January 14, 2017 at 5:50 a.m.
Skelly joins CR as reporter
Business Roundup
A former intern has joined the staff of The Commercial Review as its new reporter.
Rose Skelly was hired this week to replace Nathan Rubbelke, who recently left The CR to take a job with an online publication. She served as an intern at the paper during summer 2016 and wrote a couple of pieces for its Thanksgiving issue.
Skelly, 20, is a junior at Ball State University and will work part time for The Commercial Review as she continues to pursue her degree. She is majoring in journalism and psychology.
She was the assistant news editor for the student-run Ball State Daily News during the 2015-16 school year and served as a reporter for the publication during the fall 2016 semester. She has been involved in a pair of immersive learning projects: The Facing Cancer Project through Inglehart Scholars and Ball State at Black Expo.
A South Bend native, Skelly enjoys reading and spending time with her family.
Comcast hated
A new study conducted by a website called 24/7 Wall Street says Comcast is the most hated company in America.
Several surveys, including customer satisfaction and worker complaints, were cited by the study.
Bank of America followed Comcast, then the drug company Mylan.
Joins DBS
Sophia Benedict has joined DBS Web Designs as project manager.
She joins Dynamic Business Solutions after a stint at Arts Place, where she was sales and marketing coordinator.
A graduate of Ball State University, she has experience in digital marketing, photography, branding and management.
“Sophia’s solid understanding of design, website user experience, and extensive knowledge of social media will be a strong resource for clients of DBS Web Designs,” said president and chief executive officer Craig Frazee.
A Florida native, Benedict resides in Portland.
Selling control
The Associated Press reported this week that McDonald’s Corp. is selling a controlling stake in its business in China.
Led by the state-owned Chinese conglomerate Citic Ltd., the group of investors is paying $2.1 billion for 52 percent of the business.
The Washington-based private equity firm Carlyle Group will own 28 percent, while McDonald’s will retain 20 percent.
The AP said about two-thirds of the 2,640 McDonald’s outlets in China that are now owned by McDonald’s will be re-franchised.
New staffer
Debra Smithson has joined the staff of Jim Byrd’s Income Taxes and Bookkeeping and will be working primarily in the Portland office at 108 S. Meridian St.
A resident of rural Ridgeville, Smithson has more than eight years of tax preparation experience with H&R Block and worked for several years in the accounting department of Portland Forge.
No Plan B
The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Walgreens chief executive officer Stefano Pessina has no Plan B if the long-delayed merger with Rite Aid doesn’t win approval from the Federal Trade Commission.
“The FTC still isn’t convinced that the deal would be best, especially since the combined entity resulting from a Walgreens-Rite Aide merger would create the largest retail pharmacy chain in the U.S. and total more than 13,000 stores,” The Journal reported. “The FTC is still in the process of requesting information on the deal, and the two companies are hopeful they can close the merger sometime in early 2017.”
New CEO
Lutheran Health Network announced this week that Brent Parsons has been selected as the new chief executive officer of Bluffton Regional Medical Center.
Parsons has been interim CEO since August. He is a former assistant CO at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree in healthcare administration from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.
Cuts coming
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will be making more job cuts this month, with the total expended to be in the hundreds.
Many of the cuts are expected to come at the retailer’s Bentonville, Arkansas, headquarters and will involve the company’s large human resources department.
In September, the company announced it would eliminate about 7,000 back-office jobs in accounting and invoicing.
New director
Dr. Peter Voss has been named medical director of surgical specialties at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital.
An Obstetrician/gynecologist with IU Health Ball Memorial Voss Center for Women, he has been on staff at the hospital since 1991.
He also practices obstetrics and gynecology at Jay County Hospital, where he has been on the medical staff since 1993. He received his bachelor’s degree from Brown University and his medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine.
He completed his specialty training in obstetrics and gynecology at St. Vincents Hospital
Honda moves
Honda will move production of the Acura MDX to East Liberty, Ohio, this year, The Columbus Dispatch reported this week.
Announcement that the SUV’s production will move from Alabama was made at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
With the move, almost all of Honda’s Acura production will be based in Ohio. The Alabama plant will continue to produce the Honda Pilot, Ridgeline pick-up truck and Odyssey minivan.
