Cleveland's CEOs You Should Know

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.

The Cuyahoga County Veterans Service Commission understands the issues today’s veterans are facing. Most of the staff is comprised of veterans dedicated to serving their fellow veterans and their families.

Dr. Amber C. Gibbs joined Cuyahoga DD in 2008 and served in a variety of supervisory and leadership roles, most recently as Chief Administrative Services Officer, before becoming Superintendent and CEO in 2023. Her notable accomplishments include leading a major effort to eliminate the waiting list in Cuyahoga County and to find ways to serve the needs of all 13,000 county residents with developmental disabilities and their families; overseeing several key service departments, a staff of 300 and budgets of more than $40 million; and building a culture of service excellence throughout the organization. A leader at the state level with the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities and other county boards, Gibbs was recognized in 2018 with the Ohio Association of County Board’s Partners in Excellence Award for her groundbreaking work to eliminate the statewide Medicaid waiting list. Gibbs holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wittenberg University, a master’s degree in social science and psychology from the University of Chicago, and a doctorate in organizational leadership from the University of Dayton. She lives in Cleveland with her husband and three daughters.

Dr. Warren Morgan is Chief Executive Officer for Cleveland Metropolitan School District where he leads one of the largest school systems in Ohio. As an experienced educator, Dr. Morgan recognizes the potential of every child and advocates for equity and excellence. He previously served as Chief Academic Officer in Indianapolis, as Executive Director for Teach for America, as a Network Leader of Cleveland's investment turnaround schools, as a high school principal in Chicago Public Schools, science teacher in St. Louis where he was awarded Outstanding Teacher, and he began his career with the Illinois Senate. Dr. Morgan also had the pleasure of working for both Presidents Obama and Trump as a prestigious White House Fellow. He currently serves on the Board of the White House Fellows Foundation Association. Dr. Morgan holds a Bachelor's from Butler University, where he served as student body president; a Master’s from the University of Missouri- St. Louis; and a Doctorate from the University of Illinois–Chicago. He is an alum of the Broad Fellowship at Yale University. He is an active member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc

Travis Nelson is the CEO of Diversified Fall Protection, the largest turnkey fall protection integrator in the U.S. for regulatory-driven systems and services. Nelson is a distinguished leader and influencer in the fall protection industry and brings over 20 years of industry experience to the position. Nelson's journey with DFP began in 2019, initially as Vice President of Engineering and later as Vice President of Strategy. His tenure at DFP commenced after the acquisition of PEAK Fall Protection, where Nelson served as managing partner and president for nearly 12 years. A trusted industry leader since 1994, Diversified Fall Protection (DFP) specializes in the design, fabrication and installation of complete fall protection solutions that keep workers safe from falls, one of the most common causes of workplace injury and fatality. The company minimizes customer liability and protects employees through a comprehensive system of OSHA-compliant fall protection solutions, education programs and an in-house engineering and design team. As a certified integrator of every major manufacturer of system components, DFP provides fall protection partnership for life through the systems we engineer, produce, install, and service.

Presented by Cleveland, Ohio-based, non-profit organization, Values-in-Action Foundation, the Kindland movement is bringing together communities, businesses, organizations, and schools by recognizing and sharing the acts of kindness around us in an effort to inspire a ground swell of positivity and goodness. Kindland relies on the power of the people to do, recognize, report, and share the acts of kindness happening everyday. ​The goal is to create a communities that can sustain a unified sense of kindness, compassion, empathy and understanding. These values are the foundation we need for our community to have the strength to find solutions to our most prominent issues including poverty, social justice, racism, and political polarization. Stuart Muszynski is the co-founder, President and CEO of Values-in-Action Foundation. He has been a business and community leader in Greater Cleveland for more than 25 years. He co-founded Project Love, Remember the Children Foundation, with his wife, Susan Muszynski, Ph.D. in 1994, and is the author of the book Searching for Values: a Grandmother, and Grandson and the Discovery of Goodness (Hiram College, 2005) as well as numerous articles on education, character and values. Muszynski graduated from Hamilton College in 1976 and is the 2011 recipient of the National Cyberbully Day of Awareness Caring and Daring Award. He and Susan have been married for more than 30 years.

1978 the Waterproofing company where DiCello worked folded on a Friday afternoon. DiCello's over-the-weekend scramble prompted a new business venture: Ohio State Waterproofing. With a shoestring budget, a basement waterproofing system that would prove to be years ahead of its time, and dogged determination to make the home services company succeed, DiCello was well on his way to building the industry-leading provider of basement waterproofing services. Early on, the Company's vision was week to week, with the main objective to generate enough revenue to make payroll for its three employees. Fourty-six years later, DiCello has grown the Company, establishing Ohio State Waterproofing as the number-one provider of waterproofing services in Northeastern Ohio, and operating 13 EverDry Waterproofing franchises throughout the United States. To date, the Company has installed more than 100,000 successful waterproofing and foundation repair systems. In an industry laden with fly-by-night contractors, Ohio State Waterproofing has established itself as the professional and dependable solution for basement water issues. The Company invested in R&D efforts, refining and then patenting its Multi-Step waterproofing system in 1984. Today, it remains the only system on the market that attacks water issues from inside and outside the home. DiCello worked with vendors to ensure quality product procurement, and in the process, developed patented concrete mixes and other products that are incorporated into the exclusive waterproofing system. Quality is it’s benchmark: Ohio State Waterproofing guarantees it’s work for the life of the home-a point that differentiates the Company from its competitors.

