BY MARY KLEST | PHOTOGRAPHY BY SUSAN MCCONNELL Local CEOs REACHINGGlobal Markets W What do Power Base Selling ®, Fresh Wave ® odor neutralizers, RELEEV ® cold sore treatment, and cocoa powder from Barcelona have in common? These products are being delivered to markets around the world from companies by local CEOs with headquarters located in the Barrington area. ttt These CEOs know what it takes to create change. They have introduced and sold their products and services to major companies in international markets. They share more in common than a 60010 zip code. Each labored to create an in-depth knowledge of products, people, and markets. None come from wealthy families. They did not attend Ivy League schools. ttt 110 r Quintessential Barrington | QB ar r ing ton .com Reprinted With Permission - Quintessential Barrington Magazine - Copyright © 2009 They are strategic. Being able to develop new concepts and connect ideas eventually led them from employee status to entrepreneurial company leader. Locating their international company headquarters in the Barrington area just steps or minutes from where they live allows them quick access to O’Hare International Airport and provides them a quality lifestyle. They imagined something beyond the status quo. Jim Holden and his wife, Chris, are co-founders of Holden International, a leading sales performance company. Both grew up in the Northeast. They came to the Chicago area in 1975 when Jim was assigned to lead a sales team for a Boston-based high tech firm. “The plan was to stay two years. But we grew to love it here,” he says. Jim pioneered a new sales methodology called Power Base Selling, which positioned his company as innovative JIM HOLDEN thought leaders. They know their strengths. Phil Coffey heads OMI Industries, a manufacturer and distributor of odor neutralizing products. He expanded the business from serving a niche industrial market to include Fresh Wave consumer products. About business negotiations, he says, “A lot of people don’t like the confrontational aspect of business, but I like it. I offer a fair deal and people appreciate that.” They know how to meet challenges. Meryl Squires founded Merix Pharmaceutical Corp., maker of RELEEV cold sore treatment, believing that her product was better than the rest. She touted its effectiveness P HIL C OFFEY at trade shows, on the Internet, and door-to-door. “When I got an order for 10,000 units and delivered it in 10 days, I knew I was on my way,” she says. They are relationship builders. Henk Damen is an insider’s insider within the cocoa community. Born in the Netherlands, he leads Indcresa (USA), LLC, a distributor of cocoa powder bought by U.S. food manufacturers to make chocolate. “I wanted to build different kinds of relationships and think creatively,” he says after spending years making influential contacts in the corporate agribusiness industry. They are good listeners. When they don’t know something, they ask someone who does. They listen carefully to their customers. They are quick to offer a smile or a story. They’re optimistic. Through their MERY L S QUIR ES companies, local CEOs provide hundreds of jobs and income to employees, consultants, suppliers, and vendors. Each of them talked about their business, their personal journey, and what it’s like doing business in foreign markets. They all agreed that the world seems smaller than it did just a few decades ago. Mary Klest is a writer and writing coach who lives in Barrington. Visit her Web site at www.maryklest.com HENK DAMEN T H E I R ST OR I E S C ON T I N U E ON PAG E 1 1 2 PHOTO: SUSAN MCCONNELL Reprinted With Permission - Quintessential Barrington Magazine - Copyright © 2009 QB ar r ing ton .com | Quintessential Barrington r 111 J IM HOLDEN REMEMBERS the original inquiry that moved him to founding Holden International, a privately owned sales performance company now operating in 25 countries. “When I first started out in sales, I would win some accounts and lose others. I needed to know what made the difference.” His need to know drove him to document the details of each sales campaign. He analyzed his results. It became clear to him there was a process. “Product, price, and company reputation weren’t the key factors,” he says. He created a pioneering methodology called Power Base Selling that looks beyond current practices toward the intangible aspects of selling. His focus switched from what he was selling to how he was selling and to whom. He asked who in the organization has the most influence, not who has the highest authority. Jim refers to this person as the “fox.” His sales increased dramatically. He believes that sales proficiency can be based on skill and knowledge, not just innate ability. “I was looking at it as a science,” says Jim, who has a JIM HOLDEN, Holden International degree in electrical engineering. In 1977 he resigned from a technology firm to start a local rep firm. For two years, he applied his Continuing to position the company as new thinking to sales on a 100 percent commission thought leaders, Jim hired Ryan Kubacki from basis. With success, Jim, along with his wife, Chris, Microsoft Corporation to serve as president founded Holden International. “Some family of Holden International and Paul Dillon as members said, ‘Don’t do it. You’re young, don’t put senior vice president of business development. everything at risk.’ But I knew we could impact Both are Barrington High School graduates the lives of a lot of people. It was worth taking the with MBAs from Harvard and Northwestern, risk.” Since then, hundreds of thousands of people respectively. Chris serves as the company’s chief have been trained in Power Base Selling. financial officer. The company was recognized as innovators in Holden International is introducing new the field. “A direct correlation between our work products using Internet technology to bring and results fueled our growth, particularly in live, instructor-led, custom classes to locations the high tech industry,” Jim says. Soon they were around the world. On the current economy, he winning contracts from Fortune 100 companies, says, “During good times it’s hard to disturb all of which were doing business globally. the hierarchy of companies within an industry, It was a natural progression for the company based on market share. During slowdowns to move with its clients into international markets. there’s an opportunity to alter the balance “We needed to understand what the issues were. of power through unconventional thinking You can never plug an American program into a providing customers with unexpected value.” foreign country.” While speaking at a conference He cites IT services in India, which are in New Delhi, Jim’s audience looked perplexed currently dominated by a few large companies. as he introduced his fox concept. “It wasn’t until “We introduce new ways to provide value. This I used the word jackal that signs of recognition economy is the domain of the progressive.” crossed their faces.” 112 r Quintessential Barrington | QB ar r ing ton .com Reprinted With Permission - Quintessential Barrington Magazine - Copyright © 2009 schools, and nursing homes. Products are also sold through the company’s Web site. Phil loves data. He tracks sales on his computer, always wanting to know what the customer is thinking. He prefers selling his consumer products through stores such as Whole Foods and Ace Hardware. “The store owners are enthusiastic and fun. They take a hands-on approach to serving customers by being knowledgeable about their products. They’re excited about working together.” His current success may seem unlikely to former managers who repeatedly fired him in spite of his high sales performance. “I was cocky and arrogant then,” he says. “My real success started when I came to understand that I was not smarter than anyone else, whether it be a doorman or the CEO. When you feel that way, you treat everyone with the respect they deserve as equals.” His previous sales work with companies serving international markets allowed him to travel throughout the world. A history major in college, visiting foreign cities and PHIL COFFEY, OMI Industries T different cultures fascinated him. He cultivated worldliness — learning what kinds of gifts to OMI Industries products are different from competitors, Phil Coffey picks up a spray bottle, aims it at his face, and releases the contents without blinking. The container holds a proprietary formula of natural plant oils that absorb and eliminate odors. “The secret is not what’s in it,” he says. “It’s how we blend it.” give, how to sit, and ways of dining depending Phil started working for Odor Management as what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency O DEMONSTRATE HOW a consultant, then as president, and now as owner of renamed OMI Industries. The company appeals to him for three reasons: it serves multiple markets, has a high margin, and can be operated with a limited number of employees. Through savvy marketing and a worldwide distribution system, Phil expanded the business from serving paper mills, refineries, and chemical companies to a consumer product sold in specialty stores under the Fresh Wave brand name. Most recently he has added a commercial division that sells odor neutralizers to Hertz Car Rental, hotels, Reprinted With Permission - Quintessential Barrington Magazine - Copyright © 2009 on what country he was in. His business card reads “Managing Director,” a title he observed used by many company leaders abroad. Selling in an international market has its challenges. They must meet an array of product standards established by the country they are selling in. “Middle Eastern countries don’t care standards are,” he says. Marketing materials must be translated and content checked for cultural nuisances. He’s being strategic about growth. The company has two manufacturing facilities in the United States and one on-site plant in Austria. He’s launched consumer products in Japan and Hong Kong but thinks it’s the wrong time for Europe. “We need to stay focused.” Phil is obvious about enjoying his work. Yet, sometimes he wonders how long will it last? Then he answers himself, “Every day is a new day.” QB ar r ing ton .com | Quintessential Barrington r 113 she worked as a waitress, then a model, and later as a flight attendant. She experienced her first cold sore at the age of 36. She went to Harper College for biology and psychology from 1987 to 1989. In 1990, she became a professional speaker and formed her consulting firm. She used the revenue from that business venture to build her pharmaceutical company. In 1995, Meryl’s daughters, now grown, and her marriage long ended, she sold the consulting company to launch her product. “I had no training in pharmaceuticals or OTC products. I had to learn every step of the way,” she says. “I believed in the product. I knew how well it worked on cold sores. I never had a doubt.” Legal bills started mounting as she forged ahead. In 1998, Meryl met her future husband, Richard Cannon, at a