F ALL 2004

H. Wayne Huizenga Huizenga Holdings, Inc.

EErnstrnst & YYoungoung EEntrepreneurntrepreneur OOff TThehe YYearear 22004004 !@# Congratulations to the winners of the Realizing Your Business Potential Award.

Realizing your business’ potential is your job. Celebrating how well you do it is ours.

The winners of this award have demonstrated success and growth by leveraging computer-related technology in their business. For information about Microsoft products and resources for small business, please visit www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness.

© 2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Realizing Their Dreams

ntrepreneurs make the world go around. DaVinci, Columbus, Edison, Gates—names synonymous with innovation and discovery—are just a Efew of the countless entrepreneurs who have made a difference in the world. Entrepreneurs see the possibilities for change and make it happen. They are the visionaries, the risk-takers, the people who so believe in their dreams that they refuse to be denied.

Eighteen years ago we created the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® awards as a way to identify, honor, and support these outstanding business leaders. Today the awards program includes 35 regions across the U.S. and more than 3,500 annual nominations, and it will continue to grow as we approach our 20th anniversary in 2006. Through the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year awards, now in its fifth year, 35 countries around the globe have programs to recognize these extraordinary individuals.

Entrepreneurs create the businesses, products, services, and, perhaps most important, the jobs that keep our economy strong. And they do it with imagination, determination, and a lot of hard work. Ernst & Young is proud to recognize and honor the accomplishments of the people who help make this country great—people like Wayne Huizenga.

In the early ’60s Huizenga was driving a garbage truck—and a beat-up one at that—with one route. No one would have guessed that he would grow that business into the largest waste disposal company in the world. A “serial” entrepreneur, Huizenga was also the driving force behind such winning brands as Blockbuster Video, AutoNation, and Extended Stay America. Along the way, he created tens of thousands of jobs, and has readily given back to his community, including $1 million to help victims of the recent hurricanes in Florida.

The following pages include more of Wayne Huizenga’s inspiring story, as well as those of this year’s Entrepreneur Of The Year national category winners and finalists. These exemplary men and women serve as role models for what anyone can do—if he or she follows a dream and is determined to make it into a reality.

Sincerely,

Christopher L. Bruner Americas Director Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year

1 Table of Contents

CATEGORY WINNERS & FINALISTS

Media/Entertainment/ Retail & Consumer Products Communications Orville G. Bicknell. Kenneth W. Lowe NPC International, Inc...... 29 Realizing Their Dreams The E.W. Scripps Company ...... 13 Maxine Clark Christopher L. Bruner Leonard Tow Build-a-Bear Workshop ...... 31 Americas Director Citizens Communications ...... 13 Jeffrey Seaman Ernst & Young Rooms to Go ...... 31 Entrepreneur Of The Year ...... 1 Distribution/Manufacturing/ Security Services The World’s Business Award John B. Swisher H. Gary Heavin The Ernst & Young United Feeds, Inc...... 14 Curves International, Inc...... 32 Entrepreneur Of The Year Richard Brenner Willis Johnson Program ...... 3 Amarr Garage Doors ...... 16 Copart, Inc...... 34 Richard E. Dauch James David Power III A Jury of Their Peers American Axle & J.D. Power and Associates ...... 34 Meet the men and women Manufacturing ...... 16 who select our national Supporter of Entrepreneurship winners...... 5 Financial Services Steve Mariotti Joseph R. Ficalora National Foundation for Teaching Hall of Fame for Venture- New York Community Entrepreneurship (NFTE) ...... 35 Bancorp, Inc...... 17 Backed Companies...... 8 Paul Frison Daniel P. Amos Houston Technology Center ...... 37 Lifetime Achievement AFLAC Incorporated ...... 19 Susan Matlock Gary L. Tilkin Award ...... 9 Entrepreneurial Center (EC) and Global Futures & Forex Ltd...... 19 Office for the Advancement of Developing Industries (OADI)— Health Sciences Ernst & Young University of Alabama Mark C. Miller Entrepreneur Of The Year 2004 at Birmingham ...... 37 Stericycle, Inc...... 20 H. Wayne Huizenga Technology Huizenga Holdings, Inc...... 10 Michael A. Baker ArthoCare Corp...... 22 Dan Warmenhoven Kenneth W. Freeman Network Appliance ...... 38 Quest Diagnostics ...... 22 Aart de Geus, Ph.D. Synopsys, Inc...... 40 Real Estate/Hospitality/ Matthew Szulik, Robert Young Construction Red Hat, Inc...... 40 Michael S. Gallegos American Property Management Corp...... 23 Alan M. Leventhal Beacon Capital Partners, LLC ...... 25 Nancy T. Richards Entrepreneur Of The Year magazine First Preston Management, Inc...... 25 Americas Director Ernst & Young Realizing Business Potential Entrepreneur Of The Year: Christopher L. Bruner Richard W. Padula World Entrepreneur Of The Year Program Director: Betty Pilcher Syclo LLC ...... 26 Tony Tan Caktiong Jollibee Foods Corporation ...... 41 Editorial Director: Warren Rappleyea Donald F. Munro Managing Editor: Rebecca L. Grasso Coastal Environmental Systems, Inc. 28 Entrepreneur Of The Year Art Director: Tom Hickey Melissa Orr World Summit ...... 43 Campaigners, Inc...... 28

2ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2004 TThehe WWorld’sorld’s BBusinessusiness AAward:ward: HHonoringonoring EEntrepreneurialntrepreneurial EExcellencexcellence Growing a company from an idea to an industry leader requires a special breed of individual. Someone who doesn’t believe those who say it can’t be done. Someone who views obstacles as opportunities. Someone who takes the status quo and turns it on its ear. It takes an entrepreneur.

ntrepreneurs are those remarkable men and women with the vision, determina- Etion, and leadership to create the compa- nies that produce new industries, new jobs, new opportunities, and new wealth. Their hard work and creativity help to change lives around the world, from the ways we communicate informa- tion to the products we consume to the vital ser- vices we depend on. among the nominees by independent panels of judges— comprising local business, financial, academic, and media Each year the most successful entrepreneurs vie for the figures—in several geographic regions across the U.S. In Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award, the most 2004, more than 3,500 nominations were received in 35 U.S. prestigious honor in its class. Their names and compa- regions hosting the Entrepreneur Of The Year awards. nies are a veritable who’s who in business—Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com, Howard Schultz of Starbucks Corp., Pierre Regional Entrepreneur Of The Year winners are honored Omidyar of eBay, Inc., Steve Case of America Online, and at awards banquets held across the country during the Jeno Paulucci of Luigino’s Inc. month of June, and all regional winners become contend- ers for the national awards. An independent panel of judges Entrepreneur Of The Year winners represent virtually every selects winners and finalists in several national categories. industry—from high tech to high touch. Each year seven to From those winners, one individual is chosen as the overall 10 winners in various award categories are selected from National Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year.

3 The national Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year winners and finalists are announced at an awards gala that is the culmination of the Entrepreneur Of The Year event held each November at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Springs. All regional and national winners are also inducted into the elite Entrepreneur Of The Year Hall of Fame at the event.

Supporter of Entrepreneurship Do You Know Individuals who have made an outstanding contribution An Outstanding to the entrepreneurial spirit or helped an entrepreneur become successful through business or academia are Entrepreneur? eligible for the national Supporter of Entrepreneurship award, presented by the Ewing Marion Kauffman We’re looking for successful men and women Foundation. This award recognizes individuals who have who have founded or are growing leading-edge consistently contributed time, money, encouragement, companies. A nominee must be an owner/man- and/or skill development to further the cause of entrepre- neurship. Nominees need not have founded a company or ager primarily responsible for the recent perfor- organization, and may come from the corporate world or mance of a company that is at least two years any level of academia. To learn more about the Supporter old. Nominations can be submitted by anyone of Entrepreneurship award, please contact the Kauffman who is associated with a successful entrepre- Foundation at (888) 777-GROW, or visit its Web site at neur—spouses, employees, bankers, attorneys, www.kauffman.org. public relations managers, or the entrepreneurs themselves.

Realizing Business Potential If you know someone who possesses the skills and determination to make a great idea work, why not nominate him or her for the coveted Companies that have demonstrated success and growth Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award? by leveraging computer-related technology in their busi- A copy of the nomination form and complete ness are eligible for the Realizing Business Potential award, presented by Microsoft Corporation. This award information on the Entrepreneur Of The Year recognizes companies whose use of technology drives awards program is available free from our Web the business process beyond basic productivity to sig- site at www.ey.com/us/eoy or by calling 1-800- nificantly benefit the company, its employees, or its 755-AWARD. Deadline for nominations for the customers, and enables the company to realize its full 2005 awards is April 8. All financial information business potential. Nominees must be an owner/opera- submitted on the nomination form is considered tor/founder of a company with fewer than 100 employees confidential and will be used only by the spon- that has been in business at least three years and must sors and by the independent panels of regional still be active in the business. To learn more about the and national judges. Realizing Business Potential award visit the Microsoft Small Business Center at www.microsoft.com/smallbusi- ness/realizepotential.mspx.

4ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2004 The Judges A JJuryury ofof TheirTheir PPeerseers How does one identify the entrepreneurial excellence it takes to be an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year? The answer is actually quite simple: It’s a very difficult task.

EOY National Judges - Chairpersons Standing (left to right): Joe Sansone, SM Enterprises; David Karlgaard, PEC Solutions; Larry Levy, Levy Restaurants; Bill Boyd, Muzak; Paul Shoopman, Dura Companies Seated (left to right): Mario Belaval, Miradero Capital Partners; Donna Petkanics, Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich, & Rosati; George Dalton, Call_Solutions.com, Inc.; William Saito I/O Software, Inc.

electing the very best of the best entrepreneurs is a independent judges in 35 regions throughout the United job for the experts. That’s why all of the judges in the States select winners in several categories. The regional SErnst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year program are winners are then recognized at banquets during the month of men and women who have achieved business success in their June. This year nearly 400 entrepreneurs received regional own right. They know what it takes to build and grow win- awards. ning enterprises from the ground up, because they’ve done it. All regional Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year win- Choosing the national Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The ners become contenders for the national awards. National Year is the culmination of a yearlong process that began judging takes place in Kansas City under the auspices of the with the acceptance of nominations in January. Panels of Kauffman Foundation.

5 The Judges

Several weeks before embarking for Missouri, each judge From another: “Here’s a man who knows how to get receives an extensive dossier on all of the national candi- things done.” dates for their review. During the judging process, they dis- After an extensive discussion on the merits of the other top cuss and debate the merits of individual candidates in each choices, the judges were unanimous in their conclusion, category. As successful entrepreneurs, judges know how to selecting Wayne Huizenga as national Ernst & Young rate intangibles as well. Among the criteria they consider:
Standing (left to right): Penny Lewandowski, Greater Baltimore Technology Council; David Karlgaard, PEC Solutions; Wing Lam, Wahoo’s Fish Taco; George Gillett, Booth Creek Management Corporation; Roger Hurwitz, Apax Partners, Inc; Larry Levy, Levy Restaurants Sitting (left to right): Mark Lange, Edward Lowe Foundation; Mary MacPherson, M2Works Inc.; Charlie Foster, LandAmerica Financial Group, Inc.; Winston Fu, U.S. Venture Partners; Rich Bendis, Innovation Philadelphia

• Leadership • Risk Taking • Profitability • Degree of Difficulty • Management Culture/ • Sustainability Values/Incentives • Community Involvement • Originality

Once deliberations are concluded, the judges select a national winner in several industry and general categories. Then, from the field of national category winners, the judges further narrow their selections to one individual whose leadership and overall entrepreneurial excellence clearly sets him or her apart from the others. In selecting this year’s national Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year the judges engaged in a spirited debate—moderated by a representative from the Kauffman Foundation—on the merits of the various national category winners. Afterward, each judge selected his or her top three choices in order of Standing (left to right): Derek Yeoman , The Walt Disney Company; preference. A front-runner quickly emerged. Paul Shoopman, Dura Companies Seated (left to right): John Shave, Globalcom, Inc; Billy Prim, Blue Among the judges comments: “This guy is a serial Rhino Corporation; Sergio Magistri, InVision Technologies, Inc. entrepreneur. He moves from category to category and he succeeds at whatever he does.”

6ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2004 The Judges

Entrepreneur Of The Year.

“Wayne Huizenga represents all of the things we believe are entrepreneurial,” one judge said afterward.

See for yourself what the judges saw in this outstanding entre- preneur. The story of Huizenga’s remark- able success begins on page 10.

