The Innovators: The disruptors shaking things up and getting the region to see things in a different way
Michael Braddock II
CEO, The Braddock Group & Chief Business Officer, Frontier Scientific Solutions
Michael Braddock II co-founded The Braddock Group, a residential and commercial real estate group. He also has a leading role with Frontier Scientific Solutions, a global cGMP temperature-controlled storage and logistic solutions provider for the life sciences and pharmaceutical industry.
Why he’s an innovator: Frontier Scientific Solutions in recent years has announced plans to build several temperature-controlled storage facilities catering to the life science industry.
The most recent announcement came in November when company officials said they plan to develop state-of-the-art facilities at Wilmington International Airport (ILM) and Shannon Airport (SNN) in County Clare, Ireland.
The cGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Practices) projects, including a 500,000-square-foot facility at ILM’s business park and an initial 70,000-square-foot facility at SNN, are supported by a $1.5 billion commitment from GID, a vertically integrated real estate investor, owner, operator and developer.
The new facilities along with a direct flight between the two airports is expected to help Frontier Scientific become a disruptor in the life sciences supply chain.
Frontier Scientific Solutions’ other cold storage facility in Wilmington is on North 23rd Street.
Earlier this year, Frontier’s existing warehouse secured a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) designation to help facilitate the import of goods from customers in foreign countries.
Hiring mode: Braddock said that Frontier Scientific Solutions officials expect to hire 75-100 people in early- to mid-2025, growing to several hundred over the multiple-phase project.
Chris Babcock
CEO, Apiture
Since joining Apiture in 2019, Chris Babcock has drawn on his experience and knowledge of technology, sales and product management in guiding the young joint venture of Live Oak Bancshares and Atlanta-based First Data Corp. The firm’s digital banking products aim to help smaller banks and credit unions compete with larger national financial institutions.
Why he’s an innovator: In addition to refining its Digital Banking Platform’s core features for both consumer and business banking, Apiture has enhanced the platform through integrations with more than 200 other fintechs. Recently, the firm developed and introduced Data Portal, a data analysis tool that enables financial institutions to offer a more personalized digital banking experience to their customers.
Apiture uses generative AI internally to improve its employees’ efficiency and externally to enhance the solutions it provides to its clients and their end users.
Awards array: Apiture continues to add to its roster of recognitions. It was named a 2024 winner in Best Places to Work in Fintech by American Banker. The FinTech Futures Banking Tech Awards USA recognized Apiture as a winner in its 2024 Best Digital Banking System category and a finalist in its Best Business Banking Solution category. The firm is also a finalist in the 2024 US Fintech Awards’ Data Initiative of the Year category.
Brett Caines
CEO, Lumos Technologies Inc.
As the co-founder and CEO of Lumos Technologies, which does business as Lumos Data, Brett Caines leads a 15-member team to accomplish the company’s mission of expanding financing for small businesses.
Why he’s an innovator: Caines left Live Oak Bank in 2021 to start Lumos. The company’s focus is creating more efficient, accurate and fair predictive credit risk models for small-business lenders.
Historically, financial institutions have struggled to provide small-dollar loans to small businesses while maintaining a financial return. Lumos aims to improve the efficiency of the lending process and an institution’s understanding of risk, according to Caines.
For example, the company’s flagship product, the Lumos PRIME+ scoring model, improves underwriting efficiency and provides a more accurate and fairer risk assessment for small business loans of less than $500,000.
Lumos completed a pre-seed funding round in 2022 and closed on a $2 million seed round earlier this year. The capital infusion will allow the company to expand its market presence and accelerate product development. Today, the company has at least one Lumos product offering in approximately 100 financial institutions nationwide.
The company recently completed its predictive risk model for scoring outstanding loan portfolios of financial institutions, allowing credit teams to identify and quantify risk in a portfolio of small business loans. Lumos will fully deploy this tool to market in 2025.
Past job: Before Lumos, Caines served as Live Oak Bank’s chief financial officer for 11 years.
Ben Currin & Dave Sweyer
CEO/Founder & COO, Vantaca
Vantaca, a cloud-based community association management software company based in Wilmington, reached major milestones this year under the leadership of CEO Ben Currin and founder and COO Dave Sweyer.
Why they’re innovators: Vantaca offers community association management companies new software tools to manage and grow their businesses. The company recently onboarded its 5 millionth “door” and launched a suite of financial services products, including Vantaca Pay, which processes hundreds of millions of electronic payment dollars. For the fourth consecutive year, Vantaca made Inc. 5000’s list of fastest-growing private companies.