charity function. Being a patent litigator, he encouraged and assisted her in obtaining worldwide patents. The first 5,000 bottles of RELEEV were stored and shipped from her basement. Sales were exclusively through the Internet. Two of her daughters came to work at Merix and in 2002 she MERYL SQUIRES hired a national sales company to get the product Merix Pharmaceutical Corp. distributed through major drug store chains and other mass markets. Every scanned item sold was recorded on reports. She used the data from T WAS PAIN THAT LEAD Meryl Squires to apply her interest in microbiology and phytopharmacology in search of an effective, natural cold sore remedy. “My cold sore outbreaks were devastating to me. Every month my face would swell. The pain was so severe it was hard to eat,” Meryl said. She didn’t like the products currently being sold. Her research and testing of dozens of formulas derived from botanicals eventually led to one that worked for her. With the formula she launched Merix Pharmaceutical Corp., the manufacturer of RELEEV cold sore treatment. Since then, her products have gained placement in more than 30,000 stores including Walgreens, Wal-Mart, Meijer, Rite Aid, and CVS drug stores. Meryl started working full time at the age of 13 in a restaurant near her home on the west side of Chicago. Married at 18, she became the mother of three daughters. To make ends meet 114 r Quintessential Barrington | QB ar r ing ton .com those reports to build momentum and sell to other retailers. Merix Pharmaceutical Corp.’s RELEEV products are contract manufactured at a nearby plant in Addison. They ship to international outlets in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Brazil. Meryl thinks the United States will lead the world out of the recession. “There is a perceived premium on health products made in the United States.” Wherever she travels she finds a common bond with people and says simply, “People are people. We are all looking for effective products.” Merix Pharmaceutical Corp. now has four divisions: pharmaceutical, consumer goods, dental, and veterinary. She’s expanded the RELEEV product line to include a treatment for shingles. She and her husband also own Horizon Farms in Barrington Hills. Taking another step forward, Meryl was approached by WGN and is now host of her own radio segment “Healthy Product Tips” on Monday and Wednesday mornings. Reprinted With Permission - Quintessential Barrington Magazine - Copyright © 2009 initiate and introduce Indcresa’s cocoa powder HENK DAMEN to the United States market.” Indcresa (USA), LLC Henk became president of Indcresa (USA), LLC, a company owned by Indcresa Spain but operated by him. “On my own I’m close to the N 1990 HENK DAMEN transferred from his decision making,” he says. “I have no third native Netherlands to the United States, the world’s largest cocoa market. Within a few years he became manager of Cargill’s sales office for cocoa products. Riding the winds of change, Henk joined Archer Daniels Midland’s (ADM) cocoa division management team. In 2001 he grew tired of the corporate structure and followed his entrepreneurial spirit. Equipped with a vast knowledge of the cocoa industry, a solid reputation as an expert in the field, and influential contacts, he found a way to be a player on his own terms. party shareholders to answer to.” His wife, businessman was presenting a talk on McDonald’s Sue, retired from her corporate management business model. A Frenchman in the audience position at Cargill Inc. investor services to help leaned over and said to him: “I understand the run the newly created Indcresa (USA). She set model, but tell me, what is a hamburger?” He aligned with Indcresa, a leading cocoa up trading and operating systems to oversee Indcresa (USA) relies on industrial sales to the accounting, quality assurance, importation, food manufacturers, not to consumers. It takes warehousing, and transportation of nearly 25 18 months from the time a cocoa bean is picked million pounds of cocoa annually. to selling it as a candy bar or milkshake. Henk The Damens manage one quarter of the negotiates contracts with customers six to 12 total volume produced by the factory in Spain months in advance of receiving the product. Cocoa from a rooftop office in their Barrington-area beans are sold as a bulk commodity, so he must be home. The house is divided into business kept informed of world market prices and currency space and family living areas. Following an values before advising customers on when to buy. in international time schedule, they begin work Henk is planning to double the size of the Barcelona, Spain. The Crehuet Family just built at 4 a.m., which leaves time at the end of the business in the next three years. “What I do is a high capacity, ultra modern factory but were day to volunteer at their two sons’ school and not money or status driven. It’s fun — the most not exporting cocoa to the U.S. market yet. Henk coach sports teams. important ingredient to being successful.” Sue nods powder manufacturing company based saw an opportunity. “It was a mutually beneficial Henk travels extensively and speaks five arrangement that coincided with me resigning languages fluently. He recalls attending a from ADM. I found trading partners to help conference in France where an American Reprinted With Permission - Quintessential Barrington Magazine - Copyright © 2009 in agreement and says, “We knew we could do it better than anyone else.” QB ar r ing ton .com | Quintessential Barrington r 115