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On the hunt
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Shoe Co. could be a fit
for Stuart Weitzman. 9
DECEMBER 26, 2014-JANUARY 1, 2015 • VOL. 35, NO. 18 • 36 PAGES
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2 St. LOUIS Business Journal
A, B, C
Almeida, David................... 6
Anderson, Cleo................. 17
Auffenberg, James Jr......... 10
Barnes, Ron........................ 4
Bommarito, Frank............. 10
Bommarito, John.............. 10
Brown, Don...................... 10
Brown, Mark....................... 4
Bueckman, Debbie............ 13
Busch, Steven..................... 8
Butler, Jim........................ 10
Byrne, Paul......................... 8
Cerame, Richard............... 10
Cerame, Robert................. 10
Cerame, Thomas............... 10
Chambers, Roni.................. 6
Cross, Brian...................... 22
Cunningham, Karen........... 10
Cunningham, Wayne......... 10
D, E, F
Dean, Patrick.................... 10
Dean, William................... 10
Del Pietro, Michael.............. 8
Douglass, Gary.................... 4
Driver, Jamie.................... 18
Edmond, Luiz Fernando....... 6
Ellis, Catherine................. 10
Ernstrom, Dr. Ed............... 19
Feldman, Richard.............. 16
Fletcher, Ben.................... 14
Fry, Dennis....................... 19
Furr, Johnny....................... 8
Fusz, Lou Jr...................... 10
Fusz, Lou Sr...................... 10
G, H, J
Gooding, Jay.................... 20
Gorczyca, Jim..................... 8
Graham, Amy.................... 14
Gray, David....................... 20
Greenspahn, Mark........... 6, 7
Hart, Mike.......................... 4
Hennekes, Thomas............ 10
Hill, Ray............................. 8
Honke, Rob....................... 21
Hughes, Steve................... 18
Hunt, Scott....................... 12
Hunter, Steve...................... 8
Jinkerson, Mary................ 10
Johnson, Mike.................. 22
Jones, Bill Jr....................... 4
K, L, M
Kelly, Robert..................... 10
Kirn, Kim.......................... 18
Kruszewski, Ron.................. 4
Kuplent, Florian.................. 8
LaCour, Bob...................... 11
Leta, Antoinette................ 10
Leta, Frank....................... 10
Levy, Caroline..................... 6
Londoff, John Jr................ 10
Longyear, Julie................. 12
Lowenhaupt, Charles........... 4
Magney, Lorraine.............. 13
Maher, Beverly.................. 10
Maher, Kevin..................... 10
Marshall, Ed..................... 16
McLaughlin, Laura............ 22
Melzer, Tom........................ 5
Monroe, Gina...................... 6
Muhleman, Doug................ 8
N, P, R
Neill, Eddie......................... 8
Neves, João Castro.............. 6
Noonan, Meg.................... 14
Pappas, Thomas................ 10
Peacock, Dave.................... 6
Ponturo, Tony..................... 8
Pratt, Mike......................... 8
Rainford, Jeff..................... 6
Roth, Sally.......................... 4
Ruder, Kevin....................... 8
S, T
Sapaugh, Beverly.............. 10
Sapaugh, Larry................. 10
Schaefer, Mary.................. 17
Schewe, Kerri................... 20
Schicker, William.............. 10
Schmelter, Jay.................... 5
Schmitt, Jack.................... 10
Schoen, Tim................... 7, 8
Seeger, Tom...................... 10
Shaw, Patrick.................... 21
Slay, Francis....................... 6
Socquet, Jorn..................... 6
Sowers, Brad.................... 10
Sowers, Brad.................... 19
Steinman, Benj................... 6
Sullivan, Diane.................... 9
Szpatoski, Mary................ 13
Terril, Joe........................... 4
Tisone, Kathy.................... 12
Trenary, Jim..................... 10
Tuberty, Dave................... 16
V, W
Verheyen, Paul.................. 11
Voges, Henry.................... 21
Vonder Haar, Joe................. 8
Watson, Jim........................ 4
Webb, David....................... 4
Weber, George III.............. 10
Whittington, Kit................ 17
Winkler, Steve..................... 8
Wojtkowski, Donald.......... 11
Wolfe, David....................... 8
R companies in the issueR People in the issue
Index
publisher: Ellen Sherberg
esherberg@bizjournals.com,
314-421-8310
editor: Patricia Miller
tmiller@bizjournals.com,
314-421-8326
managing editor: Joe Dwyer
jdwyer@bizjournals.com,
314-421-8324
print Editor: Vince Brennan
vbrennan@bizjournals.com,
314-421-8323
Digital producer: Jacob Kirn
jkirn@bizjournals.com,
314-421-8392
researcher: Katlyn Keller
kkeller@bizjournals.com,
314-421-8309
R contact
Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville
A chart on enrollment at area colleges and universities was incorrect in the Nov.
21 issue due to inaccurate information provided by Southern Illinois University-
Edwardsville. SIUE’s total local fall enrollment in 2013 was 5,944; the university
therefore saw a 4 percent increase in enrollment from 2013 to 2014.
R Correction
A, B, C
901 Tequila........................ 8
Anheuser-Busch.................. 8
Anheuser-Busch-InBev.... 6, 8
Answers Corp..................... 5
Apax Partners..................... 5
Armstrong Teasdale LLP.... 12
Blissoma.......................... 12
Brew Hub........................... 8
Brown Shoe Co.................... 9
Busch Gardens.................... 7
Byrne PR............................ 8
Career Innovation
Partners............................. 6
Cassidy Turley................... 21
Centerre Healthcare............ 5
City of Manchester............ 16
City of Webster Groves...... 11
CNA Insurance Co.............. 14
Community Council of St.
Charles County................. 13
Concord Bank..................... 4
CPAs for Hire.................... 19
Crown Center for Senior
Living.............................. 17
D, E, F
Don Brown Automotive
Group.............................. 10
Dot Foods......................... 13
Elasticity.......................... 22
ELCO Chevrolet Inc........... 10
Enterprise Rent-A-Car....... 10
Ernstrom Spinal Rehab ..... 19
Evans & Dixon LLC............. 14
Facility Planning Inc............ 8
Famous Footwear................ 9
Federal Reserve Bank of St.
Louis.................................. 4
Ferguson Brewing
Company............................ 8
FierceBiotech..................... 5
First National Bank of
Waterloo............................ 4
Frank Leta Automotive
Group.............................. 10
Frontenac Bank................... 4
Furr Strategy Group LLC...... 8
Fusion Marketing................ 6
G, H, I
Grace Hill Settlement
House.............................. 27
Grant’s Farm....................... 7
Halski Studio.................... 14
Harman International
Industries........................... 5
Heartland Bank................... 4
Hit Your Stride LLC............ 18
Honke Properties.............. 21
Husch Blackwell................ 16
Impact Group................... 16
Independent Schools of St.
Louis ............................... 18
iSEE Innovations Inc............ 8
J, K, L, M
Jack Schmitt Automotive
Group.............................. 10
Jim Butler Auto Group....... 19
Jim Trenary Automotive Group
10
JLL................................... 21
Johnny Londoff Chevrolet
Inc................................... 10
Kirmser Ponturo Group
LLC.................................... 8
Krey Distributing
Company............................ 8
Logan University............... 22
Lowenhaupt Global
Advisors............................. 4
Lumena Pharmaceuticals..... 5
Mark Twain Bank................. 4
Meramec Valley Bank.......... 4
Mid-East Area Agency on
Aging............................... 17
Midland States Bank............ 4
Midwest BankCentre........... 4
Monsanto......................... 11
MTM Inc........................... 20
Muhleman Family
Vineyards........................... 8
N, O, P, R
Naturalizer.com.................. 9
Novus International.......... 13
O’Fallon Brewery ............... 8
OnlineShoes.com................ 9
Otonomy............................ 5
Paul Cerame Automotive
Group.............................. 10
Plaza Motor Co................. 10
Pole Position Raceway-St.
Louis................................ 22
Post Holdings Inc. ............ 27
Prairie National Bank of
Stewardson........................ 4
Pulaski Bank....................... 4
Regions Bank...................... 4
RiverVest Venture Partners.. 5
Royal Gate Dodge Chrysler
Jeep................................. 10
S
SamEdelman.com............... 9
Sapaugh Automotive
Group.............................. 10
Scottrade Bank................... 4
Seeger Toyota................... 10
Seniors Home Care............ 17
ShipWorks.......................... 5
Shire Plc............................. 5
SHOEme............................. 9
SHOEme.ca......................... 9
Shoes.com.......................... 9
South County Dodge......... 10
SSM Health Care............... 11
St. Charles Automotive...... 10
St. Louis Arc..................... 12
Stamps.com....................... 5
Stifel Bank & Trust ............. 4
Sugo’s Spaghetteria............ 8
T, U, V, W, Z
Terril & Co.......................... 4
The Dean Team Automotive
Group.............................. 10
The Dubliner....................... 8
Tom Pappas Toyota Scion... 10
Tri Star Imports and Honda of
Frontenac......................... 10
Two Feet In The Sand.......... 6
Urban Chestnut Brewing Co..8
ViaSpiga.com...................... 9
Washington University School
of Medicine...................... 20
Weber Automotive
Group.............................. 10
Wells Fargo....................... 20
Winkler Productions ........... 8
ZS Pharma ......................... 5
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erican
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December 26, 2014-January 1, 2015 3
To experience excellence on your next project, visit us at:
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READERS GUIDe
Table of contents
Lead Stories
Balance sheets stabilize at St. Louis banks | 4
RiverVest posts profitable 2014 with more to come | 5
Brown Shoe Co. eyeing a purchase in 2015? | 9
R COMING UP
RR Twitter: Follow us @stlouisbiz
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RR Morning Edition: An email digest of top stories
from local, regional and national sources.
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RR Afternoon Edition: An afternoon roundup of the
day’s stories.
