARTIN

HENRY MASSEY · MILES MCILVAINE · AKHIL MEDARAMETLA · SETH MELAMED · HENRY MICHAELSON JACK MIRANDA

ALEX NIEDERER

CAM ·

MONESMITH

CHAS NORMAN

· ·

TY MOSES DREW NOVAK

RAY MUZILLA ·

JACK

TYLER NETTIS

O’BRIEN

SAM OLSON

SIMON OLSON · BEAU O’SICKEY · KURT OZUNER · CHARLIE PAINE · SAAVAN PATEL · TONY PENG ALEX PIETRICK · NIC PUJOLAS · RYAN RACKLEY · STEFAN RADJENOVIC · SAAM RASHIDI OWEN

REHAK

CADE

RETINO

ALEX

RICHTER

JACK

ROGEN

RYAN

ROSENCRANS

ANDREW ROZENSHTRAUKH · JACK SACKS · COLIN SAVAGE · RILEY STEINER · JACK SWEENEY GAVIN TALLAL · NICOLAS TEKIELI · NICK THOMAS · WILLIAM THOMAS · SIMON TROPPER ADRIAN VOVK · ISAIAH WAITERS · KENNON WALTON · NATHAN WARREN · ETHAN WEBER TURNER WHITMOYER · WILLIAM WILLOUGHBY · BEN WYANT · MAX YOUNG · www.us.edu

livered graduation boxes containing their diplomas, handwritten teacher notes, neckties and necklaces to 82 of the 117 Western Reserve Academy graduates. That was no small feat since they had to cover Ohio, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia. The 35 students who reside farther than a day’s drive from campus received their packages by mail. All things considered, Ryzner said, the teamwork and communication his faculty and staff established and demonstrated throughout the pandemic was phenomenal. “Our community has come together and found different ways that we’re getting the guys what they need academically, spiritually, socially and emotionally.

Teachers have a professional obligation to be cognizant of their students’ individual learning styles and to accommodate for those learning styles within the framework of their curriculum. In the two-plus months that Ryzner’s students worked remotely, his faculty discovered a great deal about their students’ individual learning styles. Initially, Benedictine students received their lessons five days a “WE KNEW THIS DISRUPTION week in an asynTO THE SCHOOL YEAR WAS chronous environment. Teachers GOING TO BE DIFFICULT AND quickly realized, WE WANTED STUDENTS TO however, that some students HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO were foundering SEEK HELP … AND THAT THEY in the asynchronous environment HAD ALL THE TOOLS (THEY NEEDED) AT THEIR and craved more DISPOSAL.” structured lessons. “We have some — Suzanne Walker Buck, head of school students who are at Western Reserve Academy extroverted and needed that face-time,” Ryzner said. It’s been really impressive. There’s no “So we retooled our meeting time to playbook for this,” he said. go synchronously. Some of the guys To illustrate her students’ longing thrived in the asynchronous environ- to return to the safe, familiar environment. We tried to meet the needs of ment to which they’re accustomed, all students by providing that blend Buck shared the text of an email she of synchronous and asynchronous received from one of her students. It instruction.” read: “Even the things we disliked about school, we miss right now. We Filling the graduation void regret they were taken away all too soon.” Kids are remarkably resilient, Buck Of all the disappointments the pandemic heaped upon America’s noted, and given the proper tools students, a canceled graduation cer- and guidance on their use, they can do great things. emony might top the list. Buck provided her 2020 graduates with some semblance of a gradua- Contact Frank DiMaria: tion when she and her staff hand-de- clbfreelancer@crain.com

16 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | JUNE 8, 2020

P016_CL_20200608.indd 16

6/4/2020 4:15:49 PM

AKRON TECHNOLOGY

Akron’s S3 Technologies acquires New Territory S3 will add virtual- and augmented-reality technologies to its work in video and electronic systems BY DAN SHINGLER

Two of Akron’s creative technology firms are now one, as S3 Technologies has acquired virtual- and augmented-reality company New Territory. The two companies say the transaction, the terms of which are not being disclosed, will allow them to combine New Territory’s experience in immersive VR and AR technologies with S3’s work on a broad range of video and electronic communications and systems. “I’m now an S3 team member. I’m learning a brand new industry, and I love learning new things,” said Bill Myers, who co-founded New Territory in 2017 with his wife and equal partner in the business, Grace Myers. S3 works with corporate customers, educators and others to provide a broad array of services focused on video and other digital technology. It provides security services, such as secured access systems and video surveillance, but also video presentation and communication tools used in education and business, digital signage and computer networks. “Security cameras, facial recognition, digital signage — these are per-

Akron’s S3 Technologies has acquired New Territory, which runs esports leagues at the Bounce Innovation Hub. Here, gamers take part in an esports tournament last summer. | SHANE WYNN FOR CRAIN’S

fect points where we can blend AR or VR into S3,” Bill Myers said. That work has begun, and S3 just rolled out an augmented-reality product that schools can use to help students take part in something akin to celebrating their graduation, since the COVID-19 crisis has shuttered nearly all traditional graduation cer-

emonies. It may not replace the warmth of a real ceremony, but students at least get to see themselves in graduation garb — as they look at their own live image on their phones — with congratulatory messages, Myers said. “With kids being home so much, there is just so much noise on social

media, … but this was the first time many students experienced a custom program made just for them,” Myers said. “It shows this technology is accessible and there’s a local, Akron company that’s building it.” Both Myers and S3 co-owners Nancy and Chris Larker said they think that’s just the tip of the iceberg and that they’ll find many more ways to integrate New Territory’s technology into S3’s products and services. “We’ve kind of built our company on the basis that technology changes constantly and we want to be in front of it on every level. … That’s where the New Territory acquisition comes into play,” said Chris Larker, chief operating officer of S3 who co-founded the business with his wife, company president Nancy Larker. The combined companies will maintain their own facilities for the foreseeable future, the principals said. That means S3 and its 20 employees will continue to operate in the former United Way building on Prospect Street, a 14,000-square-foot structure the company purchased in 2018. New Territory, which uses about five contract developers at any given

time, will remain at Akron’s Bounce Innovation Hub, where it has established a presence that includes video gaming and esports facilities for public leagues the company has run for area students and other gamers. The facility also serves as a satellite venue for the University of Akron’s esports program. For Myers, the moment brings mixed emotions. He’s sad to no longer have the title of co-founder attached to his name, he said, but he’s excited to work with the resources of a larger company after he and his wife have handled everything from internal bookkeeping to human resource duties. “These new systems and processes are such a breath of fresh air. For the first time since I started, I feel like I can do what I set out to do. … It felt like I was just digging so many small holes with everything I was doing, and now I feel like I can just drill a mineshaft,” Myers said. The courtship of New Territory by S3 was an interesting one, they said. Chris Larker joked that Myers probably thought he was being stalked. Not quite, but close, Myers said. See S3 on Page 22

BE AN INDUSTRY INSIDER. Crain’s is recruiting thought leaders across industries to participate in an exclusive online advisory panel. Through this panel, you will share thoughts on the coverage you read in print and online as well as current events, business trends, attitudes towards brands and more.