Standing (left to right): Bill Bynum, Enterprise Corp. of the Delta; Mario Belaval, Miradero Capital Partners; Donna Petkanics, Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich, & Rosati; Bill Boyd, Muzak; John Jaggers, Sevin Rosen Funds Seated (left to right): Tom Sullivan, RPM International, Inc.; Bernee Strom, Revitalization Partners LLC; Terry Jacobs, Regent Communications, Inc.; Mark Lay, MDL Capital Management, Inc.; Joe Trustey, Summit Partners

Standing (left to right): David Thompson, Spectrum Astro, Inc.; J.C Huizenga, National Heritage Academies, Inc./Westwater Group; Nancy Briefs, Percardia, Inc.; Peter Farrell, ResMed, Inc.; Paul Sarvadi, Administaff, Inc. Seated (left to right): Jack Stack, SRC Holdings Corp; Joe Sansone, SM Enterprises; Wayne Hockmeyer, MedImmune, Inc.; George Dalton, Call_Solutions.com, Inc.; Jonathan Davis, The Davis Companies

Left to right: Monica Doss, Council for Entrepreneurial Development; Jim McGroarty, Shamrock Environmental Corporation; Steve Halstead, Centennial Ventures; Steven Gluckstern, Azimuth Trust Company, LLC; Gary Fayard, The Coca-Cola Company

7 Hall of Fame for Venture-Backed Companies

his year Ernst & Young is presenting, in conjunc- include being the recipient of venture capital at some point tion with the National Venture Capital Association during a company’s lifecycle, being an industry leader, T(NVCA), its first three inductees—Federal and being nationally recognized for effecting change in a Express, Genentech, and Intel—to the new Ernst & Young particular industry. In addition, community involvement, Entrepreneur Of The Year Hall of Fame for Venture-Backed product and service innovation, and management leader- Companies. ship were also considered by the judges. The 2004 Hall of Fame for Venture-Backed The Hall of Fame was Companies inductees: created to recognize out- standing later-stage com- Consumer Products panies that have become and Services: Federal industry leaders and the Express, long a leader in important role that ven- the global economy, has ture capital has played a worldwide delivery net- in helping entrepreneurs work covering some 210 build innovative compa- countries that it serves nies and foster economic with on-time reliable growth. transportation solutions.

“Venture capitalists pro- Technology: Founded vide critical growth capi- in 1968, Intel now sup- tal to start-up companies, plies the computing and allowing them to acceler- communications indus- ate their development by tries with chips, boards, more quickly hiring the and systems that are the right team, expanding “ingredients” of comput- operations, and entering ers, servers, and network new markets,” says Gil communications products. Forer, the Global Leader of Ernst & Young’s Venture Capital Advisory Group. “We Life Sciences: Genentech, the company that founded the believe showcasing successful companies like these will biotechnology industry, with its strength inspire other entrepreneurs.” in all areas of the drug development process continues to transform the possibilities of biotech into improved realities Companies named to the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of for patients. The Year Hall of Fame for Venture-Backed Companies are selected by an independent panel of judges. This year’s “By highlighting the most successful venture-backed com- judging panel included venture capitalists from around the panies during the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year country who met in Kansas City in conjunction with the awards program we hope to build a greater appreciation of national judging of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The the tremendous impact they have had on the U.S. and global Year awards. economies,” says Mark Heesen, president of the NVCA. “It also highlights the important role venture capitalists play. The judges selected inductees in three industries that have Besides capital equity, they bring to the table important busi- been heavily affected by venture capital: Technology, Life ness insights and experience that help entrepreneurs avoid Sciences, and Consumer Products and Services. Criteria pitfalls and make the most of every opportunity.”

8ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2004 Lifetime Achievement Award EErnstrnst & YYoungoung IInternationalnternational LLifetimeifetime AAchievementchievement AwardAward forfor Activism,Activism, EEntrepreneurship,ntrepreneurship, andand LeadershipLeadership

ifelong businessman and philanthropist Jeno F. vegetables in the local market when he was just 10 years old. Paulucci—creator of such brands as Chun King It was the beginning of a lifetime spent in the food industry LChinese Foods, Jeno’s Pizza Rolls, Luigino’s, and where he went on to create, finance, or lead more than 50 Michelina’s—has been honored by Ernst & Young as the privately held companies and create more than 70 brands. recipient of the firm’s inaugural International Lifetime Michelina’s, named after Paulucci’s mother, is among the Achievement Award for Activism, Entrepreneurship, largest packers of frozen entrees in the world. and Leadership for his nearly seven decades of civic accomplishment. In between his accomplishments in the food industry, Paulucci and his family created Paulucci, 86, whose food products and developed the planned city of have been enjoyed by millions of Heathrow near Orlando, Fla., and Americans over several generations, launched Republic Banks in north- was saluted for his lifelong dedica- eastern Minnesota. tion to humanitarian efforts that have shaped a legacy of significant Paulucci, who still works seven days a social and economic impact on his week, believes that successful entrepre- employees and on numerous com- neurs should give back to their employ- munities and industries. ees and the communities in which they live. When he sold Chun King to R.J. “We are pleased to present Jeno Reynolds, Paulucci distributed $2 mil- Paulucci with this distinguished lion as a tax-free gift to his employees. recognition of his lifetime of entre- preneurial accomplishments and phil- In 1972, Paulucci was named United States anthropic achievements,” says James S. Employer of the Year by the President’s Turley, Ernst & Young’s chairman and CEO. Council on Employment of the Handicapped “He is a world-class entrepreneur who has used and the National Association of Manufacturers for his success to further humanitarian efforts in the his policies of hiring, training, and employing the dis- U.S. and abroad.” abled, the disadvantaged, and those whom others considered unemployable. These were all unionized jobs. In fact, since The Ernst & Young International Lifetime Achievement Award 1944 Paulucci has owned and operated some 44 plants world- for Activism, Entrepreneurship, and Leadership honors past wide—represented by various union organizations throughout Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year winners. In 2002, the world—and has never sustained even one hour of work Paulucci was selected by an independent panel of judges from stoppage or slowdown. 4,400 nominees from throughout the U.S. as the recipient of Ernst & Young’s National Entrepreneur Of The Year award. He Together with his wife of 57 years, Lois, Paulucci endowed was also named the winner in the Master category. Paulucci the Jeno and Lois Paulucci Family Foundation, which is was inducted in the World Entrepreneur Of The Year Academy devoted to helping the poor, disadvantaged, and elderly. He in Monaco the following year. also founded, financed, and led the Washington, D.C.-based National Italian-American Foundation as chairman and CEO The son of Italian immigrants who settled in Hibbing, Minn., for 17 years. Paulucci helped his family survive by selling fruits and

9 Entrepreneur Of The Year

Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year H. WAYNE HUIZENGA HUIZENGA HOLDINGS, INC. TITLE: Chairman CITY: Fort Lauderdale, Fla. FOUNDED: 1984

10 E NTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2004 By Warren Rappleyea Entrepreneur Of The Year

aste Management, Blockbuster Video, AutoNation, pany went public shortly thereafter and then began focusing on Extended Stay America, the Miami Dolphins. acquisitions. Now, instead of one customer at a time, Huizenga WWayne Huizenga specializes in household names— grew the company by rolling up one acquisition after another— so much so that he has become one himself. often at a frenetic pace. During a one nine-month period, WMI bought 133 companies. Perhaps the best way to describe the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2004 is by the numbers: six New York “At one point I was on the road for 30 days in a row,” Huizenga Stock Exchange-listed companies, the driving force behind recalls. “We were assessing companies, and I was in a different the world’s largest and the third largest U.S. waste disposal town for breakfast, lunch, and dinner—and flying off to the next companies, the man who grew a small video franchise into an meeting. I was sleeping in the twin prop plane we were using.” entertainment industry behemoth—opening a new store every 17 hours for a mind-boggling six years, creator of a nationwide By 1974 revenues were up 35% and shares had split twice. auto dealership, the owner of three professional sports teams, WMI went international the following year, and by 1981 the and the holder of a World Series championship. company was the largest waste disposal company in the world with $772 million in revenue. Household names were the farthest thing from his mind when Huizenga started out managing In 1983 Huizenga “retired” from WMI, taking with him stock three garbage collection routes and options valued at some in South Florida as a favor to a “People asked me how I could do so $23 million. That retirement, friend of his father’s. Intrigued by however, was short-lived. Within possibilities, he borrowed $5,000 many things at once. It’s never just me; weeks he began purchasing a to purchase a beat-up garbage it’s we.” series of service companies in truck and a commercial route South Florida. These included with 20 accounts that brought in laundry, bottled water, lawn $500 a month. He christened the business Southern Sanitation care, pest control, and portable toilet businesses, under the Services. Soon he borrowed another $35,000 and purchased the umbrella of Huizenga Holdings. three routes he had been managing. Looking for the Next Big Idea

“I was in the right place at the right time,” Huizenga recalls. Huizenga continued to grow these businesses, while always “Florida was growing at a tremendous rate, and it needed gar- looking for something new. A friend and colleague from WMI, bage collection services. I was also fortunate that a bank took a John Melk, called early in 1987 regarding an exciting new chance on me.” video business. “Everyone thinks that I was this great visionary Knocking on Doors who created an industry,” Huizenga says. “It’s not true. I didn’t even own a VCR at the time. I simply had no interest.” Huizenga hired an employee and together they worked the routes. When it came time to empty the truck, the employee Melk was persistent. When he discovered that Huizenga would made the two-hour round trip to the landfill, while Huizenga be in Chicago one afternoon, he went to Midway Airport and drummed up customers—the old fashioned way. “I went out waited on the tarmac until Huizenga arrived—then convinced to businesses and started banging on doors and introducing him to visit a local Blockbuster video franchise. Once there, myself,” he says. “We literally were adding one customer at Huizenga saw the business plan and its sales numbers—he was a time, but we were growing. Finally we had enough for two impressed. trucks, then three, and so on.” The next day, he was in Dallas meeting with the man who And the company continued to grow through Huizenga’s hard owned Blockbuster. Originally, Huizenga asked to be the work and a steadfast dedication to customer service. Within franchisee for Florida, but the territory had been sold. “Over a few years, he owned 40 trucks and a substantial amount of dinner I ended up buying control of the company,” he says. Two the waste removal business in Tampa, Key West, and Broward months later, Huizenga was chairman and CEO—and he had County. In 1971 he merged the company with a garbage busi- big plans. He began hiring top talent and buying back franchise ness owned by several family members in his native Chicago rights to the larger markets and selling franchises in smaller and renamed it Waste Management Inc. (WMI). The new com- markets only—with some exceptions. The plan was to take the company nationwide and to do so as quickly as possible.

11 Entrepreneur Of The Year

“Everyone looked at Blockbuster as a retail business,” Community Benefits as Well explains Huizenga. “It’s a rental business. You rent the tape. The guy brings it back a couple of days later. You rent it again. Although one might think that Huizenga is all business all If the customer doesn’t bring it back on time you charge him the time, that’s not quite true. He and his wife, Marti, are another couple of bucks. It’s simple, yet I couldn’t convince dedicated to giving back to the community. Together they the guys on Wall Street that this was a different business. They have donated more than $100 million to local causes, includ- didn’t get it.” ing $1 million for the survivors of this fall’s hurricanes. Children’s groups, such as the Boys and Girls Club, are a pri- Meanwhile customers flocked to Blockbuster. The company mary beneficiary, and Huizenga also donated $4 million for listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1989 and for a the graduate business school building at Nova Southeastern span of six years was opening a store every 17 hours. By University. 1994, Huizenga had completed 110 deals, acquiring video and music chains as well as production and distribution “I’ve been very lucky in life, so I want to give something companies. Blockbuster had stakes in Republic Pictures back and set a good example for others,” Huizenga says. and Spelling Entertainment. Along the way, Entertainment “Marti is even more active. She says there are no bad causes, Weekly named Huizenga one of the 10 most powerful people but her favorites are kids, critters, and diseases. I admire the in the entertainment industry. By the time Viacom acquired way she just gives so much of her time.” Blockbuster in 1994, Huizenga had grown the company from When South Florida was attempting to attract a baseball 19 stores with $7 million in sales to a $4 billion powerhouse franchise, several local business leaders turned to Huizenga with more than 3,700 stores in to make the pitch. Major 11 countries. League baseball picked Miami “Everyone looked at Blockbuster as a The Midas (Huizenga) over several other cities and Touch retail business. It’s a rental business.” awarded the team to Huizenga. In only its fifth year the Florida After leaving Blockbuster, he Marlins won the World Series. refocused his energy on Huizenga Holdings. The following year, along with a small investor group, he acquired Republic Huizenga also was awarded a National Hockey League Waste Industries. By this time the Huizenga name was a expansion franchise, the Florida Panthers, which reached legend—the company’s stock soon began trading at 98 times the Stanley Cup Finals in its third season. He now owns the earnings and it grew to become the third-largest waste dis- Miami Dolphins football team and Pro Player Stadium. Prior posal company in the U.S. to selling the Marlins and Panthers, he was the first person to own three major-league sports franchises at the same time. At the same time, Huizenga was planning a business called AutoNation, designed to be the first nationwide auto dealer Over a period of 13 months, Huizenga served as chairman in the U.S. He implemented a one-price strategy and again of four NYSE companies: Republic Services, AutoNation, sought out top management talent. The company grew to Extended Stay America, and the Florida Panthers. “People become the largest auto dealer in the country—and the first asked me how I could do so many things at once,” he says. to go public. It now boasts 370 dealerships. “It’s never just me; it’s we. I take great pride in hiring the right people. They’re the key to our success.” “We did some research and found that 75% of people who bought a new car would not go back to the dealership they Currently, Huizenga is working to develop business oppor- bought it from,” he says. “That was certainly an opportunity. tunities for his four children as well as maintaining his real I’ll admit we made some mistakes because we didn’t know estate interests and looking to get the Dolphins into the the industry, but we learned from them and moved on.” Super Bowl.

