Entrepreneur Of The Year 2001 · Leadership presented by Franklin Covey Co. This award recognizes an individual whose personal leadership style has successfully built a top-performing

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Phillip Frost, M.D., IVAX CorporationNational Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year

Principle-Centered LeadershipJon M. Huntsman, Huntsman Cancer Institute

Meet the National Category Winners

Phillip Frost, M.D., IVAX CorporationNational Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year

Principle-Centered LeadershipJon M. Huntsman, Huntsman Cancer Institute

Meet the National Category Winners

Entrepreneur Of The Year 2001

Entrepreneur Of The Year 2001

1

Events of the past few months have had a profound impact on

our country and our economy. Our world has been forever

changed. Still, we move forward with the knowledge that

one thing has not changed: the importance of the entrepreneur.

President Bush has repeatedly said that it’s entrepreneurs who will

help revitalize our economy. He’s right.

When you think about it, just about everything starts with an

entrepreneur, whether it’s an innovative business model, the

creation of new jobs, or establishing new industries and trends.

Pick a company—any company—and you can trace its roots back

to an entrepreneur.

Fifteen years ago, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® awards were created to recognize

and honor the accomplishments of the innovative men and women who make the economy

vibrant. And the Entrepreneur Of The Year program continues to grow. In May 2002, more than

20 winners will represent their countries at the second annual Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur

Of The Year awards, which will be held in Monte Carlo.

Entrepreneur Of The Year awards identify, salute, support, and reward these truly outstanding

people—many of whom started out with little more than a good idea and an unyielding will to

make it work. People like Dr. Philip Frost, the 2001 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year.

His pioneering IVAX Corporation produces many of the life-sustaining medicines used to treat

cancer, Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and respiratory diseases, among others. By making

drugs more affordable, and thus more widely available, IVAX is improving the quality of life for

millions of people worldwide.

In the following pages you can read Dr. Frost’s inspirational story, as well as those of this year’s

Entrepreneur Of The Year national category winners. They illustrate that, with determination and

a lot of hard work, a good idea can be the seed that grows a great company.

That’s something that never changes.

Gregory K. Ericksen

Global and Americas Director

Entrepreneur Of The Year

Ernst & Young

Entrepreneurs: Changing the World

2 EN T R E P R E N E U R OF TH E YE A R 2001

Health SciencesCarlos and Jorge de Cespedes

Pharmed Group Page 11

Sam A. BrooksDr. Harry R. Jacobson

Renal Care Group Page 11

ManufacturingJames M. Bernhard, Jr.

The Shaw Group Inc. Page 12

W. David ThompsonMartha Martin

Spectrum Astro, Inc. Page 14

Elden Russell

Advanced Respiratory Page 14

MasterSamuel C. Johnson

S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. Page 15

Larry Levy

Levy Restaurants Page 17

Gordon Lankton

Nypro, Inc. Page 17

Real EstateRobert N. Thompson

R.N. Thompson &

Associates, Inc. Page 18

Andrew Heiberger

Citi Habitats, Inc. Page 20

Michael F. Feldbusch

U.S. Surveyor, Inc. Page 20

RetailJohn Bello

South Beach Beverages Page 21

John Frieda Gail Federici

John Frieda Professional

Hair Care, Inc. Page 23

Joel Appel

Orange Glo International Page 23

ServicePaul J. Sarvadi

Administaff Page 24

Michael Morgan

StarTek, Inc. Page 26

J.D. Carreker

Carreker Corp. Page 26

Supporter of EntrepreneurshipCatherine Muther

Three Guineas Fund Page 27

George P. Chandler, Jr.

U.S. Small Business

Administration Page 29

Joline Godfrey

Independent Means, Inc. Page 29

Technology/CommunicationsWilliam T. Coleman III

BEA Systems, Inc. Page 30

Gordon Stitt

Extreme Networks, Inc. Page 32

Kobi Alexander

Comverse Technology, Inc. Page 32

Principle-Centered Leadership®Jon M. Huntsman

Huntsman Cancer Institute Page 33

Chuck Watson

Dynegy, Inc. Page 35

Joseph, James E., and Robert S. Ukrop

Ukrop’s Super Markets, Inc. Page 35

Contents

A Jury of Their PeersMeet the men and women who select our national winners Page 5

C A T E G O R Y W I N N E R S & F I N A L I S T S

2001 National Ernst & YoungEntrepreneur Of The YearPhillip Frost, M.D.IVAX Corporation Page 8

The Best Entrepreneurs Under the SunThe Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The YearProgram Page 3

Entrepreneurs:Changing the WorldGregory K. EricksenGlobal and Americas DirectorEntrepreneur Of The YearErnst & Young Page 1

Searching the World for theBest Entrepreneurs Page 6

3

The Best EntrepreneursUnder the SunSM

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 won’t take “no” for an answer.

It takes an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurs are the individuals with the vision,

determination, and leadership to create the companies

that produce new industries, new jobs, new opportunities,

and new wealth. Each year the most successful entrepre-

neurs vie for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year®

award, the most prestigious honor in its class.

Entrepreneur Of The Year winners represent

virtually every industry—from high-tech to

high touch. They are the men and women

whose hard work and creativity have changed

not only their lives but ours as well—people

like Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com, Howard

Schultz of Starbucks Corp., Pierre Omidyar

of eBay, Inc., Scott Kriens of Juniper

Networks, Ruth Fertel of Ruth’s Chris Steak

House, Steve Case of America Online, and

Richard Schulze of Best Buy Co. Inc.

Here’s how it works …Seven to 10 award recipients in various

award categories are selected from among

the nominees by independent panels

of judges—comprising local business,

financial, academic, and media figures—

in several geographic regions across the

U.S. There are 44 U.S. regions for the 2001

Entrepreneur Of The Year program.

Regional winners are honored at awards

banquets held in each of the regions during

the month of June. They are also inducted

into the elite Entrepreneur Of The Year Hall

of Fame at the international conference held

each November at Marriott’s Desert Springs

Resort & Spa in Palm Springs. All regional

Entrepreneur Of The Year award winners

become eligible for the national awards.

An independent panel of judges selects

winners and finalists in several national

categories, and, from the winners, selects

one as the overall National Ernst & Young


Entrepreneur Of The Year. The national Ernst

& Young Entrepreneur Of The Year finalists

and winners are announced at an awards gala

that is the culmination of the conference. The

next conference will be held Nov. 21–24, 2002.

The search is onWe’re looking for successful men and women

who have founded or are growing leading-

edge companies. 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 Ernst & Young

Entrepreneur Of The Year award?

A nominee must be an owner/manager

primarily responsible for the recent perfor-

mance of a company that is at least two

years old. Nominations can be submitted by

anyone who is associated with a successful

entrepreneur—spouses, employees, bankers,

attorneys, public relations managers, or the

entrepreneurs themselves. All financial infor-

mation submitted on the nomination form is

considered confidential and will be used only

by the sponsors and by the independent

panels of regional and national judges.

A copy of the nomination form and complete

information on the Entrepreneur Of The Year

program is available free from our Web site

at www.ey.com/us/eoy or by calling 1-800-

755-AWARD. Deadline for nominations is

April 5, 2002.

Help us give the world’s best entrepreneurs

the recognition they deserve.

Ernst & Young is proud to have these sponsors join us in celebrating entrepreneurship:

Supporter of Entrepreneurship Award

Individuals who have made an outstand-

ing contribution to the entrepreneurial

spirit or helped an entrepreneur become

successful through business or academia

are eligible for the national Supporter of

Entrepreneurship award presented by the

Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial

Leadership. This award recognizes indi-

viduals who have consistently contributed

time, money, encouragement, and/or skill

development to further the cause of entre-

preneurship. Nominees need not have

founded a company (or organization) and

may come from the corporate world or

any level of academia. To learn more

about the Supporter of Entrepreneurship

award, please contact the Kauffman

Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at

(888) 777-GROW or visit their Web site

at www.entreworld.org.

Entrepreneur Of The Year Award for

Principle-Centered Leadership®

All regional award recipients are eligible

for the national Entrepreneur Of The

Year Award for Principle-Centered

Leadership presented by Franklin Covey

Co. This award recognizes an individual

whose personal leadership style has

successfully built a top-performing

organization through the application of

effective leadership principles. Criteria

include personal characteristics of

integrity and principles, building

an empowered culture within their

organization, and leaving a legacy of

contribution to the community.

5

Selecting the best of the best entrepreneurs is a job for the experts. And

when it comes to building a successful enterprise from the ground up,

nobody knows what it takes better than someone who has already done

it. That’s why all of the judges in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of

The Year program are men and women who have achieved business

success in their own right.

The selection of the National Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year

is the culmination of a yearlong process that begins with nominations

each January. Panels of independent judges in regions throughout the

U.S. select winners in several categories. The regional winners are

recognized at banquets during the month of June. This year more than

450 entrepreneurs in 44 regions received awards. All of the regional

winners become contenders for the national awards.

The national judging takes place in San Diego under the direction of the

Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at the Ewing Marion

Kauffman Foundation. Each judge receives an extensive dossier on each

of the national candidates. During the judging process, they discuss and

debate the merits of individual candidates in each category against such

criteria as leadership, profitability, management, culture/values/incen-

tives, originality, and degree of difficulty. As experienced entrepreneurs,

the judges’ can read between the lines and often search independently

for additional information. When their deliberations are complete, the

judges select national winners in each of seven to 10 categories.

Finally, from the field of national category winners, the judges must

narrow their selection to one individual—someone whose leadership

and entrepreneurial excellence clearly makes them the best of the best—

the National Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year. For the story

behind the person our judges selected this year, turn to page 8.

AJury of Their Peers

2001 National Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year judges: (seated, l-r) Kathy Behrens, managing director, RS Investment Management; Bob Beyster, chairman and CEO, SAIC; Carl

Thoma, general partner, Thoma Cressey Equity Partners; Jack Stack, president and CEO, SRC Holdings Corp.; Victoria Jackson, president, Victoria Belle, Inc.; (standing, l-r) Jim McCann, CEO,

1-800-FLOWERS.com; Rebecca Smith, founder, A.D. Morgan Corporation; Michie Slaughter, The Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.


Searching the World for the

For the past 15 years, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award program has been

identifying and recognizing the companies that make a difference in their industries and

communities. They create the jobs, products, and innovative business models that are the

lifeblood of the economy.

During that time the program has grown internationally and is now held in 22 countries.

Earlier this year, Ernst & Young held its inaugural World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ (WEOY)

program to honor the most successful entrepreneurs around the globe.

World Entrepreneur Of The Year Paolo della Porta (left), president, chairman, and group CEO, Saes Getters S.p.A., Italy, with Gregory K. Ericsen, Global and Americas

director, Entrepreneur Of The Year, in Monte Carlo.

Paolo della Porta, president, chairman, and

group CEO of SAES Getters S.p.A. of Italy,

received the first World Entrepreneur Of The

Year award from Ernst & Young Chairman

Jim Turley at a gala dinner in Monte Carlo,

the glittering resort nestled along the French

Riviera in the principality of Monaco. “Paolo’s

extraordinary contributions to the field of

getter technology is testament to the vitality

and influence of entrepreneurs around the

world,” Turley said.

