DBusiness

Brittany Lavis Detroit Medical Center CEO Brittany Lavis has been elected chair of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association (MHA) for 2026-27. “I understood early that health care is not simply an operating system,” Lavis said in her acceptance speech during the recent MHA membership meeting. “My mother began as an OB nurse, my eldest sister as an emergency department nurse, and my youngest sister now serves as the chief health services technician and clinic supervisor in the Coast Guard.

Jocelyn Ho The Tory Burch Foundation announced that Jocelyn Ho, founder of the Rare Plant Fairy in Detroit, is among 120 women founders selected to be a 2026 Tory Burch Foundation Fellow. The foundation, created by fashion entrepreneur and philanthropist Tory Burch, supports women building businesses that last by providing access to community, expert resources, and strategic support. Burch’s goal is for her curated group of entrepreneurs to generate more than $1 billion in economic impact by 2030.

Melanie Duda The Giroux Pappas Law firm in Farmington Hills has hired attorney Melanie Duda, who will specialize in medical malpractice cases. She brings more than a decade of legal experience focused on medical malpractice litigation.

Over the storied 100-year history of the Detroit Red Wings, the best move didn’t come on the ice from Gordie Howe, Steve Yzerman, Sergei Federov, or Dylan Larkin. It was when Mike and Marian Ilitch bought the team from the Norris family for $8 million in 1982. The franchise now is worth $2.5 billion, according to Forbes.

The Detroit Edge Tool Co. was founded 141 years ago on the shores of the Detroit River, where it manufactured and sharpened blades for the booming lumber industry of the 19th century. Now, the company’s products are used to create airplanes and other advanced, high-precision machinery.

When the Dykema law firm was founded in June 1926 in the Penobscot Building in downtown Detroit, its attorneys focused primarily on clients in the automotive industry. A century later, the firm’s practice is much more diverse and spans the nation. The law firm’s founders included Raymond K. Dykema, Elroy O. Jones, and Renville Wheat.

Colliers Detroit in Royal Oak is part of the fourth-largest commercial real estate business in the world, but it started as a one-man enterprise in 1925 in Detroit. Byron W. Trerice founded Byron W. Trerice Co. during the Roaring Twenties, and over the next several decades he earned a reputation as a trusted broker and provider of advisory services across industrial, office, and retail markets throughout southeast Michigan.

The descendants of Roscoe C. Merchant, founder of the R.C. Merchant & Co. manufacturing rep firm in Farmington Hills, are impressed their forefather took a chance and joined the nascent electronics industry in 1924. “We started as an electronics component rep,” says Brook Merchant, chairman of R.C. Merchant and grandson of the founder. “The only product was the radio. We first started selling tube sockets.

A new fuel handling machine installed as part of Palisades’ southwest Michigan’s upgraded Fuel Handling System, which recently completed installation and testing. // Photo courtesy of Holtec Over the past several weeks, the restart project of the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station in Covert Township on Lake Michigan and near South Haven, reported the last of the major projects were successfully closed out.

Sandbox VR, a leading venue for virtual reality experiences, has opened in downtown Ann Arbor with the assistance of Digi Gameverse. Sandbox VR Ann Arbor joins the company’s facility in Royal Oak. // Screen capture courtesy of Sandbox VR Sandbox VR, a leading venue for virtual reality experiences, has opened in downtown Ann Arbor with the assistance of Digi Gameverse. Sandbox VR Ann Arbor joins the company’s facility in Royal Oak.