Archive for the ‘BUSINESS’ Category

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Profiles in Business: Li Ka-shing

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Li Ka-shing is an 81-year old wealthy business tycoon from Hong Kong who is considered to be one of the most powerful people in Asia. He is the 16th richest person in the world, the richest person in Hong Kong, and the richest among people of East Asian roots in the world. He had an estimated net worth of about $16.2 billion as of 2008. He holds the position of Chairman of Hutchison Whampoa Limited (HWL) and Cheung Kong Holdings.

Li Ka-shing has established himself as the largest operator of container terminals, as well as being the largest retailer of health and beauty products in the world. His personal portfolio extends to being one of the major suppliers of electricity in Hong Kong and a successful real estate developer.

Li Ka-shing has achieved honors from different international publications. Asia Week named him as “Asia’s Most Powerful Man” in 2001, while Forbes Magazine honored him as a recipient of the first ever Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. He has also received other recognition and awards such as the Grand Bauhinia Medal, position of Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and a recognized Commander of the Légion d’honneur. His peers in the corporate world often call him “Superman” for his excellence in leadership and success in businesses. His portfolio of businesses involve a variety of industries in Hong Kong, including retail, real estate, electricity, telecommunications, shipping, and the Internet. His Cheung Kong Group’s assets reached $82.9 billion by the end of 2009 after operating in 55 countries while employing around 260,000 people worldwide.

Along with these lifetime achievements, no one can deny the generosity he has shown to others. He is a great philanthropist and has called a foundation he has established his “third son.” He pledged to give out one-third of his accumulated wealth to charity and other philanthropic endeavors across the world.

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Profiles in Business: Ingvar Kamprad

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Ingvar Feodor Kamprad is an 83-year old Swedish businessman who founded IKEA, a home furnishing retail chain. Born in March 30, 1926, he is currently the richest person in Europe and the 5th richest person in the world, as listed in Forbes magazine. He has amassed an accumulated wealth of around $22 billion.

Kamprad was born in Älmhult, Kronoberg County and spent his childhood on a farm called Elmtaryd in Småland, Sweden. The would-be tycoon started creating businesses at a young age. As a teenager, he sold matches, pens, cards, decorations, fish, and other items with his bicycle. At 17 years of age, he was given money by his father for becoming a successful student. He used that cash to startup a business that has since then grown into what we know today as IKEA.

The name IKEA comes from his initials, I.K. and the initials of the farm’s name where he was born, Elmtaryd, and the small nearby village of Agunnaryd. He opened his first IKEA store and began selling furniture in 1947.

In contrast to the wealth he has accumulated, Ingvar Kamprad has been known to live a private and frugal lifestyle. He has not owned any expensive luxury cars and has avoided eating lavish meals in expensive restaurants, mostly opting for the cheaper ones. He flies only economy class.

Ingvar Kamprad has been retired from IKEA since 1986, but has still been active as the company’s senior adviser. Despite personally retaining little ownership in the company, he has led the company in the right direction with utmost dedication. He has guided the company to growth and profitability over the years. IKEA sells around 9,500 products and has now expanded in 36 countries.

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Lawrence Ellison

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

Lawrence Ellison is a 65-year old American businessman who is a co-founder of Oracle Corporation, currently one of the largest enterprise software companies in the world. He has been its chief executive officer since its establishment in 1977. Currently, he is the 4th richest person in the world, as declared by the Forbes list of billionaires, with a net worth of around $27 billion. He is also the 3rd richest American.

Ellison embarked on his humble beginnings in Manhattan, New York, where he was born on August 17, 1944 to an unwed Jewish mother. He was given away by his mother and was adopted by Lillian and Louis Ellison when he was only nine months old. He spent his early life in a middle-class neighborhood in Chicago, but moved to northern California when he was twenty years old to start his career in the computer software industry. He began his career in Ampex Corporation in the 1970s, where he created a database for the CIA as one of his projects. Ellison named it “Oracle.” Later on, he established his own company, Software Development Laboratories, in 1977. He renamed his company as “Oracle” after the Oracle database, the company’s flagship product.

In 1997, he became a director of Apple Computer after long-time friend Steve Jobs returned to the company. Edison left Apple in 2002 however, citing time constraints.

