Crain's Detroit Business - 2011 Book of Lists - (Page 74)

Page 74 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS December 27, 2010 Women to Watch Inforum and Crain’s Detroit Business honored the 2010 Women to Watch winners at Inforum’s Inner Circle event Oct. 5 at the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham. Barbara Byrd-Bennett Chief academic and accountability auditor, Detroit Public Schools In May 2009, Robert Bobb, Detroit Public Schools’ emergency financial manager, tasked Barbara Byrd-Bennett with reinventing the academic system of the city’s failing schools, where graduation rates are some of the worst in the country. Byrd-Bennett, 60, began working with a new coalition — Excellent Schools Detroit, formed in late 2009 to transform the city’s education system — to draft a new academic plan. To ensure DPS follows the group’s guidelines that call for 90 percent of students to graduate by 2020, Byrd-Bennett implemented a rigorous math program to ensure that by eighth grade all students will pass algebra before entering high school. She has challenged DPS to go beyond the recommendations of Excellent Schools Detroit and reach a graduation rate of 98 percent by 2015, as well as a passing rate of 100 percent for the Michigan Educational Assessment Program. tices like equestrian law were a rarity when she graduated from Emory University School of Law in 1986. But her involvement in small area horse shows led her to realize her profession and her passion could overlap. Fershtman estimates equestrian law accounts for 25 percent of her practice, though it has made up more than 40 percent in some years. She also practices insurance coverage and defense, commercial litigation, agricultural law and premises liability. She also is president-elect of the State Bar of Michigan and the first woman to hold the post since the late Kimberly Cahill in 20062007. sider just the short term. “We expect tremendous growth in Southwest Detroit … and all of that takes a tremendous amount of time and commitment,” said Gutierrez, 48. Saunteel Jenkins Member, Detroit City Council Saunteel Jenkins’ eight months on the council have been a trial by fire, with mayoral control of the Detroit Public Schools just one of the contentious issues the councilwoman has had to navigate. During that time, Jenkins, 39, has become a quiet-voiced, wellinformed presence. The native Detroiter has spent her career in social work. Her first taste of politics was as a staffer in the office of the late, legendary Detroit City Council President Maryann Mahaffey. It was Mahaffey’s style of leadership that motivated Jenkins to run for council. “There are lots of people who disagreed with Maryann’s stance on the issues, but there were very few people who could question her integrity. I thought we needed to get back to that, and I felt that I had something to offer.” Valerie Parisi Dean, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit Valerie Parisi, M.D., dean of Wayne State University School of Medicine, said what was more important than finding a solution in 2009 to the nearly yearlong contract impasse with Detroit Medical Center was maintaining a good working relationship with DMC CEO Mike Duggan. Parisi, 58, said the experience deepened the trust between the two top leaders. “The contract was important, but the relationship is important as well,” she said. “This is especially important with Vanguard coming in.” In March, DMC agreed to be acquired by for-profit Vanguard Health Systems Inc. of Nashville. The deal was expected to close in December. During the past year, Parisi also negotiated a closer business relationship with Henry Ford Health System and extended the five-year contract with Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Center. Colleen Haley President, Yazaki North America Inc., Canton Township As president of Yazaki North America’s OEM business unit, Haley, 43, is tasked with leading the supplier out of the industry collapse — it saw a 40 percent sales decline between July 2008 and June 2009. To weather the recession, Yazaki consolidated its North American business units under one umbrella: Haley’s. She manages 450 employees. Haley helped the company net new programs over the past year, including supplying wiring harnesses to Chrysler Group LLC for the new Jeep Grand Cherokee and to General Motors Co. for Cadillac. Yazaki estimates that new business totals have grown to $180 million since mid-2009. Carol Goss CEO, Skillman Foundation, Detroit When Robert Bobb took over Detroit Public Schools in 2008, Goss saw an opportunity. Goss, 62, met with other nonprofit leaders to create Excellent Schools Detroit, a guide to transforming Detroit’s education system. The plan is to open 40 new schools by 2015 and 70 new schools by 2020, raise graduation rates from around 60 percent to 90 percent, recruit leadership from outside the city and more. Goss is working to attract more foundations and independent stakeholders to pay into the initial $200 million investment. Goss also leads Skillman’s effort to make Detroit neighborhoods child-friendly. Maureen Donohue Krauss Director, economic development and community affairs, Oakland County Maureen Donohue Krauss, 48, approaches her job as a regional thinker, while at the same time trying to carve a niche for Michigan’s secondlargest county in economic revitalization. “When we travel overseas, the companies we visit with are already familiar with Detroit and the (metropolitan) region. We have to spend a little more time explaining who we are and what portion of that region we represent,” she said. Among her accomplishments since taking office in July 2009 is the creation of a microloan program for entrepreneurs and small businesses in cooperation with the Ann Arbor-based Center for Empowerment and Economic Development and the U.S. Small Business Administration. The county established a $500,000 pool for Oakland County businesses that have been unable to get traditional loans. Kim Horn CEO, Priority Health, Grand Rapids, Farmington Hills Kim Horn knew what it would take to make Grand Rapids-based Priority Health a statewide health insurer. “We needed to be in the metro Detroit area,” said Horn, 50. In the past several years, Priority Health has expanded throughout Michigan. It now includes 600,000 members, serves 66 of 68 of the counties in the Lower Peninsula and earned net income of $17.4 million on $1.58 billion in revenue in 2009. In July, Priority Health also became one of two HMOs to be selected by Michigan to offer health insurance through the state’s temporary high-risk pool. Priority will serve Southeast Michigan and 57 of the state’s 83 counties. Francine Parker Executive director, UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust, Detroit When the United Auto Workers approached retired CEO of Health Alliance Plan of Michigan Francine Parker, 55, in 2008 later that fall to be executive director of the new UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust, a health plan for retired autoworkers, she jumped at the chance. It wasn’t simple. Each automaker administered benefits in a different way and had different systems, processes and contracts. Another challenge was crafting a benefit package and provider network that would accommodate hundreds of thousands of retirees who live in different states. PEOPLE Sarah Earley Founder and president, Belle Isle Women’s Committee, Birmingham In 2004, Sarah Earley founded the Belle Isle Women’s Committee to raise funds to bring Belle Isle back to what it once was. In the past six years, the group has raised about $2 million through an annual luncheon — which attracted 480 people in May 2010 — at the Belle Isle Casino and two fundraisers at The Henry Ford in Dearborn in conjunction with the Belle Isle Grand Prix in 2007 and 2008. In fall 2009, the group completed its first project on the island’s western tip, a two-and-a-half-year effort to tear down a concreteblock comfort station and install sidewalks, a garden, trees, benches, tables and grills. Earley, 60, and her committee are planning their next project: the restoration of the clay tile roof of the 1800s-vintage horse stables near the middle of the island. She also envisions bicycle rentals on Belle Isle, kayaking and canoeing on its inland canals, a reopened aquarium and horticultural programs. Kelly Major Green Executive vice president, United Way for Southeastern Michigan, Detroit As executive vice president at United Way for Southeastern Michigan, Green is charged with motivating people to give time and money. Historically, United Way has focused on organizations, engaging companies and making grants to nonprofits, said Green, 42. Her role, now, is to engage more individuals. “We need different stakeholders to do different things,” she said. Donna Inch Chairman and CEO, Ford Motor Land Development Corp., Dearborn When Donna Inch, 54, took the job as head of Ford Motor Land Development Corp., the real estate subsidiary of Ford Motor Co. in January 2009, she knew full well what she was getting into. “It’s the kind of position that puts all your business skills to bear,” she said. The staff of 200 manages all the Ford office, manufacturing and warehouse space, and is ultimately responsible for leasing or selling vacant space. Aside from her national and international responsibilities, Inch is also the lead decisionmaker on the 15 million-squarefoot portfolio of local real estate controlled by Ford, putting her in the league of some of the largest local landlords. Marjorie Simmons Managing principal and chairman of the board, SHW Group LLP, Berkley In 2008, Marjorie Simmons, 46, oversaw the merger of the architecture firm she co-owned, Duce Simmons Associates, with the large national firm. When Duce Simmons entered the K-12 market, she met SHW, which was trying to enter the higher-education market. In 2003, the two firms merged with the creation of SHW as a Michigan corporation, co-owned by the SHW corporate office and by the principals of Duce Simmons. The national SHW firm expected to have an estimated $60 million in gross revenue in 2010, with roughly 20 percent of that coming from the Michigan entity, Simmons said. Barbara McQuade U.S. attorney, Eastern District of Michigan, Detroit Barbara McQuade, 45, in January 2009 became the first woman U.S. attorney after five years as deputy chief of the office’s National Security Unit. She reorganized her staff in May to focus on priorities and break the financial fraud division into units for white-collar crime, complex fraud and health care fraud. Her top priorities are prosecuting terrorism and violent crime, followed by public corruption, financial fraud and civil rights. She has appointed women to five senior management positions and hired nine attorneys to new positions. The office has 115 attorneys and a $24 million budget. Lydia Gutierrez President, Hacienda Mexican Foods LLC, Detroit The president and CEO of Detroitbased Hacienda Mexican Foods LLC oversees three facilities, 80-plus employees and a company with $8 million to $10 million in revenue. As chairman of the board of directors of the Southwest Detroit Business Association, she helps shape her community. Business community meetings in Southwest Detroit center not just on the immediate neighborhood, Gutierrez said, but on how it all fits together. It’s also not sufficient to con- Julie Fershtman Of counsel, Zausmer, Kaufman, August, Caldwell & Tayler PC, Farmington Hills Julie Fershtman, 49, said niche prac-