ST. LOUIS BUSINESS JOURNAL (ISSN 0271-6453) is published weekly
every Friday, except semi-weekly the first week in January, by St. Louis
Business Journal Corp., Old Post Office, 815 Olive Street, Suite 100, St. Louis
MO, 63101, 314-421-6200. Copyright 2014 St. Louis Business Journal.
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RR Jan. 2: Largest IT
consultants, largest
data centers
RR Jan. 9: Largest hotels,
largest conventions and
group meetings
RR Jan. 16: Largest
commercial real estate
firms
Now surveying for
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and environmental
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to be on The List? Email
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EVENTS
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The Regulars
List: Largest auto dealers | 10
Focus: Entrepreneur’s Encyclopedia | 11
Leads: Information to build your business | 23
People: Promotions and new hires | 26
The Fine Print: Post Holdings Inc.,
Grace Hill Settlement House | 27
Editorial: A year of trust | 28
Reflections: Mark Vittert’s column | 28
The Pulse: Business Journal poll | 29
Your Turn: Happy holidays | 29
Table of Experts: Year-end tax planning | Pullout
Q This week, the St. Louis Business Journal
announced its 2015 class of 40 Under 40
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Greg Edwards
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Year in review
Banks stabilize balance sheets, but lending struggles
B
anks in St. Louis continued to
strengthen their credit and balance
sheets this year but remained mired
in stagnant loan demand, low interest
rates on the loans they were able to make
and costly government regulations.
Profitsincreased11percentto$400mil-
lion at 85 banks based in St. Louis through
Sept. 30, and loans increased 13 percent to
$28.1 billion, the Federal Reserve Bank of
St.Louisreported.Whilebalancesheetsare
muchimproved,theylagtheircounterparts
nationwide in net interest margin, return
on average assets, nonperforming assets to
totalassetsandTexasratio.Growthalsohas
been hampered by the competitive land-
scape here. St. Louis is the second most
competitive metropolitan area in banking
and the fifth most competitive even when
smaller U.S. cities are included, according
to the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index.
What’s more, a Business Journal sur-
vey in October found St. Louis has more
branches—922—thanithadin2006andfar
more bank than Cincinnati, Indianapolis,
Kansas City, Louisville, Memphis, Milwau-
kee, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Nashville.
Scottrade Bank and Stifel Bank & Trust
continued to be major drivers of what
growth there has been in St. Louis. They
didn’t even exist a few years ago but have
been wildly successful in attracting busi-
ness from the Scot-
trade and Stifel,
Nicolaus bro-
kerages. By asset
size, Scottrade has
become the largest
bank based here,
with $19.3 billion
in assets, and Stifel
is the third largest,
with $5 billion in
assets.
As in 2013, many
banks continued to
look for acquisitions, but they haven’t had
much luck. Gary Douglass, CEO of Pulas-
ki Bank, one of those on the hunt, said,
“One of the reasons we have not seen more
recent transactions is that there often con-
tinues to be too wide a difference between
what a seller thinks they are worth versus
what the buyer thinks they are worth.”
Exceptions were few. Midland States
Bank, with $1.8 billion in assets, cleared
regulatory hurdles for its acquisition of
Heartland Bank, with $901 million in
assets. And First National Bank of Water-
loo, with $639 million in assists, acquired
Prairie National Bank of Stewardson, Illi-
nois, with $55 million in assets.
Succession and succession planning
also were prominent in 2014:
R Jim Watson succeeded retiring Ron
Barnes as chairman of Midwest BankCen-
tre, with $1.1 billion in assets. The two had
worked together for more than 30 years,
way back to Mark Twain Bank.
R Sally Roth, St. Louis area president of
Regions Bank, retired and was succeeded
byMikeHart,whohadbeenareapresident
in Indianapolis.
R At Meramec Valley Bank, Bill Jones
Jr., chairman and CEO, chose a successor,
David Webb, and gave him an ownership
stake. Webb had been executive vice pres-
ident and senior lender at Frontenac Bank.
Bankers and other finance pros provide
the Business Journal with valuable
insights throughout the year. Here are a
few that stuck with us in 2014.
“It’s a big deal because I’m giving up the
presidency. But I’m still chairman and
CEO — till death do us part”
— Ron Kruszewski after announcing he
was giving up his president’s title at Stifel
Financial Corp. to a trio of executives.
“Succession planning is our business.
We have to lead by example”
— Charles Lowenhaupt, 67, chairman
and founder of Lowenhaupt Global
Advisors, which manages more than
$900 million in assets for 75 wealthy
families, upon passing his chief executive
title to Mark Brown, 50, who has been
chief operating officer eight years.
“I hope to get Concord sold, and I hope
never to hear the name of a private
bank as long as I live”
— Joe Terril, owner of Terril & Co. and
a Concord Bank director, after deals to
sell the bank repeatedly fell apart.
R Overheard
Sally
Roth
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biotech
big year
RiverVest turns in strong
2014, eyes 2015 growth
R
iverVest Venture Partners, the Clay-
ton-based venture capital firm,
has for several years been consid-
ered one of the leading investing firms
in the nation when it comes to medical
technology.
This year may be its best campaign yet.
RiverVest exited a dozen portfolio com-
panies since 2011, returning $290.5 mil-
lion to the firm, or 3.5 times the dollars
investedinthosecompanies($83million).
In2014,RiverVestexitedfourofitsport-
folio companies —
two through public
offerings and two
via acquisitions.
“We’re real-
ly pleased with
the performance
we’ve seen in 2014
— it was a very
strong year for us,”
said Jay Schmelt-
er, who co-found-
ed the firm along
with Tom Melzer
in 2000. “But that
success is really
part of the process
and we’ll contin-
ue to make invest-
ments and hope
to exit companies
within the three to
five year period we
plan for.”
The two IPOs —
from biopharmaceutical companies Oto-
nomy and ZS Pharma — combined to raise
more than $200 million for RiverVest.
FierceBiotech, a publication that tracks
biotech and pharmaceutical deals, rated
those two offerings among the most suc-
cessful of 2014 in the biotech industry.
The two acquisitions — Lumena Phar-
maceuticals for $260 million in cash by
Shire Plc., in May; and Centerre Health-
care for $195 million in cash in November
— returned about $50 million for the firm.
RiverVest officials also believe the
Lumena deal will return another $35 mil-
lion to the firm based on certain clinical
milestones the San Diego-based company
is expected to reach in 2015.
These types of returns have catapult-
ed RiverVest into the upper-echelon of
venture firms, according to a report from
Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry, a
Santa Clara, California-based publication
for medical device manufacturers.
Melzer said he expects RiverVest to
invest in another three to five companies
in 2015, a typical annual quota for the firm
that has more than $250 million in assets
under management.
Melzer said RiverVest usually invests
between $5 million and $12 million per
company spread across multiple financ-
ing rounds.
Schmelter said RiverVest’s success has
dovetailed on the trend of medical device
companies scaling back their research
and development activities.
“They’ve become more dependent on
the venture industry to build the com-
panies they need to continue growth,”
he said. “It’s obviously helped us. We see
that pattern continuing for the foresee-
able future.”
According to EY, U.S. and European
medtech companies raised a combined
$27.3 billion during the 12-month peri-
od ending June 30, a 14 percent decrease
compared with the year prior, but still the
second-highest capital raise since fiscal
2008. Meanwhile, capital raised via IPOs
increased 600 percent from fiscal 2013 to
$1.5 billion in fiscal 2014.
In March, RiverVest also filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission
plans to create a new $150 million venture
capital fund. Schmelter declined to com-
ment on fundraising activity.
RiverVest’sfirstfundwasformedinSep-
tember 2000 with total private capital of
$45 million.
The firm’s second fund closed in 2008
with $75 million.
Reporter Brian Feldt
$222 million
More than $222 million was invested in
St. Louis startup companies in 2014.
Excluding a $200 million financing
for Answers Corp. last year, this year’s
funding total was a 24 percent increase
when compared with 2013.
“These numbers indicate that
the pipeline of investment-grade
growing startups in the St. Louis
region continues to be robust with
tremendous forward momentum,” said
Gary Broome, a spokesman for the
regional chamber.
Three acquisitions made some of the
biggest headlines for local startups,
including Apax Partners’ $900 million
acquisition of Answers Corp. in August;
Stamps.com’s $22 million purchase
of ShipWorks; and the $37 million
acquisition of yurbuds by Harman
International Industries.
R big number
Tom
Melzer
Jay
Schmelter
Am
erican
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ercialuse

“When you’re walking into work through
the back door, you walk through a vacant
building,” said Roni Chambers, an ex-A-B
employee who created a career development
business. “The emotional toll is huge for some-
body there.”
Mark Greenspahn, who spent 31 years at
the company and is now the unofficial résumé
writer for displaced A-B workers, said outlying
offices, in Sunset Hills and near the Gateway
Mall downtown, have also been cleared out.
The latest in a steady stream of layoffs began
aroundNovember,affectingatminimummany
dozens of employees across information tech-
nology,marketing,fieldsalesandprocurement.
At the same time, the company’s sales
and marketing hubs are headed to New York
City, raising questions about Anheuser-Busch
InBev’s long-term commitment to St. Louis, its
North American headquarters.
Benj Steinman, publisher and editor of Beer
Marketer’s Insights, said now that the takeover
is more of a distant memory, A-B InBev can
begin to move certain functions away from
St. Louis.
“Initially, A-B InBev wanted to show that
they were not turning their back on St. Louis.
That was really important when the takeover
first happened,” Steinman said. “Now we’re
some years down the road, and they’re chang-
ing things up somewhat.”
Steinman called the move expected, “and it
wouldn’t be irrational to expect further devel-
opments along these lines,” he said.
What’s left
Interviews and government records show
that some of the fears expressed by regional
leaders prior to A-B’s $52 billion sale in 2008
— namely that the brewer’s long ties to this
area could be diminished — have been realized.
About 6,000 people worked for A-B in the
St. Louis area before the merger. The compa-
ny has said that number was about 4,000 at
the end of 2011. The company refused to pro-
vide local workforce figures to the Business
Journal.
