YPO: What Drives the 40 Under 40?

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)