Company leaders are working to develop the tools that will shape the future of community management. Vantaca, for example, is focused on employing AI-enabled initiatives to increase efficiency within the industry, including the development of AI Agent capabilities.
“By leveraging cutting-edge technology, we strive to provide innovative solutions that streamline operations and enhance the value we offer to our clients,” Currin said.
In 2025, Vantaca plans to launch new products that will improve customers’ ability to capture revenue on existing services through automated billing. The company’s focus will be on expanding its capabilities, driving innovation and exploring new ways to enhance efficiency and value in the industry.
Roster count: Vantaca currently employs 180 people.
Meaghan Dennison
CEO, The Forward Fund
This year, Meaghan Dennison launched the Forward Fund, an organization working to empower individuals in Southeastern North Carolina to achieve upward mobility through financial support and coaching. The Forward Fund aims to pave the way for high-wage careers and inclusive economic growth across the region.
Why she’s an innovator: Last summer, while still serving as CEO of Cape Fear Collective (CFC), Dennison brought the idea of creating North Carolina’s first-ever pay-it-forward fund to CFC’s board of directors. With the board’s support, Dennison started The Forward Fund and spun out the organization from CFC. The launch was supported by $7 million in philanthropy and impact investments, including a $3 million grant from the New Hanover Community Endowment.
Through the organization, Dennison said she hopes to meaningfully impact the trajectory of people’s lives by removing financial barriers to high-wage employment. She’s also interested in piloting opportunities for economic advancement to break generational cycles of poverty.
In the next year, The Forward Fund aims to launch its first cohort of student-centered loans for those enrolled in electrical linework and commercial driver’s license programs at Cape Fear Community College. The organization also plans to analyze baseline data on program outcomes, iterating and scaling them to reach individuals who can’t enroll in advanced training programs due to financial barriers.
Hiring dynamics: Dennison participates in local employer-led collaboratives, including the Tech Talent Collaborative, Health Talent Initiative and Cape Fear Manufacturing Partnership, to understand employer hiring demands and high-value, short-term education and training programs.
Kirk Englebright
President & CEO, Dark Horse Stages
Businessman Kirk Englebright launched Dark Horse Studios (now Dark Horse Stages) in 2020, introducing a new soundstage space to the Wilmington market in time for use by movie and TV productions.
Why he’s an innovator: Dark Horse Studios rebranded to Dark Horse Stages in 2024 and in November celebrated the grand opening of the third and fourth stages at its Harley Road facility. The two new stages offer a total of 40,750 square feet, doubling the facility’s footprint.
Englebright initially purchased the Harley Road property for a health care-related purpose, but after he received calls from studio executives eager to find space in the post-pandemic film boom the region was experiencing, he decided to switch gears. Through the existing soundstage and office space, Dark Horse has been the setting for a variety of filmmakers. Its inaugural client was a Hallmark Channel original holiday film, followed by projects from Paramount, according to the company’s website.
Outside projects: Englebright owns other businesses, including Englebright & Long Holdings LLC, Mattress Capital Inc., A Goodnight Sleepstore Inc. and KME Properties LLC.
Lucy Holman
Dean, UNCW Library
At the University of North Carolina Wilmington, Lucy Holman serves as associate provost for teaching, learning and library services as well as dean of the library.
Why she’s an innovator: As libraries around the nation modernize, and uses for them change, Holman has been a leading voice for how library services are used on campus as well as their connections to the broader Wilmington community.
This year, she saw completion of a more than 80,000-square-foot library expansion. The former Randall Library – now Randall Hall – was renovated and now joins the new Discovery Hall.
The new building grew the university’s library to nearly 266,000 square feet. Discovery Hall includes an events space; a data visualization and analysis lab; a larger makerspace, recording studio and virtual reality space; a research room for the collections of the Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History; and student studying and meeting areas.
Holman is currently working on development of a UNCW Scholarship portal for external researchers and the media as well as implementing a new integrated library system.
“We hope to engage the greater Wilmington community with library programming, exhibits and partnerships with local organizations and schools,” she said about future projects.
Reference material: Holman joined UNCW in 2018 after most recently serving as dean of Langsdale Library at the University of Baltimore.
Jeff James
CEO, Wilmington Health
Jeff James has served as head of Wilmington Health, the largest independent multi-specialty physician practice in the region, since 2008.
Why he’s an innovator: Beyond direct patient care, James also has been involved in several corporate turnaround strategies in the health care industry.
Those include creating the first commercial Accountable Care Organization (ACO) in North Carolina, which has grown to over 130,000 members across three states.
Innovo Research, the nation’s first clinically integrated research network, which uses clinical research as a population health tool, also now includes over 2,000 physicians and nearly 5 million patients with operations in eight states.
