BizTimes announces winners of business awards
BizTimes announced today the winners of its 2011 Bravo! Entrepreneur Awards and IQ (Innovation Quotient) Awards.The Bravo! Entrepreneur Awards honor bold and dynamic company leaders in southeastern Wisconsin. The winners are:
- Ron Baake, CEO, The Sleep Wellness Institute, West Allis.
- Wayne Baumgartner (posthumous), founder and president, Industrial Recyclers Inc., Milwaukee.
- Bill Beckett, president and CEO, Chrysalis Packaging & Assembly Corp. (Chryspac), Milwaukee.
- Fritz Frazier, president, Winter Services Inc., Milwaukee.
- Jim Kacmarcik, president, Kapco Inc., Grafton.
- Russ Klisch, president, Lakefront Brewery Inc., Milwaukee.
- Paul Riedl Jr. and Joe Skotarzak, CEO and president, River Run Computers Inc., Glendale.
- Mary Scheibel, founding principal and chairperson of the board, Scheibel Halaska Inc., Milwaukee.
- Tim Starr, president, The Starr Group, Greenfield.
- Gregg Tushaus, CEO, Tushaus Computer Services, Milwaukee.
Scheibel also will receive the BizTimes Regional Spirit Award. Scheibel, who is the president-elect of the Council of Small Business Executives (COSBE) of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, also had served on the boards of the MMAC, Centro Legal, Tempo Milwaukee, the Public Relations Society of America Southeast Wisconsin Chapter and the Ozaukee County Advocates for Battered Women. In addition, she was the marketing chair for the Milwaukee Well City initiative.
The Bravo! Entrepreneur Lifetime Achievement Award will go to the Usinger family. Fritz and Debra Usinger will accept the award on behalf of the family.
The winners of the IQ Awards, which celebrate innovations in business, are:
- Bradshaw Medical Inc., Kenosha – Development of orthopedic and spinal surgical instruments.
- Compass Properties LLC, Milwaukee – Redeveloped the City Center at 735 complex in downtown Milwaukee.
- HarQen Inc., Milwaukee – Developed next-generation web telephony Voice Management platform.
- Helios USA, Milwaukee – First manufacturer in Wisconsin to produce solar panels for deployment in industrial, commercial, residential and utility-based solar systems.
- Jockey International Inc., Kenosha – Launched a new line of “Staycool” underwear, featuring “Outlast” technology to keep the wearer comfortable.
- Lightweight Structures LLC, Hartland – Developed the Forteco composite building system for commercial, industrial, institutional and residential structures.
- Meet-Meme Inc., Milwaukee – Created the Meet-Meme social trading cards for businesses.
- Perceptral, Racine – Developed variable speed speech synthesis software.
- Sales Progress, Mequon – Developed a unique sales development and tracking system.
- Spaulding Clinical LLC, West Bend – Developed a revolutionary 12-lead electrocardiographic machine.
The winners of the Bravo! Entrepreneur and IQ Awards will be honored at a luncheon to take place at the BizTech Conference and Expo on Thursday, May 12, at Wisconsin State Fair Park. For additional information, visit www.biztimes.com/expo.
Kinunen is new CFO at Meyer & Wallis
Meyer & Wallis, a strategic advertising firm with offices in Milwaukee and Indianapolis, has hired Tod Kinunen as chief financial officer.
Kinunen nearly 20 years of financial experience within the advertising industry and brings knowledge of technology and financial planning to the agency.
Shannon Safar, chief operating officer of Meyer & Wallis, said, “We are so fortunate to have Tod on our team. While his skills and experience set him apart from other chief financial officers, its that fact that Tod really ‘gets’ the creative process that makes him a good match for Meyer & Wallis and a valuable addition to our rapidly growing agency.”
Abele elected Milwaukee County exec
In Milwaukee County philanthropist Chris Abele handily defeated state Rep. Jeff Stone, R-Greendale, Tuesday in the race for Milwaukee County executive, 61 percent to 39 percent.
That race was seen by some as a referendum on Gov. Scott Walker, who previously held the post, and his controversial budget plan to eliminate most collective bargaining privileges from public employees in the state. Although it is a nonpartisan race, Abele was considered the liberal candidate by many and Republican Stone was the conservative who pledged to govern with a similar approach to Walker.
Acknowledging the public employee collective bargaining cotroversy in the state, Stone said his defeat came in “an unusual environment,” that “reflects the divide we have right now in Wisconsin.”
Abele was elected in a special session to serve out the final year of Walker’s term. Hepromised to take a new approach to leading Milwaukee County.
“The status quo isn’t working,” Abele said.
He also pledged to improve cooperation between the county and the city of Milwaukee.
“I don’t see the mayor as political competition,” he said. “I see him as a partner and a friend.”
Jason Inc. adds key executives, re-brands
Milwaukee-based Jason Inc., the global parent company of several manufacturing firms in the finishing, seating, components and automotive acoustics markets, announced the addition of two key executives to its headquarters management team and introduced a new branding initiative.
Srivas Prasad has been appointed to the role of vice president of business development, while Maria Luther has been named vice president of human resources.
As part of Jason’s re-branding initiative, the company has a new identity and clarified messaging that emphasize its collaborative manufacturing principle.
“This is a very exciting time in our corporate history,” said David Westgate, Jason Inc. chairman, president and chief executive officer. “Not only is Jason experiencing record growth due to the strengths of our manufacturing companies, but to further that track, we’re aggressively pursuing acquisitions in each of our business segments while identifying new segments in which to enter. With so much emphasis on building a strong future, it made sense to bolster our management team in Milwaukee while improving our
brand’s identity.”
