April 24, 2012

11 a.m.-Registration and Networking

12 p.m.-Lunch and Presentation

RSVP Deadline: Friday, April 13, 2012

Tickets are $40 for a single ticket, $300 for a table of eight

By Neil McGiffin

His name is synonymous with executive leadership, political networking and community contribution.

A self-proclaimed dreamer, John Barrett's influence can be seen in Cincinnati's skyline: Great American Tower, a $400 million building whose base occupies an entire city block. Barrett, chairman, president and CEO of Western & Southern Financial Group, is the keynote speaker at Cincy's third annual Tristate Success Awards on April 24.

The event honors the region's most consistently successful companies in terms of employee and revenue growth in the past year. It will be held at the Sharonville Convention Center.

Barrett will address issues affecting the Tristate's business climate, along with the strategies for success that have transformed Western & Southern into a powerhouse with a net worth of $5.6 billion. According to the S&P, the one-time Midwestern life insurance company is now one of the eight highest rated insurance groups in the world.

But despite Western & Southern's success throughout his 20-plus years of oversight, Barrett has not forgotten about the importance of the smaller companies. "Every day, businesses of all sizes work hard to fuel Greater Cincinnati's economic vitality," he says.

"They are the driving force behind the positive energy and pride we share when we look at what Cincinnati has accomplished, the things that are in progress, and the plans being made for the future. I am honored to celebrate their success."

Barrett's contributions to Tristate business have landed him in the top rankings of the Power 100—Cincy's list of the Tristate's most influential people—annually. In 2009, he was inducted into the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Business Hall of Fame. Well recognized for his philanthropy, Volunteers of America presented Barrett with the Outstanding Community Service Award for his service to the Cincinnati community in 2007. He was also the recipient of the 2004 Award for Excellence for service to his alma mater, the University of Cincinnati.

Earlier this year, Barrett was appointed to the board of directors for the Financial Services Roundtable in Washington, D.C., a group aiming to promote pro-business public policy across the U.S. The board represents 100 of the largest financial services companies providing products and services across the country. Companies of roundtable members directly account for more than $1 trillion in revenue and 2.3 million jobs annually.

For more than 120 years they have been making caskets in Aurora, Ind. In fact, the Aurora Casket Company is the nation's largest privately-owned casket manufacturer.

While there have been high-tech advances, casket making at Aurora has not become an assembly line process. The company prides itself in a process where "the Aurora casket is crafted as one might create a family heirloom."

"You'd be surprised at the hand craftsmanship that still goes on in the making of our caskets," says Marty Strohoser, the company's director of creative services. "There are a few places where we have taken advantage of new technologies, but caskets are still largely constructed and assembled the way they have been for decades.

Fifth Generation

The company was founded in 1890 by John Backman, whose son, William, and son-in-law, William Barrott, continued the business. A fifth generation of Barrotts and Backmans still owns the company with William Backman III as the current CEO.

The company now has more than 1,000 employees, 400 employed at the Aurora headquarters, with 67 distribution and service centers around the country.

Aurora Casket has faced the same economic challenges shared by the end-of-life care industry as a whole. They include the trend toward less expensive cremation and increasing life expectancy, resulting in fewer people dying. And the Chinese have entered this market as well with cheaper caskets.

"This business is not recession-proof, contrary to what some may think," says Strohoser. "In tough times families often don't have the money to spend on a funeral they might otherwise in better times."

Services to Funeral Homes

Aurora Casket has responded with a commitment to service, positioning itself as a partner rather than simply a casket vendor.

For example, Aurora offers a wealth of services to funeral homes including assistance with marketing, continuing education, showroom design and online solutions such as database administration and web site construction. Strohoser says such services are becoming as important to funeral homes as traditional casket and urn products.

"Most funeral homes are small businesses that have been run by a family for a couple generations just like we have. They can't always afford to have a marketing director, or their own IT staff," he says. "So, we can bring marketing and technology solutions that provide value-added services beyond a good quality casket."

