University of Florida’s Inaugural Honoring the World’s Fastest Growing Gator Companies 2015 Gator100 Awards Gala Friday, February 6, 2015 Celebrating Agenda Entrepreneurial Welcome Danita D. Nias, Executive Director, UF Alumni Association; Senior Excellence Associate Vice President of Alumni Affairs The University of Florida and The Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation Gator100 Kickoff (CEI) are pleased to present the inaugural Gator100, a celebration of Michael H. Morris, Ph.D., James W. Walter Eminent Scholar Chair, the fastest growing UF alumni-led companies around the world. Academic Director, UF Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation Gator entrepreneurs of the global entrepreneurial revolution are Introduction of Keynote Speaker on the front lines, keeping America from falling behind. They are transforming markets, business practices, industries, themselves, their Randy Glein (BSEE ‘88), Managing Director, DFJ Growth families, their communities and our economy. In the process, they are creating the future. Gator entrepreneurs are changing the world. Keynote: “Entrepreneurial Excellence Gator100 companies must have been in business for at least & The Gator Nation” five years, be Gator-led or Gator-owned and have annual Manny Fernandez (BSEE ‘67), revenues of $100,000 or more. The Gator100 is ranked by Entrepreneur, Investor; former Chair, Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), which is used to President and CEO of Gartner Group determine year-over-year growth over the past three years. Lunch and Entertainment Gator100 By the Numbers 2015 Pinnacle Awards 1884 1961 2013 15 John Kraft, Dean, Warrington College of Business Administration Earliest Oldest Class Most Recent UF Colleges Founding Date Year Class Year Represented Gator100 - Presentation of Honorees by University of Florida Entrepreneurial Students 13 274.40% 2005 9,500+ U.S. States Top Growth Class Employed Acknowledgments Represented Rate With Most by the 2015 Representation Gator100 B Nola Miyasaki, Executive Director, Companies Outreach and Incubation, UF Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation GATOR100.UFL.EDU B Jamie Kraft, Director, UF Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation #Gator100 Gator100.ufl.edu | Honoring the World’s Fastest Growing Gator Companies 3 Speakers Keynote Speaker Michael H. Morris, Ph.D. Manny Fernandez Dr. Michael H. Morris holds the James W. Wal- Manny Fernandez (BSEE ‘67) served as Executive ter Eminent Scholar Chair and is the academic Chairman of the Board of Sysco Corporation until director for entrepreneurship in the Warrington his retirement. He had served as non-executive College of Business Administration at the Universi- chairman of Sysco, and a member of the Sysco ty of Florida. He was formerly the Malone Mitchell, Board of Directors since 2006. Jr. Chair at Oklahoma State University, where he launched the first School of Entrepreneurship in the He served as Chairman, President and CEO of Gartner, U.S. In addition to starting three ventures, he has built top- the world’s leading informational technology research and ranked entrepreneurship programs at three major universities. A pioneer in curric- consulting company. As Gartner’s CEO from 1991-1998, Fernandez increased reve- ular innovation and experiential learning, his entrepreneurial outreach efforts have nues from $46 million to more than $700 million. facilitated the development of hundreds of ventures. He has also consulted to a large number of corporations around the world. Dr. Morris has published 11 books Prior to his time at Gartner, Fernandez was the President and CEO at Gavilan Com- and over 130 articles in peer-reviewed journals. He is co-editor of the Prentice-Hall puter Corporation, where he is credited with helping design the first laptop com- Entrepreneurship Series and a Past President of the United States Association for puter in 1983. He has also served as President and CEO at Dataquest, Inc., an infor- Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Dr. Morris has been awarded the Edwin & mation services company; and Zilog Incorporated, a semiconductor manufacturing Gloria Appel Prize for contributions to entrepreneurship. A former Fulbright Schol- company. He was also the Managing Director of SI Ventures, a venture capital firm. ar, Dr. Morris was selected as one of the top 20 entrepreneurship professors in the U.S. by Fortune Small Business, and is the recipient of the Leavey Award from the Fernandez was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the President’s Freedoms Foundation for impacting private enterprise education and the Dedica- Information Technology Advisory Committee where he served until 2005. tion to Entrepreneurship Award from the Academy of Management. He received Fernandez is a former member of the University of Florida Board of Trustees, and his Ph.D. from Virginia Tech. served as Chairman of the Board for four years. Danita D. Nias Danita D. Nias is the Executive Director of the Uni- versity of Florida Alumni Association (UFAA) and Keynote Introduction Senior Associate Vice President of Alumni Affairs. She