In today’s post-pandemic business climate, success comes in many forms. For companies that spent the past two years rebuilding from ground zero, returning staff to full capacity is considered a huge win. Some sectors benefited from the drastic shifts in consumer demand and volatile economic conditions created by the pandemic, and for those companies, success today looks much different.
Looking back on a year marked by challenge and uncertainty, BizTimes Media asked the
Wisconsin 275 to share their most significant success over the past 12 months. It was among the topics of the questionnaire sent to the 275 individuals selected for the inaugural special publication, profiling the most influential business leaders in the state.
Of those who responded to the question on recent success, many noted that simply the ability to navigate and emerge from the economic challenges of 2021 into 2022 was the greatest triumph. Other successes were much more specific, for example, the Milwaukee Bucks’ 2021 NBA Championship win, as mentioned by president
Peter Feigin. Of course, most organizations don’t even have the opportunity to achieve nearly the level of notoriety that an NBA franchise can. But who says you need a Larry O'Brien trophy to be successful?
The following is our selections of the most noteworthy responses to the question,
“What has been your/your company’s most significant success over the past 12 months?” Editor’s note: Responses reflect approximately 12 months through fall 2022.
On growth
Paul Bartolotta, chef, owner and co-founder of The Bartolotta Restaurants: “We fully acquired the Harbor House restaurant this summer. We also opened Roundhouse at McKinley Marina in July as an amenity to the lakefront, as well as signed on to open The Commodore - A Bartolotta Restaurant in Delafield next year. I am incredibly proud of the forward momentum of this company.”
Brian Dranzik, director of the Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport: “Attracting three new air carriers, JetBlue, Spirit, and Sun Country, to Milwaukee one year after the pandemic. These new carriers provide more travel options, keep fares competitive and add jobs and economic impact to our region.”
Stephen Einhorn, partner of Capital Midwest Funds: “We are a venture capital fund. Two of our portfolio companies raised a total of almost $150 million and, at the time of the raise, had a total value of $850 million.”
Kurt Gresens, managing partner of Wipfli LLP: "Wipfli's 18% growth rate is reflective of our success in attracting, retaining and developing our talent with a deep commitment to positively impacting our clients, our communities and each other.”
Most Rev. Jerome Listecki, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee: “The growth of enrollment at Saint Francis de Sales seminary to the point that we are now one of the fastest-growing seminaries in the country, with nearly 80 men studying for the priesthood.”
Mike Mooney, principal, chairman emeritus and co-founder of MLG Capital: “Growing our multifamily and industrial holdings by $1 billion and increasing the number of states we have properties in from 18 to 28. Our investor roster has also grown, it now totals over 5,000 individuals covering all 50 states. At our headquarters, we have added 20 top-notch employees.”
Joel Quadracci, chairman, president and CEO of Quad/Graphics: “Truly moving from being a company that's transforming to one that's scaling, post transformation. That is evidenced by the amount of talent that we've been able to bring on from different parts of the industry that we weren’t previously playing in. For example, our marketing team has grown from a handful of committed professionals to more than 35 people in just over a year. And these people bring all kinds of diverse talent and experience with them. It’s an exciting time at Quad.”
John Schlifske, chairman, president and CEO of Northwestern Mutual: “Over the 165 years that Northwestern Mutual has been in business, 2021 was our best with record results across nearly every key performance measure. As we announced in April of 2022, we grew our total number of clients to nearly five million. Our life insurance sales grew 52%, our highest ever and significantly outpacing our competitors. And beyond insurance, we’re also becoming a leader in wealth management, growing 25% in 2021 and consistently being ranked among the largest broker-dealers nationwide.”
Michelle Schuler, manager of TechSpark Wisconsin (Microsoft): "As the co-founder of Women in Technology Wisconsin, our restructuring and expansion from one northeastern Wisconsin region to a state board with three regions and soon to be four regions across Wisconsin."
M&A
Kevin Anderson, market president of Old National Bank: “Old National Bank's merger with Chicago-based First Midwest Bank in March 2022 has been transformative. It brings our company directly into one of the largest U.S. Midwest markets and nearly doubles our asset size and banking center reach. Additionally, it has allowed our Milwaukee-based team to merge with the legacy Park Bank franchise, with its stellar reputation for client service and growth. These combined capabilities and product enhancements will allow Old National to bring even more tools to our seven-state footprint.”
