The Opening Bell

Getting the word out about a new business venture, or development in a particular industry can be hard, which is why public relations firms are so important. Steve sat down with one of the veterans of the Chicago PR scene, Noreen Heron (President and CEO of Heron Agency) to chat about how much the PR approach has changed over the years. Steve then checked in with Dale Buss (Contributor at Forbes and Chief Executive Magazine) about the plans for a […]

Aside from great leadership, human resources stands as one of the major pillars of a successful company and 2017 has seen plenty of HR mishaps across the country. Steve decided to add another Thought Leader to the Associated Bank lineup by integrating Bret McKitrick (SVP & Sr. Human Resources Consultant at Associated Benefits – Part of Associated Bank). Steve and Bret touched on the focus of the week, healthcare, and how the term business casual dress has changed over the […]

On July 20th, 2017 Steve Grzanich shares today’s potential market drivers: US Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims Freddie Mac shares weekly mortgage rates Union Pacific, Microsoft, & Visa all report quarterly results today Fortune Magazine releases their annual Fortune 500 list Forbes highest paid authors list is released today Senate Judiciary Committee votes today on the nomination of Christopher Wray  

The efforts to legalize marijuana across the country continue every day and this could mean big returns to the states that implement it. Steve chatted with Eli McVey (analyst at Marijuana Business Daily) to discuss the potential hundreds of millions or dollars in taxes states can hold over the industry. With all of the severe weather in the Midwest recently, Steve took a look at the business of storm chasing with Danny Neal and Adam Lucio (co-founders of Illinois Storm […]

Selling a home now compared to a few years ago is already drastically different. One of the biggest factors that has changed things is selling homes virtually. Steve chatted with John Bosch (VP of Product Management at VHT Studios) about one of the most popular trends they have grasped, virtual staging. Steve then touched on the latest in crisis communication with Lissa Druss Christman (Crisis Communication Expert at Serafin & Associates) about Delta Airlines avoiding a potentially similar situation with […]

Subscription services are becoming more popular in various forms. Daniel Alarik (CEO of Gruntsyle.com & Alpha Outpost) wants to create quality products and provide monthly boxes that get people out of their comfort zone to explore a new adventure. Steve then turned his thoughts towards portfolios with Kristina Van Liew (Managing Director and Co-Lead of the Chicago Office of Graystone) to break down the growing investing criteria of “Impact Investing” to decide which companies are socially responsible.  

On July 17th, 2017 Steve Grzanich shares today’s potential market drivers: Brexit discussions start back up in Brussels today The FIRST Global Challenge happens today The World Health Organization will publish the SDG Health Price Tag Netflix, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Harley Davidson, Johnson & Johnson, IBM, United Airlines, all report earnings tomorrow  

Coming off of Janet Yellen’s two day testimony, sharing with Senate members a mid year update,  Steve and Paul Nolte took the time to take the first steps in looking forward to the rest of the year. Technology stocks are back in the spotlight and plenty of bank earnings will be focused on as the end of the week comes to a close. Steve then touched base with the frequent flyer, Rick Seaney to learn about the fizzling out of […]

Thursday means checking in on the world of an Associated Bank Thought Leader, and Rod Murray (Group SVP at Associated Bank) shared his perspective on Janet Yellen’s testimony yesterday, online lending, and Illinois’s budget. Steve then took a look at the king of disrupters, Amazon, and how they’re shaking up the marketing world. Steve chatted with Nick Kinports (Principal at SoMe Connect) about how these large business shifts for Amazon will create a range of opportunities for marketing and advertising, […]

On July 12th, 2017 Steve Grzanich shares today’s potential market drivers: The Beige Book is released by the Federal Reserve The House Financial Services Committee begins a two-day testimony of Janet Yellen on her monetary policy OPEC releases it’s monthly oil market reports today House Energy and Oversight Investigation sub committee meets on combating the opioid crisis Today is Internet Day of Action