SpringCM CEO grows business and his wine collection
Chris Junker is CEO of Chicago-based SpringCM, which does cloud content management for businesses. While he manages an expanding technology company, he finds that other things are better with age, like fine wines.
He has a collection of about 800 bottles in a wine cellar at his Long Grove home.
“Once people know you collect wine, that’s the only gift you will ever get again,” Junker said.
His appreciation of fermented grapes started while working for some California-based companies. Whenever those executives got together for business meetings, they often talked about wines. So Junker felt he should learn about the wine industry as well.
“I had to understand what they were talking about,” he said.
In 2000, he started collecting wines, mostly reds and, on occasion, he enjoys a sip of California red zinfandels. He’s also traveled extensively, including France and Spain, and South America, all areas known for producing good wines.
And just as wine gets better with age, so did SpringCM, Junker believes.
After 7 years, the venture-backed company is quietly adding more clients and expanding its workforce.
While he declined to say what the company’s revenues are, Junker said he plans to add about 20 more workers by next year, bringing the workforce up to 100.
“We deliver those services to companies without them being required to do any upfront infrastructure costs,” he said.
More workforces are using smartphones and tablets to do their everyday tasks, and much of that content can be stored on the cloud, he said.
“It’s changed the way people work,” he said. “We have evolved into a mobile workforce.”
Many companies now are embracing the mobile workforce and adapting their services and products, he said.
“The days of people sitting down at their desktop computer are over,” he said.
Yet at the other end of the spectrum, and time on their side, fermentation continues at its own pace in his wine cellar, aging those fine wines. At least one product not fully impacted by the cloud.
A little yoga while you buy?
Friends Angie Pool and Leslie Pozen are owners of Rouse, an Elmhurst boutique that sells clothes, handbags and accessories, including some handbags designed by Pozen, who started the company, Ellu. Rouse offers more than just fashion, it also has classes for art and craft, yoga and meditation sessions, kids’ birthday parties and other gatherings. The women met in 2010. Pozen was originally from Fargo, N.D., and moved to Elmhurst 12 years ago. Pool was in health and wellness consulting for 30 years and wanted to do something different. They launched the business in October 2012, a company spokeswoman said.
Klein listed as rising star
Mark Klein, vice president of domestic sales for Klein Tools in Lincolnshire, has been named to the 2013 “30 Under 35” list of rising stars nationwide by Electrical Distributor, the publication of the National Association of Electrical Distributors. The Northbrook resident is the sixth-generation Klein family member. He did a three-year stint at Anixter as an inventory management buyer after college. For the past 10 years, he has been with Klein Tools in various roles.
Wheaton author signing book
Author Eric Wentz of Wheaton is signing his book, “Killing Sharks,” starting at 11 a.m. at the Navy Exchange Burkey Mall, 2652 Green Bay Road, Bldg. 3452, Great Lakes. The book focuses on the remote villages of Afghanistan to the depths of the ocean, where Lt. Commander Grant Chisolm is on a mission to thwart jihadists. His latest assignment as liaison officer to Guantanamo brings him face to face with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda
FastTrack
Iqbal Arshad, senior vice president of global product development, and Jim Wicks, corporate vice president of consumer experience design at Libertyville-based Motorola Mobility, will be keynoters at Techweek on June 27-29 at the Merchandise Mart. ... John Fortson is the new vice president of finance at AAR Corp., a Wood Dale-based provider of products and services to the worldwide aerospace, government and defense industries. ... Mark Baumhart and Brian Schmitz of Arthur J. Rogers & Co. in Elk Grove Village are the leasing agents for a 171,241-square-foot, multi-tenant, industrial/office property at 1130 Thorndale Ave. in Bensenville.
Victoria Knudson has been appointed the national lead for Cushman & Wakefield’s Industrial Property Management in Rosemont. ... Jim Skogsbergh, president and CEO of Oak Brook-based Advocate Health Care, has received the 2013 National Healthcare Award from B’nai B’rith. ... Seth Rosenberg is a new agent at Century 21 Kreuser & Seiler in Libertyville and will specialize in the Lake and Cook counties region.
Cathleen Hayes, manager of the Zengeler Cleaners in Long Grove, said the store is marking its second anniversary. ... Biljana Mijailovic is the new vice president of sales at GuideStar Clinical Trials Management, a company in Deerfield that supports and manages clinical research in community hospitals.
Carolyn Gerard, principal of Gerard Design, a branding and integrated marketing firm in Warrenville, has shortened the company name to just Gerard. ... TV cook Bobby Deen has been tapped to help Hoffman Estates-based Sears mark the 100th anniversary of its Kenmore brand. ... Michael Wagner, an Elmhurst native, is the new real estate broker at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Lombard. ... Andrew Love of Hanover Park and Peggy O’Connor of Highland Park have been appointed to the Advisory Council of the Agency on Aging of Northeastern Illinois.
Skokie resident Bruce Kaskel, principal and unit manager at Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc. in Northbrook, received the Award of Merit from ASTM International. Kaskel is a licensed architect in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin and a registered structural engineer in Illinois. ... Sarah Jakoubek is the new director of business development at the Highland Park Nursing & Rehab Center. ... Violet Kawamoto is the store manager for the new Zzz’s by Ashley store that opened in Highland Park.
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