Bob Atwell, executive chairman of Nicolet National Bank: “We closed three acquisitions in 13 months and added a lot of new talent.”
Steve Booth, chairman and CEO of Baird: “A significant success is that Hefren-Tillotson, a privately held, full-service wealth management firm with a nearly 75-year legacy in Pittsburgh, agreed to join Baird as a wholly owned subsidiary earlier this year. Hefren-Tillotson has very high market share and brand awareness in Pittsburgh, comparable to Baird’s in Milwaukee, in fact. They could have easily remained independent or partnered with anyone in our industry, and they selected us.”
Jason Liu, CEO of Zywave: “Zywave has been in exponential growth mode the last 12 to 18 months. We have made seven acquisitions since 2020 and have doubled the size of the company. We have grown headcount from around 400 employees 18 months ago to nearly 1,200 employees currently.”
Blake Moret, chairman and CEO of Rockwell Automation: “In June 2021, Rockwell acquired Plex Systems, the leading cloud-native smart manufacturing platform. This was our largest acquisition to date. The pandemic and supply chain constraints have required customers to urgently increase resilience, agility and sustainability in their operations, and taking a leadership role in providing cloud-native solutions for related industrial applications showed that we could go on offense even during such trying times.”
Larry Schechtman, managing partner of Amundsen Davis: “Our most significant success is hands down the fact that I am right now talking to you about a firm called Amundsen Davis. The combination of Davis|Kuelthau and SmithAmundsen to form Amundsen Davis officially happened on Nov. 1, 2022. The incredible amount of planning that went into this for our leadership and admin teams during much of the year has been staggering. However, the excitement I’ve seen from our attorneys and our clients makes it all worthwhile. As Amundsen Davis, we are now one of the 200 largest firms in the U.S. and can provide business and litigation services nationally and internationally while maintaining the distinct individualized service approach appreciated by our clients.”
Greg Uhen, chairmain and CEO of Eppstein Uhen Architects: “We have new leadership in place for a very bright future. Rich Tennessen is now CEO, Kristin Dufek is president, and we have expanded our board. In December 2021, we also merged with De Pere-based Performa Inc. to expand our workforce to 250 great people.”
Projects moving forward
Rick Barrett, CEO of Barrett Lo Visionary Development: “The Couture. Pushing a 44-story skyscraper, the largest residential tower in the state of Wisconsin, into the air. It is the first 40-story building in the state of Wisconsin being built in the last 50 years, and we are so proud to be contributing to the ever-changing Milwaukee skyline.”
Ellen Censky, president and CEO of the Milwaukee Public Museum: “Getting the new museum project to this point, working with the team to secure state and county funding for the project, releasing the renderings of the building design and kicking off the capital campaign.”
George Cullen and Jeannie Cullen-Schultz, co-presidents of JP Cullen & Sons: “The Camp Randall South Endzone project. We were very fortunate to partner with the state Division of Facilities Development, UW Athletics, HOK and many trade partners to complete a design-build project at Camp Randall. In eight short months, we demolished and built back the entire south endzone, while updating areas of the historical Wisconsin Field House. This project required an incredible amount of planning and coordination as well as a significant amount of overtime (we worked every day from January 2 through Easter). The excitement and appreciation for this project was evident at each football game and event to date.”
Craig Dickman, managing director of TitletownTech: “Showing that we can be a beacon for innovation and entrepreneurship in Wisconsin and earning the opportunity from our partners, the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft, to launch a second fund to continue building.”
John Hunzinger, president and CEO of Hunzinger Construction Co.: “The successful construction and delivery of the Komatsu Mining Corp.’s North American headquarters office and manufacturing campus in Milwaukee's Harbor District, which was on time and on budget and exceeded all City of Milwaukee SBE and RPP goals and achieved LEED Gold Certification. The project sits on a 57-acre brownfield site redevelopment and includes a new 180,000-square-foot office and experience center, new 430,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and a 650-car parking structure. The project was designed and built to green building standards with the goal to reduce energy consumption by 75% and reduce water consumption by 80%. The project achieved a LEED V4 Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.”
Mark Irgens, CEO and manager of Irgens Partners LLC: “The acquisition and entitlement of the UWM Innovation Campus in Wauwatosa.”
Michael Johnson, president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County: “Raised almost $40 million in the past 12 months, and we are in the process of building the largest youth workforce center in the history of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. We are also in the process of having a Vel R. Phillips statue built at the state capital, which will make her the first Black woman in the United States to have a singular statue on a state capitol grounds.”