It’s telling, though, that Greenspahn has
written 1,000 résumés in the past five years,
350 of which were for ex-A-B workers. The
experience has given him an up-close look at
the new downsized A-B, which is, above all,
cost-conscious.
“Consistently over time they’ve reduced
their workforce and increased profitability,”
Greenspahn said, citing the company’s share
price, which has risen more than 40 per-
cent since the sale went through in Novem-
ber 2008. A-B in 2007 reported sales of nearly
$19 billion and profit of $2.1 billion. By 2013,
revenue was $43.2 billion, but the company’s
profit reached $16.5 billion. “They’ve done a
great job at that,” Greenspahn said.
Decision makers leave
InBev faced opposition from area leaders
when it set its sights on A-B, which was found-
ed in St. Louis in 1879 by Eberhard Anheuser
and Adolphus Busch.
They feared InBev, a Belgian company previ-
ously called Interbrew that got its cost-cutting
reputation and name after acquiring Brazil’s
AmBev in 2004, would forever change A-B —
and uproot its headquarters.
“We’re certainly not going to go quietly,” St.
Louis Mayor Francis Slay, a vocal opponent of
the deal, said in June 2008.
Thousands of layoffs occurred quickly
throughout the U.S. after the merger, which
former Anheuser-Busch President Dave Pea-
cock previously likened to ripping off a Band-
Aid. But since then, A-B InBev has become
more quiet about its continuous cuts, includ-
ing those at One Busch Place in St. Louis.
Larger moves do make headlines, though,
including its shuttering of Busch Media Group,
its longtime in-house media unit that counted
dozens of employees (A-B InBev this fall out-
sourced media planning and buying to WPP
Group’s MediaCom).
Jeff Rainford, Slay’s chief of staff, said deci-
building connected to Anheuser-Busch’s main offices in Soulard is
now largely empty, a daily reminder of the layoffs and cost cuts
implemented by InBev. Building 181, a six-story structure with
three floors of parking, once housed anywhere from 300 to 400
sales and marketing employees, former workers said.
BY Jacob Kirn
jkirn@bizjournals.com
314-421-8392 @stlbizjkirn
cover story
Am
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sions to move corporate jobs were out of city
government’s control.
“We’re maintaining a good relationship
between the mayor’s office and executives, but
that will only take you so far,” Rainford said.
“If they’re making strategic international deci-
sions based on their business model, that’s not
something we can affect.”
Still, the company in 2011 said it would
invest more than $1 billion in its U.S. brew-
eries and facilities by 2014, including to mod-
ernize operations here. Jim Brickey, A-B’s vice
president of people, said in a statement that the
company has invested more than $300 million
in its St. Louis operations since 2009.
It is also investing $150 million in its Arnold
metal container facility, creating 70 jobs.
Rainford said the brewery and plant jobs
now make up 80 percent of A-B InBev’s total
employment in the region.
“They are primarily a manufacturer here, a
producer of beer,” Rainford said. “A-B is still
going to remain a major employer, and we’re
going to treat them with respect.”
The drop off in employment numbers —
along with a shift in corporate culture — have
led to physical changes at the company’s Sou-
lard headquarters, once home to plush private
offices.
A-B InBev employees now work in an open
office environment, freeing up space.
And all costs must now be justified, not
merely scrutinized.
A-B InBev uses zero-based budgeting, in
which budgets are regularly built from zero,
with nothing assumed, said Caroline Levy, a
beverage analyst with brokerage group CLSA.
The brewer has continually grappled with
declining sales volume as consumers’ tastes
change, all while largely maintaining profit
margins.
In a move likely unrelated to cost, A-B InBev
said earlier this month it would relocate its top
sales and marketing executives to New York
City. A-B would not say how many St. Lou-
is jobs would go with them, instead commu-
nicating through a statement that the move
would allow for proximity to marketing part-
ners, advertising agencies and the company’s
global functional office in Manhattan.
The office will be headed by David Almeida,
A-B vice president of sales, and Jorn Socquet,
vice president of marketing.
“You can’t have one central decision maker
sitting in St. Louis who’s not getting access to
everything in the head office,” Levy, the ana-
lyst, said of A-B InBev’s thinking.
The brewer declined to make anyone avail-
Mark Greenspahn grew up in Miami
Beach, Florida and attended the Univer-
sity of South Florida. During summers he
worked a snack bar job at Busch Gardens,
owned at the time by Anheuser-Busch.
After college, he stayed on, running rides.
“Then my mom told me I had to get
a real job,” he said, so Greenspahn did
accounting work for the park.
An A-B vice president eventually
offered Greenspahn a job as an assistant
in St. Louis. A string of positions with the
company followed, including opening
barbecue restaurants in Florida and Ari-
zona, and managing A-B’s soccer park in
Fenton, which hosted several Team USA
World Cup qualifying matches in the late
1980s. He also built hospitality centers at
the company’s Sea World parks and man-
aged Grant’s Farm for a time.
Greenspahn’s final A-B job, which he
held about 10 years, was director of con-
temporary event marketing (he put on
live promotional events, at Super Bowls
and the Salt Lake City and Atlanta Olym-
pic Games, for example). But after manag-
ing 1,000 people and a $50 million annual
budget in that role, the brewer fired him
on May 15, 2008, as it tried to stave off
InBev by cutting costs.
“It took three months just to get my life
back in order,” Greenspahn said. Eventu-
ally, following projects with former A-B
executive Tim Schoen and others, a friend,
realizing that Greenspahn had interviewed
thousands of job applicants during his
career, asked him to work on his son’s
résumé.
Greenspahn’s friend was taken with the
finished product and suggested he charge
for the service.
“I thought, ‘What the heck? I’ll give it a
shot,’” Greenspahn said. “So I put it on my
Facebook, and within five minutes, one of
my ex-employees responded... It has just
exploded from there.”
He now has difficulty keeping up with
the workload; there are 85 clients in his
résumé queue, 30 of whom are ex-A-B
employees, and he’s looking to scale up,
including by hiring his first employees.
— Jacob Kirn
An A-B lifer, ‘til he wasn’t
DILIP VISHWANAT | SLBJ
able to answer questions about the move.
João Castro Neves, who will replace Luiz
Fernando Edmond as president of A-B InBev
North America on Jan. 1, will split time
between St. Louis and New York, a company
spokeswoman said in an email.
Levy, who’s based in Manhattan and has
interacted with company executives, said she
believes “the strategic decisions have probably
been made in New York anyway.”
St. Louis is still the company’s North Ameri-
canheadquarters—“fornow,”Greenspahnsaid.
“While A-B is a beer company, it’s really a
marketing machine,” he said. “And now that
marketing machine is being moved.”
What’s next?
Greenspahn and Chambers have created
positive outcomes from difficult circumstanc-
es they never thought they’d see.
Chambers, a former A-B human resourc-
es director for the sales division, runs Career
Innovation Partners, a company that helps
people transition after layoffs. It is growing,
and she currently has about 20 ex-A-B clients.
“I have some exercises that help people
understand their strengths and skills and
how to take what they’ve done historically
and transition it into a new space,” Cham-
bers said.
Gina Monroe, who worked for 15 years at
A-B, was a client of Greenspahn’s business,
Two Feet In The Sand. He rewrote her résumé
and she’s now at a position with Fusion Mar-
keting downtown.
Monroe said that during her time as an
HR employee at A-B, she referred many dis-
placed employees to Greenspahn, who can
Continued on next Page
“While A-B is a beer company,
it’s really a marketing
machine. And now that
marketing machine is being
moved.”
Mark Greenspahn,
An A-B employee for 31 years
Am
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Tim Schoen
worked for
Anheuser-
Busch for 28
years before
leaving his post
as vice president of global sports and
entertainment marketing in 2009. He is
now the co-founder and CEO of Brew
Hub, a company that provides brewing,
packaging, distribution and sales services
to craft brewers. Brew Hub is planning on
opening its Chesterfield headquarters in
2016.
David Wolfe,
former senior
director -
communication
strategy and
insights at A-B,
and Florian
Kuplent, former
staff brewmaster,
opened Urban
Chestnut Brewing
Co. in 2010.
Urban Chestnut
is a microbrewery with locations in the
Midtown Alley neighborhood and the
Grove.
In 2009, Tony
Ponturo left
Anheuser-Busch
and started his
own company,
Ponturo
Management
Group, which provides consulting,
managing and investing in media, sports
and entertainment. Ponturo was formerly
the media and sports marketing chief at
A-B. In 2012, Ponturo merged with Fran
Kirmser to form the Kirmser Ponturo
Group LLC.
After 31 years,
Johnny Furr
retired from
his role as vice
president for
community affairs
and consumer
outreach at A-B in 2010 to start his own
company, Furr Strategy Group LLC. The
firm, which provides consulting and
support to nonprofits and corporations,
boasts the Anheuser-Busch Foundation
as one of its first clients.
Mike Pratt and
Steve Hunter
started Facility
Planning Inc.
in 2010 soon
after leaving
their positions
at A-B. Hunter
was the manager
of wholesaler
facilities planning
at A-B, and Pratt
was a project
manager in the same department. Facility
Planning Inc. specializes in planning,
design and construction management
for the beer and beverage industries
nationwide.
Ferguson Brewing
Company was
not always
independent, and
was not always
Ferguson Brewing
Company.
Founder Ray Hill previously had a
distribution contract with A-B for his Hill
Brewing Company Inc., which dissolved
in 2008 following the InBev merger.
Ferguson Brewing Company is the result.
Winkler
Productions
began in 2009
following Steve
Winkler’s 26-
year career
at A-B as the director of Bud sports
productions. After learning that A-B’s
full-service television, radio and Internet
broadcast unit would be shut down,
Winkler founded the production services
company.
O’Fallon Brewery
opened in 2000
and former
marketing
executive at A-B,
Jim Gorczyca,
bought the
brewery in 2011. Production at the
microbrewery doubled in Gorczyca’s
first year and underwent an $8 million
expansion in 2013.
Doug Muhleman
traded beer for
wine after the
InBev merger
and left his
post as group
vice president of brewing operations
and technology in 2009 to found the
Muhleman Family Vineyards with his
wife, Juli.
