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Top Young Trainers 2008
May 08, 2008
Training's first annual list of 40 of the training industry's rising young stars. Plus, 10 to watch.
By Sarah Boehle
Welcome to Training's First Annual Top Young Trainer Awards. With this new awards program, we recognize the outstanding talents, accomplishments, and leadership of 40 training and organizational development professionals age 40 and under.
The young leaders profiled here were nominated by industry peers or self- nominated last December and selected for Top Young Trainer honors by Training editors and an independent judging panel comprising members of Training's Editorial Advisory Board. Award winners were feted during a ceremony May 5 during Training's annual Training Leadership Summit, this year held at the Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego.
Besides being in the training industry for at least three years and having one or more direct reports, nominees were judged on criteria including
• Demonstrates leadership skills (i.e., motivates/inspires direct reports and co-workers; acts as a mentor/coach, either formally or informally; thinks strategically)
• Demonstrates career progression in an accelerated time frame
• Successfully met a difficult training challenge recently and/or completed a training turnaround job
• Recently developed an innovative training solution/ program
• Consistently produces training results (as evaluated by the Kirkpatrick model)
• Consistently recommends/designs training programs that are strategically aligned with the business
• Demonstrates technical competence (a combination of knowledge and skills that would cause you to believe they would predictably attain good to outstanding results)
The diverse list of winners includes superstars in the corporate world, successful entrepreneurs, and individuals who ply their talents in the higher-education and nonprofit sectors. Some have built training departments and businesses from the ground up. Others are playing a key role in helping their organizations—and the people within them—to achieve their full potential. All have achieved tremendous feats at a young age and are making their mark on the field in significant ways.
On these pages, you'll find in-depth profiles of the Top 10 Young Trainers (listed in alphabetical order), plus shorter profiles of the other 30 Top Young Trainers. We also couldn't resist compiling a "10 to Watch" list, which features up-and-coming leaders who didn't receive an award this year, but are well on their way to becoming Top Young Trainers in the future.
Congratulations to this year's winners. Thanks to you, says Top Young Trainer judge Rebecca L. Ray, group head of global talent management and development at MasterCard Worldwide, "our profession will be in good hands!"
The Top 10
 Tracey Draper, 39
Sector Director, Learning and Development (Electronic Systems Sector) (26 direct reports)
Northrop Grumman Corporation, Baltimore, MD
B.A., James Madison University; M.A., George Mason University
Childhood Aspirations: I have no recollection of my career aspirations as a child, though at the age of 6, I wrote in my Dr. Seuss "My Book About Me" that I wanted to be a nurse—but I can't stand hospitals. My career-interest inventories dating as far back as the ninth grade indicated that the training/education field was a good match for me!
Favorite Phrase or Motto: Do what you love. Love what you do.
Family/Pets: Husband Kelby; sons Cole (10) and Logan (5); cat Morrissey (15); dog Dallas (2); and various fish and reptiles
Outside Interests: Soccer, cycling, hiking, just about any outdoor activity, and watching and participating in my sons' sports and hobbies.
Advice for new training professionals: Being an avid learner is a foundation for success in this field. If you view everything as a learning opportunity, the possibilities are endless.
Training magazine can barely keep up with Tracey Draper. In the time that passed between our informing her that she was among our Top 40 Young Trainers and her submittal of a questionnaire detailing her accomplishments several weeks later, we learned she already had been promoted—again. This time, from manager of talent management and organization effectiveness to director of learning and development for an entire sector.
Draper has the training cred to back the promotion—and Top Young Trainer honor—up. In the seven years since she joined Northrop Grumman, she rapidly has progressed from individual contributor to team leader to manager to director. "Her prior experiences in multiple industries and ability to effectively assemble teams and leverage best practices [are what] contribute to her success," says Donna Szuba, sector director of HR, strategic initiatives, diversity, and learning and development at Northrop Grumman.
Such successes include taking the lead in rolling out key executive programs such as LEAD ES—a highly interactive "leaders teaching leaders" development program that has reached more than 1,500 directors and managers in only 15 months, and will reach 1,500 more by year's end.
Draper also led a team that repackaged her sector's employee development framework to integrate competency assessment, gap analysis, and development planning. And she collaborated with Northrop Grumman's internal IT organization to design her sector's Talent Visibility System, which provides an online, searchable database of key talent across all functions and sector locations within the company.
