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professional buried in spreadsheets with the latest trends, best buys and value-added opportunities, many of which are outdated before the ink is … [More]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]
Patterson and Clifford: Clear Vision for Clear Title Agency
Clear Title Agency of Arizona, an industry leader in commercial and residential title and escrow services, continues fast-paced growth in its 10th year of operation. Bart Patterson, chief executive officer of Clear Title Agency of Arizona, started the title company with great confidence, experience and knowledge riding on the heels of two previous successful business … [More]
Alana Mann: Diversity Proved Key in Developing the Legacy Company
Residential real estate development, building and investing has, historically, been a male-dominated industry, so for Alana Mann, owner and president of Scottsdale-based The Statesman Group, it’s been all about changing people’s perspectives. In the late 1990s, Mann took the helm of U.S. operations for her family’s 40-year-old business and was tasked with moving the real … [More]
Ryan Sarbinoff: Building Successful Investment Sales Agents
Marcus & Millichap, a national leader in commercial real estate investment sale, financing, research and advisory services, has brought in Ryan Sarbinoff as regional manager of its Phoenix office. Taking the helm as vice president/regional manager, Sarbinoff comes in with a vibrant outlook for the future of the Arizona market. Sarbinoff previously led the Marcus & … [More]
Jan Wichayanuparp: Making Ice Cream Social
Jan Wichayanuparp started her career in a very different place from where she is today as co-founder and “chief ice cream hustler” for her artisan ice cream shop, Sweet Republic. Before opening the first location in 2008, Wichayanuparp served as vice president of Asia Pacific Equity Capital Markets at Citigroup, where she oversaw equity and equity-linked transactions. It was … [More]
Rick Ueable: Reject Passivity, Stand United, Invest Internally
According to Rick Ueable, Foods 2000, Inc. was supposed to be a distant memory well before 2017. Rewind to 1983, when Ueable formally partnered with colleague Ken Clark on a business called Real Investments, a commercial real estate company that was met with great success nationwide … until the fallout from the Tax Reform Act of 1986. “The Tax Reform Act changed the way … [More]
Daniel Owen: Taking the Flooring Business to New Heights
Walking through the newly constructed 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Phoenix, Arizona Polymer Flooring CEO and co-owner Daniel Owen remains surprisingly humble. At just 36 years old, the young leader has transformed a small yet innovative mom-and-pop operation into an international concrete coatings powerhouse. Known for integrity, superior products and systems, … [More]
Michael Finn: Leading Redflex on the Road with Public Safety
The path from tech startup to a market leader is rarely straight. It’s filled with peaks and valleys that create a unique landscape, culture and opportunity in the marketplace. Over the past quarter century, Glendale-based Redflex Traffic Systems has traversed a very diverse terrain. Now, CEO Michael Finn, who has held the post since May 2015, is ushering the company into a new … [More]
Shawn Linam: Challenging the Odds in Aerospace
Shawn Linam started her career training astronauts to use the robotic arm on the Space Shuttle. In 2001, she co-founded Qwaltec, a satellite operations and mission readiness firm, which she doubled in size in two years. Headquartered in Tempe, Qwaltec has an office in Maryland as well as employees in California, Colorado and New Mexico. It has subcontracted on projects with the … [More]
