APi Group, Inc.’s Lee R. Anderson named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2009 Winner in the Real Estate, Hospitality & Construction category
Palm Springs, 15 November 2009 – Lee R. Anderson, Sr., chairman of APi Group, Inc. based in New Brighton, Minnesota, was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2009 national winner in the Real Estate, Hospitality & Construction category. Now in its 23rd year, the awards recognize leaders and visionaries who demonstrate innovation, financial success and personal commitment as they create and build world-class businesses.
Anderson grew his father’s small Minnesota plumbing supply business into APi Group, a $1.6 billion global construction conglomerate. Anderson was honored at the Entrepreneur Of The Year® gala in Palm Springs – the culminating event of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. Awards were given in nine additional categories. All Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® winners were selected by an independent panel of judges from approximately 400 regional award recipients.
APi Group is comprised of more than 33 independent companies in the life safety and industrial and specialty construction industries. The conglomerate operates in 33 states, as well as in Canada and the United Kingdom.
Military training translates to business success
While Reuben Anderson never went beyond the eighth grade, he valued education and encouraged his son to go to West Point. The academy’s emphasis on character and integrity became the foundation upon which Lee Anderson has built his life and his business.
Anderson liked the military and planned to make it a career. But when his father suffered a heart attack, Anderson came home to learn the family’s plumbing contracting business. His father’s business partner resisted the idea of him stepping in to help lead the company, so instead, Anderson became a salesman in a separate company owned by his father, a small plumbing supply business that would become APi Group.
Growing the business one small step at a time
When one of the small contractors he supplied was struggling, Anderson decided to acquire the business. Soon after that, a second opportunity came and he purchased that small business as well. The company’s acquisitions were not done with a grand design in mind, but taking on smaller businesses proved to be a successful strategy.
Each acquisition they did was small, but they did a lot of them. Anderson looked for businesses that were similar to existing APi Group businesses, including sharing a similar culture. Instead of making big changes, typically the acquired company’s principal management remained, as did the business name. They attached the new businesses to existing APi Group businesses, expanding the company’s footprint across the country.
Anderson has also remained loyal to his West Point roots, offering a “wounded warrior” program to recruit and hire military personnel who has been injured on the battlefield or in training, He and his family have also given back to the community on many fronts, including the new rugby complex at West Point, and the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Center now being built at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.
Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2009 national finalists in Real Estate, Hospitality & Construction Category
In addition to Anderson, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® national finalists in the Real Estate, Hospitality & Construction category are: Phillip Maung, founder and CEO of Hissho Sushi in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the leading suppliers of sushi to supermarkets as well as operating more than 300 sushi bars across the country; David P. Suder, president and CEO of KHS&S Contractors, Inc. in Anaheim, California, one of the largest interior and exterior contractors in the country; and Gail Warrior-Lawrence, president and CEO of Texas-based Warrior Group, Inc., one of the largest women-owned construction services company in the country.
Overall Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2009 National Winner
Tom Adams, president and CEO of Rosetta Stone Inc. (NYSE: RST), was named the Overall Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2009 national winner.
Video and Photos
To view video clips of all the Entrepreneur Of The Year® winners, please visit the Ernst & Young YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/ErnstandYoungGlobal. Photos of the winners are also available by request.
Sponsors
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year® awards are pleased to have the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and SAP America as national sponsors.
About Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year®
Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year® is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 135 cities in 50 countries.
About Ernst & Young's Strategic Growth Markets Practice
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