As part of that service strategy, the company recently acquired a Pennsylvania printer that specializes in memorial stationery. It has also broadened its traditional casket business by acquiring a Canadian supplier of wood, cloth and cremation caskets, and this year bought two casket distributors in the Carolinas, strengthening its marketing in the southeast.

The company is known for its programs to facilitate collaborative charitable donations from families and funeral directors that can benefit several charities, including breast cancer and veterans organizations. It also established the Positive Choice program, to promote safe teen driving.

Aurora Casket was awarded the 2011 Smart Business and Medical Mutual of Ohio Pillar Award for Community Service for its efforts to help families memorialize their loved ones and donate to a cause close to them.ick Bird

2012 WINNERS

These winners were selected from many nominations in a review by their peers in business
and economic development. All winners are either locally headquartered or reported local figures.

Florence, Ky.-based dbaDirect has become a world leader in database maintenance with a business model based on providing immediate care from IT specialists.

John Bostick, dbaDirect founder, president and CEO, likes to use the health care analogy to describe his approach to the business of remote database administration.

"It's akin to a person who gets sick," says Bostick. "You need an ambulance. You want the best doctor, best surgeon, the best hospital. But if you don't have a problem, you don't want to be paying those people. You want them on-demand."

Software Specialists

Recognizing that the management of databases would be crucial to running a global business, Bostick founded dbaDirect in 1999 as an on-demand provider for "infrastructure services," as he likes to call it.

While companies had their own IT "doctors," Bostick realized it was the emergency specialists, the software surgeons, who were going to be needed. And companies couldn't always afford to keep such talent on staff and on call.

Bostick, with more than two decades experience in computer systems and 10 years as a top IBM manager, founded dbaDirect as one of the first companies to offer immediate service expertise to remotely manage and troubleshoot databases.

"It was about developing people, process and innovation to create a model that can service 24/7 databases all over the world," Bostick says.

Continuing Growth

The company continues its remarkable growth now managing 4,000 databases with 150 global customers — from Fortune 100 companies to mid-sized businesses. Cincinnati-based clients include Cintas, Children's Hospital Medical Center and Great American Insurance. Bostick expects the client base will grow to more than 200 by the end of 2012.

dbaDirect employs 80 people at its Florence headquarters and another 50 in work group offices in Bangalore, India and Shenzhen, China.

"Our technology allows us to service databases on the London Stock Exchange, or a South American consumer products company, right out of our Florence office."

Mission Critical

Bostick's medical analogy is not far off. After all, massive databases have become the lifeblood, the nerve center of businesses — big and small. It is radically different than just a decade ago when a database perhaps handled some accounting and back office information, running just nine to five, where an in-house IT staff could maintain it.

"Now databases have become critically important for companies. Their service demands have gone to 24/7," Bostick says. "You can't do that with just a couple people. Databases run manufacturing plants, customer service centers, order entry to invoicing. It's mission critical stuff. Nowadays, the database is everything."

Positioning itself as the "infrastructure services company," dbaDirect has developed proprietary systems customized to each client, to handle remote monitoring, consulting and performance enhancement. The company has a 15-minute pledge to clients — the time it guarantees it will begin working on a problem when contacted.

dbaDirect has helped retain local talent, partnering with Northern Kentucky University in a program that ties the needs of area IT companies to NKU's College of Informatics.

Bostick says it's been a win-win partnership. "There have been a whole bunch of superstars to come out of NKU and work for us. It's been a great relationship."

— Rick Bird

Ever since German immigrant Wilhelm Gottenbusch opened his one-man bakery in 1963 on Observatory Avenue in Hyde Park, Servatii's has been a favorite. It is now one of Cincinnati's iconic brand names.

Gottenbusch took the name from his father's pastry shop, Café Servatii, opened in the 1950s in their hometown of Münster, Germany, next door to St. Servatii Church.

The celebrated retail bakery is now run by Wilhelm's sons, Gary and Greg, both apprenticed in Germany and representing the family's fourth generation of bakers.

Servatii's now has 13 retail stores in Greater Cincinnati and an expanding wholesale business of more than 100 customers within 400 miles that accounts for about 20 percent of its revenue.

