sheldon yellen family

[5] BIRMINGHAM, Mich. Employees surprised the CEO of Michigan-based Belfor Property Restorations with more than 8,000 birthday cards Wednesday. Once you were in, you stayed in. Later, when she came to pick me up, I learned she didn't want me wasting 10 percent of my tip on a phone call; she'd taught me the value of a dollar better than that. Among seven other "epic" bosses, Yellen will appear in a second episode to share his experience . . [9], Yellen hand-writes over 12,000 cards each year for employees' birthdays and other thanks and congratulations. ", Get Make It newsletters delivered to your inbox, Learn more about the world of CNBC Make It, 2023 CNBC LLC. Sheldon Yellen is CEO of Belfor. Sheldon Yellen manages a $1.5 billion company that operates in 31 countries and employs 7,000 people all without a smartphone. One day, the restaurant was slammed and we were short a server. Small stakeholders who were granted equity as part of their compensation receive nothing at all. Brazil Bounces Back With A Slew Of New Billionaires, Fortune Magazine's New Owner Is Member Of Thailand's Richest Family, Southeast Asia's Richest Woman Signs $6.5 Billion Deal For 50 Airbus Jets, The Indonesian Tycoons Behind Lion Air, Whose Plane Crashed Off Jakarta on Monday, How This Video Gaming Billionaire Invests His More Than $2 Billion, LinkedIn Cofounder Reid Hoffman On His Billion-Dollar Impact Investing Bet, Jeff Bezos Is $1.8 Billion Richer As Amazon's Market Cap Briefly Hits $1 Trillion, The $4 Billion Crypto Billionaire Who No One Has Heard Of. [11][12], He later incorporated the music of popular songwriter Jimmy McHugh into a new musical about young journalists in Paris in 1927, Lucky in the Rain, which had a successful run at the Goodspeed Opera. His rationale? [7], Per Yellen, in 2016 BELFOR is the world's largest disaster restoration company operating in 29 countries with more than 350 offices and employing more than 7,700 full-time employees. From supporting my family at an early age to earning dollar tips at a burger joint, I learned how to support a team of thousands. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Before long, he was trailed by a caravan of 30 trucks. Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. Like any good autocrat, Yellen demands trust from everyone in his organization while harboring his own secrets. An entity connected to Sheldon Yellen, the Belfor Holdings Inc. CEO, has purchased another downtown Birmingham office building. The couple wed after their graduation and have two sons, Nicholas and Christopher. We have estimated Sheldon Yellen | ZoomInfo Sheldon Yellen has built himself a robust reputation for his unconventional management style. As offices are increasingly spread out and employees are starting to work remotely, theres an increased need for face-to-face connections. A TikTok is making its rounds showing a mock scenario where a tenant is asked to give a tip to their landlord. "We thought he was a traveling salesman because he would show up every six months or year for a day or two," Yellen says. After one carpenter heard the news, he punched Yellen, who punched right back. Sheldon Yellen has built himself a robust reputation for his unconventional management style. He got his first job at 11, washing dishes at a hamburger joint for $1.10 an hour. I got my first job at 11 and gave all my earnings to my mom. [5] He was raised alone by his mother. Five Bad Working Habits I Kicked For A Better Work Ethic, Not Only Thriving, But Working to End the Cycle of Poverty in South Africa, Reveal Their Best Business Advice for 2023, Still Gets Up Close and Personal After Its $310 Million Sale, 8 Tips Introverts Need to Network Effectively, Find Out Which Brands Have Ranked on the Franchise 500 for Longest. Unconventional CEO International Businessman Undercover Boss. Sherman Yellen was born in 1932 to Nathan and Lillian Yellen. Sheldon Yellen 's Email Chief Executive Officer at BELFOR Contact Details Phone +1******44 Get Phone Number Email sy*******@belfor.com Get Email Address Department Finance & Administration Location Birmingham, Alabama, United States BELFOR Company Information Phone +1******44 Website http://www.belfor.com Revenue $100 - 250M Head Count 10K - 50K Im looking forward to reading each and every card.". Nowadays, Sheldon oversees 195 offices in 27 countries, and the companies have more than 6,000 employees. We will update Sheldon Yellen's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible. It all paid off when the checks started rolling in, eventually totaling $17 million, doubling the annual sales of the company. His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. Abandoning traditional business proceedings in order to put more stock in his greatest assetpeopleYellen admits hating meetings, committees, and layers of corporate hierarchy, preferring instead to constantly