Dawn Ainger, president and CEO, Genova Technologies
FINALIST Dawn Ainger president and CEO Genova Technologies Dawn Ainger showed up for her job as a software engineer at Genova Technologies one day in 2001 to find the doors locked and the company shut down, with plans to file for bankruptcy. She never dreamed of being an entrepreneur, but seeing few other options, she […]
Gary Jabara, founder and CEO, Mobilitie LLC
WINNER – Real Estate & Hospitality Gary Jabara founder and CEO Mobilitie LLC In the eight years since Mobilitie LLC launched, the company has become the fastest-growing owner and lessor of wireless and telecommunication infrastructure assets in the country. Mobilitie, under the leadership of President and CEO Gary Jabara, owns thousands of wireless communication towers […]
Jay Colker – Don't ever take your employees or the work they do for your business for granted
How to show your people their value
Michael Davis, owner, Adventure Harley-Davidson
FINALIST: Retail and Consumer Products Before purchasing his first Harley-Davidson dealership in Ohio in 2003, Mike Davis was a motorcycle rider. So he knew that he wanted to build his company not just as a bike shop, but also as a destination for customers that got people in all walks of life excited about the […]
Wilbert W. Williams, President, Williams-Bayer Industries
Finalist, Manufacturing Founded by Wilbert Williams in 2001, Williams- Bayer Industries Inc. is an automotive supplier that makes CNC bent tubing, catalytic converter shells, metal stampings, component assemblies, suspension bushings, and stamped, staked and welded assemblies. Williams, who was born in Jamaica and earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan, worked […]
Robert Daley and Henry Thorne, Co-founders, 4moms
FINALIST / TECHNOLOGY When Robert Daley and Henry Thorne founded 4moms in 2005, they combined Daley’s venture capital experience with Thorne’s engineering background to create innovative, high-tech products for home use. The company’s name comes from Daley and Thorne’s original focus group, composed of four mothers, who helped the duo explore products to serve the […]
Brian Fielkow, president, Jetco Delivery
Logistics & Industrial Services — Finalist In 2006, Brian Fielkow risked his entire net worth and purchased Jetco Delivery. The purchase fulfilled Fielkow’s dream of owning his own business — a dream that hasn’t wavered, even when he and the company faced the Great Recession a few years ago. As the trucking industry slid to […]
Shiela Kaye Rossmann, CEO, Paramount Precision Products Inc.
Winner, Manufacturing When Sheila Kaye Rossmann purchased Paramount Precision Products Inc. with her four former partners in 1999, the company was in financial duress, operating with a split focus and in need of a clear vision. Since taking full ownership of the business, Rossmann has never been deterred but met these challenges to grow the […]
John Eulich, chairman and CEO, ASPEQ Holdings Inc.
FINALIST John Eulich Chairman and CEO ASPEQ Holdings Inc. Leadership is in John S. Eulich’s blood. It has been ever since he developed a personal business plan while at Harvard Business School. This innate desire to lead would serve him well as he embarked on a mission to save INDEECO, a manufacturer of electric heating […]
Charles Dunlop, CEO, Ambry Genetics
FINALIST – Life Sciences & Public Service Charles Dunlop CEO Ambry Genetics Dunlop grew up in Laguna Beach, Calif., where he did a lot of surfing, a lot of reading and a lot of imagining. It was his thirst for knowledge and creative outlets that led him to form Ambry Genetics Corp. in 1999, while […]