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Climbing to success
Similar forces shape Chaldean, Jewish business growth
By Alan Stamm, Kaylee Hawkins and Justin Fisette
F
l ntrepreneurial energy flows so
deeply from the Chaldean and
Jewish communities of Metro
Detroit that it almost seems in-
herited. There's no gene for business skill,
though, so this startup zeal must have his-
toric and cultural roots.
Indeed, the groups' background and val-
ues are ideal self-employment incubators:
• Limited access to opportunities origi-
nally due to bias.
• Bootstrapping spirit of plucky immi-
grants.
• Loans, mentoring and patronage
from tight-knit communities.
• Goals such as suburban homes and
next-generation college degrees.
Leaving Iraq and Europe produced
"risk-takers by definition," in the words
of Scott Kaufman, CEO at Jewish Fed-
eration of Metropolitan Detroit. Business
ownership was a way to secure and solidify
footholds in a new land.
For James Jonna, eldest of seven sib-
lings in a Chaldean family filled with striv-
ers, calculated risks began with a Detroit
grocery called the Big Dipper — opened in
1957, eight years after he left Baghdad.
"No bank would give me money or even
sit with me," recalls Jonna, now 85. "But
(Joe) Holtzman and (Gil) Silverman took
a chance, built the store and financed it
for us. Within five years we had everything
paid off." The Jonnas had a close business
relationship with Detroit grocery pioneers
Al and Tom Borman. Two other Jewish
backers, Max Shaye and Henry Dorfman,
provided credit to stock the shelves.
Partners in progress
Risk No. 2 was Jonna Construction Co.,
which the same Iraqi immigrant started in
1965. It has grown to become Jonna Realty
Ventures and Jonna Construction, operat-
ing under the umbrella of Jonna Companies
in Bloomfield Hills. Brother Frank Jonna
serves as CEO and youngest sibling Peter
— born in Michigan — heads the construc-
tion branch. James' daughter, Christine
Jonna Piligian, is chief financial officer and
president of Jonna Realty Ventures. Jonna
28
June 3 2010
Construction's first work came from the
family's relationship with industrial plant
owner Henry Dorfman.
"We worked with nearly every Jewish
developer in town," says James Jonna, chair-
man of Jonna Compa-
nies. "We worked hard,
took the tough jobs and
did what was neces-
sary to succeed. I think
that's how the Chal-
dean and Jewish com-
munities parallel."
Emphasis on edu-
cation is a further
parallel. "My dad
had seven children,
and there is one de-
gree among us," notes
Frank Jonna. "His James Jonna
grandchildren, out of
more than 26, I'd say
70 percent have college degrees."
Among local Jewish households, 63
percent of adults surveyed in 2005 were
college graduates — a share that would
have been much higher without consid-
ering senior citizens who bypassed higher
education for economic reasons, like
many Chaldean counterparts.
Another business star, Weight Watch-
ers franchising phenomenon Florine
Mark, also values the natural kinship.
"The linked histories and the future of
the Jewish and Chaldean communities in
Metro Detroit are very near and dear to
my heart," says Mark, a first-generation
Jewish American raised on Detroit's west
side by a father from Russia and mother
from Europe. Longtime friends include
the Jonna family and food industry en-
trepreneur Michael George. She also has
had Chaldean neighbors, philanthropic
partners and business collaborators.
After joining Weight Watchers in New
York in 1966 and dropping 40 pounds that
stayed lost, Mark launched a Detroit fran-
chise three years later with the bold confi-
dence of an immigrants' daughter inspired
by her parents and other refugees. "I have
a fire in my belly," she says.
North American diet network
That energy led to franchises throughout
the Midwest and East Coast, as well as in
Mexico and Canada. Mark sold most to
Weight Watchers International in 2003 for
Florine Mark
Josh Linkner
just over $180 million.
The native Detroiter, still the largest
franchisee with six in Michigan and On-
tario, is president and chair of WW Group
in Farmington Hills. Her headquarters was
designed by noted architect Victor Saroki
of Birmingham — brother of Mary Ro-
Teamwork is based
on mutual respect
C
ommon interests make
good business, as well
as good friendships. Just ask
the pair of father-son teams
behind Weiss Samona Land
Development, an Oakland
County firm that collabora-
tors call a family.
Members are Holocaust
survivor Eugene Weiss
and his son, Harvey, along
with Iraqi immigrant Najib
Samona and his son Steven,
a 2007 Wayne State Univer-
sity Law School graduate.
Together, they assemble of-
fice, industrial and retail real
estate projects.
The bicultural alliance
began after the Weiss team
sold a Detroit commercial
building in 1994 to the elder
Samona, who "was impressed
with their professional-
ism, integrity and fairness."
FriendShip followed, as did
a joint property purchase in
Fenton.