grow the business in order to expand his family, which today includes over 11,000 men and women in more than 450 offices worldwide. Sheldon Yellen is the CEO of BELFOR Property Restoration, the company responsible for cleaning the Diamond Princess, where 697 passengers tested positive and seven died, and getting it certified . You gotta go, and one day you're going to thank me.". Undercover Boss. I learned how to work selflessly -- with no expectation of handouts or rewards -- and to appreciate every opportunity I was given. Also, he was appointed as the CEO and President of the Belfor Europe GmBH, which also increased his net worth. "You can't show and feel emotion, compassion, passion or intent through a smartphone, through text," Yellen said. Excited, I cashed it and used a dime on the pay phone to call my mom. says Rusty Amarante, a shareholder and top executive. His presentations reflect his management philosophies through managing the ups and downs of his industry, his personal journey as a leader and his intense belief in the people who execute his business every day. BELFOR is his family. "Mr. Schultz was good to me," Yellen says. "I am approachable, and I can't convey that through a text.". As CEO of BELFOR Holdings, Inc. - a $2 billion entity which operates a number of companies including BELFOR Property Restoration, the global leader in damage restoration and recovery services - he carefully watches every penny spent yet doesn't hesitate to hop on a private plane to visit a sick employee or customer. Lend a Hand TODAY: Al Roker helps Texans recover from hurricane. Around the same time, Schultz helped Yellen secure a line of credit to get started in the vending-machine industry, which former FBI agents say was heavily infiltrated by the Mafia at the time. He tracked the meetings in his notepads and showed up again two weeks later--same place, same time--and eventually became a familiar face to the insurance businesses, which started calling him when they had big jobs. His background. When those surveyed witnessed acts of humility in their leaders -- such as admitting mistakes and learning from criticism -- they were more likely to feel connected to their teammates. Trouble started brewing inside the business. And I truly believe that. "I've worked for some Italian people that controlled a lot of turf," he says cryptically at one point. Bad news for pretty much everyone here. According to a recent study by Catalyst, humility is one of the most important factors for leadership -- it makes people from different backgrounds feel included. "You would say big deal, you sold papaya juice. "Having a gun pointed at three guys laying on the ground--'Get on the ground. Sheldon is of Jewish heritage, and was brought into a Jewish family by a single mother, as his father was a drug dealer and was eventually arrested and sentenced for time in prison. See more photos and videos from the surprise card delivery, as well as cards employees have received, by looking up the hashtag #BELFORBirthdaySurpriseon social media. Sheldon Yellen. Finally after three months, he got his appointment. He became CEO in 2001. "If someone has something to say to me, they know they can pick up the phone. His rationale? And that's just what I did. This abandoned high school was converted into a 31-unit apartment building. They are his pen pals, and when they get healthy, Yellen flies to wherever they are to cut off the matching bracelets on their wrists. The CEO of Belfor, a privately held property restoration. Of the 82 business owners Inrecon and Belfor have bought out over the last 27 years, as they've rolled up potential competitors, 68 are still at Belfor today. "My thinking is: Let's have our meeting; let's get on with it," Yellen said. An 85-year Harvard study found the No. Sheldon Yellen is Chief Executive Officer at Belfor USA Group Inc. See Sheldon Yellen's compensation, career history, education, & memberships. Also, the boss unexpectedly reveals himself while working alongside an employee. Sheldon has three younger brothers, and all of them, including Sheldon had to work from an early age to support the family. Belfor's German owners, the Haniel family, wanted out--and Yellen wanted in. One former shareholder says he has no idea. Birmingham MI 48009. I'm not confirming that. I was 17 or 18 years old, and I was selling thousands of dollars a week," Yellen initially says. In 2011 and 2015, President Obama signed bills to compensate 9/11 victims, which ultimately meant Belfor paid out just $1.5 million in legal fees. Per Yellen, in 2016 BELFOR is the world's largest disaster restoration company operating in 29 countries with more than 350 offices and employing more than 7,700 full-time employees. "A young kid was trying to get a meeting with me and sell me a product. Staying connected also helps ease the . I'm not saying he was my surrogate fatherbut he took an interest