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Fortune magazine released its annual “40 Under 40” list in October and four of the coveted spots went to YPO members, each working in fields divergent in purpose, but ultimately similar in mission. 
 
 
 
Nate Morris, 33, made the coveted list with his first foray into business,Rubicon Global, a waste management company that brings an Uber-like approach to garbage by matching multinational clients with local haulers. 
 
“My background is in policy, I had never started a company or worked in the private sector before,” says Morris, who joined the YPO Bluegrass Chapter in 2012. “I’m learning a lot as I go and YPO has been helping to educate me – it’s kind of been like grad school.” 
 
Rubicon’s innovative model of democratizing waste management is augmented by its mission to help recycle more, while reducing costs. 
 
“I believe the environmental movement can be led through the free market as opposed to more regulation and more government, says Morris. “I think waste is a gateway issue into a larger discussion of how we can help the planet.” 
 
So was it moxy, faith or a combination thereof that allowed him to max out his credit cards in order to launch? 
 
“We’ve never been shy about being bold and going out on a limb. We were big dreamers in the beginning.” Morris laughs, “It’s kind of good to paint yourself in a corner. It’s gotta work!” 
 
 
 
For Julie Smolyansky, 39, president and CEO of Lifeway Foods, making the list was a big surprise. 
 
“I’ve been aware of the list since I was in my twenties but had given up thinking I was going to make it,” she says. She joined the YPO Chicago Chapter in 2003. “You do your work every day but when you wake up and someone says, ‘Hey we want to recognize you for your work,’ that’s really an honor.” 
 
The honor has given Smolyansky a sort-of “reset of her career,” compelling her to consider how to push herself even further. 
 
“It made me think, ‘what else can I do, where can I scale my career and really have lasting impact? What does it mean for me that I have this platform that can help me realize the things I really care about?’” 
 
Aware of the age-old struggle women endure, thinking they can’t be a good mother if they’re working or vice versa Smolyansky says, “As a leader, one of the best things I can do is to show that a young woman, a non-traditional leader, can run a company and have a family. I believe that will help other women feel the same way. If we can create female titans, the world will be a better place.” 
 
 
Rahul Sharma, 37, hit US$1.2 billion last year in revenue with his consumer electronics company 
 
Micromax Informatics Limited, a scale that has the potential to expand even further thanks to a deal with Google to make sub-US$100 phones for the Indian market. 
 
As co-founder and CEO of the 10th largest mobile phone player in the world, Sharma is helping pioneer the democratization of technology in India by offering affordable innovations and removing barriers for large-scale adoption of advanced technologies. He joined the YPO Delhi Chapter in 2013. 
 
Similar to the way in which the Internet has helped promote increased citizen advocacy and government transparency, communication technology is one of the most important driving forces of modern civilization. Sharma’s disruption of the “digital divide” has the potential to lead to increased global connectivity, increased communication and transparency and access to information. 
 
 
 
It comes as no surprise that Michael Patterson, 39, likes spy novels. While in the U.S. Navy, Patterson helped plan the military’s first drone-enabled strikes back when drones themselves couldn’t carry missiles. He left the Navy shortly before 11 September 2001, but returned to the military briefly to assist in retargeting the drones after the attacks on the World Trade Center. 
 
In 2007, Patterson co-founded Highbridge Principal Strategies, one of the first hedge funds to focus on direct lending. With US$7 billion currently in his funds – the majority made up of loans to distressed low-profile, mid-sized companies – Patterson has become the go-to guy for companies in trouble, or, as he puts it, “companies that need help with complicated problems.” He joined the YPO New York City Chapter in 2010. 
 
When Fortune asked what he would tell his 20-year-old self, Patterson said, “Construct your own definition of success, don’t let the world do it for you. Just because someone puts a carrot in front of you doesn’t mean you have to chase after it.” 
 
(The author of this article is Deborah Stoll from Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO)). 
 
(Image: Thinkstock)

YPO: What Drives the 40 Under 40?