Sign up to be part of Crain’s Research Panel for a chance to win a $100 gift card. Winner will be selected among new sign ups across Crain City Book publications.

Become an industry insider today at CrainsCleveland.com/researchpanel

JUNE 8, 2020 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 17

P017_CL_20200608.indd 17

6/5/2020 2:24:31 PM

THE LIST

Highest-Paid CEOs

Ranked by 2019 total compensation TOTAL COMPENSATION BONUS

STOCK AWARDS

OPTION AWARDS

NON-EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

PENSION VALUE CHANGE

$1,300,000

—

$8,280,171

$2,499,904

$1,965,600

-4.2%

$1,250,000

$5,173,005

$2,980,930

$16,970,655 $6,213,100

173.1%

$1,300,000

—

$5,149,951

C. Lourenco Goncalves/Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. August 2014 - present

$16,066,089 $15,443,927

4.0%

$1,391,000

—

John G. Morikis/Sherwin-Williams Co. January 2018 - present

$14,854,731 $13,213,749

12.4%

$1,333,000

Charles E. Jones Jr./FirstEnergy Corp. January 2012 - present

$14,684,659 $11,123,128

32.0%

S. Tricia Griffith/Progressive Corp. July 2016 - present

$14,041,272 $14,172,925

Kevin M. Stein/TransDigm Group Inc. April 2018 - present

EXECUTIVE TENURE AS CEO

2019 2018

% CHANGE

SALARY

Craig Arnold/Eaton June 2016 - present

$19,962,364 $14,673,845

36.0%

Thomas L. Williams/Parker Hannifin Corp. February 2015 - present

$17,472,500 $18,238,446

Richard J. Kramer/Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. April 2010 - present

COMPANY NET INCOME OTHER

2019 (MILLIONS)

% CHANGE

$5,862,230

$54,459

$2,211.0

3.08%

$3,148,895

$4,757,754

$161,916

$1,512.4

42.57%

—

$6,242,900

$4,102,650

$175,154

($311.0)

—

$5,891,147

—

$7,367,984

$1,160,027

$255,931

$292.8

-74.04%

$6,275,997

$4,140,974

$2,590,000

$514,760

$1,541.3

39.02%

$1,136,113

—

$6,247,802

—

$1,615,111

$5,611,583

$74,050

$912.0

-32.34%

-0.9%

$888,461

—

$9,000,104

—

$4,047,253

—

$105,454

$3,970.3

51.81%

$13,135,200 $23,471,608

-44.0%

$1,045,000

$65,925

—

$1,684,075

—

$10,340,200

$889.8

-7.03%

Ward J. Timken Jr./TimkenSteel Corp. June 2014 - October 2019

$11,915,848 $4,736,020

151.6%

$703,917

—

$2,034,330

$510,788

$4,521,000

$4,145,813

($110.0)

—

Richard G. Kyle/The Timken Co. May 2014 - present

$11,879,251 $8,720,272

36.2%

$981,667

—

$3,095,955

$1,326,112

$1,459,000

$4,434,000

$582,517

$362.1

19.58%

Beth E. Mooney/KeyCorp May 2011 - May 2020

$9,663,988 $9,064,470

6.6%

$1,200,000

—

$5,741,984

$637,998

$2,000,000

$4,880

$79,126

$1,717.0

-7.98%

Frank C. Sullivan/RPM International Inc. October 2002 - present

$8,397,565 $5,076,910

65.4%

$975,000

$3,848,711

$2,318,000

$975,000

$102,396

$178,458

$266.6

-21.08%

Matthew E. Monaghan/Invacare Corp. April 2015 - present

$8,340,917 $5,325,390

56.6%

$835,000

—

$6,453,654

—

$1,008,263

—

$44,000

($53.3)

—

Mark T. Smucker/The J.M. Smucker Co. May 2016 - present

$8,056,890 $6,745,939

19.4%

$969,615

$19,500

$4,095,000

—

$1,157,813

$1,747,522

$67,440

$514.4

-61.57%

Jenniffer D. Deckard/Covia Holdings Corp. May 2013 - May 2019

$7,883,312 $1,185,566

564.9%

$300,000

—

$1,603,542

—

$5,979,770

($1,290.1)

—

Michael F. Hilton/Nordson Corp. January 2010 - August 2019

$7,042,409 $6,997,090

0.6%

$945,000

$2,324,884

$1,709,014

$675,675

$1,276,703

$111,133

$337.1

-10.67%

Christopher L. Mapes/Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc. December 2012 - present

$6,981,969 $7,018,906

-0.5%

$1,000,000

—

$2,670,534

$1,333,333

$1,718,830

$51,059

$208,213

$293.1

2.11%

David R. Lukes/Site Centers Corp. March 2017 - present

$6,640,725 $5,974,858

11.1%

$850,000

—

$4,287,548

—

$1,445,000

—

$58,177

$100.7

-12%

Matthew V. Crawford/Park-Ohio Holdings Corp. May 2018 - present (1)

$6,554,966 $6,124,327

7.0%

$750,000

$2,555,025

$3,184,260

$13,412

$52,269

$38.6

-27.99%

Gerrard B. Schmid/Diebold Nixdorf Inc. February 2018 - present

$6,459,554 $6,899,832

-6.4%

$950,000

$356,250

$2,064,760

$1,306,252

$1,733,788

—

$48,504

($341.3)

—

Robert M. Patterson/PolyOne Corp. May 2014 - present

$6,106,632 $6,127,920

-0.3%

$1,050,000

—

$1,543,883

$1,543,900

$1,824,780

—

$144,069

$588.6

268.34%

Walter M. Rosebrough Jr./Steris October 2007 - present

$5,982,890 $5,205,053

14.9%

$880,000

$1,286,370

$2,388,819

$1,365,444

—

$62,257

$304.1

4.52%

Kenneth M. Young/Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises Inc. November 2018 - present

$5,976,000 $1,624,761

267.8%

$750,000

$2,000,000

$2,226,000

—

$1,000,000

—

($122.0)

—

Scott W. Drake/ViewRay Inc. July 2018 - present

$5,553,232 $22,370,376

-75.2%

$700,000

$105,000

$2,794,832

$1,525,000

$420,000

—

$8,400

($120.2)

—

Jugal K. Vijayvargiya/Materion Corp. March 2017 - present

$5,082,700 $4,258,935

19.3%

$734,615

$933,333

$1,866,357

$570,525

$892,350

—

$85,520

$50.7

143.02%

Peter T. Thomas/Ferro Corp. April 2013 - present

$4,981,850 $4,853,673

2.6%

$968,800

—

$2,418,728

$958,854

$362,300

$38,957

$234,211

$6.0

-92.46%

Robert G. Ruhlman/Preformed Line Products Co. July 2000 - present

$4,794,252 $4,266,967

12.4%

$866,700

—

$2,268,388

—

$866,700

—

$792,463

$23.3

-12.33%

Marc A. Stefanski/TFS Financial Corp. 1998 - present

$4,749,066 $4,448,818

6.7%

$1,500,000

$783,216

—

$1,953,686

$253,911

$258,253

$80.2

-6.05%

Alfred M. Rankin Jr./Hyster-Yale Materials Handling Inc. September 2012 - present