in me.". I realized I could learn from everybody around me, and as a result, every situation became an opportunity. Sheldon Yellen. I had the pleasure of interviewing Sheldon Yellen. Sheldon is recognized for his philanthropic activities; he has donated to Israel Defense Forces, and has collaborated with numerous philanthropic organizations that supports Jewish people. Log In. I don't have an appointment. In my early days, I worked in an office of 19 people. By But I'll say, 'I'm sorry, but my people come first.' Sheldon Yellen Wiki Biography Sheldon Yellen was born on April 23, 1957, in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Sheldon Yellen is the CEO of Birmingham, Michigan-based BELFOR, the worldwide leader in property restoration and disaster recovery. SHELDON YELLEN - BELFOR On an incredibly heartfelt episode of Undercover Boss, Sheldon Yellen, the CEO of Belfor met a lot of people who work incredibly hard to make other people's lives better. We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 16 January. So he mapped out 120 insurance offices nearby and marched into every one. But what [], As a corporate executive, do you ever truly understand your company from an employees perspective? Updated. Yellen received national acclaim for his deeply compassionate management style when he was featured in CBS hit series Undercover Boss, a show that provides corporate executives a glimpse into the inner workings of the companies they run. Senior editor at Forbes, covering Donald Trump's business. [7], He is a guest writer for Entrepreneur - US edition: 4 Ways to Ensure Your Startup Will Survive Disaster, How to Make People, Not Rsums, Your Hiring Priority, How Growing Up With Nothing Equipped Me to Run a Billion-Dollar Company. [8] A Stranded Sailor Survived Off of Ketchup While Lost at Sea for 24 Days. According to two retired FBI agents, the man in charge of the Southfield Athletic Club, where Yellen worked from age 14 to 22, was Mafia associate Leonard Schultz. This story appears in the February 27, 2017 issue of Forbes. Sheldon has three younger brothers, and all of them, including Sheldon had to work from an early age to support the family. "Because who would invest in something where they have no vote, no say--there isn't anything I can do from a stockholder's standpoint to influence the company." Name* First Last Phone*Email* Message*CommentsThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. "We would jump on his lap and want to throw a baseball with him, just like you would with your dad. President of Blue Kangaroo Packoutz: Tim Fagan, CR, WLS Mr. Fagan has been in the restoration industry for over 25 years, having been the CEO of a predecessor water mitigation/contents company, which became part of the BELFOR family of . The murder was never solved. Sheldon Yellen has built himself a robust reputation for his unconventional management style. While Yellen now oversees a company that operates in 31 countries and posted approximately $1.5 billion in sales for 2015, he came from very humble beginnings and also often saw the professional. In later years he received the Charles Flint Kellogg Award in Arts and Letters. When it isn't dealing with high-profile disasters, Belfor handles everyday messes like garage fires and basement floods. As a young guy with no connections in the industry, Yellen found it difficult to get meetings with insurance agents. Over the next five years, more than 100 plaintiffs filed lawsuits against Belfor, and it looked like the company might have to pay hundreds of millions in settlements. He attended the High School of Music & Art and graduated from Bard College in 1953. "We are thrilled to welcome redbox+ to the BELFOR Franchise Group family," said Sheldon Yellen, CEO of BELFOR. It was a very special moment to be able to do the same for Sheldon." Employees, family and friends wrote notes and cards in . He is a member of famous with the age 64 years old group. His rationale? ", This is a BETA experience. was recently revived as "Blackbird" and was staged in Washington, D.C. and Florida. That kicked off a chain of deals that, over 13 years, created today's Belfor. Since 1985,Sheldon Yellenhas given handwritten birthday cards to every one of the company's now 7,700employees. Yellen received national acclaim for his deeply compassionate management style when he was featured in CBS hit series Undercover Boss, a show that provides corporate executives a glimpse into the inner workings of the companies they run. "I learned that to run a business--and I believe this--there has to be leadership. His sons also worked at the club. That's when Yellen's in-laws left, but he stayed put. The night they arrived, there weren't enough places to sleep, so Yellen crashed on the beach. In 1989, Yellen booked $17 million in sales in South Carolina which was devastated by Hurricane Hugo, effectively doubling the company's