What's more, Draper accomplished all this while working within a tough organizational structure. "As an HR and learning and development professional in an organization of more than 21,000 employees dispersed across more than 20 U.S. locations, the opportunities and challenges are great," says Szuba. "Tracey is viewed as a key talent in our organization…and is highly regarded by her peers, direct reports, and management at various levels within HR and the line organization."
 Jennifer Dunham, 37
Director, Customer Success Programs (6 direct reports)WebEx Communications Inc. (a Cisco company), Rancho Cordova, CA
A.A., Butte College; B.S., California State University
Childhood Aspirations: A rock star. I didn't have the voice, so I found a way to reach an audience without singing.
Favorite Phrase or Motto:There is beauty and elegance in simplicity.
Family/Pets: Husband Brett (who is a civil and structural engineer); daughter Brittany (8); and a cat named Shadow.
Advice for new training professionals: Invest in the people around you. Managers and supervisors need training and inspiration, and they need it consistently. Maintain productivity and loyalty through this investment. People leave managers more readily than they leave jobs.
2007 was quite a year for Jennifer Dunham. In January, she was promoted from senior manager and project director of WebEx University to director of customer success programs. In her new role, she not only assumed responsibility for managing business operations for WebEx University, WebEx's learning management system, and WebEx's knowledge base and customer resource portal—which together serve more than 5.65 million registered users—she also leads several programs designed to enhance customer loyalty and increase customer adoption.
By all accounts, Dunham is off to a great start. In only a year, her team improved customer access to WebEx University and self-service portals by 17.2 percent; localized WebEx University to support global customers (resulting in a 35 percent increase in emerging-market customers trained); and initiated the restructure of implementation courses for new customers, leading to a 15 percent increase in overall customer attendance and a 49 percent increase in attendees per class.
Last year, she also created and led customer success Vital Factor and SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) teams to drive customer adoption, streamline processes, and align various departments cross-functionally—an initiative that grew customer utilization by 16.66 percent. Her laser-like focus on streamlining processes and procedures in this way ultimately enabled her team to take on more projects last year and to implement the support functions necessary to grow WebEx's business—without a significant increase in resources allocated to her division.
All this was accomplished in a highly competitive environment that changes by the day, says WebEx Senior Manager of Global Learning Carrie Le Sieur. "Working in the Software as a Service (SaaS) space requires a great deal of flexibility and the ability to reprioritize projects daily to not only support service releases, but to enhance the overall customer experience. Jennifer's strong communication skills enable her to effectively lead her direct reports and to create a proactive rather than reactive environment—a tough feat in our industry."
 Diane Elkins, 38
Founder and President (6 direct reports)
Alcorn, Ward & Partners Inc., Jacksonville, FL
B.A., Jacksonville University
Childhood Aspirations: During my junior year in high school I decided on an art career and went on to get a degree in visual communications. Like many people, I found the training industry by accident. I was selected for my first e-learning project back in 2000 mainly because I was one of the "techier" people on the team. I started at zero-level knowledge and worked hard to learn everything I needed to learn through reading, attending conferences, and talking to experts in the field.
Favorite Phrase or Motto:This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Family/Pets: Husband Steve; stepchildren Nick (20) and Allie (17); and pets George (cat) and Amber (dog).
Outside Interests: Flower gardening, painting, golf, and children's book writing and illustrating.
Advice to new training professionals: Stay connected to the industry through organizations such as the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD), local and national conferences, e-newsletters, and Websites. Stay connected to your professional network, too. Use online networking tools such as LinkedIn to stay in touch even when people move around.
"A real go-getter." These are among the words our Top Young Trainer judges use to describe serial entrepreneur, author, and e-learning expert Diane Elkins. Since she burst onto the professional scene in the early '90s, Elkins has worn several hats, from teaching conversational English to students in Yokohama, Japan, and working for the U.S. Navy to serving as VP of e-learning development for a training consulting firm. In the same time span, Elkins also launched three of her own ventures (including a resume-writing business and two training firms) and coauthored a self-published book, "E-Learning: from Concept to Execution" (Alcorn, Ward, & Partners Inc., 2005).
Her work has taken her around the world and thrust her into any number of challenging situations, but according to Elkins, her biggest leadership accomplishment thus far involved simply "letting go" to build her current company. "My first two ventures were sole proprietorships where I provided a service myself," she says. "As a small business owner, it is a big leap of faith to trust your work, your reputation, your financial success, and your customers' projects to someone else for the first time."
