With fluency in the French language and experience in international law, Gerrit Steenblik was pleased to accept the office of French Honorary Consul when the French Foreign Ministry offered it to him 19 years ago. France is an important source of foreign direct investment in Arizona and Metro Phoenix. Citing data from Anubhav Bagley at Maricopa Association of Governments, … [More]
Ted Anderson: Creativity and Relationships
Success isn’t about rigidly adhering to a plan at any cost. As Ted Anderson, president and founder of ANDERSON Advertising + PR, will tell you, building a legacy brand requires constant evolution, and so does advertising. “With the ever-changing landscape of our industry, and that of our clients’ industries, I’ve found that there is no single ‘right’ way forward,” he says. … [More]
Staying Local during Multimillion-Dollar Marijuana Buyouts
I like to think that we’re in an era when the small business rules the roost. Being a small business in 2019 not only allows for versatility, mobility and scalability, but it also allows business owners to be in total control of their creative direction, expansion plans and advertising initiatives. What’s most important to me, though, is that maintaining a small size gives me … [More]
Ryan Hibbert: Causing a Riot in Hospitality
Ryan Hibbert knows what it takes to be successful in the hospitality industry. It was in 2010 when the Arizona native co-founded Riot Hospitality Group, a Scottsdale-based hospitality management company dedicated to evolving the typical restaurant landscape into one that provides unique and meaningful experiences. Nearly a decade and 12 venues later, Hibbert and his team … [More]
Pamela Griffin: Moving Court Reporting to a Wider World of Business
As any business owner knows, it is easy to get stuck in the day-to-day grind of delivering an established menu of goods or services to clients who have come to expect them. But standing firm with the status quo can be a slippery slope and a surefire way toward decline for any entrepreneur. Need proof? You can make a call on your smartphone without a switchboard operator, … [More]
Drena Kusari: Helping Lift Lyft
As the first female general manager for Lyft, now overseeing both the Southwest region and Hawaii, Drena Kusari attributes the growth and success of the business at the local level to strong community ties and relationships developed with partners. This is a sensibility she brings naturally to her position. Kusari was born and raised in Kosovo. Kosovo, which became … [More]
Kathy Sweet: Executing Events ‘because’
Kathy Sweet dared to ask, “What if?” and then took a risk to make her dream a reality. While drive, vision and determination are critical to Sweet’s successes, she knows that people are the true catalysts of a business’s performance and growth. In 1990, Sweet and her husband, Dave, started automätik, a training and events company that works primarily in the automotive … [More]
Sara Silver: Challenging the Status Quo in Business Tech
When Sara Silver started her career in the ’80s, she was usually the only woman in the room. She was also a recent college graduate, so she kept a low profile, focusing on learning as she began to navigate her career. “I never really thought much about it,” says Silver. She admits, “I don’t really consider myself a woman in tech — just a person in tech.” However, Silver has … [More]
Lennard van der Feltz: Merging Technology with the Art of Financial Planning
Ask anyone to describe financial planning and you will likely get myriad responses ranging from investing in insurance policies or mutual funds to managing 401(k)s. But the common denominator is typically a pencil-pushing financial professional buried in spreadsheets with the latest trends, best buys and value-added opportunities, many of which are outdated before the ink is … [More]
Jason R. Kaplan: Steering The Driver Provider’s Growth
Sometimes a business takes shape over time and the end result is very different from the initial model. In 1994, Jason Kaplan had just graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in marketing. Having worked as a nightclub bouncer through college, Kaplan recognized a need to improve the late-night taxi experience: After taking a taxi home, riders were left stranded … [More]
Melissa Gray: Building up Avnet’s CSR
“Our new Corporate Social Responsibility strategy is reshaped by our actions in the market,” says Melissa Gray, vice president of corporate affairs for Avnet, who has been heavily involved in formulating and implementing many of Avnet’s corporate responsibility initiatives. “Avnet is reinventing itself from a traditional distributor selling electronic components to a company … [More]
Miracle Mile Deli: All in the Family
It’s rare to find a family-owned and -operated restaurant that has been around as long as Miracle Mile Deli. For 69 years, the Garcias have navigated the unique challenges that come with running a family-owned business, such as staying relevant and active within each new generation. Josh Garcia, vice-president of Miracle Mile Deli, works to maintain the balance as he … [More]
Trevor Wilde: Bringing Teamwork from Field to Firm
Learning how to set both short- and long-term goals, as well as the importance of taking small steps toward said goals each day, are critical to achieving success both at work and in life outside the office. Wilde Wealth Management Group co-founder and managing director Trevor Wilde learned these lessons from a young age while playing football. “While not all goals were … [More]
Alexi Venneri: From Kitchen Table to Enterprise
Alexi Venneri was born an entrepreneur. She lost her mother at a very young age, so she took the lead with her younger brothers while her father worked long hours as a doctor. Inspired by the stories she’d grown up hearing of the businesses her grandfather built and how depressions and wars didn’t deter him, she set up lemonade stands, built her own board games and wrote plays … [More]
Bassel Osmani Masters ‘The Art of Eating Healthy’
More than two decades ago, three Arizona State University students teamed up to open a health food restaurant called Pita Jungle, and today, it stands as the go-to spot for delicious, mindful cuisine with 20 locations throughout Arizona, half of which are franchises. The latest opening at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport took the concept to new heights. Bassel Osmani … [More]
Daehee Park, Waking Up the Sleep Industry
Just seven short years ago, Daehee Park met JT Marino through a mutual professor at Penn State. Both had big dreams and aspirations that aligned and, today, those dreams have manifested into a $170-million national company headquartered right in the heart of Downtown Phoenix. As a Silicon Valley entrepreneur at the time, Park was a software engineer working on the “next big … [More]
Don Fechter: Innovating Solutions through Cambridge Benefit Solutions
Don Fechter, president of Cambridge Benefit Solutions, started the company in 1998 with a drive and determination to support businesses with meaningful, valuable and relevant benefit offerings. It’s been Fechter’s comprehensive support of business owners, helping them make informed decisions for affordable, long-term, sustainable healthcare offerings, that has propelled his … [More]
Glenn Hickman: Advancing Sustainability at Family’s Farm Enterprise
Glenn Hickman, president of Hickman’s Family Farms, comes from a long line of innovators. In the 1940s, the first generation of Hickman’s Family Farms, Nell Hickman — along with her husband, Guy — began their backyard chicken coop with 500 chickens and a back-porch store. A savvy businesswoman, Nell used her hens’ freshly laid eggs for trade and extra income. Back then, … [More]
