Casey Cowell was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from the University of Chicago receiving an A.B. degree in Economics. In 1976, at the age of 23, he co-founded U.S. Robotics, Inc. He served as Chairman and CEO throughout the company’s history culminating in its merger into 3COM Corporation in 1997, the second largest merger ever in High Tech at that time. Initially a $200 post-college start-up, U.S. Robotics, Inc. became the world’s largest manufacturer of modems and related products that connected computers to the global telephone network. USR was the leading player in every major form factor globally. Its technologies and products included desktop modems, internal PC cards, OEM products for PC manufacturers and massive rack-mount systems connecting online providers including America Online, Prodigy and IBM Global Networks. In addition to a broad array of other products and technologies, USR also brought to market the Palm Pilot, the first highly successful handheld organizer. Cowell has received numerous industry honors including being named one of the 25 Top Managers in the world by Business Week in 1995 and Executive of the Year in 1996 by Crain’s Chicago Business. Today Cowell is an active investor, advisor and board member in a broad range of companies with an emphasis on start-ups and early stage companies in the areas of technology, the internet, social media and healthcare. Cowell has long-standing family ties to the Traverse City area. In 1991 his family moved from the Chicago area to Elk Rapids (near Traverse City) to raise their pre-school age children in a smaller- community environment. He is a long-time supporter of the Interlochen Center for the Arts. He serves on the Board of Trustees of Traverse City based Munson Healthcare Network, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities and is active in many civic and philanthropic organizations and activities.
Rod Trump is the founder and chairman of High Point Golf Club but worked as a caddy at Caves Valley early in his career.
Rod successfully started, built, and sold two companies in distinctly different industries - both to publicly traded companies, all prior to age 40. In each instance, he identified an opportunity and leveraged innovative technology to disrupt the marketplace. His first company, Integrated Group Benefits, combined employee benefits and payroll into a streamlined, single source platform, creating significant administrative and financial efficiencies. The second venture, Converge, was a well-timed entrant into the enterprise social software space. Enterprise-level companies and colleges and universities utilized the technology to connect, communicate and collaborate.
Now Rod has embarked on what he calls, “his life’s work.” Long passionate about the great game of golf, he has partnered with renowned golf architect Tom Doak, whose resume includes having designed seven of the Top 100 ranked golf courses in the world, bringing back to life Tom’s first design, High Pointe, as a national golf club in the Traverse City, Michigan area. The revival of High Pointe has captured national attention and demand among golfers near and far has been tremendous. The reclamation project has been covered by The Golf Channel, Golf Magazine, Golfweek, Forbes, Links Magazine, The Golfers Journal, Golfwrx.com, Detroit Business Magazine, and many other outlets.
Rod is active in charitable endeavors throughout his community and the great game of golf. He is a founding donor for the West Palm Golf Park; involved in the formation of The Scotty Foundation, Pine Tree Golf Club’s Charitable Foundation; and plans for High Pointe to partner with the Western Golf Association’s Evans Scholar program. He has also established the High Pointe Golf Club FORE Foundation to support veterans and children in his communities. “FORE,” spelled like the well-known golf term, stands for Friends of Rod & Eileen, in honor of his deceased parents.
Executive Managing Director Tom Adelson is a notable tenant representation specialist in Newmark’s Phoenix office, widely recognized as a trusted real estate advisor to many of the most acclaimed professional services firms and industry corporations in the metro Phoenix market and nationally. Throughout his career, Adelson has successfully represented hundreds of lease transactions totaling more than 30 million square feet of space.
A 40-year veteran of commercial real estate, Adelson offers a multi-faceted approach to real estate transactions that combine his clients’ unique space, location and image needs with an in-depth understanding of the market to identify soaces that support business objectives and complement company cultures. Adelson is a talented tenant advocate, skilled at securing superior transaction terms for his clients and advising them on their real estate strategies. He is a respected partner to his clients and an esteemed mentor and leader at Newmark.