2012-13 <keyword id="852310" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="YPO">YPO</keyword> international chairman, serial entrepreneur and e-commerce veteran <keyword id="3203810" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="chuck-davis">Chuck Davis</keyword> was recognized in March by the Los Angeles Venture Association in recognition of his remarkable business career. More than 300 leaders in the <keyword id="6357097" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="venture-capital">venture capital</keyword> community, including fellow YPO and WPO members, chief executives and founders of successful emerging companies, joined LAVA’s annual venture awards dinner during which he was named to the LAVA Hall of Fame. 
 
Davis currently serves as chairman and CEO of Prodege, parent company of Swagbucks. Since 2011, he has also been a venture partner at Technology Crossover Ventures and many other highly successful technology brands. He previously served as CEO of Fandango and Shopzilla/BizRate (now Connexity) as well as e-commerce president for The Walt Disney Company’s Internet Group. 
 
You have been in various leadership positions and started many companies. What’s behind your entrepreneurial drive? 
 I’ve been fortunate to be a son of a family business YPOer, have gotten leadership positions as a hired gun and been an entrepreneur. Each has its fun sides. The <keyword id="107737" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Entrepreneurship">entrepreneurship</keyword> role has been spectacularly fun because in this digerati new age we are writing new rules and chapters every day. 
 
Recently, I woke up at 3 a.m. to ensure I’d be able to buy an Apple watch as the pre-sale began at midnight. I believe this watch will create a whole new industry of tech companies building apps and products for it, and I want to learn about it as quickly as possible. 
 
I didn’t understand the iPhone when it first came out and why anyone would use it. And yet Fandango, another company I led, had one of the first four apps on it and it changed the company. I didn’t understand why anyone would want a tablet so I waited a bit to buy the iPad when it debuted. 
 
Twice burned, I want to be on the early learning curve with the watch as entrepreneurs want to find new opportunities and new ways of making our lives easier. That’s the true fun of being an entrepreneur. 
 
Is there special significance for to being named to the LAVA Hall of Fame? 
 
The Los Angeles Venture Association recognition was nice because (my wife) Jan and I still feel new as Californians even though we have lived here for 19 years. We spent a lot of time in New York, Philadelphia and Boston, and then ventured west where we knew no one. 
 
The YPO Los Angeles Chapter welcomed us to Los Angeles and then I went on the ladder, screening for new members, leading education and then becoming chapter chair. YPO helped make us feel at home in Los Angeles and be able to say ‘I am now an Angeleno.’ 
 
It was also nice to be recognized by the business community in LA with the LAVA award. I haven’t been in town much, especially during my international board chairman role, so maybe they were just telling me they are glad I’m back home again. 
 
What do you consider your greatest achievements, business or otherwise? 
 
I’ve been fortunate to lead two private companies to nice exits and hope to do the same in Swagbucks. I’ve got a great family with Jan, and our children Jared, who works at Appnexus, and Jenna, who is at Brown University. I have also served on many fun boards, for profit and nonprofit organizations. 
 
But my biggest accomplishment came in my role of coaching soccer. When I moved to Los Angeles, Jared was 5 and we missed the soccer cutoff for signing up “unless I would be a coach.” Jared had an under-10 boys travel team that was really fun, or at least the kids and coaches thought so. We must have been the worst team in California history, with 46 losses. But we had fun, stuck together and I went to coaching school to improve my game. The next year we were best in the state (61 wins). Even though I’m finished with that chapter, I still referee youth games on weekends when I’m in town. 
 
The lesson here is that it takes hard work but it’s important to get the skills needed to coach properly, coupled with getting the right kids in the right positions, something I try to do at work too. Hard work and learning is also akin to attending the Global Leadership Conference at YPO and learning how to be a great officer. In the end, I coached 600 games in 10 years split evenly across my two kids — that was a fun balance to running a company, climbing the YPO LA ladder while finding meaning in life by making significant impacts on several kids’ lives. 
 
Any other piece of advice for YPO leaders starting their YPO journey? 
 
I would encourage our up-and-coming generational leaders to fan out and get involved in more than just their work. Create good family-work balance. Donate time and find your own ‘giving back’ journey that might include coaching, tutoring, rounding out your safe zone and broadening your journey with more involvement. Society needs more participants and fewer spectators. 
 