Honda of America has been a major customer for FCC (Indiana) in Portland since the plant opened its doors in the late 1980s.
“There wasn’t an intentional strategy to say, ‘Gee, all Acuras should be made in Ohio,’” John Mendel, Honda’s top sales executive in North America, told The Dispatch. “It’s really about flexibility and capacity utilization.”
Also at the auto show, Honda announced that a new dedicate hybrid model will be made in America and will be launched nationwide in 2018.
“Half of the all-new models Honda will launch in the United States in the coming two years will be electrified vehicles,” Takahiro Hachigo, president and chief executive officer of Honda, said in a prepared statement. “In the long term, electrified vehicles are key to the future of carbon-free mobility.”
The company set a global target for two-thirds of all sales to come from electrified models by 2030.
The new hybrid vehicle will utilize Honda’s two-motor hybrid system, which is currently deployed in the 49 mpg Accord Hybrid. The new model will be produced at an existing plant in the United States, the company said in a press release Additional details on the vehicle and its manufacturing are expected to be announced closer to launch.
New administrator
Craig Prokupek is taking over as administrator at Adams Woodcrest, the Decatur facility owned by Adams Health Network.
Prokupek served as administrator of Presence Sacred Heart Home in Avilla since 1999. Prior to that he had worked for Miller’s Merry Manor in Fort Wayne and LaGrange.
A graduate of Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, he holds a degree in history and business administration.
Still shopping
Motherson Sumi Systems, parent company of Portland’s MSSL Wiring Systems, is still shopping around for more acquisitions, The Hindu Business Line reported this week.
The publication said the company hopes to add about $6 billion to $8 billion in new revenues by 2020.
“We are always looking into possibilities for acquisitions. They are at the behest of customers and to the best interest for our stakeholders,” Motherson Sumi chairman Vivek Chaand Sehgal was quoted as saying.
The company has been buying up auto component manufacturers since 2009. It acquired Stoneridge Inc.’s local wiring harness business in 2014.
Berne banquet
The Berne Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual banquet at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Swiss Heritage Auditorium.
At the event, Berne Ready Mix will be honored as Business of the Year, Mark Settlemyre will be honored as Citizen of the Year, and Charlie Habegger will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Rose Skelly was hired this week to replace Nathan Rubbelke, who recently left The CR to take a job with an online publication. She served as an intern at the paper during summer 2016 and wrote a couple of pieces for its Thanksgiving issue.
Skelly, 20, is a junior at Ball State University and will work part time for The Commercial Review as she continues to pursue her degree. She is majoring in journalism and psychology.
She was the assistant news editor for the student-run Ball State Daily News during the 2015-16 school year and served as a reporter for the publication during the fall 2016 semester. She has been involved in a pair of immersive learning projects: The Facing Cancer Project through Inglehart Scholars and Ball State at Black Expo.
A South Bend native, Skelly enjoys reading and spending time with her family.
Comcast hated
A new study conducted by a website called 24/7 Wall Street says Comcast is the most hated company in America.
Several surveys, including customer satisfaction and worker complaints, were cited by the study.
Bank of America followed Comcast, then the drug company Mylan.
Joins DBS
Sophia Benedict has joined DBS Web Designs as project manager.
She joins Dynamic Business Solutions after a stint at Arts Place, where she was sales and marketing coordinator.
A graduate of Ball State University, she has experience in digital marketing, photography, branding and management.
“Sophia’s solid understanding of design, website user experience, and extensive knowledge of social media will be a strong resource for clients of DBS Web Designs,” said president and chief executive officer Craig Frazee.
A Florida native, Benedict resides in Portland.
Selling control
The Associated Press reported this week that McDonald’s Corp. is selling a controlling stake in its business in China.
Led by the state-owned Chinese conglomerate Citic Ltd., the group of investors is paying $2.1 billion for 52 percent of the business.
The Washington-based private equity firm Carlyle Group will own 28 percent, while McDonald’s will retain 20 percent.
The AP said about two-thirds of the 2,640 McDonald’s outlets in China that are now owned by McDonald’s will be re-franchised.
New staffer
Debra Smithson has joined the staff of Jim Byrd’s Income Taxes and Bookkeeping and will be working primarily in the Portland office at 108 S. Meridian St.
