Recap: Meet the Award Winners and Learn from the BEST

The topic of the December 13, 2018 MCCC Business EXCELerator was "Meet the Award Winners and Learn from the BEST." The meeting was moderated by Erin Allen, President, CONTEMPORARIES, and Co-Chair of the MCCC Small Business Committee.  Featured panelists were:

• Lisa M. Firestone, MHSA, President & Owner, Managed Care Advisors, Inc.
• Joe Brown, President & CEO, The Insurance Exchange, Inc.
• Billy Peel, Executive Vice President, Datawatch Systems, Inc.​

Lisa Firestone introduced herself as an "accidental entrepreneur" who started a mission-focused small business that has evolved over 20 years as a health services government contractor who continues to stay close to their mission of "Empowering Individuals and Organizations to Attain and Sustain Health and Productivity."

Joe Brown joined The Insurance Exchange (TIE) after 15 years at MCI. TIE is a family-owned business with 51 years in commercial business insurance. The company has successfully transitioned to its second generation.

​Billy Peel provided the trajectory of the Red Coats company founded by his parents who cleaned Peoples Drug Stories to large family-owned business with growth through acquisition and partnerships, notably Admiral Security and Datawatch. 

​Each spoke about their discipline in having and routinely reviewing their strategic plan which not only includes revenue growth, but also strategic partnerships and trying to win the "war on talent." Talent attraction and retention was a key element. Generational shifts are an issue to manage with flexibility. Each mentioned the need to attract people who can adapt and advance to the corporate culture and to reward and celebrate their staff.