The Most Influential People
Meet 25 extraordinary individuals and one transformative company building community and advocating for equity
Seattle magazine’s annual list of Most Influential people includes those who inspire, guide and uplift others through their actions, leadership and dedication. Their far-reaching influence stems from their achievements, but equally important, their ability to foster connections across the community, advocate for positive change, and empower others to make a difference. We’re rolling out brief…
The ‘T’ in Teleion Stands For Team
A company where everyone has a stake in the outcome
Teleion’s people-first culture means that everyone in the company has a voice in our decision-making processes. “It’s foundational to who we are as an organization,” says Jon Elliott, managing member. “We ask questions, we look for pain points, and we make changes based on feedback.” It’s this ethos that has propelled Teleion to a fifth…
It Takes a Five-Star Team to Deliver Five-Star Service at Davis Law Group
Davis Law Group’s commitment to excellence starts with a genuine and transparent office culture
Success in business can be hard to come by, especially in the legal industry. It takes buy-in across the board to achieve — let alone sustain — consistent results in the way that Davis Law Group has. A reputable litigation firm that has represented victims of serious accidents in Washington for more than 30 years,…
Best Companies To Work For 2024
A positive company culture encourages collaboration, collegiality, and productivity
A strong company culture doesn’t just happen. It’s nurtured, intentional, and deliberate. It takes work. Seattle Business magazine has again partnered with Pennsylvania-based Best Companies Group to measure company culture in numerous categories, asking employees themselves to rate their organizational culture. These are the region’s Best Companies To Work For in 2025.
Nordstrom Goes Private
The Nordstrom family remains majority owner
Nordstrom has taken a huge step in reshaping its future in an increasingly competitive retail landscape by announcing plans to go private. The Seattle-based luxury department store has agreed to be acquired by Mexican retailer El Puerto de Liverpool for $6.25 billion in an all-cash transaction. The great grandsons of company founder John Nordstrom —…
Los Angeles Developer Buys Historic Fairmont Olympic
Luxury hotel recently underwent a major renovation
Seattle’s historic Fairmont Olympic Hotel is changing hands. Los Angeles-based Trinity Investments has acquired the 450-room luxury hotel in downtown Seattle for an undisclosed price. The 100-year-old hotel, which spans an entire city block, recently completed a $22 million renovation that included a new lobby, a new bar, and a reimagining of the famed Georgian…
The Hits Keep on Coming for Bartell Drugs
The last few times I was at Bartell Drugs, it was a sad sight. This was several months ago. Entire aisles were barren at both the Queen Anne and Ballard locations. Now, as the University Village Bartell Drugs is set to close late next month, I have to wonder what the future holds for a…
Last-Minute Shopping? Amazon, Starbucks, REI Rank Among Best for Gift Card Value
Several Seattle-area retailers top 2024 list
If you’re last-minute gift-shopping — and chances are you are — you’re probably considering a gift card. The National Retail Federation says 157 million people plan to shop on Super Saturday — the last Saturday before Christmas. An estimated 26% of shoppers have already bought gift cards. “As with last year, over half of consumers…
Kraken Founding Owner David Bonderman Dies
Bonderman worked as a security guard at the Space Needle while attending college at UW
It was only my fourth day on the job in a new city, and I found myself sitting across a table from David Bonderman. This was back in 2003. I was the newly minted editor of the Portland Business Journal, and Bonderman’s private investment group — Texas Pacific Group, known as TPG — had just…
Judges Block Kroger-Albertsons Merger
Decision effectively ends plans that effect more than 300 grocery stores across Washington state
A woman named Kerry (she asked that her last name not be used) was perusing the canned goods section at the Magnolia QFC when she was asked if she had heard that a federal judge in Oregon had blocked parent company Kroger’s proposed merger with Albertsons. (About an hour later, a King County Superior Court…
A Camel, a Desert, and Some Quick Thinking
How an accident led to a $4 million company
Jensen Brehm just wanted to protect his eyes from the blazing heat of the sun. Brehm, then a student at the University of Redlands in California, was a top of a camel in a remote desert in India when his party stopped for lunch and a much-needed break from the 100-degree heat. Brehm sat down…
The Wonderpreneur
Aegis founder Dwayne Clark is an author, philanthropist, filmmaker, and a highly successful business executive
Dwayne Clark was standing on a crate washing dishes at the tender age of 7 in an airport restaurant where his Mother, Colleen, was a cook. He grew up without a father. He was, he says, “at the bottom rung of the economic cycle.” The biggest influences in his life were all women: his grandmother,…
A Medical Journey
Jody Elsom has spent a career designing health care facilities. She never expected to become a patient in one of them.