$4,607,034 $4,469,254

3.1%

$1,021,385

—

$1,556,458

—

$1,630,398

$45,305

$353,488

$35.8

3.17%

Richard A. Zimmerman/Cedar Fair LP January 2018 - present

$4,585,920 $3,691,327

24.2%

$800,000

—

$2,550,024

—

$1,216,400

—

$19,496

$172.4

36.09%

Neil A. Schrimsher/Applied Industrial Technologies Inc. October 2011 - present

$4,493,377 $4,641,312

-3.2%

$900,000

$2,000,363

$696,010

$652,239

$244,765

$144.0

1.67%

Jerome P. Grisko Jr./CBIZ Inc. March 2016 - present

$3,847,501 $4,094,381

-6.0%

$865,625

—

$964,798

$829,805

—

$222,475

$70.7

14.85%

Richard A. Navarre/Covia Holdings Corp. May 2019 - present (2)

$3,698,165 —

—

$916,129

$467,000

$2,200,000

—

$115,036

($1,290.1)

—

John C. "J.C." Butler Jr./NACCO Industries Inc. October 2017 - present

$3,659,045 $3,301,092

10.8%

$709,100

—

$1,342,009

—

$1,292,324

$36,064

$279,548

$39.6

13.93%

RANK

RESEARCHED BY CHUCK SODER: CSODER@CRAIN.COM

Get all 58 CEOs and historical compensation data in Excel. Become a Data Member: CrainsCleveland.com/data

Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence (spglobal.com/marketintelligence) and Crain's research. Net income is income attributable to ordinary shareholders. Pension value change column also includes nonqualified deferred compensation. To appear on this list an executive must have served as CEO of a local public company at some point during 2019. Send feedback to Chuck Soder: csoder@crain.com. (1) Crawford added the title of president in June 2019. (2) Navarre was named interim CEO in May 2019 and officially took the title on Sept. 1.

18 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | June 8, 2020

P018_CL_20200608.indd 18

6/5/2020 2:25:18 PM

LAWYERS

From Page 3

“It’s my opinion the civil rights issues were rampant,” Gelsomino said. “Police escalated the situation. There were people rounded up who never had an opportunity to leave, which was wrong.” Several people were eventually released without charges. But various instances of potentially false arrest, she said, will be taken to court. “We are considering all avenues of civil litigation,” Gelsomino said, noting suits have not yet been filed. “I think the city is going to be dealing with civil litigation for this for a while.” Jennifer Ciaccia, public information officer for Cleveland police, on Thursday, June 4, declined to comment on these allegations and said the city does not comment on situations involving pending litigation. “This is all bigger than the rights of protesters. This is about the moment we find ourselves in with decades of police misconduct that has not been addressed and is now bubbling over,” Gelsomino said. “The protests here are demanding our attention. But we can’t take our attention off the real point here, which is there needs to be systemic change to the institutionalized racism that is causing huge risk in our communities.”

‘It’s just the right thing to do’ On New Year’s Eve 10 years ago, Rivero was heading to the Velvet Dog in downtown Cleveland. He wasn’t drinking — his mother struggled with alcoholism, so he just isn’t that interested in drinking — but his friends were. Less than 30 minutes had passed when someone in the group slipped and gashed their knee on broken glass. An ambulance was called. The group moved outside. A tussle ensued with another friend and an off-duty, plainclothes officer working the door. Rivero said the man was preventing one of his friends from going back inside to look for the injured girl’s phone. Voices rose. The situation became tense. Rivero stepped in and, per his account, defused the situation. The officer, who was black, cooled down and let everyone go. Seconds later, as he took a few steps down the block, Rivero alleges he was “slammed” against a pole by a Cleveland cop, white, in uniform. The man twisted one of Rivero’s arms behind his back while digging the edge of handcuffs into his chest. Rivero’s girlfriend was upset and crying as the situation unfolded. “I don’t know if he overheard things and thought I was big-timing his colleague or what. He was yelling in my face. We were chest to chest,” Rivero said. “He had this sinister look, saying evil things to get me to react. He must’ve thought I had been drinking. Luckily, I was sober and in my right mind. I stayed calm and he let me go. But not before he broke my spirit.” Rivero, 22 at the time, said he felt confused and helpless, the way he’d felt as a child in Tampa. The incident fanned his once-dimming flame for becoming an attorney. A year and a half later, he was in law school. He hung out his shingle three years ago. Rivero’s work in criminal defense is inspired by experiences that fuel an intrinsic drive to battle issues of injustice.

INSURANCE

From Page 3

 WHAT ARE LANDLORDS RESPONSIBLE FOR? One issue in play could be whether a business owner or its landlord is responsible for property damage like smashed storefront glass. It’s not uncommon for a lessee’s policy to cover personal property: i.e., stuff in the building, but not windows, floors or walls. A renter’s policy may not cover that glass unless explicitly specified. “It gets more complex than people think,” Kobak said. “When asking what’s covered or not, the No. 1 answer is always: Read the policy.”

 WILL CARRIERS TAKE A HARD LINE ON REJECTING CLAIMS? Unlike business disruption caused by the pandemic, which insurance companies are already fighting against covering in courts, it’s less likely that claims will face pushback over riot-related damages. “We don’t anticipate running into challenges with carriers finding ways to not cover this,” Jung said. “That is not our expectation at all.” That said, Kobak expressed concern that those with damaged historical buildings might not be able have special pieces of architecture replaced to the same standard. “There are some concerns with some historical stuff,” he said. “It all reverts back to the policy and the wording. My biggest concern with all this is getting these businesses back to a safe place and indemnifying the policy-holders properly because that’s what you pay insurance for.”

 COULD INSURANCE PREMIUMS INCREASE AFTER THIS? The jury is out on that, but it’s possible. That will depend on variables including the aggregate financial impact of the damage caused by riots and looting as well as how insurance companies view the likelihood of future losses of this nature. “There is a focus on the need for profitability right now in the property area, driven from various drivers of significant loss such as fire, and plenty of weather-related impacts,” Jung said. “Damages from riots and looting will now be added to that loss experience as insurance companies evaluate pricing and terms to manage profitability going forward.”

— Jeremy Nobile The recent demonstrations over police brutality and the ensuing arrests are, to him, additional calls to action. “I am in a unique position. I am my clients. I am my family members. I am like George Floyd, Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice,” Rivero said. “It’s my job to stand up in my position for these people. It’s just the right thing to do.”

