Learn about people, companies making difference at work and in their communities

Banking

Scott McKee was named the corporate social responsibility director for First Merchants Corp., operator of First Merchants Bank. The organization also appointed Scott Steinwart, lakeshore regional chief sales officer; Tom Ross, market president, St. Joseph/Elkhart counties; and Dale Clapp, regional president, lakeshore and Northwest Indiana.

Ohio-based KeyBank, which has branch locations in Indiana, named John Thurman sales leader of commercial banking for its central and northern Indiana markets.

Rochella Neely was named branch manager at Centier Bank’s Highland location, 9701 Indianapolis Blvd.

Business

Kelly Webb Roberts, co-owner of Webb Hyundai in Highland and Webb Hyundai-Mitsubishi in Merrillville, recently was elected to the executive board of the Chicago Automobile Trade Association. Webb Roberts, who was selected secretary, is the first woman to serve on CATA’s executive board in the organization’s 116-year history.

Regina Emberton, president and CEO, of the South Bend – Elkhart Regional Partnership, recently was presented with the Certified Economic Development designation from the International Economic Development Council.

Daniel Buksa of Munster, associate executive director, public affairs of the Academy of General Dentistry in Chicago, recently received renewal for his Certified Association Executive designation from the American Society of Association Executives.

Robert Wright recently was named president and CEO of Chicago-based Potbelly Corp., which operates numerous Potbelly Sandwich Shop locations in Northwest Indiana. He succeeded Alan Johnson.

Education

The Rev. Dr. Eric Albert Zimmer is the new president of University of St. Francis, which has campuses in Fort Wayne and Crown Point. He succeeds Sister M. Elise Kriss who retired June 30 after serving 27 years as president.

Ivy Tech Community College recently appointed Kristen Schunk Moreland senior vice president and chief strategy officer; Jonathon Barefoot was named vice president for public safety and emergency preparedness; and Matthew Etchison was named senior vice president and chief information officer.

Mia Johnson recently was named interim chancellor for Ivy Tech Community College’s Anderson campus. She most recently served as vice chancellor for academic affairs at the college’s Muncie campus. She takes over for Jim Willey who announced his retirement in the spring.

Countance Anderson, vice chancellor of student success at Ivy Tech Community College’s Valparaiso, Michigan City and La Porte campuses, was appointed to the Commission on Student Success of The American Association of Community Colleges.

Niclas Erhardt was appointed dean of the Valparaiso University College of Business. Erhard previously served as associate dean of the Maine Business School at the University of Maine.

Kenneth Christensen will take over as Carol and Ed Kaplan Armour College Dean of Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology Dec. 1. He currently serves as the Viola D. Hank professor and chair of the University of Notre Dame’s Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering.

The University of Notre Dame recently elected three members to its board of trustees: Justin Liu, president of the RM Liu Foundation; Michael O’Grady, chairman and CEO of Northern Trust; and Jennifer Scanlon, president and CEO of UL Inc.

Finance

Tina Patton was named vice president, director of nonprofit and foundation engagement for Indiana Trust Wealth Management in Mishawaka.

Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co. of Michigan City named Martha Wargo Oprea vice president and chief compliance offer; promoted Michael Hackett to senior vice president and director of personal trust and marketing; and promoted Dayna Pedzinski to trust tax officer and operations manager.

Government

Joe Hoage, who earned a law degree from the University of Valparaiso School of Law in 2006, is the new commissioner of the Indiana Department of Labor. Holcomb also appointed Josh Martin chief data officer at the Indiana Management Performance Hub.

Matt Eckert of Schnellville, president and CEO of Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, was appointed by Gov. Eric Holcomb to the board of directors of the Indiana Destination Development Corp. His term runs through June 30, 2024.

Patrick Lyp, city attorney for the city of Valparaiso, recently was appointed by Gov. Eric Holcomb to the board of directors of the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority.

Dan Bortner was appointed director of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources by Gov. Eric Holcomb. Bortner has served as DNR’s director of Indiana State Parks since 2005.

Health Care

Matt Doyle was named president and CEO of Methodist Hospitals in late July. He replaced Ray Grady who retired. The health system also appointed Claire O’Neill director of system transformation and Duane Seabourne director of surgical services.