For more than four decades, SAES Getters has

been the leader in developing getter technology,

used to create and maintain the vacuum and

purified gas environments necessary in many

high-tech industries. The company’s products are

credited with extending—100-fold—the lives of

television screens and computer monitors.

The driving force behind his company since

1949, the 77-year-old della Porta emphasizes

that his company’s success results from a

constant dedication to research. This research

enabled the evolution of technology vital to the

development of components for cathode ray

tubes, lamps, high vacuum devices, particle

accelerators, and the gas purification and analy-

sis systems used in semiconductor production.

“SAES Getters is not a conglomerate but one

united company with a clear mission: the

detection and elimination of contaminants

under vacuum in gas and industrial processes,”

della Porta said. “Our growth is the result

of the consistent development of this core

competency.” Among the company’s many

distinctions is the fact that in 1996 it became

the first Italian company to be listed on the

Nasdaq Stock Market.

“In a dramatically changing marketplace, Paolo

della Porta stands as a role model to entrepre-

neurs around the world for his ability to grow a

small local firm into a true multinational com-

7

Best Entrepreneurs

Belgium: Roland Duchatelet, president and chairman, Melexis

Brazil: Laercio Cosentino, president, Microsiga Software S/A

Canada: Clive Beddoe, president and executive chairman; Don Bell, vice president, customer

services; Mark Hill, vice president, strategic planning; Tim Morgan, vice president,

operations, WestJet Airlines Ltd.

Caribbean: Ralph “Bizzy” Williams, chairman and CEO, Williams Industries Inc.

Czech Republic: Katerina Forstingerova, chief executive officer, Moravia IT, a.s.

Denmark: Hans Bøgh-Sørensen, CEO, Medipack A/S

France: Jean-Michel Bérard, chairman, Esker

Germany: Prof. Peter Kabel, chief executive officer, Kabel New Media AG

India: Mukesh D. Ambani, vice-chairman, Reliance Petroleum Ltd.

Ireland: Eddie Jordan, chief executive officer, Jordan Grand Prix

Italy: Paolo della Porta, president, chairman and group CEO, Saes Getters S.p.A.

Netherlands: Xander van Meerwijk, president and CEO, Merison Group BV

New Zealand: Bill Day, managing director, Seaworks Ltd.

South Africa: Zitulele Combi, executive chairman, Master Currency

Spain: David Alvarez Diez, president, Grupo Eulen

Sweden: Ulf Eklof, president and CEO, Stadium AB

Switzerland: Thomas Straumann, president, Straumann Holding

United Kingdom: David Darling, chief executive officer, Codemasters Group Ltd.

United States: Scott Kriens, chairman, president, and CEO, Juniper Networks

2000 World Entrepreneur Of The Year Winners

pany with global impact,” said John Wall,

president of Nasdaq International and chairman

of the WEOY judging panel. “His sustained

command of an accelerating technological

environment for more than half a century

greatly impressed the judging panel.”

In addition to the World Entrepreneur Of

The Year award, special Judges Awards

were presented for:

• Outstanding Teamwork: Clive Beddoe,

Donald Bell, Mark Hill, and Tim Morgan,

WestJet Airlines (Canada)

• Multiple Enterprise Creation: Ralph “Bizzy”

Williams, Williams Industries (Caribbean)

• Global Leadership: Eddie Jordan, Jordan

Grand Prix (Ireland)

• Managing Change: Zitulele Combi, Master

Currency (South Africa)

• Global Customer Focus: Scott Kriens,

Juniper Networks (U.S.)

More than 8,000 men and women from

around the world were nominated for the

Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year

award in their respective countries. Following

an extensive independent judging process,

including regional awards, 22 were honored as

their country’s overall award winner and each

was a World Entrepreneur Of The Year finalist.

IVAX Corporation

National Ernst & YoungEntreprenuer Of The Year

TITLEFounder, Chairman, CEO

CITYMiami, Fla.

FOUNDED1986

WEB ADDRESSwww.ivax.com

by Tom Griesser

Phillip Frost, M.D.


HEALTH SCIENCES

Excellence in all things” has been a

guiding principle in the life of Dr.

Phillip Frost. It is the hallmark of not

only a successful career and a thriving com-

pany but of his commitment to improving the

health and well-being of people around the

world. The vast array of life-sustaining brand

and generic drugs that IVAX produces are

making affordable advanced medical care

available to increasing numbers of people.

Frost has combined his medical knowledge

with entrepreneurial talent and business

acumen to make IVAX Corporation the phar-

maceutical powerhouse it is today. The Miami-

based company has global sales approaching

$1 billion and employs nearly 8,000 people in

30 countries. IVAX operating units are among

the leading companies in their markets, pro-

ducing respiratory-treatment drugs, oncology

products, antibiotics, and a full line of brand-

equivalent prescription drugs and over-the-

counter medicines. Its subsidiaries include

veterinary health, diagnostics, and herbal

nutraceutical and nutritional businesses.

Frost’s commitment to excellence was evident as

early as high school, where he received scholar-

ships to the University of Pennsylvania and the

Albert Einstein College of Medicine. After his

residency, Frost spent two years as a clinical

associate at the National Cancer Institute and

another five years as an assistant professor at the

University of Miami School of Medicine.

It was while teaching at that school that Frost

launched his entrepreneurial career, thanks to

a single invention—a disposable punch biopsy

tool. “My invention was no more than a dis-

posable version of an existing product,” Frost

says. “Now, it’s used all over the world.” He

credits that same pragmatic approach for much

of his business success. “Keep it simple,” he

advises, “and go for developments that will

have large-scale applications.”

Frost has done just that. He parlayed the sale of

the disposable punch biopsy into the purchase of

his first company, Key Pharmaceuticals, which

he built into a multimillion-dollar business.

He orchestrated the sale of Key in 1986, and

acquired a 50 percent interest in a specialty

chemical company. “At the same time, one of my

former students approached me with a proposal

to buy the diagnostics business of a Miami-based

corporation. Also, a few of my colleagues from

Key and I started a pharmaceutical company

from scratch—with no sales, but

with the idea of developing prod-

ucts,” he recalls. The convergence

of the three ventures resulted in

the single company that became

IVAX, following a successful IPO.

It’s been a successful integration

of capabilities. In addition to

creating new chemical entities,

IVAX incorporates drug delivery

systems and formulation expertise

that it believes improve its prod-

ucts by providing sustained

action, more convenient methods

of administering them, and

decreased toxicity. The company

has a rich pipeline of products

under development, including

drugs to treat various forms of

cancer, asthma, multiple sclerosis,

epilepsy, and Alzheimer’s disease.

From the outset, Frost intended IVAX to be

a proprietary company, but the fortunate

discovery of a long-acting form of verapamil

that was equivalent to drugs being marketed

under brand names led the way for growth in

brand-equivalent drugs as well. Among them

is a generic anthrax antibiotic, which IVAX is

supplying to the U.S. government. “The success

of our generic drugs provided the cash flow

that has allowed us to invest in proprietary

products,” says Frost.

IVAX holds 470 United States and foreign

patents, and has more than 700 people dedi-

cated to drug research and development.

One of Frost’s major goals is to continue

expansion of IVAX’s proprietary product line.

“Although our generic business is still growing,

we believe we’ll experience even faster growth

with the proprietary side,” he says. “Five years

from now, perhaps 80 percent or 90 percent of

our sales will be proprietary products, com-

pared with the 50 percent it is today.

“For instance, we have a drug in clinical trials

now for Crohn’s disease, and also for colitis,”

says Frost. “We cover a large spectrum of

diseases in the respiratory area. We are also

working on a new drug for cystic fibrosis that

we think can attack it at its core.”

But IVAX’s road to success hasn’t been with-

out its rough patches. Frost faced a major

challenge in 1996 and 1997, when IVAX

suffered a downturn as part of an industrywide

“ Keep it simple, and go for developments that will havelarge-scale applications.”

“

9

“ Every now and then an analyst would take a swipeat us ... but I always felt thatthey were off base, andthat we were on target.”

HEALTH SCIENCES


HEALTH SCIENCES

shakeout. Net revenues plummeted, and IVAX

stock plunged to an all-time low of $4 from a

previous high of almost $21.

Frost responded quickly and decisively. “We

sold the non-pharmaceutical segments of our

business,” Frost says of the decision to sell the

company’s personal care products, specialty

chemicals, and intravenous divisions. “That gave

us better focus. It also brought in almost

$500 million in cash,” he explains. “We

used that money to do two things. One,

we paid off our bank debt, and from that

day we’ve never had any bank debt. We

also bought back our own shares.

“Since then we’ve spent approximately

$450 million to buy back more than

20 percent of the capitalization of the

company,” says Frost. “I think that

showed everybody that we put our

money where our mouth is–we had the

confidence to realize that our own

shares were a good investment.”

During that turnaround effort, Frost

never lost faith in the ability of IVAX

to maintain its level of excellence in

products and performance. “People who

start businesses are optimists,” he states.

“Every now and then an analyst would

take a swipe at us—sometimes it was

even personal—but I always felt that

they were off base, and that we were on target.”

Also on target has been Frost’s strategy for

expansion. From its inception, IVAX has pur-

sued global growth. “Our first international

move came in 1990 when we acquired the

largest generic drug manufacturer in the UK,”

says Frost. Currently, IVAX sells it products

in more than 70 nations, including Mainland

China, where the company has more than 20

sales offices and over 200 sales representatives.

“We specifically go into markets that have

been avoided by some other pharmaceutical

companies, such as Latin America, Central and

Eastern Europe, and Asia,” explains Frost.

“These rapidly growing markets give us an

opportunity to become a leader in regions that

represent a huge part of the world’s population.”

There’s another benefit. “Developing new drugs

is costly and time consuming, so it makes sense

to amortize the cost over as large a part of the

global market as possible,” he explains.

IVAX differentiates and markets its products

by providing excellent customer service,

product support, and education to patients

and physicians. One example is the

ClozapineRegistry.com Web site, a fully

secured, interactive site through which health

care providers can register patients, transmit

patient-monitoring reports, and access patient

data in a secure environment. An information

portion of the site contains bioequivalence

studies, responses to commonly asked ques-

tions, and links to related sites. IVAX provides

professional support services for the site 24

hours a day, seven days a week.

The company has also launched a branding

program, designed to integrate its subsidiaries

into a single enterprise in order to take advantage

of the special strengths of each and their world-

wide marketing force. As part of the integration

process, the company is incorporating “IVAX”

into subsidiaries’ names whenever appropriate.

“Wider use of the IVAX name will give

us infinitely more visibility,” says Dr.

Frost, “because every bottle of our

medicine will have the IVAX label on it.”

The move will not only increase brand

awareness, it will leverage the goodwill

associated with the IVAX name.

Frost brings a passion for excellence to

his community as well as to his work.