Despite her trepidation, Elkins took the leap. In each of the last two years, she has led her company through 50 to 60 percent growth while managing a team of six employees and up to nine contractors at a time. Best of all, she regularly gets to spend her time helping to shape the e-learning vision and strategy for clients ranging from small nonprofits to Fortune 500 corporations. Among other recent accomplishments, she helped one client save $80,000 by clarifying needs and helping the client to find a solution that was a better (and more cost-effective) fit. Many of her client projects also have won the University of North Florida's Excellence in Training Award.
 Christine Eoff, 33
Training and Development Manager (13 direct reports)
Scottrade Inc., St. Louis, MO
A.A., Jefferson College
Childhood Ambition: A schoolteacher.
Favorite Phrase or Motto: Plan your work; work your plan.
Family/Pets: Husband Dwain and daughter Taylor.
Outside Interests: Shopping and scrapbooking.
Advice to new training professionals: Things sometimes won't go as planned, but with patience and perseverance, you will succeed
Christine Eoff joined Scottrade Inc. back in 1999, and then spent the next nine years rocketing up the ranks. Her meteoric rise, says Scottrade Director of Training and Development Casey Rozniak, was made possible by her innate leadership skills and her unparalleled ability to motivate not only her own associates, but those who participate in company training, as well.
These skills were put to use in 2006, when Eoff led the development of "Welcome to Life@Scottrade," a new firm-wide orientation program designed to create uniformity amid rapid growth and acclimate new associates to the company on day one.
Eoff's new onboarding program not only doubled the time spent introducing new associates to the firm and better integrated them into the company's culture, mission, and vision, it also markedly improved new hires' time to proficiency, according to Rozniak.
In addition to managing the day-to-day functions of her department, which include new employee orientation, home office training, branch training, manager training, e-learning, licensing, continuing education, and multimedia production for 1,800 associates nationwide, Eoff regularly works with her 13 direct reports to set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals at both an individual and departmental level.
She also recently launched a training and communication plan (which included implementation of the Kirkpatrick training evaluation model) to assist her training specialists with planning and delivering projects, and she worked with the firm's multimedia team to implement a new project tracking system that significantly decreased production time and improved scheduling.
Under Eoff's leadership, Scottrade's training and development department was nationally recognized by several industry leaders for its commitment to professional learning and development. The online investment firm nabbed a spot on the Training Top 125 list in 2007 and 2008; took home a Learning Leader Award for operational program excellence from Bersin & Associates in 2006; and won an American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) BEST Award in 2007. Eoff also received personal recognition when she was named a Special Leader in the Workplace by the St. Louis chapter of the YWCA.
 Faith LeGendre, 34
Vice President of Training (from 7 to 80 direct reports, depending on seasonal shifts)
1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Carle Place, NY
B.A., University of Maine; M.S., Antioch New England Graduate School
Childhood Ambitions: As a young child, I pretended I was everything from an actress and doctor to a public speaker and inventor. My father often jokes about how he would be a millionaire if he acted upon some of the many zany ideas I came up with as a child.
Favorite Phrase or Motto: Training is the driving force of motivation and education.
Family/Pets: One older sister who lives in Maine with her husband, Robert, and a mini-rabbit whose little face just makes me smile.
Outside Interests: Volunteering, hiking, film, and live music.
Advice to new training professionals: Have mentors both internally and externally and utilize them for your personal and professional growth. Pass it on, too, by volunteering to mentor others. Spend at least 30 minutes a week researching and learning something new about technology, your field, or some other area that piques your interest. Skip the blame and solve the problem. Remain positive even in the face of strong, negative adversity. Never, ever give up. Keep trying if you really want and believe in what you are going for, and know that you can make it happen. Everything is possible.
During her three-plus-year tenure as VP of training at 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Faith LeGendre pioneered a "nibblets" approach that breaks up all "training" into the smallest digestible chunks and embeds them into the task workers are completing at a given time. She introduced e-learning to the company and created a virtual training organization. She established "Learning Labs" in all 1-800-FLOWERS.COM centers. And she introduced Kirkpatrick's training evaluation model and International Board of Standards for Training, Performance, and Instruction (IBSTPI) standards into the company's service center organization. Under her leadership, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM also was named to the Training Top 125 list three years in a row.