Redefining, Rediscovering

Gary Gottenbusch says the last decade has been about redefining the bakery's business model and rediscovering what works best. He says the guiding principle is still his father's mantra that, "We are focused on the quality of our products — not the size of our business."

Gottenbusch says 10 years ago the company perhaps had to relearn that lesson, facing over-expansion problems after it built a large commissary.

"Then the low-carb trend hit," Gottenbusch says. "We had this new debt and lower revenue. Our sales were flat."

The problem was solved by expanding the wholesale business and downsizing the retail space, while also increasing the number of stores. The company got away from large retail stores, for example, closing its 7,000-square-foot Hyde Park store. It added smaller stores in the 1,500-square-foot range.

"I tried to put more stores closer to the people. I don't have to be on everybody's corner, but I have to be convenient to everybody," Gottenbusch says. "We are baking fresh in all the stores. I don't have to explain to the customer that the product is fresh. They see it. Every retail store has an oven. My goal is to make it worth the trip to the bakery. People have to get a product they can't get anywhere else, fresher and of value."

The expansion included opening two new stores downtown in the last 18 months. Gottenbusch says he now has downtown covered with three outlets along the Walnut Street corridor — the long time deli/bakery at Court Street, the new European-style café on Fountain Square and a kiosk shop in the Scripps Center.

Steady Sales Growth

The expansion has paid off. Servatii's has experienced steady sales growth in recent years, employing some 240 people, up from 170 three years ago. Already Gottenbusch is predicting a 20 percent revenue increase for 2012.

Always at the top of various local readers' polls, Servatii's continues to garner national kudos as well. Last November, Gottenbusch won an award for Best Artisan Raisin Bread from the California Raisin Board. He says it was a twist on the recipe for his already famous line of German pretzel sticks and bagels that has been a staple at the pastry shop for years. Gottenbusch says his pretzel business has also been strengthened by a new selection of dips.

Recently, Servatii's started offering its own soft-serve yogurt at three locations.

"I'm excited about the future. We aren't looking to expand, but we are always looking for the right opportunities, perhaps into Kentucky. It's still possible we could have up to 20 stores in the next five years."

— Rick Bird

PLATNIUM SPONSORS

First Financial Bank Commits to Client Service

For almost 150 years, First Financial Bank has successfully combined the expertise and services of a larger bank with the care and perspective of a neighborhood community bank. First Financial has grown from its roots in Hamilton, Ohio to become the second largest bank holding company headquartered in the Greater Cincinnati area with assets of $6.7 billion.

Last year, First Financial moved its corporate headquarters to a new location in the downtown central business district. The building, located at 255 E. Fifth St., was renamed the First Financial Center and is home to First Financial executives, key corporate support departments and the company's Cincinnati-based commercial and wealth management sales teams.

In addition to its corporate headquarters, First Financial also opened a new Corporate Administration Center in Springdale for associates within the call center, deposit and check processing services, loan operations, information technology, and additional key administrative
functions.

"We're committed to the Greater Cincinnati region and continue to invest in our clients and the local community," says Doug Lefferson, First Financial's chief banking officer.

"With plans to open three new banking centers this year — Kenwood, Montgomery and downtown Cincinnati — there's no doubt this area is important to our overall strategy and we're proud to grow with the local community."

Although the bank continues to experience exciting growth, the mission of the bank remains the same. First Financial has and always will be a client-centered and relationship-focused bank.

"Our objective is to put the goals of our business clients first with better service, better focus and a better understanding of what success means to our clients," says Lefferson. "We continue to expand and evolve our business banking strategy with new products and service offerings as well as a seasoned team to help business owners grow and succeed within their communities."

Humana is one of the Tristate's largest health, dental, life and ancillary benefit providers, with more than 500,000 medical members in Ohio. The company serves those members and their loved ones with an unwavering commitment to their security, and continues to make significant strides in helping those members achieve lifelong well-being beyond just health insurance.

