Profile of Successful Entrepreneurs by Business Areas

Profile of Successful Entrepreneurs by Business Areas

Profile of Successful Entrepreneurs by Business Areas : Decoration
William McIntosh

William McIntosh

Tailored, modern and elegant; rough, sleek and bold. The Interiors by William McIntosh are individually conceived and meticulously crafted. Unique architectural and decorative solutions beautifully detailed and executed, each project emphasizes the integration of architecture and interior design.

(6,041)

phone

212.807.8030

fax

212.807.9985

address

54 West 21st Street
New York, NY 10010
United States

Tailored, modern and elegant; rough, sleek and bold — the interiors by William McIntosh are individually conceived and meticulously crafted. Unique architectural and decorative solutions beautifully detailed and executed, each project emphasizes the integration of architecture and interior design. His work is at once familiar but also reveals surprises and new interpretations, embracing both the period and the modern.

Born in upstate New York, William McIntosh studied Interior Design at Pratt Institute in New York. After graduating in 1980 he worked for the noted Interior Design firms of Timothy MacDonald Incorporated and Bray-Schaible Design. He established his namesake firm in 1990. With a team of dedicated professionals including Architects, Designers, Artists, and Craftsmen, McIntosh continues to produce the thoughtful, intelligent and personal interiors that have established him among a solid, loyal and growing clientele.

Profile of Successful Entrepreneurs by Business Areas : ICT

Bill Gates Biography (William Henry Gates III):Microsoft Founder
Famous for :Being the richest man in the world, a cofounder of the software company Microsoft, and for being one of the world's most generous philanthropists.
Gates details :Born - USA October 28, 1955 Lives - United States of America
More Gates :Buffett Gives to Gates Foundation-Person of the Year 2005-Melinda Gates-Richest Man in the World

Bill Gates is one of the most influential people in the world. He is cofounder of one of the most recognized brands in the computer industry with nearly every desk top computer using at least one software program from Microsoft. According to the Forbes magazine, Bill Gates is the richest man in the world and has held the number one position for many years. Gates was born and grew up in Seattle, Washington USA. His father, William H. Gates II was a Seattle attorney and his mother, Mary Maxwell Gates was a school teacher and chairperson of the United Way charity. Gates and his two sisters had a comfortable upbringing, with Gates being able to attend the exclusive secondary "Lakeside School". Bill Gates started studying at Harvard University in 1973 where he spent time with Paul Allen. Gates and Allen worked on a version of the programming language BASIC, that was the basis for the MITS Altair (the first microcomputer available). He did not go on to graduate from Harvard University as he left in his junior year to start what was to become the largest computer software company in the world; Microsoft Corporation. Bill Gates and the Microsoft Corporation "To enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential." Microsoft Mission Statement After dropping out of Harvard Bill Gates and his partner Paul Allen set about revolutionizing the computer industry. Gates believed there should be a computer on every office desk and in every home. In 1975 the company Micro-soft was formed, which was an abbreviation of microcomputer software. It soon became simply "Microsoft"® and went on to completely change the way people use computers. Microsoft helped to make the computer easier to use with its developed and purchased software, and made it a commercial success. The success of Microsoft began with the MS-DOS computer operating system that Gates licensed to IBM. Gates also set about protecting the royalties that he could acquire from computer software by aggressively fighting against all forms of software piracy, effectively creating the retail software market that now exists today. This move was quite controversial at the time as it was the freedom of sharing that produced much innovation and advances in the newly forming software industry. But it was this stand against software piracy, that was to be central in the great commercial success that Microsoft went on to achieve.

Profile of Successful Entrepreneurs by Business Areas : Clothing & Fashion

VERA WANG

Vera Ellen Wang^[1] (Chinese: 王薇薇; pinyin: Wáng Wēiwei, Mandarin pronunciation: [u̯ɑ̌ŋ u̯éɪ̯u̯éɪ̯]; born June 27, 1949) is an American fashion designer based inNew York City and former figure skater. She is known for her wide range of haute couture bridesmaid gowns and wedding gown collections, as well as for her clientele of elite ladies figure skaters, designing dresses for competitions and exhibitions.