John Larsen, chair, president and CEO of Alliant Energy Corp.: “The advancement of our new utility-scale solar energy farms across the state, bringing more than 1,100 megawatts of reliable, affordable and cleaner energy (enough to power nearly 300,000 homes) to Wisconsinites for decades to come. Most importantly, during challenging times these projects will provide steady revenue to communities through new construction opportunities, create an estimated 2,000 new construction jobs and provide approximately $300 million in revenues to local communities and landowners.”
Outside recognition
Fabio Bordignon, general manager of Fincantieri Marinette Marine: “Winning the U.S. Navy’s Constellation Class Frigates program competition, which generates jobs for current and future generations in Wisconsin.”
Hector Colon, president and CEO of Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan Inc.: “LSS was named a top workplace of choice two years in a row while the organization was going through significant transformation, which has led to a financial turnaround of $17.4 million in four years.”
Chad Vincent, CEO of Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin: “I think being recognized by Adweek alongside companies like Proctor & Gamble, Nike and Best Buy for delivering 'Best Campaign of the Year' for Influencer Marketing. For a little nonprofit to be called out in the company of the marketing giants - it was amazing. With efforts like this, Wisconsin cheese sales and image continue to significantly outperform the market, helping the state's dairy farmers.”
Peggy Williams-Smith, president and CEO of VISIT Milwaukee: “Securing the Republican National Convention for the summer of 2024.”
New beginnings
Matthew Friedel, co-founder of Milwaukee Venture Partners; director of the UWM Business Innovation Incubator: “Creating a collaborative new innovation incubator at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I am fortunate to have this opportunity and use my network to serve and support the emerging tech and entrepreneur community in Milwaukee and Wisconsin.”
Dr. Robert Davis, president and CEO of America's Black Holocaust Museum: “The grand reopening and re-emergence of America's Black Holocaust Museum after being closed since 2008. Since we reopened in late February 2022, we have already received a VISIT Milwaukee Award and a MANDI Award and was named by The New York Times as one of 52 Places for Travelers to Visit in 2022.
Dana Guthrie, managing partner of Gateway Capital Partners: “We successfully closed our first fund, oversubscribed with significant institutional support and have since provided seed funding to highly scalable startups led by founders of all different backgrounds.”
Dustin Hinton, president and CEO of Wisconsin and Michigan UnitedHealthcare: “The launch of our Nexus ACO product, partnering with Advocate Aurora Health, Froedtert and the Medical College and Children's Wisconsin. The market is really excited about a new offering from UnitedHealthcare, but in general something new in the marketplace. This combination of partners has never been done quite like this before. I continue to thank each of those system CEOs and their leadership teams for making Nexus ACO happen. It's hard not to see this as a major positive for our community, moving health care forward.”
Adam Jelen, chief operating officer of Gilbane Building Co.: “In 2022, Gilbane launched an integrated environmental, social, and governance (ESG) platform in which we challenge ourselves to continuously examine and improve our opportunity for impact. As part of this commitment to the greater good, Gilbane has pledged to generate $4 billion in awards to certified minority, women-owned, disadvantaged, and veteran-owned businesses over the next five years.”
Jim Kacmarcik, chairman and CEO of Kacmarcik Enterprises: “The launch of the Iron District MKE and Milwaukee Pro Soccer, which has been so well received by the greater Milwaukee community, and unveiling the Kacmarcik Center for Human Performance, which we hope will serve as a hub of positive activity in southeastern Wisconsin. Also, our custom car and carbon fiber business, Speedkore Performance Group, built its most extreme car ever: a 1,000-horsepower 1968 Dodge Charger for Ralph Gilles, the industry’s biggest name in global automobile design.”
Michael Lovell, president of Marquette University: “Marquette just welcomed its most diverse incoming student class in its history in fall 2022. Thirty percent of the incoming first-year class members are students of color. We are transforming our campus to reflect our city and the world around us, and we are fortunate to have a greater diversity of voices that enrich our vibrant campus.”
Carrie Thome, managing director of NVNG Investment Advisors: “Our most significant success was achieving an inaugural closing on our investment fund. This has provided a much-needed level of stability to our organization, which allows the team to begin executing on our goal of making Wisconsin's startup ecosystem globally competitive.”
