Isaac Larian MGA Entertainment Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2007 Presenting Sponsor National Sponsors !@# When just being nominated is an honor. Winning has its advantages, but with the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® awards, it is truly an accomplishment just to be nominated. Bank of America salutes all the regional winners for impacting the business world and our communities. Congratulations. bankofamerica.com Investment banking and capital markets products and services provided by Banc of America Securities LLC, a subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation and member NYSE/FINRA/SIPC. ©2007 Bank of America Corporation. AD-10-07-0198_8.5x11_r.indd 1 10/29/07 5:15:06 PM Success Is a Journey n an age where faster, better, cheaper has become a mantra, entrepreneurial growth companies continually find better ways to develop, grow, and prosper. They take Iwords like “can’t” and “no” and turn them into motivational tools. Telling an entrepreneur that something can’t be done is a surefire way to create a solution. And as these innovative men and women grow their companies into market leaders, they’re making valuable contributions to industries, economies, and individual lives. Ernst & Young’s Strategic Growth Markets practice understands what entrepreneurs face as they shepherd an idea to its full potential. We are the leader in serving the Russell 3000, high-growth private companies, IPO-bound companies, and companies with significant venture capital or private equity investments. We’re committed to serving entrepreneurial companies throughout their life cycles—from the emerging stage through their growth into successful market leaders. We created the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® awards 21 years ago to recognize and honor the accomplishments of the outstanding men and women who develop the products and services that create jobs, support communities, and keep our economy moving forward. The awards have grown dramatically during that time and now include programs in more than 135 cities and 50 countries around the world. The Entrepreneur Of The Year awards program represents the largest gathering of entrepreneurs in America and is the culminating event of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum. Held each November at the Desert Springs JW Marriott Resort & Spa in Palm Springs, Calif., the Forum is the country’s most prestigious annual gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. It includes the annual IPO Transformation~CEO Retreat and, in 2007, a Cleantech Symposium as well as the special seminar, “Private Equity and the Changing Transaction Landscape.” Ernst & Young is proud to recognize the accomplishments of individuals who are turning their passion and ambitions into industry-shaping companies—people like Isaac Larian. The president and CEO of MGA Entertainment, Larian left Iran at age 17 with $750, washed dishes to put himself through college, and has grown the company he founded in 1982 into the largest privately held toy company in the world. His line of multi-cul- tural Bratz dolls successfully challenged the Barbie doll and is now the top fashion doll brand in the world. The company’s other brands include Yummi-Land, Storytime Collection, West Coast Choppers, Market Racers and Marvel Toys. The following pages profile Isaac Larian’s amazing achievements, as well as those of this year’s Entrepreneur Of The Year national category winners and finalists. We think you’ll agree that their stories of vision, perseverance, commitment and community service illustrate the potential of every entrepreneur to become a market leader. Sincerely, Philip Anderson Americas Director Entrepreneur Of The Year 21 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE 1 CATEGORY WINNERS & FINALISTS Retail & Consumer Products Sachiko Kuno, Ryuji Ueno Tom Campion Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ...... 28 Zumiez.............................................. 13 Jim Pearson Michael J. Hagan Suros Surgical Systems, Inc. ............ 28 Success Is a Journey. 1 NutriSystem, Inc. ............................. 13 Randy H. Thurman Sustaining Entrepreneurial Tony Hsieh VIASYS Healthcare Inc. ................... 28 Zappos.com, Inc. .... ......................... 13 Growth Through Risk and Control Media, Entertainment & Communications Frank Gori Distribution, Manufacturing & Security Michael Walrath Americas Director Manu Shah Right Media .................................... 29 M S International, Inc. .................... 14 Risk Advisory Services . .3 James F. Geiger A Legacy of Honoring Kenneth Hendricks Cbeyond, Inc. .................................. 31 ABC Supply Company, Inc. ............. 16 William D. Marks Entrepreneurial Excellence . 5 Clayton M. Jones SeaMobile Enterprises .................... 