R Where have all of the A-B employees gone?
now charge $295 per résumé and is
looking to hire writers to grow his
business.
Joe Buttice, who in September left
A-Bafter16years,workedwithGreen-
spahntolandhisnewpositionasmar-
keting director at Lion’s Choice.
“I had such good luck with him,”
Buttice said. “I have recommend-
ed him to several of my former col-
leagues and friends.”
Greenspahn said it’s bittersweet to
have considerable business, much of
it from these latest “legacy layoffs,”
as they’re being called inside A-B
InBev. “I get a lot of satisfaction out
of getting people to their next chal-
lenge,” he said, adding, though, that
the ex-A-B talent now looking for
jobs here might saturate the market.
Greenspahn said more employees
who are still at A-B in St. Louis are
calling him, requesting his services.
“There’s huge uncertainty in
their mind of what the future might
bring,” he said.
Continued FROM previous Page
At his Sugo’s Spaghetteria restau-
rant in Frontenac, Michael Del Pietro
used to stock six of his eight bottled
beer selections with Anheuser-Bus-
ch products. These days he carries
just one. His taps have changed, too,
to offer more local craft beers after
customers asked after them.
“You can tell the public is look-
ing for something other than just a
Bud Light,” Del Pietro said. “Bud and
Bud Light are kind of a thing of the
past.” To be sure, A-B products hav-
en’t gone away, but across the coun-
try the brewer’s staple beers, includ-
ing Budweiser and Bud Light, have
lost ground
to craft beers
and imports,
prompting the
company to
add to its own
craft portfolio.
The craft
beer market
has grown
rapidly in
recent years.
According to
the Brewer’s Association, craft beer
sales, at 15.3 million barrels, grew by
17.2 percent in 2013 even as the over-
all beer sales declined by 1.9 percent.
Meanwhile A-B InBev sales in North
America during 2013 remained flat
but still relatively robust at 61 mil-
lion hectoliters, or about 52 million
barrels, according to A-B InBev’s
2013 annual report.
Budweiser’s share of the U.S.
market has dropped from 10.1 per-
cent in 2008 to 7.6 percent in 2013,
and Bud Light dropped from 19.3
percent to 18 percent, according to
data from Beer Marketer’s Insights.
During the same time, craft beer as
a segment gained more than 3 per-
cent of the market, from a 4.1 mar-
ket share in 2008 to 7.6 percent 2013.
With more than 16 million barrels
sold, craft brews as a whole slightly
outperformed the Budweiser brand
for the first time in 2013. The sheer
number of breweries is also a reflec-
tion of the changing times within
the U.S. beer market. In 1983, there
were just 49 breweries, according to
the Brewer’s Almanac. By 2012 there
were 2,751. Between 2006 and 2012
alone, the country added more than
1,000 breweries.
Who sells what to whom can get
complicated, depending on the ven-
ue. At The Dubliner, at 1025 Wash-
ington Ave., owner Eddie Neill said
he keeps five Irish beers, six or seven
craft beers and no Budweiser prod-
ucts on tap. That’s not because his
customers don’t drink Budweiser,
but because his Bud drinkers pre-
fer bottles over tap. During a typical
weekend, the bar carries between 62
and 70 cases of Budweiser products,
which increases to 150-200 cas-
es during conventions and special
events. Neill also points out that his
clientele is diverse and can range in
age from 21 to 81. Craft beer drink-
ers typically have higher education
levels and drink earlier in the day,
he said.
Again, it’s not as though people
have stopped drinking Budweiser.
Steven Busch, president and owner
of Krey Distributing Company in St.
Peters, has seen sales of A-B products
increase recently, in part because A-B
has added new craft products such
as Goose Island and Shock Top to
its lineup, as well as new Bud prod-
ucts like Bud Light Lime-a-Rita. In
November, the company decided to
divest its non-A-B beers and distrib-
ute A-B products exclusively starting
Jan. 1. “We have few if any no-buy
accounts” for A-B products, Busch
said. “The nut of it is we’re gaining
distribution, and A-B is adding more
distribution than ever.”
— Ben Unglesbee
Can Bud’s slide be stopped?
Michael
Del Pietro
cover story
Former A-B marketing executive, Kevin
Ruder, started 901 Tequila with pop
artist Justin Timberlake in 2009. Ruder,
who is the president of 901 tequila, left
beer and A-B in 2008 for tequila sales in
Chesterfield.
In late 2011, the former brand manager
at A-B opened Byrne PR, a full-service
marketing and PR consultancy. Paul
Byrne represents many of the companies
created by his former colleagues like
O’Fallon Brewery and Brew Hub, as well
as his former employer, Anheuser-Busch.
Joe Vonder Haar started iSEE Innovations
Inc., in 2010 following a 28-year stint with
Anheuser-Busch and retiring as the vice
president of convenience store channel.
ISEE Innovations is an organization
of season design engineering,
manufacturing, marketing and sales
professions.
— Katlyn Keller
Am
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retail
Ibunglesbee@bizjournals.com
Reporter Ben Unglesbee
B
rown Shoe Co. gave itself the gift
of cash for this year’s holidays. The
Clayton-based owner of Famous
Footwear and wholesale shoe brands sold
Shoes.com on Dec. 15 to SHOEme, own-
er of OnlineShoes.com and SHOEme.ca.
The e-commerce site sold for an undis-
closed amount, but Brown Shoe said in a
release that the company expects the sale
to turn into a gain for the fourth quarter
of fiscal 2014.
“Since 2000, Shoes.com has helped us
greatly advance our e-commerce efforts
at a pace ahead of the industry and has
also served as the platform for many
of our branded wholesale e-commerce
sites, including Naturalizer.com, SamE-
delman.com and ViaSpiga.com, among
others,” said Brown Shoe CEO Diane Sul-
livan in a statement. “While Shoes.com
has been a beneficial part of our com-
pany, we believe now is the right time
to focus our attention on Famous.com
and our branded wholesale e-commerce
sites, as we continue to expand and invest
in more strategic omni-channel, online
and mobile efforts.”
In a separate statement, Brown Shoe
officials said the transaction could affect
a small portion of its staff — less than 1
percent of its employees. “We recognize
the valuable service of these associates
and are encouraging them to consider
open positions within the company and
potential opportunities with SHOEme.
If relevant opportunities don’t exist, we
will be providing severance and transi-
tional assistance.”
Brown Show has also made news
recently for being among the report-
ed suitors for luxury shoe retailer Stu-
art Weitzman. Reuters and the Financial
Times both reported that Brown Shoe is
trying to acquire Stuart Weitzman, which
could be worth anywhere from $600 mil-
lion to $800 million or more. Coach Inc.,
the upscale New York-based fashion
company, and private equity and finan-
cial firms are also in the running to buy
Stuart Weitzman, according to reports.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley pointed to
a release from Brown Shoe on Dec. 18 as
a clue that a deal might be near. In the
release Brown Shoe announced the com-
pany had extended an asset-based credit
agreement to December 2019. The agree-
ment also lowered Brown Shoe’s inter-
est rate by 100 basis points and increased
its borrowing capacity to a maximum of
$750 million.
Danielle McCoy, a vice president of
equity research at Wunderlich Securi-
ties, said that Brown Shoe has “good cap-
ital flexibility” for an acquisition, though
she wouldn’t comment on its likelihood.
“It (Stuart Weitzman) is a very high-
end dress brand. It would be a very nice
addition to their contemporary portfo-
lio,” McCoy said. “Brown Shoe wants to
find a brand that has a very strong DNA
that doesn’t compete with their existing
brands. I think this would be a two-way
street kind of thing.” McCoy also thinks
Stuart Weitzman could help Brown Shoe
leverage its Vince business, and vice ver-
sa, she said. Morgan Stanley analysts
Jay Sole and Joseph Wyatt said in a note
they think Brown Shoe would be a bet-
ter fit for Stuart Weitzman than Coach.
Brown Shoe “would likely serve as a bet-
ter steward of (Stuart Weitzman’s) core
footwear business given its industry lead-
ing resources and deeper footwear expe-
rience,” they said.
Brown Shoe reported third-quarter
sales of $729.3 million, up from $702.8
million in the same period last year, and
a profit of $33.2 million, up from $27.3
million last year. The company currently
holds $37.6 million in long-term debt, up
slightly from the same time last year but
down by about $1 million from the end
of the year. At the end of the third quar-
ter, Brown Shoe had about $39 million in
cash and cash equivalents.
sell and buy
Brown Shoe seals a
deal, eyes another
“Now is the right time to
focus our attention on
Famous.com and our
branded wholesale
e-commerce sites.”
Diane Sullivan,
Brown Shoe Co.
ferguson1000jobs.com
1. Passage and Gubernatorial signing of a school transfer bill. Give
the families in failing districts a lifeline.
2. Create Show Me Scholars Program for Missouri High school
graduates. Increase cigarette tax from .17/pack to .70/pack. It
should also include taxation of generic cigarettes which is not
taxed at the same rate presently. This will generate approximately
$350mm of new revenue. Offer scholarship opportunities to every
child that wishes to further their education in two year, four year or
trade schools in the state of Missouri. There are 68,000 graduating
seniors in Missouri. Give everyone the opportunity to graduate to
something.
3. Raise the accreditation level of municipalities and their police
departments. There should be minimum thresholds and performance
standards. This will force some sorely needed consolidations.
4. Consolidate municipal courts into regions and set ceilings on court
costs and fines.
5. Allow for a change in venue when it comes to police shootings.
6. Trade unions need to step up and do the right thing for our com-
munity in regards to minority hiring. Presently there is less than 2%
minority membership in the construction trades. Quit punishing the
minorities and hire them. With present retirement rates there will
be plenty of opportunities.
7. Ban all red light and speed cameras in the state. They are a money
grab plain and simple.
8. Improve the efficiency of tax credits. At present, there is over
$700mm allocated per year. The average flow through effectiveness
is around .35 cents per $1.00 of tax credit. Cut down 10% per
year for the next five years and challenge the system to be more
efficient.
