With nationwide unemployment still high due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are looking to further their education. But as the economy continues to sputter, the cost of higher education remains high, and potential learners struggle to identify which programs will help them improve their skills and career prospects. That’s where Climb Credit hopes to […]
Features April 2021
Andrew Stillufsen – Roehm America
Here’s the situation. After graduating from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Andrew Stillufsen wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. So, like so many other 20-somethings, he headed to the Jersey Shore and worked at his family’s seafood restaurant, Red’s Lobster Pot. As general manager, he helped serve clams, shrimp, crab cakes and […]
Ashton Valente – Basin Holdings
When this global holding company brings a new entity into the fold, it’s likely to be for the long term. Such was the case in late 2014 when Basin Holdings acquired FHE, a Colorado-based company providing innovative equipment to the energy industry. Ashton Valente, having become Basin’s first general counsel one year earlier, finalized the […]
Caroline Miller Oyler – Papa John’s International
She wishes the company’s recent growth wasn’t partially the result of a pandemic that’s closed so many sit-down restaurants, but the market for takeout pizza has been especially productive for Papa John’s International. The now Louisville- and Atlanta-headquartered delivery restaurant chain hired more than 20,000 new employees last year and had a record 2020 in […]
Danielle Sheer – Bottomline Technologies
More than 10 years ago, Danielle Sheer took a contemplative walk from her midtown Manhattan office back to her Upper West Side apartment. As an attorney at a big-city firm, she’d just finished helping a company through an acquisition and realized she had no practical reason to stay in touch with her clients. “I had […]
David Gonzales – Supermercado El Rancho
There’s a special feeling when you walk into a Supermercado El Rancho, the rapidly expanding Mexican supermarket chain with a growing presence in Texas and likely soon elsewhere. Call it a vibe that transcends the festive décor and eclectic product lines. Clearly, this isn’t your parents’ standard Kroger or Publix, says Chief Legal Counsel and […]
Francine Breckenridge – U.S. Money Reserve
In the retirement business, trust is key. For U.S. Money Reserve, a precious metals distributor headquartered in Austin, Texas, building trust is as valuable a commodity as the gold on which the company built its business. Having served more than 550,000 customers since its founding, and with millions of baby boomers poised to retire, USMR […]
Hector Izzo – Grupo GP
Though he’s only been in the office a few months, Hector Izzo says he has a good understanding of the business and how the legal department can advance the company’s interests. Since joining Grupo GP as general counsel, Izzo has helped close seven large business transactions in a number of industries, including real estate, commercial […]
Jessica Hodkinson – Panasonic Corporation of North America
Agility, efficiency, greater use of technology and increased communications—how the past year has accelerated these trends. But it was in 2018 when Jessica Hodkinson made the business case for all that as she centralized legal operations at Panasonic Corp. of North America. At the time, it just made sense to Hodkinson, a member of the […]
Kenneth M. Walker II – Shelby County Schools
In 2020, the stage was set in the midst of a pandemic for Shelby County Schools to have its own version of “Mission: Impossible.” In administering one of the largest public school districts in the country—with 95,000 students—the Shelby County Board of Education had to find the same number of computer devices to enable remote […]