He and his wife, Patricia, are leaders in

the Miami community and work tire-

lessly for a number of good causes. Avid

supporters of the arts, the Frosts began

collecting American abstract art in the

early 1980s. Then, in characteristic

fashion, they donated their entire collec-

tion—113 pieces—to the Smithsonian

American Art Museum. “All of the arts

need our support,” he says.

Music is another of Frost’s interests—

he played clarinet and saxophone in

his younger days—and he has been a

major contributor to the University of Miami’s

School of Music. Last year there was talk that

Miami’s marching band might have to be dis-

banded. Right before the kick-off of the

Orange Bowl, 80,000 cheering fans watched

Frost present a check for $1 million to help

ensure the band stayed solvent. “I always root

for the underdog,” he says simply. “What

would football be without the band?”

In addition to a love of music ranging from

classical and opera to jazz, Frost is a history

buff and an avid gardener—when time

permits. And he recently took on another

challenging position: chairman of the Board

of Trustees for the University of Miami.

Frost’s belief in civic and philanthropic activism

extends to the pharmaceutical/biotech industry

as well. IVAX makes annual donations of phar-

maceutical products, including providing drugs

for victims of hurricanes and other disasters.

“We put our money where our mouth is—we had the confidence to realize that our own shares were a good investment.”

11

FI NA L I S T: At an age when most children are saving money to buy a bike or the latest video

game, the de Cespedes brothers were using their entrepreneurial skills to help their family begin

a new life in the U.S. In 1960, Carlos, age 11, and Jorge, age 8, were sent to Miami from Cuba as

part of the secret exodus of children known as Operation Peter Pan. While living in a holding

camp, the boys not only saved their weekly allowance of $1.40—paid on the condition that the

children write a letter home—Jorge charged 25 cents to write letters for others as well. By the

time the boys were reunited with their parents six years later, Jorge had saved $1,500.

In 1980 the de Cespedes brothers applied that same entrepreneurial energy to creating Pharmed

Group. What began with $500, an answering machine, and a newspaper ad is today the largest

Hispanic distributor of health care products in the U.S. and Latin America. The company’s private

label comprises more than 80 vitamins, nutritional supplements, minerals, and herbals. Their suc-

cess has enabled Carlos and Jorge de Cespedes to support their community in many significant

ways, including a medical clinic serving low-income and immigrant families, Cuban-American

studies programs at the University of Miami and Florida International University, and scholar-

ships for children of Pharmed employees.

Carlos and Jorge de CespedesPharmed Group

TITLE: Chairman, CEO (Carlos, right)President (Jorge, left)

CITY: Miami, Fla.FOUNDED: 1980WEB ADDRESS: www.pharmed.com

FI NA L I S T: Dr. Harry Jacobson believes that when you combine the best practices of medicine with

the financial disciplines of business, you’ve got a prescription for success. In 1994 he approached

Sam Brooks, a seasoned executive in health care services, to develop and operate an outpatient

dialysis center as a joint venture with Vanderbilt Hospital. The endeavor raised $3 million, half

of which Vanderbilt received, the other half of which was used to create Renal Care Group.

Brooks immediately saw the business opportunity in expanding the joint venture concept to

other hospitals as well. Affiliates include such premier medical facilities as Cleveland Clinic

Foundation, Case Western Reserve University, Oregon Health Sciences University, St. Louis

University, and Northwestern. The centers provide life-sustaining treatment to people with kidney

failure, who must undergo a four-hour dialysis treatment three times a week. Over the last five

years, Renal Care Group has grown from serving fewer than 3,000 patients in 40 centers to

17,000 patients in more than 200 centers in 24 states. These economies of scale enable Renal

Care to provide high-quality outpatient dialysis treatment at low prices.

Sam Brooks, Dr. Harry JacobsonRenal Care Group

TITLE: Chairman, President, CEO (Brooks, top)Vice Chancellor (Dr. Jacobson)

CITY: Nashville, Tenn.FOUNDED: 1995WEB ADDRESS: www.renalcaregroup.com

HEALTH SCIENCES

The Shaw Group Inc.

Category Winner

TITLEFounder, President, CEO

CITYBaton Rouge, La.

FOUNDED1987

WEB ADDRESSwww.shawgrp.com

MANUFACTURING

by Brian Moskal

James M. Bernhard, Jr.


13

When James Bernhard, Jr. was 12 years old, he sold Christmas

cards from a catalog door-to-door. “I only went out when it

rained, because if it was nice outside, people were more

likely to tell you to be on your way,” he explains. “When it was raining,

they’d invite you inside because they felt sorry for you.”

Bernhard has been opening doors and making the sale ever since.

Before he founded The Shaw Group, Bernhard was vice president and

general manager of a $35 million construction and fabrication company,

but he became upset with how the company treated its

employees. “I went to my boss and asked for raises for

two draftsmen who worked for me. The company had

just told employees that they had to pay their own

health insurance premiums due to some financial

difficulties. I knew it would be a burden on them

because their salaries were low,” recalls Bernhard.

Rebuffed by his boss, Bernhard left and, with just

$50,000, started his own pipe-fabrication business

six weeks later. His goal was to provide a working

environment that supports employees’ efforts through

incentive compensation and opportunities for growth.

“I’ve always liked to accomplish things that I see can

be accomplished,” says Bernhard, the son of a construction contractor

who served as Bernhard’s role model. “It’s never been the money. It’s

always been the challenge.”

The Shaw Group is the world’s only vertically integrated provider of

complete piping systems and comprehensive engineering, procurement,

and construction services to the global power-generation industry. Its

systems are installed in power plants with an aggregate generation

capacity of 200,000 megawatts.

“We are a very fast organization,” says Bernhard. “Others may say they

have speed and a flat organizational structure, but when they come here

it’s like getting off their jet and going into warp drive. We disseminate

information to everyone, instantly, using the Internet.”

Bernhard has a way of developing a sense of urgency in the organiza-

tion. One of Shaw’s fabrication facilities had a fire on a Thursday, and

most of its control documents for manufacturing custom-piping systems

were lost. “The group got together and decided that it would take them

three months before we’d be back in production. I said, ‘We’ll be back in

production on Monday.’And we were. Not 100 percent, but 75 percent.”

Bernhard likens his management style to that of legendary investor

Warren Buffett. “You will quickly lose the entrepreneurial spirit if you

have a mandated management philosophy for every little business unit.”

If you want to keep an entrepreneurial company, believes Bernhard,

“you have to let people fall off their bicycles.”

It’s been a formula for success. Under Bernhard’s leadership, Shaw

has made more than 20 major strategic acquisitions since its inception.

Today, it controls nearly 70 percent of the piping market for power

plants in the United States and about 30 percent worldwide.

Bernhard offers these secrets to managing business growth. “You need

to get your team to buy in and be as enthusiastic as you are about the

possibilities. Once you do that, you’d better be damn sure your ideas and

vision works. You don’t get a lot of chances with 13,000 people to set

them on a course and have it be the wrong course. You can’t lead the

troops into battle too many times with a losing record.”

Bernhard’s record has definitely been on the winning side. Two specific

acquisitions are noteworthy. In early 1998, when it acquired Cojafex B.V.

of Rotterdam, Holland, Shaw received a leading-edge technology that it

had tried but couldn’t duplicate on its own. Cojafex

B.V. uses what is called induction pipe bending in its

fabrication process to perform tight radius bends,

versus the traditional “cut, fit, and weld” method.

The process saves materials and man-hours and helps

maintain Shaw’s status as a low-cost provider.

When Shaw acquired financially ailing Stone &

Webster, Inc. in mid-2000, it gave the company a pre-

mier name in the worldwide power plant engineering

market and doubled Shaw’s size. Stone & Webster

was in bankruptcy court when Shaw shrewdly outma-

neuvered a top competitor to submit the winning bid

at auction for the company. Shaw paid $38 million in

cash and approximately 2.5 million shares of common stock for the

company with 5,500 employees and revenues of nearly $1 billion.

“When we make acquisitions, we look for winners—people that

produce results,” says Bernhard. “We will move the company forward

and we will start today, not tomorrow. We don’t spend two years

planning what we are going to do. We just do it.”

The Shaw Group is positioned for future growth during what Bernhard

calls the biggest power-building boom in the history of the United States.

In order to meet the need for additional power-generating capacity and

the replacement of an aging power-generation infrastructure, Shaw

teamed up with a deregulated unit of Entergy Corp., a $10 billion global

energy company. The new company, called EntergyShaw, LLC, will pro-

vide for the management, engineering, procurement, construction, and

commissioning of power plants for Entergy and other customers. Most

important, it gives The Shaw Group a five-plus-year backlog of work.

“We have done what no company has ever done in our industry,” says

Bernhard. “In 14 years, we have created one of the largest companies

that ever has existed in the power-plant building industry.” How? “We

don’t accept can’t. Can’t doesn’t happen here. It’s an ignorant statement.

Everything can be done.”

Just like selling Christmas cards in the rain.

“ It’s never been the money. It’s alwaysbeen the challenge.”

MANUFACTURING


MANUFACTURING

FI NA L I S T: Dave Thompson’s goal is to “make his customers deliriously happy” by designing

cost-effective space systems and manufacturing them on schedule and on budget. During a

10-year U.S. Air Force aerospace system procurement career, Thompson learned firsthand about

cost overruns, long developmental cycles, waste, and bureaucracy. Armed with electrical

engineering degrees from the U.S. Air Force Academy and Stanford University, $5,000 in cash,

and a personal credit card, he founded aerospace industry upstart Spectrum Astro, Inc. His wife,

Martha Martin, joined the company as its first key financial manager.

Spectrum has eliminated the common industry practice of custom designing each satellite. It

purchases the best available, off-the-shelf commodity components and assembles them into the

least expensive satellite or space system, regularly defeating some of the titans of aerospace in

head-to-head competitive project bidding. Spectrum has helped pioneer the manufacturing

movement toward faster, better, cheaper high-performance satellites and components for ballistic

missile defense and planetary-exploration space systems. Recently, Thompson received NASA’s

highest civilian honor—the Distinguished Public Service Medal—for “innovative contributions”

and “delivering high value to the aerospace industry.”

W. David Thompson, Martha MartinSpectrum Astro, Inc.

TITLE: Founder, President, CEO (Thompson)Chairman (Martin)

CITY: Gilbert, ArizFOUNDED: 1988WEB ADDRESS: www.spectrumastro.com

FI NA L I S T: When Elden Russell joined American Biosystems, Inc. in 1992, the company manu-

factured a promising but experimental medical device called The Vest Airway Clearance System.

Unfortunately, the company had money woes, no business plan, a product that health insurance

companies wouldn’t cover, and a dysfunctional distribution system. Meanwhile patients with

muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, and asthma needed The

Vest to mechanically compress and release their chest wall to rid their lungs of excess mucous.

Fortunately, Russell had financial backing and the vision of an entrepreneur not ready to join his

friends in early retirement. He broke some cardinal rules of business by putting patient needs first

and getting insurance reimbursement second. Under his leadership, the company, now known as

Advanced Respiratory, has produced a third-generation vest with dramatically reduced weight

and noise levels, resolved the distribution riddles, and produced profits and returns that any

successful entrepreneur would envy. Today, more than 2,100 physicians prescribe The Vest to

more than 17,000 patients, and 900 commercial insurance companies have approved its coverage.

