Business Leader of the Year
REI Real Estate Services President Mike Wells started out as an attorney focused on real estate and tax-exempt financing before entering the commercial side of the real estate business as a developer in 1988. Ever since, he has been working to build communities and reshape the skyline of Indianapolis. Currently the president of Carmel-based REI, some of the projects Wells has been involved in include the downtown Marriott hotel, the Emmis Communications headquarters on Monument Circle and the 550,000-square-foot Anthem operations center.
Eventually, hotels surfaced as a key part of the mix at REI; most notably with the company’s latest project: the JW Marriott, a 1,005-room hotel on the western edge of downtown Indianapolis that many call a game changer for the city’s tourism and hospitality potential.
Business Leader of the Year
John Swisher – 2009
Tony George – 2008
Tony George – 2008
Niel Ellerbrook – 2007
Clarence J. “Mac” McCormick III – 2006
David Frick – 2005
Jerry Semler – 2004
Doug Bawel – 2003
Bob Koch – 2002
Marilyn Moran-Townsend – 2001
Christopher J. Murphy, III – 2000
Bill Cook – 1999
Ian Rolland – 1998
Patricia Miller – 1997
Randall Tobias – 1996
John Hillenbrand II – 1995
Frank Walker – 1994
Don Wolf – 1993
Dane Miller – 1992
Van Smith – 1991
Dick Wood – 1990