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GJ
Hart, CEO Texas Roadhouse
Mr. Hart joined
Texas Roadhouse as President in May, 2000. Texas Roadhouse,
headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, owns and operates 221
full-service restaurants in 41 states. Texas Roadhouse offers
legendary food and legendary service through legendary people.
In the five years since Mr. Hart joined the company, revenues
have increased from approximately $63 million in 1999 to projected
revenues of $475 million for 2005 and system wide revenues of
over $800 million. From 1995 until 2000, Mr. Hart was President
of
Al Copeland Investments (ACI), a multi-faceted organization
including three food processing plants and featuring four restaurant
concepts: hotels, gaming, entertainment, and comedy clubs. As
President of ACI, Mr. Hart increased the restaurant division
from nine stores to 60, spearheaded the acquisition of the world
famous
Improv Comedy Club (including franchise rights), completely
restructured financial relationships, and secured financing
to construct a new, state-of-the-art, high-tech facility. Most
impressive of all were the company's annual earnings under Mr.
Hart which increased more than seven fold and revenue grew over
100%. Using his leadership skills, strong work ethic, and entrepreneurial
talents, Mr. Hart has displayed a knack for maximizing growth
and earnings via aggressive market redirection. Mr. Hart began
his career at Shenandoah Valley Poultry Company where he climbed
from trainee to general manager and minority owner of the company
in only eight years. In his next position, as President of New
Zealand Lamb Company, he increased sales revenue by 60%
while decreasing operating expenses 65%. After New Zealand Lamb
Company Mr. Hart took over as President of Trifoods International,
a start-up company that created, produced, and marketed innovative,
prepared food products. In just four years, Mr. Hart successfully
built the company from ground zero to annual revenues of over
$60 million. Board memberships for 2005-2006 include: Texas
Roadhouse Inc., Bellarmine
University,
Kosair Children's Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees,
Kosair Children's Hospital Leadership Cabinet, and Louisville
Metro Police Foundation. Advisory Board memberships for 2005-2006
include:
Elliot Leadership Institute,
Old National Bank - Louisville Region,
Thornton Oil, and
University of Louisville's College of Business and Public Administration.
Mr. Hart is active in many charities including:
Sunshine Kids,
Special Olympics, Habitat
for Humanity, United
Way, American
Red Cross , Volunteers
of America, and
Kids Kicking Cancer. He is also a member of the
Young Presidents Organization. |
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Lamont
Breland, President, Breland Group Realtors
C. Lamont Breland is the Principal Broker for
Breland Group Realtors, a Louisville-based residential real
estate firm founded in 1995. The Breland Group currently has
50 licensed Realtors. Mr. Breland can be called a true Louisvillian.
He was born in Louisville attended
Atherton High School, and graduated from the
University of Louisville with a Bachelors degree in Political
Science in 1987. Mr. Breland has held many positions throughout
the community during the past decade including serving on the
Board of Directors for the
Kentuckiana Crime Stoppers from 1994-2003. While on the
board, he served two terms as President. He is currently a member
of the
Metropolitan Housing Coalition and the Louisville Metro
Police Department Advisory Committee. Mr. Breland, his wife,
Stacy, and their three daughters, Katie, Kristina, and Nicole,
are members of
Hurstbourne Baptist Church where Mr. Breland has assumed
various lay leadership rolls including Chair of Deacons, Chair
of Personnel Committee, Chair of Missions and Evangelism and
Youth Sunday-School teacher. |
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Junior
Bridgeman , CEO, Bridgeman Foods
 Ulysses (Junior)
Bridgeman is the owner and President of Manna, Inc., and currently
oversees the administration and operation of 160
Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburger Restaurants in five states;
42 in Wisconsin; 43 in Tennessee; 42 in Florida; 26 in Kentucky
and 7 in Illinois. Bridgeman Food, Inc. originated in May 1988
with the acquisition of five restaurants in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The restaurants presently employ approximately 6,000 employees.
Junior's educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts
in Psychology from the
University of Louisville in 1975 and 15 credits toward a
J. D. Degree. From 1975-1983 and from 1986-1987, Junior played
professional basketball with the Milwaukee Bucs. During the
interim of 1983-1986 he played for the Los Angeles Clippers.