(The author of this article is Rola Tassabehji, regional marketing manager for MENA, Africa and Europe)

Life, Leadership and Entrepreneurial Insight with Former YPO Chairman Chuck Davis

A look at the unique challenges leaders in the sports industry face and how they find success in this fast-paced, very public field Twenty years ago, <keyword id="852310" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="YPO">YPO</keyword> member David Shoemaker was working as a corporate lawyer in New York. “I was working for some of the best blue chip companies in the world but not feeling terribly passionate about what I was fighting for,” he says. So Shoemaker quit his job at his law firm and turned to his childhood passion — sports. After getting his foot in the door with the Women’s Tennis Association, he landed his dream job in 2011 as CEO of NBA China. “I’ve been able to marry this great passion for basketball that I’ve had since childhood with the skills that I’ve acquired professionally,” he says. “I get to come to work every day clicking my heels.” In the mid-1980s, then-NBA commissioner David Stern traveled to China with a backpack full of video tapes showcasing NBA games and convinced China Central Television to air those games on national television. Basketball caught on — and in the last few years, “the popularity of the game has really exploded,” Shoemaker says. “We have more than 110 million followers on social media in China. It dwarfs any other sport here in China or anywhere else in the world. It’s really quite remarkable.” The flipside of working in a sport you love and which has such tremendous growth opportunities is that you are placed under fairly unremitting scrutiny by the press. “What we do is in the public domain on a daily basis,” Shoemaker says. “Unlike some other businesses which — barring an incredibly positive or negative development — can go the entire year without the public paying attention to them, people are routinely reading about what we do, if not on the front page of the sports section, then sometimes on the front page of the newspaper itself.” In addition, your customers feel such a direct and visceral connection to your company that every armchair coach with a Twitter account is determined to give you their analysis of last night’s game. It’s a scenario that YPO member Dave Kaval knows all too well. As President of U.S. Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes, he’s used to life under the microscope. “It’s unusual to be conducting business in such a public forum. It’s a double-edged sword,” he says. “On one hand, it’s challenging to manage. But by the same token, the passion is what makes running the business so interesting. You have customers who care in a way that they wouldn’t if they were just, for example, buying a computer. That emotional connection brings with it unbelievable power and ways to use your brand for a lot of positive ends.” Kaval has had the sports industry bug since 2002 when, while attending business school at Stanford University, he launched and ran the Golden Baseball League, an independent minor league that ended up attracting star players like Rickey Henderson and Jose Canseco. Since Kaval joined the Earthquakes in 2010, the team’s fortunes on the field have increased, and the club has opened a new USD100 million stadium where, as Kaval puts it, he regularly hosts “18,000 of my closest friends.” Kaval runs an open-door policy whereby once a week any of “these friends” can drop by and give him a piece of their mind. “I had a guy who came in one time and he had a new formation he wanted us to do,” Shoemaker says. “He laid it all out. He had all of these little pieces and props, but there were 12 men. I was thinking, ‘If I’m allowed 12 men on the field, I think I am definitely going to do well.’” Despite whether the ideas are constructive or even doable, Kaval believes, “Transparency, openness and an open line of <keyword id="24346" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="communication">communication</keyword> is very important when you have passionate supporters and people who care for your product. At times when we were a little more cloistered it invited speculation. It allowed fans to get heated and riled up in ways that were usually not constructive.” An extreme openness to feedback is one of the hallmarks of the sports chief executive. “We exist or loss every weekend and where the loss is judged, torn apart and discussed for pretty much the entire week,” says YPO member Andrew Fagan, CEO of Adelaide Football Club. “Whether you succeeded or failed, you still need to review hard so you can quickly make adjustments. It’s an environment of improvement over much shorter lead times than most other businesses. The ability to both give and receive feedback is a really important part of a football club, and we use the word ‘accountability’ often because we need to get better every single day.” LOOKING AFTER THE FANS In China, Shoemaker has teams that are focused on collecting data from social media and surveys and on engaging fans through every means possible to help the organization stay responsive and to drive its innovations. For instance, when fans repeatedly brought up that while NBA games are played in prime time in the United States, they screen in the morning in China, Shoemaker responded by opening up new channels that resulted in encouraging results. Average viewership on digital and mobile platforms in the 2015-2016 season almost doubled, and the number of fans who watch NBA games via mobile devices was up more than 260 percent. “We’ve invested in our mobile distribution of live games, in our video on-demand content, and our chats and social media narratives so the fans can engage with the NBA in the way that they want to, and at the times that they want to,” he says. “Our mantra is to do our level best to be true to fans. Replace the word ‘fans’ with ‘consumers’ and I think this applies across most businesses.” YPO member Mark Weightman, President of the Canadian Football League’s Montreal Alouettes, says this focus on the needs of fans is part of a broader business strategy. “Everything is relationships,” he says. “Whether it’s fans, broadcasters, sponsors or the player’s association, you can never over-value the importance of building strong relationships that are based on trust.” Weightman’s own relationship with the Alouettes is a longstanding love affair. He started with them as an intern when they were the Baltimore Stallions and followed them to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where he worked his way up to top management. “I guess you could say that I’ve definitely been very loyal to this organization,” he says with a chuckle. “Same franchise for 22 years, two countries, two cities, two names, I’ve worn many different hats and had many different titles.” Having a love for the game is vital, particularly when times are tough. “My staff doesn’t necessarily need to be diehard Alouettes fans, but they do need to be passionate about the sports industry,” Weightman says. “There are demands that are placed upon people in this organization that go far beyond what someone working for, say, a marketing agency, would ever have to live through and deal with. There is no such thing as being off the clock, but you also never run out of energy because you’re fueled by so many different passions within and around you.” The Alouettes had an extraordinary run between 2000 and 2010 in which they won the Grey Cup (the league championship) three times. But then a lot of the star players retired and moved on, leav-ing the team in a rebuilding phase. “We’re about halfway through our season and admittedly we are disappointed with our results so far, but we’re continuing that climb back, looking to create that next dynasty,” Weightman says. He’s determined to bring the fans along with him and engages with them at every opportunity. Once a week, he picks up the phone and calls season ticket holders to ask for their opinions and thank them for supporting the team. “I prefer not having a specific agenda for the call,” he says. “It feels more meaningful than calling for a predetermined purpose.” CONNECTING WITH THE COMMUNITY Over in Australia, meanwhile, Fagan has helped reinforce support for Adelaide Football Club by becoming a crucial part of the community. “We’ve got a vision of bringing people together to achieve great things,” he says. “When we look at our supporter base and the community in which we interact, we feel as though there’s a responsibility to spend time with them, to play a role in helping people achieve their own personal goals.” To that end, the club has a charity foundation, a mentoring plan for the indigenous community and a school program to help kids develop mental resilience. It makes sense for all chief executives, whether in the sports industry or not, to invest in their local communities. It also makes sense to put customers at the heart of everything and to collect as much data about their desires so innovations can be made around them. To solicit and accept customer feedback — no matter how harsh — and react to it swiftly. To find the passion in what you do and hire staff who share that passion. And finally, as Shoemaker says, always savor the very best parts of your job and remember why you love it. “I do my level best not to get overly excited when I spend a little time with Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant,” he says. “But there is still a fan inside of me that thinks that’s pretty cool.” (The article is authored By Rob Orchard, Co-founder and editorial director of the Slow Journalism Company. YPO is the global platform for chief executives to engage, learn and grow. YPO members harness the knowledge, influence and trust of the world’s most influential and innovative business leaders to inspire business, personal, family and community impact. For more information, visit YPO.org)

They’ve got game

Adapted from Japanese Jiu-jitsu and judo in early 20th-century Brazil, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ) is a grappling martial art and self-defense system that uses throws, holds and locks to incapacitate an opponent. Many of you may be familiar with BJJ thanks to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and other mixed martial arts organizations. Or you may have heard of martial arts masters such as Royce Gracie who helped catapult BJJ into the mainstream in the 90s due to <keyword id="1410" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="winning">winning</keyword> many of the early UFC tournaments by submitting significantly larger opponents via chokehold or joint lock. What you may not know is that Gracie was the smallest and weakest of his brothers and cousins. He was chosen as the prolific Gracie clan’s representative in the first UFC to demonstrate the awesome power of leverage and technique over size and strength. As a black belt and practitioner for over 11 years, I have dedicated thousands of hours to studying and training BJJ and have applied its principles in my personal relationships and business career. I would like to share with you three principles that I find particularly useful. Don’t worry – for those who find BJJ a bit esoteric and confusing, I will also provide additional references to more mainstream sports as well. Protect Yourself at All Times First and foremost, BJJ is about survival; it emphasizes defending against larger and stronger opponents, and ensuring that you take minimal damage before launching your own attack. However, many beginning students are initially captivated by the range of chokes and joint locks. They are in such a rush to submit their opponent in stunning fashion that they leave themselves open to defeat. A corresponding example would be the boxer so focused on winding up for the devastating knockout punch that he drops his hands and leaves his own chin exposed, resulting in getting knocked out himself. In business, I therefore always seek to protect my downside risk and try not to overextend my team’s resources to the point where the entire organization is weakened. For example, when considering an acquisition, I first think whether or not the team has the resources and capacity to integrate. If facing a difficult negotiation, one of my primary goals is to minimize negative outcomes rather than chase the huge win. Make a Frame Everyone intuitively understands the power of a frame. If you drop down into a squat position, your leg muscles will burn out in a matter of minutes. However, you can stand straight for hours because your leg bones align to create a skeletal frame that can support your entire body weight with ease. The same is true in BJJ. If I need to push a larger and heavier opponent, I can’t rely on my muscular strength, which will quickly be exhausted. Rather, I need to try and make strategic frames that will move my opponent without expending energy. The parallel in the business world is relying upon individual people versus processes and systems. People are like muscles; they can be extremely effective but are also prone to getting tired or strained. Processes and systems are akin to frames; when properly aligned, they can function well for far longer with minimal effort. I constantly strive to create redundancy and build processes that can be run by multiple people in our organization. We document procedures and make sure that key knowledge is not locked inside the head of individuals. Definition of a Black Belt When I first started training, I thought of a BJJ black belt as an effortless master of grace and violence, an invincible warrior. As I got further involved into the community, I instead learned the true definition: “A black belt is simply a white belt who never gave up.” When the day of my own black belt promotion arrived, I was suffering from a stomach virus and high fever. The promotion ceremony included teaching a class and sparring with several opponents in a row, but I was so sick and weak that I had to quit halfway through. This failure is still enormously painful to me. After receiving the belt, I approached my professor, Chet Quint, and actually tried to give it back to him; there was no way that I deserved the promotion after such a poor performance. But Professor Quint replied, “You are earning your black belt because of who you are and your commitment over the last 10 years, not today.” <keyword id="852310" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="YPO">YPO</keyword> members are undoubtedly the “black belts” of the business world. Yet after joining myself, I have realized that the same definition applies – most YPO members have repeatedly persevered through a wide array of personal and professional challenges and simply been determined to succeed. It is the unyielding desire to seek solutions and start again that makes one truly invincible, in business or in life, not any one incident. Brazilian Jiu-jitsu has had a profoundly positive effect on me, and I’m looking forward to a similarly enriching journey of growth and self-discovery with YPO. I would also highly encourage YPO members to start learning BJJ themselves as it is the quintessential stress reliever – nothing takes your mind off business concerns faster than fighting for your life! (The article is authored by <keyword id="4523747" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="matt-huttner">Matt Huttner</keyword>, President, WorldStrides PTY. LTD. He is a YPO member from Melbourne, Australia since 2016. YPO is the global platform for chief executives to engage, learn and grow. YPO members harness the knowledge, influence and trust of the world’s most influential and innovative business leaders to inspire business, personal, family and community impact.)

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YPO: What Drives the 40 Under 40?

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Life, Leadership and Entrepreneurial Insight with Former YPO Chairman Chuck Davis

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They’ve got game

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The gentle art of business: Drawing inspiration from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

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