APRIL 2026

Cover Story

Healthcare: Reimagining Affordability and Access for Arizona’s Business Community

“Healthcare has moved beyond being a perk and is now a foundational part of an employee’s financial security,” observes Casey Strunk, president of Strunk Insurance Group. While employers may frame it as a recruiting and retention … [More]

Features

The Business Case for Slowing Down: How Intentional Pauses Strengthen Strategy and Growth

From capital allocation to AI adoption, thoughtful leaders are finding that measured decisions outperform reactive ones. In business, speed signals confidence. Leaders respond to emails within minutes, approve deals in real time and implement new … [More]

OOROO Is Auto Care with Heart

When OOROO Auto opened its first shop in 2014, it wasn’t simply entering the automotive repair market, it was challenging the norms of an industry long plagued by mistrust. Founder and CEO Jeff Artzi had spent years leading a 100store automotive … [More]

Restarting the Leadership Journey

“Each day is an opportunity to lead with more purpose, more positivity, and more impact than the day before.” —Jon Gordon in The Power of Positive Leadership Leadership is often described as a climb — an upward trajectory marked by promotions, … [More]

Data Centers in the Desert: W(h)ater You Worried About?

As data center development expands across the Phoenix region, questions about water use have moved quickly from engineering discussions to the center of public conversation. For an industry built on reliability and efficiency, the challenge is clear: … [More]

Roundtable

Strategies to Help Your Workforce Maximize Their Healthcare Benefits in 2026

As a new year begins, employers have an opportunity to empower their workforce to live healthier lives and to make more informed healthcare … [More]

Economy

Why Arizona Companies Are Turning to ESOPs

Across Arizona, closely held companies are rethinking how — and to whom — they will eventually sell. Common M&A paths don’t always align with the … [More]

Nonprofit

The Changing Face of Funding

Ever-tightening government funds and rollbacks to longstanding social programs continue to impact millions of Americans — with job losses and, in many … [More]

By The Numbers

An Economy in the Chips

Thanks to a purposeful focus and our vaunted collaborative environment among economic development organizations that include Arizona Commerce … [More]

Legal

Artificial Intelligence Is Powerful – But It Cannot Replace a Lawyer’s Judgment

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the practice of law. From drafting contracts to analyzing discovery, AI tools can complete in minutes what once took hours. For businesses under … [More]

From the Top

Joseph Crivello and Jet OUT Redefine Private Aviation

Before Joseph Crivello built a private aviation company, he built the case for one. Managing flight operations for a rapidly growing commercial real estate firm gave him a front-row seat to what … [More]

Startups

AIAEC Opens Regulatory Bottleneck in Land-Use Development

AIAEC builds technology for the people who “design, develop and build the world,” says founder and CEO Ali Fakih. Founded in Arizona, the company helps architects, engineers, developers, construction … [More]

Jetstream Venture Fund Founded with Access in Mind

An investment fund recently launched in Scottsdale lowers the barriers to VC-style investing while also fueling the Valley's burgeoning med-tech industry. The Jetstream Venture Fund offers something … [More]

Healthcare

Beyond the Bottom Line: Navigating the Future of Pharmacy Benefits

Across the U.S., rising rates of chronic illness, obesity and mental health concerns have made it clear that our healthcare system must evolve. As reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, currently 42% of adults are obese, 60% live … [More]

Technology

How Rapid Drone Is Turning Aerial Intelligence into Operational Strategy

When a police commander can see an unfolding scene before officers arrive, or a utility executive can detect infrastructure stress before failure, the advantage is not the drone. It is the decision. Phoenix-based Rapid Drone has built its business … [More]

Semi Insights

What Happens when Memory Can’t Keep Up

As manufacturers steer more memory capacity toward AI data centers, customers in other parts of the market are starting to feel the effects. Supply is getting tighter, long-term commitments are harder to secure and some buyers are being forced to … [More]

Semiconductor Seminar in Arizona Tries to Answer What Comes Next

Global Semiconductor Hub, a semiconductor seminar held in Arizona, brought together industry leaders to discuss what comes next for AI, and much of the conversation focused less on software and more on the hardware needed to support it. Arizona … [More]

CRE

Manufacturing Growth Spurs Need for Real Estate, Housing Development in Phoenix 

A defining feature of the post-COVID-19 economy has been a broad push to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States. For decades, leveraging inexpensive overseas labor was viewed as a smart business strategy. However, the pandemic exposed the … [More]

Retail Project to Serve Surging Growth in West Valley

Diversified Partners, one of Arizona’s leading real estate brokerage and development firms, recently unveiled plans for a new commercial retail development at the southeast corner of 99th Avenue and Indian School Road, just west of Loop 101 in … [More]

Tempe Industrial with Rail Spur Capability

The recently completed Source Business Center brings 144,885 square feet of Class-A industrial space to Tempe. Situated on a 15-acre site at the southeast corner of Warner Road and Hardy Drive, the property features prominent frontage on Warner Road, … [More]

Briefs

The Business Case for Financing to Level the Legal Playing Field

The story is all too familiar. An everyday product or environmental site becomes the subject of a large-scale health or safety lawsuit. While the headlines often focus on the legal battle, they rarely reveal the financial realities behind it. For the … [More]

Partnership to Enhance Campus Hospitality Service

Together, Aramark and the Steve Short Culinary Team are co-creating a holistic hospitality ecosystem designed to support ASU’s academic, athletic and social life. The collaboration extends far beyond dining halls, introducing data-informed … [More]

Goodwill Is Expansive Workforce Development

At Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona, our vision is ending poverty through the power of work. Through our mission services, we are empowering individuals, strengthening families and building stronger communities via workforce development and … [More]