Cathleen Black: Woman Icon in Publishing

Cathleen Prunty “Cathie” Black was the former Chancellor of the New York City Schools replacing the long-time Chancellor Joel Klein. She was appointed by then New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on November 9, 2010. Black was required to sign a waiver since she did not have the experience as school administrator which was required by the Education Department of the state of New York. After only 95 days in office, Black stepped down as Chancellor and was replaced by New York City Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott.

Black was born on April 26, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois. She is an alumna of the Trinity College. She holds 10 honorary degrees from different universities.

For 15 years, Black worked with Hearst Corporation as its president. She was also the chairman of Hearst Magazine. Hearst Magazine is the publisher of over 20 titles in America, including O, The Oprah Magazine, ELLE, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, and Harper’s Bazaar. Black wrote Basic Black. She was also USA Today’s former president and publisher.

Benjamin Franklin: America’s First True Entrepreneur

While a good number of America’s founding fathers were in a sense, entrepreneurs, one particularly stood out: Benjamin Franklin. His numerous inventions which included bifocals, odometers, lighting rods, swimming fins, watertight bulkheads and wooden stoves, were proofs of his fertile mind, while his ability to market his goods was an enduring testimony that he wasn’t only a brilliant inventor but a business-savvy gentleman as well.

Born on January 17, 1706, in Boston, Massachusetts, Franklin was the youngest son of working-class parents. He only attended school for two years, but he earned enough wealth to retire from a flourishing business the moment he reached 42 years of age.

How did he do it, you ask?

Well, it wasn’t by patenting his inventions for sure, as he believed that everyone should benefit from  breakthrough scientific discoveries which in some way, made him an 18^th century open-source promoter. Rather, it was through his keen entrepreneurial eye which saw even the tiniest of business opportunities and those cunning hands that grab it almost instantaneously. He also had a knack for choosing the right business partners, the likes of which included frugal, industrious and dependable individuals who have influenced him greatly and made a significant impact on how he handled his business transactions.

Aside from that, Franklin was also an incredibly ambitious and hardworking man. During his early days as a printer, he literally burnt midnight candles just to get a job done and extended until the wee hours of the morning to ensure that it was perfect. People quickly noticed his efforts and incredible work ethics. Soon enough, his impressive reputation brought in more customers to his doorsteps and forced his rivals to shut down their businesses.

Franklin also placed much value on good reputation and knew the importance of solid networking. He took calculated risks and came up with solutions that turned potential problems into dust. The inventor also looked at the whole picture and guaranteed quality in all of his products. He was innovative in ways no one could have ever imagined and thought only “outside of the box”.

Without a doubt, Benjamin Franklin is an outstanding businessman and unlike the inordinately intellectual Jefferson or the ultra-moral Washington, he is truly a role model of what many Americans would become – an ambitious entrepreneur with a brilliant mind and an extraordinary set of work ethics that are enough to revolutionize an entire industry.

Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield: The Dynamic Duo Who Built An Ice Cream Empire

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield both grew up in Long Island. They first met in their school as scrawny awkward teenagers whose primary goal in life was to simply get through high school, unscathed. They got along pretty well and soon enough, they were already building a kind of friendship that was going to last an entire lifetime.

Jerry Greenfield finished college but found it hard to get into those med schools. Ben, on the other hand, went to countless colleges but dropped out from each one of them. Both guys realized that they weren’t getting anywhere with what they were doing and knew they had to think of something to get them out of limbo. So, they decided to build a food business. 

Ben and Jerry knew nothing about starting or running a company, but they certainly knew a lot about food – especially ice cream. So in 1978, armed with their life savings and a bank loan, they opened their first ice cream shop at a defunct old gas station in Vermont and called it, Ben & Jerry’s.

Today, their business has grown into a multimillion dollar ice cream empire, manufacturing and distributing unearthly ice cream flavors all around the world.

Jill Blashack Strahan: From Small-town Girl to A Global Inspiration

Founder and chief-executive-officer of Tastefully Simple, Jill Blashack Strahan is an inspiration to thousands of people all around the world as her entrepreneurial path was not flower-strewn. On the contrary, it was filled with a number of hardships that no ordinary woman can handle all by herself. But it was Jill’s spirit, drive, and powerful work ethics that she developed while working at their family farm that helped her come out of the challenges, triumphant and unfazed.

