PPB September 2018

FEATURE | Rising Stars Best Advice Master the basics. As you grow and gain responsibility, you’ll need to be able to handle certain work efficiently. If you develop good habits and teach yourself to do things the right way, it will pay off for the rest of your career. Don’t take shortcuts for short-term gain. Invest in yourself by building a great foundation for future success. Find mentors and a personal board of advisors. There are so many generous people who are willing to share their experiences. I’m extraordinarily fortunate to have a handful of mentors who play a significant role in my life. And I now relish the opportunity to pay it forward with a few people that I’ve started to mentor. Never stop learning. ToRelax AndRecharge I practice yoga four times a week. It helps me push through long days and keep calm during fire drills. It makes me better. I’d recommend that every person looking to advance in their career commit to some sort of physical activity. ChangeHe’d Like To See I want to see the industry invest the time, energy and resources necessary to recruit top talent from diverse backgrounds. There’s a great deal of change coming. We aren’t only competing with the macro factors that are well covered by PPB , we’re also competing with the things that we don’t know about today. To win, we need great thinkers and problem solvers. Our clients will choose to work with us because we have the ability to innovate. If we lack these skills, they’ll look elsewhere, and they may never look back. Zack Ottenstein, 35 Director Senior Living, The Image Group A fter graduating at the top of his class from the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Zack Ottenstein has enjoyed an unusual journey as a storyteller. First, he became a TV reporter for a major network and then an investment analyst for a public real estate company, where he helped develop the investment thesis and executed over $3 billion of transactions. Nominator Jon Levine, president of The Image Group, first met Ottenstein when he was handling marketing communications for the same public company. Levine saw something special in the young man and hired him a year and a half ago to lead the Holland, Ohio, distributor’s Senior Living Division. “Zack grew the business $750,000 in his first year and is on pace to add an additional $1.5 million in year two,” he says. “Few people have the impact in an organization our size so quickly. Most individuals take time to learn the industry, become familiar with the company and understand the systems required to maneuver our supplier network. Zack contributed from the moment he joined and continues to build on his knowledge every day.” Levine adds, “Zack has put forth a plan to add an additional $12 million over the next three years and has a pipeline three times that size. We have all the confidence in the world that Zack will meet his plan.” 44 | SEPTEMBER 2018 |