Onward and Upward

There is always excitement in the air in the fall. It is a time of hope and new beginnings. We tell ourselves this will be the year our favorite football team wins it all, our children get straight As, and we lose the weight we swore we were going to lose in June.

Here at Inside Business and its parent company, Great Lakes Publishing, we wanted to get into the spirit of the season, so we thought we’d make a new beginning of our own. As Woody Hayes was fond of saying, “You win with people.” And business is no different than football. We have built a wonderful success story because of our winning team of people and it’s time to recognize their outstanding contributions.
It is my pleasure to announce three promotions. Lute Harmon Jr. has been named president of Great Lakes Publishing. During his tenure as publisher of Ohio Magazine, he took the magazine to new heights of readership and advertising, the major ingredients of magazine success. His leadership in making Ohio one of the top magazines in the country will be a great asset in leading Great Lakes Publishing into the future. 

Frank Bird, publisher of Cleveland Magazine and a vice president of Great Lakes Publishing, has earned a corporate promotion to senior vice president. While retaining his publisher duties, Frank’s promotion recognizes the significant contribution he has made to the success of the company. Frank is part of the original team that in 1991 took us from one magazine to many, and from 15 dedicated staffers to 90. He has been given one simple charge: do it again.

Sarah Desmond, senior account executive of Inside Business magazine, is being promoted to advertising director. Since joining the magazine in 1999, Sarah has consistently set new records in advertising sales. Her involvement in Northeast Ohio’s business community, from Cleveland to Youngstown, has provided our editors with some of their best story ideas. Her passion for promoting Northeast Ohio as a center for business innovation and entrepreneurship makes her the ideal candidate to lead the sales and marketing team of Inside Business.

If we look over our shoulder, we are proud of where we’ve been. But the real excitement lies in the journey ahead. This winning team of newly promoted people has just one mission: to bring you the insight you need to succeed in business and in life.

So along with winning football teams, straight As and astounding weight loss, as a reader you can look forward to one more thing: the fun and excitement that is Northeast Ohio.