Elden RussellAdvanced Respiratory

TITLE: President, CEOCITY: St. Paul, Minn.FOUNDED: 1982WEB ADDRESS: www.abivest.com

S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.

Category Winner

TITLEChairman Emeritus

CITYRacine, Wis.

FOUNDED1886

WEB ADDRESSwww.scjohnson.com

by Danielle Dayen

15

MASTER

Samuel C. Johnson


One of only a handful of family-owned businesses to remain

under family management for more than a century, S.C.

Johnson, Inc. is more remarkable than most. It has grown into

a multi-enterprise business with a presence in nearly 70 countries and

estimated annual sales of more than $4.5 billion. It’s a legacy that is

likely to continue for some time. Samuel C. Johnson, head of the com-

pany from 1967 to 2000, was the fourth generation of

Johnsons to manage the family business and has suc-

cessfully ushered the fifth generation into leadership.

“If there’s a secret,” Johnson says of the company’s

success, “it’s consistency—sticking with the princi-

ples and values that started the enterprise.”

Thanks to Johnson’s leadership that enterprise now

includes S.C. Johnson, the consumer packaged goods

multinational; S.C. Johnson Commercial Markets,

a business-to-business multinational that includes

Johnson Wax Professional and Johnson Polymer;

Johnson Outdoors, a recreational products multina-

tional; and Johnson International, a financial services

company. Along the way, he’s also made strategic acquisitions of

Drackett and Dow Brands that added new lines of products such

as Windex, Saran Wrap, and Ziploc Bags.

Product innovation has been one of the cornerstones of Johnson’s

success—and he’s happy to say that it hasn’t all come from him. “The

ideas come from everywhere and everybody in this company,” he says.

“But the company must have an environment where those ideas can be

captured and acted upon, and that is embodied in consistently talking

about new products and new ways of doing business.”

In 1976 the leadership of the company drafted “This We Believe,” a

formal statement of the company’s principles and values. They include

a belief that the company’s fundamental strength lies in its people,

in earning the enduring goodwill of the people who use and sell its

products and services, being a responsible leader, contributing to the

well-being of the countries and communities in which it does business,

and improving international understanding.

“It’s woven through everything we do,” says Johnson. “The way we deal

with our customers, the way we deal with our community, the way we deal

with each other. It affects everything and every decision that we make.”

That attitude has kept the Johnson family enterprises, which employ

9,500 people worldwide, a family business. Johnson believes every one

of his associates is part of the Johnson family. He has looked after that

family by continually improving employee health and safety, striving for

increased diversity in officer ranks, and implementing many employee

benefits and programs, such as work-life balance programs, child care

centers, an in-house medical center, and a nationally recognized recre-

ation and health enhancement program, long before they became the

norm in the business world.

His efforts have not only landed S.C. Johnson on the Fortune magazine

list of Best Companies for Minorities for the last three years, they have

resulted in employee retention rates that are significantly higher than the

industry average.

Johnson’s commitment to people also extends to the community. It’s a

commitment he expects S.C. Johnson associates to share. He challenges

everyone in the company to make their communities better “because we

are there.” The S.C. Johnson enterprises do a vast

amount of community work, starting with donating

approximately 5 percent of annual pretax profits in

the United States to charitable efforts.

Johnson is also passionate about environmental con-

servation and has demonstrated throughout his life

and career that doing what’s right for the environment

can be good for business as well. In 1975, Johnson

shocked the chemical industry when he responded to

yet unproven research that suggested chlorofluorocar-

bons, or CFCs, might harm the ozone layer by banning

their use in Johnson products worldwide.

Johnson’ decision was validated three years later

when the U.S. government made CFC-free aerosols the law. Not only

had he been proven right, his company now had a distinct advantage

over the competition, having spent the previous three years discovering

substitutes for CFCs that ultimately turned out to be cheaper as well.

Even today, Johnson is amazed and pleased when he meets new people

who immediately associate him with that bold move from 1975. But his

environmental work goes well beyond the family business. He has spent

much of his own time working with The Nature Conservancy, serving as

chairman of its national board of governors, as well as with the board of

trustees for the World Resources Institute and the President’s Council on

Sustainable Development. He is also a founding member of the World

Business Council for Sustainable Development and was awarded the

Lifetime Environmental Stewardship Award by the United Nations

Environment Programme in 1992.

Johnson has accomplished enough for several lifetimes, yet he still has

big dreams for S.C. Johnson & Son. When asked what the company will

look like in 100 years, he says he hopes the company is more geographi-

cally extended, retains the vigor and innovation on new products that it

has today, and continues making what he calls the “occasional acquisi-

tion” that adds new lines of products.

Above all, Johnson wants to see S.C. Johnson continue to live by the

principles and values set down by his family and captured in “This

We Believe.” “Hopefully, we’ll never lose the character and culture we

have, because I think it is sustainable.”

“ If there’s a secret, it’s consistency—sticking with the principles and valuesthat started the enterprise.”

MASTER

17

FI NA L I S T: The fastest growing division of Levy Restaurants came into existence almost by acci-

dent. In 1982 Comiskey Park asked Levy to cater White Sox games. Levy Restaurants already

had two critically acclaimed Chicago restaurants, where the menu featured haute cuisine instead

of hot dogs. But Levy accepted the job with the idea that “if nothing else, we’d get good seats”

and the company’s Sports and Entertainment division was born. Today, Levy brings upscale food

and dining experiences to fans of more than 25 percent of the teams in major league sports.

Larry Levy already had a successful real estate business in 1978 when he and his brother Mark

invested in the small delicatessen that spawned Levy Restaurants. His ability to take niches where

food service expectations and revenues are low and turn them into fine dining experiences has

turned Levy Restaurants into one of the most successful and fastest growing food service compa-

nies in America. In fact, they were the first outside company to own and operate a restaurant in

Walt Disney World in Orlando.

Levy believes that his people are his greatest asset, and views all 10,000 employees as his

extended family. Every new employee is immersed in the Levy culture of warm Midwestern

hospitality by attending Levy University. Other training and motivational programs help

employees grow and excel and keep the company values and culture thriving.

Larry LevyLevy Restaurants

TITLE: Chairman, CEOCITY: Chicago, Ill.FOUNDED: 1978WEB ADDRESS: www.levyrestaurants.com

FI NA L I S T: Currently the leading global custom precision plastics injection molder, Nypro, Inc.

started with two molding machines in a garage in 1955. Gordon Lankton joined the company as

general manager in 1962, and became president seven years later. Under his leadership Nypro has

grown into a multimillion-dollar business with locations in 12 countries. Originally specializing

in the injection molding of nylon, Nypro now molds more than 500 different plastic materials.

Last year alone, it produced more than 5 billion plastic components—one for almost every man,

woman, and child in the world.

The key strengths that have enabled Nypro’s growth and success are customer focus, leading-

edge technology, world-class manufacturing, and motivated people. Lankton has long recognized

that people on the floor make a company run, and in 1964 was responsible for introducing one

of the first profit sharing plans in American industry, followed by a stockholder plan that vested

employees at all levels with 30 percent of Nypro stock. Since the institution of an Employee

Stock Ownership Plan in 1998, Nypro is the 18th largest employee-owned company in the U.S.

Gordon LanktonNypro, Inc.

TITLE: President, CEOCITY: Clinton, Mass.FOUNDED: 1955WEB ADDRESS: www.nypro.com

MASTER

R.N. Thompson & Associates, Inc.

Category Winner

TITLEPresident

CITYIndianapolis, Ind.

FOUNDED1963

REAL ESTATE

by Roger Morton

Robert N. Thompson


19

Life today offers Bob Thompson a view entirely different than

when he started out in business more than 35 years ago. Then,

with no job prospects and $12 in hand, he rented a tractor to do

maintenance work and grading. Now, as the head of R.N. Thompson &

Associates, Inc., a multimillion-dollar real estate and golf course devel-

opment company, Thompson reaps the rewards of hard lessons learned

through long hours of hard work.

At an early age, Thompson was taken into a foster

home for two years. It proved to be a crossroads in his

life. “I probably could have gone either way, but have

always felt I was really loved, that the people there

took an interest in me,” he says. Their influence

endures to this day.

Thompson’s fabric of success is woven with strong

thread. His entrepreneurial drive has been evident

from the outset and has never flagged. Thompson is

fond of the saying, “Problems are just opportunities

in work clothes.” He knows that hard work paves the

way to success and has never shirked putting in the hours necessary to

get the job done properly.

Failure is not an option for Thompson. He believes setbacks provide the

lessons from which future successes can be built and that every situation

provides the opportunity for people to learn and grow. Since his earliest

days, he explains, “If I made a mistake, the following day I would work

16 hours instead of 12 to make up for it.”

Tough times call for tough answers. In the late 1970s, with a tight construc-

tion market, Thompson kept his company moving ahead. Always in play for

Thompson was the determination and hard work recognizable as part of an

entrepreneur’s make-up. At one time he even offered to handle a job at cost

just to keep his employees working and his company in business.

As Thompson’s fledgling company grew in the construction industry,

entering real estate development seemed like a natural progression.

By the mid-1980s, R.N. Thompson & Associates was one of Indiana’s

largest building and land developers. Then, with sensitivity to societal

change, Thompson refocused his endeavors.

In 1988 he built Hanging Tree, a high-end, daily-fee golf course. Today

R.N. Thompson has eight courses throughout Central Indiana and

another in Florida. Southern Dunes, south of Indianapolis, is being

developed with his friend and mentor, South African golfer Gary Player.

Diversification into golf not only acted as a hedge against a softening

real estate market it enabled Thompson to catch the front of a wave that

has carried his company forward—by building golf courses at the center

of housing communities he constructs. Thompson’s goal was to create

moderately priced communities that would include features commonly

associated with more affluent country clubs. In addition to a golf

course, the communities include swimming pools, tennis courts, and

walking trails. As housing sells, R.N. Thompson Golf manages and

operates the golf courses.

For Thompson, the people with whom he works—his key employees—

are the true blessing in his business. Many of the people who started

with him 35 years ago remain, and have proved their mettle over time.

Their knowledge, experience, and loyalty are the real strengths of

Thompson’s business. He’s made many of them partners in his ventures,

sharing not only the risks but the rewards as well.

Sharing rewards demonstrates what Thompson calls

the “abundance mentality.” “There’s plenty in the

world,” he says, “and when the people you work with

show interest and loyalty and put in all the extra hours,

then they should share. Sharing abundance is just the

natural thing to do.” It’s also proven to be profitable.

In fact, there’s more than one millionaire operating

heavy machinery on a daily basis at the company.

Sharing for Thompson includes giving back to

his industry and community as well. He is active

in diverse charities and respected throughout his

community. Thompson’s involvement with helping

children has been one of the great joys of his life, and there is nothing

that touches him more than the St. Mary’s Child Center, serving at-risk

children in downtown Indianapolis.