“We are in the process of creating a new type of health care organization we are calling a Strategic Services Organization,” James said. “This organization will be multifaceted and include several elements of a traditional health care Management Services Organization, but will expand beyond that to also include implementing population health strategically, as a competitive advantage for health systems. It will also include aligning independent physicians across the country in ACOs that maximizes the savings to the health care payor, while improving outcomes and patient engagement.”
They also are working on a national direct-to-employer strategy to “align employers with the highest performing physicians in a geography, in order to assist the employers in reducing the cost of care,” he said.
No. of employees: 1,100
Morris Nguyen
Founder & CEO, Predicate
Morris Nguyen, who graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School and with an MBA from the university’s Ross School of Business, started Predicate in 2020.
Why he’s an innovator: Nguyen’s company uses its AI software platform, OpenDX, to help health care providers diagnose sepsis, a deadly infection that can often go undetected due to its array of symptoms. Nguyen said Predicate’s most significant achievement in 2024 was securing commitments for global clinical trials across seven countries and five continents ahead of schedule. “By testing our OpenDx algorithm across diverse subpopulations and clinical environments, we aim to develop a highly accurate early-warning system for sepsis,” he said. His firm is also building “the world’s first Bio-Lingual database, combining physiological data with natural language processing (NLP) to improve early detection and treatment.”
His current focus is completing the OpenDx beta, a clinical surveillance platform that combines data from a wearable vital sign sensor and an NLP engine that analyzes real-time, patient-reported symptoms to predict the onset of sepsis.
Diagnosing the future: 2025 will be a transformative year for Predicate, Nguyen predicts. “We expect to complete our clinical trials, secure regulatory approvals and launch OpenDx internationally,” he said. “We will simultaneously file for FDA De Novo classification, positioning OpenDx for the U.S. market. We also have multiple adjacent patent filings in the works, further solidifying our intellectual property portfolio.”
Stephanie Norris
Owner, Norco Management Holding & Terroir Development
Stephanie Norris develops affordable housing in the Wilmington area. This year, two projects developed by Norris’s firm marked major milestones.
Why she’s an innovator: Estrella Landing, an 84-unit complex off Gordon Road, opened to residents this summer. The property is home to a range of low-income seniors, families and others earning 30%-60% of the area’s median income.
Norris submitted a tax credit application for Estrella Landing in early 2021. At the time, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic created additional obstacles to financing an affordable housing project. Eventually, Norris secured $8.4 million from Live Oak Bank, among other funding, to kickstart the project.
Construction also started this year on Sterling Reserve, a 56-unit complex off Carolina Beach Road. The project is geared toward low-income seniors making 30%-60% of the area’s median income. Construction of Sterling is expected to wrap up next fall. Norris aims to have the complex fully leased by May 2026.
In the meantime, Norris said she’s looking for a New Hanover County site to develop another affordable housing complex. Norris oversees virtually all aspects of developing affordable housing from site selection and funding procurement to selecting a general contractor, closing on loans and complying with all funding and financial reporting regulations.
Cost burdened: A 2024 report from the N.C. Housing Coalition found that 35% or more than 33,000 households in New Hanover County are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing.
Joseph Pino
SVP of Medical Education and Research, Novant Health
Joseph Pino, whose physician background is in internal medicine, is responsible in his role with Novant Health for oversight of the growth and development of clinical research; expanding training opportunities for medical students and residents; and helping to establish Novant Health as a teaching health system.
Why he’s an innovator: This summer, Novant Health officials announced a million dollars in research grant funding to help launch two clinical trials led by Wilmington- and Chapel Hill-based doctors.
The two $500,000 grants come from a collaborative of Novant Health, UNC Health and UNC School of Medicine. The grants will fund two studies – one focused on building a research network to address health disparities for children with asthma and another that aims to incorporate advanced imaging and radiation to improve prostate cancer survival rates.
As part of his focus on medical training, Pino helped establish a psychiatry residency program in partnership with Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune and UNC School of Medicine as well as supported the development of an orthopedic physical therapy residency in partnership with the UNC School of Medicine.
He helped to plan and develop a simulation lab that opened this fall at Novant Health NHRMC to allow for training in mock operating rooms.
Current projects include developing a rural track in Burgaw for the local family medicine residency program in partnership with the UNC School of Medicine; helping to develop a PA/NP fellowship program in partnership with the UNC School of Medicine; and developing fellowship training programs at Novant Health NHRMC.
Statewide: Projects outside Southeastern North Carolina for Pino include planning and developing residency programs at Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center in Charlotte and expanding clinical research throughout Novant Health.
