SB Profiles
Coffee with Guppy: A Woman of Vision
Nancy chats with eyewear entrepreneur Arlene Phillips.
ARLENE PHILLIPS owns Ottica Seattle, an eyewear boutique she opened 15 years ago at First Avenue and Lenora Street in downtown Seattle. Starting this business was a great risk, she confides, because Id never owned a business before. I was in between kids and decided that rather than go find a job, I would give…
Off the Clock Profile #10: Karl Moehring
CEO of Washington Shoe Company, Kent
EDITORS NOTE: This is one in a monthly series of miniprofiles featuring local executives off the clock. EXECUTIVES NAME, TITLE AND COMPANY NAME.Karl Moehring, CEO, Washington Shoe Company TELL US WHAT YOUR COMPANY DOES AND WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO THIS BUSINESS.Washington Shoe Company is a family-owned, family-focused footwear company, offering mostly rubber-based shoes and boots….
Off the Clock Profile #8: Rebekah Bastian
VP of Product, Zillow Group, Seattle
EDITORS NOTE: This is one in a monthly series of miniprofiles featuring local executives off the clock. EXECUTIVES NAME, TITLE AND COMPANY NAME.Rebekah Bastian, VP of product, Zillow Group TELL US WHAT YOUR COMPANY DOES AND WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO THIS BUSINESS.Zillow is the leading real estate and rental marketplace, dedicated to empowering consumers with…
Off the Clock Profile #6: Erin Baker
CEO, Erin Baker's Wholesome Baked Goods, Bellingham
EDITORS NOTE: This is one in a monthly series of miniprofiles featuring local executives off the clock. EXECUTIVES NAME, TITLE AND COMPANY NAME.Erin Baker, CEO, Erin Bakers Wholesome Baked Goods TELL US WHAT YOUR COMPANY DOES AND WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO THIS BUSINESS.My company, Erin Bakers Wholesome Baked Goods, hand bakes and distributes breakfast goods…
Executive Q+A with Jim Kerr of D.A. Davidson Companies
CEO learned some tough lessons early in life.
With grit and determination, Jim Kerr, who never finished college, has helped build D.A. Davidson Companies, a Great Falls, Montana-based employee-owned firm, into a financial services powerhouse with 1,330 employees in 22 states and $44 billion under management. EARLY YEARS: I grew up in Oregon, where my dad made and lost several fortunes doing everything…
Coffee with Guppy: Drawing Fire
Cartoonist David Horseys job is to elicit a reaction.
Editorial cartoonist David Horsey spent 30 years at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, where he won two Pulitzer Prizes for his biting political commentary. He has worked as a cartoonist and columnist for the Los Angeles Times since 2012. What is the job of a political cartoonist? Its similar to a columnist or an editorial writer: Observe…
Executive Q+A: PitchBook CEO John Gabbert
If this is the golden age of data mining, John Gabbert has PitchBook well positioned.
Since John Gabbert created PitchBook Data in 2007, the company’s database has become indispensable to venture capitalists, equity investors and a broadening base of customers that includes consultants and salespeople. EARLY DAYS: I grew up in a small town near the Bay Area but my family later moved to Redmond. I worked my way through…
Coffee with Guppy: Rich Komen’s Unlimited Determination
The longtime entrepreneur dishes with Nancy Guppy on restaurants, running a business and hiring the right people.
Restaurateur Rich Komen began his extraordinary career in 1961 by securing the sports concessions contract at the University of Washington. In the ensuing 56 years, Komen opened more than 40 restaurants, founded and sold Restaurants Unlimited (think Cutters, Palomino, Palisade) and, with his crack executive team, created Cinnabon. When did you become interested in the…
Coffee with Guppy: Raising the Bar
A chat with musician/restaurateur Val Kiossovski.
Val Kiossovski co-owns the Solo Bar on Lower Queen Anne and Saint Johns Bar and Eatery on Capitol Hill. Since 2000, he has played lead guitar in the gypsy punk band Kultur Shock, which mixes rock, metal and punk with traditional music of the Balkans. Nancy: Describe your philosophy of running a bar. Val: My…
Coffee with Guppy: Taking Care of Artists
Nancy sits down with gallery owner Gail Gibson.
Gail Gibson owns G. Gibson Gallery in Seattle. Initially specializing in 20th century photography, Gibson has since expanded to include contemporary artists working in a variety of media. After 25 years in Pioneer Square, she relocated to a new space in Lower Queen Anne (104 W Roy St.) last fall. Whats the most important thing…
Executive Q+A with Gene Duvernoy
Forterra president is intent on preserving what matters most.
Founded in 1989 as the Cascade Land Conservancy, Gene Duvernoys conservation and stewardship organization known as Forterra, now boasting a staff of 50, has managed more than 400 transactions on $500 million worth of real estate to conserve more than 250,000 acres of land. YOUTH: I grew up in New York. My father had a…
Executive Q+A: The Navigator
John Wolfe steers the Northwest Seaport Alliance through a challenging time for marine cargo handling.
Since taking over in 2015 as CEO of the Northwest Seaport Alliance, which administers the ports of Tacoma and Seattle, CEO John Wolfe has navigated stormy seas while simultaneously improving the operations of the fourth-largest container gateway in North America. EARLY YEARS: I was raised in Tacoma and Puyallup. Dad was in the Air Force,…
Executive Q+A With Harvey Kanter
CEO has put Blue Nile back in the diamond lane.
Harvey Kanter has taken Blue Nile, a struggling online jeweler, and returned it to a growth trajectory. In November, the publicly traded company with 350 employees reached a $500 million agreement to be taken private by an investor group composed of funds managed by Bain Capital Private Equity and Bow Street LLC. EARLY DAYS: Dad…