Email
PrintThe Hot Sheet
The who, when, where, and why of what's happening in Memphis business.
Awarded
The Greater Memphis Chamber’s economic development team has been awarded for excellence in economic development in the metropolitan area category from the Site Selectors Guild, a professional association founded in 2010 which is comprised of the world’s most respected site-selection consultants. The first annual guild awards recognize individuals and organizations for their contributions to investment attraction and job creation in their respective communities. The mission of the guild is to advance the profession of international corporate site selection by promoting the profession and providing education, networking, and other services to those involved in the industry.
Elected
Gregory Polley, executive vice president of Frase Protection, was recently named secretary of the Tennessee Electronic Security Association (TNESA), a statewide nonprofit organization of electronic security professionals. Polley’s duties in this role include ensuring accurate records of board meetings, admittance of new membership to the association, participation in quarterly board of directors meetings in Nashville and also in the association’s annual trip to Washington, D.C., to meet with elected officials. More than 200 companies work through TNESA to promote the mutual interest of the electronic security industry and serve as a medium of exchange and dissemination of information regarding the electronic security industry to members, legislators, and the public.
Robert L. Hutton, a member in the firm of Glankler Brown, PLLC, has been elected a fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation. The foundation’s purpose is to honor attorneys who have distinguished themselves in the profession and also administer a grant-making program, IOLTA (Interest On Lawyers’ Trust Accounts), which has awarded grants in excess of $18 million to law-related, public-interest projects throughout Tennessee. Practicing in litigation, with substantial experience in federal civil rights, constitutional law, business litigation, and criminal law, Hutton has argued cases before the United States Court of Appeals, Tennessee Appellate Courts, Tennessee Supreme Court, and the United States Supreme Court.
Hired
Seedco has hired Lisa Pote as the new senior vice president for the company’s Mid-South regional office, where she will oversee all workforce, asset-building, and small-business finance programs of the national nonprofit. Prior to joining Seedco, Pote served as a consultant to Seedco’s Mid-South regional office through her position as senior vice president for the Center for Nonprofit Management in Nashville. She also managed workforce programs as the director of community services for the Nashville Career Advancement Center for almost 10 years. Pote has held positions on numerous workforce-related boards in Tennessee and other social service and educational organizations.
Dixon Hughes Goodman, LLP, has brought on several new associates. Akela N. Young received a bachelor of accountancy from Mississippi State University, where she participated in several honor societies. Brandon B. Valentine received a bachelor of arts in business administration from Rhodes College. M. Geer Alexander Jr., a graduate of Memphis University School, received a bachelor of finance from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, and was previously an associate with Mercury Investment Management in Memphis. Joseph S. Iupe received a bachelor of accountancy from Mississippi State University. Jason S. Smith received a bachelor of science in business administration from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and was previously an owner of Smith Brothers Lawn Care in Memphis. Phillip W. DeBardeleben received a bachelor of accountancy from the University of Mississippi, where he was on the Chancellor’s Honor Roll and belonged to several honor societies. Paul B. Morrow, another graduate of Memphis University School, received bachelor and master of accountancy degrees from the University of Mississippi, where he served as treasurer of several campus organizations. Elizabeth Weiss Weatherall received a bachelor of accountancy from the University of Mississippi, where she was on the Chancellor’s Honor Roll and belonged to several honor societies.
Three attorneys formerly of Weintraub Stock have joined the Memphis office of Jackson Lewis LLP. Labor law practitioner James H. Stock Jr. joins the firm as partner, accompanied by Robbin W. Hutton and Carrie L. Kinsella, as counsel and associate, respectively. Stock is a top-rated senior litigator and counselor in labor and employment law. His practice focuses on representing national and regional corporations in all facets of employment law, labor relations, and wage and hour matters and enforcing restrictive covenants. Stock completed his B.S. and J.D. at the University of Memphis. Stock also completed civil mediators training at Lipscomb University. He is on boards of various charitable organizations and agencies, including the YMCA of Memphis and the Mid-South and The Bellevue Foundation, and he is an adjunct professor at Union University. Hutton has over fifteen years experience in the areas of employment and labor law, insurance defense, and civil litigation. Hutton regularly works with clients in developing and implementing employment policies as well as training on major areas of employment and labor law. She received her B.P.A. from the University of Mississippi and J.D. from the Mississippi College School of Law. Kinsella regularly represents and advises employers on employment-related issues, including discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims, and FMLA, ADA, and FLSA matters. Kinsella previously served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois, defending state agencies and officers in employment and civil rights litigation. She received her B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and her J.D. from Southern Illinois University School of Law.