Carson Porter
Executive Director, Wilmington Hammerheads Youth Soccer
Carson Porter, a former college championship soccer coach and player, also championed the establishment of the city of Wilmington’s nCino Sports Park, for which officials celebrated the grand opening in October.
Why he’s an innovator: The nCino Sports Park was at least eight years in the making. “Our organization owned private land that we gave to the city of Wilmington to be developed into the nCino Sports Park. This was a $20 million project, and the end product is 11 fields, stadium lighting, artificial turf and a 3,000-square-foot building. The end result is a top-tier sports complex for the city,” Porter said.
He said officials project more than 140,000 visitors will come to the sports park each year and spend $30 million to $40 million dollars. In addition to helping negotiate the naming rights, Porter also worked on a deal to bring EmergeOrtho on board as an official health care partner of the park.
Even more soccer: In 2024, Wilmington Hammerheads Youth Soccer expanded into Jacksonville. “The Jacksonville Hammerheads have 400-plus soccer players playing,” Porter said. “We have a full-time staff member dedicated to the Jacksonville project and work with staff and families to improve the playing experience throughout.” Porter oversees a staff of 13 full-time coaches and more than 20 part-time coaches. Porter said the Hammerheads organization has a partnership with the YMCA that includes nearly 4,500 youth soccer players playing soccer in the community (3,000 YMCA, 1,500 Hammerheads).
Ty Rowell
Chairman, Friends of Fort Fisher
As chairman of the Friends of Fort Fisher, Ty Rowell leads the nonprofit organization on its mission to preserve and enhance the Fort Fisher State Historic Site.
Why he’s an innovator: Rowell, who retired from UNCW as senior associate vice chancellor for university advancement, gives credit to the state and the members of the Friends of Fort Fisher for working on the campaign for Fort Fisher’s new visitors center and reconstructed earthworks.
The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources announced in October the opening of the new $25.5 million, two-story visitors center, which had been in the works since 2010.
At 20,000 square feet, the center at 1610 Fort Fisher Blvd. South in Kure Beach is nearly three times the size of its 1965 predecessor. The center’s exhibit space encompasses centuries of regional history, from pre-colonial times through Fort Fisher’s role in World War II. Other features of the new center include a 100-seat orientation theater, an expanded gift shop and a multipurpose room suitable for rentals such as banquets, wedding receptions and educational activities.
Historical significance: Fort Fisher protected the port of Wilmington during the Civil War until it fell to U.S. forces in January 1865.
Yousry Sayed
President & CEO, Quality Chemical Laboratories
Yousry Sayed has led his team at Quality Chemical Laboratories to multiple drug development projects and the start of an injectable manufacturing facility in Wilmington.
Why he’s an innovator: Quality Chemical works with the biopharmaceutical industry, providing cGMP-compliant scientific testing services. This year the Wilmington company continued to move into its 110,000-square-foot in the Northchase Industrial Park.
That expansion includes space for biotech and mass spectrometry laboratories as well as other testing areas.
Its microbiology lab, to use with the company’s manufacturing and formulation services, is slated to take over remaining space in the building by next summer.
This year, Quality Chemical agreed to a development partnership with Unravel Biosciences to make clinical trial material for use in upcoming Rett syndrome clinical trials.
“Our capabilities will allow Unravel to efficiently initiate their clinical trial programs in the US and overseas with a rapid scale-up as needed of clinical and commercial supply as the program advances,” Sayed said in the announcement.
Spreading out: The expansion roughly doubled Quality Chemical’s footprint, which previously included 90,000 square feet across six buildings.
Daniel Summers
CEO, Electronic Lab Logs
With about 20 years of experience in software engineering, Daniel Summers, along with Jeremy Sikorski, became a co-founder of Electronic Lab Logs, a company that started software development in 2017. The Wilmington startup provides a cloud-based platform for laboratory maintenance and compliance in clinical laboratory settings, replacing the use of paper logs.
Why he’s an innovator: This summer, Electronic Lab Logs announced it secured a $2 million lead investment from venture capital firm Rockmont Partners.
That funding is part of a larger $3 million Series A round, which will allow the startup to grow its staff and invest in new and existing products. Lab Logs this year also closed on another $650,000 in combined funding from Greenville, South Carolina-based VentureSouth, Atlanta-based Gray Ventures and several angel investors.
Summers said that Lab Logs would use the funding to grow the company’s sales team and invest in current products along with a new product line to expand into tracking the accreditation and compliance for users.
Pitch Perfect: Lab Logs was one of two Wilmington-area startups selected to present at CED Venture Connect in Raleigh earlier this year.
Read more about the 2024 WilmingtonBiz 100 honorees by clicking here.