"Everything Faith does is well thought out, from when she creates an annual budget to the actual delivery of the training," says 1-800-FLOWERS.COM VP of Quality and Performance Management Peter Schiller. According to Schiller, LeGendre budgets for every training hour for each brand owned by 1-800-FLOWERS.COM. "In addition, each training class is measured using a homegrown learning management system (LMS) that outperforms any industry-standard tool," says Schiller. "Faith can capture the specifics needed to create further success for the staff and turn her training on a dime. Her vision and expertise in training have transformed our organization into a lean, organized, and accomplished structure."
What most distinguishes LeGendre, however, is her passion for the training profession. "My ultimate career accomplishment is developing people and helping them do things they thought they would never do," she says. "I'm like a proud parent. You just can't describe the feeling of being a part of another person's growth. It's truly amazing!"
 Tracy Lendi, 37
Director, Training and Development (7 direct reports)
Standard Parking Corporation, Chicago, IL
B.A., Aurora University; M.A., Roosevelt University; Ph.D., Capella University (expected May 2008)
Childhood Ambitions: I had many dreams as a child, and at one point or another I am pretty sure I wanted to pursue every career imaginable. Regardless of what the dream was, there was one consistent, overarching theme—and that was to be the best at whatever it was I chose to do.
Favorite Phrase or Motto: If there's a will, there's a way.
Family/Pets: A wonderful husband, John, and three gorgeous long-haired Chihuahuas named Milo, Tanky, and Bella.
Outside Interests: Corporate leader Tracy L. Lendi by day and country singer Tracylyn with 55 South by night!
Advice to new training professionals: Never stop learning and take as many risks as you can because complacency can kill your career. If you think you are on top of your game, wait a few minutes; there will be a new concept, theory, software, or system that will threaten your place.
Tracy Lendi knows how to get things done.
She had only been with Standard Parking Corp. 15 months when the Top Young Trainer competition was announced, but already those who work with Lendi were ready to sing her praises publicly—and point to the results she'd already achieved during her short tenure with the organization.
When Lendi stepped on board at Standard she had a big job in front of her, says Standard Senior VP of HR Gerard Klaisle. Among the items on her to-do list? Take the company's minimal training infrastructure and transform it entirely; implement Standard's first-ever learning management system (LMS); reorganize the field training organization; and develop a culture of training accountability.
Fifteen months later, Lendi already had checked off every single item on her to-do list—and then some. "Over my years as the head of HR for multiple Fortune 1000 companies, I have never seen an individual in this capacity achieve such success in such a short period of time," says Klaisle.
Only 12 months after joining Standard, for example, Lendi already had evaluated vendors and managed the installation and rollout of the company's first LMS (the traditional benchmark is at least two years, Klaisle says). She'd also redefined the role of the field training organization; broadened the skill set of her trainers; developed Kirkpatrick Levels I-IV evaluation for most of the company's high-profile courses; created a curriculum specific to each position and job role in the company; and led the instructional design of courses supporting several new service products and internal applications.
As if holding a director-level position in a 13,000-employee, publicly traded company at the age of 37 weren't enough, Lendi is also on the verge of completing a Ph.D. in instructional design for online learning and will release her second country album this month. "Tracylyn" and her band, 55 South, can be seen performing in the Chicago area once or twice a month.
 Dan Parisi, 39
Executive Vice President (6 direct reports)
BTS USA Inc., San Francisco, CA
B.A., State University of New York Stony Brook; M.B.A., New York University
Childhood Ambitions: I wasn't certain what I wanted to be when I grew up. It didn't dawn on me that I would enter the world of training until I was in the second year of my M.B.A. program and interviewed with BTS. There, I found a perfect match between my strengths and an exciting, high-growth career.
Favorite Phrase or Motto: Chance favors the prepared mind.
Family/Pets: Wife Jessica; son Roman; and a baby girl due this month.
Outside Interests: Kickboxing, fitness training, travel, and voracious reading.
Advice to new training professioanls: Find an aspect of the training world that you can be passionate about and build a career around it. "Interest" in a career is not enough. Only something you are passionate about will bring out your best abilities and allow you to achieve at the highest levels. Also, never lose sight of the clients you are serving. Pour your heart into client quality and hyper-responsive service, and you will get back more than you put out.
