The Turnaround Entrepreneur
A person (not necessarily a founder) who assumes responsibility for a company in dire straits and applies entrepreneurial expertise and spirit to make it profitable again.
Andrew Brosius, Midwest Industries, Ida Grove, Iowa
William Mercurio, Plastic Trim, Beavercreek, Ohio
Steven Volla, American Healthcare Management, King of Prussia, Pa.
The Socially Responsible Entrepreneur
An individual who solves societal problems by leveraging the entrepreneurial skills that have made his or her business a success.
Bruce Feldman, Economy Linen and Towel Service Inc., Dayton
Dean Kamen, U.S. First, Manchester, N.H.
The Management Committee, Shorebank Corp., Chicago
The Supporter of Entrepreneurship
Spotlights an individual whose work makes entrepreneurial success possible for others by providing the infrastructure and encouragement necessary to help bring ideas to reality.
Monica Putnam Doss, Council for Entrepreneurial Development, Morrisville, N.C.
Nancy A. Flake, Howard University Small Business Development Center, Washington, D.C.
Donald Monroe, River East Economic Revitalization Corp., Toledo
The Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year
This award was given for the first time this year. It goes to a grade-school, high school, or college teacher or educational- service provider who has pioneered effective ways to teach entrepreneurship. The winner receives a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, in Kansas City, Mo., to write about his or her ground-breaking work.
Pier Abetti, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y.
Ronni Cohen, Burnett Elementary School, Wilmington, Del.
Sandra Sowell-Scott, Youth Entrepreneurial Training Program, Temple University, Philadelphia
NATIONAL ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR JUDGES
The Rebel Entrepreneur
Harry V. Quadracci
President and Founder
Quad/Graphics Inc.
Pewaukee, Wis.
By 1971 Harry Quadracci had had it with traditional management. That's when he hocked his house and started Quad/Graphics, one of the largest privately owned printers in the United States, with sales of more than $580 million. How did he accomplish that? With a management style that's been making news since 1986, when Quadracci was featured in Inc. for his innovative employee-training program and organizational structure.
The Big-Picture Specialist
Diane Fulman
Senior Economics Editor
Bank of Boston
Boston
Fulman was thrilled to receive the 12-inch stack of finalists' dossiers. "I love to read this stuff and see what's going on in different corners of the economic universe." It's not what most of us would choose as juicy summer reading, but then, Fulman's usual diet of dense economic analyses and academic research papers is pretty heady stuff. Fulman writes extensively on entrepreneurship and small-business development.
The CEO's CEO
F. Kenneth Iverson
Chairman and CEO
Nucor Corp. Charlotte, N.C.
Iverson is an award-winning executive. President Bush awarded him the National Medal of Technology, the nation's highest award for technological achievement. In 1992 Iverson was recognized as the best chief executive in the steel industry by the Wall Street Transcript. He also has several honorary doctorates to his credit. No wonder. This is the man who pioneered the minimill concept, which helped salvage the steel industry in the United States. Nucor sales were $1.6 billion in 1992.
The Capital Expert
Patricia M. Cloherty
General Partner and President
Patricof & Co.Ventures Inc.
New York City
Cloherty is a busy woman. Since 1970 she's been responsible for investing in numerous entrepreneurial ventures while serving as CEO of an educational-toy company. In addition to being a venture capitalist, she was deputy administrator of the Small Business Administration in the Carter administration, where she helped liberate pension funds, making it possible for them to be used as venture capital.
Mr. Bottom Line
B. Thomas Golisano
Chairman & CEO
Paychex Inc.
Rochester, N.Y.
"But what's the bottom line?" Tom Golisano would ask the judges when the going got tough. "What's the return on assets? The return on equity? The profit margin?" When Paychex was founded, in 1971, it focused on what at the time was an invisible market: growing companies with fewer than 50 employees. Today the company has 80 branches nationwide and revenues of $190 million. Golisano's personal experience growing a company and working with other entrepreneurs served him well in this year's judging.
The Growth Expert
Donald C. Burr
Founder
People Express Airlines
Martha's Vineyard, Mass.
People Express Airlines has gone down in history as the world's fastest-growing corporation, going from nothing to $2 billion in sales in six years and earning a profit every year but the last. We think that qualifies Burr as an expert on growth -- and its hidden dangers.
The Billion-Dollar Man
Rick Inatome
Chairman
Inacom Information Services
Omaha
When Rick Inatome speaks, the other judges listen. His profound insights into the nature of entrepreneurship stem not only from growing his own computer-reseller company to more than a billion dollars in revenues but also from investing in many start-ups over the years. When he's not thinking of ways to turn around a foundering quick-print chain he's purchased, he's dreaming up a revolutionary concept for the food-service industry.