Next up, Huizenga formed Extended Stay America with an So what’s next for Huizenga Holdings and the man Floridians associate, George Johnson. The first year the company didn’t refer to simply as “Wayne”? “I’m constantly looking for hit its goal of 50 locations—it surpassed it by 12. By the time good deals, but I’m not sure I want to have another public the company was sold earlier this year—for $3.1 billion— company,” he responds. “But I’ve learned not to say never.” Extended Stay America had nearly 500 hotels in 42 states.

12 E NTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2004 Media/Entertainment/Communications

KENNETH W. LOWE THE E.W. SCRIPPS COMPANY From the start Lowe made bold decisions: he TITLE: President, CEO owned his own shows, avoided product place- CITY: Cincinnati, Ohio ments, and opened a call center. The result: strong FOUNDED: 1878 WEB ADDRESS: www.scripps.com viewer loyalty and direct and immediate feed- back. The network took off, and Lowe became the driving force behind Scripps’ expansion into other cable networks: Food Network in 1997, DIY in FINALIST: Ken Lowe asked to be fi red from The E.W. 1999, and Fine Living network in 2002. Scripps Company so he could follow his dream. That dream not only became a reality, it reinvented Scripps, Earlier this year, Scripps acquired Shop-at-Home with Lowe at the helm. He had been knocking around Network, which Lowe, Scripps’ CEO since 2000, used an idea for a Home and Garden Television (HGTV) as a platform for cross-marketing his other shows and network for some time, but thought Scripps would merchandise. By the fi rst quarter of 2004, the cable not encourage such a risk-taking concept. He left to network business was Scripps’ most profi table at more seek $25 million in venture funding. Ironically, it was than $62 million. Its cable networks surpassed the 120- Scripps that ended up funding HGTV—to the tune of year-old newspaper business in just 10 years, and con- $50 million. tinues to grow in the mid-double-digit range.

LEONARD TOW CITIZENS COMMUNICATIONS TITLE: Chairman, CEO FINALIST: Brooklyn native Leonard Tow CITY: Stamford, Conn. saw stability as an opportunity. That’s why FOUNDED: 1935 he targeted small towns and medium-sized WEB ADDRESS: www.czn.net communities to grow and expand his com- pany. Citizens Communications is one of the company with 110,000 local telephone customers, and country’s largest rural local exchange carriers, serving became chairman and CEO the following year. 2.4 million access lines and 142,000 digital subscriber line (DSL) customers across 23 states. Tow’s company The company, renamed Citizens Communications in has been at the forefront as rural local exchange carriers 2000, divested its public utility business and cellular have outperformed larger carriers in maintaining their businesses—the latter for $2.1 billion—made a series access lines. of acquisitions, and shifted its focus from the product to the customer. Tow invested significant capital to upgrade In 1973, Tow helped found Century Communications the company’s networks and offer previously unavail- Corp., a cable television company that eventually able services, such as long-distance, dial-up, and DSL became one of the 10 largest in the U.S before it was Internet access services at discounted prices. The result: sold to Adelphia in 1999 for $5.6 billion. In 1989 2003 revenues of $2.4 billion. Tow invested in Citizens Utilities, a diversified utility

13 Distribution/Manufacturing/Security

Distribution/Manufacturing/Security JOHN B. SWISHER UNITED FEEDS, INC. TITLES: Chairman, CEO, Co-Founder CITY: Sheridan, Ind. FOUNDED: 1956 WEB ADDRESS: www.unitedfeeds.com

14 E NTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2004 By Brian S. Moskal Distribution/Manufacturing/Security

n 1956, John B. Swisher was driven by a fear of failure in 2004. The enzyme reduces the organic phosphorus in the and a business concept decades ahead of its time. At age diets of animals with a single stomach, such as poultry. Called I26, he believed that a successful feed business must focus OptiPhos, Swisher hopes to market it globally through an LLC on a single species. Starting with $25,000 in seed money from partnership, owned 80% by United Feeds. his family, he sold feed products directly to farmers rather than “It’s two to four times better than anything on the market but, through dealers, using a college-educated sales force trained to because it’s expensive to manufacture, we must go global with understand the nutritional problems of arguably the most com- it,” explains Swisher. Another product with a patent pending plicated farm animal, the swine. would increase the reproductive rate of swine by 10%. United From its inception, United Feeds was a David competing Feeds’ reputation for proprietary research has created a follow- against the Goliaths of the agriculture industry, including ing that’s led to 28 LLCs since 1994. “Customers—primarily Cargill, Allied Mills, Pillsbury, Swift, and Purina. The giants biological companies—come to us because of our research used a traditional dealer-distribution model. Had competitors facilities.” sold directly to farmers, they would have lost their dealers The focus on swine created a strategic advantage. “If you sell and volume at a time when tonnage was king in the industry. nutritional products for dairy cattle, turkeys, chickens, and “For that reason the Goliath’s couldn’t move against us,” swine, you can’t know enough about each to do it well,” says explains Swisher. Swisher. “Because we always knew Despite intense competition, more about hogs than our competi- United Feeds made a profit in “If an entrepreneur has to approve tion, we would regularly clean its first year and in all but two their clocks.” years since. By the time the giants every idea, every product, and make The company’s business model fea- adopted Swisher’s distribution every decision, the organization tures a flat organizational structure model in the 1980s, the Sheridan, and a philosophy of “abdication of Ind.-based swine nutrition and can’t grow.” sovereignty.” For example, feed- technology company was well delivery truck drivers double as dis- entrenched. “I worked hard so that patchers. “If an entrepreneur has to approve every idea, every I wouldn’t fail, but our business model was sound,” says the 75- product, and make every decision, the organization can’t grow,” year-old chairman and entrepreneur. says Swisher. “You must abdicate sovereignty and give author- Since 1999, United Feeds’ revenues have increased by more ity to other people throughout the organization.” than 50%, its ESOP share price has advanced more than 75%, Swisher originally dreamed of selling product within a 75-mile and sales reached record levels in FY 2004. Today, the company radius of Sheridan, Ind. Today that “radius” is 10 states, the provides nutritional products to more than 10 million domestic Philippines, and China with efforts to penetrate livestock nutri- swine from seven feed mills in six states. tion markets in Canada and South America underway. United United Feeds has flourished because Swisher always embraced Feeds expects to quadruple its revenues during the next 10 change as a friend. “We always ask ourselves, ‘What is next?’ years. The 28 LLCs already account for 25% of United Feeds’ and ‘Can we be a part of what is next?’” says Swisher. He pio- annual revenues. neered the research farm in 1970 to develop new swine feed “I’d love to claim that I had the vision for all of this, but that’s products in an environment where they could be tested and per- not the case,” says Swisher. “I’ve had about 300 people—pro- fected over time. This knowledge was transferred to farmers to fessors, coaches, family members, and partners—lift me on increase their efficiency and sales and to increase his company’s their shoulders to give me a better view. My secret is: I’m not a volume. Today, eight PhD scientists—including a microbiolo- self-made man.” gist, a reproductive physiologist, and a swine nutritionist—form the largest research farm in the United States. United Feeds His advice for other entrepreneurs: “Be sure that your direction runs trials on 45,000 animals a year. has merit to customers who will buy your product or service. I had to have an edge because I didn’t have any money,” says Since 1998, the research farm has led to proprietary products Swisher. such as an Omega-3 fatty acid enzyme, awaiting FDA approval

15 Distribution/Manufacturing/Security

RICHARD BRENNER AMARR GARAGE DOORS TITLE: CEO FINALIST: Rewriting the business rules for a stodgy CITY: Winston-Salem, N.C. commodity manufacturing company, Richard Brenner FOUNDED: 1951 has led Amarr Garage Doors to a quadrupling of rev- WEB ADDRESS: www.amarr.com enues and income during the last decade. Since taking the helm of the family business in 1993, he has revital- ized the workforce by creating a world-class benefi ts bution points to 59 locations in the United States, program to attract and retain top talent. Canada, Mexico, Hungary and China. He stormed the retail market with service innovations such as a A 19-year veteran of the building products industry, “furnish and install” program with a 10-day lead-time Brenner made design, engineering, and customer for customers of Costco Wholesale and Lowe’s Home feedback the focal points of strategic planning and Improvement. production. He has unleashed his principles of prod- uct innovation—beauty, differentiation, branding and During Brenner’s tenure, the multimillion-dollar com- safety—and changed Amarr from laggard to a market- pany has tripled U.S. manufacturing and opened a place leader. production facility in Mexico. Future plans include expansion into other metal building products, company Brenner developed a network of 4,000 independent installation of doors, partnering with a major retailer, door dealers by expanding Amarr’s wholesale distri- and developing a Far East production facility.

RICHARD E. DAUCH AMERICAN AXLE & MANUFACTURING TITLES: Co-Founder, Chairman, CEO CITY: Detroit, Mich. working 12 years for Volkswagen, FOUNDED: 1994 Lee Iacocca handpicked him to steer WEB ADDRESS: www.aam.com Chrysler away from disaster. Dauch became the driving force behind the automaker’s renaissance in manufacturing, quality, FINALIST: As a world-class manufacturing guru and labor-management relations, and profi tability. successful automotive entrepreneur, Dick Dauch has few peers. The co-founder, CEO, and chairman of In 1994, Dauch co-founded American Axle & American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc. has lectured Manufacturing by successfully outbidding nine compet- globally, and his book, Passion for Manufacturing, is itors for the assets of fi ve axle manufacturing and drive- studied in 80 countries and 65 universities. shaft facilities from a struggling GM. He transformed a failing 100-year-old GM complex in Detroit’s inner After graduating from Purdue University, Dauch joined city and an 80-year-old facility in Buffalo, N.Y., into a the Chevrolet division of General Motors Despite a formidable Fortune 500 company listed on the NYSE. sobering view of labor-management antagonism, a American Axle now employs 12,000 worldwide, has worker-training defi cit, and a counterproductive “wall” expanded from fi ve factories to 23 locations, from two between manufacturing and engineering, Dauch learned countries to 12, and has delivered nine straight years of to lead and became a catalyst for positive change. After profi tability. Sales in 2003 were $3.7 billion.

