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Greetings!
Welcome to Family Business Wiki's "10 Under 40" Class of 2010. We are pleased to honor these ten rising stars -- all under the age of 40 -- and introduce them to our readers.
The honorees were carefully selected from a long list of outstanding nominees. They represent a broad range of industries, geographies and family business structures. Each has demonstrated excellence in their family business career.
Please join us in recognizing and celebrating their success! |
 | Asia |
Chan | Chan Yuen Shan, Clara is the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Lee Kee Group Ltd., based in Hong Kong. The market capitalization of Lee Kee Holdings Limited is over HK$2B.
Since joining the company in 1995, Clara has led significant growth and transformation of the company which is now one of the largest sourcing and distribution companies in Asia -- specializing in non-ferrous metals, electroplating chemicals, precious metals and stainless steel. (Clara was nominated by Kevin Au). |
| Europe |
Meeschaert | Cedric Meeschaert is President of Meeschaert Gestion Prive -- a leading independent private bank in France which employs 160 staff across 13 offices in France, Switzerland and Belgium.
Cedric is growing the business internationally by expanding into the U.S. and also expanding into French-speaking countries outside of France. He has also created a company foundation in which employees are actively involved. (Cedric was nominated by Christine Blondel). |
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Europe | |
Sweden
Wallberg | Martin Wallberg is an Owner, Board Member, and Director of Communicatons at BIM. BIM is a Swedish-based specialty chemical company which develops, produces and markets specialty chemicals for the worldwide pulp and paper industry. BIM has approximately 200 employees worldwide. The company was founded by Peter Wallberg (Martin Wallberg's father) in 1973, and is owned by the Wallberg family.
Martin has made an extensive study of family business governance. His knowledge was put to the test at one point when the family needed to dismiss the Managing Director and the entire Board of Directors in order to take control of the business from the owner's side. (Martin was nominated by Mattias Nordqvist). |
| North America | |
Canada
Stein | Robert Stein is President of Eagle Investments -- a real estate development company in Montreal. The company was founded by Robert's grandfather in 1950.
When Robert was 24 years old, his father died and Robert suddenly became President. At the time the business was in a disasterous financial position with almost insurmountable debt. Since taking over the business in 2006, Robert has totally eliminated the debt and has doubled the value of the business. (Robert was nominated by Cheryl Stein). |
| North America | |
United States
Fosick | Carmen Fosick is Vice President and Owner of Elmstar Electric Corporation in Northeast Wisconsin. The company was founded by Carmen's father Gus Fosick in 1979.
For more than 20 years Elmstar had done many large projects for the State of Wisconsin, but with the economic decline in 2001 there were no more large state projects. Carmen led the charge to restructure and streamline the business in order to survive the downturn and ultimately grow the business. (Carmen was nominated by Janice Stark). |
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Juarez |
Laura Juarez is President and Chief Executive Officer of the L.E. Smith Company. One of the largest custom laminate manufacturers in the Midwest, the company was founded by Laura's grandfather L.E. Smith in 1950.
As President, Laura has worked with her family to implement policies and structures which have revitalized the culture of the family business -- creating a proactive, strategic, results oriented, and measurement based environment. (Laura was nominated by Kevin Smith). |
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McKenzie |
Christie McKenzie is Vice President and Owner of Supplemental Staffing in Northwest Ohio. The company was founded by her parents in 1978.
When one of the Supplemental Staffing offices was not doing well, Christie stepped in to manage the office and, over the course of six years, grew the office to the point that its profitability almost equalled the home office. (Christie was nominated by Cory McKenzie). |
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Messinger |
M. Trevor Messinger is President and Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola Bottling Company High Country in Rapid City, South Dakota. The company, founded by Trevor's grandfather in 1956, produces and bottles approximately 100 variations of non-alcoholic beverages, and serves as the distribution center for five other sales and distribution centers in a four-state area.
Trevor took over day-to-day operations of the business at 26 years old. He is a proponent of "servant leadership" and takes great pride in helping employees to grow and serve their communities. (Trevor was nominated by Beth Adamson). |
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Schmidt | Gina Krusinski Schmidt is the Marketing and Administration Manager for Krusinski Construction Company. The company, founded in 1973 by Gina's father, is a design/build general contractor and professional manager of construction services.
Through their local family business center, Gina and her family have learned many lessons which have been critical to their business. One lesson -- they have learned to be more open, even though they are privately held -- so colleagues can make the best decisions. (Gina was nominated by Judy Hogel). |
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Schnieders |
Kevin Schnieders is CEO of Educational Data Systems, Inc. (EDSI). This family business, started by Kevin's father in 1979, has helped over 25,000 people transition into the workplace, with a special focus on welfare-to-work.
The biggest challenges for Kevin and his father have arisen from the rapid growth of the company. At one point the business grew from 75 to 175 employees in three months. The business currently has almost 500 employees at 27 offices. (Kevin was nominated by Ed Brooks). |
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