CBJ's Largest Privately Held Companies 2018

More documents

Recommendations

Info

GreatAmerica Financial Services 6 TONY GOLOBIC CHAIRMAN & CEO GreatAmerica Financial Services passed the quarter-century mark last year, but it hasn’t lost the lean, hungry attitude that propelled it from an upstart in the commercial equipment finance business to a major player. The Cedar Rapids-based company’s assets have topped $2 billion, up from $1.8 billion in 2016 when Great- America placed fourth on the CBJ’s Largest Privately Held Companies list. In the meantime, the company has increased its employee base from 460 to 516 and broadened its information technology capabilities, Chairman and CEO Tony Golobic said. GreatAmerica aims to grow an average of 10 percent per year, but it doesn’t meet that goal by focusing solely on dollars, Mr. Golobic noted. “We want to be the best at helping our customers be more successful. Revenue growth is important, and it has always followed – year over year since inception – our strategic objective of being a business without competition.” GreatAmerica is “planning for a more IT-centric future that provides a frictionless environment for our customers,” Mr. Golobic added. “Though we are still in the primary business of financing equipment and software for our resellers’ customers, we want to strengthen our online presence for customers and prospects who need answers to questions beyond financing and more about running their businesses.” Recruiting and retaining talented employees and maintaining a strong corporate culture have been strengths from the outset. GreatAmerica shares that expertise via its human resource consulting arm, which helps clients with the selection and training of personnel in sales, information systems, managed services and other areas. The company’s Collabrance and Portfolio Services business units have also “grown nicely,” Mr. Golobic said, adding that jobs in those areas require emerging skillsets in IT, database management and systems analysis. Collabrance provides managed IT customers with U.S.- based, live-answer service desk and network operations functions, including private label programs that allow clients to have customer calls answered as if by their own company. Portfolio Services allows clients such as banks, equipment leasing companies and solar finance companies to outsource contract servicing at reduced costs and with fewer operational barriers. That allows them to concentrate on their core strengths. Other value-added services include FleetView, a remote monitoring system for printing devices on a network, and Info-Zone.com, a secure network that gives proprietary access to customer files and details of individual leases. The widening focus has led GreatAmerica to increase its hiring of beginning to mid-level IT specialists over the last two years, and change its recruiting strategy to include more social media engagement and greater use of online tools such as Indeed, LinkedIn and Google. Internal employee referrals have gone from about 40 percent of hires to 50 percent, Mr. Golobic said. Despite the challenges of continuous growth, GreatAmerica has elected to stay private rather than access public markets to raise additional capital. “Being public has some pluses and many drawbacks,” Mr. Golobic said. “Publicly-held companies tend to face THE TEAM EXECUTIVE TEAM Tony Golobic, Chairman & CEO Stan Herkelman, President David Pohlman, COO Joe Terfler, CFO BOARD OF DIRECTORS Tony Golobic, Chair Stan Herkelman Doug Olson Paul Rhines Emmett Scherrman Doug Sedlacek John Smith SUPPORT TEAM Bank of America Deloitte KPMG Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman PLC Wells Fargo quarterly pressures that put short-term results ahead of long term objectives. The ultimate direction and future of publicly owned companies is subject to pressures from different ownership groups.” Fortunately for GreatAmerica, “our profitability has enabled us to generate our own capital for growth and buy out our investors,” Mr. Golobic noted. “We now have the luxury of being in control of our future by being a family-owned private company.” — Emery Styron 16 CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES 2018
ADVERTISEMENT BankIowa: Your financial future is our professional passion Being a neighbor to the community and having an undisputed commitment to our clients are just parts of the solid foundation that makes BankIowa Iowa’s hometown bank. For over 95 years, BankIowa has stood firm and true to these core values that BankIowa staff live by every day. BankIowa serves clients from eleven offices that are located in Cedar Rapids, Norway, Waterloo, Cedar Falls, Jesup, Lamont and Independence. Professional Leadership As a locally owned, community bank, a strong component of BankIowa’s success is the fact that it has remained an independent business driven by the core values of appreciating clients, being a neighbor to the community, and believing in each other to exceed clients’ expectations. Experience and longevity of the staff at BankIowa is impressive. CEO, Rob Robinson, has been with BankIowa for 35 years, and the bank’s Chairman of the Board, Dolph Leytze, has been a banker in Iowa for more than 50 years, with the majority of these years dedicated to BankIowa. With a staff of 140 that shares a vast amount of experience, it’s hard to find a group who has more knowledge than the team at BankIowa. When asked in employee surveys why they work at BankIowa, the top response is consistently about the people and the commitment to fellow employees and to clients. The president of the bank, Alison Urbina, said that, “All of us have a lot of pride in being a ‘BankIowan.’ The teamwork across departments and offices puts client care at the center of what we do.” Passionate Service Given the BankIowa team’s notable combined length of service, the breadth of products and the knowledge that comes with it, BankIowa has truly grown to be a single stop for all financial needs. Beyond the basic checking and savings account offerings, BankIowa also has a solid menu of services that include consumer and business deposit services, commercial and agriculture business banking, trust services, investments, mortgages and insurance. With the local decisions, customized products, and seasoned staff, BankIowa has been claimed by some to be the “hidden jewel” in the market. BankIowa has the ability to go head-to-head with larger financial institutions, possessing a lending limit and array of products that could be perceived as something only larger banks have the capacity to offer. “We feel very fortunate every day to have the opportunity in our market area to create long standing banking relationships. We truly believe and practice our bank-wide mission of ‘Your financial future is our professional passion,’” stated Russ Breazeale, Senior Vice President and Cedar Rapids Market President. In recognition of BankIowa’s commitment to the financial field, it recently received a 5-Star Superior rating by BauerFinancial, Inc. BauerFinancial, Inc. is the nation’s leading independent bank and credit union rating and research firm. No institution can pay for or opt out of a BauerFinancial rating. BankIowa has earned the highest rating for 28 consecutive quarters. A 5-Star Superior rating indicates that BankIowa is one of the strongest banks in the nation, excelling in such areas as capital, loan quality, profitability and much more. Hometown Commitment A business and its staff are only as strong as the communities they serve. Knowing this, BankIowa is dedicated to not only investing in its communities, but also supporting its employees’ dedication to the countless hours they spend helping their communities be strong and healthy places to live, work and play. Being a good neighbor is part of life in the BankIowa family; supporting educational, recreational and social service initiatives come naturally to the organization. Whether it’s volunteering at the Freedom Festival Freedom Ride event, contributing dollars to the building of a new school or community pool or volunteering at HACAP and in classrooms, BankIowa has never hesitated to take a lead role when needed. “Nothing makes me feel more satisfied and proud about the work of every BankIowan than when I receive unsolicited feedback about how we made a positive impact in someone’s life,” Rob Robinson said. • FOR OVER 95 YEARS, Banklowa has provided its customers quality financial products and services, and has proudly remained an independent and locally owned institution. Your Financial Future is Our Professional Passion. CEDAR RAPIDS 2701 Edgewood Pkwy SW, 52404 / 319.654.9444 7045 C Avenue NE, 52402 / 319.395.9100 NORWAY 102 E. Railroad Street, 52318 / 319.227.7146 Member FDIC CEDAR FALLS CEDAR RAPIDS INDEPENDENCE JESUP LAMONT NORWAY WATERLOO CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES 2018 17
Page 1 and 2: CBJ’s Largest Privately Held COMP
Page 3 and 4: CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMP
Page 5 and 6: Largest Privately Held Companies La
Page 7 and 8: Let our employee benefit expertise
Page 9 and 10: Gary Watts President & CEO Building
Page 11 and 12: LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD As we look b
Page 13 and 14: Building Better Communities! Enhanc
Page 15: Strategic Financial Solutions is a
Page 19 and 20: How to future-proof your business:
Page 21 and 22: Celebrating 11 Years in the Corrido
Page 23 and 24: ADVERTISEMENT F & M Bank - Continui
Page 25 and 26: FOCUSED ON BUILDING QUALITY Chaunce
Page 27 and 28: Largest Privately Held Companies (R
Page 29 and 30: LPH by the Numbers 2018 INDUSTRY BR
Page 31 and 32: World Class Industries simplifies s

CBJ's Largest Privately Held Companies 2018

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?