Vistage Member Excellence Awards

With her guidance as former president of Chard Snyder, the company expanded from one brand to five, integrating each organization and driving 5x revenue; eventually selling for $180 million.  Post-sale, she managed the integration of Chard Snyder into a larger public organization, guiding 350 associates through the cultural and operational changes necessary for a successful transition.

As CEO of Living Arrangements for the Developmentally Disabled (LADD), Susan is guided by the belief that all people have dignity and value. LADD serves 850 people annually, offering housing, employment and community engagement programs. Under her leadership, LADD founded Smart Living Systems, to support adults with developmental disabilities with tech enabled supports and created the region’s largest film festival, dedicated to celebrating untold stories.

With 35 years under his belt at Matandy Steel & Metal Products, CEO Andy Schuster has reached a life-changing summit: converting the company to 100% employee-owned business. By effectively communicating the value of ownership to employees and instilling a sense of responsibility and pride in their contributions, Andy has overseen significant growth in the company’s performance which has created real wealth for the entire team.

When he took over as a second-generation CEO 10 years ago, John Bessler led Bessler Auto Parts through a transformation in organizational culture, which resulted in revenue growth from a low $20 million to $50 million while doubling profit margins within the last five years. John’s success attracted the attention of private equity firms, and in 2023, they made the emotional decision to sell the business.

Tom Little plays a crucial role as the President/CEO of a portfolio of flood protection and services. As weather events increase, his leadership is critical, reaching as far as the UAE and Australia. Last year, he led an 18% increase in sales and a 27% increase in EBITDA while teaming up with a private equity firm, which helped him and his partner to finalize two merger/acquisition deals.

Pivoting from academia to entrepreneurship, Sean Forman hit a home run, creating Sports Reference, a leader in sports data. Today, his business is used in front offices and cited by media giants like ESPN. Moreover, he acquired the sports version of Wordle, Immaculate Grid, growing their total audience to more than 20 million unique users each month and their revenue by 350% over the last three years.

Under Richard Paynton’s leadership as CEO, Dontech has grown fourfold. After the passing of his business partner in 2021, Richard reevaluated his leadership approach and focused on building a robust team structure. Now, Dontech boasts a better-than-on-time delivery rate, has a track record of impeccable quality, and regularly functions as an extension of their strategic customers’ engineering departments, helping to design Dontech’s next generation products.

In her role as CEO of Avenue 360 Health and Wellness, Dr. Flash leads a seven-site health system of 220 employees that provides cradle-to-grave care for marginalized people, regardless of their ability to pay. Last year, she served over 13,000 patients and housed over 500 families — forever changing lives. “I intentionally moved to Texas because it has the highest rate of uninsured in the country,” she shares.

In 2008, Demarco Bell co-founded Spotted Hawk Development, an upstream energy company, using $47M of equity from the healthcare industry.  He raised over $450 million to fund additional development and a management buyout in 2023.  In 2022, the opportunity arose to improve diabetic patient outcomes while increasing cost savings to insurance companies, he co-founded Diabetes Center of Houston and hopes to expand this model nationwide.

Guided by CEO Tom Brackin since 1990, American Omni Trading has grown into a global force and a top-ranking importer of tires in the U.S., selling into over 60 countries since conception. Recently he steered the company to over $400 million in revenues. Despite a 2023 revenue dip, Brackin’s strategic planning during the quiet period poises the company for future success, challenges accepted!

The intersection of technology and people has always been a thread in Jennifer Lee’s journey to becoming the Co-CEO of Intradiem. She leverages predictive models in her platform to address employee burnout. Most recently, she launched four new solutions that increased revenue by 40% and saw a 98% customer retention rate, setting Intradiem on a path to saving customers an annualized $1B by 2027.

As President and CEO of Ascent Aviation Services Corp, David Querio is a steady force through tranquil and turbulent times. From 2019 to 2024, he increased revenue from $40 million to $100 million. A key to this success was securing a major contract with Israel Aircraft Industries and building two large hangars. Looking to the future, Dave is confident that the company will generate at least $190 million in revenue by 2027.

Joe Laux’s journey to become the leader of Silverhawk Private Wealth began when he officially joined in 2010 and quickly advanced, becoming a partner in 2015 and CEO in 2022. Under his leadership, they grew assets from $70 million to $450 million. “I think that a lot of it was … more of an abundance mentality. By having a good team around us, it allows us to do more for more people,” he shares.

