Cleveland's CEOs You Should Know

Augustine “AJ” Wadian is the Co-Founder and CEO of Premier Home Pros, a home improvement company projected to hit $180 million in revenue by 2025. AJ sparked the idea for the company, launching it with his partners and closing their first sale within three days. He’s passionate about scaling smart, aligning sales, marketing, and installation through systems-driven leadership. Noah Jackson is the Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer of Premier Home Pros, a fast-growing home improvement company projected to hit $180 million in revenue by 2025. With a background in sales, Noah helped lead the company from launch to $100 million in just two years. He’s all about building smart systems, scaling sustainably, and keeping people at the center of growth

Michael Sirpilla is a co-founder and CEO of Society Brands Inc., a tech-enabled consumer products company headquartered in Canton, Ohio that acquires e-commerce native brands. Society Brands recently raised $205MM for acquisition financing, one of the largest early stage raises in Ohio’s history. He has primarily focused on organic growth throughout his career. Prior to starting Society Brands, he founded a financial services wholesale agency with 40 direct reports and built it to a multi-million-dollar business. He also partnered in a population health management business and scaled it from $0 to $150MM in revenue within five years.

Jeff Beck is a seasoned business executive with extensive experience in the home improvement industry. He began his career at Leaf Home Solutions, where he quickly worked his way up the ranks to become the company's CEO. Under Beck's leadership, Leaf Home Solutions experienced significant growth and expansion, becoming the world’s largest provider of gutter protection with LeafFilter. In his new role as CEO of Window Nation, the nation’s 3rd largest window replacement company, Beck is expected to drive the company's growth and continued success. Beck is a graduate of Kent State University, where he earned a degree in Business Administration who many consider a visionary leader, who brings a wealth of experience and a great understanding of how to apply leading edge big data principles and technology to the home improvement market. In his free time, Beck enjoys physical fitness, attending Cleveland sporting events, listening to music and loves spending time with his family – fiancé Krystal, daughter Regan, son Peyton and dogs Krom and PAC. Beck is actively involved in the community and is a member of various professional organizations within the industry.

Fire-Dex, provides innovative PPE customized to keep firefighters safe. A family-owned company that is committed to the health and safety of first responders. Partnered with their sister company, Gear Wash, the largest Independent Service Provider of PPE care and maintenance in the world, their mission is “to serve those who serve." Steve Allison took over operational responsibilities for the company worldwide. Allison is a 28-year veteran of the fire service personal protective gear manufacturing and sales marketplace. He joined the company in 2014 to serve as Director of Sales then was promoted to VP of Sales & Marketing in 2016. Fire-Dex continues to grow with a facility expansion finalizing this year.

India L. Birdsong Terry serves as Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA). She joined RTA in September 2019 and brings over 15 years’ experience working in positions of increasing responsibility in the public transit industry. Birdsong Terry began her career in 2006 when she joined the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), where she served in planning, instruction, control center, operations, and finally as Senior Manager of the central region for Bus Supervision and Instruction. In 2015, she was appointed Chief Operating Officer of WeGo Public Transit in Nashville, where she served until coming to Cleveland. At RTA, Birdsong Terry oversees more than 2,000 employees at the largest transit system in Ohio, which provides more than 24 million annual rides to customers using the bus, rail, paratransit, trolley, and bus rapid transit system across the county’s 457 square miles. Responsible for managing the Authority’s $292 million operating budget, Birdsong is committed to transparent leadership, management accountability and sound financial oversight.

Mark Allen Roberts is a senior level sales and marketing leader with over 35 years of experience in driving profitable sales growth in market leading organizations. He has done so at companies like Timken, VMI, Gardner Denver, Mobility Works, and Frito Lay. In 2018, he received the Business Excellence award from NSME and in 2019, The Highspot Sales Enablement Award. He was also recognized by Sales Hacker Inc. in the Sales Enablement Category. Mark is the founder of OTB Solutions, LLC and the popular business development blog here at https://www.nosmokeandmirrors.com/blog, ranked #1 in fixing sales problems. Today he is the founder and president of OTB Sales where he helps clients diagnose and improve sales effectiveness and hire and develop their sales talent to improve sales results. Author of Driving Explosive Growth, Voice of Customer, and Branding Backwards, as well as several whitepapers and articles.