In 1986, Thompson saw the need to replace a building at St. Mary’s that

was beyond repair. He became the driving force in the effort, involving 32

other people from the construction industry to help build the new facility.

They were referred to as the godfathers. Through their efforts, a com-

pleted building was donated to St. Mary’s in 1988. Since then, the ranks

of godfathers and godmothers have grown more than fourfold, and

Thompson maintains his strong ties to the children and staff of the facility.

Thompson’s experience with St. Mary’s inspires him to do even more

in giving back. “I don’t see myself as a big player in charity work,” he

says, “but I think I can help a lot of little guys.”

As for the future, retirement is not in Thompson’s immediate plans. He

is in the process of selling the real estate portions of his business, figur-

ing it will take four to five years to complete the job. He’ll continue to

operate the golf courses, do as much charity work as possible, and help

his children if they wish to take over his construction business.

Speak to those with whom he has shared the risks and rewards—his

partners—and they will describe Bob Thompson as a man who has

character. Add to that business acumen, drive, the entrepreneurial spirit,

a willingness to work hard, and the desire to give back some of the

abundance he has received and you’ll have the keys to understanding

Thompson’s success.

“ There’s plenty in the world. Sharing abundance is just the natural thing to do.”

REAL ESTATE


FI NA L I S T: Andrew Heiberger is big time in Big Town. Citi Habitats has been ranked top of the

heap for rentals each of the past four years in New York City’s competitive residential real estate

market. Real estate has been an abiding interest for Heiberger since his earliest years. He put

himself through college with $75,000 earned in a summer selling real estate on Long Island.

Then he became a top producer for a real estate firm he joined after completing his education,

and discerned a niche in high quality rental and sales services for New York’s mid-market.

In 1994, with a borrowed $40,000, Heiberger founded Citi Habitats to serve young professional

rental clients. The company has come a long way, closing more than 6,000 rental deals in 2000

with a 37 percent increase in net annual sales over 1999. The Citi Habitats total-service business

model includes Manhattan’s largest listings service, on-site leasing, and corporate relocation,

including everything from location shopping to furniture leasing. Heiberger’s drive and enthusi-

asm are leading him to expand nationally. He’s presently market testing in other large urban areas.

Andrew HeibergerCiti Habitats, Inc.

TITLE: President, CEOCITY: New York, N.Y.FOUNDED: 1994WEB ADDRESS: www.citi-habitats.com

FI NA L I S T: In 1978, Michael Feldbusch purchased a small surveying firm in the Evansville,

Ind., area and found himself faced with realities that could stifle his new company’s growth.

Customers usually choose surveyors through word-of-mouth or as part of engineering or

construction projects; and surveying is generally regarded as a stand-alone, locally based service.

Feldbusch’s insight led him to take two dramatic steps to grow his business. First, he began

marketing surveying as a service, not an adjunct to other business operations. Next, he moved to

capture business beyond his immediate geographic market by reaching out to surveyors and firms

across the country, forging strategic partnerships, and creating a fee-based affiliate program.

Feldbusch’s strategy emphasizes quality, accuracy, and superior internal and external customer

service. Survey orders come to the home office and within 24 hours clients receive a firm price

and delivery time. U.S. Surveyor has grown more than 220 percent in the past five years, and

continues to expand market coverage throughout North America.

Michael F. FeldbuschU.S. Surveyor, Inc.

TITLE: President, CEOCITY: Newburgh, Ind.FOUNDED: 1961WEB ADDRESS: www.ussurveyor.com

REAL ESTATE

South Beach Beverages

Category Winner

TITLECEO

CITYNorwalk, Conn.

FOUNDED1995

WEB ADDRESSwww.sobebev.com

by Heather A. Smith

21

RETAIL

John Bello


John Bello has built his business on two simple tenets: be success-

ful, and have fun while you’re doing it. Bello is the guiding force

of fun and business know-how behind the meteoric success of

South Beach Beverages, commonly known as SoBe.

Not only is having fun an important part of the SoBe culture, Bello

feels it’s been critical to the company’s success. He doesn’t stand

on ceremony and doesn’t believe a suit and tie are

prerequisites to success. Instead, he looks for people

who express joy in the way they work. His employees

are rewarded for performance, and given a great deal

of freedom in how they approach their various tasks.

“I’m pretty flexible in terms of the way we operate,”

Bello says. “My whole thing in life is ‘let’s win,’ and you

win by having fun at what you do. We live by a pretty

simple motto: Make a little money; have a little fun.”

Bello has plenty of experience at making money and

having fun. He is known for revolutionizing modern

sports league marketing. He spent 14 years at NFL

Properties (NFLP), five of them as its president, where he spurred retail

growth of NFL-licensed products into a billion-dollar revenue stream.

Bello created the NFL Proline Collection of authentic merchandise, a

three-tier line of trading cards, and the NFL Experience, a theme event

now in its eighth successful year.

Bello is a man with a talent for innovative programs and fresh, exciting

ideas. But he’s experienced failure as well. SoBe’s first venture into the

beverage market met with little success. A line of tropical fruit blend drinks,

while tasty, was not unique and exciting enough to get SoBe into the top tier

of the beverage industry. So, Bello started over, repositioning the brand,

making a change to the formula, and adding nutrients to SoBe drinks.

“Early on, I think the key to our success was that we were very flexible,”

he explains. “We were adaptive and aggressive. And I think we have the

staying power to learn from our mistakes, make changes on the fly, and

just be persistent.”

SoBe established the “healthy refreshment” beverage category in 1996

by introducing SoBe Black Tea with ginseng, ginkgo, and guarana. Now

the fastest-growing category in the beverage market, nutrient-enhanced

beverages are sold by numerous companies, all trying to replicate

SoBe’s success. Today, SoBe markets 30 varieties of “wellness

beverages,” including sports drinks and fortified waters.

Bello believes SoBe has the potential to be a huge mainstream brand.

“Consumers are a lot more sophisticated than many believe,” he

explains. “They recognize that maybe the carbonated soft drinks they’ve

been drinking aren’t necessarily that great for them. If you can deliver

something that can refresh, while at the same time deliver benefits in

the form of nutrients, like calcium and vitamin C, that they know they

need but don’t get in their daily diet, why not?”

Yet defining a new retail category does not lead directly to brand staying

power and automatic success. Jumping into established distribution

networks is not easy, but SoBe created a demand for its product that

helped it overcome that challenge. Bello credits much of his company’s

success to its knack for “buzz marketing” based on word-of-mouth. In

fact, SoBe does very little traditional advertising.

“Typical advertising would give us one identity that would exclude

different user groups,” Bellow explains. “We wanted to have an interac-

tive brand early on, so that when people bought our

product they could relate to it in different ways.

We’ve spent most of our money in marketing at the

grass roots level, touching people where they’re

having fun—at events, parties, or trade shows.”

Most of SoBe’s advertising is in its bottle, with a

unique design made to stand out on the shelf. The

trademark green “chasing lizard” logo emblazons

every SoBe product. It’s the essence of the brand, and

infuses the company with a unique personality. SoBe

employees take part in creating the humorous slo-

gans—known as “lizard lines”—and marketing ideas

that have created high-profile recognition for the brand. Phrases such

as “no drain, no gain” or “put a lizard in your gizzard” are memorable

and emphasize the fun aspect of SoBe beverages.

“We’re a tongue-in-cheek, irreverent kind of company that does things

differently,” says Bello. “The icon of the lizard gives us an edge that

helps us rise above the clutter. No other brand in the beverage business

has this kind of icon built into the brand essence. I think it gives us a

competitive advantage and pulls everything together.”

The icon extends to Bello as well. “I’m called the Lizard King, because

I’m running the place. But I see myself more as the Lizard of Oz,” he

says with a laugh. “Don’t look behind the curtain, because what you’ll

find is this ordinary guy in the back room pushing the buttons.”

There is nothing ordinary about Bello’s success, however. Early this

year, SoBe made headlines with the news of a major deal with PepsiCo

Inc. Bello is determined to steer the company through this next level of

growth with minimal impact to his employees. His goal is to maintain

SoBe’s uniqueness while integrating with a corporate giant. “Pepsi rec-

ognized when they bought us how unique we are,” he says. “And they’ve

really gone out of their way to allow us to maintain that individuality.”

Individuality is Bello’s trademark. He has been known to roam the halls

with his guitar, entertaining employees with original adaptations of rock

songs like “SoBe Pie” and “I Can’t Get No Glass Production.” His

creative energy and vision of winning by having fun at what you do is

a testament to the power of the entrepreneurial spirit.

The Lizard King would say: so be it.

“We live by a pretty simple motto: Make alittle money; have a little fun.”

RETAIL

23

FI NA L I S T: As a former hair stylist for the late Diana, Princess of Wales, John Frieda had gained

fame and a loyal following at his London salons. His signature hair care products were equally

successful, but distributed only through Frieda’s salons. With a desire to broaden his marketing

reach, but recognizing his business limitations, Frieda teamed with Gail Federici, a former

Zotos/Conair executive who was starting her own consulting business. The duo launched John

Frieda Professional Hair Care, Inc.

Initially, Frieda’s signature products were distributed only through the ubiquitous UK drug store

Boots. But popularity and demand eventually spurred distribution throughout the UK and

prompted Frieda and Federici to consider expanding to the U.S. The company, however, couldn’t

capitalize on the recognition of Frieda’s name, so it renamed its products to better communicate

what they will do. Thus was born Frizz-Ease hair serum. First labeled a fad product, the success

of Frizz-Ease led to line extensions and new products that have grown John Frieda Professional

Hair Care into a multimillion-dollar, worldwide company.

John Frieda, Gail FedericiJohn Frieda Professional Hair Care, Inc.

TITLE: Chairman (Frieda)President (Federici)

CITY: Wilton, Conn.FOUNDED: 1995WEB ADDRESS: www.johnfrieda.com

FI NA L I S T: Joel Appel has been making common products exciting since he was six years old,

selling household gadgets at state fairs. He comes by his entrepreneurial spirit naturally. In 1983,

his father, Max, invented Orange Glo polish in the family’s garage and sold it at fairs and home

shows throughout Colorado. The younger Appel, however, was convinced that the orange-oil-

based cleaner could be successfully marketed through mass distribution channels. Initially sold

through grocery stores, Orange Glo experienced moderate success, but in 1996, Appel hit on

the perfect distribution vehicle when he introduced Orange Glo Wood Cleaner and Polish to a

nationwide audience through the Home Shopping Network.

The move was so successful that Appel produced an infomercial and sold Orange Glo directly

to consumers, creating a mass awareness that ultimately allowed Orange Glo International

(OGI) to distribute its products through national retail outlets such as Wal-Mart, Target, and

Sears. The strategy has been a winning business model for OGI. Today, it produces more than

15 different household cleaning products, successfully competing against the corporate giants.

OGI distributes its products throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia, and is creating direct-

marketing organizations in Japan and the UK. The company is also adapting products from

other cultures into new cleaning solutions.