Solon High School ranked #1 in Northeast Ohio, #4 in Ohio and #137 in the nation on the US News & World Report Best High Schools list for 2020. Solon Schools Named 2020 Best Community for Music Education by the NAMM Foundation

NestleUSA Research & Development Center

Parks and Recreation 12 tennis courts, 10 baseball fields, playground areas, two sand volleyball courts and a fullsized basketball court. Additionally, the Park offers a walking path/fitness trail and a large pavilion. Plus, 1,200 acres of Cleveland Metroparks.

Theatrical and orchestral performances and theater, art, dance and musical programming and exhibitions.

Community Center

Indoor and outdoor pools, gymnasium, jogging track, meeting and banquet rooms, aerobics studio, free weight room, rock climbing wall and a fitness area.

Solon Business Community Home to 900 businesses from large corporations to our favorite mom-and-pop shops and 60 restaurants that cover every craving. Solon’s economy is perfectly suited for new and expanding businesses. Contact ashaker@solonohio.org for business assistance programs and economic development incentive packages.

Celebrating 200 years! A Time To Celebrate!

OUR

Solon Ohio WORKING | LEARNING | THRIVING TOGETHER

FIRST RESPONDERS

HEALTHCARE WORKERS

Crain’s Business

The tools you need now to navigate the crisis With small businesses needing to adjust during these uncertain times, Crain’s Business Toolbox offers critical information and resources to help businesses not only survive, but thrive.

CrainsCleveland.com/crains-business-toolbox

Jeremy Nobile: jnobile@crain.com, (216) 771-5362, @JeremyNobile JUNE 8, 2020 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 19

P019_CL_20200608.indd 19

6/5/2020 2:42:31 PM

FROM PAGE 1 AFTERMATH OF UNREST

CRAIN

HOPE

From Page 1

And he insisted on staying, helping to clean up the shop at the 5th Street Arcades, during the short break in a curfew that blanketed downtown and nearby areas for much of last week. “I’m speechless,” Emily Kovach said. “I keep tripping over my words, because it was amazing. We actually had to turn volunteers away, and I know that they went to help other businesses. It was just wild to say we don’t have any more room for you to help.” The Kovachs aren’t sure how and when Intro will reopen. They launched the store in late 2016, after hearing frequent complaints about the lack of downtown shopping from clients at Style House Beauty Bar, Elaina Kovach’s other business in the arcades. As a rare apparel boutique in a downtown dominated by dining, Intro depends on foot traffic from people who live, work and attend events in the center city. The sisters managed to stay afloat through online sales from mid-March to mid-May, during a state-mandated shutdown meant to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus. Now the store is closed again. And the online shop is shuttered, too, as the sisters try to assess what they have left. They plan to sell off any salvageable clothing on Instagram, with half of the proceeds going to the Minnesota-based Black Visions Collective. With sales at their lowest point since the shop opened, it will be challenging for Intro to mount a comeback. “But I wouldn’t want to lose the

shop, because it also means losing our community,” Emily Kovach said, adding that the most difficult part of returning downtown after the riot was walking by all of the familiar businesses that had been vandalized. “It was hard,” she said, “but by the end of the day, we made peace with it. And we just, we saw so much love that day.” — Michelle Jarboe

‘Don’t touch’ Catheryn Cross grabbed the first flight available from Atlanta to Cleveland on May 31 to check on her gourmet ice cream sandwich shop at the historic Arcade. The small store, Cathy’s, was unscathed. The words “black-owned” and “don’t touch” were scrawled across the windows facing Euclid Avenue. Manager Jessica Prewitt had watched online the previous evening as streaming video from an onlooker’s phone showed protesters forming a human barrier to protect the shop. She said some of those same protesters must have written on the glass to warn rioters away. “I have no idea who these people were, at all,” Cross said a few days later. “I was very shocked, surprised and thankful.” Cathy’s, which opened in early 2018, is one of only a few black-owned retailers in the neighborhood. Cross said she empathizes with downtown business owners who feared for their livelihoods during the riot and now are sorting through wreckage. That’s one reason she flew back quickly from Atlanta, where she’s preparing to open her second store.

“I know what it’s like to build a business, to put your all into it. Your bread, your butter, your emotion,” she said. She’s also a mother, though, to daughter London, 5, and 4-year-old son Lawrence. “It’s a frightening time, because my son will grow up the way he’s growing up and have all the opportunities afforded to him — but he still will be an African American man,” she said. Last week, Cross was planning for a weekend fundraiser at her shop to benefit George Floyd’s family. She was hopeful that widespread protests will lead to concrete change, both to laws and law enforcement practices. And she was optimistic that downtown retailers will be able to rebuild, and rebound, from both the pandemic and recent violence in the streets. “The way I identify with this situation is very much different than my colleagues in the downtown area,” Cross said. “I feel that what’s really important here to focus on is the justice that needs to be had and the reconstruction of the justice system.” — Michelle Jarboe

Business as usual? Not likely Mark Sror counts himself lucky that his Maestro tailor and clothes shop is on the East 14th Street side of the Hanna complex at Playhouse Square. “The Euclid side of the building was damaged severely,” Sror said. “We just lost one window, I assume because we are not on Euclid.” Rioting was not what Sror expected to experience in America. He left his Lebanon home in 2008, primarily because his grandfather’s Beirut shop was blasted apart in the Lebanon War of 2006.

He had learned tailoring from his grandfather and decided to put those skills to work in the United States. The storefront at Playhouse Square was the realization of his dreams for a new start. “Beirut was destroyed when I left,” Sror said. “It looked the same to me after the looters attacked downtown Cleveland. I am just one of thousands of people who were hurt in this. There was no mercy to it.” The window broken during the riot was the fourth shattered at Maestro since Sror closed the shop March 17 as part of the state-ordered pandemic quarantine. Last month, after the third incident of vandalism, he decided to hide the merchandise he’d previously displayed in the well-appointed shop near the Hanna Theatre. “The city was empty,” he said. “I felt it was not a good idea to leave merchandise out to tempt people who might be walking by.” On May 31, there was no merchandise for looters to steal or incentive to try harder to get in. The riot is the latest setback for Sror, who has been taking appointments and making masks to stay busy. “There are not a lot of people looking to dress up or buy suits at this time,” he said. “For three months, there has been zero business.” Even so, Sror plans to reopen the shop on Monday, June 8. He’s even maxed out his line of credit to add ready-to-wear suits to the custom suits that are the heart of his business. “I think it will be a long time before people in Cleveland feel safe coming downtown at night,” he said. “It’s not going to be business as it was before for a long time.” — Stan Bullard

RETAIL

From Page 1

“As a business owner, it’s hard for me to see destruction of property,” Hutton said. Yet he couldn’t completely condemn the violence. “I definitely feel the anger,” he said. “And to those that were doing it out of the anger for what was happening, I probably feel empathy for that.” As they cleared debris and tallied lost inventory last week, downtown retailers stressed their support for the protesters and the fight against systemic racism. Some felt uncomfortable even discussing the damage to their businesses, for fear of seeming mercenary and detracting from a weightier, urgent conversation about entrenched discrimination and police use of force. Retailers — and property owners — are apprehensive. They’re worried that rioting, in the middle of a pandemic, will further delay the return of office workers, business travelers and shoppers to the streets. That vacancy will climb. That a once-resurgent downtown could be on shaky ground, between the coronavirus and civil unrest. “We need to be able to open,” Hutton said. “I think that the message needs to get out, both from a physical standpoint and a verbal standpoint, that it’s safe to come downtown.” As of Friday morning, June 5,

Last chance TO NOMINATE! NOMINATIONS

NOW OPEN

the Allia ness rem P lead to h whi ing surv hasn van “O tow bus fran put road vide Har ry muc doin thes H profi quic loan tain app $10, whi or to

Each year, Crain's Cleveland Business gathers 40 of the community's best and brightest who have made a mark before their 40th birthday. To be considered, honorees must reside in Northeast Ohio and be 39 or younger as of Sept. 14, 2020. The 2020 class will be profiled that day in an issue of Crain’s Cleveland Business and honored at a November awards reception.

