Bobby Harris, president and CEO, BlueGrace Logistics
EMERGING, FINALIST Bobby Harris represents the true spirit of an entrepreneur. Four-and-a-half years ago when his employer went out of business, and with a wife and two small children at home, he took a huge risk and opened his own company in the freight and logistics industry. In an uncertain economy, there was no way […]
John D. Schiller Jr., founder, chairman and CEO, Energy XXI Ltd.
Exploration & Production – Finalist John D. Schiller Jr. took something from every experience he had after graduating from Texas A&M University and going into the oil and gas business. He watched the business change significantly and experienced many of the mergers and consolidations that took place through the 1980s and 1990s. It all put […]
Burton Goldfield president and CEO, TriNet
TECHNOLOGY SERVICES, FINALIST The job of the entrepreneur is to create the vision and the passion that drive a company. That’s the belief motivating Burton Goldfield, who’s used his blended engineering and business background to innovate at California-based TriNet. Joining the company as president and CEO in 2008, Goldfield immediately set about making changes to […]
Tim McEnery, founder and CEO, Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants
Retail and Consumer Products – Finalist Tim McEnery always knew he wanted to be a restaurateur. Starting out in hospitality at the age of 11 as a dishwasher, he worked his way through the ranks to become a manager by high school. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in restaurant and hotel management from Purdue University, […]
Mary Quass, president and CEO, NRG Media LLC
FINALIST Mary Quass, president and CEO of NRG Media LLC, doesn’t believe she was born an entrepreneur. She believes in the hard work that allowed her to achieve her goals. Quass entered the media industry when she resigned from a management position at a furniture store to work on commission selling radio advertisements. It was […]
Dana Sellers, CEO, Encore Health Resources
Health Care & Health Care Services – Finalist Dana Sellers could not have picked a worse time to launch a business. The recession that was rocking the global economy had taken hold and was showing no signs of letting go. She was confident she had the makings of a great business model to succeed in […]
Robert Stewart Sr., president, Lime Instruments
Oil Field Technology – Finalist Robert Stewart Sr. seeks the best from himself and others in all relationships. As president of Lime Instruments, a well service controls and instrumentation company, Stewart not only recognizes and nurtures the talents of his team, employees, customers and vendors alike but is ready to offer assistance whenever and wherever […]
Aaron Grossman, president, Alliance Solutions Group
FINALIST: Services and Management Solutions At age 27, after a successful stint leading the Accountemps division of Robert Half International, Aaron Grossman sought a new challenge. He left his position and, along with two partners, formed Alliance Solutions Group LLC. Five years later, in 2006, he became the company’s president, and since then has led […]
Jorge A. Plasencia, chairman and CEO, República
EMERGING, AWARD RECIPIENT Jorge A. Plasencia didn’t just start working at 14 — he started his lifelong career. An intern at Radio Mambí, he worked in radio throughout high school, and by his senior year, he secured a position as program director of the stations. From there, Plasencia moved on to progressive positions that greatly […]
Larry Augustin, CEO, SugarCRM
TECHNOLOGY SERVICES, FINALIST When Larry Augustin was growing up, he spent his summers on the family farm fixing equipment. He gained a work ethic that has helped form his approach in business: “Walk in and fix things” — to identify problems and solve them. Since he began as CEO in 2009, Augustin used this approach […]