31 Rockwell Collins, Inc. ...................... 16 Andrew D. Ory . 6 Meet the 2007 National Judges Larry K. Powers Acme Packet .................................... 31 Genlyte Group ................................. 16 Venture Capital Award Real Estate, Hospitality & Construction of Excellence . .8 Emerging William Gay Michael V. Roberts W.W. Gay Mechanical Ernst & Young Steven C. Roberts Contractor, Inc. ............................ 32 Roberts Hotels Group ...................... 17 Entrepreneur Of The Year 2007 William C. Bayless, Jr. Isaac Larian Bruce Hansen American Campus Communities ..... 34 President, CEO ID Analytics, Inc. ............................. 19 Richard Fain MGA Entertainment. .10 Les Spero, Ph.D.; Rafi Spero Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. ......... 34 NeatReceipts. ................................... 19 Allen Tate Mark Stagen Allen Tate Company ......................... 34 Emerald Health Services ................. 19 Services Energy, Chemicals & Mining Harold “Max” Messmer Jr. Harold Hamm Robert Half International, Inc. ....... 35 Continental Resources, Inc. ............. 20 Robert O. Carr Heartland Payment Systems ............ 37 H. Craig Clark Nicholas DeBenedictis Forest Oil Corporation .................... 22 Aqua America, Inc. .......................... 37 Jeff Morris Elliot Sainer David Wiessman Aspen Education Group ................... 37 Alon USA ......................................... 22 Dave Warren Technology Energy Alloys LLC ........................... 22 Marc Benioff Financial Services Salesforce.com, Inc. ......................... 38 Entrepreneur Of The Year magazine Ronald J. Kruszewski Douglas Bergeron Americas Director Stifel Financial Corp. ...................... 23 VeriFone, Inc. .................................. 40 Ernst & Young John S. Chen Entrepreneur Of The Year: Philip Anderson Todd Crosland Sybase, Inc. ...................................... 40 Program Director: Betty Pilcher Interbank FX .................................... 25 Lawrence Ng Editorial Director: Warren Rappleyea Geoff Davis Oversee.net ...................................... 40 Unitus .............................................. 25 Managing Editor: Rebecca L. Grasso Li Yu Art Director: Tom Hickey Preferred Bank ................................. 25 Contributing Writers: Kathy Bull Nick Iversen Roger Morton Health Sciences Pamela B. Morris Richard Osborne Warren Rappleyea World Entrepreneur Of The Year CareSource Management Group ..... 26 Lindsey Siegle Chuck Thomas Guy Laliberté Cirque du Soleil .............................. 42 2 E NTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2007 Sustaining Entrepreneurial Growth Through Risk and Control By Frank J. Gori t has been said that those who will not take risks cannot Understand and control your risk profile win. Nowhere is this more true than for entrepreneurial Icompanies. Examples abound of successful entrepreneurs Many business leaders today focus on performance while fail- who built their businesses on embracing challenges, taking ing to recognize the importance of risk and control activities. calculated risks, and reaping substantial rewards. Many of As an entrepreneur, it is vitally important to both build and today’s most successful companies—eBay, Starbucks and protect the value of your growing organization. The ability Coca-Cola to name but a few—all started as small, entrepre- to understand and control your unique risk profile through neurial businesses with a keen understanding and willingness a formal risk management framework—and reduce duplica- to take control of their risks. tion or gaps in risk coverage—can become a key competitive advantage. As a leader, you guide your company through new challenges on a daily basis. When your company was smaller, it may Risk management framework: a three-pronged have been easier to control your business risks, and make do approach with incomplete, ad hoc risk management practices. As your company grows, however, it becomes increasingly difficult to For entrepreneurial companies, the pace of business change manage risks appropriately to enable sustainable performance. makes achieving effective risk management a daunting chal- Increasingly, you may be lenge. To facilitate this, entering multiple rela- you should strive to align tionships with suppliers, and coordinate functions, distributors, and agents or processes, and activities, be involved with mergers and drive overall effi- or acquisitions, expanding ciency. This type of risk overseas, launching new framework must address a products, or preparing to number of key questions go public. related to governance, people, and methods and Success in navigating practices. these challenges does not come by chance or GOVERNANCE luck. As an entrepreneur, managing risk appropri- As a leader in a fresher, ately allows you to more