Sa m

DEADLINE TO NOMINATE: June 12 | NOMINATE TODAY: CrainsCleveland.com/nominate

20 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | JUNE 8, 2020

P020_021_CL_20200608.indd 20

The they

6/5/2020 3:33:57 PM

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

S E P T E M B E R 3 - 9 , 2 018

PA G E 21

hard rop-

tely

” he dowas mpa-

taleek, heir the ism. ven heir ming ma tion tion

wny’re ddle elay usithe mb. own becivil

en,” mesma rbal ome

e 5,

The 5th Street Arcade is boarded up on the Euclid Avenue side and here, the entrance from Prospect Avenue. Business owners say they are empathetic to those expressing anger following the killing of George Floyd. | DAVID KORDALSKI/CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

the nonprofit Downtown Cleveland Alliance reported damage to 77 businesses. Many shops and restaurants remained closed. Public officials and corporate leaders are in early talks about ways to help retailers reopen. The city, which launched an emergency working capital fund to help businesses survive coronavirus-related pain, hasn’t announced any aid to address vandalism and looting. “Obviously, the city and the Downtown Cleveland Alliance and the business community and, quite frankly, banks and other folks need to put down any bureaucracy or any roadblocks to clear the way to provide support for these businesses. Hard stop,” said city councilman Kerry McCormack, who represents much of downtown. “We need to be doing everything we can to support these small businesses.” HFLA of Northeast Ohio, a nonprofit lender based in Beachwood, quickly rolled out a disaster relief loan program for businesses that sustained riot damage. Companies can apply for interest-free loans of up to $10,000 to cover immediate costs while an insurance claim is pending or to pay expenses including deduct-

“THE MESSAGE NEEDS TO GET OUT, BOTH FROM A PHYSICAL STANDPOINT AND A VERBAL STANDPOINT, THAT IT’S SAFE TO COME DOWNTOWN.” — Johnny Hutton, owner, Zanzibar

ibles. Michal Marcus, executive director of the 116-year-old organization, said HFLA typically works with clients who can’t get conventional loans. Most downtown retailers don’t meet that metric. In this case, though, HFLA wanted to make sure small businesses that already are struggling had swift access to funds so vandalism doesn’t lead to more vacancy. “Ground-floor establishments suffered the most, and they were the ones that were already suffering,” said Joe Roman, CEO of the Greater Cleveland Partnership. “That tandem of experiences, I think, is going to result in a very long rebuild for downtown. Hopefully, we can figure out a way to provide financial assistance.” At the end of 2019, downtown’s retail vacancy rate was just over 11%, according to the CBRE Group Inc. real estate brokerage. That figure doesn’t account, though, for dozens

of empty storefronts that aren’t being marketed because they’re earmarked for eventual redevelopment. This year, a few large restaurants have closed, largely due to financial woes that predated the pandemic. Some businesses, including Zanzibar, which already had a robust takeout and delivery operation, managed

to stay open during March and April. Others returned in mid-May, only to shut down again as a result of the riot and a city-imposed curfew that required a near-lockdown of downtown for the first half of last week. “This is definitely going to be a major, major setback,” said Dominic Fanelli, owner of the Chocolate Bar restaurant on Euclid Avenue. “I think everybody’s going 24 hours at a time.” Fanelli was baffled by the vandalism, and what felt like a lack of policing on Euclid, after watching the city’s relatively smooth handling of past protests over police actions and the 2016 Republican National Convention. He and other business owners said they’ve received little in the way of reassurances from City Hall, leaving them uncertain about whether to fear another wave of window-breaking, graffiti and theft. “I do think something broke down on Saturday,” McCormack acknowledged. “That said, the city does have a long track record of enabling peaceful demonstrations with very little physical or property damage. So business owners went into the weekend thinking this probably wouldn’t happen.” Jewelry-maker and W Gallery owner Margeaux Wymer was in Mentor, helping to build a gazebo, when she received an alert from her security camera system at the 5th Street Arcades. On her phone, she watched as vandals ran through the historic retail corridors and used hand-hewn baseball bats from the nearby Johnnyville Woods store to smash windows. She’s unsure whether she’ll be able to reopen her brick-and-mortar business. “Without coronavirus, my answer would be completely different,” said Wymer, who is shifting her attention to her online store. “But right now, it’s extremely difficult to answer that

question. Right now, we don’t have visitors. We don’t have baseball games. We don’t have concerts. … People already aren’t coming downtown. So how do you get them, after coronavirus and what happened on Saturday, to come down and feel safe?” The arcades, which run between Euclid and Prospect, are completely closed. A public reopening is tentatively scheduled for Monday, June 15. Popcorn shop owner Chrissie Fahey, who opened her Kernels by Chrissie store at the arcades six years ago, said she’s similarly concerned about the ability of downtown retail to rebound. But she’s committed to reopening and to being part of the recovery. “This, too, shall pass,” she said. “However long it takes, it will take.” Fahey’s husband, Patrick, was closing up the shop when rioters started making their way down Euclid, throwing bricks through the storefront. At times, he spoke to the people who reached inside to grab popcorn or drinks from the cooler. He reassured them that he was listening. That he heard what they were saying. That he was on their side. “It is terrible,” Fahey said of the vandalism, “but there’s a greater problem at hand. … Obviously, the community is just so frustrated and so enraged at this point that the looting and the vandalism came out in the wake of that. If we as a business can’t rally behind that, if we as people, business owners, part of the Cleveland community, don’t wake up and see that as a call to action, a call to educate ourselves and a call to really try to do more to rid society of these injustices, we’re really kind of part of the problem.” Michelle Jarboe: michelle.jarboe@ crain.com, (216) 771-5437, @mjarboe

HOW TO PROTECT EMPLOYEES’ HEALTH

AS WORKERS RETURN

Advertising Section

CLASSIFIEDS To place your listing in Crain’s Cleveland Classifieds, contact Suzanne Janik at 313-446-0455 or email sjanik@crain.com BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

Commercial / Residential Carpet Company For Sale Very Profitable

Sales $988,692 Asking $350,000 mike@empirebusinesses.com

empirebusinesses.com 440-461-2202

SPACE AVAILABLE

Free Rent

Recently remodeled office space avail 400–6,500 sq ft Parma Heights, Ohio Contact 440-840-7360 for more info

AST FREE LIVE WEBC

July 15 | 10 a.m.