9. Encourage Missouri businesses to buy from each other. Create a
sales tax relief program if we buy from each other.
10. Encourage start up capital to stay involved by waiving capital gains
taxes on proceeds if it is used to fund another start up.
11. Recruit minorities for law enforcement.
12. Require body cameras for police officers
13. Facilitate all legitimate job-training efforts for the chronically
unemployed and the unskilled.
14. Review the statute of limitations on felony convictions. Give the
people that are really trying to turn their lives around a second
chance.
15. Create a plan to rehab and rebuild housing through ownership as a
means to revitalizing neighborhoods. Incorporating 1st Time Home
Buyers incentives and education will help stabilize neighborhoods.
This initiative should have minority contractors and developers as
the lead.
1000 FERGUSON JOBS
Holiday Wish List for 2015
We have had many setbacks in our community this year. There has also
been a lack of leadership to help solve some of the underlying reasons
that the Ferguson situation happened. Ferguson 1000 was formed to
bring forward the systemic problems in our community and actually get
something done. We feel that a private citizen based solution is the best
answer. The Ferguson Commission is full of well intentioned people but
the answers are obvious and we don’t need a year to uncover them. Below
are 15 very obvious ideas that would help our community and state. We
can talk about them for the next year or get going and start implementing
them. Politicians look at an idea and see how it affects them in the next
election. We look at ideas and put leadership above politics. Are there
more than these ideas? Of course but this is a good start. Let’s stop
pointing fingers and playing the blame game. Let’s start the healing of
our region and let’s turn a negative into a positive. The Ferguson situation
blew the lid off of the lack of dialogue and conversations that we should
have been having thirty years ago.
Dave Spence
CEO
ferguson1000jobs
Am
erican
m
ercialuse

198,318Total vehicles sold by dealer
group in 2013 for the top 25
auto dealers.
207,318Total vehicles sold by dealer
group in 2012 for the top 25
listed auto dealers.
THE NEXT FIVE
Dealer groups ranked by total
vehicles sold in 2013.
West County Honda 3,095
West County Nissan 3,065
Weiss Automotive
Group
2,923
Jay Wolfe Toyota Scion
of West County
2,805
Pundmann Ford 2,658
ABOUT THE LIST
Information on the list is
collected from the Missouri
Department of Revenue and
the listed auto dealer groups.
Local is defined as St. Louis,
St. Charles, Lincoln, Warren,
Franklin, Washington and
Jefferson counties and the
city of St. Louis in Missouri;
and St. Clair, Madison,
Jersey, Clinton, Calhoun,
Macoupin, Bond and Monroe
counties in Illinois.
The list includes only dealer
groups headquartered in
the St. Louis area. Only sales
figures from local dealerships
operated by the listed
dealer groups are included.
Sale figures are kept by the
Missouri Department of
Revenue and may include
wholesale transactions.
NEED A COPY
OF THE LIST?
For information on obtaining
reprints, web permissions
and commemorative
plaques, call 800-927-
2363. More information
can be found online at
by clicking the “Buy” tab
near the top of the site.
WANT TO BE
ON THE LIST?
If you wish to be surveyed
when The List is next
updated, or if you wish to
be considered for other
Lists, email your contact
information to Katlyn Keller
at kkeller@bizjournals.com.
R closer look
LARGEST Auto dealers
ranked by total vehicles sold by dealer group in 2013
Compiled by Katlyn Keller
314-421-8309, @stlbizkkeller
kkeller@bizjournals.com
Group / Prior Rank (*not ranked)1
Website Address and Phone
Vehicles
Sold by
Dealer
Group in
2013
New
Vehicles
Sold in
2013
Used
Vehicles
Sold in
2013
Makes of Vehicles Sold by Dealer
Group Owner(s)
11 Mungenast Automotive Family 6
www.mungenast.com
13700 Manchester Road,
St. Louis, Missouri 63011
(314) 822-7681
25,089 12,606 12,483
Acura, Honda, Hyundai, Lexus, Scion,
Toyota
Mungenast Family
22 Lou Fusz Automotive Network2 2
www.fusz.com
925 N. Lindbergh Blvd.,
(314) 997-3400
23,312 11,440 11,872
Buick, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat,
Ford, GMC, Jeep, Kia, Mazda, Mitsubishi,
Nissan, Scion, Subaru, Toyota
Lou Fusz Jr.
Lou Fusz Sr.
33 Bommarito Automotive Group 1
www.bommarito.com
Ellisville, Missouri 63011
(636) 391-7200
18,234 9,949 8,285
Audi, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford,
GMC, Honda, Infiniti, Mazda, Nissan,
Volkswagen
Frank Bommarito
John Bommarito
44 Suntrup Automotive Family 3
www.suntrup.com
6000 S. Lindbergh Blvd.,
(314) 892-8200
17,758 8,965 8,793
BMW, Buick, Ford, GMC, Hyundai, Kia,
Nissan, Volkswagen, Volvo
Suntrup Family
55 Auffenberg Dealer Group of Illinois 4
www.auffenberg.com
105 Auto Court,
O'Fallon, Illinois 62269
(618) 624-2277
10,678 5,137 5,541
Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Nissan,
Volkswagen
James Auffenberg
Jr.
66 Dave Sinclair Automotive Group 5
www.davesinclair.com
(314) 892-2600
9,970 3,422 6,548 Buick, Ford, GMC, Lincoln Sinclair family
77 Plaza Motor Co. 7
www.plazamotor.com
11830 Olive Blvd.,
(314) 301-1700
8,228 4,180 4,048
Audi, BMW, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover,
Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche
Asbury Automotive
Group
88 The Dean Team Automotive Group 8
www.deanteam.com
(636) 227-0100
7,951 3,202 4,749 Hyundai, Subaru, Volkswagen
Patrick Dean
William Dean
Mary Jinkerson
99 Schicker Automotive Group 9
www.schickerautomotive.com
3295 S. Kingshighway,
(314) 664-4100
6,729 2,631 4,098 Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Jeep, Lincoln William Schicker
1010 Jim Butler Automotive Group 11
www.jimbutlerautogroup.com
759 Gravois Bluffs Road,
Fenton, Missouri 63026
(636) 349-3222
6,097 2,946 3,151 Chevrolet, Kia, Mitsubishi
Jim Butler
Brad Sowers
1111 Jim Trenary Automotive Group 10
www.jimtrenarychev.com
501 Automall Drive,
O Fallon, Missouri 63368
(636) 946-6300
5,849 2,500 3,349 Buick, Chevrolet, GMC Jim Trenary
1212 ELCO Chevrolet Inc. 12
www.elcochevy.com
(636) 227-5333
5,609 2,380 3,229 Cadillac, Chevrolet
Enterprise Rent-A-
Car
1313 Royal Gate Dodge Chrysler Jeep 16
www.royalgatedodge.com
Ballwin, Missouri 63021
(636) 394-3400
4,768 2,444 2,324 Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep Robert Kelly
1144 St. Charles Automotive 15
www.stcharlesauto.com
5701 Veterans Memorial Parkway,
St. Peters, Missouri 63376
(636) 441-4481
4,749 2,384 2,365 Isuzu, Hyundai, Nissan, Suzuki
Kevin Maher
Beverly Maher
1515 Frank Leta Automotive Group 13
www.frankleta.com
500 Auto Mall Drive,
O'Fallon, Missouri 63368
(314) 849-4444
4,703 1,918 2,785 Acura, Honda
Antoinette Leta
Frank Leta
1616 Sapaugh Automotive Group 14
www.sapaugh.com
1507 McNutt St.,
Herculaneum, Missouri 63048
(636) 937-0055
4,691 1,521 3,170 Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC
Larry Sapaugh
Beverly Sapaugh
1717 Weber Automotive Group3 17
www.weberchevrolet.com
12015 Olive Blvd.,
(314) 567-3300
4,166 2,385 1,781 Chevrolet George Weber III
1818 Paul Cerame Automotive Group 20
www.cerame.com
11400 New Halls Ferry,
(314) 838-2400
4,092 1,903 2,189 Ford, Kia
Richard Cerame
Robert Cerame
Thomas Cerame
1818
Tri Star Imports and Honda of
Frontenac4 21
www.tristarmercedes.com
1048 Hampton Ave.,
(636) 458-5222
4,092 2,048 2,044 Honda, Mercedes
Catherine Ellis
Thomas Hennekes
2200 Johnny Londoff Chevrolet Inc. 18
www.londoff.com
1375 Dunn Road,
(314) 262-4526
3,974 1,856 2,118 Chevrolet John Londoff Jr.
2121 Tom Pappas Toyota Scion 19
pappastoyota.com
10011 Spencer Road,
St. Peters, Missouri 63376
(636) 928-1212
3,830 2,139 1,691 Scion, Toyota Thomas Pappas
2222 South County Dodge 25
www.southcountyautos.com
(314) 487-1010
3,794 1,547 2,247 Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep
Wayne Cunningham
Karen Cunningham
2323 Jack Schmitt Automotive Group 22
www.jackschmitt.com
127 Regency Park Drive,
O'Fallon, Illinois 62269
(618) 589-4062
3,600 1,852 1,748 Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, Lincoln Jack Schmitt
2244 Seeger Toyota *www.seegertoyota.com
12833 Olive Blvd.,
(314) 434-5000
3,205 1,619 1,586
Toyota, Ford, Hyundai, Nissan, Scion,
Volkswagon, Kia
Tom Seeger
2525 Don Brown Automotive Group *www.donbrownchevrolet.com
2244 S. Kingshighway Blvd.,
(314) 450-7161
3,150 1,860 1,290
Chevrolet, Hyundai, Mazda, Dodge,
Nissan, Volkswagon, Kia
Don Brown
1 West County Honda, which ranked 23rd last year, and Weiss Automotive Group, which ranked 24th, did not make this year's list.
2 Lou Fusz Automotive Network did not disclose sales figures from its Fairview, Illinois location.
3 Weber Automotive Group did not disclose sales figures from its Columbia, Granite City and Waterloo, Illinois locations.
4 Sales figures for Tri Star Imports also include Honda of Frontenac.
Am
erican
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ercialuse

BY Mary Shapiro
I
n choosing an engineering firm, strive
to understand the firm’s strengths in
the division you need, advises Donald
Wojtkowski, executive director of design,
construction and plant operations for
SSM Health Care.
“Someengineeringfirmsarestrongerin
their electrical or mechanical or civil divi-
sions,” he said.
He added that the selection “is really
about choosing a project team.” Confirm
thecompetenciesofteammembersbyref-
erence or personal experience “and abso-
lutely by an interview process,” Wojtkow-
ski said. “Even the largest firm in the world
can put some real bums on a team.”
Consider the thoroughness of a firm’s
engineering solutions and its ability to
apply the newest technology to those
solutions.
Some engineering firms have the atti-
tude, “We’re out of fees, so the job must be
done,”hesaid.“That’sasituationyouwant
to avoid — a firm that has set their fee pur-
posefully low to get the job and then has
reluctance to invest down the road when
you really need it.”
Paul Verheyen, director of public works
with the city of Webster Groves, said to ask
how many professional engineers are on a
firm’s staff and their experience level. “For
me, if a company gives you a guy for your
project who has worked for 20 years in an
area such as designing roads, I’d consid-
er them more than if a company gave you
a guy who’s been out of school for only
three years,” Verheyen said. “It also mat-
ters if you’ve worked with certain people
in the past, and you know what kind of job
they’ve done.”
He warned to avoid firms that give
quotes that aren’t thorough. “Some com-
panies are always looking for extra chang-
es and upcharges – I want to have confi-
dence about what the cost will actually be,
becauseyouwantagoodpricebutforqual-
ity work,” he said.
“If a company has had several jobs
they’ve done within a few percent of the
budget figure, that’s good,” he said.
The ability to meet project deadlines is
important,hesaid.“Ourbudgetisbasedon
a fiscal year, and we need to know we can
spend so much money on design and be
able to go out for construction in the same
fiscal year.”
While Monsanto Co. has its own engi-
neeringdepartmentthatworksonprojects
for the company’s worldwide operations,
it occasionally needs outside resources or
specific engineering expertise.
“We try to maintain relationships with
engineering firms, and we look for local
expertise,” said Bob LaCour, director of
engineering for Monsanto. “We look for
firms we’ve worked well with in the past
with areas of specialties we’d need.”
Also, he said, “We want a firm that has a
fit with the way we execute projects.”
Be sure an engineering firmhasenough
resources available for your project. “If the
companyisengagedwithalotofotherproj-
ects, we may look elsewhere, because that
could mean all their best people are tak-
enwiththoseotherprojects,”LaCoursaid.
“And, if the firm is swamped with big proj-
ects, their capability to meet your deadline
and time line may be compromised.”
Mary Shapiro is a St. Louis freelance
writer.
R Confirm team
members’competencies
R Beware of firms
that set fees too low
Donald Wojtkowski
Executive director of design,
construction and plant operations for
SSM Health Care
R Avoid firms whose
quotes aren’t thorough
R Look at the firm’s
ability to meet
estimates
Paul Verheyen
Director of public works for the city of
Webster Groves
R Look for local
expertise
R Find a firm with
sufficient resources
Bob LaCour
Director of engineering for Monsanto
Ask the expertsLook to team members’ expertise for your project
Select an Engineering Firmhow to:
Firm
Local licensed
engineers
Jacobs 99
Burns & McDonnell 82
Ambitech 57
Source: Business Journal research,
February 2014
R largest engineering firms
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Am
erican
m
ercialuse

FOCUS
BY Mary Shapiro
W
hen choosing an accounting
firm, start by determining
which firms are experienced
in your field, advised Kathy Tisone,
chief financial officer with St. Louis Arc,
which provides services for people with
developmental disabilities. Tisone has
used an accounting firm for its audits and
tax returns.
“You want someone who’ll have
good insight, so you can rely on them
to give you best practices that relate to
challenges we face in our field,” she said.
“The company should be able to give you
feedback on software systems or formats
others in your field use to make you more
effective and efficient.”
An accounting firm that’s experienced
in your field will “often have seminars
and other ways of pulling people in
similar fields together, so we can spend
more time with financial executives in
firms like ours to work through issues we
have,” she said.
Make good use of a simple request
for proposals process, she said. “I like
to rely on input from peers and, in our
case, our financial committee, which
is made up of local executives - we use
their input when we select and evaluate
all vendors,” Tisone said.
Scott Hunt, a partner in the business
services group at law firm Armstrong
Teasdale LLP, said there needs to be
a good match between the client and
service provider. The law firm has used
accounting firms in many contexts for
clients and corporations, for purposes
such as income tax preparation and
income tax planning.
“The big thing is expertise in matching
clients’ needs with the skill set of the
accountant,” he said. “For example,
most individuals don’t need a Big Four
accounting firm except for a big taxpayer
with a lot of foreign income or significant
stock options.”
Hunt said references and personal
relationships are important, as well as
prior experience with a firm.
Price is a factor, “but not a major one
unless you’re talking about a startup
corporation where price may be more
important,” he said.
When looking for an accounting firm,
ask other people in your field about the
firm they’re happy with, suggests Julie
Longyear, owner and founder of St.
Louis-based Blissoma, a holistic skincare
and apothecary company. Her company
has hired the same accountant for a
number of years for work such as yearly
taxes and advice on expenses.
“I like to use personal referrals for
everything – that means more to me than
anything else and is better than shooting
blind, such as through listings online,”
she said.
She suggests meeting with a
prospective accounting firm’s personnel.
“You want to be comfortable with who
you’re dealing with because you want to
form a long-term relationship,” Longyear
said. “You want the company to have
an understanding of your business and
hopefully handle it for years to come.”
Accessibility also is important. “If
you have questions, you want them
answered,” she said.
MaryShapiroisaSt. Louisfreelancewriter.
R Find firms
experienced in your
field
R Look for feedback
on systems to make
you more efficient
Kathy Tisone
CFO, St. Louis Arc
R Match needs with
the firm’s skill set
R References and
personal relationships
are important
Scott Hunt
Partner, Armstrong Teasdale LLP
R Ask others in your
field for referrals
R Meet with a
prospective firm’s
personnel
Julie Longyear
Owner, Blissoma
Ask the expertsMatch expertise, relationships to find a good fit
Choose an Accounting Firmhow to:
Firm Local CPAs
PwC 210
RubinBrown LLP 184
Ernst & Young LLP 123
Source: Business Journal research,
February 2014
R top accountants
Largest Local Accounting Firms
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PUBLICATION DATE: FEBRUARY 27, 2015
RESERVATION DUE: FEBRUARY 19, 2015
Contact Glynelle Wells at 314.421.8340
or gwells@bizjournals.com
As soon as Jan. 1 hits, you know tax season is in full swing. In the Feb. 27 issue
of the Business Journal, we’ll profile the accountants and attorneys you need to
know to get your affairs in order during the tax crunch. From patent attorneys to
tax pros and trust experts to personal accountants, we’ll be there to put you in
touch with the right person for any complex issue you might come across.
Am
erican
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ercialuse

FOCUS
BY Mary Shapiro
T
he demographics of your group
and the size of space required are
factors to be considered when
choosing a meeting site.
That’s the advice of Mary Szpatoski,
Community Commons administrator and
operations manager for the Communi-
ty Council of St. Charles County, whose
member organizations collaborate to
improve human services in St. Charles,
Lincoln and Warren counties. The coun-
cil oversees booking, at no charge, of
the Community Commons space at St.
Charles City-County Library District.
“Look at hours of availability at the
facility, look at who your target group
is, and see if the facility is accessible for
those with disabilities,” and if there’s
sufficient parking, she said. Consider
whether classroom, round tables or the-
ater-style seating is needed, and if the
location has audiovisual equipment avail-
able. Ask if the location requires specific
caterers or if you can choose your own.
“It does help to have worked with a
site’s staff before, so you know what to
expect and what’s expected of you,” she
said.
Choosing a good meeting site involves
asking the right questions, said Debbie
Bueckman, senior meeting coordinator
for food redistributor Dot Foods Inc.
Do you want a hotel or specialty ven-
ue? Consider how much travel time
will be involved, how many people are
attending and cost per room if overnight
accommodations are needed, she said.
Can the facility provide food and bever-
age service?
“The best site depends on what’s
important for that particular meeting, so
if it’s a business meeting, you probably
don’t want to put it in a location with a
nice pool,” she said. “You want to be in
the right environment for whatever the
business purpose of the meeting is or
the right networking experience if it’s a
social event.”
Get recommendations on venues from
other meeting planners. “Staff knowing
how you like to have things done makes
a difference, though that’s not to say you
can’t go to a new venue that’s profession-
ally run,” Bueckman said.
Lorraine Magney, event specialist for
animal nutrition company Novus Inter-
national, said she relies on opinions from
planners with the Meeting Professionals
International professional association to
make her job easier.
“And I’ll use the Cvent online event
management software that has informa-
tion to help pick venues,” Magney said.
“I would look at brand name hotels
because I know they have the necessary
audiovisual equipment I’ll need and I
know the food is good,” she said.
“I’ll also look at location, whether
it’s around a touristy area so that peo-
ple won’t need to take taxis or walk a lot,
especially for international groups com-
ing in whom we want to treat to nice
restaurants and malls near the venue,”
Magney said.
Look for venue staff who are respon-
sive and familiar with the details of the
meeting site’s amenities, she said.
writer.