Fresh out of NYU Stern School of Business with a finance M.B.A., Dan Parisi began his career at BTS USA in 1995 as a junior trainer and simulation facilitator. During his 13-year tenure with the company, he has pioneered the application of customized business simulations for leading Fortune 500 clients such as Hewlett Packard, Texas Instruments, Sun Microsystems, Nortel, Cisco, Network Appliances, Toyota, and Gap Inc. He also has personally facilitated the training of more than 7,500 executives and managers using computer-based business simulations.
A true strategist, Parisi embodies the all-too-rare combination of training expertise and business acumen. As a member of the BTS USA management team, he is part of a group responsible for overseeing the profitable growth of six BTS offices in the U.S. and one in Beijing. He also serves as managing director of the company's San Francisco office, where revenues grew by 30 percent in 2007. Promoted last year to global partner, the highest partner level inside BTS, Parisi is "instrumental in creating and driving BTS global strategy," according to BTS USA CEO Jonas Akerman.
His achievements are well recognized in the industry, too. In 2007, Parisi was included in the Marshall Goldsmith Library of Distinguished Thought Leaders. That same year, the customer loyalty simulation experience he crafted for Texas Instruments landed BTS a coveted Texas Instruments Supplier of the Year Award, for which only 0.5 percent of suppliers are ever nominated. BTS became the first and only training consultancy to be nominated or to win.
Parisi represents the "next generation of training industry leaders," says Akerman. "Not only does Dan 'lead from the front' by delivering seminars and developing new solutions with his San Francisco-based 20-consultant team, he inspires his team to take on newer, bigger challenges each year."
 Melissa Taylor, 36
Cleveland Clinic Regional Hospitals
Manager, Patient Access Development and Support (8 direct reports), Warrensville Heights, OH
B.A., Kent State University; M.B.A., Tiffin University
Childhood Ambitions: Either a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader or an attorney. Training ended up being the ultimate culmination of the two aspirations. I get to be a cheerleader for training initiatives and get others excited about them, while being a trainer requires me to persuade and influence others.
Favorite Phrase or Motto: Attitude over aptitude. I often find myself saying this when I talk about hiring decisions. I don't believe you can train commitment, compassion, kindness and sincerity. These attributes are critical for anyone who is going to interact with patients and their families.
Family/Pets: Husband Matt and son Wyatt (20 months).
Outside Interests: Spending time with my family, reading (I love Steinbeck and Dickens), traveling, and being outdoors.
Advice to new training professionals: Train in a field you love.
Melissa Taylor's advice to other training professionals is to "train in a field you love," and she follows that advice every day as manager of patient access development and support at Cleveland Clinic Regional Hospitals, where she manages training for five facilities and 175 employees.
Not only does Taylor have a "special heart" for customer service, according to East Market Regional Director of Patient Access Joyce Klingshirn, she also makes patient, physician, and staff satisfaction central to everything she does. "Every training initiative produced by her group puts 'patients first,' while bringing an element of fun to learning and to leading her staff," says Klingshirn.
An "outstanding collaborative leader" and an "inspiration to the entire organization," Taylor's 2007 accomplishments alone, says Klingshirn, demonstrate her "innovation, service, teamwork, energy, and creativity." Among other projects completed last year, Taylor served as a facilitator and project management coach for seven Orion Advisory FasTrac teams that developed a new process for follow-up activity on denied claims. Rollout of the initiative—which involved eight hospitals and the deployment of new software—was completed four weeks ahead of schedule, and the organization expects to see a 40 percent denial reduction, which will result in decreased days in receivables and increased revenue.
Taylor also rolled out a new "Quality Monitoring Program" at four hospitals —a project that involved software implementation; reorganization of direct reports to manage quality-assurance activities; and identification and deployment of training programs to address performance deficiencies. Today, 200-plus hospital employees receive daily performance scorecards, and their "grades" have improved by more than 15 percent year-to-date.
Recently nominated to participate in the organization's Group of Aspiring Leaders (GOAL) program, Taylor has one of the highest employee satisfaction rankings in the region, according to Klingshirn.
 Abraham Zachariah, 36
Training Manager, HP Prime; Operations Manager, Learning and Development Operations (25 direct reports)
Global e-Business Operations Pvt. Ltd. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Hewlett-Packard Europe BV), Bangalore, India
B.E., Bharthidasan University; M.B.A., Symbiosis Centre for Management and HRD
Childhood Ambition: I always wanted to be a pilot. I have always associated flying with freedom…freedom to think.