is responsible for involving and engaging over Randy Glein 400,000 alumni and friends of the University, while leading the effort that will solidify the Alumni Associ- Randy Glein (BSEE ‘88) joined DFJ in 2002 and is a ation as the epicenter of the Gator Nation®. Managing Director of DFJ Growth, where he focuses on leading investments in high-growth technology Nias came to the University of Florida with over 16 years of higher education expe- companies. His career spans more than 25 years in rience in intercollegiate athletics, alumni relations and development at the Univer- the technology and media industries as a venture sity of Maryland, College Park. Prior to her career in higher education, she had a capital investor, operating executive and entrepre- successful career in sales and marketing in private industry. neur. Forbes named Glein to its annual Midas List of top technology investors in 2013 and 2014. Nias earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and her master’s degree from Syracuse University’s Max- Glein holds an MBA from UCLA, an MSEE from the University of Southern California well School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. She and her husband, Michael, reside and a BSEE with High Honors from the University of Florida. in Gainesville with their son, James. 4 University of Florida | Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation Gator100.ufl.edu | Honoring the World’s Fastest Growing Gator Companies 5 Pinnacle Awards Pinnacle Awards The Pinnacle Awards recognize established Gator-led businesses “The most important lesson I have learned over the years is to play by the rules. If that have made a significant impact over time through job creation, you are honest and fair, and you treat your people and your customers right, then revenue generation and innovation in their industries. At the same you will be rewarded.” time the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for these compa- nies is extraordinarily competitive given their size and maturity, Alan Starling, BSBA ‘69 indicating the tremendous achievement of the Gator entrepreneur in Starling Automotive Group sustaining growth of the venture over time. Orlando, FL Founded: 1959 | # of Employees: 164 CAGR: 16.25% | Jobs Created Last 3 Years: 32 Robert Howard Jr., BS ‘55 Starling Automotive has been dedicated to creating a brand in the highly com- petitive automotive industry by providing the best customer service to Central Howard Fertilizer and Florida-area car buyers. Owner and President Alan Starling emphasizes customer Chemical Company, Inc. satisfaction and service as the key aspect in running a successful business. Orlando, FL Founded: 1934 | # of Employees: 201 “Our company’s success depends on repeat business. There is no chance that the CAGR: 14.91% | Jobs Created Last 3 Years: 35 customer will ever return if their initial transaction is not handled to their satisfac- tion,” he explains. “We must hire, train and motivate our associates to be profes- Howard Fertilizer & Chemical has evolved from a small fertilizer operation to the sional and respectful to the hundreds of customers that we serve every day.” multi-site fertilizer and chemical distribution company it is today. Howard Fertilizer manages a diverse portfolio of products that service the agriculture, turf & orna- A. Brooke Christian, BSBA ‘94, MESS ‘96 mental, pest control and retail/export markets. The company manages plants in Phil Shawe, BSBA ‘91 Lake Placid and Groveland, Fla.; seven chemical and fertilizer distribution centers TransPerfect across the country. In 2014, Howard continued along its multi-year path of record New York, NY setting growth while maintaining its status as a top producer of fertilizer in Florida. Founded: 1992 | # of Employees: 3,688 Still family-owned and operated, it is managed by Robert M. Howard Jr., with sons CAGR: 15.63% | Jobs Created Last 3 Years: 2,121 Frank and Jon actively involved in key facets of the company. TransPerfect is the world’s largest, privately held provider of language services and David P. Lyons, BSBA ‘54 technology solutions with annual revenues of more than $470 million. The business Saddle Creek Logistics Services has a network of over 5,000 certified linguists and subject-area specialists, and Lakeland, FL offers a full range of services in 170-plus languages to clients worldwide. Founded: 1966 | # of Employees: 2,520 TransPerfect was recognized as one of the fastest growing privately held compa- CAGR: 15.39% | Jobs Created Last 3 Years: 677 nies in the U.S. through its recognition in the Inc. 500. Over 48 years ago, David P. Lyons founded Saddle Creek Logistics, and has guid- In 2014, TransPerfect experienced record-breaking results and hired over 700 em- ed the company through what he calls “controlled, opportunistic growth.” An ployees. TransPerfect’s revenue increase represented a gain of over 17% from the asset-based, third-party logistics provider, Saddle Creek Logistics offers a wide previous year, marking the company’s 22nd consecutive year of profitable growth. array of services, including warehousing, transportation, packaging and fulfillment.