R Consider the
population you’re
serving
R Visit the site to
check amenities
Mary Szpatoski
Operations manager for Community
Council of St. Charles County
R Take into account
travel time
R Check catering
service availability
Debbie Bueckman
Senior meeting coordinator for Dot
Foods
R Venue staff need to
be responsive
R Get opinions from
other planners
Lorraine Magney
Event specialist for Novus International
Ask the expertsLocation, amenities play role in venue choice
Choose a Meeting Sitehow to:
Facility
Banquet-style
seating
America’s Center 27,710
Hyatt Regency
St. Louis at the Arch
6,280
Sheraton Westport
Hotels
5,160
Source: Business Journal research, May 2014
R Largest meeting facilities
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Am
erican
m
ercialuse

BY Mary Shapiro
I
nchoosingaprivateelementaryschool,
reach out to other parents for sugges-
tions, advises Amy Graham, a former
attorney for CNA Insurance Co. “Word of
mouth is important,” said Grant, who has
a son and daughter entering fifth grade
and third, respectively, at Saint Mary Mag-
dalen Catholic School in Brentwood.
Look for a strong parental involvement
in the school, she said. Also, gauge how
well a prospective school’s teachers know
not just the children in their own class-
rooms but their familiarity with all the
students.
Consider the school’s whole academ-
ic program. “Is the school performing
where it should be? Is there a variety
of special classes like Spanish, art and
music?” Graham said. For working par-
ents in particular, availability of before
and after school care and location can be
factors, Graham said.
Balance the cost of all options in your
area with other factors you want, rec-
ommends Ben Fletcher, an attorney at
Evans & Dixon LLC. His daughters are
entering second grade and kindergarten
at St. Gerard Majella Elementary School
in Kirkwood.
While cost is a factor in choosing a pri-
vate elementary school, it shouldn’t be
the only factor, he said. “That’s because it
becomes difficult to make cost the major
factor when you’re investing in the future
of your children,” he said.
“Public schools are pretty good in our
area and there’s quite a bit of diversity in
private schools you have at your selection,
so it becomes a compromise on where you
want your children to go,” said Fletch-
er, who lives in West County. His family
sought a combination of community and
religious values, as well as academics and
opportunities for socializing.
In addition to gathering references
from other families, “It’s important to go
to open houses and meet the staff and par-
ents of kids enrolled there,” Fletcher said.
Parents should spend a lot of time at
schools they’re considering, including
visits to classrooms as well as athletics and
other events, said Meg Noonan of Creve
Coeur, who co-owns video production
company Halski Studio.
“If you’re going to make this kind of
investment, you need to understand not
just the classroom but the culture — what
are the school values and what’s import-
ant to the parents as well as the teach-
ers?” she said.
Noonan has triplet sons entering sec-
ond grade — two at Community School
in Ladue and a third, who has Asperg-
er’s syndrome, at Miriam School in Web-
ster Groves — and a daughter entering
fifth grade at Mary Institute and St. Lou-
is Country Day School (MICDS) in Ladue.
Spend time in classrooms for oth-
er grades to understand the depth and
breadth of outcomes the school is work-
ing toward, Noonan said. “Making sure
they have some sort of foundation to
teaching to the child instead of the class
was important to me,” she said.
writer.
R Look for strong
parental involvement
R Are before and after
school care available?
Amy Graham
Former attorney for CNA Insurance Co.
R Meet the staff and
other parents
R Weigh cost versus
other factors
Ben Fletcher
Attorney at Evans & Dixon LLC
R Visit schools outside
class hours
R Consider socio-
economic and cultural
inclusiveness
Meg Noonan
Co-owner of Halski Studio
Ask the expertsParental involvement, diversity count in school choice
Choose a Private Elementary Schoolhow to:
School k-6 enrollment
Christ Community
Lutheran School
492
Forsyth School 328
Academy of the
Sacred Heart
320
Source: Largest independent private Primary
schools, Business Journal research,
October 2014
R elementary schools
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PUBLICATION DATE: JANUARY 9, 2015
RESERVATION DUE: JANUARY 1, 2015
From early childhood development to expanding universities,
St. Louis is a regional leader in education. Check out the Jan. 9 issue
of the St. Louis Business Journal for an in-depth look at the local
growth in the area’s education sector.
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Am
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ercialuse

Proudly Sponsored by
Friday, January 30, 2015 • 7AM-5PM
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Based on the ground-breaking book, “The Confidence Code,” this year’s St. Louis Business Journal
Women’s Conference explores “the science and art of self-assurance.” Co-author Claire Shipman is
the keynote speaker. Academic research plus personal stories shared by some of the most successful
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Am
erican
m
ercialuse

BY Mary Shapiro
G
etting referrals from people
you know and trust is a good
first step in choosing a wealth
manager, according to Richard
Feldman, a partner with law firm
Husch Blackwell LLC in St. Louis. He’s
used a wealth management firm’s
services for the last eight or nine years.
“Also, you need to look at the
education, background and experience
level of those with the firm,” he said.
“Talk to the person you’re thinking of
using to ensure he or she has a game
plan that would help you meet your
financial goals.”
Price wasn’t as important for him
as two-way communication with the
wealth manager. “You need a trust level,”
Feldman said. “You’re putting your
financial future in somebody’s hands.”
The person you deal with “must be
really smart and knowledgeable about
the area they’re in,” he said. “My firm
set up a game plan and communication
plan that fit with what I needed.”
Look at a lot of wealth management
firms and really take time in choosing
one, said Ed Marshall, practice leader for
global mobility for the Impact Group, a
career management firm based in Town
& Country. He’s used his personal wealth
management firm for about 12 or 13 years.
“Ask what the company’s
philosophies are, because you need to
understand what the firm’s strategy is –
short term or long term – and if you’re
comfortable with that,” he said. “You
want to make sure, if you’ve worked for
a lot of years and put money aside, that
the person you’re putting money with
shares your philosophy.”
Determine how the wealth manager
charges for services. “Some companies
make their money per transaction, so
every time a person calls them, they
want to sell them a different fund, which
to me is kind of silly,” Marshall said.
And be direct about what you want.
“Remember that, if the company makes
bad decisions, it’s your money the
company will have lost,” Marshall said.
The most important thing in
selecting a wealth manager is to get
references from entities such as yours,
said Dave Tuberty, finance director
for the city of Manchester, which has
worked with such a firm in regard to
employee benefits.
“In my case, I would go to other
governments for references — the
investment goals of city government
are not the same as for a Fortune 500
company, for instance,” he said.
It’s also important the wealth
manager is experienced at working in
your environment, he said. “You need to
get bids and talk in depth to the people.”
Final determination shouldn’t be
based on cost alone. “You need to make
sure you can work with somebody,
so make sure you have a personal
relationship,” he said.
Also, check the track record of the
wealth manager you’re considering.
“I might not go with the lowest bid
if the company has never worked with
government before,” Tuberty said.
writer.
CPWA: Certified Private Wealth Advisor
CFP: Certified Financial Planner
CFA: Chartered Financial Analyst
CIMA: Certified Investment
Management Analyst
Source: FINRA
R Get referrals from
those you know and
trust
R Gauge education
and experience level
Richard Feldman
Partner with Husch Blackwell
R Ask about
investment
philosophies
R Be direct about
what you want
Ed Marshall
Practice leader, global mobility, for
Impact Group
R Look for experience
with like entities
R Consider the wealth
manager’s track
record
Dave Tuberty
Finance director for the city of
Manchester
Ask the expertsGame plan, communication help meet goals
FOCUS
Choose a Wealth Managerhow to:
R common credentials
Get nationwide business news,
just for women in business.
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ercialuse

FOCUS
BY Mary Shapiro
B
efore choosing a senior living
facility, decide whether you’re
ready to make that life change,
advises Cleo Anderson, 91, who lives at
the Crown Center for Senior Living in
University City. Once you decide you’re
ready, ask friends, co-workers or church
members who’ve already made the
move for their evaluation “and see how
satisfied they are” with the facility they
chose, she said.
“And it was important to me to vis-
it the facility,” Anderson said. “My son
spent a whole day with me, looking at
the environment around the facility. And
I was concerned about what they had to
offer inside, such as the accessibility for
laundry. I also wanted to observe how
the building was being kept inside and
what activities they provide.” Another
key factor for Anderson was the avail-
ability of help after hours.
Anderson said she also wanted to
know if prospective senior living facil-
ities allowed residents to do their own
cooking or if meals, as well as transpor-
tation, were provided “and if so, wheth-
er there was a fee.” Be realistic about
what you can afford to pay, she said.
Kit Whittington, a registered nurse,
founder and president of Seniors Home
Care in Webster Groves, which provides
in-home care for seniors, said to find a
senior living facility through a personal
referral from someone who’s had a pos-
itive experience there. Look for specific
amenities you might need.
In addition to visiting by appoint-
ment, drop-in visits are a good way
to check out a facility. “Check to see
whether residents are mobile and lively.
Do they seem happy? Or are they seden-
tary or depressed or yelling?” she said.
Consider location. “It’s nice if the
senior going to the facility is familiar
with the neighborhood,” she said. “You
want the facility close for family visiting.
And the more a family visits, the better
quality care the person will get and the
better input the facility gets.”
And while some people are drawn
to newer construction or decor, “make
sure the building is kept up, even if it’s
older,” she said.
When looking for a senior liv-
ing facility, start with a discussion
about costs and what kind of facility
is required and affordable, said Mary
Schaefer, executive director of the Mid-
East Area Agency on Aging.
“When looking for assisted living –
where someone may need help with
personal care or medications beyond
simply housing – it’s good for a senior
to visit with family members,” she said.
For seniors who don’t need that assis-
tance but want to downsize, “There are
completely independent apartments and
condos and villas for those aged 55 and
older, where the cost varies depending
on amenities like swimming pools and
tennis courts,” she said.
You might also consider a continu-
ing care retirement community, “where
seniors can start off in independent liv-
ing but can go to assisted living or into
a nursing home (in that community),”
she said.
“You want to check all these facilities
out with friends who’ve gone there or
with other current residents,” she said
writer.
R Consider if
amenities are
accessible
R Make sure help is
available after hours
Cleo Anderson
Resident at Crown Center for Senior
Living
R Get a personal
referral
R Look at location,
including proximity to
family members
Kit Whittington
President of Seniors Home Care
R Determine the type
of facility you require
and can afford
R Speak with
residents to gauge
their satisfaction
Mary Schaefer
Executive director of the Mid-East Area
Agency on Aging
Ask the expertsAmenities, location impact seniors’ lifestyle change
Choose a Senior Living Facilityhow to:
43.1 million
65+ U.S. population in 2012
83.7 million
Projected 65+ U.S. population in 2050
R Aging nation
When you were growing up, your
parents sat you down for The Big
Talk. It was time to discuss some of
the changes you were experiencing. It
wasn’t an easy conversation to have,
but your mom and dad knew it was an
important one, because they wanted
you to be healthy, safe, and happy.
