2025 Hall of Fame Inductees
Presented By: Return on Life Wealth Partners
2025 Rainmaker Award
Umberto P. Fedeli
President & CEO
The Fedeli Group
Umberto P. Fedeli is CEO of The Fedeli Group, one of Ohio’s largest privately held risk management and insurance firms, specializing in commercial insurance, employee benefits, and risk consulting. Known for its creative problem-solving and robust network, the firm fosters meaningful relationships and value-driven collaboration.
A dedicated civic and philanthropic leader, Mr. Fedeli serves on the Cleveland Clinic Foundation Board and chairs its Government and Community Relations Committee. He and his wife, Maryellen, were honored with the Clinic’s Distinguished Fellow Award. He also served on the boards of John Carroll University and the Catholic Community Foundation and holds the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Deeply committed to his Italian heritage, Mr. Fedeli helped found the Northern Ohio Italian Foundation (NOIA) and leads its Hall of Fame. He also established the Cleveland Chapter of Legatus and served on its International Board.
Beyond his leadership at The Fedeli Group, he is an active investor and managing member of Strategic Value Bank Partners. Mr. Fedeli and Maryellen, married since 1984, live in Gates Mills, Ohio, and are proud parents of five and grandparents to fourteen.
2025 Hall of Fame Inductees
Fady Chamoun
CEO
Seasoned Brands LLC
Fady Chamoun is best known as the founder of Aladdin’s Eatery, the popular American-Lebanese restaurant he launched with his wife, Sally, in 1994. Today, his restaurant group, Seasoned Brands LLC, operates 48 restaurants across four states and employs over 2,000 people. In addition to Aladdin’s, the portfolio includes Sittoo’s, Boaz Café, and Taza—A Lebanese Grill, as well as farm-to-table concepts The Oak Barrel, and Forage Public House. Chamoun’s entrepreneurial reach extends beyond restaurants. He built a bakery to supply Aladdin’s with fresh ingredients and grew Jasmine Distributing into a 50,000-square-foot facility producing over 100,000 pitas weekly. He also owns and manages real estate in Lakewood, with plans for further expansion.
A 2004 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year winner, Chamoun is also a civic leader, philanthropist, and board member. While his ventures are financially successful, his motivation has always gone beyond profit—centered instead on quality, community, and innovation. Seasoned Brands continues to grow at a steady 15% annually, fueled by his vision and values.
Charles Hallberg
Co-Founder & Chairman
Ceres Wave; Airotone
Chuck graduated with a Philosophy degree from University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA and a law degree from Case Western Reserve University. After a time as a trial lawyer, he became a corporate lawyer at Revco Drug Stores. His first entrepreneurial step was to move to a subsidiary of Revco and help orchestrate an IPO, where he stayed for five years. He left to start a pharmacy benefits manager which after merging with a mail order pharmacy was eventually sold. The next day he started another one, MemberHealth. With a $75,000 SBA loan he and his daughter Jennifer worked out of his basement to offer managed care Rx benefits and to obtain prescription drug discounts for seniors. In 2002 he had 13 employees. Five years later he had experienced over 20,000 percent growth, 1,200 employees, with $1.5 Billion annual revenue, and sold MemberHealth to Universal American Financial for $630 million. Chuck was also an early investor in and advisor to CoverMyMeds which was a huge success for its investors and employees in Cleveland and Columbus. CoverMyMeds was sold to McKesson for $1.4 Billion. This year Chuck has assumed responsibility to launch and build a new company, Airotone, which will serve the 52 Million people in America alone, who suffer from respiratory diseases. He is hoping for a good trend line.
Jerry Schill
President & CEO
Schill Grounds Management
Jerry Schill is the founder and CEO of Schill Grounds Management, which he launched in 1993 to provide high-quality landscape and snow removal services. In 2012, he pivoted the business to focus on commercial grounds management, setting the stage for rapid growth. Since 2020, Jerry has led the company through an aggressive acquisition strategy, completing more than 15 deals and expanding operations across six U.S. states and Ontario. Today, Schill Grounds Management encompasses nine brands and more than 1,700 employees, establishing itself as a national industry leader.
Jerry’s leadership is grounded in values of integrity, service, and performance. He serves in leadership roles with the National Association of Landscape Professionals, the Accredited Snow Contractors Association, and the Ohio Landscape Association. He also founded Holiday Feast, an annual event that provides thousands of free meals to families in need in Cleveland.
A former collegiate athlete, Jerry holds a degree in Business Management from Glenville State College, where he was President of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He has received the National Leadership Award from SNOW Magazine and Lawn & Landscape Magazine and regularly speaks at industry events on growth strategy and leadership.
Richard Schwarz
Partner
Edgewater Capital Partners
Richard Schwarz is a Partner and Investment Committee member at Edgewater Capital Partners, where he plays a key role in identifying and guiding investments in specialty chemical and advanced materials businesses. With over 26 years of experience on public company boards—including Associated Estates Realty Corp (NYSE) and Enpath Medical (NASDAQ)—he brings deep operational and strategic insight to his work.
Richard began his career at PPG Industries in 1973, later working at Betz Laboratories and A.T. Kearney. In 1983, he partnered with a retired executive to acquire an antimony chemicals business from PPG through a leveraged buyout. Over 13 years, he expanded the business globally—adding operations in Bolivia, China, and South Africa—and transitioned its focus from commodity chemicals to high-value catalysts used in polyester production and petrochemical refining. The business was ultimately sold to OxyChem in 1996.
In 2000, Richard co-founded Sycamore Partners, a venture capital and advisory firm focused on early-stage medical device and software companies. He joined Edgewater as an operating advisor in 2003 and became a partner in 2004.
Richard holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from The Ohio State University and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management. He is also a licensed Professional Engineer in Ohio.
Ed Weinfurtner
Executive Chairman & Co-Owner
Great Day Improvements
Ed Weinfurtner is a Cleveland-based entrepreneur with +40 years of experience as an owner, investor, and operator of privately held businesses. A Harvard graduate, his career spans home improvement, distribution, and manufacturing. He has held executive roles in seven companies, co-founded five businesses, served on 11 private company boards, and led dozens of M&A transactions.
Weinfurtner is Executive Chairman and co-owner of Great Day Improvements, and Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Blue Olive Partners. In 2014, he led the acquisition of Great Day Improvements a $38 Million business with 12 locations. Today, Great Day is a national $1.6 Billion business with 316 locations and 4600 people. Ed led ten acquisitions building a portfolio of leading brands such as Patio Enclosures, Universal Windows, Champion Windows, LeafGuard, The Bath Authority, and more. It is ranked as one of the top U.S. Direct to Consumer home improvement companies. and among the fastest-growing companies in Northeast Ohio having grown +20X in 5 years.
Earlier in his career, Ed and his brothers grew Gateway Megatech into a $52 million business before selling it to Heilind Electronics. His success has earned honors including the ACG Cleveland’s Private Deal Maker of the Year (2022) and Smart Business’s Dealmaker of the Year (2023).