Joel AppelOrange Glo International

TITLE: PresidentCITY: Greenwood Village, Colo.FOUNDED: 1992WEB ADDRESS: www.greatcleaners.com

RETAIL

Administaff

Category Winner

TITLEPresident, CEO

CITYKingwood, Texas

FOUNDED1986

WEB ADDRESSwww.administaff.com

by Lindsey Siegle

Paul J. Sarvadi


SERVICE

25

Paul Sarvadi knows firsthand what the obstacles are in running a

small business. That knowledge has helped him build one of the

biggest businesses in the country.

“My original partner and I owned and operated various businesses over

the years, and we really felt an understanding of what kind of war it is

for businesses to succeed,” Sarvadi says. He stepped into the fray in

1986 after working for a company that focused on handling payroll and

benefits for employees. While that kind of assistance is important, it is

a far cry from what Sarvadi had in mind for his own company.

As one of the nation’s leading professional employer

organizations (PEOs) Administaff serves as an

outsourced human resource department, providing

a personnel management system that delivers a com-

prehensive suite of employee services. Those services

include employee benefits, payroll processing, a

401(k) plan, employer-related government compliance

and reporting, recruiting and selection assistance,

employer liability management, employee training

and evaluation, and workplace safety assessment.

“When you bring high performance HR practices to

bear for the first time, or consistently over an extended

period of time,” believes Sarvadi, “it makes a big difference in the success

equation for the business.”

Administaff’s thousands of customers would have to agree. They pushed

the company’s 2000 revenues to $3.7 billion—more than three times the

amount brought in when it went public in 1997—earning Administaff a

spot on last year’s Fortune 500.

How Administaff has gotten so far so quickly can be summed up quite

simply—that was the plan. From the beginning Sarvadi aimed to position

Administaff as a leader in the PEO industry, virtually nonexistent when

the company entered the market. Sarvadi worked hard to gain acceptance

for the new business sector, including playing a key role in the creation

of the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations.

While working to establish an industry, Sarvadi also was creating an identity

within it for Administaff. The company has been a leader in every aspect of

the PEO industry, including its role as the first—and currently only—

PEO traded on the New York Stock Exchange. In fact, building recognition

for the industry was a key factor for Sarvadi’s taking Administaff public.

“We did not become a public company in order to finance the business,”

Sarvadi says. “We had a five-year history of profitability before we went

into the public market. Our reason for becoming a public company was for

the commercial benefit. We felt it was a linchpin in moving the industry for-

ward. It was very important to the issue of credibility in the marketplace.”

Administaff’s rapid expansion is the result of an ambitious growth plan

begun in 1994, targeting 90 offices in 40 major metropolitan areas. At

that time, the company had seven offices in six cities; today that number

has grown to 35 in 19 markets, in addition to four regional service cen-

ters. Administaff has nearly 70,000 employees through its co-employer

relationships with its customers. More than 19,000 people are in

Houston, making it that city’s largest employer.

The success of Administaff’s organic growth model is reinforced by the

increased geographical diversity of its client base. At the time it went

public, 50 percent of Administaff ’s revenues were from its original

market in Houston, and less than 20 percent was from outside Texas.

Today more than half of the company’s revenues are generated outside

of Texas. “Essentially we’re just continuing to roll this out and duplicate

what we’ve done in Houston,” Sarvadi says.

The World Wide Web has proved a boon to Administaff,

and provided the company with a solution it found too

expensive to implement earlier. “We didn’t want to get

into deploying technology at client locations,” says

Sarvadi. “Placing all the hardware and software and

having to maintain it would have been too costly. The

onset of the Internet, where everybody maintains their

own network, was really a dream come true for us.”

In addition to increased operating efficiency, the tech-

nological advances have allowed Administaff to over-

come one of its early problems—customers outgrowing

its services. “I used to call that our success penalty,”

Sarvadi says. “Over the last few years the investments we’ve made in

technology and the adaptation of our service model for larger clients

has helped us create a whole new operation for mid-size customers.”

The latest investments in technology allow Administaff to do even

more for its customers. The company’s Employee Service Center, a

Web-based resource formerly known as the Adminstaff Assistant, inte-

grates high tech with high touch. “Recently we transformed that to a

client-branded site so that every customer has their own customizable

employee service center,” Sarvadi says.

Administaff ’s e-business initiatives include bizzport, an e-commerce

portal featuring products and services from such best-of-class providers

as American Express, Aon Enterprise Insurance Services, AT&T, Dell,

IBM, and Bank One. In addition to being a service delivery channel,

bizzport provides a market forum where Administaff’s clients can con-

duct business with each other.

The success of the company’s business model hasn’t gone unnoticed. For

the last three years, Fortune has named Administaff one of America’s Most

Admired Companies. Last year, Administaff landed on InformationWeek’s

list of 500 leading information technology innovators for the second year

in a row, and has twice earned a spot on the Forbes Platinum 400.

“ Our reason for becoming a public company was for the commercial benefit. It was very important to the issue ofcredibility in the marketplace.”

SERVICE


FI NA L I S T: There’s always a better way, and Michael Morgan has built a business finding it.

He founded StarTek in order to provide companies with a more cost-effective source for their

non-core operations. Today StarTek delivers four customizable customer relationship manage-

ment (CRM) services: supply chain management, multilingual customer care and tech support,

e-commerce fulfillment, and provisioning management. StarTek also owns a portfolio of branded

vertical market Internet sites and handles operations for a number of other Web sites, as well as

an interest in the Reader’s Digest Association’s sites for Gifts.com, Inc.

Morgan’s consistent pursuit of more cost-effective ways to serve StarTek’s customers has resulted

in steady and accelerating expansion of the company’s bottom line. Over the last five years

StarTek has compounded revenue at 37 percent per year and net income at 49 percent per year.

During that time revenue has soared to more than $200 million and net income to nearly $20

million. StarTek currently has 13 facilities in four countries, with a 14th slated to open this year.

Michael MorganStarTek, Inc.

TITLE: President, CEOCITY: Greeley, Colo.FOUNDED: 1987WEB ADDRESS: www.startek.com

FI NA L I S T: It wasn’t the money that attracted Denny Carreker to the banking industry, it was the

inefficiency. In the late 1970s Carreker saw in the coming deregulation of the banking industry

the opportunity to apply his skills as a consultant and industrial engineer. He is widely recognized

as the father of electronic check presentment, the process for converting paper checks to elec-

tronic messages. Carreker Corporation’s leading-edge solutions provide banks with efficiencies

in everything from payment systems to Internet strategies.

Carreker’s abilities have won him and his company a loyal following; 70 of the nation’s top

100 banks are clients, as are half of the large banks in the UK, Australia, and Canada. Carreker

Corp. has had 12 straight quarters of growth since it went public in 1998. Revenues for the

year ended Jan. 31, 2000, topped $110 million, twice company revenues for the previous year.

Income growth has outpaced revenue growth, reaching $13.6 million for 2000, compared with

$5.1 million for ’99. That success earned Carreker Corp. a spot on BusinessWeek’s Hot Growth

Companies of 2000.

J.D. CarrekerCarreker Corp.

TITLE: Chairman, CEOCITY: Dallas, Tex.FOUNDED: 1978WEB ADDRESS: www.carreker.com

SERVICE

Three Guineas Fund

Category Winner

TITLEFounder, President

CITYSan Francisco, Calif.

FOUNDED1994

WEB ADDRESSwww.3gf.org

by Kathy Bull

27

SUPPORTER OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Catherine Muther


When Cate Muther retired at age 46 as a marketing VP for

Cisco, she wanted to do what many who leave the senior

levels of corporate management do: start a new venture. But

for Muther, that enterprise would have to reflect her passion for influenc-

ing social change and draw from diverse sectors of her multifaceted career.

Muther graduated from Stanford’s MBA program in 1978, at a time when

women had not yet achieved large-scale entry into the management suites

of Corporate America. Since there was no defined

career path in business for women, Muther created her

own, forging a successful marketing career at Arthur

Little & Co., Bridge Communications, 3Com, and

Cisco. Over the years she built relationships and

acquired business and technology experience. Creating

a foundation seemed like the natural avenue to apply

her knowledge and resources to give back to the

community. With an initial investment of $2 million

in personal Cisco stock, Muther created the Three

Guineas Fund, one of the first foundations in Silicon

Valley founded by a woman.

The name of the fund comes from the title of a 1938 essay by Virginia

Woolf. In “Three Guineas,” a character is asked to donate a guinea to each

of three causes: one to prevent war and preserve intellectual liberty, one

to educate women, and one to promote their employment. “Woolf was

saying that if you want to increase women’s social standing, they need to

be educated, and they need to earn their own living,” explains Muther.

It was through John Morgridge, a mentor at Cisco, that Muther’s

philanthropic interest began to evolve. “He conveyed a real sense of joy

in giving,” says Muther. “It wasn’t about obligation. It was about the

joy and significance of giving something back and having an impact.”

Muther took the entrepreneurial and philanthropic models she had

observed and created a unique hybrid—a fund with an operating side

that creates programs, and a grant-making side that benefits programs.

Both sides strive to promote women’s access to education and the

economy. “It mixes both entrepreneurial and philanthropic elements.

It’s different, and it reflects how I like to work,” explains Muther.

Through supporters that included the city and county of San Francisco,

various foundations and corporations, and partnership with the Panasonic

Digital Concepts Center, she embarked on Three Guineas Fund’s largest

project, the Women’s Technology Cluster (WTC). Launched in San

Francisco in January 1999, the WTC was the first business incubator in the

nation for technology start-ups with women principals. It provides fledg-

ling companies access to venture capitalists, as well as to business leaders,

accountants, and lawyers, who are often the source of referrals to venture

and angel investors. Entrepreneurs also receive access to inexpensive

office space, office furniture, equipment, and high-speed Internet access.

But the WTC is more than just a business incubator. It’s a model for ven-

ture philanthropy. To instill a sense of philanthropy in young businesses

from the start, each entrepreneur pledges 2 percent of equity, which is

reinvested in WTC programs and in the community. “With everything we

do, we try to weave through the idea of giving back, that entrepreneurship

and philanthropy are linked,” says Muther. “We want to have this inte-

grated in people’s minds and in their experience from the very beginning.”

Muther has developed a work style that relies on teamwork and a diversity

of ideas. “I’ve learned that when you create something new it works best

when you work with other people in a collaborative way. It takes partners

all working together with the same vision and different skills to really

make things happen.”

In one of the WTC’s newest programs, the Young

Women’s Technology Cluster, high school juniors and

seniors from the San Francisco Unified School District

learn about entrepreneurship through technical training

and internships at WTC companies. “It allows the entre-

preneurs to give back by serving as role models, and

they get a skilled person for their business—it all just

works,” Muther asserts. “They get to use the resources

they have, their skills, or their wealth in ways that make

a difference in society and enrich their own life.”

Since opening, the WTC has housed and mentored

15 start-ups. Its portfolio and graduate companies raised more than

$67 million in venture capital and angel funding. Kim Fisher, CEO of

Audiobasket, one of the WTC’s graduate companies, raised almost

$10 million for her young company and established it outside the

WTC. A WTC success story, Fisher has come full-circle, leaving the

CEO position and returning to the WTC as one of its co-directors.