A resident of rural Ridgeville, Smithson has more than eight years of tax preparation experience with H&R Block and worked for several years in the accounting department of Portland Forge.
No Plan B
The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Walgreens chief executive officer Stefano Pessina has no Plan B if the long-delayed merger with Rite Aid doesn’t win approval from the Federal Trade Commission.
“The FTC still isn’t convinced that the deal would be best, especially since the combined entity resulting from a Walgreens-Rite Aide merger would create the largest retail pharmacy chain in the U.S. and total more than 13,000 stores,” The Journal reported. “The FTC is still in the process of requesting information on the deal, and the two companies are hopeful they can close the merger sometime in early 2017.”
New CEO
Lutheran Health Network announced this week that Brent Parsons has been selected as the new chief executive officer of Bluffton Regional Medical Center.
Parsons has been interim CEO since August. He is a former assistant CO at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree in healthcare administration from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.
Cuts coming
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will be making more job cuts this month, with the total expended to be in the hundreds.
Many of the cuts are expected to come at the retailer’s Bentonville, Arkansas, headquarters and will involve the company’s large human resources department.
In September, the company announced it would eliminate about 7,000 back-office jobs in accounting and invoicing.
New director
Dr. Peter Voss has been named medical director of surgical specialties at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital.
An Obstetrician/gynecologist with IU Health Ball Memorial Voss Center for Women, he has been on staff at the hospital since 1991.
He also practices obstetrics and gynecology at Jay County Hospital, where he has been on the medical staff since 1993. He received his bachelor’s degree from Brown University and his medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine.
He completed his specialty training in obstetrics and gynecology at St. Vincents Hospital
Honda moves
Honda will move production of the Acura MDX to East Liberty, Ohio, this year, The Columbus Dispatch reported this week.
Announcement that the SUV’s production will move from Alabama was made at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
With the move, almost all of Honda’s Acura production will be based in Ohio. The Alabama plant will continue to produce the Honda Pilot, Ridgeline pick-up truck and Odyssey minivan.
Honda of America has been a major customer for FCC (Indiana) in Portland since the plant opened its doors in the late 1980s.
“There wasn’t an intentional strategy to say, ‘Gee, all Acuras should be made in Ohio,’” John Mendel, Honda’s top sales executive in North America, told The Dispatch. “It’s really about flexibility and capacity utilization.”
Also at the auto show, Honda announced that a new dedicate hybrid model will be made in America and will be launched nationwide in 2018.
“Half of the all-new models Honda will launch in the United States in the coming two years will be electrified vehicles,” Takahiro Hachigo, president and chief executive officer of Honda, said in a prepared statement. “In the long term, electrified vehicles are key to the future of carbon-free mobility.”
The company set a global target for two-thirds of all sales to come from electrified models by 2030.
The new hybrid vehicle will utilize Honda’s two-motor hybrid system, which is currently deployed in the 49 mpg Accord Hybrid. The new model will be produced at an existing plant in the United States, the company said in a press release Additional details on the vehicle and its manufacturing are expected to be announced closer to launch.
New administrator
Craig Prokupek is taking over as administrator at Adams Woodcrest, the Decatur facility owned by Adams Health Network.
Prokupek served as administrator of Presence Sacred Heart Home in Avilla since 1999. Prior to that he had worked for Miller’s Merry Manor in Fort Wayne and LaGrange.
A graduate of Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, he holds a degree in history and business administration.
Still shopping
Motherson Sumi Systems, parent company of Portland’s MSSL Wiring Systems, is still shopping around for more acquisitions, The Hindu Business Line reported this week.
The publication said the company hopes to add about $6 billion to $8 billion in new revenues by 2020.
“We are always looking into possibilities for acquisitions. They are at the behest of customers and to the best interest for our stakeholders,” Motherson Sumi chairman Vivek Chaand Sehgal was quoted as saying.
The company has been buying up auto component manufacturers since 2009. It acquired Stoneridge Inc.’s local wiring harness business in 2014.
Berne banquet
The Berne Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual banquet at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Swiss Heritage Auditorium.
At the event, Berne Ready Mix will be honored as Business of the Year, Mark Settlemyre will be honored as Citizen of the Year, and Charlie Habegger will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.
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