Vera Ellen Wang was born and raised in New York City, and is of Chinese descent. Her parents were born in Shanghai, China, and came to the United States in the mid-1940s. Her mother worked as a translator for the United Nations, while her father,Cheng Ching Wang, owned a medicine company. Wang has one younger brother, Kenneth. She graduated from The Chapin School in 1967, attended the University of Paris and earned a degree in art history from Sarah Lawrence College. Wang began figure skating at the age of six.^[2] While in high school, she trained with pairs partner James Stuart, and competed at the 1968 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. She was featured in Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd in the January 9, 1968 issue.^[3] When she failed to make the US Olympics team, she entered the fashion industry.^[4] Wang continues to enjoy skating, saying, "Skating is multidimensional"^[2].

In 1989, she married Arthur Becker in an interfaith Baptist and Jewish ceremony.^[5][6] They resided in Manhattan with their two adopted daughters:^[6] Cecilia (born 1990), who currently attends the University of Pennsylvania, and Josephine (born 1993), who attended The Chapin School and currently attends Harvard University. Becker was the CEO of an information technology services company called NaviSite until August 2010. In July 2012, Vera Wang Co. announced that the couple have separated. The separation was amicable.^[7] One week later, it was announced that then-27 year old Olympic gold medalist Evan Lysacek had moved into her home, prompting speculation as to the nature of their relationship.^[8]. In February 2013 Wang finally addressed the Lysacek rumour to interviewer Fern Mallis by telling that she was simply mentoring Lysacek and that she continues to have a wonderful relationship with Becker ^[9].

Profile of Successful Entrepreneurs by Business Areas : Transport

Henry Ford

Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of theassembly line technique of mass production. Although Ford did not invent the automobile, he developed and manufactured the first automobile that many middle class Americans could afford to buy. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry. As owner of the Ford Motor Company, he became one of the richest and best-known people in the world. He is credited with "Fordism": mass production of inexpensive goods coupled with high wages for workers. Ford had a global vision, with consumerism as the key to peace. His intense commitment to systematically lowering costs resulted in many technical and business innovations, including a franchise system that put dealerships throughout most of North America and in major cities on six continents. Ford left most of his vast wealth to the Ford Foundation but arranged for his family to control the company permanently.

Ford was also widely known for his pacifism during the first years of World War I, but also for being the publisher of antisemitic texts such as the book The International Jew.^[1]

Ford Motor Company

In response, Malcomson brought in another group of investors and convinced the Dodge Brothers to accept a portion of the new company.^[10] Ford & Malcomson was reincorporated as the Ford Motor Company on June 16, 1903,^[10] with $28,000 capital. The original investors included Ford and Malcomson, the Dodge brothers, Malcomson's uncle John S. Gray, Malcolmson's secretary James Couzens, and two of Malcomson's lawyers, John W. Anderson and Horace Rackham. Ford then demonstrated a newly-designed car on the ice of Lake St. Clair, driving 1 mile (1.6 km) in 39.4 seconds and setting a new land speed record at 91.3 miles per hour (147.0 km/h). Convinced by this success, the race driver Barney Oldfield, who named this new Ford model "999" in honor of the fastest locomotive of the day, took the car around the country, making the Ford brand known throughout the United States. Ford also was one of the early backers of the Indianapolis 500.

Model A and Ford's later career

By 1926, flagging sales of the Model T finally convinced Henry to make a new model. He pursued the project with a great deal of technical expertise in design of the engine, chassis, and other mechanical necessities, while leaving the body design to his son. Edsel also managed to prevail over his father's initial objections in the inclusion of a sliding-shift transmission.^[18]

The result was the successful Ford Model A, introduced in December 1927 and produced through 1931, with a total output of more than 4 million. Subsequently, the Ford company adopted an annual model change system similar to that recently pioneered by its competitor General Motors (and still in use by automakers today). Not until the 1930s did Ford overcome his objection to finance companies, and the Ford-owned Universal Credit Corporation became a major car-financing operation.^[19]

Ford did not believe in accountants; he amassed one of the world's largest fortunes without ever having his company audited under his administration.