Jody Elsom never imagined she’d wind up a patient in a health care center she had designed. But there she was at the recently opened True Family Women’s Cancer Center on the Swedish Hospital First Hill campus shortly after an unexpected diagnosis for breast cancer. “It wasn’t what I expected, but it was actually an…
Lori Hill: The Seattleite
The commercial real estate veteran is upbeat about the future of Seattle
Lori Hill has seemingly worked at just about every job in commercial real estate. Last September, she pivoted to the leasing side at Clise Properties, where she serves as executive vice president. Her resume includes stops at Unico Properties as senior vice president of investment management, and as managing director of capital markets at JLL….
She Never Gave Up
Some of Alissa Leinonen’s biggest mistakes turned into her greatest successes
Alissa Leinonen launched her catering and box-lunched company, Gourmondo, as a simple, four-table lunch café in the Pike Place Market almost 30 years ago. Today, Gourmondo has become a turnkey catering company, offering full services for social and events catering, a successful corporate café division, a retail line of gourmet grab-and-go products, and an in-house…
A New Life in the Sea Suite
Kristi Schooley left a long career in hospitality to follow her passion
As a lifelong Seattleite, Kristi Schooley always loved being surrounded by water. She bought her first boat in her 20s. “After that, being on the water became a part of my life and a true passion,” says Schooley, who launched a second career as a senior captain at Argosy Cruises 20 years ago after spending…
Play’s the Thing
Kimberly Bartlett uses play therapy to help children deal with their problems
You can call it trauma therapy. Child mental health. Or even the more straightforward family or child therapy. Kimberly Bartlett prefers a more lighthearted term to tackle a serious subject: integrative play therapy. Bartlett launched Evergreen Play Therapy in Seattle two years ago to help children and families heal through play. She combines various therapeutic…
Left to Her Own Device
Monica Plath couldn't find a suitable tracker for her young kids, so she invented her own
Monica Plath wants her two young children to be safe. She feels the same way about yours. Plath created Seattle-based Littlebird Connected Care after a concerning care experience for her child. The wearable tracking device, called the Littlebird Toddler Care- Tracker, is a wristband for kids that helps parents ensure that their children are safe….
Statshot: Columbia Crush
The grapenomics of Washington wine
Washington is the second-largest wine producing state in the nation, behind only California. Want to impress your guests this holiday season? Hit them with these Washington wine facts. 6-8 inches of annual rainfall in the Columbia Valley 17 average hours of summer sunlight 20 number of American Viticultural Areas, a specific region where grapes are…
Seattle Strong is on a Cold Streak
Cold coffee business was created in a college classroom
In 2017, Evan Oeflein wasn’t thinking about launching a cold brew coffee company. Like many students in the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, he was just trying to complete a class assignment. But the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship’s “Create a Company” program wasn’t your typical lecture — it pushed students to turn an…
On Reflection: Jockeying for Jobs
Competition in Seattle is intense
Having trouble finding a job? Know someone who is? It’s becoming a lot harder. Seattle boasts the dubious distinction of having the toughest labor market in the world. Career website Resume.io found that the city had the world’s largest percentage increase in job competition the past year, with the number of applicants for every open…
‘Culture Takes All of Us’
Impinj sets the tone, but allows employees to build an inclusive workplace
Christina Balam and other executives at Seattle tech company Impinj use a simple yet powerful phrase to ensure collaboration and communication. “‘Culture takes all of us’ is the call to action we remind employees of often,” says Balam, the company’s senior vice president of human resources. “To empower this attitude, we’ve built pathways for discussion…
Unity in Diversity
Tips for inclusive company parties this holiday season
Employers focused on diversity, equity and inclusion should know that along with festivities and cheer in the coming months comes ample opportunity to practice inclusivity and continue to foster a welcoming environment for all. Celebrating employees and co-workers via gatherings and goodies during the holiday season can boost morale, increase team bonding and provide additional…
Saving for the Sunset
Six strategies for retirement, no matter your age or income
Planning for your retirement can feel overwhelming, even intimidating. As a Seattleite who has spent more than 35 years guiding clients in achieving their retirement goals, I’ve worked with people of all ages and incomes. Throughout the years, I’ve guided them through fears, implemented new approaches, and helped them shift their mindset and habits. The…
Political Ping-Pong
How to manage sensitive discussions in the workplace
With the 2024 u.s. presidential election around the corner, talk of politics is a constant on our televisions, in our social media feeds, and around our dinner tables. What happens when those discussions enter the workplace? Surveys consistently show that political discussions at work increase anxiety and decrease productivity. This is not a new issue;…
Editor’s Note: So Common, Yet So Underappreciated
Most of us have been, are, or will be caregivers in our lifetimes
My mother’s voice was calm, even more measured than usual. “Your father’s breathing tube came off last night while he was sleeping,” she said over the phone from Portland. “I had to take him to the hospital. He’s doing fine.”
This was almost three decades ago, and I still vividly recall not being surprised that something had happened.