16 E NTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2004 Financial Services

FINANCIAL SERVICES JOSEPH R. FICALORA NEW YORK COMMUNITY BANCORP, INC. TITLE: President, CEO CITY: Westbury, N.Y. FOUNDED: 1993 WEB ADDRESS: www.mynycb.com

17 Financial Services By Doris Fenske

he man who spearheaded the creation of what is now grow the bank to great advantage.” To prepare for conversion to the fifth-largest thrift in the nation, with assets of stock form, the company then established a holding company T$24 billion, achieved his success the old-fashioned for Queens County Savings Bank, and later that year its stock way: by working his way up from the ground floor. began trading on the NASDAQ with 4.6 million shares out- standing and a market capitalization of $105 million. Since then Growing up in a modest neighborhood in the borough of the value of the company’s shares has increased by 3,725%, and Queens in New York City, Ficalora joined Queens County it now trades on the New York Stock Exchange. Savings Bank after graduating from Newtown High School in 1965, holding down a job as a part-time teller during the day As a stand-alone public company, the bank produced the thrift while taking courses at Queensboro Community College at industry’s best financial performance. But it was eyeing expan- night. But within three years, as the war in Vietnam escalated, sion in the metropolitan area—a goal that moved closer in 2000 he found himself on his way to Southeast Asia. as Ficalora led the company through a series of accretive merger transactions. Today, under the umbrella New York Community Ficalora qualified for training as a psychiatric specialist and Bancorp, the company comprises seven divisions: Queens completed a harrowing one-year tour of duty with the 4th County Savings Bank, Roslyn Savings Bank, Richmond County Infantry Division, followed by service at the Army’s mental Savings Bank, Roosevelt Savings Bank, CFS Bank, First hygiene unit in Fort Monmouth. By Savings Bank of New Jersey, and the time he was discharged in 1971, Ironbound Bank. he knew that psychiatry was not “We now have a family of divisional the field he wanted to pursue. He It’s no accident that the names returned home, married his high banks that look and feel very much of the original banks have been school sweetheart, and rejoined the like they did 20 years ago.” preserved. Ficalora believes bank where he would spend the rest strongly in preserving the com- of his career. munity identity of the banks in the network, instead of requiring them to change their brand. “We Over the next seven years Ficalora learned the ropes at Queens now have a family of divisional banks that look and feel very County Savings Bank as he earned degrees from the American much like they did 20 years ago,” he notes. “In most cases, our Institute of Banking and then from Pace University at night. staff that serves the customer is identical to what it was before.” Taking the subway to classes in Manhattan after a full day at Together, the banks have 142 branches, including 52 in-store work and then having to tackle assignments when he finally offices, and offer an array of financial services. arrived home late at night made for a rough schedule. “But the good news is that when people are doing that, they become far New York Community Bancorp boasts the thrift industry’s best more focused on what they will do with the rest of their life,” performance record, generating the best five- and 10-year total says Ficalora. The focus paid off. Within 14 years, he had risen returns to investors of any publicly traded thrift. Employees have in the ranks to attain the position of vice president, chief finan- benefited, too, through the generous employee stock ownership cial officer, and controller of Queens County Savings Bank. In plan established in 1993. At present, 115 employees enjoy mil- 1989 he was named president and chief operating officer, and in lionaire status as a result of their holdings of company stock. 1993 he became CEO. The company hit a snag this spring when rising interest rates Initially, Queens County Savings focused primarily on mort- forced it to call off a proposed acquisition and restructure gage lending on one- to four-family homes and did no business its balance sheet to relieve downward pressure on its stock. lending. During the 1970s, however, it moved to multi-family However, it is now in a stronger position, and Ficalora is pleased lending, which would become its primary niche. By the end of that the stock has already come up significantly from its lows. the 1980s, as the bank maintained fully performing loans during a real estate cycle turn that left many competitors with stagger- With a personal creed that calls for “being consistent and doing ing losses, the board realized that its business model—built on the right things for the right reasons,” Ficalora’s down-to-earth stringent credit standards, operational efficiency and prudent risk advice to other entrepreneurs: “Set your goals within a reason- management—“was significantly superior to that of our peers.” able range of your abilities.” Some may look at Joe Ficalora’s remarkable career and question whether his endeavors can In 1993 Ficalora convinced a reluctant board that by going accurately be described as “reasonable.” However, there is little public, “We could create great value for our shareholders and doubt that they have been successful.

18 E NTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2004 Financial Services

DANIEL P. AMOS AFLAC INCORPORATED TITLE: Chairman, CEO CITY: Columbus, Ga. FOUNDED: 1955 WEB ADDRESS: www.aflac.com other coups for Amos, who in 1999 made the decision to exit all markets except for the U.S. and Japan, where AFLAC has more individual policies in force than any FINALIST: Promoting the AFLAC brand was one of other insurer. Today AFLAC insures more than 40 mil- three major goals that Dan Amos set for himself during lion people, and its market capitalization has grown the 1990s as CEO of the life insurer started by his from $1.3 billion to more than $19 billion. father and uncles four decades earlier. Today, thanks to the quirky duck featured in the catchy ad campaign Named chairman of AFLAC in 2001, Amos was rec- he initiated, AFLAC (American Family Life Assurance ognized by Institutional Investor magazine in January Corp.) has instant name recognition, and was ranked 2004 as the Best CEO in the life insurance category recently by Forbes magazine as one of the top 25 for the second consecutive year. Under his leader- “power brands” in the United States. ship, AFLAC also has regularly won honors as one of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For, and for Expanding the insurer’s product lines and recognizing providing opportunities for minorities and women. the enormous potential of the Japanese market were

GARY L. TILKIN GLOBAL FUTURES & FOREX LTD. TITLE: President, CEO FINALIST: The dollar is down; the euro is up; CITY: Ada, Mich. the yen is holding steady. For Gary Tilkin, FOUNDED: 1997 founder of Global Forex Trading (GFT), WEB ADDRESS: www.gftforex.com Division of Global Futures & Forex, Ltd., the pulsations of the foreign currency market became the inspiration for starting a world-class online currency-trading fi rm that now serves individual and Based in Ada, Mich., the privately owned company institutional clients in more than 100 countries. now has offi ces in New York and Chicago and is eyeing overseas expansion. The company’s commitment to A 30-year veteran of futures and currency trading who innovation and customer service is refl ected in the worked for major brokerage houses before venturing creation of DealBook, software that provides custom- out on his own, Tilkin recognized the emerging poten- ers with market access, analysis, and order placement tial of the forex (foreign exchange) market when clients services. “If you take good care of your customers,” of his highly regarded investment newsletter began to says this former Eagle Scout turned entrepreneur, “the express growing interest in this investment alterna- money takes care of itself.” tive. Starting out with a two-person sales force, he then launched Global Forex Trading, one of the fi rst fi rms in the U.S. to offer online forex trading.

19 Health Sciences

Health Sciences MARK C. MILLER STERICYCLE, INC. TITLE: President, CEO CITY: Lake Forest, Ill. FOUNDED: 1989 WEB ADDRESS: www.stericycle.com

20 E NTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2004 By Brian S. Moskal Health Sciences

fter a successful 15-year career with Abbott panies since 1993. Most significantly, it purchased the medical Laboratories, Mark C. Miller joined a tiny company waste unit of Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI) in 1999 in what Awith a failed business plan, little cash, and a bleak Miller calls an example of the minnow swallowing the whale. future. He relinquished his position as a vice president in charge “We knew strategically it was a gutsy play that would change of a $500 million business unit in 1992 to become president our business forever. We knew if we were right, we would win and CEO of three-year-old Stericycle Inc. Its chairman, Jack the day,” says Miller. With the acquisition, Stericycle revenues Schuler, an ex-Abbott COO, recruited him to reignite the start- soared from $130 million to $320 million annually. up—a task bordering on the impossible. Stericycle’s culture is of strategic importance. From the start, Miller began his career writing software for microbiology lab Miller created a mindset in which employees treat company applications at Abbott. He tackled assignments others shunned. cash like it’s their own. For example, when Stericycle purchased As a result, he held positions overseeing research, marketing, BFI, the human resource department worked weekends for sev- manufacturing, and regulatory compliance. Assignments in eral months to enroll all the new employees in the company’s Europe, Puerto Rico and the Asia-Pacific region broadened his benefits program, instead of outsourcing the work for $80,000. business skills. Miller believes that if you treat employees like owners, they By his early 30s Miller ranked among the top 20 executives at have a vested interest in the company doing well. Every busi- Abbott. He soon realized, however, that the higher he rose, the ness leader must take a pay cut when they join the company. In more his tasks became administrative and process-driven rather exchange, they receive a meaningful equity stake in the compa- than entrepreneurial. “I always liked ny’s success. Employees can also elect to fix troubled businesses or to work to receive stock options in lieu of an with people to create something from “We knew strategically it was annual cash bonus. So far those equity scratch,” says the die-hard entrepre- stakes have produced more than 30 neur. a gutsy play that would change company millionaires.

At Stericycle, Miller inherited a com- our business forever.” The executive hiring process is rigor- pany with 12 customers, four weeks ous. Business leaders are chosen on of cash, annual sales of $1.2 million, the basis of what makes them tick, not and a cash-burn rate of $1.5 million a year. The company was in their interest in company cars, big salaries, mahogany desks, desperate need of vision and direction. Miller eagerly accepted or reserved parking spaces. Job candidates’ mettle is tested by the challenge and quickly went to work raising equity and slow- their reaction to corporate headquarters—particleboard desks, ing the cash-burn rate. To help Stericycle make payroll, Miller and a hodge-podge of furniture filling small, plainly decorated accepted a 50% pay cut and took out a second mortgage on his offices. “We pride ourselves on not getting caught up in the residence. He eventually sold all of his Abbott stock and cashed trappings of big corporations,” says Miller. “We don’t spend in his retirement account to keep the embattled firm afloat. money if it doesn’t bring value to customers and shareholders.”

To grow Stericycle, Miller shifted the company’s regulated In 2000 Stericycle Inc. became North America’s largest pro- medical waste focus from large hospitals to smaller, higher- vider of regulated medical waste management services—in just margin customers. He expanded the business portfolio by offer- 12 years. It has 40 treatment/collection facilities and 100 trans- ing much-needed infection control and regulatory health care fer/collection sites, serving more than 295,500 small and 5,500 compliance services, in addition to health care safety products. large customers in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Along with standard medical waste collection, these offerings Mexico. In 2003, net income as a percent of sales grew to a differentiate Stericycle from competitors. whopping 24% from 7% in 2001 and free cash flow reached $100 million on revenues of $453 million. To reduce expenses, he tackled the company’s largest cost center and increased efficiency by bringing outsourced logistics ser- Not surprisingly, Stericycle’s financial successes have allowed vices inside. Applying information technology, Miller led efforts Miller to retire the second mortgage on his home and recoup to coordinate medical waste pick-ups and streamline the billing the monetary benefits lost when he departed Abbott Labs. “The process to facilitate faster cash collections on receivables. Under risky investments I made in Stericycle were the best I could Miller’s leadership Stericycle has acquired more than 73 com- have made in any company or any industry, and the return has been handsome,” he says.

21 Health Sciences

MICHAEL A. BAKER ARTHROCARE CORP. To implement his strategy, Baker developed a plan Title: President, CEO to share R&D efforts with all business units. And CITY: Sunnyvale, Calif. he aggressively pursued patent protection for a FOUNDED: 1993 variety of soft-tissue surgical applications. Under WEB ADDRESS: www.arthrocare.com his guidance, ArthroCare has expanded beyond arthroscopy to commercialize the technology for surgical specialty markets such as spine and neu- FINALIST: When Michael Baker joined ArthroCare Corp. rology; ear, nose and throat; urology; and gynecology as president and CEO in 1997, he shunned the accepted that together represent a $4.8 billion opportunity. business model for commercializing novel medical device technologies. Instead Baker used the fi rm’s core To gain a competitive edge, Baker opted for offshore competency—Coblation technology—as the platform outsourcing to produce 90% of ArthroCare’s product for a single, multimarket company. Coblation technology line in a low-cost, high-quality manufacturing facility removes soft tissue with minimal damage to surrounding located in Costa Rica. ArthroCare is now a global, medi- healthy tissue, potentially decreasing patient pain and cal device company. Revenues grew from $6 million in recovery time. Baker recognized the company’s patented 1996 to $119 million in 2003. To date, products using approach to arthroscopy applied to virtually every surgi- Coblation technology have been used in more than 2.5 cal procedure where soft tissue had to be removed. million surgeries worldwide.

KENNETH W. FREEMAN QUEST DIAGNOSTICS Title: Chairman, CEO FINALIST: Turnaround artist Ken Freeman faced CITY: Teterboro, N.J. “mission impossible” when he was asked to lead FOUNDED: 1996 Corning Clinical Labs in 1995. The money-losing WEB ADDRESS: www.questdiagnostics.com unit of Corning Inc. had to cope with $1 billion in government fi nes. Morale was low, billing procedures were suspect, and its industry was in decline. A public A visionary with the zeal of an evangelist, Freeman spin-off from Corning came in 1997. established a process discipline for every aspect of Quest’s business—from drawing specimens, to pric- Today, the company is called Quest Diagnostics, ing, to integrating acquisitions. He trained to become Inc. and it’s a picture of prosperity and health. Under a Six Sigma black belt and has led some of Quest Freeman’s leadership as chairman and CEO, Quest Diagnostic’s 1,000 quality improvement projects him- tripled its revenues from $1.5 billion in 1998 to self. The purchase of SmithKline Beecham in 1999 was $4.7 billion in 2003. Its share of the domestic diagnos- a major turning point. The acquisition created the larg- tic testing market has quadrupled, and its net income est medical testing provider in the world. Today Quest as a percent of sales is 15.6%. has 12% of the U.S. market, so there’s room to grow.