Metropolitan Bank has hired several new associates in the Memphis market. Maria Lapuente Garrett joined Metropolitan as a senior managing director. She has maintained top producer status throughout her 11-year banking career and comes to Metropolitan Bank as Senior Managing Director. A graduate of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Garrett also serves as president of the board of the Humane Society of Memphis & Shelby County, having served on the board since 2006. Kent Stone joined the bank as a mortgage specialist. A graduate of the University of Mississippi, Stone has five years of experience in the Memphis mortgage business and 15 years of customer service experience. He serves on the Educational Foundation Resources Development Committee for Shelby County Schools and participates in various community organizations.
Opened
Fisher & Phillips LLP announced its expansion into Tennessee with the opening of a Memphis office. The office will initially do business as “The Weintraub Firm, P.C., a partner in Fisher & Phillips LL,” led by Jeff Weintraub, a jury-trial employment attorney with more than 30 years of experience representing public and private employers in cases involving harassment and discrimination, retaliatory discharge, and wage and hour matters. He represents employers in union arbitrations, negotiations, and elections. He earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Memphis. Weintraub is joined at Fisher & Phillips by another partner, Craig Cowart, who comes from Kiesewetter Wise Kaplan Prather. For nearly 20 years, Cowart represented management clients in state and federal employment litigation and administrative proceedings before state and federal agencies. Cowart serves on the board of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the Federal Bar Association, where he is the chair of the Committee on Legislation and Congressional Relations. He also serves as treasurer of the Memphis Mid-South Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. Cowart received his law degree with honors from the University of Memphis and his B.B.A. from the University of Mississippi.
Promoted
Chris Triplett has been promoted to manager of the Memphis office of engineering and architecture firm Barge, Waggoner, Sumner, and Cannon, Inc. Triplett, who has been with the firm since 2008, was previously a project manager. He assumes the position of office manager following the announcement that current office manager Charlie Goforth will retire in April. A 1999 graduate of the University of Memphis with a B.S. degree in civil engineering, Triplett is credentialed as a Project Management Professional. He also has an associate degree in mechanical engineering technology from the State Technical Institute at Memphis, is a registered Professional Engineer, and a certified professional in erosion and sediment control. Triplett has received the Dan B. Barge Jr. Award, the highest honor awarded by the Tennessee Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), having served the organization in roles including president of the West Tennessee Branch, District 9 representative, Tennessee Section vice president, and president. He is a member of the Bartlett Design Review Committee and participates in the Greater Memphis Chamber and other area chamber activities.
Decosimo Certified Public Accountants has named Kevin McAdams, CPA, as managing principal of the accounting and business advisory firm’s Memphis office. McAdams has more than 15 years of experience in public accounting, specifically in tax planning, compliance, and consulting. He joined Decosimo in 2005 to direct the Memphis office’s tax practice. As managing principal, he is responsible for the administration, daily operation, and organization of the Memphis office. Arnold McGruder, CPA, has served as the office’s managing principal since 2004 and is now serving as assurance principal, leading the office’s assurance practice.
Dixon Hughes Goodman, LLP, announced several promotions in the Memphis office. Jeree Wheat has been named manager, and Webb Baird, Laura D’Antoni, Whitney Forbes Mills, Jim Harlow, Kevin Morris, and Bradley Weatherford were named senior associates.
Recognized
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) has announced that the Intermodal Freight Transportation Institute (IFTI) at the University of Memphis, in a consortia partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was awarded designation as a Tier 1 University Transportation Center (UTC). The UTC program awards grants to universities across the United States to advance state-of-the-art research in transportation and develop the next generation of transportation professionals. Of the 63 UTC applications received, RITA awarded 22 grants, each worth $3.5 million dollars. Forty-six of the applicants competed to be one of the 10 Tier 1 Centers. The University of Memphis/University of Wisconsin-Madison consortium, known as CFIRE (National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education), is composed of 10 universities. The consortium encompasses a geographical area that serves the majority of freight traffic in the United States. The consortium’s winning proposal, “Making Multimodal Freight Systems Work for Economic Recovery and Quality of Life,” detailed research, education, and technology transfer activities that will maximize the effectiveness of multimodal and intermodal development in the region and in the nation to move products efficiently from border to border and abroad.
