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The Hall of Fame
For most companies, landing on the Inc 500 list once is accomplishment enough. But an amazing few have made the list five times or more.
By Kate O'Sullivan |
To make the Inc 500, a company must grow at a torrid pace for five years. To make the Hall of Fame , a company must continue growing that fast for five more, remaining one of America's elite private companies for a full decade. This year we add six businesses to the hall, whose membership now rises to 61. What visionary CEOs propel companies to such success? Turns out, they're regular guys.
| Hall of Fame CEO |
Madhava Reddy age 43 |
Kevin Kelly age 43 |
Jim Hull age 63 |
| The company | HTC Global Services (#459), a software consulting company | MedSpan (#96), a managed- health-care provider |
Monitronics International (#224), a security- system company |
| Headquarters | Southfield, Mich. | Hartford | Dallas |
| The home front | Married with three kids, ages 7 to 13 | Married with six kids, including twins | Married with four kids, ages 26 to 39 |
| Weekly work hours | 50 plus | 60 plus | 60 plus |
| Frequent-flier miles | 700,000 | Doesn't keep track | Around 100,000 |
| Heroes and mentors | Shri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari, president of an Indian mission | His father | "Many but no specific one. Maybe Churchill." |
| Favorite book | My Master, by Rajagopalachari | Sacred Hoops, by Phil Jackson | Raving Fans, by Kenneth Blanchard |
| Favorite movie | The Matrix | To Kill a Mockingbird | Braveheart |
| Favorite grub | Rice with eggplant in garlic sauce | Let's say food is not a priority | Spaghetti |
| Fitness regimen | "That's something I need to work on," he says, though he meditates twice a day | Weekly five-mile run with an employee he doesn't know for one-on-one bonding | Running and weight lifting |
| The perfect retreat | Anywhere warmer than Michigan | Hilton Head Island, S.C. | Summer cottage on Lake Superior |
| When he got rich, he splurged and bought ... | A diamond necklace for his wife and a Steinway piano for his daughter | A weeklong vacation with his wife sans kids, now an annual tradition | A blue BMW M3 |
| Hall of Fame CEO |
Henry Edmonds age 43 |
Mark Stiffler age 39 |
Victor Tsao age 50 |
| The company | Security Leasing Partners (#404), a security-system industry service provider | Synygy (#471), a developer of compensation software and services | Linksys (#352), a networking and broadband hardware manufacturer |
| Headquarters | St. Louis | Conshohocken, Pa. | Irvine, Calif. |
| The home front | Three kids with his "first and only wife" | In a relationship for 13 years | Married with two kids, ages 16 and 18 |
| Weekly work hours | 60 plus | 80 plus | About 70 |
| Frequent-flier miles | 250,000 | More than 5 million | More than 200,000 |
| Heroes and mentors | Warren Buffett and Winston Churchill | His group of CEO friends who mentor one another | His cousin, a retired general |
| Favorite book | Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurty | Legacy, by Barrie Sanford Greiff | "Most of the Tom Clancy books." |
| Favorite movie | To Catch a Thief | Who has time? | 48 Hours |
| Favorite grub | Grilled, marinated ribeye steak | A dry vodka martini with a twist | Italian |
| Fitness regimen | "I run at least every third day. I haven't missed a third day of running in 19 years." | Cardio workouts | Playing basketball with his sons |
| The perfect retreat | Linville, N.C. "In the mountains near Asheville -- a beautiful summer golf resort." | Tahoe for skiing; Fisher Island, Fla., for relaxing at a spa | Italy |
| When he got rich, he splurged and bought ... | A leather jacket | A 200-year-old stone barn he's refurbishing | "Nothing! I always wanted a leather jacket. Now I could afford it, but I don't want one." |
View the 2001 Inc 500 list .
Please e-mail your comments to editors@inc.com.
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