sales. The Inspiring Backstory of Sheldon Yellen, CEO of BELFOR Holdings | by Yitzi Weiner | Thrive Global | Medium 500 Apologies, but something went wrong on our end. "In a lot of situations, we have a basket in the room or outside the room for cellphones.". Born in Poland, Yellen emigrated with his family to the United States when he was five years old. Now They're, Warren Buffett and Partner Charlie Munger, The Viral Brand Behind Soaring Searches for 'Female Body Hair'. "Josephine Tonight!" The next day, authorities found him in the trunk of a Lincoln Continental with his throat slashed, according to local police records. In numerous interviews Sheldon has said that keeping in touch with your workers is a priority, and focuses on maintaining a friendly relationship with his employees, as he even writes birthday cards by his own hand. But this is not a committee. In 2001 his life changed when he was hired by the Belfor USA Restoration Group, and three years later he was appointed the CEO of the company. Not even Yellen's brother Michael, the company's chief operating officer and second-largest shareholder, regularly receives full financials (the CFO, Joe Ciolino, claims Michael can ask to see them at any time, though he can't recall the last time he did). I tried to listen to their stories to see how they did it. This business-related biographical article is a stub. In 2001, Belfor workers had rushed into Manhattan's financial district after the World Trade Center attacks to clean dust out of buildings. Along the way, he pulled into rest stops and offered a job to anyone with a pickup and a toolbox. His rationale? But he can fight and work his way there if he wants it enough. Masco then resold Inrecon to the German disaster-restoration company Belfor for an estimated $190 million in 2001. As the CEO of BELFOR Holdings, Inc., which includes BELFOR Property Restoration, Sheldon Yellen has spent more than 33 years, alongside first responders, helping people and communities rebuild . , money, salary, income, and assets. Sheldon Yellen Honors First Responders at MAFC Summer Conference. Your email address will not be published. Sheldon Yellen, chief executive of Belfor Holdings, a Michigan-based company that offers disaster recovery services, writes well over 12,000 cards each year to his employees and has no . Yellens emotional journey through the everyday lives of four employees working on the front lines of his diverse business landed the series BELFOR episode an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Reality Program. That payroll grew to over 9,200 staff members in 34 countries eventually, and Yellen kept writing the cards, he said on FOX. We'll be in your inbox every morning Monday-Saturday with all the days top business news, inspiring stories, best advice and exclusive reporting from Entrepreneur. In 1989, Hurricane Hugo slammed into Charleston, South Carolina, causing $7 billion of damage. YELLEN - Mark May 10, 2010; beloved son of Jack (Barbara) Yellen; father of Adam Yellen; brother of Deborah Yellen and Sheldon (Heidi) Yellen; former husband of Laura Yellen; uncle of. Goodbye." Later, when he was 53, Yellen received a diploma degree. Ultimately convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine in 1987, Schultz started regularly appearing in local newspapers around the same time Yellen opened his juice stand. With help from the CBS hit television series Undercover Boss, the 53-year-old got the opportunity to go undercover within his own company, joining the ranks of his staff. The best result we found for your search is Sheldon Yellen age 60s in Bloomfield Hills, MI. BELFOR is his family. But he later dropped out to support his family. Sheldon Yellen has built himself a robust reputation for his unconventional management style. I've been a disc jockey, a vending-machine stocker, a ticker seller and -- at an elite athletic club -- a shoe shiner. A deed recorded earlier this month documents the sale of the 150-room hotel at 100 Townsend . "I've been shot at, I've had a gun pointed down my throat, I've held guys at gunpoint," says Yellen, who stands just 5-feet-6-inches tall, has a bit of a paunch and wears his hair transplant slicked back. Sheldon Yellen is the CEO of Birmingham, Michigan-based BELFOR Property Restoration, the worldwide leader in disaster restoration and recovery following manmade or natural disasters such as floods, fires, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Sheldon was featured on CBSsUndercover Boss. "It sounds like the structure is very much analogous to the way [the Mob] set it up," Stejskal says, from the secrecy to the complete authority of the leader, manifested in the lump-bonus payment determined at Yellen's discretion. There, he learned four life-changing lessons. It still wasn't enough: Yellen came home one day and found a local official warning his mother that they were facing eviction. Years later it became public that Schultz had served as an FBI informant. It's hard to be sure, since shareholders don't have yearly meetings, don't get full financials and haven't received a list of their fellow owners in more than ten years. 