The pandemic has highlighted a list of considerations when it comes to employee health. From social distancing to office cleaning to sick leave policies and beyond, employers need to implement new measures to keep their employees, customers and facilities safe.

REGISTER TODAY: CrainsCleveland.com/Webcasts Interested in sponsoring this webcast? Contact Scott Carlson at scott.carlson@crain.com. JUNE 8, 2020 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 21

P020_021_CL_20200608.indd 21

6/5/2020 3:34:23 PM

TEAMS

From Page 1

In the days that followed, many Northeast Ohio businesses and organizations followed suit. The Cleveland Browns pledged to be “a change agent off the field.” The Cleveland Indians acknowledged their “long, yet imperfect history” of uniting and inspiring, and said they were Gordon committed to making a difference. Leaders of Northeast Ohio’s top health systems and Cleveland Metropolitan School District CEO Eric Gordon wrote inspiring letters that called for action and pointed out the country’s long history of inequality. Craig Arnold, an African American who became Eaton’s chairman and CEO in 2016, told employees it was time for everyone “to get involved and to have our voices heard.” All of that reads well, but can ring hollow without plans that accompany the pronouncements. “In addition to simply making a public statement — which, frankly, if that’s all people do, I think is more harmful than helpful — I think you have to follow it up with action,” said

Gordon, who has led Cleveland’s 39,000-student school district for nine years.

‘Right time’ for change The Cavs already had a diverse foundation in place prior to Clayton’s arrival, the former Procter & Gamble and Bon Secours Mercy Health executive said. They have since built on it via regular input from the IDEAL team, and Altman and Bickerstaff have been leading a call for further action following Floyd’s death. Bickerstaff, the team’s first-year head coach, is part of a committee of NBA coaches who have vowed to work with local leaders and law enforcement agencies to create change. The Cavs’ May 29 statement was “just a launching point,” executive vice president and chief communications officer Tad Carper said. B.J. Evans, the organization’s director of basketball communications, said he thinks the pandemic-forced sports shutdown could accelerate actions. “Right now feels like the right time to put as many resources as you can behind an effort to make things different,” Evans said. “People are really hurting, and providing the platforms to express those experiences and share, it really opens the eyes of those who didn’t have to look at it before. Technology has made it such that things you’ve heard about are now visible.”

Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, shown with players Kevin Porter Jr. (left) and Collin Sexton on Feb. 29, is part of a committee of NBA coaches who say they will work with local leaders and law enforcement agencies to create change. | JASON MILLER/GETTY IMAGES

The Browns, like the Cavs, have an African American in charge of their roster in Andrew Berry, who, at 33, is the youngest GM in NFL history. Their diverse front office also includes minorities who head up the team’s communications (Peter John-Baptiste) and foundation (Renee Harvey). John-Baptiste is part of a social justice committee that meets regularly, solicits suggestions from players on particular areas of focus and submits its findings to ownership. “We’re never really going to be afraid to use our voices and use our platform to acknowledge what’s going on in society,” John-Baptiste said. The Browns’ VP of communica-

Advertising Section

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

To place your listing, visit www.crainscleveland.com/people-on-the-move or, for more information, contact Debora Stein at 917.226.5470 / dstein@crain.com ACCOUNTING

ENGINEERING / CONSULTING

LAW

Rea & Associates

The Mannik & Smith Group, Inc.

Mansour Gavin LPA

ACCOUNTING

Rea & Associates Karen Sating, SHRM-CP, joined Rea & Associates’ Cleveland office as a regional human resources manager. She brings more than 20 years of experience and manages the HR function for the firm’s Northeast and East Central regions, as well as supports talent recruiting and firm-wide development responsibilities. Sating earned her bachelor’s degree from Youngstown State University. 22 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | June 8, 2020

P022_CL_20200608.indd 22

MSG has named Dean M. Niese, PE, as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the firm, and Brian P. Geer, PE, as Niese Chief Operations Officer (COO). Niese previously served as COO and Board Chairman. Niese joined MSG in 1984, became a Principal in 1992 and was named COO in 2005. Working with staff and shareholders, Niese helped MSG grow from a single office in Toledo with 15 employees to a regional engineering leader with more than 350 employees. Geer joined MSG in 1998 and was named Geer a Principal in 2005. An officer with the US Naval Reserves, Civil Engineering Corps, Geer’s leadership abilities and teambuilding skills have helped MSG expand into new markets and support the operations of the firm’s 14 offices throughout OH, MI and WV.

Kenneth Callahan has joined Mansour Gavin as Of Counsel and is a member of the firm’s Civil Litigation and Corporate and Business and Services groups. He possesses over 30 years of legal experience as a public defender, a judge, and attorney, specializing in a wide array of legal matters including complex commercial litigation, receivership, guardianship, and white-collar criminal defense. Ken earned his J.D. from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and B.A. from John Carroll University.

NEW GIG? Preserve your career change for years to come.

NEW GIG? Plaques • Crystal keepsakes Preserve your career change Frames • Other Promotional Items for years to come.

Laura •Picariello Plaques Crystal keepsakes Reprints Manager Frames • OtherSales Promotional Items

C O N T A C T C O N TA C T

With more than 35 years of accounting industry experience, Chuck Kessler, CPA, joined the Rea & Associates’ Amherst office as a senior manager, bringing a strong combination of public accounting and operational experience with middle-market companies. In his role, he provides tax planning and preparation for individuals and closely-held businesses. Kessler earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Case Western Reserve University.

lpicariello@crain.com (732) 723-0569 Laura Picariello Reprints Sales Manager lpicariello@crain.com (732) 723-0569

tions said the organization’s senior leaders regularly talk about such issues, and “the organization knows from the top that we’re not immune to any of this.” During a recent team meeting on Zoom, head coach Kevin Stefanski gave players a list of things they can do to make a difference, including becoming more involved in the community and providing positive messages to kids. The players have also used their social media platforms as a call for change. “Diversity of thought and diversity of perspective is what enables any organization to make their best decisions,” John-Baptiste said.