For example, Humana has acquired companies such as Concentra, a network of wellness services and occupational medicine, urgent care and physical therapy facilities, which has three urgent care centers in Greater Cincinnati.

In addition to making health care more accessible to the public, Humana has also introduced a new wellness program for local employers and their 2,120 employees called HumanaVitality. The company is also expected to grow by 200 more this year. Humana hopes to continue its presence in the Tristate, with the percentage of employers offering at least one wellness program jumping from 54 percent in 2008 to 74 percent in 2010.

As a local employer, Humana congratulates this year's Tristate Success Awards nominees for their hard work and perseverance.

"Humana is proud of its involvement in the Tristate business community. We support the Tristate Success Awards because it recognizes local companies for the expansion of their core businesses and their growth in employment," says Tim Cappel, president of Humana of Ohio.

— Julianna roche

Think of Courtis Fuller and two things come to mind — WLWT-TV and Cincinnati.

But in his 30 years delivering the news, the WLWT-TV newsman has also worked in markets from Milwaukee and Peoria in the Midwest to Macon and Orlando in the South. He's stepped away from the news desk to wade into politics and man a microphone as a radio talk show host.

Fuller's brief foray into politics was a result of his involvement with the city and civil rights. Concerned about the anger and frustration following the fatal shooting of Timothy Thomas, an African-American youth, and subsequent unrest, he ran for mayor in 2001 receiving a respectable 45 percent of the vote in the general election. Fuller also issued a proposal to City Council to have a street named after Derrick Turnbow (a Taft honor student shot in 1990), and led an effort to have the city and the Reds honor the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's entry into Major League Baseball.

Fuller has received hundreds of awards for excellence in journalism and community service, including The Cincinnati YMCA Achiever Legend Award and the respected Martin Luther King Jr. Dreamkeeper Award.

He's a sought-after host and speaker with continuing close ties to the community, including a spot as an advisory board member for the Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation. To mark his 30 years in broadcasting, a scholarship was established in his name to help young aspiring journalists follow his footsteps.

— JOY W. KRAFT

"Bigger is Better" could easily be the motto of the expanded Sharonville Convention Center in northern Cincinnati.

Opened in 1994 on Chester Road, the center has been home to about 600 events a year, including meetings, banquets, trade shows and public events such as bridal shows, antiques festivals, gem shows and the 20th Century Cincinnati Show.

But that's about to change. Now that the $28 million expansion has transformed the center into an airy, contemporary space with 19 rooms and 65,000 square feet of flexible space, look for it to host even more events and fill the needs of a new niche — small to medium conventions that can accommodate up to 1,000.

Space in the expanded center includes 20,000 square feet of exhibition room, a 3,500 square foot gallery/pre-function area and a veranda for patio events on the main exhibition level. A new 15,000 square-foot ballroom can accommodate up to 1,000 guests, and two new meeting rooms — at 6,300 square feet and 7,400 square feet — can be divided into four and five areas, respectively.

Located 15 miles north of downtown Cincinnati, just off I-75 and I-275, the Sharonville Convention Center is easily accessible and close to more than 20 hotels and 50 restaurants.

— THE EDITORS

"We are poised for a burst of activity in the form of new companies in advanced manufacturing, office and tech sectors with an improving national economy," he has said. "With an emphasis on the life sciences sector in the urban core, our opportunities with informatics, and enticing developed land opportunities in this centrally located, low-cost region, our prospects are bright for 2012." 

In 2011, Northern Kentucky Tri-ED recorded their fourth highest amount of announced capital investment from 28 primary industry companies. The region is blessed with a superb location for manufacturers (600 miles of 60 percent of the U.S. population) meaning easy access to a manufacturer's customers.

One of 2012's bright spots is UpTech, Accelerate Big Ideas, a business super accelerator providing its businesses with more time, more legal, accounting and marketing support . . . and more equity investment than the average business accelerator. That includes the unique resources provided by Northern Kentucky University's College of Informatics.

 UpTech may be just the kick needed in the formula that makes Northern Kentucky a prime place for start-ups.

— THE EDITORS