Franciscan Health recently hired: Dr. Dana Elsherif, Franciscan Physician Network St. John Health Center; Dr. Zohair Ahmed, Woodland Health Center in Michigan City and Valparaiso Specialty Health Center; and Drs. Omar Nehme and Julia LeBlanc, Franciscan Physician Network Gastroenterology Crown Point.

Dr. Cristina Fox, urologist, joined the medical staff of Porter Health Care System and Porter Physician Group in the Porter Physician Group Urology office at the Porter Regional Hospital campus in Valparaiso.

Community Healthcare System recently hired the following physicians to the Community Care Network Inc.: Dr. Ali Al Khazaali, endocrinologist; Dr. Mark Fesenmyer, gastroenterologist and hepatologist; Dr. Peter Mavrelis, gastroenterologist; Dr. Ahmad Shughoury, gastroenterologist; Dr. LaChanda Dunlap-Wright, obstetrics and gynecological; Dr. Wayne Larson, obstetrics and gynecological; Dr. Michael Knesek, orthopedic surgeon; and Dr. Venkat Kavuri, orthopedic spine surgeon.

Insurance

Beth Keyser is the new president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Indiana. Keyser was most recently president of Create health plans in New York. She previously served several leadership roles with Healthways, where she was accountable for domestic and international revenue growth, managed call center operations and established partnerships with health plans, employers, physician organizations and hospitals.

Healy Group of South Bend recently promoted Carrie Urbanski to chief operation officer; Lujean Spencer, director of finance; Jenny Nijak, director of information technology; Ellen Crowe Finan, director of marketing; and Jerry Tarwacki, director of facilities.

Real Estate

Rich Deahl has joined South Bend-based real estate private equity firm Great Lakes Capital as general counsel and principal.

Media

Steve Bensing, an award-winning Valparaiso-based photographer, was among the winners in the 2020 Indiana Agriculture Photo Contest. Bensing won in the agritourism category for his photograph titled “Above the Fair.”

News

After more than two years of construction and preparation, Merrillville-based MonoSol in July dedicated its new $72 million Boone County production facility. In March 2018, MonoSol, a subsidiary of Japan-based Kuraray, announced plans for the 150,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at 155 S. Mount Zion Road in Lebanon . It will create up to 89 high-wage positions when fully operational by the end of 2020.

Northwest Indiana Partners for Clean Air presented its 2020 awards in early August to businesses and individuals taking voluntary actions to improve air quality. Honorees included: Family Express Corp. of Valparaiso, Business Award; Praxair Inc. of East Chicago, Industrial Award; city of Hammond, Municipal Award; Mark Siminski Bicycle Award was presented to Dave Stokoski of Crown Point.

The Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission was awarded almost $1 million through two grants from the Economic Development Administration. NIRPC received funds from the EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance Grant totaling $583,000 to capitalize and administer a revolving loan fund to provide loans to small businesses in Lake, Porter and La Porte counties that have been impacted by the pandemic. An additional $400,000 was issued through the CARES Act to address short- and long-term economic development impacts through the development of an economic resiliency plan and aid in the economic recovery for future pandemics and disasters. These funds can be used to hire staff to provide capacity-building and technical assistance.

KPS Capital Partners of New York is purchasing specialty vehicle maker AM General of South Bend. KPS is buying the company from an affiliate of MacAndrews & Forbes Inc. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. It is expected to close by December.

Patrick Industries Inc. of Elkhart, a maker and distributor of component products and building products used by the recreational, home furnishing and construction industries, announced in early August that it completed its purchase of Pontiac, Michigan-based Inland Plywood Co., a supplier, laminator and wholesale distributor of treated, untreated and laminated plywood, medium density overlay panels, and other products, used in similar markets now served by Patrick. The company’s fiscal 2019 revenue was estimated at $60 million, Patrick Industries said.

Texas-based Corsicana Mattress is investing $8.6 million to open a new production facility at 755 S 500 West in La Porte, which will employ 350 people by 2023. The 165,000-square-foot facility, which was expected to open in December, will house the company’s domestic boxed-bed manufacturing operations. The company operates 10 production facilities around the country.

Click here to read more from the October-November 2020 issue of Northwest Indiana Business Magazine.