‘Seizing this moment’ David Gilbert, the president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and Destination Cleveland, said discussions with staffers showed how “raw” feelings were everywhere, as protests escalated and some demonstrations turned violent. “I think what all this has done is shone a light for a lot of us on something that’s awful and something that we don’t necessarily see every day because we don’t live it,” Gilbert said. The sports commission, whose run of bringing major events to Cleveland is slated to include the 2021 NFL draft, has long taken pride in using

the showcases “as an agent for change in the community,” Gilbert said. Community programming is built into each event, with diversity and inclusion as major focuses. On June 4, Destination Cleveland was announced as one of 22 Greater Cleveland organizations that formed a coalition supporting efforts to declare racism a public health crisis. The group said it will pool its resources to “seek a better future for Cleveland as a whole.” Gordon, the Cleveland schools chief, wants every organization’s statement to be paired with real, meaningful impact. He said he thinks the reactions to Floyd’s death can be different from what followed past injustices because the nation has already suffered so much from the COVID-19 crisis. “In those cases, the only choice that protesters had was to push to change the systems that existed,” Gordon said. “But right now, largely, the systems have been obliterated and we have a choice of either putting them back to the bad systems that they were or seizing this moment to create systems that are fair and just and good.” He’s hoping for education reform and changes to laws that sometimes make it difficult to convict a police officer of misconduct. Another key, Gordon said, is making high-speed internet more accessible and affordable in impoverished communities. Increased attention on the problems minorities face is good, but Gordon is concerned not enough will be done after the protests subside. Gilbert, whose organizations are tasked with promoting Cleveland and providing boosts to the region’s economy, said he believes a unified response could aid in long-term benefits. “Each individual can absolutely play a role,” the Destination Cleveland and sports commission president and CEO said. “If each individual in this community, each business, each organization — public, private, civic — if they made a pledge to do one thing differently, that would make an enormous difference.” Kevin Kleps: kkleps@crain.com, (216) 771-5256, @KevinKleps

ing force behind their business. “I see this as a positive message for our area,” Nancy Larker said of the From Page 17 companies combining. Both Bill and Grace Myers, who “First, I got a notification several times that someone in the security serves as corporate liaison for the Akindustry was looking at my (Linke- ron nonprofit ArtsNow, are now dIn) profile. … So he does like to say part-owners of S3 via the acquisition. he stalked me,” Myers noted with a The four owners said they expect to work closely to build the company. chuckle. They also get along very well, they But really, Myers said, it was the said, and Chris two companies’ Larker and Bill Mycommon interest in technology and in ers particularly enserving the Akron joy reveling in each community that other’s esoteric brought them totechnology expergether. tise. —Nancy Larker, president of S3 That’s something — “Bill and I have Technologies, on her company he said became ap- combining with New Territory some pretty major geek-out sessions. parent during a recent gaming league at New Territory. … But we’re like Voltron. We’re better “This past summer, we ran an es- as one,” said Chris Larker, referring to ports summer camp and charged a sci-fi television series about com$279 per student to come in. … Chris binable robot warriors. Their shared love of all that’s scipicked up the tab and sponsored the camp, and everyone got a PayPal no- ence-oriented is also exemplified by tification that the camp was free. So, Myers’ new title, he said. we were able to extend the camp to “I’m the director of emerging techpeople who wouldn’t normally have nologies. I’m actually really excited been able to afford it,” Myers said. about that title, and I’ve never been a “That really solidified for me that big title person. … But I’m very much they’re putting their money where OK with having a title that sounds their mouth is and they’re really sup- like it’s from a sci-fi movie,” Myers said. portive of the Akron community.” The Larkers said supporting Akron by showing that a technology compa- Dan Shingler: dshingler@crain.com, ny can grow and thrive here is a driv- (216) 771-5290, @DanShingler

“I SEE THIS AS A POSITIVE MESSAGE FOR OUR AREA.”

6/5/2020 3:00:35 PM

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND LOOK BACK | HEALTH INSURANCE

Blue Cross becomes Medical Mutual In the past 40 years, memorable — and in some ways controversial — characters helped shape the way health insurance is delivered. The 1980s and 1990s brought some notable changes to how the company that is now Medical Mutual of Ohio was structured. Those changes ultimately helped shape today’s health insurance models. — Lydia Coutré

``THE HISTORY

``IN THEIR OWN WORDS

John Burry Jr. came to Cleveland in 1981 as president and chief administrative officer for Medical Mutual of Cleveland Inc., which through a series of mergers became Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Ohio (BCBSO) a couple of years after his arrival. Burry was promoted to CEO of Burry the new company, a position he held until 1997. He became a nationally recognized figure in health care reform and a controversial player in Northeast Ohio health care as he disrupted the region’s hospitals by discussing price and shopping for lower hospital rates. Under his leadership, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Ohio grew to be the largest Blue Cross plan in Ohio and one of the largest in the country, with 1.5 million enrollees. In March 1997, Burry's plan to sell Blue Cross to the nation’s largest for-profit hospital chain, Nashville-based Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp, fell apart. As a result of the failed merger, the insurer lost its Blue Cross trademark and affiliation with the National Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, which had opposed the combination with Columbia. That same year, Burry was ousted and the company reclaimed a historic name, becoming the present-day Medical Mutual of Ohio. Kent Clapp, who had been employed by Medical Mutual in 1976 and was named president in 1992, opposed the Columbia deal. He became the next CEO in 1997. In the following decade, Clapp focused on growing the company in other states, acquiring insurers in Georgia and South Carolina, before he died in late 2008 in a plane crash. Rick Chiricosta, the company’s next and current leader, was appointed in 2009.

“Innovative ideas can always be characterized as controversial. … At every bend, at every turn of the road, there are hundreds of people trying to maintain the status quo.” ——John Burry Jr., CEO of Medical Mutual from 1983 to 1997, to Crain’s in 2000

Medical Mutual is headquartered in the Rose Building, located at 2060 E. Ninth St. in Cleveland. | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

``WHY IT MATTERS TODAY In a conversation with Crain’s in early 2000, Burry maintained that the Columbia/Blue Cross transaction would have revolutionized health care in Ohio and elsewhere. Despite the blow of the failed deal, Burry implemented plenty of other approaches that shook up health care in the region. Before his arrival, the Greater Cleveland Hospital Association (now the Center for Health Affairs) negotiated payment rates with insurers on behalf of its hospital members. In 1984, Burry launched a controversial bidding program to steer patients to specific hospitals and awarded contracts to hospitals based mainly on prices. Taking that model a step further, Blue Cross announced that fall that it would do business with 25 “winning” hospitals and terminate contracts with nine others, a practice that was

eventually ruled illegal after a court challenge. It was the first of several approaches by Burry to introduce greater competition. Tom Campanella, today the director of the health care MBA program at Baldwin Wallace University, in 1997 was vice president of health care finance and care management at Medical Mutual, where he’d worked since 1985. During the 1980s and 1990s, health insurers often worked in silos, and while they were able to negotiate some “unbelievable deals financially,” Campanella said, one of the biggest lessons taken from that time is that collaboration is ultimately the way to provide value. Another important lesson that’s been carried into today is the recognition that insurance companies’ customers are the patients of the providers, and all have a vested interest in working together. Key to both of these have been the advances in technology that allow for data sharing.