Ted Otero: Ted Otero is a Cleveland native from Independence and now resides in beautiful Auburn Township with his wife and business partner, Kelly, and their two children Isabella and Austin. He is the founder and President of Otero Signature Homes. He holds a civil engineering degree from Case Western Reserve University and an MBA from Cleveland State University. He has over 25 years of real estate and construction experience both in the commercial and residential arenas. Ted served as the 2017 President of the Home Builder's Association of Greater Cleveland and is currently a member of a national Builder's 20 group. Ted Otero is also the managing partner of the Otero Group. Ted strives to offer clients a unique approach to selling their homes in a highly competitive market, which uses his extensive experience in marketing high-end luxury homes. Kelly Otero: Kelly Otero earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Michigan and an MBA in Entrepreneurship from Case Western Reserve University. She used her entrepreneurial and business skills to start Otero Signature Homes in 2004 alongside Ted. Working closely with clients to select all of their custom home finishes, Kelly recognized the need to expand her talents. Clients were so pleased with their experience that they often asked for continued design services to give their home the finishing touch, thus founding Ovation Interior Design in 2013. Her creative talents and extensive knowledge of residential design give her the edge needed to expand both businesses and create cutting edge offerings in the Cleveland market. Kelly enjoys working alongside her team to provide the best possible experience to their customers and trades.

Megan graduated from Marquette University with a liberal arts double major in Spanish and English and earned a minor in Philosophy. As an AFS student she attended the University of Sevilla and went on to attend the University of Madrid, Spain her junior year of college. Her continuing desire to learn about other cultures and ways of life and to delve in completely through the language lead her to serve in the Peace Corps in Thailand from 1992-1994. During her 2 ½ years of service, Megan traveled to Calcutta, India to work with Mother Teresa. Megan adds, “I have always had a desire to serve, to know and understand others of different walks, backgrounds, and cultures. When I was young, I had a particular desire within me to give back to others and to learn from them as well. Mother Teresa was a very big example and role model to me. My experience observing Mother Teresa and serving the beautiful people in her homes who were either dying, diseased or sick physically and/or mentally had a major impact on my life as well as did the people I served in Thailand.” Once back in the U.S. Megan was a pioneer on the Internet Team at Progressive Insurance, obtaining 3 patents. In 2006, Megan’s 6-year-old daughter, Maria, was diagnosed with a deadly brain tumor with no hopeful treatment or cure. Maria was given 10 months to live and succumbed to the disease a year later after finishing her first grade year. Inspired by her daughter’s battle with the disease and the tremendous love that Maria had for her fellow friends suffering from cancer, Megan co-founded the Prayers from Maria Foundation with her husband Ed in 2006 with a mission to put childhood cancer at the forefront of the battle against cancer. Megan and her husband Ed live in Cleveland, Ohio with Maria’s four brothers- Eddie, Aidan, Blake and Josh.

Nick Lopez attended Arvada West High School and left Colorado as a wide-eyed first-generation college student to work on a BS in business marketing from Michigan State University. His plan was to walk on to the wrestling team, which would ultimately pay for the cost of tuition and living. The reality was that a scholarship was a couple of years away, so Nick made the tough decision to hang up his wrestling shoes for an entrepreneurial endeavor to support the cost of his education. At the age of 19, Nick founded his first painting LLC, and every summer thereafter he painted homes to help pay for tuition, books, and cost of living. By doing so, Nick developed a real passion and love for the craft of home improvement. In his third year as the owner of the company, the “light bulb” went off. He realized that those years of painting didn’t have to be his last, and that a future in the home improvement industry he had grown to love, made sense. From that point forward, Nick focused himself on building a business that would set the standard for excellence in painting and home improvement. Upon graduation, Nick and his soon-to-be wife moved back to Colorado to start their family. Soon after, Nick launched LIME Painting in Denver. He created, developed, and perfected a game-changing business model for consistently delivering exceptionally high-quality home improvement services. High-quality people were the secret to LIME’s early and ongoing success. They have been the key to making LIME the special home service company that customers have been searching for. LIME has perfected a partnership model that appeals to the most talented professional painters within a market and marries them directly to clients for exceptional craftsmanship. Through it all, Nick has retained the passion for excellence that inspired him to build LIME.

Richard Klaben, CEO of the Klaben Auto Stores Richard Klaben has been the CEO of the Klaben Auto Stores since 2010, but active in the business since 1974 when he began detailing cars for the founder of the business – his father, Albert Klaben Sr. Throughout the years, Richard worked in various positions with responsibilities for every facet of the business. The Klaben Auto Stores currently represent Ford, Lincoln, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, and Ram franchises in multiple locations in northeast Ohio with close to 300 employees. Richard is often heard saying, “titles represent responsibilities, not rank, as every team member, starting with me, is a customer service representative.” Like his father, he remains committed to a business model recognizing customers & team members (PEOPLE) as the foundation of their success. Richard is at work every day leading by example and adhering to the core tenets of that business model, hard work, respect, empathy, integrity, and a genuine concern for others.

The Center for Black Health & Equity is a leading nationally recognized public health entity that provides solutions to issues impacting African American health. We engage health care organizations, public health officials, faith leaders, and African American communities in health promotion and disease prevention work.Our mission is to facilitate programs and services to benefit communities and people of African descent. We do this by building community capacity, developing community infrastructure, and advocating for equity-centered policies. We are committed to addressing the social and economic injustices that have marginalized our communities and led to deep health disparities.We apply our proven framework for policy and social change to our work in tobacco control, COVID-19, HIV/AIDS, women’s health, cancer, mental health and other disparities.

Matt Jones, CPA serves as CEO of Affinity Whole Health. Founded in 2012, Affinity has assisted thousands of men and women with hormone therapy and injectable weight loss. Matt's career began in public accounting, he spent time in Fortune 500 sales and business operations. Matt is a life-long Clevelander and enjoys reading, exercise and spending time with his wife and two sons.

Ilan Sobel has been the CEO of BioHarvest Sciences since July 2020. Ilan has brought the company’s first product, VINIA, to North America, building a direct-to-consumer machine that is now generating significant revenues. VINIA’s go-to-market success has established a template for the company’s near-term product pipeline of nutraceutical plant cell banks. In addition to commercial focus and planning, Ilan has scaled production capabilities from R+D up to industrial levels, and is building a biotech company with novel, and even patentable plant-based products that are based on science and backed by clinical trials.. Prior to BioHarvest, Ilan served for 6 years at Weissbeerger, as both Chief Operating Officer and then Chief Commercial Officer. In this capacity, Ilan played a major leadership role in building a disruptive BIG Data, IOT & Software Company servicing major Beverage players which was ultimately purchased by Anheuser Busch InBev. Previously, Ilan served an 18 year stint as an International Employee of The Coca-Cola Company, where he played a pivotal role in key senior leadership positions generating significant revenue and profit growth and improving brand health trends across diverse global markets including the United States, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and South Africa.

Robin Ganzert, Ph.D., serves as president and CEO of American Humane, the country’s first national humane organization and the first to serve animals, whenever and wherever they are in need of rescue, shelter or protection. She is the executive producer of the acclaimed documentary, Escape from Extinction, narrated by Dame Helen Mirren, and its follow-up, Escape from Extinction Rewilding, which features narration by Oscar winner Meryl Streep. She is also the executive producer of the annual American Humane Hero Dog Awards which aired for ten years on Hallmark Channel and most recently aired on A&E and fyi networks. Additionally, she is the author of The Humane Table: Cooking with Compassion, Mission Metamorphosis and Animal Stars. Her next book, Escape from Extinction, is set to come out in 2025. Dr. Ganzert serves on the board of Loro Parque Foundation, the Lois Pope LIFE Foundation and is a member of The Explorers Club, the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce Trustee Program, and the International Women’s Forum. She has been awarded the prestigious Gorilla Prize by world-renowned zoological organization Loro Parque for her efforts in conservation. Dr. Ganzert is frequently highlighted in prominent national news and media platforms as an authoritative advocate for animals. In the recent season, she made appearances on shows like Good Morning America, Fox & Friends, Fox News Saturday Night, and America’s Newsroom, among others. During her tenure at American Humane, she has been a guest on broadcast outlets such as the TODAY Show, MSNBC, World News Tonight, CNN, and Fox Business News, to name a few. Additionally, her insights have been featured in major newspapers, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, and the Boston Globe. Under her leadership, American Humane continues to earn recognition for its commitment to transparency, accountability, efficiency, and financial responsibility. Thanks to this dedication, American Humane is a top-rated charity having earned, for six years, Charity Navigator’s “Four- Star” rating; the “Seal of Excellence” from Independent Charities of America – awarded to fewer than three percent of charities nationwide; an “A” rating from Great Nonprofits; and is one of the few charities that meet all of the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance 20 Standards for charity accountability. Since her appointment in 2010, Dr. Ganzert has spearheaded unprecedented growth and transformational change at the historic 145-year-old nonprofit, which has reemerged as the most effective humane organization, directly impacting the lives of more animals around the world than any other organization through innovative, life-changing and life-saving programs that set the gold standard in animal welfare and protection. Dr. Ganzert has dramatically expanded the scope and scale of the organization’s programs globally with a presence in 40 countries making American Humane the largest certifier of animal welfare in the world. In addition to this growth she has provided oversight for iconic humane programs such as No Animals Were Harmed®, protecting animals in film and entertainment; and, American Humane Certified®, helping to ensure humane treatment of animals in agriculture. She launched a first-of-its-kind humane certification in global conservation for animals in zoos and aquariums and an innovative humane certification effort for the airline industry to help improve the safety and protection of companion animals in transportation. Most recently, Dr. Ganzert launched a new Humane Certified Pet Provider program focused on assessing the condition, well-being and welfare of small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and aquatic life at pet provider locations and animal suppliers. Dr. Ganzert is also responsible for the creation of American Humane’s famed Pups4Patriots™ program that...

Richard F. Trice Jr., R.Ph., MBA President Glenbeigh Hospital & Outpatient Centers Rick Trice is the President of Glenbeigh Hospital, part of the ARMC Health System. Before joining the ACMC Healthcare System in 2017, Rick served as Pharmacy Manager at University Hospital Health System Geneva Medical Center and Conneaut Medical Center. With 19 years of experience in managing clinical and non-clinical departments, Rick’s leadership was integral to the University Hospital System. Graduating from Ohio Northern University with a BS in Pharmacy, Rick owned and operated two pharmacies in Madison, Ohio. He transitioned to the acute care setting in the late 1990s, eventually earning an MBA in healthcare from Baldwin Wallace University

David has been a banking leader in Northeast Ohio since 2011, as part of a career that includes more than three decades of banking experience nationally, focused on corporate and commercial banking. Cleveland is his home, and he enjoys supporting his city and finding success for his company all at the same time. David is the first regional president for First Financial in Northeast Ohio. In his first year after being named to the position in 2023, he quickly added $100 million in investment in Northeast Ohio through his clients. He considers his biggest win in business to have come from finding a path to success as the first employee hired in a new market, which he has done twice now, most recently with First Financial Bank. He holds his MBA, specializing in finance and marketing, from Case Western Reserve University, and a bachelor’s degree in finance from Miami University. David also holds FINRA investment banking licenses. David is a proud of his local connections and volunteers his time to improve the community. He is the board chair of Building Hope in the City, a nonprofit organization that is transforming the neighborhoods of Clark-Fulton and Stockyards, and Cleveland’s refugee and immigrant communities. David is also active with the Leadership Cleveland Foundation, the Miami University Venture Pitch competition and Bay Presbyterian Church.

With over a decade of pioneering work at Heirloom Traditions Paint and my current leadership role as CEO of CamCoat, I bring a wealth of experience in product development and the creative direction of our products. My core competencies lie in transforming spaces with a keen eye for color, interior design aesthetic, furniture placement and kitchen & bath design. At CamCoat/Heirloom Traditions, our mission is to deliver sustainable coating solutions that aligns with my dedication to innovation and excellence in the realm of home aesthetics and paint & coatings. By leveraging my background in design, we aim to make a positive environmental impact while enhancing the beauty and functionality of our customers living spaces using our innovative paint products.

Founder, CEO and Chairman of the Board Matt Calkins is Appian's founder, CEO, and Chairman of the Board. Matt grew Appian from a startup in his basement to the most successful software IPO of 2017 with only $10 million of outside capital. He serves on the board of the Sorensen Institute and sits on the Leadership Council for the Virginia Public Access Project. Matt was the top Economics graduate of his class at Dartmouth. He is the author of several award-winning board games, and is frequently a top finisher at the World Boardgaming Championships.

Craig has worked in the arts in the United Kingdom, Australia and now, the United States. His current role is in Cleveland, Ohio as the President & CEO of Playhouse Square, a unique collection of 12 venues presenting an impressive season of performances and concerts as well as hosting eight resident companies. Craig was previously in London as CEO of the Royal Albert Hall, one of the world’s most wellknown and busiest performance venues. Prior to this, he was CEO of Opera Australia, the country’s largest performing arts organization. Craig also worked in London for nine years as CEO of English National Ballet; COO of Raymond Gubbay Ltd, a commercial promoter of classical music; and also consulted to the London 2012 Olympic Games on cultural presentations. Before leaving Australia, Craig was Deputy General Manager of Sydney Theatre Company, and worked with the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games as General Manager of Image, Special Events and Olympic Arts Festivals - a role that involved the development and delivery of a comprehensive, substantial, and successful four-year cultural program. Craig has served on the boards of LIFT - the London International Festival of Theatre; The Exhibition Road Cultural Group and English National Ballet School. He is currently on the board of d&b audiotechnik, a leading manufacturer of speakers for the entertainment industry; C4RD – Centre for Recent Drawing, London; and the University of London. In 2015, Craig was awarded an AM (Australia Medal) for services to the performing arts in Australia and is now a Global Ambassador for Advance Australia.

Erika L. Anthony, a native New Yorker, is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Cleveland VOTES. Cleveland VOTES is a nonpartisan, democracy-building movement that works to reconstruct and strengthen power through active participation of our collective partners. Erika has held executive and senior positions with the Ohio Transformation Fund, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, and Oriana House, Inc. She also serves on a number of boards and commissions in Cleveland. Erika holds a B.S. in Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University and a Masters of Public Administration from the Maxine G. Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University.