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crain's Detroit Business - 2011 Book of Lists

Crain's Detroit Business - 2011 Book of Lists
The Big Picture
10 things to watch in 2011
10 things to remember about 2010
Private 200
Fastest-growing companies
Public school districts
Top-compensated CEOs
Top-compensated non-CEOs
Metro Detroit employers
Wayne County employers
City of Detroit employers
Livingston County employers
Washtenaw County employers
Macomb County employers
Oakland County employers
Publicly held companies
Hispanic-owned businesses
Native American-owned businesses
Asian-owned companies
Black-owned businesses
Woman-owned businesses
The Motor City
Airlines Serving Detroit Metro
Professional Sports Teams
Auto Suppliers
Auto Dealers
Aftermarket Suppliers
Divisions
Defense Contractors
New Economy/Health Care
Family-owned companies
IP law firms
Group health plans
Hospital companies
Physician organizations
Graduate business degrees
Engineering companies
Environmental companies
IT companies
Biotech companies
People/Awards
Salute to Entrepreneurs
CFO Awards
40 Under 40
Best Lawyers
20 in their 20s
Women to Watch
M&A Awards
Most Connected
Finance
Capital campaigns
Accounting firms
Banks and thrifts
Money managers
Business insurance agencies
SBA Lenders
Real Estate/Services
Office furniture dealers
Nonprofits
Meeting facilities
General contractors
Architects
Property managers
Residential brokers
Staffing companies
Logistics firms
Law firms
Classifieds
Index of Companies

Crain's Detroit Business - 2011 Book of Lists