Profile of Successful Entrepreneurs by Business Areas : Food

Robert Kuok

Robert Kuok Hock Nien (traditional Chinese: 郭鶴年; simplified Chinese: 郭鹤年; pinyin: Guō Hènián, born 6 October 1923 in Johor Bahru, Johor), is an influentialMalaysian Chinese businessman. According to Forbes his net worth is estimated to be around $14.7 billion on Feb 2012, making him the richest person in Malaysia^[1][2] and second richest in Southeast Asia after Dhanin Chearavanont of Thailand, according to Forbe's List of World Billionaires 2013 which Robert Kuok was placed 76th. As of December 2012, According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Kuok has an estimated net worth of 17.3 billion making him the 40th richest person in the world.^[3]

Kuok is media-shy; most of his businesses are privately held by him or his family. Apart from a multitude of businesses in Malaysia, his companies have investments in many countries throughout Asia.^[4] His business interests range from sugarcane plantations (Perlis Plantations Bhd), sugar refineries, flour milling,animal feed, oil, mining, finance, hotels, properties, trading, freight and publishing.^[1] Biggest source of wealth is stake in Wilmar International, the world's largest listed palm oil company. He was a student from the school Raffles Institution.

Robert Kuok has been the richest man in South East Asia since 2002. He is in the sugar business. Kuok's father arrived in Malaya from Fujian, China at the beginning of the 20th century, and Robert was the youngest of three brothers, born on 6 October 1923, in Johor Bahru. He claims he began in business as an office boy, and later started a business with relatives' support.^[4] In fact, upon graduation, he worked in the grains department of Japanese industrial conglomerate Mitsubishi between 1942 and 1945.

Kuok senior died in 1948, and Kuok and his two brothers founded Kuok Brothers Sdn Bhd in 1949, trading agricultural commodities. Under the new post-colonial government, Kuok started in the sugar business alongside the government. In 1961, he made a coup by buying cheap sugar from India before the prices shot up. He continued to invest heavily in sugar refineries, controlled 80% of the Malaysian sugar market with production of 1.5 million tonnes, equivalent to 10% of world production, and so earned his nickname "Sugar King of Asia".

In 1971, he built the first Shangri-La Hotel, in Singapore. His first foray into Hong Kong property was in 1977, when he acquired a plot of land on the newly reclaimed Tsim Sha Tsui East waterfront, where he built the second hotel, the Kowloon Shangri-La. In 1993, his Kerry Group acquired a 34.9% stake in the South China Morning Post from Murdoch's News Corporation.

His companies have investments in many countries, including Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Mainland China, Indonesia, Fiji and Australia. Businesses in China include 10 bottling companies for Coca Cola, and ownership of the Beijing World Trade Centre.^[4]

Freight interests include Malaysian Bulk Carriers Berhad and Transmile Group.

His political influence is attested by his having been selected as one of the advisors on Hong Kong's future in the runup to the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong, and his minority stake in CITIC Pacific. He was also instrumental in conveying information and setting up the meetings between Malaysia and China governments leading to full diplomatic cross recognition of the two countries.

Kuok has married twice and has eight children. His fourth eldest son, which he passed on to be the holder of Shangri-la Hotels Jeffrey Ong Teng Buey married twice. He has one daughter, Alyssa Ong Lei Yeng and three sons, Justin Choo Jia Wei, Bryan Choo Jia Jun and Jon Choo Jia Sheng. Kuok officially retired from the Kerry Group on 1 April 1993. One of his sons, Kuok Khoon Ean, now handles most of the day-to-day operations of his businesses. He currently resides in Hong Kong.

On 31 October 2009, PPB Group under the flagship of Robert Kuok issued a statement to the Bursa Malaysia that it has decided to dispose of its sugar units along with land used to cultivate sugar cane for RM 1.29 billion to FELDA. The sales resulted in a one-off gain for the company. The sugar unit and sugar cane plantation were the second largest business segment upon its grain and feed which were topping the sales.