Cary B. Wood, president and CEO, Sparton Corp.
Turnaround –Finalist Cary Wood had been tackling management challenges for more than 20 years when the board of directors of Sparton Corp. asked him to turn around the 109-year-old manufacturing company, which was only a few months away from bankruptcy. While that alone was a massive challenge, adding to the situation was the recent recession, […]
Ray Leach, CEO, JumpStart Inc.
WINNER: Financial and Business Advisory Services Entrepreneurs imagine things as they could be, possessing a vision to create something better. The process of turning what they see into reality requires initiative, tenacity and, often, great personal risk. That certainly describes leader and visionary Ray Leach, CEO of JumpStart Inc., a Cleveland-based nonprofit venture development organization […]
Victor Ciardelli III, president and CEO, Guaranteed Rate Inc.
WINNER: Financial Services Victor Ciardelli III founded Guaranteed Rate Inc. in 2000 based on the concept of providing customers with low mortgage rates and a transparent, streamlined residential mortgage process. Ciardelli’s disciplined management of the company has enabled Guaranteed Rate to become one of the most successful residential mortgage lenders in the country despite significant […]
Ira Kaplan, managing partner, Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan and Aronoff LLP
By his own admission, every decision Ira Kaplan made during his first years at the helm of Benesch was a risk. The managing partner of the business law firm followed core values of honesty, excellence, innovation and collaboration, mutual respect, accountability and meaningful contributions as part of the company’s 2008 strategic plan to keep the […]
Dr. David Faber, president, Trans Ova Genetics
WINNER – Bio Science Dr. David Faber president Trans Ova Genetics Raised on a farm and equipped with a veterinary degree, Dr. David Faber took his passion for improving livestock and founded Trans Ova Genetics in 1980 — in his garage, without capital or clients. As an industry pioneer, Faber had to personally develop the […]
Bill Duehring, president, Felt Bicycles
FINALIST – Consumer Products Bill Duehring president Felt Bicycles Bill Duehring has had a passion for bicycles and a knowledge of the industry since he was 12 years old when his parents opened a bike shop in Orlando, Fla. It was there, from his father, that he learned his hard work ethic, salesmanship and mechanic […]
Elliot Weissbluth, CEO, HighTower
FINALIST: Emerging Entrepreneur Many financial advisory firms talk about putting the needs of their clients first. Elliot Weissbluth wanted HighTower to be a firm that actually put that philosophy into practice. He created the company with the idea that his team of advisers would not push plans or products on clients that did not fit […]
July Movers & Shakers
People and companies making a difference in Northeast Ohio
Bradley Oleshansky, president and CEO, BIG Communications LLC
Winner, Business Services A lifelong entrepreneur, Bradley Oleshansky came to BIG Communications LLC with a vision of growth and possibilities. When he joined BIG, the company didn’t have a human resources team, and there were no employee benefits and only a few employees on the payroll. Oleshansky quickly saw that BIG needed to grow organically, […]
Alan Zafran, Partner, Luminous Capital
Financial Services – Finalist Alan Zafran walked away from significant economic incentives and a position on Merrill Lynch’s Advisory Council to Management to start Luminous Capital along with four colleagues in May 2008. Zafran, a partner at Luminous Capital, an investment advisory company, wanted transparency in all client handlings. Rather than hide fees, missteps, errors […]