“We decided a number of years ago we had to do something other than Ohio. The economy in Ohio isn’t the best, and we predicted it wasn’t going to get better. We have to have people to insure, so we had to look for locations where the population is growing, where there’s younger and healthier people.” ——Kent Clapp, CEO of Medical Mutual from 1997-2008, to Crain’s in 2008

“I think the big difference between the ’90s and what is occurring today is that one, health insurance companies and payers are much more collaborative than we were during our period. And then also, the technology is much better, where now both the payer side and the provider side can be linked from a data standpoint to help the provider manage that risk in a much more effective manner.” ——Tom Campanella, current director of the health care MBA program at Baldwin Wallace University and former Medical Mutual executive (1985-97), to Crain’s in 2020

THE WEEK CUTTING BACK: Nonprofit health care industry accelerator BioEnterprise Corp. is sharply curtailing its activities. Board chair Dr. Pamela Davis said Aram Nerpouni, BioE’s president, and 14 other employees exited at the end of May, leaving the organization with four or five employees. BioEnterprise said its board “has begun an assessment of our strategic options due to ongoing operational and financial considerations and the economic uncertainty” from the pandemic. In November, BioEnterprise ended its role managing the Global Center for Health Innovation in downtown Cleveland. It later was revealed that its expenses at the Global Center were being investigated as part of the ongoing probe of Cuyahoga County government finances.

Greater Cleveland Partnership came on June 3, the day council members voted unanimously to adopt the measure. GCP’s working group will be tasked with, among other things, promoting racially equitable economic and workforce development, as well as racially equitable hiring and promotion in Cleveland.

Lori E. Varlotta is stepping down as president of Hiram College to take a job as president of California Lutheran University. Varlotta was the first woman to serve as Hiram’s president. | CONTRIBUTED

HEALTH MEASURE: Directors of Cleveland’s 12,000-member chamber of commerce voted unanimously to support a measure by Cleveland

City Council to designate racism a public health crisis and establish a working group to promote racial equity. The letter of support from the

MOVING ON: The president of Hiram College, who led the school through an academic redesign, is leaving for a new role in California. Lori E. Varlotta will step down as Hiram’s president effective Sept. 30. She will become president of California Lutheran University. Varlotta joined Hiram in 2014 from California State University, Sacramento. She is Hiram’s 22nd president and the first woman to serve in that role.

crainscleveland.com

Publisher/editor Elizabeth McIntyre (216) 771-5358 or emcintyre@crain.com Group publisher Mary Kramer (313) 446-0399 or mkramer@crain.com Managing editor Scott Suttell (216) 771-5227 or ssuttell@crain.com Sections editor Michael von Glahn (216) 771-5359 or mvonglahn@crain.com Creative director David Kordalski (216) 771-5169 or dkordalski@crain.com Web editor Damon Sims (216) 771-5279 or dasims@crain.com Associate editor/Akron Sue Walton (330) 802-4615 or swalton@crain.com Assistant editor Kevin Kleps (216) 771-5256 or kkleps@crain.com Senior data editor Chuck Soder (216) 771-5374 or csoder@crain.com Editorial researcher William Lucey (216) 771-5243 or wlucey@crain.com Cartoonist Rich Williams REPORTERS

Stan Bullard, senior reporter, Real estate/ construction. (216) 771-5228 or sbullard@crain.com Lydia Coutré, Health care/nonprofits. (216) 771-5479 or lcoutre@crain.com Michelle Jarboe, Enterprise reporter. (216) 771-5437 or michelle.jarboe@crain.com Rachel Abbey McCafferty, Manufacturing/energy/ education. (216) 771-5379 or rmccafferty@crain.com Jay Miller, Government. (216) 771-5362 or jmiller@crain.com Jeremy Nobile, Finance/legal/beer/cannabis. (216) 771-5255 or jnobile@crain.com Kim Palmer, Government. (216) 771-5384 or kpalmer@crain.com Dan Shingler, Energy/steel/auto/Akron. (216) 771-5290 or dshingler@crain.com ADVERTISING

Local sales manager Megan Norman, (216) 771-5182 or mnorman@crain.com Events manager Erin Bechler, (216) 771-5388 or ebechler@crain.com Integrated marketing manager Michelle Sustar, (216) 771-5371 or msustar@crain.com Managing editor custom/special projects Amy Ann Stoessel (216) 771-5155 or astoessel@crain.com Associate publisher Lisa Rudy Director of advertising sales Scott Carlson Senior account executive John Petty Account executives Laura Kulber Mintz, Loren Breen People on the Move manager Debora Stein, (917) 226-5470, dstein@crain.com Pre-press and digital production Craig L. Mackey Office coordinator Karen Friedman Media services manager Nicole Spell Billing YahNica Crawford Credit Thomas Hanovich CUSTOMER SERVICE

Customer service and subscriptions: (877) 824-9373 or customerservice@crainscleveland.com Reprints: Laura Picariello (732) 723-0569 or lpicariello@crain.com

Crain’s Cleveland Business is published by Crain Communications Inc. Chairman Keith E. Crain Vice chairman Mary Kay Crain President KC Crain Senior executive VP Chris Crain Secretary Lexie Crain Armstrong Chief Financial Officer Robert Recchia G.D. Crain Jr., Founder (1885-1973) Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr., Chairman (1911-1996) Editorial & Business Offices 700 W. St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, Cleveland, OH 44113-1230 (216) 522-1383 Volume 41, Number 21 Crain’s Cleveland Business (ISSN 0197-2375) is published weekly, except for the first issue in January, July and September, the last issue in May and the fourth issue in November, at 700 West St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, Cleveland, OH 44113-1230. Copyright © 2020 by Crain Communications Inc. Periodicals postage paid at Cleveland, OH, and at additional mailing offices. Price per copy: $2.00. Postmaster: Send address changes to Crain’s Cleveland Business, Circulation Department, 1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, MI 48207-2912. 1 (877) 824-9373. 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. For subscription information and delivery concerns send correspondence to Audience Development Department, Crain’s Cleveland Business, 1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, MI, 48207-9911, or email to customerservice@crainscleveland.com, or call (877) 824-9373 (in the U.S. and Canada) or (313) 446-0450 (all other locations), or fax (313) 446-6777.

June 8, 2020 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 23

P023_CL_20200608.indd 23

6/5/2020 2:28:27 PM

FREE VIRTUAL EVENT JUNE 23 • 10 AM

Lessons learned from COVID-19

Join us virtually as we take an objective deep dive with some of NEO’s leading experts in business and health care on the potential lasting impacts of the coronavirus on health care and other industry sectors.

FEATURED SPEAKERS:

SOME OF THE TOPICS WE WILL DISCUSS: Long-term impacts on the stability and strength of the health care system ■

■

Will we be ready next time?

Innovation and leadership in a time of crisis

Thomas S. Campanella, associate professor,

Health Economics, and director, Healthcare Business Programs, Baldwin Wallace University

Brian Lane, president and CEO, The Center for Health Affairs

J.B. Silvers, the John R. Mannix Medical Mutual of Ohio

Professor of Health Care Finance and professor of banking and finance at Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University

■

The intersection of business and health care ■

MODERATOR:

Elizabeth McIntyre, publisher and editor, Crain’s Cleveland Business

REGISTER TODAY: CrainsCleveland.com/crains-events For information on sponsorship opportunities, contact Scott Carlson at scott.carlson@crain.com.

TITLE SPONSOR: