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The client wanted the impossible: Give a robot all the skills of a human welder. Five years ago a custom automotive and marine supplier in Cleveland asked what was then an engineering consulting firm to help him with a labor shortage, and Path Robotics Inc. was born. "The tolerances are incredibly tight, that you have to keep with welding," co-founder and CEO Andy Lonsberry said. "And if the gaps (between pieces of sheet metal) change from 0 to 4 millimeters, you have to be able to make adjustments on the fly, seeing what's coming, move to a weave, go up onto a lift, weld in. "And these, again, are things that come very easily for a trained human welder. But for a robot, it's just impossible." Except now it's possible. Path Robotics has since moved to Columbus, and last year launched its first commercial robotics system based on the prototype built by two brothers and a fellow engineer in that factory basement, as Lonsberry told us as the latest guest in Columbus Business First's Newsmakers podcast. We talk about how the Path team solved its impossible problem, what it's like to work in cramped quarters with your brother, and why at first Lonsberry told Drive Capital, "Go away." The interview was recorded shortly after the company landed a $56 million venture capital round to expand sales and manufacturing of its AI-powered system. The round was led by VC firm Addition along with returning investors, Columbus-based Drive Capital LLC and California's Basis Set Ventures and Lemnos Lab. Lonsberry founded the company with his brother, Alex Lonsberry, and fellow engineer Matt Klein. The fourth founder is Ken Lonsberry, their father, on the business side – he didn't have to work in the basement. Today Path has more than 100 employees and could top 160 by year's end. Welding jargon like "weave" above makes sense in context, but a few terms in the interview might be unfamiliar: Tier One automotive are the very large suppliers to automakers, mass producing the same part. And in welding the "puddle" is the molten metal forming during the weld, which quickly hardens to join the parts.

It's almost hard to believe there was a time when good coffee just wasn't a thing. But it wasn't that long ago. Greg Ubert was working in computer software in the late 1980s, but what really captured his imagination was coffee — real, good coffee; the art and science of roasting. And, of course, the potential for business. “Good coffee just wasn't widely available,” he said. “It wasn't around. It wasn't accessible.” When he started Crimson Cup Coffee and Tea in 1991, local-based Stauf's had been open just a few years, but industry giant Starbucks was still years away from stand-alone Columbus shops. Ubert started not with a plan to seed the city, state or country with shops, but rather to be a resource — a wholesaler of beans and other supplies and consultant to those who wanted to run shops of their own. Its customers are those who serve the end customers. That's still the heart of the business today with hundreds of clients in 40 states plus a franchisee in Bangladesh, but Crimson Cup is gradually building up name recognition of its own with industry awards and a slow rollout of its own stores, including the newest unit at Easton Town Center. Ubert sat down with Columbus Business First for our Newsmakers podcast. He shared not just the history of the brand and how its evolved in the past 30 years, but also the impact the Covid-19 pandemic had on the business — he shares his personal record for consecutive days wearing sweatpants to work — and his hopes for the future. “People enjoy having a great drink,” he said. “I don't think that's going to change.”

Count North Country Charcuterie among those businesses that are wiser and more efficient at this point in the pandemic. The Columbus-based maker and processor of salami, fresh sausage and other products has used new offerings to make a better-balanced business and refigured production space to better maximize its use. The moves create more consistent cash flow and buy them more time in their current facility before they need to consider an expansion. In this episode of Newsmakers, Columbus Business First's podcast with Central Ohio leaders and entrepreneurs, co-owners and brothers Duncan Forbes and James Forbes (who started the business in 2014 with mother Jane Forbes), share their company's history, some of the ins-and-outs of meat product production and why adding products like fresh sausage is important for more reasons than just additional sales. How long can North Country Charcuterie stay in its current facility? What new products are they developing and dreaming up? And why does production have to occur within very specific hours? The Forbes brothers discuss that and more.

Harley Blakeman's LinkedIn profile is one of a kind, but he's working to change that. The founder of Columbus tech company Honest Jobs LLC lists one prior job and the book he wrote, then drops this attention grabber: "Drug dealer, January 2009 - November 2010." "Started with $500 and grew the business to over $8,000/month in revenue," reads the description for the self-employed role. "Met and exceeded customer expectations. Successfully managed multiple suppliers. ... Closed down operations after being arrested and sentenced to prison." The hilarious, blunt satirization of resume-speak helps explain the inspiration for his startup. Blakeman turned his life around after his 14-month sentence in Georgia, moving to Columbus at the invitation of relatives who hooked him up with his first job. He described his journey from couch-surfing homeless teen to startup founder in the latest episode of Columbus Business First's Newsmakers podcast. Despite earning top grades at Ohio State University, Blakeman couldn't land an internship and had trouble finding a job because of his record. He did eventually land a supervisory role at a manufacturer, but he knew the struggle was worse for many more entering the job market after incarceration – no matter their skill level. "And I was just obsessing over it, I couldn't sleep at night, I was thinking about: This is what I should be doing with my time," he said. "This is my calling, I think, helping people overcome this problem." Blakeman answered that calling by starting Honest Jobs, and pivoting the business from job-hunt training services to a full tech platform that matches candidates with employers. But the best possible outcome, he said, is eventually to put himself out of business.

Comune will reopen for business, but that was never a sure thing. Co-owner Joe Galati said he met with his accountant in November. The accountant asked him what Galati believed his chances of going bankrupt were. Galati said 20%. The accountant said 90% “That hit the hardest,” Galati said. “There's a very good chance this is all going away. … That lights a fire. That's not going to happen. What are we going to do?” The situation is better today. Galati explains why he is more optimistic now than he was a few months ago in this episode of Crisis Management, Columbus Business First's podcast about doing business amid the coronavirus pandemic. He took a more conservative approach to business in the past year than many peers in the industry. He always expected this to be a long event, not just a few weeks. Though the entire restaurant industry was challenged, Comune was among the establishments facing added difficulties. It was never built to have a thriving carryout business and the dine-in space was too small to reopen in any meaningful way. It's still closed today. But there were bright spots. The Parable Coffee pop-up has done well. There was some success with planned dinner events. A return to some of the restaurant's earliest dishes like crispy rice and its walnut-mushroom Bolognese is helping drive sales now. “You can only hunker down so much,” he said. “At some point a business has to make its numbers.”

Business in times of struggle often talk of getting back to their roots. Not North High Brewing. Like many breweries and other businesses, the last year was one of big changes in the face of challenges, but the North High of today doesn't resemble the one first dreamed up by co-founders Gavin Meyers and Tim Ward a decade ago. They didn't want to run any brewpub. Today they have four and could be in double digits by the end of the year. They didn't have aspirations beyond Columbus but soon will be in multiple states. They only barely wanted to brew their own beer — the initial hook for the business was as a brew-your-own operation. North High's own beers would be secondary to the experience of inviting customers in, showing them a book of recipes and letting them loose (with professional guidance) on the brewing system. That brew-your-own option diminished over time as the founders realized being a traditional brewery made more sense. It officially ended last year. “That was the reason for being. That was the point of differentiation back when we thought the seventh brewery in Columbus was going to really crowd the industry,” Meyers said. There are dozens of craft brewers around Central Ohio today and hundreds in the state. North High is poised to rise in those ranks. Meyers chatted with Columbus Business First for an episode of Crisis Management, a podcast about businesses operating amid the coronavirus pandemic. He talked about the challenges of the past year — declining sales, laying off staff — but also the promise of the future. Thanks to its relationship with Columbus-based coworking space developers and operators CoHatch, North High's reach is moving beyond its original Short North taproom. Through that partnership, North High now has operations in Dublin, Springfield and Cincinnati, with additional units lined up in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Florida. Meyers explains how that relationship developed, how it works and how it's allowing North High to expand at “a fraction of the cost” they would incur if striking out on their own.

The startup he co-founded based on his original idea was running out of money, and he'd long since left day-to-day operations, but Chris Sauerzopf couldn't let go of the growing wire fraud problem it was trying to solve. SafeWire is back in business and growing, after investor and adviser Pete Kight – the CheckFree Corp. founder – took the assets of the former business as collateral for paying off its debts and brought back Sauerzopf as CEO. They incorporated SCSV Holdings LLC at the end of 2019 and registered SafeWire as its trade name in early 2020, targeting more than $220 million and growing annual real estate scams. "This problem scares the crap out of me," said Sauerzopf, who also owns a title company in Westerville. "Where this problem was first on my radar was in 2016, where someone had sent me an email who had just lost his entire life savings in a wire fraud loss. A title company had sent his proceeds to the wrong place." Sauerzopf had started the former SafeChain Financial with original CEO Tony Franco and Rob Zwink, who was CEO from Franco's departure until the startup shut down. SafeChain had won the Columbus pitch event for Steve Case's Rise of the Rest seed funding tour, and later raised $3 million. But in late 2019 expenses still outstripped growing revenue, and Kight said other investors did not want to put in more capital. Zwink insisted that Kight and Sauerzopf start talking, the two said in an interview for Columbus Business First's Newsmakers podcast. "(Sauerzopf) met my criteria for an entrepreneur that you want to back," Kight said via videoconference from his ranch in Colorado. "He knows this industry, I mean, to the point where you got to be careful if you're going to go out for a beer with Chris, because you're going to talk about real estate." The investment also is attractive because the entire mortgage process is "messy," Kight said. SafeWire is focused on the problem of wire fraud during the mortgage closing, but eventually can take on more aspects of a burdensome paper-piling process. The startup has more than 100 customers including title companies and real estate brokerages. Zwink is now a CTO with a Minneapolis tech company. Franco declined an interview request but said via email: “Wire fraud is a complicated problem and opportunity. I'm happy Chris and the team are pursuing the vision for a solution.” The interview tells the story of the revival, why Kight doesn't lose sleep over being the only investor willing to give the company another shot, and how SafeWire is similar to the early days of CheckFree, which launched digital banking.

What's a company known for providing free daily staff lunches do when everyone has been sent to work from home? At CoverMyMeds, the culinary staff wrote a cookbook, which was mailed to employees and business contacts over the holidays. But mostly they're busy planning how to move into a new Franklinton headquarters and at least at first shift to contactless grab and go meals instead of cafeteria style. "They have done some some amazing things for us around virtual cooking classes, and sharing weekly menus that the staff can make themselves, recipes," said Veronica Knuth, vice president of talent. "We're excited to see our culinary team again." Knuth, who joined the Columbus health IT company shortly after McKesson Corp. acquired it three years ago, is the latest guest on Columbus Business First's Crisis Management podcast on navigating the coronavirus pandemic. The first of two buildings in the new Franklinton headquarters will be ready on time in April – but it's far from clear when the Central Ohio staff can move in to a space designed for communing and collaborating. A lot will depend on vaccine supply. CoverMyMeds made more than 300 hires and 350 promotions throughout the year, all while on teleconference. It now has more than 1,500 employees between Columbus, Cleveland and remote workforce. While anticipation is running high for the new building, software maker has worked to maintain its award-winning culture in the virtual world, Knuth said. "Our employees in the business as a whole adapted with the same agility that they did every day, and they haven't missed a beat," she said. "We are continually checking in to see how they're doing, how can we best support them and whatever they might need, either personally or professionally." In the interview, Knuth mentions that CoverMyMeds uses the teleconference platform Bluejeans – so she's not referring to denim. "It has been so fun to have kids and spouses; to be able to be part of people's lives in a different way has been so incredible," she said. "I look for bright spots in this in this terrible pandemic." By the same token, when work is always in the home, she makes sure to counsel people on work-life balance – like making sure they take available paid time off. "It's easy just to say, 'OK, I've got my laptop here, I'm in my living room, I can watch TV and I can work,'" she said. "But you need that down time."

John Brooks knows how to throw a party. As managing partner of BTTS Holdings, he runs some of the city's biggest events venues that you've likely visited for work or leisure including The Estate at New Albany; Brookshire, in Delaware; and WatersEdge in Hillard. But the pandemic was a buzzkill – 120 of 130 weddings and other events were cancelled or rescheduled virtually overnight. In this episode of Crisis Management, Brooks talks about how events-oriented businesses were forced to adapt to the nearly disastrous impacts of Covid-19, and how the biggest events and celebrations will be different when people can come back together. "Some people were not comfortable having their event, which we certainly understood," Brooks said. But the venues survived the outbreak, and now Brooks is expanding – during the pandemic it opened a smaller venue in the Short North called the Fig Room. This year it'll open another new one, the Edison, in Italian Village. "A lot of empathy for our clients who maybe had planned a wedding for a year and then couldn't have it," Brooks said. "People still wanted to get married, right? Our focus really became ... what can you do? How can we do it safely, instead of what can't we do."

Covid-19 has pushed us all to work from home. So naturally, people are thinking about where they live, too. The housing market is exploding in Central Ohio as people rush to move to larger spaces, be they homes or apartments. And that's meant a change of business for Jonathan and Jamie Wilcox, of apartment developer and manager Wilcox Communities. In this episode of Crisis Management, they discuss how Covid-19 has led their company to adapt where people live, and the kinds of homes they're building for the long haul.

Capital University's interim president Dave Kaufman doesn't have a background in higher education, but the former Encova Insurance CEO is leading the university during one of the toughest periods for colleges and universities: the Covid-19 crisis. Kaufman, who talked with Columbus Business First for the latest edition of our Crisis Management podcast, said his nontraditional background has allowed him to take the best of the business world and translate it into leading the Central Ohio university during a challenging time. Kaufman retired from Encova at the end of 2019, and joined Capital as interim president in June of 2020, in the middle of the pandemic. Capital announced last year that due to the pandemic, the school would suspend its search for a new president, unable to conduct the in-person interviews needed to do a full search. Kaufman is expected to lead the Bexley university for two years or less. “It is no doubt with Covid and everything facing us, there's a plateful of challenges,” Kaufman said. “But I am finding that a lot of what I've experienced corporately, I've been able to apply that here. I feel good about that, that I've been able to kind of help the team move a little more effectively than maybe they would have under someone without the experience I had.” Kaufman said that in both the business world and higher education, “it really comes down to the same thing, building that trust and getting clarity on shared goals to execute (a vision).” Kaufman said his leadership offers a new lens, “making we can take a different approach than has been considered in past.” “That's what they're kind of counting on me to do,” Kaufman said. One of his goals with Covid-19 is to “innovate through it,” he said. For example, with the improvement in virtual learning, Kaufman said there could be a way where multiple universities could partner and offer a broader array of programs, leveraging each other's strengths and weaknesses, and sharing costs. “How do our programs compliment others so you can have a broader portfolio of products and services to package?” Kaufman said. “There's opportunities to blend things that complement each other. (For instance) I'm at Capital, but I have access to courses at two other universities still being a Capital student. You're not tied to the geographic location like you were maybe three or four years ago.”

Can meat move from pasture grazed to lab raised? That's a problem Dublin-based Matrix Meats is helping companies around the world try to solve. The Dublin-based start-up received some seed-stage backing late last year and is growing, adding staff and looking for new opportunities. CEO Eric Jenkusky said the business' partners already include about 25% of the companies in the nascent cultivated meat segment around the world. That includes clients on five continents. So what is cultivated meat and how might it help address issues like world hunger and food security? Jenkusky spoke with Columbus Business First's Newsmakers' podcast on those topics and more including why the problem it is solving is a materials science problem not a biological one and how Central Ohio can continue to grow to be a hub for alternative food technology.

Even before starting construction on a $100 million facility, a biotech affiliate of Nationwide Children's Hospital had to adapt to two huge changes simultaneously: Switching into for-profit mindset and securing safety in a pandemic. Andelyn Biosciences Inc. is building a 185,000-square-foot manufacturing facility for the genetic materials used in gene therapy research and treatments. Eventually the factory could double in size if it adds enough commercial-scale clients. The company already has grown to 120 employees from 100 at the start of the year, most of whom transferred from the hospital's Research Institute. With more than a decade supporting research and clinical trials, the staff already was flexible, adaptable and committed to quality, CEO Mayo Pujols said. "So as we've transitioned to a for-profit, geared towards commercial company, the I think the add-on for our team has been more of around a mindset of scalability, and the mindset of: It is important to think about it as a business," he said in the latest episode of Columbus Business First's Crisis Management podcast. That means paying more attention to controlling costs while investing in processes and systems to ready for a much larger production output. "Rather than just having quality as a mindset and you have to do quality work, we actually put the systems in place to ensure quality is engineered into everything we do. "We kind of took it a step further and preparation for being a commercial entity, and that's been new to the team. ... And they've done really well." The onset of the coronavirus pandemic in Ohio coincided with an already planned shutdown to bring in new equipment for larger production capacity within the Research Institute, until the new facility is ready. Before reopening in September, Andelyn had to layer in safety measures such as modifying work schedules to keep employees distant if they can't work from home. Some employees did contract Covid-19 or had to quarantine because of exposure, Pujols said. "More recently, we are starting to now see impacts from our suppliers," he said. "And I think we're not alone. "We were able to do a little bit of stockpiling, but not probably enough to say we're out of the woods."

As of January, Nikola Labs Inc. was headed for its best year ever. By April, like many businesses shut down by the coronavirus pandemic, the startup was in "the fog of war." In the latest episode of Crisis Management, Columbus Business First's podcast about steering a business through the pandemic, Nikola co-founder Will Zell and CEO Brian Graham discuss how Graham succeeded Zell mid-pandemic after two years as COO. After a more than seven-year mentorship relationship, the two had essentially co-led the company with distinct yet complementary approaches.

Simple Times Mixers' big problem prior to 2020 was space. Its first two years of business were spent building its brand and then trying to keep up with demand as it used rental kitchen space. Last year it finally moved into a home of its own, not just giving it a retail storefront and space for events, but also quadrupling its production size with plenty of space to grow. Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit this spring and knocked out 75% of its sales. A year that was intended for big growth — geographic expansion, adding jobs — became one about survival. How did Tinus and his team get Simple Times to survive the past eight months? How have consumers changed? What does the growth opportunity look like now? Tinus talked with Columbus Business First for this episode of Crisis Management where he shares those insights and experiences and touts a big reputation win in a national poll this fall.

Cameron Mitchell wasn't sure he restaurant company would still be around. The founder and CEO of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants was just as scared as anyone in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic that the event might lead to the end of the company he's spent nearly three decades building. Now seven months in, the self-described optimist feels more confident in his business' survival and hopeful the worst has already occurred. But there still are key questions to be answered — five in his estimation — that businesses, restaurants especially, need answers to in order to feel better about the future. In this episode of Crisis Management, Mitchell lays out those questions and when he expects to hear answers. He also shares a look at how his business is performing — what's working and what isn't — in addition to updates on several new restaurants that were in the works when the pandemic hit.

Columbus Food Adventures thought its business was done when Ohio shut down dine-in restaurants in March. After all its business was based on going into restaurants. In groups. That's two things that couldn't be done then and are still limited today months later. “In a sense, we were starting from scratch,” said co-owner Andy Dehus. “We just had to completely re-configure everything.” A business built around tours taking people to food turned into a delivery service bringing food to people. Months later it's now delivered more than 2,500 dinners for two to customers from more than 50 Central Ohio restaurants spanning 35 different country's cuisines. Co-owner Bethia Woolf said it wasn't exactly how they expected to spend their 10th year in business but it's turned into a positive. The Trust Fall delivery service and its new gift box program are expansions that have brought new customers to the business and will give it more diverse sales for when tours can resume. “One of the real differences is in frequency,” Woolf said. “A food tour is something that you maybe do once or twice a year. ... We do get a good number of repeat customers, but it's usually spread over a longer time period. But with Trust Fall, we have people who are now regulars who order it once a week. We've had some customers who will order it multiple times a week.” Sales are actually up, though profits are down because the margin is smaller on delivery versus tours. Dehus said it's not a replacement for tours, but it's proven to be a strong business of its own. In this episode of Crisis Management, Woolf and Dehus discuss building that business in the past several months as well as what they need to see to feel comfortable restarting the tour portion of the business, beyond the taco truck tour it does still offer.

One of the industry's most affected by the coronavirus pandemic has been healthcare, with hospitals not only serving on the front lines of the response to COVID-19, but also seeing their finances up ended by a temporary ban on elective procedures. The pandemic has also accelerated the adoption of telehealth, which has implications for hospitals operations and their physical expansion plans. Against this backdrop, Columbus Business First wanted to hear directly from the leaders of the region's major hospital systems. We sat down virtually with the four execs in late September to discuss the future of healthcare. Joining the conversation where the Lorraine Lutton, CEO of Mount Carmel Health System, Steven Markovich, CEO of OhioHealth, Hal Paz, CEO of the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Tim Robinson, CEO of Nationwide Children's Hospital. Business First health care reporter Carrie Ghose moderated. We hope you enjoyed the discussion in return for more of our quarterly forums.

Benji Ballmer would like nothing more than to put himself out of business. That's how he'll know he did a good job. The founder of Yellowbird Foodshed started his produce and food delivery business in 2014 connecting a handful of Ohio growers with a couple hundred customers. Today the company is working with 150 growers and food producers in the state and serving 1,500 customers, predominately in Central Ohio. But his ultimate goal isn't a successful business, it's changing the food system, at least in the geography within his reach. “I'm trying to build a system that will put us out of business,” Ballmer said. “I'm not in this for how big can the Yellowbird be. Can we save the frickin' planet?” Yellowbird is having its best year ever. The growth is fueled by the Covid-19 pandemic as customers sought out providers with produce and meat in stock and delivery services that allowed them to side-step the store. Ballmer's business hasn't missed a beat despite that surge in sales — weekly home deliveries, for example, rose from 60 pre-pandemic to a peak of 660 over the summer. “We were prepare for the pandemic because we were preparing for something else,” he said. “I always thought that the thing that would put us over the hump would be there would be a climate disaster in California, a drought that lasted for four or five years, and all of the stuff that's coming from out there that's on our shelves in our grocery stores, as organic would cease to exist. That isn't what it took. It was a pandemic.” Ballmer talked with Columbus Business First for the latest edition of Crisis Management. In addition to detailing how the pandemic has impacted his business, he also shared the origins of Yellowbird, how the company has evolved over the years and why he feels poised to hang on to many of the new customers gained this summer.

Even though retailers may be struggling through the coronavirus pandemic, few of their customers are defaulting on their credit card bills. As the crisis unfolded, Alliance Data Systems Corp. managers looked back to the 2008 recession for credit management models to follow and what to avoid, CEO Ralph Andretta said. "During the Great Recession, I'm not sure Alliance Data had a deep enough bench when it came to the forbearance programs they offered customers," he said. "That has changed." The company has offered some credit forbearance, such as offering plans to skip a payment, but few shoppers are taking up the most extreme 12-month program. “What we've also seen is people are paying not just their minimum due, but a bit better than their minimum due on their cards,” Andretta said. “They're keeping up with their bills; they're spending and they're paying. That's that that's exactly the type of loyalty you want.” Andretta started in February, joining a growing list of Central Ohio leaders who took the helm right before or in the midst of the pandemic. The latest episode of our Crisis Management podcast series represents his first interview with Columbus Business First since taking the job. The Columbus company branded credit cards for retailers, such as fashion, beauty and home improvement stores; and a division in Texas operates loyalty programs like airline miles. Andretta is optimistic about the future of retail and the shopping mall – maybe they'll be more showroom than point of purchase, but physical gathering places will eventually return, he said. We discuss how the company can emerge stronger due to renewed focus and reduced expenses, both temporary and ongoing, as well as how Andretta landed the job and what it was like to be "battle tested" right after taking the reins. Andretta previously was managing director of the U.S. credit cards business at competitor Citigroup Inc. He was named last November to succeed Melissa Miller, who had moved the HQ to Columbus from Plano, Texas.

Watershed Distillery started 2020 hot — posting two of its best months of business ever. But by mid-March the coronavirus pandemic scuttled all those aspirations for the year. And it was a high hopes year. Watershed marks 10 years of business this month and though it is celebrating, the plan is what it once would have been. “If it was February 15 and you told me what we'd sell in August I would have been super disappointed,” owner Greg Lehman said. “Oh no, what are we doing wrong?” Its popular restaurant Watershed Kitchen & Bar, which accounts for one-third of total company sales, closed in March and isn't reopening until 2021. On the distillery side, 60% of sales historically are to other restaurants and bars, all of which have been challenged. But here in September, bottle sales are within 5% of last year's sales thanks to the return of some wholesale sales and strong retail business through state liquor stores. “If you rewind to the middle of March I would take that any day,” Lehman said. In this episode of Crisis Management Lehman not only goes through the ups-and-downs of 2020, but also shares the company's history. It started in less than 2,000 square feet and now has more than 20,000. A restaurant and multi-state distribution weren't part of the thinking a decade ago, but are the reality today. To celebrate the occasion, the distillery is releasing Watershed Barrel Strength Bourbon, which has been aged six years and finished in spent apple brandy barrels. The tasting notes note aromas of baked apple with flavors of warm baking spices. Retail price will be $69.99. It'll be available at the distillery as well as select shops around town.

Central Ohio's hospitals have teamed up for years to try to reduce high rates of infant mortality, and the coronavirus pandemic has laid bare even more disparities in healthcare. Statewide, hospitals are redoubling examination of how to reduce inequity, not only through public policy but their own care coordination and community outreach, said Mike Abrams, CEO of the Ohio Hospital Association. "We do need to all get a lot more interested in what the solution is," Abrams said, in the latest episode of Columbus Business First's Crisis Management podcast. "I think we've been quite perfect at defining the problem and providing data and statistics about the problem," he said. "And then we scratch our heads." Abrams discussed other long-term results from the pandemic, including how it will affect hospital mergers or even survival of some institutions. And he left no doubt that the trade group supports wearing facial coverings to protect people surrounding the wearer from possible transmission of Covid-19. "We used to say in the old smoking debates that your right to swing your fist ends where my nose begins," he said. "So you're not allowed to contaminate the atmosphere that I've tried to function in and maintain my own health in. ... I don't understand how things like that get politicized."

Origin Malt's mission is more than bringing barley back to Midwest farms. Co-founder Victor Thorne also wants to increase diversity in an industry of farming, malting and making beer and spirits where there aren't many people of color. Thorne is multiracial. His father's family is from Barbados while his mother's side is from rural Clermont County here in Ohio. In this episode of Newsmakers, he talks about that experience ­— both its privileges and its problems. He's been detained by police and questioned about his “nationality” and he's had his credentials questioned because of the color of his skin. “Even though three of my siblings went there, I was told the only reason I got into Harvard was because I was Black,” he said. It hasn't deterred him. Thorne's professional roots are in technology and startups but his latest venture with Origin Malt, aims to make barley a big crop in the Midwest again. He talks about the need for diverse hiring throughout the beer and spirits supply chain and how that can be better accomplished. More than half of Origin Malt's staff is female, while two of its six board members are Black — so it is practicing what it preaches. But how can these industries improve? Thorne has thoughts.

Walter Carpenter is a first-time restaurant owner, but he's doing so with decades of experience. The owner of The Royce, which is now open at Polaris Fashion Place, has more than 30 years in the industry starting as a cook at historic Columbus brand G.D. Ritzy's and more than 20 years with Cameron Mitchell Restaurants where he worked in and helped open many of that company's sites. Carpenter spoke to Columbus Business First for Crisis Management, a podcast about doing business amid the coronavirus pandemic. He talked about what he learned in his various stops over the years and how that applies to his own space. He also talked about how the pandemic shaped his plans and the impact that the Black Lives Matter movement has had on his business.

Sales are up at Ron Jordan's Hen Quarter restaurant. But will that gain sustain? The owner of the Bridge Park dining spot said the combination of a new menu and a surge in support related to the Black Lives Matter movement are driving that increase. “I do think that some of it, unfortunately, is going to become a blip,” he said. Attention moves fast and customers compelled to spend money at Black-owned businesses last month may not feel that urge next month. But he has faith in the power of the African-American dollar. “If they truly understood all of us together what that means and we banded together and made this a mainstay, it could be a definitely a long lasting impact sort of thing,” he said. Jordan sat down for Columbus Business First's Crisis Mangement podcast where he talked about his restaurant roots, growing up in a family that owned successful Popeye's franchises, how he's helped to shape the Hen Quarter brand and the difficulties of starting a business as a Black entrepreneur, even when you have a track record.

When Dr. Hal Paz stepped into a newly created role at Ohio State University last June, he told Columbus Business First, “I want to be at the place that defines the next century of what healthcare looks like.” No one could have imagined this century. "What has happened in the past year is incredible, unbelievable, remarkable," Paz said, in the latest episode of Columbus Business First's Crisis Management podcast. "In part we got there because of this (coronavirus) pandemic, but a lot of it already was going through a process of change and, and the key ingredient in all this is innovation." For 13 months Paz has been the university's executive vice president and chancellor for health affairs, as well as CEO of its Wexner Medical Center. In that role, he has oversight of the $4 billion hospital system and faculty physician practice, plus the university health plan and all seven colleges in the health sciences – not just the medical school but nursing, pharmacy and other professions. The university's vision is to better integrate the training of those professionals, and the research by those disciplines, Paz said. "We have this new framework, this new vision for the future that I really am passionate about," he said. "This becomes the defining characteristic of what an academic health center is in the future. "How do you train a nurse and a doctor and a pharmacist and a public health worker and everyone involved in this process together at the same time – teaching them the same language, teaching them the same process of care from day one – as opposed to dropping them into a healthcare are setting and then retraining them or trying to understand why things are not lining up the way they should?" A physician and engineer, Paz came to Columbus after five years as chief medical officer for Aetna Inc. Before that he'd led a fellow Big Ten academic medical center and med school, Penn State. Our wide-ranging interview covers the response to the pandemic, the future of telemedicine, OSU's reinvigorated anti-racism agenda and much more.

When Lorraine Lutton started as CEO of Mount Carmel Health System in early April, Ohio had just passed 100 deaths and 1,000 hospitalizations from Covid-19, and the region's hospitals were almost finished building a field hospital in the Greater Columbus Convention Center. A lot had changed in the world in the month since she'd accepted the job. But Mount Carmel proved it was up to the task, Lutton said, in the latest episode of Columbus Business First's Crisis Management podcast. "We were quick to respond and put in place appropriate safety measures," Lutton said. "I think actually it helped us pull together as a team to understand that we can do remarkable things in remarkable times." Mount Carmel was starting recovery from a devastating series of events in 2019 before the global pandemic piled on more financial damage to the entire healthcare industry. Lutton was most recently head of a health system in South Carolina, where she'd led a financial turnaround. Mount Carmel's challenges were what attracted her to the job, she said, and leadership within the system and parent Trinity Health already had made the necessary changes before she arrived. Her job now is rebuilding trust in the community. "My career path has all been about quality," she said. "My first job in healthcare was as a quality service analyst. "I think of quality as working with a team of people to change processes to improve the patient experience, clinical outcomes and cost effectiveness. So I think that I've always been that, ... with progressively more responsibility."

One Columbus entered this decade with a sense of accomplishment and a revised mission to do better: Instead of "growth for growth's sake," the organization wants to build equity in every economic development project. Then a worldwide pandemic opened wealth gaps into chasms – making the work of job creation and retention more urgent than it's ever been, while scattering the economic development watchworks to videoconference chat rooms. "As we studied our region at the end of the decade, we saw incredible gaps in job creation, in wealth creation, in the ability to participate in the economy in our workforce, because of the inequities," One Columbus CEO Kenny McDonald said. "This crisis has put a magnifying glass on that for the entire world to see. "They aren't looking at charts, and don't need consultants to show it to them. We can see it every day as we drive through our communities. And we're living through it." McDonald talks about how the pandemic increased urgency of the job creation mission in Columbus Business First's latest episode of the Crisis Management podcast, about seeing businesses through the pandemic. One Columbus adopted a prosperity-for-all agenda as it rebranded at the turn of the decade from its past 10 years as Columbus 2020. The nonprofit was formed out of the last recession to revive the economy of 11 Central Ohio counties, and met or surpassed its goals for private investment and job creation. At the same time, inequities persisted. A full-time job has the power to change lives for entire families for generations, McDonald said. Racism had already inequitably distributed access to education, jobs, housing and thus better health. Then the Covid-19 pandemic disproportionately threw members of minority groups out of work and exacerbated underlying health conditions. The crisis also accelerated by years the shift to a digital economy: Consumers are shopping and getting medical examinations online in numbers that hadn't been expected for five years or more. And companies furloughing staff are seeking artificial intelligence to automate essential tasks. Again, while the need to create jobs is greater than ever, forces in the very same market are decreasing need for headcount while demanding increased skills from those applying for jobs. "And right now we need people working, earning wages, having health benefits and things like that," McDonald said. "So we're going to have to be better than ever in economic development." The interview outlines One Columbus' response, the path forward and more. However, it was recorded before nationwide protests erupted over racial injustice, so that topic is not discussed.

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on small businesses from across the Columbus community – but Columbus Urban League CEO Stephanie Hightower says that “We may be in the same storm, but we're not in the same boat.” Minority-owned businesses have been disproportionately impacted, Hightower said in Columbus Business First's latest episode of our new Crisis Management podcast. “We all know that this pandemic particularly is disproportionately going to impact minorities and communities of color,” Hightower said. That's apparent looking at data from those who are being laid off and furloughed, to the access by business owners to needed capital to keep their businesses afloat, Hightower said. A May report from the U.S. Department of Labor found that while the white unemployment rate was 14.2% in April, but it was 18.9% for Latinos and 16.7% for African Americans. In addition, a report from the Center for Responsible Lending estimated that more than 90% of African American-owned businesses did not receive Paycheck Protection Program loans. Part of the reason, Hightower said, is that many don't have deep relationships with traditional financial institutions that were working on loan applications. “When it was time to apply for those PPP dollars they didn't really have anybody to call, and weren't comfortable calling anybody,” Hightower said. That is why the Columbus Urban League recently launched a Minority Small Business Resiliency Initiative. This initiative “provides technical, financial, and strategic advice to minority and women-owned businesses,” according to the Urban League. So far, about 325 inquiries have come in for assistance, Hightower said, and about 50 companies have been approved for more than $3.7 million in loans. “What's really great is that we've been able to save 895 jobs ... because of our efforts,” Hightower said.

Paradoxically, many technology companies have been historically wary of running their business in the cloud, connecting only through technology instead of face-to-face. Working from home was seen as a temporary or emergency fallback, say when a child was home sick. Then the coronavirus pandemic sent pretty much every office worker home, and entrepreneurs were pleasantly surprised to find out how effective that arrangement can be. “(Remote work) was never seen as a viable option on a regular basis,” said Mark Kvamme, partner at Drive Capital LLC. “What this has shown us is, for us at least, is it's a viable option.” Now he and Chris Olsen, his partner in the venture capital firm they left Silicon Valley to start in Columbus seven years ago, are even re-thinking the need to travel for in-person meetings with every new investment. During this period, Drive came close to offering a term sheet after meeting only by video conference – it was the startup that backed out. In the latest episode of our Crisis Management podcast, Kvamme talks about this evolving conception of the workplace, the pandemic's varying effects on different companies in Drive's portfolio, and why he thinks Ohio can seize the opportunity in this economic crisis to build tomorrow's billion-dollar companies.

Kelley Griesmer recently found herself chatting with a male colleague who found himself struggling to find balance amid the pandemic. With his kids home from school it was hard to start working until midday, and he worried that coworkers would be questioning his commitment to his job as he dealt with distractions at home. “And I said, ‘You realize that's how working mothers have felt every day of their lives,'” Griesmer recalled. “… That's a quintessentially female identity moment, where you feel guilty about work, you feel guilty about your child, you feel guilty about the fact that there's dust on the floor. “I think there's a lot of men that are starting to understand that experience a little better.” To be sure, Griesmer thinks that growing understanding goes both ways, as we're all building empathy through the coronavirus crisis. And she doesn't fault people who might not have thought about the vital role childcare plays in keeping the economy humming until the moment it went away. But she hopes that realizations like her colleagues will provide footing for systemic changes going forward. “We don't like what's happening to us, but we can rebuild our society differently,” Griesmer said. Check out the latest episode of our Crisis Management podcast to hear more from Griesmer and the issues at the heart of the so-called “shecession,” and what she thinks is needed to solve them.

Ohio restaurants can open up for dine-in seating Thursday. But there's bound to be a learning curve as operators welcome customers back in to an environment where there are new rules. Social distancing, masks and other new processes and procedures are the new standards in place by the state, which is trying to balance reopening businesses with a hope of continued stifling of the spread of Covid-19. Some bars and restaurants around town got a jump on the opening. Patios were allowed to open May 15 and that first weekend back in business was a learning experience for many. Columbus Business First talked with three operators — including one that received a warning from Columbus Public Health — about what the initial plans were, what worked and what didn't. How did customers respond to being asked to wear masks? What did the businesses do when the clouds opened up and the rain began to fall? And, most importantly, what are the greatest concerns moving forward as customers come back for food and drinks?

Amazon.com is known for a lot of things these days, but books are no longer top of mind when you think of the ecommerce giant. For the nation's independent booksellers, that presents an opportunity as welcome as it is unexpected. The coronavirus pandemic has upended the business models of countless industries and caused pain for small-business owners nationwide. But entrepreneurs are fighting back and adapting. One of those is Gramercy Books in Bexley, where owner Linda Kass has ramped up online sales and fulfillment while emphasizing the store's traditional strengths in personalized customer service. “Being a small, single independent bookstore, we've been able to be nimble and I think we have we quickly readjusted in reinventing our business into a phone and online transactional business, rather than an in-store customer face-to-face business,” she said. Kass said she feels like Gramercy has become “an alternative to Amazon” by being able to provide the convenience of online shopping and delivery while providing a concierge presence for those who want to talk to a human about their interests. “I think that that some of these things are almost habitual,” she said. “And as people are coming to us in that way, instead of just going on to Amazon, I think that has been a real positive for all booksellers across the country. Amazon had de-prioritized books in the midst of all this and it gave booksellers across the country the option opportunity to come into this space. And we've done so.” “Our e-commerce, which was a very, very little of portion of our revenue for the almost three and a half years we've been in operation, now is an enormous part of our revenue." In the latest episode of our Crisis Management podcast, Kass also talks about how Gramercy is adjusting its events business that has featured author readings and book clubs, and what the store is doing to accept walk-in customers again.

Lt. Gen. Michael Ferrier, who is president and CEO of the National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus, said veterans have many important lessons to offer during the global coronavirus pandemic. For instance, Ferriter said, there are several corollaries between veterans that have been through during their deployments to what those on the front lines and first responders are experiencing right now during the Covid-19 pandemic. "Veterans can relate to that and veterans can be a part of (helping with) that," said Ferriter, who is Columbus Business First's latest guest on its new Crisis Management podcast. So even though the doors of the physical museum and memorial have been closed since March 13, Ferriter said his team immediately sprung into action to take its programs virtual. The organization has hosted webinars on "resiliency, strength and wellness," featuring veterans with powerful stories to share, including Purple Heart recipient Joshua Mantz, a retired U.S. Army major who is a leading speaker on psychological trauma. Its services to veterans are also going online. The museum attracted 7,000 people from across the country to attend its virtual "Rally Point" program, which usually attracts between 75 to 100 people in person and is meant to provide veterans with fellowship and support. Ferriter said said the Covid-19 experience has allowed the opportunity to "let loose the creativity of my team." "We are open, we are supporting and connecting, and we are impacting the lives of many," Ferriter said.

It's been a long two months for Charles Penzone Inc. but the salon chain is going to take an extra two days before welcoming customers back. Although the state is allowing hair and nail salons to reopen Friday, the six Penzone Salons + Spa locations around Central Ohio will take two days for internal training and team-building before accepting clients on Sunday, May 17. “We're gonna walk through everything with them and take that time for them to feel comfortable with all of these new procedures,” said president and CEO Debbie Penzone. “And also, we're all about self-care. And we realize that you have to take care of you first before you can give to others. So we're going to actually have those two days that they can practice on each other with all of these new protocols, and get their hair done and be able to feel so confident and so ready on Sunday.” The salons and the Royal Rhino Club Barbershop & Lounge in Italian Village will operate at about 50% of their previous capacity to accommodate new guidelines for social distancing, with the physical layout and scheduling times more spread out. Penzone said they hope to make up for that lost capacity by extending hours, including opening on Sundays. “We really wanted to make sure all of our team when they come back will have all the hours that they need, for all of our benefits that we provide,” she said. “No one is not getting their hours because of the extension of how long the day will be. “And we're going to do them in shifts, which is nice,” she said. “We'll have two different schedules that will work one day. I think that's very important, too, so they'll not have to work a really long day ever, because we really want them to take care of themselves and ease their way back in and have that care for themselves as well.” To wear, or not wear a mask Penzone was a key member of the group of salon owners and operators that developed the Responsible RestartOhio plan that includes a mix of mandatory and recommended steps for salons in the state as they reopen during the coronavirus pandemic. Penzone said in addition to the mandatory guidelines, they're adopting many of the recommended ones as well, including masks for both employees and customers. “Our team will have masks on. Some services that might be a closer service, like aesthetician or a skin service, she might also have a shield on as well as the mask,” Penzone said. “We also have plexiglass dividers that we have built that we will be putting throughout the locations that are just one more barrier that we can set up. “We'll be asking (customers) to wear a mask in every one of our salons and spas and barbershops,” she said. “And they can bring their own face covering or mask, or we will also have some if they need one. And we just want to be that flexible. We just feel like when you see the research of two people having it on at the same time, and how that really protects each person in that close distance that we've allowed now with the personal service being delivered, we feel that we want to go that route. “As a recommended best practice, we want to do all of that and beyond, because we really want to be known as the safest, cleanest salon in the United States.” In the latest episode of our Crisis Management podcast, Penzone also talks about the uncertainty over spending its PPP funding, how the business is caring for its employees during the shutdown, and her hopes for the future.

With funding and major customers in hand, cybersecurity startup Finite State Inc. is in the rare position of hiring aggressively and growing by as much as 10 times despite the coronavirus pandemic. The Columbus company raised $12.5 million in venture capital before much of the investing world went into hybernation, and it recently signed "seven-figure" contracts with large utilities that want to protect the electric grid from intruders, founder and CEO Matt Wyckhouse said. Finite State's software automates the process of uncovering risks in the many components of the internet of things. Connected mobile devices are being installed everywhere, but they don't have a keyboard and monitor to look inside their embedded microchips and the software powering them. Finite State rolls back that curtain to determine if there are problems like hidden log-ins. Its customers include utilities, oil and gas companies, healthcare providers and others who want to ensure the devices they're installing to control critical infrastructure are safe. And the manufacturers of such devices use Finite State's software for their own quality control. Wyckhouse started on the puzzle of cybersecurity for mobile devices at Battelle, where he worked 13 years. He founded Finite State a year after leaving the Columbus research giant, applying his expertise to private industry instead of the U.S. Department of Defense. Battelle declined to comment, but Wyckhouse said some former Battelle engineers joined him at Finite State, and some have migrated from the startup to Battelle. Overall, it adds to the vitality of the tech community in Central Ohio, he said. "When you start to exchange that expertise, everyone gets stronger," Wyckhouse said. In the latest episode of our Crisis Management podcast, Wyckhouse talked to me about the company's founding, how he's hiring still via videoconference, and about how Finite State got national notice when it tangled with Chinese telecommunications manufacturer Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., as I've reported earlier

EDITOR'S NOTE: After this podcast was initially published, Seventh Son revised its reopening plan. The brewery is now holding off on reopening until a date that is still to be determined. Delivery has been a hit for Seventh Son Brewing — but it can only do so much. The Columbus craft brewery, like others around the state, launched an online ordering and delivery service quickly after the state closed dining rooms and taprooms in mid-March to curb the spread of Covid-19. Co-owner Collin Castore said it's done well enough that they expect it to be some part of the business model moving forward. But it's still no substitution for bringing customers back into its taproom and its Antiques on High sister bar/brewery. “We're super grateful for the grocery and delivery opportunities, but the way it is, a $2 can to the grocery store, which we get roughly half of ... just isn't the same as a $6 pint across the bar,” Castore said. Seventh Son and others can soon sell those $6 pints, if they want to. Customers can return to restaurants and bars, first to patios May 15 and then to indoor seating May 21. In this episode of Crisis Management, Castore walked me through some of those taproom economics and why many breweries were near a crossroads. He talked about what Seventh Son and Antiques on High are going to look like when the spaces reopen. He also shared insights into the state's restaurant and bar industry recommendation panel, which he was a part of. That's the group that made operating suggestions to Gov. Mike DeWine. But not every issue got the ok from the states — what issues remain out there.

Covid-19 has Piada Italian Street Food reconsidering more than just sanitation and cleanliness. The Columbus-based restaurant chain, which has 40 restaurants in seven states including Texas. That means it's been able to open some of its dining rooms, albeit under capacity restrictions. The bulk of the business is still in Ohio though, where restaurant operators wait on guidelines. Piada Executive Chef Matt Harding talked to Columbus Business First about the precautions and new safety measures it put in place — including a socially distanced dining room and masks for employees — and some changes that are still to come. But Covid-19 is going to change more than a few practices and procedures. Harding also talked about one of the restaurant industry's “dirty little secrets,” one that he hopes to see change moving forward as well as the sort of pressures third-party delivery places on restaurants and how that might change in the future both for Piada and for the industry as a whole.

Schoedinger Funeral and Cremation Service like other businesses has had to adjust to operating under the shutdown in place about to slow the spread of Covid-19. With the ban on large gatherings and the guidelines on social distancing, many families are opting for small, private ceremonies or are postponing commemorations until the restrictions are lifted, said Randy Schoedinger, CEO of the sixth-generation company, which has 15 locations around Central Ohio. That's led to about a 25% cut in revenue for the business, he said, with fewer facility and vehicle rentals, and drops in sales of flowers, cards and other related products. Schoedinger has ramped up webcasting and is making other adjustments to keep the business going until Ohio opens up again. Check out the podcast for more on what it's doing, along with more of our interview that discusses Schoedinger's efforts to get a Paycheck Protection Program loan, the communications it's had with employees and more.

Early on in the coronavirus pandemic, Joanna Pinkerton and her team and her team at COTA realized they had a problem. At a time when public health officials were encouraging people to keep their distance, entering a bus and paying a fare required passing within 6 feet of a driver. The COTA team quickly realized they needed to pivot, asking passengers to enter in the rear of the bus – where there aren't machines available to accept fares. The solution? All COTA rides are now free. "It was a pretty easy answer," Pinkerton said. "We knew it was the right thing to do." Still, with ridership down dramatically, fares zero and the sales tax receipts that make up the lion's share of COTA's income taking a hit as people stay home, COTA's readying for challenges when it comes to its budget. Check out the latest episode of our Crisis Management podcast to hear how Pinkerton is navigating through those issues, and the other challenges that come with running a transit service during a global pandemic.

There's an irony about decision-making during times of crisis, Pelotonia CEO Doug Ulman says. "You have to make tons of decisions with imperfect information," Ulman told Columbus Business First in the latest episode of our Crisis Management podcast. "That can be really challenging, but the opposite of that is paralyzation." Ulman is in charge of the annual Pelotonia bike race that attracts thousands, and raises millions for cancer research. Scheduled for August, Ulman's team is weighing how the race can move forward – or adapt – this year in order to comply with health recommendations and mass gathering restrictions in light of the coronavirus pandemic. All the while, Ulman said, the group's mission for cancer research has never been more important. Ulman, a cancer survivor, said throughout his life, he's dealt with a lot of crises, "whether it be personal health crises or professional crises." "But this is the first actual massive crisis that I've dealt with where everybody is dealing (with it)," Ulman said. "The beauty of that, in a sad way is that you don't have to provide any context." But he acknowledged that making decisions in a stressful environment is hard – especially as new information keeps emerging. "You don't want to make big decisions from a position of weakness," Ulman said. The key, Ulman said, is to realize that you can't think short-term or "worry about what people are going to think." "Our filter is, 'is this in the best interest of the community and our mission?" Ulman said. "At the end of the day, that's the decision we're going to make."

Dublin-based Updox LLC added video chat to its secure physician communications network last year, but adoption was middling, about 220 telehealth visits per day. In the coronavirus pandemic, it's soared to 45,000 a day. The health IT company signed on 10,000 clinician users in the space of just three weeks. "We did feel fortunate, but not so much just straight to business opportunity, but more: If we're sincere about this, that we have been able to help," CEO Michael Morgan said. An emergency prompted the shift, but the changes to healthcare likely are here to stay. "How do we take that and then use that to continue our mission forward, helping basically everybody in healthcare communicate more effectively?" he said. Check out the latest episode of our Crisis Management podcast to hear more from Morgan on how the company responded to the pandemic while also moving its own staff to their homes from the Bridge Park office.

Lisa Arledge Powell started to journal at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic to track her learnings and leadership at this trying time. She ended up with quite a story. The president of MediaSource, a Columbus-based communications agency, didn't just have to figure out how to best serve the company's clients, she had to do so while having the coronavirus herself. Both Arledge Powell and her son were diagnosed in March. She talked with Columbus Business First about that personal experience and about the virus' impact on the company she runs. It just so happens that a large portion of MediaSource's clients are hospital systems, both in Central Ohio and elsewhere. That's created new demands for the business and resulted in shifting around staff duties.

Faced with pandemic-related restrictions that make its traditional direct-sales model unworkable, Dublin-based IGS Energy opted to retrain its employees for different roles rather than laying them off. "Our first concern was for our employees and heir safety and our customers," CEO Scott White said. Check out the latest episode of our Crisis Management podcast to hear more from White on how he's managing a sales-oriented company in the midst of a global pandemic.

It didn't take the coronavirus pandemic for Christie Angel to become aware of racial disparities in public health. Angel and her team at YWCA Columbus were already studying the ways that racism is considered a public health crisis in itself. So the racial disparities playing out in the coronavirus pandemic – which looks to be "infecting and killing black people in the United States at disproportionately high rates," according to The New York Times – don't surprise her. “This … is no different than what we saw with the AIDS pandemic, or what we've seen when we look at infant mortality," said Angel, a former Columbus City Hall staffer who now serves as CEO of YWCA Columbus. That's why Angel is using this time to think about how the country can invest in its public health system in order to better serve communities of color, and in turn increase equity. “This has put a bright light on public health services overall, and our need to make significant investments in public health," Angel said. Check out the latest episode of our Crisis Management podcast to hear more of Angel's thoughts on that topic. She also talked about how the YWCA is pivoting in order to stay financially viable during this challenging time for nonprofits, including by moving its signature Women of Achievement event to the virtual world. One note: our conversation with Angel took place last week, so a few things have changed. Most notably, you'll hear her say that the YWCA had submitted an application for a Paycheck Protection Program loan but was awaiting approval. The organization has since gotten that approval, but declined to disclose the size of the loan.

How can customers experience a treasure hunt when they can leave their house to go hunting? That's the quandary that face The Book Loft, the historic German Village book shop known for its 32 rooms filled with potential finds for voracious readers. In our latest episode of Crisis Management, Gary Lovely, a bookseller and marketing manager at the shop, talked to Columbus Business First about how Covid-19 has impacted the business — from staffing and operations to the creation of the Malamarkus Mystery Box, staff-curated grab bags of books that have been a hit and revived some of the experiential elements of physically shopping the store. The battle with Amazon is discussed — including the small ways in which that fight is shifting — and there are tips for supporting independent booksellers beyond just ordering online.

Covid-19 has disrupted many businesses across Columbus, but the pandemic poses a unique challenge for those with new leaders. Jonathan Moody was named CEO of Moody Nolan Inc. January 1 after several years as president, taking over management of the 230-employee firm his father founded in 1982. But in a matter of weeks he went from managing 12 offices around the country to hundreds of work-from-home people. "I've been pretty fortunate to have a leadership team around me," Moody said, "It's definitely an interesting time to be CEO." In the latest episode of our Crisis Management podcast, Moody talks to Columbus Business First about how the company is running through the disruption and the long-term opportunities that come from difficult days. "This is completely different from anything we've seen in the last 100 years, so let's use the tools we've got, let's pull back and let's propel ourselves forward," Moody said.

Wolf's Ridge Brewing had been anticipating its biggest year ever. It expanded production in January but by March — like all breweries and restaurants — business restrictions caused by Covid-19 sent it scrambling. A new home delivery program for beer went live right as the state closed dine-in business. Co-owner Bob Szuter said through the first month delivery sales have actually offset the loss in taproom sales. But the Wolf's Ridge business in normal times is far more than that with bustling restaurant and event components as well, so though those delivery sales are something, the overall numbers are well below historic levels. The CARES Act is providing some assistance, but still is creating plenty of questions as well. That and more is discussed in this episode of Crisis Management, Columbus Business First's new discussion series with area business owners and leaders about how the coronavirus pandemic is changing the way they do business.

Heather Whaling founded her businesses during the Great Recession, so running a business amid an economic crisis isn't totally new for her. But the coronavirus pandemic and its ensuing economic impact have forced her to take steps she never had to before – including laying off a few team members – while helping clients navigate a rapidly changing environment that's thrown everyone's Q2 marketing plan into chaos. Check out the latest episode of our Crisis Management podcast to hear how the Geben Communication president is handling those challenges, and what advice she has for business owners searching for the best way to communicate both with the broader world and with their own team.

As an HR vice president over several divisions at Facebook, Annette Reavis had helped lead that 40,000-person company's switch to work from home. Then she did it all over again when she moved to her new job as the first chief people officer at Root Insurance Co., an all-digital auto insurer based in Columbus. Parent Root Inc. has raised more venture capital and has the highest valuation, at $3.65 billion, of any startup in Ohio. It had added the C-suite HR position as it surpassed 850 employees, but her hiring coincided with the need to swiftly adapt to the pandemic. Meanwhile, she can't move yet to Central Ohio from San Jose while both states are under stay-home orders. In this latest episode of Crisis Management, Reavis talks with Columbus Business First about the challenges of starting a new job and helping lead a major workplace transformation from 2,500 miles away. She outlines the policies and experiences she had at Facebook that helped set the model for Root; and what changes to the company culture might stay after the startup can return to its offices.

For Ohio State University's chief human resources officer Susan Basso, the coronavirus crisis has driven home the importance of focusing first on people. Even though she leads human resources for an organization with an annual payroll of $2.5 billion and headcount of 49,000 workers, Basso said it's important not to forget the individual personal struggles and needs that employees are dealing with right now. "I think how we treat our employees through this is going to be incredibly important, because we will be on the other side of it at some point, and they will never forget how they were treated," Basso told Columbus Business First. Even though there was no "user manual" for this type of situation, Basso said it's important that as a leader, you demonstrate the behavior that you hope to see from team members. "The behaviors that we model I think do set an incredible tone for our teams," Basso said. It's also important, she said, to "give them a sense of hope that we will successfully manage through this, and quite possibly even (become) a much better organization." Basso said what she's most looking forward to at the end of the pandemic is coming together with OSU employees – seeing people face to face that she's currently only Zooming with or emailing. "Every time I send out an email to my team, honestly, I cannot wait to actually see people in person and honestly, shake their hand and thank them for Just the incredible job they have done on behalf of the university," Basso said. "I think it's gonna be amazing, actually, when we all get to come together again." This is the latest installment in our new podcast, Crisis Management, a series of discussions we're having with area business owners and leaders about operating amid this new coronavirus reality.