22 E NTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2004 Real Estate/Hospitality/Construction

REAL ESTATE/HOSPITALITY/ CONSTRUCTION MICHAEL S. GALLEGOS AMERICAN PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CORP. TITLE: President, CEO CITY: San Diego, Calif. FOUNDED: 1991 WEB ADDRESS: www.apmc.net

23 Real Estate/Hospitality/Construction By Lindsey Siegle

here are not many jobs in a hotel that Michael Gallegos Comfort Inn in Albuquerque that the Bank of New York had hasn’t experienced first-hand. At 45, Gallegos has a 34- foreclosed upon. “The rest of the market was holding up very Tyear history in the industry dating back to his first job well, and this hotel was in bankruptcy,” Gallegos says. “That as a parking lot attendant at Santa Fe, New Mexico’s historic La told me that through a different debt structure and very hands-on Fonda hotel at age 11. It was there that Gallegos, the president management, we could make that hotel successful.” of American Property Management, a company he and part- ner James Long founded in 1991, first applied the philosophy He was right. American Property Management turned the opera- instilled in him by his mother to always try to give more than tion around completely in just a year and repeated the success expected. It’s a philosophy that served him well then and it con- with the full-service Hilton Hotel in Las Cruces, N.M., pur- tinues to serve him well today. chased out of bankruptcy from the Bank of Montreal.

At La Fonda Gallegos went on to fill several posts, ultimately Gallegos followed that winning formula of searching out non- becoming the facility’s general manager shortly after graduating performing hotels in performing markets and in just six years from high school. “I always remembered the feeling I got when had an eight-hotel portfolio worth over $200 million and had I was promoted,” Gallegos says. “I remembered the gratitude I become a highly sought-after partner by both large institutional had and how much it inspired me to do an even better job; it’s a investors and high-net-worth individual investors. very positive upward spiral you get on.” Today the company has 42 hotels and more than 11,500 rooms. Today Gallegos keeps the spiral going by working to exceed It is the 10th largest independent hotel management company the expectations of not only his company’s investors and in the country and the 16th largest independent owner of hotels. hotel guests, but of the hotel employees. American Property “Even after the events of 9/11, in which our industry was in Management recognizes its employees absolute peril for two-and-a-half who show initiative and uses an open years, we were able to grow because structure unique to the industry that “What it all comes down to in our we had high-net-worth individuals who saw the opportunities to acquire gives employees greater awareness of business is how you care for your their role in the company’s success. in a contrarian mode,” Gallegos says. people, because they’re going to American Property Management “We have maintenance technicians convey that to the public.” who have risen up to become general also gained a leg up on the com- managers; we have housekeepers petition because of its corporate who have become general managers,” philosophy. “I always knew that the Gallegos says. “By and large, 90% of all of our management leadership of this company had a lot of grit and a lot of endur- positions are filled from within our own talent pool.” ance and were tough,” Gallegos says. “But when I found out at the hotel level and at the staffing level how solid and deter- Gallegos stayed with La Fonda through his college years at the mined and loyal our personnel were I was really inspired. Our University of New Mexico, leaving his post there to concentrate personnel were determined to do whatever it took at that hotel on his duties as UNM’s student body president, and as president to keep it running, and we were running with 5, 10, 15, 20% of the American Student Association, a position for which he occupancy.” spent a year in Washington, D.C., lobbying the federal govern- ment on student issues. Gallegos applied a lesson he learned in taking over underper- forming hotels. “When you have very low occupancy and the When he got back to New Mexico Gallegos joined an engineer- market is in trouble, your hotel’s in trouble, and you have to ride ing firm launched by his brother Onofre and a partner. There he out the storm. You have to cross-train your employees to do mul- served as head of the company’s sales, marketing, and develop- tiple functions, because you’re working with a reduced staff, and ment efforts. “I gained a lot of very valuable experience on the yet that staff still has to put out a quality product,” says Gallegos. design, construction, and administration of large facilities,” Gallegos says, “particularly in hotels. I think it gave me a unique “What it all comes down to in our business is how you care for set of tools. When I got into the ownership aspect it was easy for your people, because they’re going to convey that to the public. me to look at a facility and understand if it was naturally func- If they’re happy, if they’re inspired, if they’re challenged, if they tionally obsolete or whether it could be successful.” Gallegos’ enjoy coming to work everyday, that resonates throughout their first move into hotel ownership came when the fledgling performance and throughout the hotel and through to the guest.” American Property Management purchased its first property, a And to the company’s bottom line.

24 E NTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2004 Real Estate/Hospitality/Construction

ALAN M. LEVENTHAL BEACON CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC TITLE: Chairman, CEO FINALIST: Alan M. Leventhal leads a young CITY: Boston, Mass. company with a long history—one that it uses to FOUNDED: 1998 its advantage. Although Beacon Capital Partners, WEB ADDRESS: www.beaconcapital.com LLC was founded in 1998, Leventhal and his family can trace the real estate investment company’s mixed-use projects in target knowledge markets across history back to the construction company his father, the U.S. Norman Leventhal, and uncle, Robert Leventhal, founded in Boston in 1946. Leventhal assembled an experienced team that has been able to fi nd opportunities where others did not Alan Leventhal ultimately negotiated the merger of the even bother to look. The company is able to identify development company his father’s construction fi rm those opportunities because of its vast experience in had become in a merger with Chicago-based Equity those markets, including its hometown of Boston. In Offi ce Properties Trust in 1997. That deal brought the just the six years it has been operating, Beacon Capital company’s shareholders $3.9 billion, but rather than Partners has sponsored four investment funds repre- slide into a comfortable early retirement Leventhal senting $2.5 billion in equity capital from endowments, launched the privately held Beacon Capital Partners, foundations and equity funds, providing solid returns owner, operator, and developer of urban offi ce and for its investors.

NANCY T. RICHARDS FIRST PRESTON MANAGEMENT, INC. Title: Founder, President in 1992, Richards took First Preston in a new CITY: Addison, Texas direction by creating a property rental man- FOUNDED: 1988 agement program for Fortune 500 companies WEB ADDRESS: www.firstpreston.com with employees on international assignments, enabling them to move back into their home when their assignment ended. FINALIST: Nancy Richards can’t leave well enough Richards’ next move was to bring her company’s vast alone. When Richards—an experienced real estate experience to bear in service to the Department of professional who had worked for Coldwell Banker, Housing and Urban Development. In the mid-’90s First Merrill Lynch, and Skyline Financial Services— Preston won its first two contracts to provide asset launched First Preston Management Inc., in 1988 the management services to HUD, and has since grown to company entered a real estate market hurting from the become the largest private-sector contractor for HUD’s savings and loan crisis. real estate program. To date First Preston has handled First Preston played a significant roll in helping the the managing and marketing for more than 160,000 Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corp. dispose of homes for HUD, but Richards is not done yet. She still major properties such as apartment complexes, ranches, has her eye out for the next opportunity and is ready to and retail centers. As that work was winding down make sure First Preston can meet it.

25 Realizing Business Potential Realizing Business Potential RICHARD W. PADULA SYCLO LLC TITLE: Co-Founder, President, CEO CITY: Barrington, Ill. FOUNDED: 1997 WEB ADDRESS: www.syclo.com

26 E NTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2004 By Thomas Griesser Realizing Business Potential

n just nine years, Syclo LLC has grown from a start-up Syclo offers a wide range of products under its SMART Suite in Rich Padula’s basement to a leading global provider umbrella, including: SMART Work Manager—to connect field Iof mobile computing solutions. Clients such as Hewlett- service workers with their home bases; SMART Inventory— Packard, T Mobile, the United Space Alliance, and the U.S. geared to storeroom and inventory management; SMART Marine Corps use Syclo’s applications to exchange data with Auditor—supporting mobile assessments of facility assets; and their people “out in the field”—bolstering effectiveness, SMART Rounds—for field readings of valves, meters, and streamlining operations, and cutting costs. other production indicators.

“Last year, our revenue grew by 50% to $12 million,” says “This year we introduced SMART Works,” adds Padula. “It Padula. And the profitable company long ago moved out of that offers the individual components of those applications, which basement office, most recently into its sparkling, 13,000-sq-ft can be mixed and matched to fulfill a customer’s exact needs.” corporate digs. Utilities, manufacturers, and energy companies are some key Padula spotted the business opportunity that led to Syclo’s cre- industry users. “Many pharmaceutical companies also turn to ation back in 1995 while serving as CEO of CAS, a consulting us because we’ve built in a lot of their FDA compliance at the firm he’d founded. “I developed a mobile repair and dispatch platform level,” Padula states. Educational institutions, such as solution for Sprint Local Telephone,” he notes. “Their cost per Princeton University, use Syclo products to support their overall trouble ticket fell from $12 to only $2.50.” maintenance and housing and fire safety inspections.

Padula’s goal became to develop a platform that could plug In 2001, Syclo radically changed its business model by enter- into any enterprise system and allow any application to be ing into partnerships with application providers such as MRO taken mobile. He swiftly assembled the team of four co-found- Software. “We initially gave up some revenue and lost direct ers. First, he convinced his brother, control of the customer,” he says. “But Robert, to leave Silicon Valley in the we’ve since gotten a huge increase Spring of 1995 and become Syclo’s “Whatever happens down the in unit sales and revenue through our chief software architect. Padula then road … I want more people to channel partners.” recruited a developer at Sprint Local be at the party than just the Syclo enjoys a customer renewal rate of Telephone, Paul Chiapuris; and a col- 97%. “Signing a contract doesn’t mean lege friend, Jeff Kleban. four partners.” that’s a reference!” Padula stresses. Unlike many tech start-ups of that “That’s when the work starts—to era, their venture survived the reces- deliver all the business value customers sion that followed. “We didn’t put the cart before the horse,” expect.” Syclo’s turnover is also low among its more than 60 he explains. “Every product we sold had measurable value and associates. Innovative HR strategies include regular commu- ROI. By 1999 and 2000, there was a lot of money in this space, nity service activities, such as paint-a-thons and soup kitchens. which caused a lot of hype and disillusionment,” he continues. These encourage team building and reward participants with However, Syclo’s offering delivered real ROI. “Many of our points redeemable for vacation days. competitors equated ‘wireless’ with ‘mobile.’ Sure, their prod- Syclo also offers flex-time and a phantom stock plan. “We’re ucts worked great during demonstrations. But what happened a limited liability company, so we don’t have stock,” Padula in the real world when a connection was lost? What if the field explains. But under its Associate Participation Plan, associ- employee was out of wireless coverage areas?” he observes. ates receive “units” of the company based on factors such as Syclo emphasizes flexibility. Data transfer can be made via performance, job title, and seniority. “Whatever happens down wireless, dial-in connections, LANs, or merely docking the the road—if we go public or if we are acquired—I want more device at the end of the day. “For some applications,” Padula people to be at the party than just the four partners.” notes, “docking is the most cost-effective method.” Likewise, While Syclo is becoming a global leader (with products already Syclo’s applications can be run on a range of devices, such as implemented in 28 countries) it still maintains the “homey” handhelds, laptops, or tablets. In addition, its Agentry platform flavor of that basement start-up. “I have a drawer full of bubble- can build mobile applications in weeks, rather than months. gum and candy, and all the associates’ kids also know where it “We’ve engineered out the hard parts—the technical hurdles— is,” says Padula. of going mobile. You don’t need to be a Java or C++ program- mer to use our tool,” Padula says.

27 Realizing Business Potential

DONALD F. MUNRO COASTAL ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS, INC. TITLE: Co-Founder, CEO CITY: Seattle, Wash. FINALIST: In 1982 Donald Munro co-founded FOUNDED: 1982 Coastal Environmental Systems Inc. to WEB ADDRESS: www.coastalenvironmental.com pursue an innovative application of technol- ogy—weather buoys to assist oil exploration and recovery operations. Unfortunately, the concept Systems is the leading designer, manufacturer, and failed due to the collapse of offshore oil drilling. installer of professional-grade weather stations and However, Munro’s tenacity and leadership abilities kept remote data acquisition systems. Its products can be the company alive through several rocky years, includ- found everywhere from Antarctica to naval ships at ing a near bankruptcy. sea. Last year NASA awarded the company a contract In 1986, the company introduced WEATHERPAK, the to build an air traffic control system to help land the most sophisticated portable weather station of its time, Space Shuttle. and still in use in many applications. That was followed Thanks to Munro’s persistence and entrepreneurial by the ZENO remote data acquisition system and its vision, Coastal Environmental Systems is not only operating system ZENOSOFT. consistently profitable, it has been one of the 50 fast- Munro encourages creativity and risk-taking at every est-growing companies in Washington state for the past level of his company. Today, Coastal Environmental three years.

MELISSA ORR CAMPAIGNERS, INC. Titles: Founder, President, CEO to retail settings to promote its clients’ CITY: Redondo Beach, Calif. products, demonstrate them, and provide FOUNDED: 1997 invaluable feedback to clients on consumer WEB ADDRESS: www.campaigners.com preferences. The company creatively lever- ages technology through its ResultsNOW online management and tracking system that FINALIST: When Melissa Orr founded Campaigners, Inc. gives clients rapid insights into the performance of their in 1997, she staked her entire life savings of $80,000 on products and promotions, generally within 24 hours of a the sales and marketing agency. Orr also drew on her sale or encounter. experience in sales and marketing at companies such as Hewlett-Packard—and her high-tech pioneering spirit— Campaigners has achieved a five-year growth rate of to guide the rapid growth of Campaigners, whose clients 413%, making it one of the fastest-growing promotional include AOL, Motorola, Microsoft, Fuji, and Heineken. agencies in the nation and a member of the Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies. Committed to her If retailers are the first tier for selling and marketing a community, Orr takes an active role in projects such as company’s products, Campaigner serves as the second the Manhattan Beach Education Fundraising efforts to tier. The company deploys more than 3,000 “delegates” benefit budget-strapped local schools.