0. Sheldon Yellen, who operates a multinational property restoration company that has performed deep cleanings for thousands of clients since the coronavirus pandemic struck, advises giving the. And I have the tough streets of Detroit and my even tougher mom to thank for that. As soon as I told her my news, she hung up. [14][15], Yellen has written numerous op-ed columns for HuffPost, focusing on culture and American politics from a left-wing perspective. "You can ask for it. Sign Up. Since I started working at Belfor in 1996, I have always looked forward to receiving a birthday card from Sheldon, executive assistant Gail Kennedy said. In a separate case, an original investor who was later fired by Belfor, James Coleman, sued his former employer, alleging that the company offered him a paltry amount of money when he tried to sell his stake. Sheldon Yellen, CEO of BELFOR Holdings, Inc., writes all 9,200 of his employees birthday cards every year and believes doing so cultivates a compassionate work culture They eventually reached a confidential settlement. At 64 years old, Sheldon Yellen height not available right now. Yellen received national acclaim for his deeply compassionate management style when he was featured in CBS hit seriesUndercover Boss, a show that provides corporate executives a glimpse into the inner workings of the companies they run. He is from American. One time, Yellen was collecting coins when someone opened fire on him. Good news for Yellen, who runs the disaster-cleanup company Belfor Holdings. It was my first business lesson. Sheldon Yellen Scraping and saving through my early life gave me a variety of experiences to draw from in my career. or. Homes - Celebrity - Business Links: en.wikipedia.org By: jdubble07 Advertisement Celebrity Homes Mailing List Advertisement I learned the arts of listening and watching. Yellens emotional journey through the everyday lives of four employees working on the front lines of his diverse business landed the series BELFOR episode an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Reality Program. Click here to take a moment and familiarize yourself with our Community Guidelines. There's also a familiar amount of paternalistic benevolence. In his absence, Yellen's mom, Lenore, scraped by on welfare and put her sons to work. One of the hardest hit [], When disasters strike, it takes a hero to save the day! Yellen sees the deal as a first step in turning Belfor into a diversified empire, with several giant businesses alongside its disaster restoration arm. So, how much is Sheldon Yellen worth at the age of 64 years old? In his absence, Yellen's mom, Lenore, scraped by on welfare and put her sons to work. Failure is not in his vocabulary. Yellen made an estimated $8 million in the deals; he and his brothers-in-law stayed on as employees. Yellen's first play was New Gods For Lovers, which was produced at the HB Playhouse in New York. By Carol Tice. When asked what he had done to earn such a lucrative opportunity, Yellen starts shifting in his chair. That will take a lot of work, and Yellen in turn predicts that he will eventually die at his desk, which he says is a far better fate than on the streets. 185 Oakland Avenue, Suite 150 He is not dating anyone. In May of 2017, Yellen decided to surprise Beck by getting back into his Undercover Boss character, "Tom Kelly," and surprising Beck at his Lowe's store. When subsequently pressed about whether those sales were all legitimate, he insists they were. So Yellen's in, he says, and on the verge of making his biggest acquisition yet, which will expand Belfor into a new but related industry. A Division of NBC Universal, How this 39-year-old earns $26,000 a year in California. I know I've lived two different lives, but I'm not confirming that was the life." Required fields are marked *. He grew up in Buffalo, New York and began writing songs in high school. And he would do that for a day. [7] In 1985, he went to work as a salesman for his brothers-in-law's company then known as Quality Awning & Construction which also did restoration work. Sheldon Yellen has built himself a robust reputation for his unconventional management style. Sheldon Yellen net worth: Sheldon Yellen is an American businessman who has a net worth of $20 million dollars. As a leader and supporter of my team today, it's my responsibility to learn as much as I can about the industry and climate we're in. He got married in 1984 at the Temple Israel in Michigan and has two sons. This made me hungry to work my way up and prove I was there for a reason. When Yellen was 26, his wife's brothers, Randy (a member of the Southfield club) and Mark