Lawrence Ellison has led Oracle to become one of the biggest software makers in the world today. He has earned millions in compensation packages from Oracle, including base salaries, bonuses, and stock options. In 2000, he actually became the richest man in the world, albeit briefly. In 2005, he was ranked as the ninth richest in the world, with an estimated net worth of US $18.4 billion. In 2006, he was declared as the richest Californian.

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Steve Jobs: World’s Top CEO

Friday, February 19th, 2010

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs charged to the top of a list of the world’s best-performing CEOs, to be published in an upcoming issue of the Harvard Business Review. By dramatically turning Apple’s fortunes around in the last 12 years, Jobs beat 49 others to the top spot.

Harvard Business Review positions Jobs as the no. 1 CEO in the world, way beyond the reach of five other Silicon Valley luminaries. Only Samsung Electronics’ former chief executive Yun Jong-Yong trailed closely behind him.

Since helming a badly rotting Apple in 1997, Steve Jobs has raised the company’s market value by as much as $150 billion. The report also said Jobs delivered “a whopping 3,188% industry-adjusted return” since taking over as CEO.

In the same way, Yun got his ranking by catalyzing Samsung’s rise as the world’s biggest electronics manufacturer. Having served as its CEO from 1996 to 2008, Yun made Samsung the world’s top maker of flat-screen televisions, and number two for cell phones.

Yun is the recipient of the 2002 Asia Business Leaders Award from CNBC. In 2000, Fortune magazine acclaimed him in “Asia’s Businessman of the Year.”

Fortune likewise feted Jobs. In November, the magazine named Jobs as “CEO of the Decade.” Moreover, Time magazine distinguished him as a nominee for Person of the Year in 2009.

Finishing third place to Jobs and Yun is Alexey Miller, chief exec of Russia’s Gazprom, the largest natural gas producer in the world. Mukesh Ambani, chairperson of India’s Reliance Industries, is ranked number five.

Five others from Silicon Valley deigned to Steve Jobs. Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers came in at number four; Gilead Sciences John Martin, number six; former eBay CEO Margaret Whitman, number eight; Google CEO Eric Schmidt at number nine; and Symantec chairman John Thompson, at number nineteen.

To qualify for HBR’s report, the CEOs must have led companies listed either in Standard & Poor’s Global 1200 or its BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) 40 list. In addition, the CEOs must have served as such anytime between January 1995 and December 2007.

As such, the ranking excluded otherwise deified executives like Bill Gates of Microsoft, Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway, Larry Ellison of Oracle, and Jack Welch of General Electric.

Published in HBR’s January 2010 issue, the ranking includes data on 2,000 CEOs the world over, representing 33 countries and 48 nationalities.

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Cydcor Helps Boosts Sales for Companies

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

No matter how advanced business models become during the Internet Age, there is still no replacement for face-to-face sales. Many companies still rely on this form of sales, but they do not have the staff and resources to initiate this labor-intensive program. That’s where California-based Cydcor comes in.

Cydcor has been cited by 26,000 C-level officers and senior executives as number one in such areas as sales team outsourcing, sales support service, client satisfaction, and several other performance categories. This extensive survey was conducted by Datamonitor, which publishes the “Black Book of Outsourcing.” With 200 offices and 3,000 representatives, Cydcor is positioned to cover every marketing niche.

Cydcor has served companies in the telecommunications, cable, Internet, office products, financial services, and energy industries. In 2008 alone, Cydcor has created $2 billion of value with 92,000 new customers per month. According to Cydcor Chief Executive Officer Gary Polson, Cydcor’s mission anticipates and fulfills an escalating market need, as organizations seek more scalable solutions to achieve top-line growth and bottom-line value in the post-recession environment.

Cydcor instills seven best behaviors the firm instills in its people: integrity, service, team member development, collaboration, respect, open communication, and execution. This code of conduct guides every company policy and initiative.

These best behaviors have driven Cydcor to be recognized by a California survey as one of the “Best Places to Work” for two years in a row, citing supportive work environment and culture, open communication, quality and commitment of management, and benefits.

“Delivering excellence at every level is not just lip service. It’s simply who we are and what we do,” says Jim Majeski, Cydcor’s president.

“We know that our business leaders and sales support staff are the face of Cydcor and it’s our goal to provide them with the tools they need to grow, change, and keep up-to-date about industry trends,” said Vera Quinn, senior vice president of operations at Cydcor. “Our independent sales offices make up our Cydcor Community, and this is something we’re very proud of. The Keys to Success event is our way of honoring everyone’s accomplishments and to let them know how much we appreciate their dedication to our business.”