Favorite Phrase or Motto: The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have. (Vince Lombardi)
Outside Interests: I'm an avid photographer. I love my Cannon E350 digital SLR. Various shades of human emotion and struggle are my pet themes.
Advice to new training professionals: Training is about doing the right thing, so always make doing the right thing a habit and be passionate about living your life with integrity. There are no shortcuts in learning, so you must be willing to go the extra mile. Training and learning is also about having fun. Make learning a fun activity, and your learners will love it.
For Abraham Zachariah—or "Zac" as he is known to many of his colleagues—training is more than just a profession, it's a passion. "The ability to work hard passionately every single moment of one's life in one's chosen field is the greatest recognition and reward life offers," he says.
He pours that passion into his current role at HP, where he was hired to establish a training organization in a corporate business center with a fragmented business model. When he and his team realized that no conventional training model would work in this environment, they developed a new model that required the operations team to own training, while the standards were provided by the training team. "This challenged everyone's thought process and, obviously, we had to face huge resistance from very established and seasoned business managers," says Danielle Durocher, global process lead of learning and development at HP Global Business Solutions. To win stakeholder approval, Zachariah's team started with small but high-impact teams that focused on adding value to the business. And they made certain their sponsors supported the endeavor. "It took us more than two years of sustained effort," says Durocher, but the transformation was ultimately a success.
According to Durocher, Zachariah's outstanding leadership qualities set him above many other young trainers. "Not only has he acted as the process training manager at HP Prime, he also has taken on the role of operations manager for HP's Learner Care and Degree Assistance programs, which support close to 100,000 queries from HP employees per year and process more than 4,000 tuition reimbursements per year, respectively."
In addition, she says, "Abraham has been able to certify 98 percent of the employees in HP Prime; ensure adherence to the learning pyramid; and oversee more than 45,000 hours of training with less than 3 percent no-shows. Plus, his leadership of a Black Belt project led to the reduction of training costs per employee by more than 50 percent."
 Gideon Zailer, 36
CEO, Founder, and Managing Director (5 direct reports)
eLearning Knowledge Solutions, Tel Aviv, Israel
B.A., Hebrew University of Jerusalem; M.A., Tel Aviv University; Ph.D., Tel Aviv University (expected 2010)
Childhood Ambition: A teacher.
Favorite Phrase or Motto: Leave a trail where there is no path.
Family/Pets: Son Yuval (2). I learn a lot from his learning and curiosity.
Outside Interests: Theater, music, and movies.
Advice to new training professionals: Never forget the learner!
As the CEO and founder of one of Israel's most successful e-learning companies, Gideon Zailer has racked up an impressive track record for entrepreneurship since he founded eLearning Knowledge Solutions in 2001. He also possesses an impressive CV, including a B.A. in law and economics and an M.A. in computerized learning; he's on track to complete a Ph.D. in computerized learning by 2010. Oh, yes, he's a licensed lawyer, too.
Zailer's firm provides strategic training consulting and e-learning solutions to dozens of customers and boasts a staff of 60 professional employees. The company, says Meir Navon, a member of the academic staff at Holon Institute of Technology (where Zailer frequently lectures), is known throughout the country for its practical implementation of advanced learning methods in some of the biggest enterprises in Israel, including major banks, telecommunications and insurance companies, Israel Government Ministries, the Israeli Army, and others.
"Being a leader in today's training arena demands from Gideon constant learning and development, enormous amounts of creativity, the building of innovative new models, and the ability to educate the marketplace," says Navon. "He fulfills all of these tasks with excellence."
Zailer may possess smarts, credentials, and proven entrepreneurial know-how, but what most distinguishes him, says Navon, is the quality person behind the accomplishments. "Despite the fact that he leads a multimillion-dollar company, Gideon is known for his honesty and sincerity. He is a very nice, likeable, and modest person, and his employees and customers are crazy about him. All those who meet him fall immediately under his 'spell.'"
"For Gideon, running a successful company is not only a question of making money," continues Navon, "but of making certain that his company reflects the values he got from his parents. He sets an extraordinary example for others as an individual who combines very high standards of professionalism and extraordinary levels of integrity with a high level of entrepreneurship."
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