28 E NTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2004 Retail & Consumer Products

RETAIL & CONSUMER PRODUCTS ORVILLE G. BICKNELL NPC INTERNATIONAL, INC. TITLE: Chairman, CEO CITY: Pittsburg, Kansas FOUNDED: 1962 WEB ADDRESS: www.npcinternational.com

29 Retail & Consumer Products By Roger Morton

ene Bicknell considers himself to be a natural, total private enabled him to control the corporate culture and future entrepreneur in heart and spirit. He has always had the growth. Today NPC has more than 800 Pizza Hut facilities, Gdesire to be successful, and through a wide range of making it the largest operator of Pizza Hut restaurants in the life experiences has applied himself to each new venture with world and the 11th largest restaurant operator in the U.S. zeal and commitment. In a career that spans five decades, Bicknell is the founder and “We were poor, and I didn’t like that very well,” says Bicknell. owner of not one but five profitable companies. Pitt Plastics, “I’ve been driven more by the fear of being poor than a desire to founded in 1971, is one of the country’s largest manufacturers have a spectacular accumulation of material things.” of plastic can liners. National Mills, Inc. is a T-shirt manufac- turer and screen print company. Zouire is a national promotional The son of a lead and zinc miner who never made much money apparel and supplies company selling to major national corpo- but raised his seven children to work for whatever they might rations. And M.S. Productions Inc. is an oil development and want, Bicknell worked his way through college, beginning when reserve operation. he was just 16. He dropped out for one semester to earn enough to buy his father a car, then returned and was still able to finish Bicknell credits much of his success to the talents of his com- in just four years. panies’ management teams, bright people like himself who have strong work ethics. Bicknell readily acknowledges and rewards After serving in the U.S. Army, Bicknell joined Goodyear Tire them for their good work. “I don’t take credit for something and Rubber Co. in Topeka, Kansas. However, he had a desire to I don’t deserve credit for.” he says, “And I don’t always take work in business for himself. Such an credit for something I do deserve credit for, opportunity opened in selling insur- because it’s better to recognize someone ance for New York Life. He relocated “I don’t believe ‘I’ or ‘me’ else and give them credit than it is to have with his wife and first child back to an ego that needs to be served. I don’t Pittsburg, Kansas, where he has lived should be in the vocabulary believe ‘I’ or ‘me’ should be in the vocabu- most of his life. He spent 15 years with of anyone in management.” lary of anyone in management.” the insurance company, during the last six of which he was also working on Bicknell hasn’t confined his entrepreneur- other opportunities. ial pursuits to business. He’s also tried his hand at sports announcing and has acted professionally in televi- In the early ’60s Bicknell made a decision that launched him sion, theater, and 11 feature films. Bicknell has also been active on his entrepreneurial path—he bought his first Pizza Hut in politics and his community. He was the youngest mayor in franchise. “Between my savings and life insurance cash value, Pittsburg’s history and ran an unsuccessful campaign for gov- I scraped up about $1,500,” explains Bicknell. “I needed to ernor of Kansas. Bicknell has chaired many charity and social borrow to buy a franchise, because it required an $8,000 invest- fundraising events, including sponsoring a golf tournament for ment. I got a loan and was able to get into the pizza business. I the past 14 years that has raised more than $1.5 million for char- paid that off pretty quickly, establishing a good credit rating.” ity. “I think that when you’re blessed, you should share those From one restaurant in Kansas, working at night and staffing it blessings,” he says. with college students, Bicknell steadily grew his chain of Pizza Bicknell founded the O. Gene Bicknell Center for Entrepre- Hut franchises, expanding into Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, neurship at Pittsburg State University and taught a class there Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama. In 1965 he on entrepreneurship. His motivational book Never Fry Bacon in formed C.B. International, which became Southeast Pizza Huts, the Nude offers insight for those aspiring to fulfill entrepreneur- Inc. in 1979. In 1984 he took the company public. It became ial ambitions. National Pizza Company, and eventually NPC International, Inc. Bicknell is finishing his second book, The Land of Ores, In 2001 Bicknell engineered a transaction to once again make on lead and zinc mining in northeast Oklahoma, Southwest NPC International a privately held company. The move was Missouri, and Southeast Kansas, and the environmental issues it not without risk. Bicknell went into debt in order to buy back raises, including health problems and scars left on the earth. the stock and give stockholders a premium. But he explains he made the move because the company wasn’t getting credit There’s no telling what is next for this natural entrepreneur. within the marketplace for the good job it was doing. Going What is certain is that he isn’t finished yet.

30 E NTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2004 Retail & Consumer Products

MAXINE CLARK BUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP TITLE: Chief Executive Bear CITY: St. Louis, Mo. novel that in 2001 the company was the National Retail FOUNDED: 1997 Federation’s Retail Innovator of the Year. Services and WEB ADDRESS: www.buildabear.com product offerings of the mall-based retailer have been heightened through visible partnerships with popular organizations, other retailers, and even major league FINALIST: With more than three decades of experience sports teams. Friends 2B Made, an addition to the in the retail industry, Maxine Clark’s entrepreneurial company’s line, is a brand of make-your-own dolls in drive has been enhanced by her ability to correctly spot separate facilities adjacent to Build-A-Bear Workshops. and react to emerging retail trends. Her Build-A-Bear Workshops are based on the simple idea that when the Clark is extending the availability of the Build-A-Bear shopping experience is entertaining, customers stay brand through a line of licensed products in outlets longer and spend more. such as Hasbro Toys, Harper Collins, and American Greetings, among others. There are currently nearly 170 Build-A-Bear-Workshops are true shopping destina- Build-A-Bear Workshops—including Disneyland—in tions where consumers create, customize, and personal- the U.S. and Canada, and Clark is expanding Build-A- ize their own stuffed animal with the use of a number Bear Workshops internationally, with plans to have 300 of clothing items and accessories. The concept was so franchised stores outside the U.S. by 2008.

JEFFREY SEAMAN ROOMS TO GO Title: CEO CITY: Seffner, Fla. FINALIST: Jeffrey Seaman learned the retail furni- FOUNDED: 1990 ture business at the 50-year-old namesake com- WEB ADDRESS: www.roomstogo.com pany started by his grandfather. When the business was sold in 1988 with a non-compete agreement for the family in the Northeast, Seaman focused on distribution centers, Rooms To Go can deliver a room Florida, a region enjoying employment and housing of furnishings in its entirety within days, not weeks. growth and an endless stream of “snow birds” looking for a quick and easy way to furnish second homes. Seaman’s willingness to back his vision with hard work has paid off handsomely. Daily, 4,000 rooms of furni- A graduate of the Wharton School, Seaman combined ture move from company distribution centers to homes theoretical and practical knowledge into a singular in 32 states. There are now more than 80 Rooms To Go business approach. Knowing customer time is at a showrooms throughout the Southeast, Texas, and Puerto premium, Seaman’s solution for shopping ease was to Rico. And Seaman has expanded on his core concept design and display affordable, completely furnished of one-stop furniture shopping at an affordable price room settings, down to the smallest accessory. With with 20 Rooms To Go Kids locations offering the same well-stocked, strategically located, state-of-the-art shopping speed and ease in buying children’s furniture.

31 Services

SERVICES H. GARY HEAVIN CURVES INTERNATIONAL, INC. TITLES: Founder, CEO CITY: Waco, Texas FOUNDED: 1995 WEB ADDRESS: www.curvesinternational.com

32 E NTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2004 By Kathy Bull Services

hen Gary Heavin was 13 years old his mother, who Not surprisingly, according to Heavin, word of mouth is Curves had just turned 40 and suffered from depression and best advertising, with about 90% of new Curves customers Whigh blood pressure, died in her sleep. By the time coming in through guest passes. Curves customers also comprise Heavin was himself 40, he had spent 20 years teaching fitness and the majority of Curves francisees. “They already have a passion wellness to women. for the Curves program,” says Gary. “Our competitors find people who want to own a business and try to teach them passion. We “Exercise is the most effective means of lowering blood pressure take people with passion and teach them to run a business.” and diminishing depression, way beyond any pharmacological effect, so if somebody had encouraged my mother to take care of Curves franchisees—90% of whom are women—typically herself, she might be here today,” says Heavin. “It explains why, achieve their return on investment in two to three months and even though I wasn’t always successful in the gym business, I enjoy a 94% success rate. As the first fitness chain with a flat always stayed committed. It defined my destiny—I understood franchise fee, it might seem that Curves’ franchising success is where I had come from, and I clearly knew where I was going.” the result of a low-price, high-volume profit scenario. But Heavin explains Curves’ success is based on integrity and trust. “Our Ten years later, Heavin stands at the helm of what Guinness World franchisees work really hard, and if they’re paying more, there’s Records has chronicled as the fastest-growing franchise in history. more opportunity for resentment. They have to trust you to set the From a single fitness center started in 1995 with his wife, Diane, vision, and this makes it easier, because integrity is about being and $10,000 in savings, Curves International has more than 80% fair. Then everyone ends up winning.” of the women’s fitness market and accounts for one of every four gyms in America. The company operates more than 8,000 loca- Heavin believes a service philosophy is what sets Curves apart tions in 25 countries. from other fitness franchises. “True success is not about wealth and fame, it’s about sleeping well at The first step in promoting women’s night and basing your decisions on a wellness, according to Heavin, is getting “We’ve become a big part of reliable value system,” he says. “It’s them into the gym. From his experi- about integrity, and serving, and the ences owning various health clubs since changing the shape of women’s unity of implementing ideas only after the age of 20, he realized that many wellness in America.” two or more people have agreed on women were uncomfortable exercising them, because we can go much farther in front of men, which prevented them together than we can as individuals.” from joining traditional gyms. And men and women exercise dif- Curves promotes its service philosophy by matching the first ferently. “Women are social creatures; they get together and chat $1,000 a franchise raises for local causes. In 2004 Curves fran- and benefit from each other’s company,” he observes. chises raised 8 million pounds of food through the company’s Heavin’s simple observations were the genesis of Curves’ unique annual Food for Friends drive. business model. The Curves concept allows women to exercise in Heavin’s next challenge is to change the way America diets. In the comfort and camaraderie of a club designed exclusively for Permanent Results Without Permanent Dieting and bestsellers them. At Curves, women combine an efficient and effective 30- Curves and Curves on the Go he promotes the view that women minute circuit-training workout—16 to 20 stations exercise vari- can achieve more success through short-term dieting. “We have to ous muscle groups—with fun and friendship. “It’s a very efficient change our medical model in America from one that treats illness way of personal training,” says Heavin. to one that provides wellness,” says Heavin. “And now Curves is It’s also a fun way for women to support each other in weight loss finally large enough to work with government, industry, insurance and fitness. “We call it the Curves Community,” says Heavin. companies, and corporations to provide wellness services to their Curves clubs acknowledge women’s achievements and let people patients or their people in virtually every market in America.” share in each other’s success. “Having a community where every- Heavin is also funding a $5 million study at Baylor University to body encourages each other helps others believe they also can do study the effects of exercise on women’s bone density and metabo- it.” Curves also uses women of an average size 14 in its advertis- lism, and developing “smart” exercise equipment. “There’s noth- ing to more accurately reflect its membership. The fact that most ing else I’d rather do,” says Heavin. “We’ve become a big part of of the company’s 3 million customers never had a regular exercise changing the shape of women’s wellness in America, and I plan to program before coming to Curves is testament that the concept is continue playing a pretty big part in that.” appealing.

33 Services

JAMES DAVID POWER III J.D. POWER AND ASSOCIATES TITLE: Chairman FINALIST: If you’ve ever made a major purchase, CITY: Westlake Village, Calif. chances are you have given consideration to a product FOUNDED: 1968 rated by J.D. Power and Associates. Today the passion for WEB ADDRESS: www.jdpower.com consumer research that Dave Power parlayed into reports on a broad range of products—including cars, boats, homes, appliances, health care, and travel—has made J.D. As a pioneer in the field of consumer research, Dave Power synonymous with consumer-proven quality. Power has developed a number of research models and concepts that have become quality and customer satis- The key to J.D. Power and Associates’ independence faction benchmarks in the auto industry. In 2003, the and objectivity is that it does not test or rate products or spin-off of the Power Information Network expanded services. Rather, the company’s annual ratings are based the company’s services. Electronically linked with retail on actual consumer satisfaction survey responses. The automotive franchise, finance, and insurance systems extensive surveys include virtually all the elements of nationwide, the system collects, analyzes and aggregates the product ownership experience, enabling better deci- more than 200 stats from new and used vehicle transac- sion-making at companies all over the world, helping tions in real time. them shape products and services to fill consumer needs and improve competition.