During his professional basketball career, Junior worked as
a Sales and Public Relations Representative for
Howard Johnson in Milwaukee. His experience also includes
holding a position as an analyst with Towers, Perrin, Foster
&Crosby Insurance Consultants in Milwaukee. Junior's leadership
skills have been further developed through his eleven years
with the
NBA Players Association. As a Player Representative, he
acted as a liaison between the players and management. He was
directly involved in arbitration proceedings and also assisted
with the implementation of specials programs such as Career
Alternatives, Fitness and Wellness and Financial Planning. During
his time with the Players Association, he held the title of
Treasurer for three years and President for four years. Junior
is actively involved in the Louisville community. He currently
serves on the Board of Directors of Fifth
Third Bank; The Library Board. He is Capital Campaign Co-Chair
for the African American Heritage Foundation and serves as Past
Chairman of the Board of Trustees University of Louisville and
past Chair current Co-Chair of the Grand Gala Derby Event. Bridgeman
Foods has received the following prestigious awards from Wendy's
International: The Diamond Award (most effective neighborhood
marketer); the Wendy Award (exemplary performance by a franchisee);
the Founder's Award (recognizing operational excellence by a
franchisee). In October 1999, Bridgeman Foods received the Hall
of Fame Award (for overall achievement). Junior has personally
received many awards including the
Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame; ,Volunteers
of America, Tribute award for outstanding Service to the
Commonwealth of Kentucky;
John Thompson Foundation outstanding achievement award;
Jim Near Legacy Award; Coach Wooden Key to Life Award and many
others. |
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Dennis
Heishman, President & CEO,
Old National Bank, Kentucky/Indiana Region
 Dennis has
extensive leadership experience in banking and corporate finance,
providing custom tailored financial solutions for businesses
and individuals. In his twenty years of banking, he has developed
and expanded numerous client relationships across a broad array
of industries. His common sense decision making process, consultative
approach to building relationships and providing solutions,
vast product knowledge, and commitment to providing unsurpassed
client service have made Dennis a valuable partner to his clients
and colleagues. |
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Joe
Kelley, CEO, Kelley Construction
Joseph T. Kelley Jr has served as President and Chief Executive
Officer of
Kelley Construction since 1995 when he officially took over
from his father who started the business in 1978. Mr. Kelley
started his career in construction in 1981 working his way up
in the field for the next 12 years before stepping into the
role of Project Manager and Senior Vice-President. Kelley Construction
is a regional general contractor who performs work in the commercial,
industrial and petroleum markets competing in both hard and
soft bid situations, public and private sector, and design build.
Kelley Construction employs 80 to 100 local people with annual
sales of 40+ million dollars. Mr. Kelley is also the Organizing
Member of four land development LLC's. He currently serves on
the Board at
Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). Mr. Kelley and
his wife, Teresa, are the proud parents of two children, Tiffany
(age 24) and Trent (age 16). |
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Kent
Oyler, CEO, OPM Services, Inc.
Kent Oyler is a serial entrepreneur, having so far started 17
distinct business ventures. Oyler founded and serves as CEO
of OPM Services, Inc. (2001 #84 ranking on INC 500) Oyler co-founded
and took public High Speed Access Corp. Oyler also founded the
nation's leading operator of heavy-duty flat rail cars and co-founded
bCatalyst,
a technology seed fund and business accelerator. Prior to his
entrepreneurial career Oyler received business and MBA degrees
from the
University of Louisville. He worked as a banker and as CFO
at a privately held heavy manufacturer. Oyler has been honored
as the national Treasurer of the Year by CASHFLOW magazine and
E&Y Master Entrepreneur of the Year. He currently serves
on a dozen civic boards and committees including
Leadership Louisville,
Metro United Way, YPO,
The
Enterprise Corp,
MetaCyte, and the University of Louisville Board of Overseers.