Fast forward a few decades. Now it’s
your turn to come to your parents for
a Big Talk of your own. And this talk is
no less important.
The OTHER Facts of Life are that
everyone ages and that everyone’s
needs change. Starting a conversation
about those changes can be difficult,
but it doesn’t have to be, if you...
Start Early. Remember that no one
likes being backed into a corner.
By starting an honest dialog before
problems present themselves, families
can make realistic decisions before
emotions get heated.
The OTHER Facts of Life: Starting a Conversation
About Your Aging Parents’ Changing Needs
Keep an Eye on the Signs. Cluttered
walkways, spoiled food in the fridge,
and hygine trouble can be indicators
that your parents are having trouble
maintaining their independence.
Make It YOUR Concern, Not THEIR
Problem. Pointing out a parent’s prob-
lems can put them on the defensive.
Confess your concerns about their
current condition and begin a conver-
sation with a few respectful questions
about how they would like to proceed.
Do Your Research. If you’re looking
for options for your aging parents, the
caring professionals at Lutheran Senior
Services are here to help.
__________________
With 14 senior living communities
and 8 in-home services in the St. Louis
area, Lutheran Senior Services helps
older adults live life to the fullest,
wherever they call home. To learn
more, visit LSSLiving.org today.
BANKING
&FINANCE
FOCUS
PUBLICATION DATE: MARCH 6, 2015
RESERVATION DUE: FEBRUARY 26, 2015
From banks and thrifts to mortgage lenders, the St. Louis Business Journal’s
March 6 focus will offer an inside look at the changing face of banking and
finance in St. Louis.
Am
erican
m
ercialuse

BY Mary Shapiro
W
hen researching private high
schools, parents initially can
visit schools’ websites for
their mission statement and curriculum,
advises Jamie Driver. She’s executive
director of the Independent Schools of
St. Louis, a nonprofit that serves 45 St.
Louis-area member schools.
“See if their philosophy and approach
to education matches what you’re looking
for,” Driver said.
Consider the school’s size and curricu-
lum in relation to your child. “School size
matters to kids, because some like a large
environmentandsomemaynot,”shesaid.
“Look at extracurricular offerings such as
club, community service learning or for-
eign exchange and travel opportunities.”
Ask about student-teacher ratios and
class sizes, as well as “the focus on pro-
fessional development to ensure faculty is
onthecuttingedgeofeducationaltrends,”
she said. Check the college placement his-
toryfortheschool’sgraduates,Driversaid.
While other parents can provide valu-
able referrals, “it’s crucial that the fam-
ily schedules a campus tour to see what
the environment and culture are really
like,” she said.
When choosing a private high school,
match your children’s personalities and
interests with what the schools offer, said
Steve Hughes: principal of Hit Your Stride,
whose 9th and 10th grade daughters
attend Mary Institute and St. Louis Coun-
try Day School. Hughes operates speaking
and training company Hit Your Stride LLC.
“We talked to a lot of parents and stu-
dents to find out beyond the brochure
what the school is like,” said Hughes.
“Ask the right kind of questions, to try
to get a feel for the school communi-
ty, what the teachers are like and, as
my daughters would say, if the students
were ‘chill.’”
Look for diversity in the student body.
“My daughters enjoy being around kids
different from them,” he said.
He wanted the classes available “to go
beyond the norm, with a wide range of
offerings,” Hughes said. “Extracurricular
opportunities were important, but aca-
demics had to be there first.”
Kim Kirn, an attorney and mediator
with her own practice, said to send your
childtothebesthighschoolheorshecould
gain admission to. “In terms of defining
best,Iconsideredteacher-studentratioand
I wanted a low ratio,” she said.
Her two sons attend St. Louis Universi-
ty High School and Clayton High School.
“An on-campus visit while classes are
in session was helpful and gave me the
confirmation that my child and the school
were a good match,” Kirn said.
“I considered percentage of students
graduating and, even more important-
ly, percentage of students moving on to
post-secondary education,” Kirn said.
She also looked at average ACT test
scores.
A diverse student population also was
important,shesaid.“Theworldisadiverse
place and I wanted my child exposed to
people of color and different socio-eco-
nomic backgrounds,” Kirn said.
writer.
R See if curriculum
interests your child
R Check college
placement record
Jamie Driver
Executive director of Independent
Schools of St. Louis
R Match children’s
personalities, interests
R Look for diversity in
the student body
Steve Hughes
Principal of Hit Your Stride LLC
R Make visits while
class is in session
R Look for a low
student-teacher ratio
Kim Kirn
Attorney and mediator in private
practice
Ask the expertsDiversity, class size count for high school students
Type
2011-12
Enrollment
Catholic 74%
Nonsectarian 12%
Affiliated religious 6%
Unaffiliated religious 6%
Conservative
Christian
3%
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education,
January 2014
R Private Secondary Schools
How to: Choose a Private High School
FOCUS
Grades 7-12 • 60+ zip codes • 100% college acceptance •
LEED Platinum certified campus near Wash U. & SLU •
www.crossroadscollegeprep.org • Schedule a visit:
314.367.8085 or info@crossroadscollegeprep.org.
Catholic | Independent
Coed Montessori Toddler - K
All-Girls 1 - 12
EXPLORE VIZ
An Interactive Experience for Girls Grades K-4
Saturday, January 10, 9-11 am
RSVP: 314-625-9292
visitationacademy.org
www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog/techflash
sign up today!
Technology, Bioscience, Startups, & Venture capital. Covered.
Am
erican
m
ercialuse

BY Mary Shapiro
F
inding a commercial bank with a
location near your business should
be an important deciding factor
in choosing one, said Dr. Ed Ernstrom.
He opened Ernstrom Spinal Rehab,
which provides chiropractic and pain
rehabilitation services, a year ago in
Chesterfield.
“If you need to make deposits and deal
with cash and checks, there’s a securi-
ty issue, which is why it was important
for me to be able to get deposits to a bank
with a branch within a mile or so of my
business,” he said.
Ernstrom said he talked to many
commercial bankers before opening his
accounts. “I looked at five different com-
mercial banks when I opened my busi-
ness, and they all have incentive pro-
grams if you carry so much cash in your
accounts,” he said. “You need to find
what works for you in regard to fee pro-
grams, because you want to pay the least
amount in fees charged.”
Having a relationship with various
commercial bankers is important, in case
a business needs to upgrade their office
or equipment, Ernstrom said.
When considering a commercial bank-
er and bank, be sure to discuss all the ser-
vices they offer, rather than just going in
and setting up bank accounts, said Den-
nis Fry, a CPA and president of CPAs for
Hire LLC in Chesterfield.
A good commercial banker and bank
will ask a lot of questions to get to under-
stand your business, he said. “When a
growing company needs to scale to more
sophisticated bank account structures
and bank services, it’s hard for a bank to
advise on what is in the best interest of
the company if they are learning about
the company for the first time,” Fry said.
Compare commercial banks’ fees: If
you’re currently with a bank, look at your
latest bank statement or analysis state-
ment, he said. “An analysis statement is
a menu of services and respective fees
charged, like an invoice, with the number
of times a service was used and the fee
per time,” Fry said. “Another bank would
be glad to look at these fees and recreate
that analysis for their bank, to show what
their fees would had been in the same
instances.”
Choosing a commercial banker and
bank is all about good service, said Brad
Sowers, co-owner and president of Jim
Butler Auto Group. His firm does busi-
ness with several local banks.
“In my business, meeting and even
exceeding customer expectations is a
requirement for success,” he said. “I look
for that same commitment from suppli-
ers and professional services providers,
including banks.”
He said that the ability to develop a
relationship with your commercial bank-
er is another important factor. “Is the
banker someone I might befriend? Can I
approach him or her as a trusted adviser?
Trust is key,” Sowers said. “Your banker
knows information about your company
and your company’s plans that the pub-
lic does not know. It’s critical that you can
trust your banker and the bank to fulfill
its fiduciary responsibilities to your com-
pany, and this includes confidentiality.”
writer.
R Look for convenient
locations
R Consider fee
programs
Dr. Ed Ernstrom
Owner of Ernstrom Spinal Rehab
R Discuss all banking
services
R Check your
network for
recommendations
Dennis Fry
President of CPAs for Hire
R Look for a
commitment to service
R Trust is key
Brad Sowers
President of Jim Butler Auto Group
Ask the expertsProximity, trust help build banking relationships
Choose a Commercial Banker and Bankhow to:
bank local deposits
Scottrade Bank $18 billion
U.S. Bank $14.7 billion
Bank of America $9.8 billion
Source: FDIC, June 30, 2014
R largest banks
FOCUS
YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
GOOD NEIGHBORS, TOO.
314-892-5400
NeighborsBusinessSolutions.com
Federally
Insured
By NCUA
Downtown • Fenton • Florissant • Hazelwood
Jennings • South County • St. Peters
At Neighbors Credit Union, we treat every business owner
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flexible terms and no pre-payment penalties:
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• Standby letters of credit
• And more
Neighbors, where the grass is greener. Contact us so we can
show you how we can save you money!
Member FDIC
As a True Community Bank, our team understands and holds an
unwavering commitment to the growth of local businesses. Although
we’ve grown over the years, we have never lost sight of who we are and
what we’re here to do. We are dedicated to serving the needs of our
clients through a long-standing tradition of sound, straightforward
advice and individualized attention.
Call 314-878-2210 or visit www.pulaskibank.com to experience how
Pulaski Bank is committed to being a True Community Bank.
TO ST. LOUIS
Tom Reeves
President
Brian Björkman
President
Commercial Lending
Gary Douglass
Chief Executive Officer
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erican
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