The company was started as a way to get through college, however it quickly grew beyond that. By doubling down on what they did well, what they loved, and what made them money, they exceeded all growth goals and took the company to market. Now, Adam serves as a strategic advisor to Highground Restoration Group and has started his next venture, Uncommon Companies.

After taking over the leadership of Davis Door Service from his father in 2021, Jensen Davis uses his family legacy to carry the company over the threshold to accelerated growth. Over the past three years, Davis Door’s revenue surged over 55%.  With a clear view of the company’s values, Jensen and his team have their sights set on expanding Davis Door’s manufacturing business.

26 years ago, George Ward started at Aldrich + Associates as an intern. Now, as president, he has built a strong leadership team and corporate culture centered around employee development and retention. Since 2019 Aldrich has averaged 10% year-over-year revenue growth, boasts nearly 90% employee retention, and is set to exceed $100 million in revenue for the first time in the company’s history.

Following his father’s sudden passing, Bill sought industry experience before returning to his family’s company alongside his siblings to buy out other family members amicably. With the lessons learned over the past 30 years, he most recently led the team in developing a five year plan to increase volume by 60% while optimizing product mix.

From her nonprofit work to cure cystic fibrosis to leading Ganneston Construction as CEO, Stacey Morrison relies on a strategic approach to achieving her goals. She partnered with the State of Maine to develop a two-year apprenticeship program. By narrowing down her business’s focus, she doubled revenue, increased sales by 54%, and boosted profits by 265% in just one year.

During his tenure as fourth-generation president, Brian Casey has tripled revenue — how? His strategy hinges on being consistently excellent in the community. In the future, Brian plans to continue delivering client value and steadily expand into neighboring states. He shares, “We’re not chasing a revenue goal, we’re chasing great clients.” Yet, his strategy sure is working.

With her drive, deliberate decision-making and creativity, Molly Kellogg is future-proofing the 175-year-old family company she leads. In the past 18th months, Molly completed 3 acquisitions and executed an integration plan to deliver above budget ROI. Since taking over as CEO, she has steered a 40% increase in revenue, doubled operating profit and been a Top Place to Work in CT for 8 years running.

Like many business leaders, Bill Douglas wanted to plan for Eco Systems’ future and also his own. The goal was an uneventful exit. That all came to a turning point in 2022 when Bill was diagnosed with aggressive pancreatic cancer. Undeterred, with the backing of his board and executives, he was still able to usher through the sale of business for 2.5x revenue- when the industry standard is 1.

When Kathy Rudkin’s daughter Emma wanted to find a way to help other deaf and hard-of-hearing children and teens, they co-founded Aid the Silent, a nonprofit dedicated to providing resources to help families navigate hearing loss. Last year ATS provided 932 services such as hearing aids, ASL lessons, speech therapy, classroom equipment and materials for deaf educators, and an accessible camp experience for deaf youth.

During her career in higher education, Elissa Sangster sought to answer the following question: Why aren’t more women getting their MBAs? Enter Forte Foundation. Her mission as CEO is to give women access to business education, professional development and a community of other successful women. Today, Forte helps pave the way for over 600,000 women on all six (possible) continents.

As a former chiropractor turned entrepreneur, Steven Shuel founded and expanded Oak Haven Massage, which is now the No. 1 massage therapy center across four locations in Texas. Each therapist on his team undergoes rigorous training, investing up to 300 hours a year to ensure the best service and provide career development for his people, resulting in winning Best Place to Work in 2023.

After growing Chesmar Homes to over $750 million, Ken Trainer took the chance to be acquired in July of 2022. With this golden opportunity, Chesmar leveraged the chance to gain more capital and be able to build more homes. Later, when Japan-based Sekisui House bought the company, he stayed on as COO to continue his growth trajectory.

In business, and in golf, you get out of it what you put into it. And as president of Daniels Head Insurance Agency, Trent Redfern orchestrated a strategic overhaul of his company by optimizing onboarding processes, renegotiating contracts and modernizing operations. After navigating a 20% team turnover, Trent cut onboarding time in half and new profit 10 times over.

A great leader knows that relinquishing control helps your team to drive stellar results. When Michael Zschoche incurred near-fatal injuries in an accident, he had to let go of control and trust that his team would lead by example — just as he did. Today, with his team’s support, the leader boasts six companies on the path to breaking $25 million in revenue and has increased profits by 350%.

