DAVE SEGEN

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sidneyfreda1
Dec 12, 2022
2 min read

Updated: Mar 29

Leading Next To, Not in Front with Dave Segen

DESCRIPTION:

In this episode, we are chatting with Dave Segen. Dave is a local business leader who lives in Northeast Ohio with his wife and kids.

Originally from Pittsburgh, Dave moved to Ohio for college at Kent State. At the time, his plan was to move back to Pittsburgh after college, but he really grew to love the community. He met his now wife and decided to stay in the area. At 25, he started as the catering manager at Cleveland State university’s arena. In less than a year, he moved into the director position, running the 15,000 seat arena. For the next four years, he continued there and traveled around the country doing PGA tours and other events. After four years, he moved to Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse and spent eight years there as the Assistant Manager of Hospitality. At Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, he worked events such as the NBA finals and was one of the lead planners for the Republican National Convention.

Dave eventually got married and started a family. He soon realized that his 70–80-hour work weeks didn’t really fit with family life. He and his wife took a trip to Mexico and talked about the future. Together, they made the decision that Dave would do one more season at the arena. A pivotal moment came when he realized he had to work Christmas day. Soon after, he met with a local business owner a few times, which resulted in purchasing a restaurant.

Dave is now the owner of Bellacino’s Pizza & Grinders in Stow, and he also runs the Kitchen on Front Street inside the Cashmere Cricket in Cuyahoga Falls. Going from having 1,000 employees to 30 was a big adjustment, and Dave shares some of the lessons he learned from this experience.

One of Dave’s strongest convictions is to lead next to people instead of in front of them or behind them. Together, we will learn from his experiences as he shares his story. We hope you enjoy today’s episode!