Muther credits her recipe for success to a process of continuous learn-

ing. “I think our strength comes from an openness to change, to trying

new ideas, and failing. It’s a process of reinvention,” she says. It’s hard

to keep that success a secret. Muther gets hundreds of requests a year

from around the world for information on replicating her ideas. She’s

been featured in publications including Fast Company, Inc., The New

York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Time.

What Muther enjoys most about her work is the hope that it’s going to

change something and have a lasting impact. As founder of Springboard

2000 she took an existing model and adapted it to what is now a

national forum of venture capital fairs tailored to women entrepreneurs.

She’s a founding member and chairman of the Foundation Incubator,

the first incubator for start-up foundations. And Muther established an

environmental operating foundation called Goldenrod to protect coastal

barrier beaches and wildlife in her native Massachusetts.

Does she think she’ll ever retire? “I’ve thought about it, but you never

know,” Muther says. “I might just start something else. I can’t help

myself. You’ve heard of serial entrepreneurs, haven’t you?”

“With everything we do, we try to weavethrough the idea of giving back, that entre-preneurship and philanthropy are linked.”


29

FI NA L I S T: Since he joined the Small Business Administration’s San Diego office in 1981,

George Chandler has been a powerful force in removing roadblocks and increasing economic

opportunities for entrepreneurs. San Diego was named the top SBA district by exceeding all

national goals for six of the last seven years. Through door-to-door campaigns, Chandler and his

staff provide business management and financial program information to entrepreneurs at the

grass roots level. As founding chairman and director of the City of San Diego’s Small Business

Advisory Board, he has been instrumental in reducing regulations and business license taxing

by 75 percent.

Chandler’s office has increased lending to underserved markets by cosponsoring lending semi-

nars with African-American, Asian, and Hispanic chambers of commerce and marketing SBA

programs in many languages. The efforts have earned San Diego the SBA’s Highest Quality

Lending award for the second consecutive year. A partnership with the National Association of

Women Business Owners has contributed to a women’s business ownership rate in San Diego that

is among the nation’s fastest-growing. Virtually all San Diego banks participate in SBA lending,

and the SBA has institutionalized Chandler’s lending innovations by establishing a training

program to implement them nationwide.

George P. Chandler, Jr.U.S. Small Business Administration

TITLE: District DirectorCITY: San Diego, Calif.FOUNDED: 1968WEB ADDRESS: www.sba.gov

FI NA L I S T: Economic independence is something Joline Godfrey has worked at her whole life.

She believes that the economic futures of young people depend on good role models and became

one herself at an early age when her creative plan for a business-training venture inspired

Polaroid management to fund it and spin it off with her as president and owner. After selling

the successful business in 1990 while still in her thirties, Godfrey wrote a series on successful

women entrepreneurs for Inc. magazine, at the editor’s request. She subsequently authored Our

Wildest Dreams: Women Entrepreneurs Making Money, Doing Good, Having Fun, proclaimed

by excellence guru Tom Peters as the best business book of 1992.

But beyond writing, Godfrey wanted to extend her passion for economic empowerment to educa-

tion. Independent Means, the organization she founded, offers young women the opportunity to

combine entrepreneurial education with fun. Programs include one-day conferences, an annual

business plan competition, an interactive Web site, a satellite broadcast series for schools and

organizations, and Camp $tart-Up, where teens can explore their entrepreneurial interests.

Independent Means annually enrolls 10,000 young people in face-to-face programs, and tens

of thousands more through Internet and satellite broadcasts.

Joline GodfreyIndependent Means, Inc.

TITLE: Founder, CEOCITY: Santa Barbara, Calif.FOUNDED: 1992WEB ADDRESS: www.independentmeans.com


BEA Systems, Inc.

Category Winner

TITLEChairman, CEO

CITYSunnyvale, Calif.

FOUNDED1995

WEB ADDRESSwww.beasys.com

by Tom Griesser

William T. Coleman, III


TECHNOLOGY/COMMUNICATIONS

31

When Bill Coleman and two colleagues founded BEA

Systems six years ago, they launched a rocket. Today,

BEA Systems is a world-leading e-business infrastructure

software company, with 3,000 employees worldwide and 92 offices in

32 countries. Under Coleman’s leadership, the company has racked up a

remarkable 22 straight quarters of record revenues. Equally impressive

is BEA’s roster of 9,400 customers—up from 4,000 a year ago—which

includes most of the Fortune 500.

High-flying BEA claims the distinction of being the

fastest software company to reach $1 billion in rev-

enue. But Coleman’s isn’t an overnight entrepreneur-

ial success story. He paid his dues before launching

the start-up that some industry observers are calling

the next Microsoft.

The U.S. Air Force provided Coleman’s first exposure

to software. He earned his B.S. in computer science

from the USAF Academy, and for six years managed

software development for the Office of the Secretary of

the Air Force, Special Projects, including the software

modification for classified satellite operations. “Twice

I was decorated for helping to save satellites that were

damaged and otherwise would have had to be destroyed,” says Coleman.

At age 30, Coleman left the Air Force for the business world. First, he

turned around a failing division of GTE—growing it from a $12 million

loss leader to a profitable $36 million business in just three years. Then

he became director of product development at VisiCorp. Its Windows-

like product, VisiOn, was eventually crushed by Microsoft. “That was

my lesson in one of the basic truths about business,” says Coleman.

“It takes a lot more than a better mouse trap.”

For the next 10 years, Coleman held executive posts at Sun Microsystems,

Inc. In 1993 he began noodling with the notion of an application server.

Two years later, he and two Sun colleagues, Alfred Chuang and Ed Scott,

left to create their own company. “We founded BEA with the idea that the

Internet needed an operating system, like PCs do,” says Coleman.

Coleman, who also holds an M.S. in computer science and an M.S.

in computer engineering from Stanford University, is as surprised as

anyone that he’s become a Silicon Valley guru. “I never thought that I

would be the one who came up with the idea, the visionary. I was always

the operations guy behind the scenes, the guy who made things work.”

Recruiting the right people for the founding team and staff was crucial

to the success of BEA. “I wanted all of them to have the following four

experiences: to be the best at what they do; to have been a successful

executive in a large, high-growth company; to have been an executive in

a start-up; and, most importantly, to have survived at least one failure,”

Coleman says. “It is all about an addressable opportunity, great people,

focus, and execution. It’s not magic.”

After three years of growing the business internally and through acqui-

sitions, BEA adopted the Java platform and became the market leader

in Java applications. Innovative approaches fueled its growth. “Unlike

many other software companies, we built our market leadership on

open, rather than proprietary, software,” Coleman stresses. Partnering

is key. BEA’s products are marketed and sold worldwide through a

network of BEA sales offices and alliances with hardware and software

vendors, application service providers, and systems integrators.

BEA boasts two market-leading products: BEA Tuxedo, the leading

distributed transaction processing server, and BEA WebLogic Server,

the number-one Java application server. These products are the heart

and soul of the BEA WebLogic E-Business Platform,

a comprehensive, integrated software platform for

building, integrating, managing, and personalizing

Internet-based applications.

“The first two phases of our growth involved making

distributed computing in e-commerce possible, and

then to make component-based applications possible,”

Coleman says. “The third phase is to make the ‘liquid

enterprise’ possible. That requires an e-business infra-

structure that enables data, transactions, applications,

and value chains to flow together automatically, as

needed, to fulfill customers’ needs. We believe this

will be the next business paradigm.”

Coleman puts as much effort into his life outside of work as he does his

business. An avid skier and runner, he espouses the virtues of a balanced

life. “You need to wall off blocks of time and to make your private life a

top priority,” he maintains. “Otherwise, you will have no life outside of

work when you retire.”

When he left Sun, Coleman walked away from stock options that turned

out to be worth more than $70 million. But when he launched BEA,

Coleman made a remarkable promise—to donate half of whatever he

gained from BEA to help a special group of people benefit from

technology. It’s a promise he kept.

Last November, when his stake in BEA reached $500 million, Bill and his

wife, Claudia, made a $250 million donation to establish the University

of Colorado Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities. The goal of the

Colemans, who have a niece with special needs, is to fund technology

research to “support those with disabilities and, in particular, those who

traditionally have little voice or visibility in the national agenda.”

Giving people a voice is the key to BEA’s future success, believes

Coleman. “This is the dawn of the real age of information, and it’s all

about people,” he says. “They are the only real asset of any organization,

and the challenge is to attract and empower them. The winners in the

future will be the ones who can best master doing this.”

“ I never thought that I would be the one whocame up with the idea, the visionary. I wasalways the ... guy who made things work.”



FI NA L I S T: When Gordon Stitt, along with cofounders Stephen Haddock and Herb Schneider,

launched Extreme Networks, the networking equipment industry was dominated by Cisco,

Lucent, Bay, and Cabletron. Unlike most other networking start-ups, however, Extreme Networks

wasn’t hoping to be acquired by one of the Big 4. Rather, the company pursued a strategy of

providing faster, scalable, simpler solutions in key areas of networks. Five years later, Extreme

Networks has helped reshape that industry and is itself one of the new Big 4. The Silicon Valley

Business Journal ranked it the fastest growing company in 2000.

Under Stitt’s leadership, technological innovation has fueled Extreme Networks’ rapid growth. It is

the global market leader in broadband network solutions based on IP and Ethernet technologies.

The company pioneered Layer 3 switching and has received more than 40 industry awards for

technology excellence. In the last two years alone revenues have quintupled and the number of

employees has increased fourfold. Extreme Networks’ marketing plan stresses diversification in

order to weather volatility in geography, products, and markets. Product offerings include both

larger modular products and “stackables” for enterprises, telecom data centers, and metro networks.

And as result of international expansion, fully half of the company’s sales are from outside the U.S.

Gordon StittExtreme Networks, Inc.

TITLE: Founder, CEOCITY: Santa Clara, Calif..FOUNDED: 1996WEB ADDRESS: www.extremenetworks.com

FI NA L I S T: Seventeen years after Kobi Alexander raised $20,000 to start his business and pursue

a vision, Comverse Technology is a major global player in the high-end telecommunications

systems and software sector, with well over $1 billion in revenue. Comverse’s voice mail and

other innovative value-added services, such as short text messaging, wireless Internet, speech

recognition, and wireless instant messaging, are mainstays at network operators including AT&T,

Sprint, and MCI. Today, nearly 400 of the top 1,000 telecommunications carriers worldwide use

Comverse products.

Alexander’s success is rooted in a philosophy that stresses sound business fundamentals, hard

work, and delivering superior products and customer service. Entrepreneurial spirit and innova-

tion still drive the company’s growth. Employees are allowed to make decisions, take risks, and

make mistakes. It’s been an equation for success. Comverse often establishes separate business

units with profit and loss responsibilities when employees come up with innovative ideas. There

are more than 20 such “start ins” at Comverse. One of these, Ulticom, spun off in April 2000,

was one of last year’s most successful IPOs.