Fenton, offered him a job at their family company, Inrecon, which did $5 million in annual revenue. What he experienced. Don't ask your colleagues to do anything you've never done yourself. Not that Yellen likes talking about that. But it's all discretionary: If Yellen and his inner circle want, they can choose to pay no bonus at all. One employee he worked with, Jen, had him crawling under a house in order to fix water damage. See Photos. Yellen landed $35 million of work during Andrew. He has appeared on an Emmy-nominated episode of Undercover Boss on CBS. "You're not going to get it," he said. Through a series of deals, he raised $322 million, the bulk of which came from JPMorgan and the Haniel family, which put up $150 million each. [7] He became CEO in 2001. Sheldon Yellen is the CEO of Birmingham, Michigan-basedBELFOR, the worldwide leader in property restoration and disaster recovery. If you need help with the Public File, call (313) 222-0566. . Employees surprised Belfor CEO Sheldon Yellen with more than 8,000 birthday cards Jan. 17, 2018. "I had a life on the streets," he says. During the cleanup after Katrina, a group of subcontracted workers sued Belfor, saying they labored 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, without overtime. He has appeared on an Emmy -nominated episode of Undercover Boss on CBS. BELFOR has more than 6,400 employees in 300 offices spanning 31 . Until he doesn't. Sheldon Yellen died at age 59 years old on June 21, 1995. You're going to get limited financial information. Sheldon has three younger brothers, and all of them, including Sheldon had to work from an early age to support the family. International Businessman BIRMINGHAM, MICHIGAN - December 10, 2020 - BELFOR Holdings, Inc. (BELFOR) CEO Sheldon Yellen has been named the gold winner in the Executive of the Year - Large Companies category by Best in Biz Awards, the only independent business awards program judged each year by prominent editors and reporters from top-tier publications in North America. Sheldon Yellen has built himself a robust reputation for his unconventional management style. His father was a businessman, and his mother was a homemaker. He bought in and became a shareholder in the business. [10] His satirical sketch, Delicious Indignities, appeared in the erotic revue, Oh! According to our Database, He has no children. He started wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying a gun. Eventually, I got a chance in the property restoration business because my wife's family owned the company. He had dropped out from college on several occasions in order to earn enough money to put his brothers through high school, but eventually earned his diploma. In Josephine Tonight!, a musical biography of the early life of Josephine Baker produced by Theatre Building Chicago, Yellen was librettist and lyricist to composer Harper. The Personal Life of Sheldon Yellen Sheldon Weiner married Chaya Weiner. Sheldon Yellen was born on January 16, 1958 and is the eldest of four brothers. His tactics. Now He Runs A $1.5B Business", "The art of imperfection: People are turning to robots to write their 'handwritten' cards", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sheldon_Yellen&oldid=1113481767, This page was last edited on 1 October 2022, at 18:02. Is the Notion of a 'Good Work Ethic' Generationally Biased? Yellen owns @BELFORGroup." This story appears in the February 27, 2017 issue of Forbes. Its an unbelievable tradition for a company of our size. Ask CEO Sheldon Yellen. Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. The company grew to over 9,200 staff members in 34. By his second year at Inrecon, Yellen claims, he was bringing in nearly $5 million of business by himself, about as much as the rest of the company. People say to me all the time that the customer comes first. When Yellen asked how he could possibly come up with that much money, they handed him a bonus check big enough to cover the cost. As CEO of BELFOR Holdings, Inc. - a $2 billion entity which operates a number of companies including BELFOR Property Restoration, the global leader in damage restoration and recovery services - he carefully watches every penny spent yet doesn't hesitate to hop on a private plane to visit a sick employee or customer. A source close to the deal tells me that once licenses are transferred, the sale will be final. Growing up, Yellen didn't see much of his old man, who suffered from digestive problems, spent two years in and out of the hospital and developed an addiction to painkillers. The latest round of layoffs under Musk are estimated to have affected 10% of the company's remaining workforce. Most of the stories centered on what happened on a cold March day in 1974 when Schultz invited a young furniture entrepreneur named Harvey Leach to his house for a meeting. It's a tradition he started in 1985, when he had a 19-person staff.