In 1996, Ellen Wood pioneered fractional CFO services as she started vcfo to support small and midsize businesses helping them make strategic financial decisions to achieve optimal results. Today the company has expanded its geographic footprint and product offerings to include CHRO and Capital Market professionals. The mission is the same; helping client companies become stronger in ever expanding ways.

Guided by Melissa’s direction, the Waukesha and Jefferson County Habitat for Humanity implemented several innovative programs focused on helping community members live safer and more secure lives. The Home Preservation program and Domenica Park subdivision represent a departure from the traditional models seen in other regions. She also transformed a donation retail store from a loss-making venture to a profitable mission-supporting enterprise.

After purchasing the Cenflex in 2019 with his wife, Brett Tritten took the opportunity to reassess, refresh, and reflect. “Here’s how we’re going to come out on the other side better,” he shared with his team. By fostering a workplace where employees feel engaged and aligned with the company’s vision, he drove over $13 million in sales this past year.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and using funds from a small engineering firm, Tim Schmidt was able to grow Delta Defense from his kitchen table to a $300 million enterprise. Today, it’s evolved into a company specializing in marketing, training, and customer care services, making Tim an integral part of educating and training over 800,000 gun owners nationwide.

Jim Pientka considered multiple selling methods for his construction and design firm – from ESOP to a general partnership, but ultimately decided that what was best for his company was a small group of very aligned leaders. When he was looking for qualities in future owners, he shared that it’s essential to be humble enough to understand that you need to give equal weight to all parts of the business.

For about a decade, Cannon Instrument Company was a stable but flat growth business. Stepping into his role as CEO, Darin Gleason, knew Cannon could be more, but it would take investment. By investing in people, processes, tools, and strategy, he created a foundation for growth. Upon that foundation sit three initiatives fueling company growth: Commercial Excellence, Product Management, Partnerships & Acquisitions.

Suburban Testing Labs is one of the last privately-held, independent environmental testing laboratories in the nation. Since 2017, Rich has initiated a powerful growth trajectory, tripling headcount and growing revenue from $4 million to $12 million. In his industry, he was ahead of the curve gaining testing capabilities for the harmful emerging contaminant, PFAS, years ahead of what is now a standard part of environmental testing.

Between a recession, family health issues and the normal ebbs and flows of business, CEO John Gilliand has navigated through the toughest parts of his career. As a “self-storage guru,” he masterfully led Investment Real Estate to brokering $1.2 billion in sales and acquiring over 70 properties in eight states throughout the Northeast and mid-Atlantic worth over $766 million.

In the world of oil and gas, Cody Sutton drills down a champion business strategy, ambitiously expanding Guide Energy Solutions. “Challenges sometimes give us our best opportunities,” he shares. With sights set on South Texas and Louisiana, he hopes to expand his two-location operation, grow his team from 30 to 50 and drive revenues upwards of $150 million.

Just 15 years ago, Level Legal was a just startup – aiming to provide clients with world-class service. Flash forward to today, with a handful of original employees and over 500 team members, the company delights hundreds of clients while maintaining an average NPS of 74. As former mayor of Tyler, TX, Joey pulls from his experience to make Level Legal delightful.

As a third-generation CEO, Nathan Potter helped grow revenue from $130M to $400M in his last 10 years by strategically prioritizing customers and team members. While enjoying this success, Nathan realized the right buyer would be able to scale DW faster than he could, so he changed roles and sold the company. Now, he supports the acquirer with M&As — applying what he learned in his selling journey.

Serial entrepreneur Brett Goodson transformed a startup into a $15M brand, drawing inspiration from natural interfaces or riparian zones. Brett studies the opportunities that appear where disciplines meet. These are evaluated in depth using a method marketing approach to understand solutions to customer problems.

Pete Tortorelli drives scientific progress by impacting lives daily. Specializing in sample preparation devices, Omni’s innovations span applications such as newborn drug screening to a groundbreaking 95% accurate saliva-based COVID-19 test. Under Pete’s leadership, sales have doubled in the last five years. Now part of Revvity, Omni remains dedicated to addressing scientific discovery and health needs.

CT Darnell Construction, led by President Travis Darnell, defies the construction industry’s negative stereotype. Travis prioritizes trust, fostering long-term relationships. To circumvent the unpredictable nature of the business, he diversified into fast growing cloud-based data center construction, and boosted profitability by exiting under performing market segments.