WILLIS JOHNSON COPART, INC. Title: CEO CITY: Fairfield, Calif. FOUNDED: 1982 damage. By providing this information, along with WEB ADDRESS: www.copart.com a photo of the damaged car, and holding live auc- tions via the Internet, his company could expand the number of potential buyers. FINALIST: After a long successful career in the auto The result has been reduced buyer costs by eliminating salvage business, Willis Johnson saw the potential of the travel to the auction site, shortened selling time, and Internet to revolutionize the auto auction market. With more money for sellers, generally insurance companies the launch of Copart, Inc., Johnson eliminated the need that acquire damaged vehicles deemed total losses. The for a buyer to be in physical proximity to the auction site online access Copart provides has also increased the effi- to inspect the vehicle or submit a bid. ciency of the parts and repair industry by disseminating Johnson observed that knowledgeable and experienced information on available cars and allowing more timely buyers could determine the value of a salvaged vehicle access to them. Copart is now the leading provider of by knowing details such as model year, mileage, and salvage vehicle auction services in the United States, rep- vehicle identification number, as well as the nature of the resenting approximately one-third of the industry.

34 E NTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2004 Supporter of Entrepreneurship

SUPPORTER OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP STEVE MARIOTTI NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR TEACHING ENTREPRENEURSHIP (NFTE) TITLE: Founder, President CITY: New York, N.Y. FOUNDED: 1987 WEB ADDRESS: www.nfte.com

35 Supporter of Entrepreneurship By Charles Thomas

hat better way to create entrepreneurs than to on school performance, and on a child’s future thinking? Is he capture their interest as adolescents? That’s the or she more likely to go to college, do more independent read- Wkernel of an idea that former business owner ing, win more awards? How do you get that bottom five, 10, or and high school math teacher Steve Mariotti had in 1987 15% of kids who are disconnected to act better and do better? when he founded the National Foundation for Teaching I personally believe that teaching business around an owner- Entrepreneurship (NFTE). ship theme is part of the solution. It can have a very positive effect on a kid’s life.” His real focus was on the truly hard cases: at-risk youths from some of the toughest environments in the country. The mis- NFTE now has programs in more than 600 high schools and sion: offer them an educational jump-start toward someday middle schools in the U.S. and about 80 overseas. Currently, owning and operating their own businesses. Today, in its 17th there are about 600 NFTE teacher-partners across the United year of existence, NFTE (pronounced “nifty”) has nearly States, with programs in 14 U.S. cities and 11 foreign coun- 100,000 alumni, a full-time staff of 52, and an annual operat- tries. Mariotti still teaches some programs and mentors stu- ing budget of more than $8 million. dents, despite his heavy time commitments in putting together the leadership, developing curricula, and overseeing quality. “Kids growing up on inner-city streets develop a certain finesse and toughness,” Mariotti says. “Ironically or not, these “I always make a point of hiring ‘up,’” Mariotti says—“select- are also characteristics of some of the great entrepreneurs. The ing people I size up as being more organized or having more only way you can talk to some youngsters is in terms of money structured skills than I do. I frankly don’t have a lot of general and ownership. That’s the appeal of NFTE programs.” management skills—linear thinking, setting up HR systems, and so forth. So I stick to what I’m most uniquely qualified Mariotti began his involvement with at-risk youths after a to do: forming professional relationships with highly talented gang of kids mugged him for 10 dollars. He was so affected people, and being able to replicate a successful program on by the incident that he abandoned his ownership of a small one site after another,” he says. import-export business and took up teaching math in some of the city’s most impoverished areas, “I spend probably half my time writing including Bedford-Stuyvesant in letters, networking, asking for introduc- Brooklyn and the Fort Apache dis- “I found that even kids who tions, and building boards,” Mariotti trict of the South Bronx. adds. “The sourcing of funds is always couldn’t read or write well had the hard part.” Teaching brought a stark realiza- natural talent and interest in tion: The traditional high school Each local NFTE program enlists a approach to reading, writing, and business ownership.” business partner—usually a high school math didn’t work well with young- teacher—who enrolls students. Mariotti sters facing the rigors of poverty emphasizes that he or his representative and street life. Mariotti gathered a group of kids and did a has to find someone who is genuinely pro-business, who’s a mock sales pitch for his own wristwatch. “It got their attention good teacher, someone who likes kids, and someone kids because it was focused on money, on owning something,” he will like. recalls. “I found that even kids who couldn’t read or write well had natural talent and interest in business ownership.” “Twenty years ago, I thought that if you didn’t have a business degree, you couldn’t be a really good business teacher,” he In 1987, he founded NFTE at Jane Addams Vocational High reflects. “Then I met a young man who was teaching alongside School in the South Bronx with a $20,000 grant from the Boys me in the South Bronx. He never took a business class, never and Girls Clubs of Newark. It began as an after-school dropout ran a business. He just read, practiced, was smart, related well prevention and academic performance improvement program. to people, and worked his butt off. He became the greatest Today, NFTE is widely viewed as the most successful program teacher in the field of elementary business entrepreneurship, in the world for teaching entrepreneurship to low-income without question. That totally changed my perspective.” youths. NFTE programs, designed for students aged 11 to 18, fit right into the public schools’ curricula. This year, NFTE will serve 22,000 children in 46 states and its foreign locations. “Kids are kids wherever they may be,” “The premise of NFTE is that we know if a kid is contemp- Mariotti says. “They all have similar problems, despite differ- tuous of school, he or she can’t do well,” Mariotti explains. ences in nationality or culture. We think this is a great way to “What we want to know is, if a student completes NFTE’s 100 get people out of poverty.” hours of instruction, is that going to have any positive impact

36 E NTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2004 Supporter of Entrepreneurship

PAUL FRISON HOUSTON TECHNOLOGY CENTER 150 emerging technology companies raise TITLE: President, CEO more than $400 million in capital and create CITY: Houston, Texas about 1,000 new jobs to grow businesses in FOUNDED: 1999 energy, information technology, life sciences, WEB ADDRESS: www.houstontech.org NASA-originated technologies, and nano- technology.

Before being recruited to head HTC, Frison had been FINALIST: Helping start-up companies get into their president and CEO of three public companies, was stride is challenging enough. Starting up the organiza- involved in raising multiple rounds of venture capital, tion that helps make that happen takes special talent, participated in two IPOs, and worked with five start-up determination, and experience—all of which Paul companies by serving on their boards. Frison possesses. Frison helped raise an unprecedented $4 million in cor- Frison founded the Houston Technology Center (HTC) porate support during HTC’s critical early years. Today to accelerate the growth of the city’s emerging tech- it is supported by more than 300 corporations, leading nology companies, create a broad community for its academic institutions, the Greater Houston Partnership, entrepreneurs, and educate Houston’s underserved the Texas Medical Center, the Johnson Space Center, communities in order to help bridge the digital divide. and the City of Houston and is on track to be self-sus- Since 1999 the non-profit HTC has helped more than taining by 2006.

SUSAN MATLOCK ENTREPRENEURIAL CENTER (EC) OFFICE FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF DEVELOPING INDUSTRIES (OADI)—UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT FINALIST: Over the past 18 years, Susan BIRMINGHAM Matlock has had a role in virtually every Title: President (EC), Executive Director (OADI) important entrepreneurship effort in the CITY: Birmingham, Ala. Birmingham area. The two business incuba- FOUNDED: 1986 tors she heads—Birmingham’s Entrepreneurial WEB ADDRESS: www.entrepreneurialctr.com Center (EC) and the Office for the www.uab.edu/oadi Advancement of Developing Industries (OADI) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham—are among the leading and best-recognized in the country. In 2003, EC resident companies and graduates garnered more than 25% of Alabama’s venture capital investment. Matlock founded the EC in 1986 and has led the OADI since 2001. The EC is a mixed-use incubator for emerg- A dedicated and passionate advocate for entrepreneurs, ing tech, service and light manufacturing. The OADI Matlock provides business incubation centers around is a high-tech incubator, focusing on life sciences, the country with feedback on their programs. Her advanced biotech, biomedical, computer, and pharma- litany of professional involvements includes member- ceutical businesses. In the last four years, the two enti- ship on the investment advisory committee of a ties have each posted a half billion dollars of economic $125 million venture capital fund, a long history of impact from grants to and investments in, and sales of teaching and speaking engagements, and chairmanship the resident companies. of the National Business Incubation Association.

37 Technology

TECHNOLOGY DAN WARMENHOVEN NETWORK APPLIANCE TITLE: CEO CITY: Sunnyvale, Calif. FOUNDED: 1992 WEB ADDRESS: www.netapp.com

38 E NTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2004 by Roger Morton Technology

an Warmenhoven jokes that he’s one of the few CEOs four years as president, then CEO, of Network Equipment who have had the opportunity to grow a company to Technologies, which was in a turnaround position. “It was a ter- Da billion dollars, and that he’s done it twice—at the rific learning experience,” he reflects. “I did turn it around and same company. Early in his 10 years leading Network Appliance got the revenue growing and the company profitable, but it was (NetApp) the company enjoyed the benefits of the dot-com never the shining star I had hoped it would be.” bubble. In the peak year of 2001, NetApp was a billion dollar company, with 70% of its business from technology and 30% He found that star potential when he joined Network Appliance. from Internet companies. Then the bubble burst, with technol- Warmenhoven keeps pushing NetApp’s technology envelope by ogy and the Internet the two hardest-hit sectors. continually asking, “What’s next?” The company prides itself on innovation, creating leading-edge products that solve real Three years later, NetApp has bounced back from its low point customer problems. “We were the first to introduce the notion and is a billion dollar company once again. Currently tech- that SAN [storage area networks] and NAS [network attached nology represents about 20% to 25% of NetApp’s business, storage], two very different architectures, could be unified,” he with what Warmenhoven calls Big Tech, customers like Texas notes. NetApp also developed and introduced fabric attached Instruments, Cisco and Motorola. The Internet is still a compo- storage, a new technology that supports both environments, and nent of the company’s mix, but it’s represented by large organi- introduced an iSCSI storage solution, an Ethernet-based storage zations like Yahoo! Federal government activity comprises more protocol delivering advantages of SAN that is easier to deploy than 10%, and financial services—its single largest vertical and less expensive than a fiber channel. market—is almost 20% of NetApp’s business. Key to the growth of NetApp is Warmenhoven’s ability to spot Having access to and managing data is trends in the marketplace, capitalize critical to survival for businesses today “I believe we can, and I push on them, and trust in his own instincts. and requisite for gaining a competitive One of his early acts as CEO was to edge. That necessity was the inspira- that belief out to others in the take the company public. “Over the tion behind NetApp and its data storage organization.” last nine years we’ve been public,” he solution: to separate data storage from notes, “our gross margins, with the servers running applications and load exception of one quarter, have ranged the data onto “network appliances” whose function is to store, between 59% and 62%. I was once characterized as having a manage and deliver it on demand at high speeds. maniacal obsession with our growth. That’s not all bad, because in fact that’s fundamental to a business model. There’s an adage Today NetApp is a recognized leader in the storage, manage- that says, ‘Believe you can or believe you can’t; either way ment, and delivery of data and content on demand. It has an you’ll probably be right.’ I believe we can, and I push that belief open standards architecture and a patented operating system that out to others in the organization.” integrates into existing environments such as Windows, Unix, and Linux without the need for additional client applications. Warmenhoven fosters and nurtures a culture within his organi- zation that emphasizes candor, trust, and integrity.“We focus on It was while still in high school that Warmenhoven became company objectives and the best way to achieve them,” he says. interested in computer programming. Although he was accepted “We have significant debates, but they aren’t political or ter- to both MIT and Princeton, he chose the latter because, “I ritorial.” Fortune magazine rates NetApp as one of its 100 Best wanted a rounder, broader education,” says Warmenhoven. Companies to Work For. “I never expected to be a technologist for my career. I always aspired to be in executive management.” “I think everything comes back to lessons my father taught me about real respect for people,” explains Warmenhoven. “He ran His father and lifelong mentor had been a regional general a fairly sizable organization and used to walk the factory floor manager for the Birdseye Division of General Foods, and every day and knew all the people pretty much on a first name Warmenhoven was inspired by his example. “I set an objective basis. That connection with people builds a common bond. in my mind,” says Warmenhoven. “Someday I was going to be Everyone in this company has a job to do. They are different the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.” people and are compensated differently and require different Warmenhoven spent 13 years at IBM where he followed an skills, but are all equally important.” As for Warmenhoven’s executive development program. He then moved to Hewlett- dream of leading a Fortune 500 company, it seems well within Packard, serving in an executive capacity. He spent the next his grasp.

