1. Les Wexner
Chairman and CEO, Limited Brands (1)
Wexner remains a powerful force in Columbus. His
company once again topped $10 billion in sales for
2007 and has more than 90,000 employees nationwide. His presence continues to be felt through the
many organizations that bear his name. He is also
involved in the development of tomorrow’s leaders
through OSU’s Fisher College of Business and The
Columbus Partnership.
2. John Wolfe
Chairman, publisher and CEO,
The Dispatch Printing Co. (2)
Wolfe’s company has been busy this year following
the politics of a presidential election year and its effect on the Columbus region. His company owns
The Columbus Dispatch as well as multiple print,
TV and radio media organizations in the market.
Wolfe was honored in 2008 by the Franklin Park
Conservatory for his lifetime of philanthropy, civic
leadership and service when the board of trustees
dedicated its historic glass Palm House in his
honor.
3. Michael Coleman
Mayor, city of Columbus (5)
Coleman is serving his third term as mayor in
Columbus, and his high level of energy toward the
job and the future of Columbus has placed him
right in the center of shaping the region’s future. He
was involved in a plan to study regional sustainability and led a trade mission with several other
Columbus officials to Israel in April. Coleman will
have a lot to say about what happens in Columbus
over the next several years.
4. E. Gordon Gee
President, The Ohio State University (19)
Back in his familiar role as head Buckeye, Gee has
brought his tireless and enthusiastic personality to
the job, working hard to get back on top of the
town after returning to OSU in October 2007.
5. Thomas Hoaglin
President and CEO,
Huntington Bancshares Inc. (4)
Following a merger with Sky Financial in 2007,
Hoaglin lost, then reassumed the role of president
of the company. His bank is holding firm through
the global economic crisis that hit in the fall as deposits remained at or near their levels from 2007.
Hoaglin was also elected to the board of American
Electric Power.
6. Ron Pizzuti
Chairman and CEO, The Pizzuti Cos. (6)
Pizzuti continues to be the toast of the town. He
and his wife were honored in 2007 as
Humanitarians of the Year by the American Red
Cross, and Pizzuti’s firm did right by the community, as well, finalizing a deal with DCT Industrial
Trust to manage 1.7 million square feet of area
property.
7. Alex Shumate
Managing partner, Columbus,
Squire, Sanders & Dempsey (8)
Shumate provided the introduction to the sixth edition of Who’s Who in Black Columbus, which was
released in 2008. Shumate still leads the firm’s legislative counseling and administrative law activities
and continues to have clients in local, state and
federal government. He serves as a corporate
board member for Nationwide Financial Services
Inc., the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. and Cincinnati Bell.
8. Jerry Jurgensen
CEO, Nationwide Mutual Insurance (3)
Nationwide Mutual did agree to buy all of the outstanding publicly held stock of Nationwide
Financial Services Inc., which Jurgensen said
would help create better alignment in the business.
Revenue for the first half of the year slipped below
$2 billion, but Jurgensen is confident the company’s capital position will remain strong.
9. Tanny Crane
President and CEO, Crane Group (9)
It’s a wonder Crane has any time for herself. Being
selected to speak at the Raymond E. Johnson Jr.
Leadership Symposium, which focuses on raising
levels of leadership in Central Ohio, was just one of
her roles affecting the business community in
2008. She also serves on the boards of the
Columbus Foundation, Columbus City School
Foundation, Columbus Partnership, Fisher College
of Business Advisory Board and is chairman of the
Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank.
10. Jay Schottenstein
President, Schottenstein Management; chairman, American Eagle Outfitters; chairman,
Retail Ventures Inc.;
chairman and CEO, DSW (7)
The tough economic times did not help
Schottenstein’s business interests in 2008. And in
October, Value City Department Stores announced
it was liquidating its remaining stores less than a
year after being sold off by Retail Ventures.
11. Don M. Casto III
Partner, Don M. Casto Organization (13)
Casto has spent a great deal of time trying to figure
out how to lure new retailers into downtown
Columbus. His firm continues to manage properties of all types across Central Ohio. It also continues to expand its reach beyond Ohio with the purchase of 1.7 million square feet of retail and office
property in Puerto Rico.
12. Larry James
Partner, Crabbe, Brown & James (11)
One of Columbus’ most respected and influential
legal minds, James is the hearing examiner for the
Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles and is president of
the Martin Luther King Jr. Arts Complex board.
James also serves as general counsel for the
National Fraternal Order of Police. He was involved
in securing a $500,000 grant for the early 2009
restoration of the Lincoln Theatre on the city’s near
east side.
