Ilene Wolff

The 2018 class of 30 in Their Thirties spans the business world, including employee staffing, finance, food production, health care, insurance, real estate development, and technology.

From banking and construction to education and restaurants, along with the Grand Hotel, DBusiness pays tribute to companies and organizations that are 100 or more years old.

After the historic merger of Beaumont, Oakwood, and Botsford hospitals, John Fox, CEO of the new Beaumont Health, is eyeing growth across the region, developing technology to improve patient outcomes, and embracing transparency — even if it requires admitting mistakes.

From colleges to real estate and racing teams to construction firms, how companies last 100 years or longer is a testament to fortitude and vision.

​Deidra A. Wilson grew up in a health care family. Her father and brother are doctors, an aunt was an administrator in the St. John Providence Health System, and her second cousin led the Health Care Financing Administration, the agency that preceded the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, under President George H.W. Bush. Wilson, who has a master’s degree in public health, is following in her relatives’ footsteps. She previously worked at government agencies in Washington, D.C., and Lansing, and was employed by Michigan’s largest insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

When Jesse Tarr drove between home in Oakland County and Northern Michigan University in Marquette for school, he passed two industrial wind turbines at the Mackinac Bridge. “I was awed by them,” he says. “Being entrepreneurial, I saw what I thought were some pretty big opportunities with these (turbine) foundations."

Steven Kizy is 30 years old, but he’s already been in business more than 15 years. “I started my own business when I was 14 years old,” Kizy says. “I ran a cell phone store out of my dad’s convenience store in Detroit. I’ve always had a passion for business.”

Like so many entrepreneurs, Brandon Green saw a need and jumped in to fill it. “I started my own company because I saw a void in the market,” says Green, managing partner of Greenway Multimedia Group. “In radio, (I saw) how instrumental marketing is for companies. With times changing the way they have, more companies want to do the digital approach, and I wanted to provide jobs for people.”

Unlike some family business owners, Tim Eisbrenner never had to struggle with succession planning at Shelby Paint and Decorating, the business he acquired in 1979. “When I was 10 years old, I wanted to be his vice president,” says Brian Eisbrenner, Tim’s son.

From linen services to packaging and construction companies, and from selling furs to machine bearings, DBusiness pays tribute to companies that are 100 years old or more.