How Chris Gladwin founded a new storage process with Cleversafe

Technology FINALIST With an engineering degree from MIT in the 1980s and having already started a computer consulting company when PCs were just being introduced, Chris Gladwin could have had a successful career working for a large technology company. However, he decided to launch MusicNow hoping to revolutionize the way users obtain and store music […]

How Bob Keller rescued a static Escalade from imminent obscurity

Consumer Products and Services FINALIST When Escalade, Inc. was stuck in a rut, it needed a radical business philosophy to become innovative and assume leadership in branding and innovation within the sporting goods market. The development of new product lines had become a secondary priority to the needs of the growing dominance of big box […]

How Michael Miles found a need for flexible staffing with The Seaton Cos.

Services FINALIST It was the late 1980s, and companies were adopting the practice of just-in-time (JIT) inventory management. However, the model for the staffing industry did not address the complex service requirements of JIT clients. Michael Miles took notice of the situations and co-founded The Seaton Cos. in 1988 with fellow Arizona State University alumni […]

How Caryn Siebert took the helm of Carl Warren & Company and set it on course

Business Services FINALIST When she took the helm of Carl Warren & Company nine years ago, Caryn Siebert was facing the challenges of a company suffering substantial losses and outdated infrastructure. She went to her first board meeting and honestly and directly told the board members that under her turnaround plan, it would be three […]