Cliff A. Megerian, MD, is Chief Executive Officer of University Hospitals (UH), a comprehensive health system with annual revenues of $6 billion, 21 hospitals (including 5 joint ventures), more than 50 health centers and outpatient facilities, and over 200 physician offices located throughout 16 counties. He assumed this position in February 2021 and joined UH in 2002. He is also the Jane and Henry Meyer Chief Executive Officer Distinguished Chair. In December 2019, Dr. Megerian was appointed the system’s President, where he led the organization through an unprecedented pandemic. Prior to that, he served as President, University Hospitals Physician Network, Physician Services and System Institutes. In these positions, he was charged with managing the clinical integration strategies, policies and practice guidelines for more than 2,500 UH employed physicians as well as the operations and infrastructure for UH system institutes. These clinical care institutes bring highly trained subspecialists together from multiple disciplines to collaborate on the best treatment for patients – promoting uniform, standard care protocols and the sharing of best practices. Additionally, he raised physician productivity to its highest level and significantly increased physician engagement and research funding. UH’s physician network includes the full-time academic medical practice at UH Cleveland Medical Center and UH’s community-based, multi-specialty physician network throughout Northeast Ohio.

E. Douglas Beach, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging (WRAAA), has empirical leadership experience and expertise at the federal, state, and local levels. Having spent much of his childhood on family farms, it quite naturally followed Dr. Beach would pursue a doctorate in agricultural economics. Engaged in this pursuit at North Carolina State University, Dr. Beach found it necessary to return to Ohio to care for his ailing father. This circumstance led him to an awareness and interest in a different national resource: the senior population. Dr. Beach began a career advocating for elders while serving as the Ohio Department of Aging's Deputy Director of Programs, and after many years at the Department of Aging, Congressman David L. Hobson (R-OH) asked Dr. Beach to come on board as a staff economist. Utilizing his assured background in education and economics, Dr. Beach drafted major long-term care insurance legislation working for Congressman Hobson; it was then that Dr. Beach's desire to promote and defend the needs of seniors was revitalized. In September 1999, Dr. Beach was named the CEO of the Senior Resource Alliance, Florida's most prominent and industrious area agency on aging. Under his leadership, the Orlando-based organization's budget rose from $16 million to $25 million. Soon after, the Senior Resource Alliance became Florida's first Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) and was honored as one of the nation's top 10 Information & Referral systems. February 2007 brought a knock on the door from Governor Charlie Crist tapping Dr. Beach to be Secretary of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs. Although rough economic times ensued, the Department's budget matched in equal measure to meet the needs of Florida's seniors with the preponderance of funding allocated for senior community and healthcare needs. One of the premier aging providers in the State of Florida, the Council on Aging of Volusia County (COA) welcomed Dr. Beach as its new Executive Director in June 2010. The COA provided traditional Older Americans Act (OAA) services but also emphasized private pay services and in-home Medicare services. In October 2014, Dr. Beach became Chief Executive Officer of WRAAA. With his blend of skills, business acumen, and respect for older adults and individuals with disabilities, Dr. Beach continues to provide comprehensive leadership and panoptic guidance to future opportunities and anticipated challenges. Over the past decade, Dr. Beach has transformed an agency on the edge into the largest minority-dominated Area Agency on Aging in the State of Ohio.

Adam Nash is the co-founder & CEO of Daffy.org, a fast-growing platform and community for charitable giving. Adam has served as an executive, angel investor, and advisor to some of the most successful technology companies to come out of Silicon Valley. Adam previously served as President & CEO of Wealthfront. He has held executive and technical roles at Dropbox, LinkedIn, eBay, and Apple. Adam also serves as an Adjunct Lecturer at Stanford University, where he teaches “Personal Finance for Engineers.” As an angel investor, Adam is well known for being an early investor in Firebase (sold to Google), Opendoor (Ticker: OPEN), Figma, Gusto, and over 120 other startups. Adam holds BS and MS degrees in Computer Science from Stanford University, as well as an MBA from Harvard.