Kobi AlexanderComverse Technology, Inc.

TITLE: Chairman, CEOCITY: Woodbury, N.Y.FOUNDED: 1984WEB ADDRESS: www.comverse.com


Huntsman Cancer Institute

TITLECEO

CITYSalt Lake City, Utah

FOUNDED1999

WEB ADDRESSwww.hci.utah.edu

by Danielle Dayen

33

PRINCIPLE-CENTERED LEADERSHIP

Jon M. Huntsman

PRINCIPLE-CENTERED

LEADERSHIP

• Superb business results

• A person of integrity andprinciple

• A builder of an empoweredorganizational culture

• One who is leaving thelegacy of contribution to

the community


Jon M. Huntsman learned early the impact that one individual can

have on others. As a boy growing up in Idaho, his town had a

library that had been donated by Andrew Carnegie. The ability of

one man to bring a library to a remote area that had been without one

made a lasting impression on Huntsman.

Such experiences formed and fueled the abiding commitment

and dedication to assisting others that has marked Jon

Huntsman’s life and career. In the 1960s, that commit-

ment was evident during his tour in the Navy, when

he donated nearly a quarter of his monthly salary to

help a needy family on the base. It continues today in

the Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI), a world-class

cancer research and treatment facility located on the

campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

Founded with a $10 million donation from

Huntsman, a cancer survivor himself, and his

wife, Karen, HCI brings together the country’s best

research scientists, medical professionals, and cancer

educators to work to understand cancer, improve

treatments, and help patients fight their disease. In 1995, the Huntsman

family pledged $151 million—$100 million of which came directly

from family funds—to construct a state-of-the-art cancer center. And in

April 2000, Huntsman donated another $125 million for the

construction of a clinical research hospital.

Recognized as the country’s third most generous philanthropist by the

Journal of Philanthropy, Huntsman considers it a privilege to be able

to make donations of this kind. His ability to do so stems from his

business successes, first with Huntsman Container Corporation,

which pioneered the polystyrene “clamshell” for the McDonald’s

Big Mac, then with Huntsman Corporation, a multinational chemical

corporation he founded in 1982.

While Huntsman has enjoyed great success in the business world,

he views it only as a means to continue his mission of philanthropy.

His goal is not the building of profits but the utilization of profits to

enrich the human soul and alleviate human suffering. Huntsman does

not believe in using company funds for personal reasons; he lives only

on his salary. The remainder of the company’s profits are put back into

the business or used as charitable contributions to the community.

In fact, one reason Huntsman Corporation remains a private company is

so that its founder can give away as much as he likes without answering

to shareholders. To Huntsman, he hasn’t achieved his corporate

objectives until his companies have helped to find cures for cancer,

to provide for the homeless, and to feed the poor. His philanthropy

has extended beyond U.S. borders to such far-flung countries as

Thailand, Armenia, Russia, India, and Ukraine.

Huntsman shows as much commitment and dedication to his people as

he does to society. He built Huntsman Corporation by buying foundering

petrochemical plants and making them profitable. In the process, he has

guarded jobs and never laid off workers during an economic downturn.

Huntsman is quick to credit the success of his business to his people. “I

would have to say that relationships have really been the key to our suc-

cess in business,” Huntsman says in Glorious Accidents: How Everyday

Americans Create Thriving Companies by Michael Glauser. “And in a

manufacturing setting, it starts with our own people. If our people are

motivated and know they are appreciated, any dream can come true.”

Huntsman makes it a priority to provide a work

environment that fosters teamwork, innovation,

accountability, and open communication. And while

he cites making a quality product, running at full

capacity, and working efficiently to be competitive

as the basic ingredients of a successful business,

he also urges young entrepreneurs to hire the right

people. Glauser quotes him: “This has been so

critical to me, being in a very technical business

and not having had a chemical engineering course.

I’ve had to surround myself with a large number of

Ph.D.s and chemical engineers, then ensure they are

well satisfied with their salaries and benefits, and

most importantly, that they know I care about them.”

Jon and Karen Huntsman have made sure that the spirit of philanthropy

will continue by teaching their values to their six sons and three

daughters. The Huntsman children and their spouses have already

taken positions in the family business as Huntsman prepares for the

next generation of family leadership. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. serves as

president of the Huntsman Cancer Foundation and vice chairman of

Huntsman Corporation, and Peter Huntsman became CEO of Huntsman

Corporation in the summer of 2000.

Huntsman knows that his children will face challenges in keeping

the family business thriving, but his biggest concern is complacency.

However, the desire to continue funding philanthropy should help keep

the next generation on target. In an article by Guy Bolton that appeared

in The Salt Lake Tribune last year, Huntsman said, “I always knew that

if we committed to give something, we would just have to work harder.

Pressure is always a healthy product for a successful business. And the

day you don’t have pressure to get up and produce is the day you quit

growing and developing.”

Sources:

“Giving Something Back: The Jon Huntsman Story,” excerpt from Glorious Accidents:

How Everyday Americans Create Thriving Companies by Michael J. Glauser, Shadow

Mountain, 1998

“Industrial Alchemist,” by Guy Boulton, published in The Salt Lake Tribune, August 6, 2000

His goal is not the building of profits but theutilization of profits to enrich the human soul and alleviate human suffering.


35

FI NA L I S T: Chuck Watson’s commitment to his employees can be summed up in the four simple

words that are the core corporate values of Dynegy: “We Believe in People.” It’s a philosophy

instilled in every employee and based on five principles: we work as a team; we care for our

communities; we work with integrity; we are performance-driven; and we choose diversity.

Watson himself exemplifies all these values and more. His dedication, hard work, and vision

have made Dynegy one of the country’s fastest growing companies, generating 218 percent in

shareholder return in 2000 alone and garnering the 54th slot on the 2001 Fortune 500 list.

Watson’s strategy to build his energy and communications company was to take ownership of

commodities such as natural gas. The approach allowed Dynegy to aggregate larger volumes,

increasing its value to the pipeline as a shipper and in turn providing it with the leverage to get

better discounts from the pipelines. The company was then able to transform itself into a supply-

oriented marketer, seeking out new markets for its energy products instead of merely responding

to market demand. It is a strategy that Watson has used successfully across all Dynegy’s business

lines, including its recent initiatives to capitalize on the new opportunities being created by the

convergence of energy with communications and technology.

Chuck WatsonDynegy, Inc.

TITLE: Chairman, CEOCITY: Houston, Tex.FOUNDED: 1984WEB ADDRESS: www.dynegy.com

FI NA L I S T: Jim and Bobby Ukrop never heard about the Golden Rule from their parents; Joe

and Jacqueline Ukrop didn’t have to preach something they live every day. The Ukrop family’s

personal values have always influenced how they run their business—in 1937 as a tiny Richmond

grocery store, and today, as Central Virginia’s premier chain of 27 full-service supermarkets,

Ukrop’s Super Markets, Inc. Ukrop’s has always been closed on Sunday, does not sell alcohol,

and donates at least 10 percent of its pretax profits to charity.

The company’s mission, vision, and values revolve around caring not just for their customers but

for their employees. Customers at Ukrop’s are met with a committed, caring staff thanks to the

training in the company’s core values that every associate receives. The result is a force of 5,700

people who are empowered and proud members of Team Ukrop’s. More than just a slogan, Team

Ukrop’s represents the Ukrop brothers’ leadership style, one that spreads authority to all levels,

empowering people to make decisions and serve customers in the spirit of the Ukrops’ shared

values. It’s a style that works—for the last two years, Ukrop’s has been one of Fortune magazine’s

100 Best Companies to Work For.

Joseph, James E., and Robert S. UkropUkrop’s Super Markets, Inc.

TITLE: Founder, Chairman Emeritus (Joseph, top)Chairman (James, bottom left) President, CEO (Robert, bottom right)

CITY: Richmond, Va.FOUNDED: 1937WEB ADDRESS: www.ukrops.com


4801 Rockhill Road | Kansas City, Missouri 64110-2046888-777-GROW (4769) | www.entreworld.org

This simple yet compelling state-ment encompasses a broad range ofactivities conducted and supported bythe Kauffman Center forEntrepreneurial Leadership at theEwing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

The Kauffman Center was cre-ated by one of the country’s most suc-cessful entrepreneurs, the late EwingMarion Kauffman, founder of MarionLaboratories, former chairman ofMarion Merrell Dow Inc., and ownerof the Kansas City Royals baseballteam.

The Center, a not-for-profit edu-cational institution, contributes to healthy economic communities by encouraging entrepreneurial lead-ership. Through programs, partner-ships and initiatives targeted toentrepreneurs of all ages and at all stages, the Center seeks to under-stand, support and accelerate entre-preneurship in America.

YOUNG LEARNERSAgri-Entrepreneurship Education ProgramThe E in MeEntrepreneur Invention SocietyEntrePrepKauffman Center ERIC ClearinghouseKinderEconomyMaking a JobMini-Society®

Mother and Daughter Entrepreneurs in Teams (MADE-IT)

New Youth Entrepreneur

ASPIRING ENTREPRENEURSCollegiate Entrepreneurs OrganizationEntrepreneurial Leadership Development

for EducatorsEntreWorldFastTrac NewVentureFirst Step FastTracJumpStartKauffman Entrepreneur

Internship ProgramLifelong Learning for Entrepreneurship

Education Professionals (LLEEP)National Consortium of

Entrepreneurship CentersNative American

Entrepreneurship CurriculumRural Entrepreneurship

HIGH-GROWTH/HIGH-POTENTIAL ENTREPRE-NEURS

Entrepreneur Of The Year Institute®

EntreWorldFastTrac PlanningInitiative for a Competitive Inner CityKauffman Fellows ProgramKauffman Gathering of EntrepreneursLearning Programs for

High-Growth EntrepreneursResearchNational Public RadioWomen’s and Venture Capital Initiatives

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSThe Denali InitiativeKauffman Entrepreneur Internship

Program – Social InternshipSocial Entrepreneurs Alliance for Change

PUBLIC SECTORCongressional Research ServiceNational Commission on EntrepreneurshipGovernors Policy Academy on Entrepreneurship

Acce l e r a t i ng en t rep reneu r sh ipin Amer i c a

Acc e l e r a t i ng en t rep reneu r sh ipin Amer i c a

Saluting theSpirit ofInnovation

Visit us on the web at nasdaq.com

Home to more than 4,300 of the world’s mostentrepreneurial companies, Nasdaq® appreciatesthe kind of innovation it takes to turn great ideasinto . . . success stories.

In keeping with that spirit, Nasdaq salutes the

finalists and winners of the 2001 Entrepreneur OfThe Year® Award.

T H E N A S DA Q S TO C K M A R K E T

© 2001 Ernst & Young LLP.

All Rights Reserved.

Ernst & Young is

a registered trademark.

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ER N S T & YO U N G LLP www.ey.com

Entrepreneur Of The Year 2001 · Leadership presented by Franklin Covey Co. This award recognizes an individual whose personal leadership style has successfully built a top-performing

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