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Jamie Egasti

Friday, February 12th, 2010

Jamie Egasti, a 30-year old native of Boston, is a Procter and Gamble (P&G) veteran. He joined the P&G Corporation’s Food and Beverage Sales right after his graduation from Harvard University in 1979. Jamie Egasti held certain levels of duties in the Food and Beverage business’ sales and marketing departments, with various assignments in Texas, Ohio, and New York.

After 10 years, Jamie Egasti moved to P&G’s corporate headquarters in Cincinnati, where he was reassigned to the Global Fabric & Home Care New Business Development Group’s General Management. One of his duties as a member of the development team was to lead the creation and launching of several businesses such as the household odor eliminator Febreze, Dryel, and Procter and Gamble’s line of cleaning products, Swiffer. So far, Febreze has branched out to include additional products such as fabric refreshers, air fresheners, odor eliminating candles, and other similar goods.

Jamie Egasti also served as the vice president of the Americas Snacks Business. After some time, he was promoted as the president of a $3.2 billion revenue business, Global Snacks & Coffee. He was recently named as the chief executive officer of the Folgers Coffee Company. As the CEO, he led Procter & Gamble’s coffee business split-off, as well as its transition to the J.M. Smucker Company.

His position at P&G’s coffee and juice businesses left him responsible for managing the company’s trade promotion structure and commodity pricing. In addition to these duties, Jamie Egasti also significantly shared some of his leadership to acquire both Hawaiian Punch and Sunny Delight.

Jamie Egasti is married and is a father of two boys, aged 15 and 13. Apart from his corporate duties, he also keeps himself busy by serving as a coach to the Lacrosse team at the Mariemont Jr. High School.

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Lakshmi Mittal – Leader in the Steel Industry

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

The UK-based Indian Industrialist Lakshmi Niwas Mittal was born on June 15, 1950. Hailing from the Churu district of Rajasthan, India, Lakshmi Mittal now maintains his residence in Kensington, London. The billionaire industrialist is the renowned founder of the Mittal Steel Company.

In addition to being a steel baron, Lakshmi Mittal also serves as a non-executive director of EADS, Goldman Sachs, and ICICI Bank. His personal wealth of US$19.3 billion has made him the richest man in UK and the 8th richest person in the world as of 2009.

He received his Bachelor of Commerce degree from St. Xavier’s College in Calcutta. A few years after his graduation, Lakshmi Mittal married Usha Mittal, who soon gave him a son and daughter. He started his 30 year-experience in the steel industry by working in the family’s steelmaking business in India. Eventually, in 1976, he successfully built his own company, Mittal Steel, formerly known as the LNM Group. Since then, Lakshmi Mittal slowly developed his business until it became an international steel producer with operations scattered in 14 countries.

By pioneering the use of DRI (or Direct Reduced Iron) as an alternative for steelmaking, Lakshmi Mittal led the global industry’s consolidation process. With profits of more than $22 billion and shipments of 42.1 million tons of steel, Mittal Steel stands as the largest steelmaker worldwide.

In 1996, Lakshmi Mittal was hailed by New Steel as “Steelmaker of the Year”. Due to his outstanding vision, leadership, entrepreneurship, and success in the international steel development arena, he became the recipient of the “Willy Korf Steel Vision Award” from the Paine Weber’s World Steel Dynamics and the American Metal Market in 1998. In addition to these honors, Lakshmi Mittal was also hailed by Fortune Magazine as the “European Businessman of the Year” in 2004.

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John Ilhan – Mobile Mogul

Friday, January 29th, 2010

John Ilhan, also known by his Turkish name Mustafa Ilhan, was the man responsible for the creation of Crazy John’s mobile phone retail chain. Under the age of 40, he was hailed as the richest man in Australia.

He was born on the 23rd day of January 1965 in Yozgat, Turkey. At the age of five, John Ilhan and his family moved to Australia. Growing up, John spent his years in the working-class area of Broadmeadows in the northwestern part of Melbourne.

After spending some time working as a salesman at Ford, John Ilhan found himself employed at Strathfield Car Radio, a phone and electrical retailer. In 1991, he left his sales job in pursuit of his own mobile phone shop in inner-city Brunswick. With a total of 18 stores in Victoria, his business eventually became the biggest Telstra mobile dealership in Australia. John Ilhan continued to expand his business by opening a number of stores in Brisbane, Sydney, and Adelaide.