In addition to his charitable and business activities Oyler
also serves as Mayor Jerry Abramson's Special Liaison for Entrepreneurship
and Venture Capital. |
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Pastor
Bob Russell, Pastor Southeast Christian Church
When Bob Russell assumed the leadership of
Southeast Christian Church in 1966, only a few hundred people
worshipped there. Today, he leads a congregation in the range
of 18,500 attending weekly services. From its humble beginnings
on Hikes Lane, Southeast Christian's facilities now occupy 110
acres of land at I-64 and Blankenbaker Lane, and the church
presently employs more than 350 people. Bob and his wife Judy
have been married for forty years. They have two married sons
who live in Louisville and are active at Southeast, and six
grandchildren with whom they enjoy spending their time. An accomplished
author, Bob has written over one-dozen books. He also has a
weekly column in The Lookout, a magazine printed by Standard
Publishing. A highly respected speaker, Bob is heard weekly
on the
Living Word, a nationally syndicated radio program. In his
leisure time he enjoys playing golf and is an avid
University of Louisville basketball fan. |
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Steve
Sexton, President, Churchill Downs
 As he assumed
his new duties in early 2003 as president of Churchill Downs,
the flagship track of
Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI), Steve Sexton became
just the 12th person to hold that important post since Meriwether
Lewis Clark, its founder and first president, opened the track
and conducted the first running of the
Kentucky Derby in 1875. Sexton provides a wealth of experience
and knowledge in racing to his position as president at Churchill
Downs and its sister track,
Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky. Sexton oversees all of CDI's
Kentucky pari-mutuel operations, including the Company's interests
in KY Off-Track Betting Inc., a collection of OTB's owned in
partnership by Kentucky's Thoroughbred tracks, and
Kentucky Downs, a Thoroughbred racing and simulcast facility
in Franklin, Ky. Since arriving at Churchill Downs, Sexton has
overseen the completion of the track's $121 million Master Plan
that has helped transform the famed home of the Kentucky Derby
from a seasonal sports facility to a year-round entertainment,
business and convention attraction. In his role, Sexton follows
in the tradition of Clark, the legendary Col. Matt Winn and
Thomas H. Meeker. Winn, known throughout the sports world as
"Mr. Derby," nurtured the Derby to its status of an American
sports icon during nearly a half-century of service. Meeker,
who served as track president from 1984-1999, led Churchill
on a $30 million capital renovation and renaissance and now
serves as CDI's president and chief executive officer. He succeeds
Alex Waldrop, who was Churchill Downs' president from 1999 through
2002. Sexton joined the Churchill Downs team after serving as
president of Arlington Park and head of CDI's Illinois operations
since August 2001. While at
Arlington Park, Sexton guided the track through preparations
for the first Breeders'
Cup World Thoroughbred Championships to be hosted by an
Illinois racetrack. The 2002 event generated worldwide wagering
of $116,367,198 - a then Breeders' Cup record. A sellout crowd
of 46,118 at Arlington wagered $13,568,233 on the day. Sexton
has marketed and managed top horse racing facilities including
Santa Anita, Golden Gate Fields and Lone Star Park. A native
of Topeka, Kan., Sexton graduated from
Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, Cal., with a major
in economics and psychology. He first became involved in racetrack
management in 1983 when he held the post of sales promotion
manager at Santa Anita. He was appointed assistant marketing
director at Ladbroke's
Canterbury Downs in 1985, and in 1986 he became assistant
general manager/director of marketing for Ladbroke's ,Golden
Gate Fields. In 1991, Sexton was appointed general manager
at Thistledown. In May 1994, he was appointed vice president/assistant
general manager at Lone
Star Park and was involved in the start-up of the Texas
track. He was promoted to executive vice president and general
manager in January 2000 and served in that capacity until joining
Arlington as executive vice president in April 2001. He was
appointed president of the racetrack four months later. Sexton
has been involved in the community and the industry during his
career and is now active in the Louisville community. Since
arriving in Louisville in 2003, he has served on a number of
boards including,
Greater Louisville Inc.,
The Kentucky Derby Museum, the Gallopalooza Community Effort,
The Louisville Metro Police Foundation, ,Kentucky
Chamber of Commerce and
WDRB Editorial Advisory Board. Sexton serves the racing
industry as a director of the Kentucky Equine Education Program,
The Thoroughbred Racing Associations,
North American Racing Academy, and National Turf Foundation
Board. He has also served with the ,University
of Arizona Racetrack Equine Program Advisory Board, and
the
Equibase Management Committee. Sexton and his wife, Kim,
live in Louisville with two children. |
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Matt
Thornton, CEO, Thornton Oil
 As CEO of
Thorntons Inc., Matt is responsible for leading Kentucky's
largest privately owned corporation. Thorntons Inc. owns and
operates 160 Corner Groceries in five states with 2005 revenue
of $1.2 billion and 3000 employees. During Matt's tenure as
CEO the company has embarked on a new strategic path in an effort
to transform itself from a traditional convenience retailer
into a fully diversified entity with interests in retail operations,
wholesale fuel and grocery distribution, and commissary operations.
Prior to this appointment, Matt served as Vice President of
Operations. In that role he was responsible for the growth and
development of the operations team, daily store operations,
and the creation of operational efficiencies through systems,
processes, and technology. He also served in several mid and
senior level positions while at Thorntons Inc. Matt graduated
from the ,University
of Alabama in 1993 with a B.S. in Management. He is an active
member of the Bluegrass Chapter of the ,Young
President's Association (YPO). In addition, he serves on
the Boards of
PNC Bank of Kentucky, the
Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers (SIGMA), the
National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS),
Greater Louisville Inc., Kentucky Public Education Foundation
and the
Louisville Free Public Library Foundation. |
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