AmCoat Industrial, maker of high-performance coatings for walls, roofs, and specialty industrial applications. AmCoat is home to some of the most recognized paint brands in the U.S., most notably Rhino Shield Ceramic Coatings, Floor Shield Polyaspartic Coatings and, Super Shield Roof Coatings. Through a network of independent dealers, AmCoat distributes its products nationally and internationally coating thousands of homes, buildings and, commercial and industrial applications. Terry Andre has led AmCoat as its CEO since 2010. With more than twenty years of contract manufacturing experience, he is uniquely qualified to help dealers develop their businesses and keep the supply chain moving. Terry and his wife Kathy, reside in Destin, Florida and have three adult children

Corina Diehl is a passionate woman. Her passion for cars and for serving her customers has built Diehl Automotive into one of the region's most successful and fastest growing dealerships. Corina also has a passion for giving back to the community that supports her business and where she raised her family.

Stewart KohlStewart A. Kohl is Co-Chief Executive Officer of The Riverside Company, a $13 billion global private equity firm founded to invest in premier companies at the smaller end of the middle market. Since 1988, Riverside has invested in more than 1,000 companies globally. The firm’s investors include leading pension funds, endowments, funds-of-funds, insurance companies and banks. The firm employs more than 350 people in offices across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Mr. Kohl joined Riverside in 1993. Prior to that, he was a vice president of Citicorp Venture Capital, Ltd., the private equity arm of Citibank. In addition to his work with Riverside, Mr. Kohl serves as an Honorary Trustee of Oberlin College and of the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland. He is also on the Board of Directors of Cleveland Clinic and Co-Chairs its $2 billion Power of Every One Capital Centennial Campaign. He was inducted into the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges Hall of Excellence in 2009. He previously served as Co-Chair of the Building for Hope Capital Campaign of the Center for Families and Children.Mr. Kohl earned the George S. Dively Entrepreneurship Award in 2018. He was inducted into the Northeast Ohio Business Hall of Fame in 2014. After spending 16 years as a “Heavy Hitter” participant in the Pan-Mass Challenge bicycle fundraiser, Mr. Kohl founded VeloSano, a similar event that has raised more than $20 million to fund cancer research since 2014.Mr. Kohl holds a BA from Oberlin College.

Mike Malley is Chairman of the family-owned Malley’s Chocolate, Inc., leading operations and personnel across the specialty retailers’ 19 regional stores and manufacturing facility headquartered in Brook Park, Ohio. As grandson of company founder Albert Martin (Mike) Malley, and in partnership with his five siblings, he serves in the third generation of family chocolatiers since its incorporation in 1935. Malley re-joined the family business in 2012 after a progressive 23-year career in the publishing industry. He was Advertising Director and Sales Manager at Crain’s Cleveland Business before returning to chocolate, and previously held multiple executive editorial, publisher-level and sales management positions with Questex Media and Advanstar Communications, Inc. Throughout his career, Malley was recognized for leading innovations in traditional print and electronic media, and for helping business-to-business publications expand their audiences and advertising sales revenue. At 63, he is also active in several local and civic organizations, including as Director, Board Member for Cleveland Roots, an organization dedicated to urban agriculture while providing affordable access to fresh produce; Board member of Cleveland Spice Acres; and was past Director, Board Member of LifeBanc, a local organ procurement agency and past Director, Board Member for the Cleveland Boys and Girls Club of Cleveland; and is an alumnae of Leadership Cleveland, class of 2018. He received his Bachelor of Arts in English and Psychology from Cleveland State University and recent graduate of Leadership Cleveland Class, 2018. Malley lives in Brecksville, Ohio with his wife Angela, with whom he has two adult children.

Paul Sidhu is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Sidhu Realty Capital. Paul has over a decade of commercial real estate investment experience having managed and consulted on multi-billion dollar private equity portfolios as a Portfolio Manager for UBS Investment Bank and a Senior Consultant for Deloitte. Paul graduated from Bates College with a Bachelor of Arts degree and also holds a Masters in Real Estate Finance from New York University’s Schack Real Estate Institute and an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Paul is also a licensed real estate broker and a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). Paul is excited about taking Dave’s Cosmic Subs to the next level. The original Dave’s Cosmic Subs started out as a humble sub-shop in Chagrin Falls is now revolutionizing the sub-world. Founded on the principles of quality ingredients, unique “cosmic” flavors, and a Rock’n Roll atmosphere, the original Dave’s Cosmic Subs has been serving subs that rock since 1997. These legendary subs are poised for expansion across the nation for continued success. The brand is unveiling a fresh logo, new website, and mobile app, all aimed for growth and welcoming new franchise locations.

Brian Krusz is the Founder and Director of Growth & Development at Sgt. Clean Car Wash. Founded in 2013, Sgt Clean Car Wash is an express exterior chain, currently with 16 locations throughout Northeast Ohio. Sgt Clean is a five time Inc 5,000 winner, five time Weatherhead 100, 3 time Vet100 winner, Smart50 Honoree and two time Smart Culture Award recipient. Brian spent eight years in the United States Marine Corps and graduated from Kent State University with an undergraduate degree in Business Management. Brian currently lives in Strongsville with wife and two sons. Brian enjoys spending time with family and friends along with playing golf and hockey, alongside his passion for all Cleveland sports teams.