July / August 2010

Metro Detroit's Most Powerful Women in Business

More and more women are breaking through the glass ceiling in metro Detroit. In an effort to recognize their achievements, we asked readers to nominate female business leaders who they felt were...

Made in Michigan: The Movie

When state legislatures upped the ante two years ago to provide the nations largest incentive package for film production, Hollywood and independent producers came calling.

By R.J. King

Polyester Palace

One summer day in Troy in the early 1980s, a tall, thin man with a syrupy Southern drawl ambled into Kmart International Headquarters (KIH) at Big Beaver and Coolidge and signed in at the security...

By Norm Sinclair

Prepare for Takeoff

A solid bellwether of an economic recovery is a rise in corporate air travel. If executives, managers, and entrepreneurs are increasingly using private aircraft amid an economic recession, it’s...

By R.J. King

Java or Caramel?

Maxine Lauer prowls the floor of major consumer and trade shows like a big-game hunter. Armed with a camera, a notepad, and a near-encyclopedic knowledge of colors, fashions, and trends, she spots...

By Michael Strong

Bang the Drum

Stephen Badalament says his drums are world-beaters. “I can confidently say my drums will do 200 percent more work than you could ever ask them to,” says the founder and CEO of Bloomfield...

By Jim McFarlin

Wind-Chaser

Multitasking comes easy for Mark Kuban. After a 10-year run as a home goods sales representative, Kuban jumped into kiteboarding — a sport that’s actually been around for more than a century...

By R.J. King

Terms of Limitation

Next year will be a banner year for Michigan voters who savor fresh political winds — or red-meat politics — as three-fourths of the state’s senators and nearly a third of the representatives...

By George Bullard

The Rebirth of Delphi

There are times when Rodney O’Neal sounds more like a sailor than a CEO. “You have to be aware of what your North Star is and never lose sight of it,” he says, sitting in a Renaissance Center...

By Paul A. Eisenstein

Wood Works

At Environmental Wood Solutions in Lake Orion, owner Larry Mullins is living proof that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

By Norm Sinclair