13. John Beavers
Chair, Counsel for Boards and Executives Group,
Bricker & Eckler LLP (12)
Beavers was on the Best Lawyers of America list
for the 16th year in a row and was designated a
Super Lawyer in Ohio for the fifth year in a row. He continues to serve on the OSU Alumni Advisory
Council and as chair of his firm’s Counsel for
Boards and Executives Group. He is a key player in
offering guidance on corporate structure and governance in Central Ohio.
14. Donna James
Managing director,
Lardon & Associates (14)
James’ power in Central Ohio remains strong. She
was a keynote speaker at the first Annual Women
in Project Management Conference in June 2008
and continues to serve on the boards of Limited
Brands, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Conseco and The
Health Policy Institute of Ohio.
15. Curt Loveland
Partner, Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur LLP (15)
Loveland, a 2007 recipient of the Association for
Corporate Growth Service Partner award, is an
Ohio Super Lawyer and has been on the list of Best
Lawyers in America for more than a decade. His
firm was recognized as a top law firm by Chambers
U.S. Loveland also continues to serve on the
boards of Max & Erma’s Restaurants Inc., Rocky
Brands Inc. and the Association for Corporate
Growth.
16. Ty Marsh
President and CEO, Greater Columbus Chamber
of Commerce (16)
Marsh keeps a full schedule promoting the
Columbus region. He took part in a trade mission
to Israel with Mayor Coleman last year. Marsh is
chair of the state’s 21st Century Transportation
Task Force, chair of The RiverSouth Development
Authority and serves on the board of the Ohio
Business Development Coalition.
17. David Blom
President and CEO, OhioHealth (18)
His firm was again named to the Fortune 100 Best
Companies to Work For list in 2008. OhioHealth
provided $113 million to the community in fiscal
2007 in the form of medical education, research,
Medicaid programs and a record $56 million in
pure charity care. Blom also was involved in drafting the 2008 action plan for the Columbus
Chamber.
18. Matt Kallner
Attorney, Law Offices of
Matthew G. Kallner (21)
His client list continues to include Limited Brands,
Worthington Industries Inc., M/I Homes Inc., New
Albany Co., Columbus Regional Airport Authority,
Huntington Bancshares Inc., Nationwide Children’s
Hospital and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. He is
also secretary for the Columbus Metropolitan
Library Foundation.
19. Michael Fiorile
President and chief operating officer, The
Dispatch Printing Co. (23)
Besides being in charge of the media giant, which
includes print, radio and television properties,
Fiorile stays involved in the wider industry. He
serves on several boards, including Television Operators Caucus, Television Bureau of
Advertising, National Association of Broadcasters
and NBC Affiliates. He is also on the board of State
Auto Mutual Insurance.
20. Bea Wolper
Partner, Chester, Willcox & Saxbe LLP (22)
The Family Business Center Wolper co-founded in
1998 is expanding after a $1 million donation
last year. She is the Ohio president of the
International Women’s Forum and founder and
president of the Women’s Business Board, in addition to serving on the Wexner Director’s Circle
Council Board.
21. Steve Allen
CEO, Nationwide Children’s Hospital (new)
After the hospital changed its name from
Columbus Children’s Hospital in 2007, growth has
been the main focus. A new 12-story, 700,000-square-foot main hospital is under way and is
scheduled to open in 2012. The new facility is helping Allen turn the hospital into a premier place for
children’s care.
22. Melissa Ingwersen
President, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Central Ohio
(33)
As part of the government buyout following the financial crisis, federal regulators seized
Washington Mutual and sold it to JPMorgan
Chase. Ingwersen is also well-known for her community involvement, serving on the boards of
YWCA and Chamber of Commerce.
23. Jack Kessler
Owner, John W. Kessler Co.; chairman, The New Albany Co. (26)
Kessler, a 2007 honoree inducted into the Central
Ohio Business Hall of Fame, earned an appointment to the board of the Commercial Vehicle
Group Inc. He remains on the boards for
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and The Ohio State
University’s John Glenn School of Public Affairs.
24. Peter Geier
COO, OSU Medical Center;
vice president for health services and CEO, OSU
Health System (new)
Geier’s lengthy title doesn’t mean he’s hogging all
the work: The Ohio State University Medical Center
has set the pace for employee growth this decade,
adding roughly 4,000 jobs since 2001.
25. Neil Clark
CEO, State Street Consultants (25)
After becoming an inductee into the Association of
Ohio Commodores, the state’s highest honor, we
figured Clark would shoot up our list. But with public and legal battles with his former partner, Paul
Tipps, looming, Clark stayed stagnant.