The success he attained for his ventures in the mobile industry has earned him great fortune. Having secured a whopping $200 million in his bank account, John Ilhan was ranked first in Business Review Weekly’s List of Young Rich Australians for 2003.

Having amassed such great fortune, John Ilhan initiated the Ilhan Food Allergy Foundation in 2006. The foundation was established to promote research and proper distribution of information to the public regarding the issues and causes of anaphylaxis.

Apart from mobile phones and anaphylaxis, John Ilhan was also a huge football fan. He was a vocal supporter of the Australian Football League’s Richmond Football Club. In order to improve the team’s performance, John Ilhan recruited Kevin Sheedy after he made his offer to buy out Terry Wallace’s contract.

Unfortunately, in October of 2007, John Ilhan’s life was taken away due to a hereditary heart condition, leaving behind his wife Patricia and four children at the age of 42.

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Profiles in Business: Eric Sedler

Monday, January 25th, 2010

Eric Sedler, the managing partner of ASGK Public Strategies, was a business partner of David Axlerod, Barack Obama’s chief campaign strategist for 2008. Eric Sedler, David Axlerod, and John Kupper formed ASK Public Strategies in 2008 (renamed ASGK Public Strategies in 2009 when Larry Grisolano joined the partnership). David Axlerod, on becoming President Obama’s chief advisor, divested himself of ASGK.

As the managing partner of ASGK, Eric Sedler uses his expertise in communication programs to serve clients in major industries including telecommunications, energy, financial services, health care, entertainment and land use. Through ASGK, Eric Sedler has worked with corporations, trade associations, labor unions, and advocacy organizations.

Before co-founding ASK Public Strategies, Eric Sedler managed corporate PR on the regional level for AT&T in their Chicago, Atlanta, and Miami branches. Eric Sedler directed AT&T’s PR in the central and southeastern US. His successful initiatives included securing regulatory approval for AT&T’s acquisition of cable systems in several states. Eric Sedler also managed the launch of local telephone services in several important markets.

Before becoming a public relations manager, Eric Sedler has worked for federal, state, and local officials, managing several successful state and local political campaigns. These officials include Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Eric Sedler has helped develop communications programs that gave extensive coverage to such legislation for telephone area codes, mammogram coverage, and fireworks safety.

In addition to his work with ASKG Public Strategies, Eric Sedler is often a guest speaker on communications and issues management. Eric Sedler has given presentations at the University of Chicago, Loyola University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago. Eric Sedler has been awarded the Silver Anvil Award from the Public Relations Society of America and the Silver Trumpet Award from the Publicity Club of Chicago.

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Carlos Slim

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

Carlos Slim Helu, or Carlos Slim, was born on January 28, 1940 in Mexico City, Mexico. Descending from Lebanese-Mexican roots, Carlos Slim is a philanthropist, engineer, and businessman with a primary focus on the burgeoning telecommunications industry. He dominates over the telecommunications industry within Mexico as well as for the greater part of Latin America. He controls Telcel, Telefonos de Mexico, as well as the America Movil companies. Having an estimated net worth of US$35 billion, he currently ranks as the third wealthiest person in the world competing amongst Lawrence Ellison, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.

Carlos Slim completed his engineering studies at the prestigious Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. In 1967, he married Soumaya Domit, who gave him six children. The couple was married for 32 years until Soumaya’s death in 1999.

From 1996 to 1998, Carlos Slim served as the president of the Latin-American Committee of the New York Stock Exchange Administration Council. He was also a president of the Mexican Association of Brokerage Houses and vice president of the Mexican Stock Exchange.

Carlos Slim was also responsible for building Grupo Carso, a large Mexican financial-industrial conglomerate. Twenty eight years after its inception, Carlos Slim became the business’ Honorary Lifetime Chairman. The firm owns a variety of companies including the electronic retail chain CompUSA. In addition, he is also the chairman of the Grupo Financiero Inbursa.

For his active involvement and significant influence in the telecommunications industry, Carlos Slim became the recipient of Mexico’s Chamber of Commerce’s Entrepreneurial Merit Medal of Honor. In addition to this, the Belgian government also awarded him the Leopold II Commander Meda award. In 2003, he was hailed as CEO of the year by Latin Trade magazine and a year later, he received the title CEO of the decade from the same publication.

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