Born and raised in Villard, Minnesota, Jill knew she wanted to become an entrepreneur at a very young age. She attended the University of Minnesota-Morris and then transferred to Alexandria Technical College where she honed her skills in business. She graduated with a degree in sales and marketing and soon landed a position as a manager and co-owner of a small restaurant called Jill’s Grill. Around this time, she started her own gift basket shop.

Then Jill’s story took an entirely new turn.

While participating at a special event to promote her new product, she gave free samples and received an overwhelming positive response. That was when she discovered the might of taste-testing. A couple of weeks after that, the idea of Tastefully Simple popped into her head.

She sold her first business and built a new one. Using only her meager amount of savings, an investment from a friend and a $20,000 loan, Jill started her multimillion dollar business at 1,200 square foot outhouse with only a pool table as her makeshift packing station and no running water. Soon, her business grew to a $140 million enterprise with more than 30,000 consultants all over United States.

But three years into her Tastefully Simple, Jill was shaken by a double tragedy. Her brother was killed in an accident and a few months after that, her husband died all of sudden. Shocked and grieving, Jill was left alone to take care of her 5 year old son. Yet instead of giving up, she took her pain and turned it into passion. Soon enough, she was already living her dreams.

 

While her company grew, so did Jill. She became an author and published a book entitled, “Simply Shine: Stories That Stirred The Fire” – a collection of short tales about her journey through life. She has travelled far and wide, inspiring people with her moving stories and encouraging them to never give up on their dreams no matter what hardships they face along the way.

David Pflieger: Combining His Skill Sets to Change the Airline Industry

In true entrepreneurial fashion, David Pflieger combined his training and experience as a pilot with his education and expertise as an attorney to craft a career as a senior executive in the airline industry. A former United States Air Force officer, B-52 Instructor Pilot, and Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Officer, he has flown the A320, B-737, B-757/767, C-130E/H, B-52G/H, and the T-37/38, amassing a total of more than 3,800 flight hours, including 2,270 hours as pilot-in-command. David Pflieger’s resume features key accomplishments in team-building, leadership, flight operations, government affairs, finance, labor-union negotiations, and other areas.

As Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Air Pacific Limited in Nadi, Fiji, since 2010, David Pflieger orchestrated the turnaround of Fiji’s national carrier, Air Pacific; and Pacific Sun, its regional subsidiary. Building a new management team, he reduced operating costs by F$88 million in less than a year, taking the company from an F$65 million net loss to an F$24 million net profit. The firm now includes 900 employees and 15 aircraft transporting a million passengers annually, earning the airline a gross revenue of approximately F$580 million (about US $290 million). With the mindset of an entrepreneur, Mr. Pflieger accomplished this by restructuring management and union contracts, downsizing the airlines, developing and instituting a fuel-conservation program, enhancing on-time performance, and improving customer satisfaction.

An important player in starting up Virgin America, David Pflieger served as Vice President of the Operations Control Center and Airline Project Manager and as Senior Vice President of Legal and Government Affairs, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and an A320 pilot for the airline. He also acted as a B-757/767 Captain and Vice President of Operations for Delta Air Lines’ low-cost carrier, Song, LLC, participating on the start-up team for that airline as well. In addition, the high achiever served as an Operations Attorney, B-737 pilot, and Director of Flight Safety for Delta Air Lines, Inc. Early in his career, he represented clients as an Associate Attorney in Atlanta’s top law firm, King & Spalding.

Charlotte Beers: Woman Power in Advertising

Charlotte Beers is a combination of Southern charm and business insight. These characteristics placed her at the top of the advertising and marketing world. She was given the award as the “Most Powerful Woman in Advertising” and the accolade as the “Queen of Madison Avenue”. She was on the cover of Business Week and Fortune magazines when these publications featured America’s most powerful women.

Beers was instrumental in making a revolution in ad campaigns through her clear differentiation of products and brands. Her clients had unprecedented successes, including the ad agencies she has managed.

She started as an account executive with J. Walter Thompson Advertising. She slowly climbed up the ladder to become the first woman vice president of the company. Later, she served as the CEO of Tatham-Laird & Kudner., then as CEO and Chairman of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide.

Beers has taught in Harvard Business School. Her case study entitled “Charlotte Beers at Ogilvy” has been a reference in many universities and schools.

From 2001 to 2003, Beers was the Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Her tasks included bringing Brand America to the rest of the world, especially the Middle East. She was given the Distinguished Service Medal for her service with the State Department.

Her other awards included Yale School of Management’s “Legend in Leadership Award” and one of the “Women of the Year” by Glamour magazine.