Vistage Member Excellence Awards

As the President of Hobbs and Company, Inc. Ed Collison doubled his company’s revenue from $8M to $16M in two years despite the pandemic’s challenges. He strategically identified new partnerships and looks to expand his services to EV charging stations in the future. Ed reified his commitment to his team by paying them even during the COVID-19 shutdown.

Mike Ghesser expertly aligns his personal and professional values to provide employment opportunities to disabled individuals, incorporate braille on every product, and continually seek improvement as a team, speaking to their unwavering commitment to excellence under his leadership. On top of that, Mike grew revenue by 150% during his time as a Vistage member.

Patty Leuchten started her career as a clinical research associate. In the decades since, her intentional, people-centric approach to building a values-based company has enabled her to attract and retain top talent, while also benefiting employees through a change of control structure that shares financial success. On top of that, she helped forge the way to create the largest clinical trial consortium in the pharmaceutical industry.

President of PTR Baler & Compactor Co., Mike Savage made a critical decision in selling the 116-year-old company. Mike took into account current employees, vendors, customers, and company shareholders throughout the divestiture process. PTR Baler & Compactor Co. continues to experience rapid sales growth and are handling over 55,000 service calls annually. This is a testament to his thoughtful and balanced approach towards the sale.

Chris Hanslik, the 2023 Impact Award winner, is the Chairman at BoyarMiller law firm and Vice Chair of Houston Coalition for the Homeless. Chris believes leaders need to show up and lead with empathy. In his business, he is passionate about developing his people and helping them be successful. Likewise, in his community, Chris aims to help people prevail, helping over 25,000 secure permanent housing.

Annette Zimmerman, president and CEO of PrimeWay Federal Credit Union, and 2023 Leadership Award winner, is in the business of enabling dreams. During her tenure as a first-time CEO, Annette has tripled the organization’s assets, and in 2022 increased loans by 14%. She is passionate about paying it forward and encourages her employees to do the same – partnering with a local women’s shelter to share resources.

From Poland to Singapore to Brazil, Eivind Johnsen, CEO of Entrion, is shaking up the energy industry. After saving his company from contracting 75% during the last gas and oil bust the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award winner grew from $2M to $12M. In 2026, Eivind plans to launch a new foundation design for offshore wind turbines, to accelerate offshore wind and the energy transition to a low carbon energy system.

Founded in his own home 35 years ago, 40,000+ construction professionals across 4,000+ companies now use Mike Rydin’s HCSS software each day. Voted a “Best Place to Work in Texas” for 14 consecutive years, HCSS is powered by the Lifetime Achievement Award winner’s people-first, “growth is fun” ethos.

The 2023 Impact Award winner for the Los Angeles region embodies servant leadership. Lena Wilson, CEO of Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services, leads a nonprofit for community members ages zero to 2. These services include outpatient care, foster services, education and residential programs. Lena was able to secure more than $18M in funding by diversifying funding sources and revenue streams.

As a trailblazer, 2023 Vistage Leadership Award Paul Rahimian prioritizes investing in his people. When the construction lending market came to a standstill in 2020, the Parkview Financials CEO hired industry veterans to bolster his reputation in the industry. Doing this not only expanded Parkview’s geographic footprint from coast to coast, but grew loan originations from $386M to over $1B.

Dan Mollura is skilled at balancing both humble beginnings and family traditions as the second-generation president of Vinyl Technology, Inc. The 2023 Lifetime Achievement award winner leaned on agile leadership to navigate a sudden loss of half of his staff. Exploring the best options for innovation, he increased efficiency and is now the sole supplier of Advanced Technology Anti-G Suits for the Air Force.

Troy Rankin, 2023 Legacy Award winner, attributes our success in selling Farwest Corrosion to three key qualities: a talented team of professionals, having a strategic vision, and knowing what we wanted in a financial partner. With over four decades of full-time tenure at his family business, Troy and the Farwest team grew the company and navigated economic and regulatory challenges along the way.

Moving the company forward and energizing his entire team to follow him in driving profitability, president of Ace Mart Restaurant Supply, Jonathan Gustafson, is the 2023 Impact Award winner for the San Antonio region. Transitioning in to lead his family’s third-generation business can be a challenge, but he has quickly gained the respect of family shareholders and employees.

Our 2023 Vistage Leadership Award winner is Matt Musgrove, CEO of Tejas Rental Equipment! Matt has held nearly every position in the organization, giving him keen insights into what creates success. From a one-store operation to a multi-location company, Matt has grown Tejas Equipment Rental to become one of the largest, privately owned companies in the national equipment rental business.

Congratulations Tony Liberto for winning the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award for the San Antonio area. As CEO and president of Ricos Products Co, Inc., the fourth-generation business owner has continued his family legacy with honesty, integrity and strategic decisions. Under Tony’s leadership, his company has increased revenue by 128% from $74.8 million to $170.6 million with EBITDA up 667% – so far.

One moment that is unforgettable for Tom Thill,  the 2023 San Antonio Legacy Award winner and CEO of AmeriVet Veterinary Partners, is selling his business for $1.6B – an impressive feat in a very contested space. Building on that excitement, Tom’s plan is now to continue ramping up growth through M&As and recruiting more veterinarians by becoming their employer of choice.

Windy City Equipment CEO and Impact Award winner, Josh Zolin, left his Hollywood career as a stuntman and took his talents to more-than-successfully lead a business. Based in Arizona, Josh became CEO of what is now a 20-year-old family business. Not only did he rise to the challenge of a CEO – he flourished, doubling the company’s overall revenue in just two years.

A little over 10 years ago, Leadership Award winner Marc Erpenbeck saw a need for leadership at a local company after a client passed. He made the most of the opportunity as president of George Brazil by investing in a people-focused culture. Under his leadership the company was named a top place to work four years in row, and also won the Social Responsibility Award in Arizona.

Invest in your people. Invest in outside professionals. Invest in your education and learning. These three ideas helped Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Michael Popovich successfully lead Scientific Technologies Corp. for the last 34 years. As CEO of a healthcare company, he seized the opportunity to support the CDC and U.S. Navy with vaccine needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After three decades in the employee benefit arena, founder and former CEO of Jeff Griffin sold JP Griffin Group in December of 2021. During the entire process, the Legacy Award winner shared the process with those in his group and his Chair. When he continued to hit his goalposts for success well before time, he decided he was satisfied and ready for a new chapter.