TriVersity CEO Mel Gravely wins Lindner Award for business and civic duty

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Mel Gravely, CEO of TriVersity Construction, is the 2020 winner of the Carl H. Lindner Award for Entrepreneurial and Civic Spirit. The award goes to a current or former leader of a Deloitte Cincinnati USA 100 company; the list ranks the 100 largest privately held companies in the Cincinnati region. He is pictured here at the Cincinnati Art Museum. (Photo: Albert Cesare)

Entrepreneurship and philanthropy go hand-in-hand for Mel Gravely II, the CEO of Norwood-based TriVersity Construction and this year’s winner of the Carl H. Lindner Award for Entrepreneurial and Civic Spirit.

Gravely, 56, said his success as a businessman has been inextricably tied to his contributions to society, which have helped raise awareness of his business ventures, build customer loyalty and dedication among his employees.

It’s a simple concept that Gravely he said he learned from his father, Mel Gravely, who was a city councilman in Canton, Ohio when the junior Gravely was a young man.

“My father insisted I get on my first board of directors for a nonprofit with I was 18,’’ he told The Enquirer. “So I joined ABCD (The Association for Better Community Development, Inc.), which is still improving the quality of life for people in Canton to this day.”

Gravely’s been serving the communities he’s lived in ever since, donating his time, talents, energy and resources to various causes.

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He came to Cincinnati in 1993 with his wife, Chandra, as a sales team leader for IBM and has served on numerous civic and charitable boards in the Cincinnati area, including chairing the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber in 2015, and serving as a board member for the ArtsWave arts and cultural organization.

Along the way, he met one of his closest allies, Pete Strange – the 2015 Lindner Award winner and former CEO of West End-based Messer Construction Co.

In 2009, Strange, who founded TriVersity as a spinoff of Messer in 2005, offered Gravely a share of the private construction services business, despite his inexperience.

“I had no construction background at all,” said Gravely, who at the time was running his own consulting firm. “But I became an investor because I figured TriVersity had two things going for it: It had Messer as a partner, and (Cincinnati) Children’s Hospital as a client. If you can’t make a great company with that base, then you don’t deserve to be in business.’’

Gravely, who became CEO in 2011, now manages operations for one of the largest commercial construction companies in the region, serving dozens of clients in the healthcare, office and retail industries with ongoing construction needs.

TriVersity ranks 97th on the 2020 Deloitte Cincinnati USA 100 list of the region’s largest privately held companies. It’s been on the list, where companies are ranked based on the previous year’s revenues, for four years.

Gravely said his volunteer work helped paved the way for his professional accomplishments by introducing him to a network of business associates he might not otherwise have met.

Mel Gravely, CEO of TriVersity Construction and co-chair of Flow’s Board of Advisors, left, stands with Alecia Kintner, Arts Wave president and CEO, and Gee Horton, the artist of “If I Ruled the World… Imagine That!”, seen in the background, stand together inside the Cincinnati Art Museum on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Gravely recently received the Deloitte Cincinnati USA 100’s Carl H. Lindner Award. He is co-chairing Flow, a program that features quarterly performances by renowned Black artists and ensembles from across the country, working in various disciplines including Gee Horton’s work. Flow, a part of ArtsWave, is designed to showcase professional, evocative Black artists. (Photo: Albert Cesare)

“Most of the people I know in this city, I’ve met through my (board) service, which has resulted in some tremendous opportunities,” said Gravely, who places a high value on building positive relationships with a diverse group of people. 

To that end, he was instrumental in launching ArtsWave’s Flow series, designed to immerse the broader community in black history and culture.

The kickoff for the Flow series was a sold-out performance in February by Dayton Contemporary Dance Co. at the Aronoff Center for the Arts in downtown Cincinnati.

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“Our mission was to create a place of pride for African Americans and invite others to share our experiences,’’ he said. “We did that, and watching our community embrace the arts is something I’m very proud of. Then COVID got us.”

The start of the pandemic in March meant three more planned performances as part of the series had to be put on hold, said Gravely, the first person of color to win the Lindner Award. But he promises, “We’ll be back.”

In the meantime, Gravely said, he’ll continue to look for ways to help others and solve community issues, which he described as a core value for himself and his company.

“I’ve gotten much more than I could ever hope to give, which for me means I should continue to give more,” he said.

The winner’s bio at a glance

  • Who: Mel Gravely II, CEO of TriVersity
  • Hometown: Canton, Ohio
  • Education: Bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Mount Union;  an MBA from Kent State University; and a Ph.D. from Union Institute & University.
  • Family: Wife, Chandra; three adult children
  • Business: TriVersity is a regional commercial construction company with more than 100 employees headquartered in Norwood.

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