Florida Trend | Florida's Business Authority

Timing Isn't Everything

Rodney Rogers launched Adjoined Consulting at the worst possible time -- just before the technology stock crash in 2000. "At that time, most consultants were focused on building new revenue channels using the internet," says Rogers, founder and CEO of the Coral Gables-based firm. "I felt there was a great need for a firm with traditional expertise in its clients' industries as well as technology."RODNEY ROGERS

Title: CEO and founder

Education: Industrial engineering major at the University of Florida, graduating in 1987

Quote: "In building our business, I believe a handshake means more than a piece of paper."

Community activities: Trustee of Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce; member, the Beacon Council, United Way and Hands-on Miami

Personal: Married, one daughter

Hidden talents: Nicknaming people. "I'm the guy who nicknames people, and the nicknames seem to stick."

Five years later, Rogers' firm is thriving, with more than 350 employees in seven offices nationwide, a Fortune 500 client list and revenue of $50 million in 2004 with $75 million projected for this year.

Adjoined Consulting has found success the old-fashioned way, by hiring consultants with high-level experience in the firm's targeted industries like consumer packaged goods and financial services. "We sell business know-how to our clients, enabling them to improve their processes," says Rogers, whose own background includes senior positions in the consumer packaged goods industry, including a stint with Palm Beach-based Florida Crystals.

Today, the firm's clients include Del Monte, Barnes & Noble, Burger King, Johnson & Johnson, Georgia Pacific, Tyco, Honeywell, BellSouth and Qwest.

Rogers, 39, says major companies continue to look for new ways to use technology to enhance productivity and cut costs. "Solutions like automating the supply chain, mining the database to identify key customer trends or diagnosing the success of a sales promotion are complex and require a higher degree of analysis," he says. "That's where our consulting expertise really comes into play."

LEADERBOARD
>> Lynne Wines, Colonial Bank's CEO of south Florida commercial banking, was honored by Commercial Real Estate Women at the group's inaugural "Women at the Top" gala. Wines was also recognized by the Women's Council of Commerce of Broward County and named one of the "Top 25 Women to Watch" by U.S. Banker magazine.

>> Miami attorney Rodney H. Bell, a partner at Holland & Knight, will lead the firm's south Florida securities and public companies practices.

>> Accounting firm Rachlin Cohen & Holtz has three new partners: Shaun Blogg, Richard Hollowell and Michele Lipson.

>> Jeffrey Long-McGie has joined Andrx Pharmaceuticals as a vice president.

>> Attorneys Robert B. Boyers and James Hannon have formed a new
Miami law firm, Hannon & Boyers, which will focus on personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice and product liability.

>> Lewis B. Freeman, CPA, founding principal of Lewis B. Freeman & Partners, was awarded the 2005 Henry King Stanford Alumnus of the Year Award by the University of Miami.

>> Dorian Zimmer has been named president of the Palms West Chamber of Commerce in Wellington.

CEO Spotlight:
Rock SolidDANY GARCIA JOHNSON, 36

CEO / JDM Partners, Miami

The firm: A seven-person wealth management firm with $35 million in intangible assets and $50 million in real estate under management.

The niche: Some football players and entertainers, but, says Johnson, "the real meat-and-potatoes of the firm will always be the families, the business owners" with complex needs. "We're trying to be everything to a few individuals."

Five-year goal: No more than $100 million in assets under management from 50 to 75 relationships.

Bio: Born and raised in New Jersey of Cuba-born parents, she majored in international finance and marketing at the University of Miami. She spent 10 years with Merrill Lynch, where she managed $90 million in assets before co-founding JDM in 2002.

Husband: Pro wrestler and movie star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, whom she met while they were both at UM in 1991. Married in 1997. One 3-year-old daughter, Simone.

Philanthropy: Johnson founded Beacon Experience, which will find a kindergarten at an F-rated school in Miami and provide the students tutoring, guidance and financial aid through college. The Rock's foundation distributes toys to hospitalized children. He also granted 143 kids' wishes in the past two years through the Make-A-Wish foundation.

REAL ESTATE

>> Allen Morris Co. recently sold the 12-story 1000 Brickell Avenue building, the first multitenant office high-rise on Brickell, built in 1968. The new owners, led by principal Hank Bush, are converting the 144,000-sq.-ft. building to office condominiums.

>> In the Brickell residential market, Baltimore developer Elliott J. Sharaby, CEO of Falstaff Group, is converting Courvoisier Courts, the last rental building on Brickell Key, into residential condominiums. The 28-story building has 272 waterfront units and ground-level commercial space.

>> A summer groundbreaking is planned for Urbanea, a mixed-use development near Coral Gables that features 100 condominium residences, including walk-up corner lofts, as well as street-side cafes and retail shops.

>> Construction is under way in Broward County on all six residential buildings at Wilton Station, a waterfront mixed-use community in Wilton Manors.

>> A September groundbreaking is planned for 230 Shore, a waterfront development with 17 three-story villas at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.

>> Sales are under way for The Edge, a West Palm Beach project with two 15-story, Art Deco-inspired towers being developed by Wood Partners. The Edge will include 572 loft condominiums and two-story townhomes.

>> Also in West Palm Beach, The Related Group is planning CityPlace South Tower, a 20-story residential tower with 420 units and ground-floor retail space across from CityPlace on Okeechobee Boulevard.

HEADS UP: Bouncing Back

In the late 1990s, Clematis Street was the top dining and entertainment area in West Palm Beach. Then along came CityPlace, followed by extensive downtown construction, and the evening pedestrian traffic on Clematis Street took a dive. Now, restaurant owner Roy Assad believes the time is right for a comeback. "There are a lot more cosmopolitan young professionals moving to downtown West Palm to live and work, and that's creating demand for international cuisine, lounges and sophisticated entertainment," he says.

After opening an insurance agency on Clematis Street, last year Assad launched Leila, which features a Middle Eastern menu, with belly dancing and water pipes for sweet tobacco. In December, he opened L'Opera Brasserie, with a casual French ambiance.

Assad, who serves on the board of the Downtown Development Authority, says both restaurants are doing well.

"By the end of the year, we expect about 2,000 new downtown residences will be occupied," he says. "By catering to the local clientele, Clematis Street can evolve along with the entire downtown market."

>>PDA - Meetings & EventsDateEventLocationJuly 16-20Swimwear ShowMiami Beach Convention CenterAug. 6-7Christmas in JulyBroward County Convention CenterAug. 9-11International Food & Wine ExpoMiami Beach Convention CenterAug. 12Doing Business with the Military WorkshopHilton Miami Airport (5101 Blue Lagoon Drive, Miami)Aug. 182nd Annual iCoast Technology ShowBroward County Convention Center