39 Technology

AART DE GEUS, PH.D. SYNOPSYS, INC. FINALIST: While Aart de Geus was manag- TITLE: Chairman, CEO ing General Electric’s Computer-Aided CITY: Mountain View, Calif. FOUNDED: 1986 Engineering Group, the company considered WEB ADDRESS: www.synopsys.com closing the entity. Sure that automation tech- nology on which he worked would succeed, de Geus convinced GE to spin off the group and even beginnings, Synopsys has grown to annual sales of invest a modest amount in the venture. Coupling nearly $1.18 billion. that capital with his severance pay, de Geus formed Synopsys. Market insight and business acumen led Synopsys to a number of strategic acquisitions, all of which have De Geus’ perceptions were right. Today the company’s added strength through wise product integration. In products and techniques are basic technology for moving beyond core offerings, Synopsys has become designing and synthesizing chips and de Geus has a one-stop shop, able to offer software for chip design, published more than 25 papers on the subject. He was testing and manufacture from one source. The move by Electronic Business’ 2002 CEO of the Year and chairs de Geus to product subscription licensing was a bold, the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group. De Geus took smart shift in the Synopsys business model, one that the company public in 1992, and from its modest maintains a baseline revenue stream for the company.

MATTHEW SZULIK (top) Under Matthew Szulik’s leadership for the ROBERT YOUNG (bottom) last five years the company has moved past RED HAT, INC. Titles: Szulik: Chairman, CEO, President the perils of dot-com failures to profitability. Young: Board of Directors Today, Red Hat is the leader in open source CITY: Raleigh, N.C. Internet infrastructure solutions, with assets FOUNDED: 1993 in excess of $1.1 billion. Through collabora- WEB ADDRESS: www.redhat.com tion and partnerships with leading suppliers and developers in the industry, the company has succeeded in maintaining its momentum and leadership. FINALIST: When Robert Young teamed up with Marc Ewing, the A change in Red Hat’s business model has helped latter was developing a version of the revolutionary that success. The company’s focus moved from serv- open source operating system called Linux. Skeptical ing software vendors to final customers, enabling end about the potential of selling what was essentially free users to choose and control the technology in which software, Young nonetheless merged his marketing and they invest. A significant innovation by Szulik was a negotiating skills with Ewing’s technological vision to shift to designing technologies and services aimed at form Red Hat Inc. They built a brand so synonymous enterprises rather than the retail market. The risk was with Linux that their company became its leading rewarded as the customer base moved to large invest- distributor. ment banks, government agencies and others seeking replacements for legacy proprietary systems.

40 E NTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2004 World Entrepreneur Of The Year World Entrepreneur Of The Year: Tony Tan Caktiong

sian businessman Tony Tan Caktiong, founder and president of Jollibee Foods Corporation, Awas named the 2004 Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year® on May 29 at an awards cer- emony in Monte Carlo, Monaco.

The event marked the culmination of a yearlong process that recognizes the best and brightest entrepreneurs in their respective countries—men and women whose intellect and ingenuity has helped build industries, create jobs, improve communities, and grow economies.

Caktiong was selected as the Ernst & Young World World Entrepreneur Of The Year from Entrepreneur Of The Year a field of 31 indi- Tony Tan Caktiong viduals, each of JOLLIBEE FOODS CORPORATION whom had been TITLE: Founder, President named their coun- COUNTRY: Philippines try’s Ernst & Young FOUNDED: 1975 Entrepreneur Of WEB ADDRESS: www.jollibee.com The Year national winner in 2003. Collectively, these 31 country winners employ more than 375,000 people and represent approximately 23 billion euros in revenue.

“These awards are about celebrating global entrepreneur- ship and the desire to continually innovate and expand,” Ernst & Young Chairman James S. Turley said in making the presentation. “Tony’s story is a truly inspirational one on both these counts. We are delighted he has been selected to receive this year’s award.” The judges identified the ability of Jollibee to fund its own growth by reinvesting its profits. Caktiong still retains a Caktiong was chosen by a panel of nine judges, all of 65% share of ownership. “This is a success story based on whom are past participants in the Entrepreneur Of The Year solid foundations, not a meteor that will burn itself out,” said (EOY) program in his or her country. Their decision was Howard Stevenson, Professor of Entrepreneurship at Harvard based on candidates’ written applications as well as meet- Business School, and chairman of the judging panel. ings held during the four-day World Entrepreneur Of The Year event in Monaco. Criteria included entrepreneurial From modest beginnings as the owner of two ice cream par- spirit, financial performance, strategic direction, global lors in Manila in the 1970s, Jollibee has grown to become impact, innovation, personal integrity, and influence. one of the most admired and respected companies in Asia.

41 World Entrepreneur Of The Year

Jollibee Foods Corporation now employs 26,000 people is accepted as an unofficial measure of the health of the in almost 1,000 outlets in seven countries, including the wider Filipino economy, and the company logo—a dis- United States and China. In the Philippines, Jollibee com- tinctive red bee—has become the Philippines’ national mands 65% of the domestic fast food market, competing symbol of happiness.” very successfully against established global brands. In 1993, it became the first food service company to be listed The Entrepreneur Of The Year awards program was on the Philippine Stock Exchange. In the 10 years since, founded by Ernst & Young in the United States in 1986 the company has been consistently profitable, reaching an to recognize entrepreneurs who had created and sustained annual turnover in 2003 of over 470 million euros. successful, growing business ventures. Since then, the program has grown throughout the world, expanding Over the next five years Jollibee will continue to expand to six continents and more than 115 cities. The World its presence in China and elsewhere, staying one step Entrepreneur Of The Year program was established four ahead of the competition by recognizing the requirements years ago, and builds on Ernst & Young’s 18 years of suc- and tastes of local markets, and providing a high qual- cess in running national EOY programs. The 2005 World ity of service and product. As he acknowledges himself, Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards will be held May 26–29 Caktiong is Jollibee’s toughest quality controller. in Monte Carlo.

“Tony’s success is due to his ability to innovate, to look Previous World Entrepreneur Of The Year winners ahead, and to build an exceptional brand,” said Gregory include N. R. Narayana Murthy, founder and chair- K. Ericksen, global leader of Ernst & Young’s Emerging man, Infosys Technologies Limited, India, 2003; Stefan and Growth Markets practice and global director of the Vilsmeier, president and CEO, BrainLAB AG, Germany, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year program. “The 2002; and Paolo della Porta, president, chairman and Jollibee Indicator, based on the company’s sales, group CEO, Saes Getter S.p.A, Italy, 2001.

2003 Entrepreneur Of The Year Country Winners Australia—David Bussau AM, Opportunity Italy—Nerio Alessandri, Technogym International Australia Ltd. Japan—Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, Production I.G., Inc. Belgium—Frans Michielsen, Miko Malaysia—Dato’ Mohd. Nadzmi Mohd. Salleh, Brazil—Luiz Augusto Milano, MATEC Engenharia Nadicorp Holdings Sdn Bhd e Construções Ltda. Netherlands—Paul Schouwenaar, Zeeman Group BV Canada—Donald Triggs, Vincor International, Inc. Norway—Inge Brigt Aarbakke, Aarbakke AS Caribbean—Laurie M. Barnard, St. Lucia Distillers Ltd. Philippines—Tony Tan Caktiong, Jollibee Foods Czech Republic—Zbynek Frolik, LINET spol. s.r.o. Corporation Denmark—Michael Holm, Systematic Software Poland—Dr. Krzysztof Pawlowski, Wyzsza Szkola Engineering A/S Bizneu—Higher School of Business Finland—Vesa Keskinen, Veljekset Keskinen Oy Russia—Anatoly Karachinsky, IBS Group France—Bruno Rousset, April Group Singapore—Ron Sim, OSIM International Ltd. Germany—Hans Georg Näder, Otto Bock HealthCare South Africa—Brian Joffe, Bidvest GmbH Spain—Tomás Fuertes, Grupo Fuertes Hungary—Dr. Sándor Csányi, OTP Bank PLC Sweden—Torsten Jansson, New Wave Group AB India—Ratan Tata, The Tata Group Switzerland—Stefan Arn, AdNovum Informatik AG Indonesia—Djoenaedi Joesoef, PT Konimex Turkey—Süleyman Orakçioglu, ORKA Group Pharmaceutical Laboratories United Kingdom—Robert T. Wiseman, Robert Wiseman Ireland—Liam Shanahan, Shanahan Engineering Ltd. Dairies, PLC Israel—Dov Moran, M-Systems United States—John P. Mackey, Whole Foods Market

42 E NTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2004 EntrepreneurMedia/Entertainment/Communications Of The Year World Summit Entrepreneur Of The Year World Summit Singapore 2005

rnst & Young fi rst introduced the Entrepreneur Of The the world’s most highly regarded thought leaders and to cre- Year awards in the United States in 1986 to recognize ate an exclusive platform for the world’s best entrepreneurial Eand salute the accomplishments of the great men and minds to learn from each other and to plan their next growth women who contribute to the vibrancy of the global economy. strategy. Since then, the program has expanded across six continents and throughout more than 35 nations. The fi rst Entrepreneur Of The Year World Summit will take place in Singapore, February 15–19, 2005. Modeled after the Entrepreneur Of The Year winners have included such re- World Economic Forum’s annual event in Davos, the summit nowned entrepreneurs as Michael Dell of Dell Inc., Robert will provide a unique networking opportunity for the com- Braithwait of Sunseeker International, Eddie munity of more than 13,000 past and present Jordan of Formula One racing, Steve Case of Entrepreneur Of The Year award winners America Online Inc., Pierre Omidyar of eBay from around the world and a who’s who of Inc., Irwin M. Jacobs of QUALCOMM Inc., guests from business, government, science, Francis Yeoh of YTL Corp., and N.R. Na- and academia. rayana Murthy of Infosys Technologies Ltd. The theme of the 2005 Entrepreneur Of The In addition to recognizing business accom- Year World Summit is “Access Asia.” Key plishments at the regional or national level, addresses and plenary and breakout sessions Entrepreneur Of The Year also takes place at will offer global insights and practical ap- the global level. Each year the Ernst & Young plications on doing business in Asia. Among World Entrepreneur Of The Year award gath- the issues to be addressed are practical ers Entrepreneur Of The Year country win- advice for developing an Asian strategy, the ners from around the world in Monte Carlo, challenges and rewards of Asian markets, Monaco, to celebrate entrepreneurial achieve- investment hotspots, offshoring, cross-border ment around the globe. There, all country fi nancial issues, and other global strategies. winners are inducted into the World Entre- preneur Of The Year Academy and vie for the Invited speakers include Asian government title of World Entrepreneur Of The Year. leaders as well as respected and well-re- garded Entrepreneur Of The Year luminaries. Now, on the eve of Entrepreneur Of The Senior faculty from Harvard Business School Year’s 20th anniversary, Ernst & Young is taking a further and INSEAD will lead exclusive workshops for participants. step by extending this preeminent awards platform across Topic highlights include the current geopolitical environment, time as well as geography. The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur the next big things in global industry trends, and social entre- Of The Year World Summit is an exclusive gathering of preneurship and the power of new ideas to change the world. Entrepreneur Of The Year winners to provide them with an opportunity to meet, share ideas, and forge networking ties Entrepreneur Of The Year World Summit 2005 coincides with across the world. Chinese New Year and will also provide social and network- ing events with a uniquely Asian fl avor. For information on The Entrepreneur Of The Year World Summit seeks to chal- how to register for the event, go to www.ey.com/eoy/world- lenge the traditional notions of entrepreneurship by engaging summit or contact us by e-mail at [email protected]

43 Congratulations to those who keep the entrepreneurial spirit alive.

The outstanding Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award winners for 2004. ey.com/us/eoy

EOYMagazine.indd 1 10/29/2004 11:54:37 AM KFEOY04.10.19 10/19/04 4:39 PM Page 1

why? give back to entrepreneurship

As an Entrepreneur Of The Year® award recipient you help set the standard for giving to our society. But, have you thought about giving back to entrepreneurship? As one who appreciates the value of entrepreneurship to our communities, our nation, and our world, you are well-positioned to help the next generation of entrepreneurs succeed. Consider offering your time and expertise. Or, give back through company-sponsored programs and financial contributions.

Our founder, Ewing Kauffman, understood the power of entrepreneurship and believed that giving back to society was fundamentally important. His legacy, and his values, live on today through the Kauffman Foundation.

Help tomorrow’s entrepreneurs today. Visit http://givingback.kauffman.org.

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