Shining in this week’s feature is CEO Weekly’s Top 20 CEOs. These CEOs—innovators in their respective fields—are the embodiment of hard work, excellence, and perseverance. There are countless adversities that await a person who plans to establish a name for himself/herself in the commercial world. And true enough, staying afloat and succeeding in the changing landscape of the business industry is a feat that most cannot reach. But with a firm grip on their mission and belief in their abilities, they are masters of their own field, creating positive changes and inspiring the new generation to do the same. Here are this year’s top 20 CEOs:
- Elon Musk
Photo by: Getty Images
49-year-old South African-born multi billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is the CEO of SpaceX, an aerospace company that designs, produces, manufactures, and launches rockets and spacecraft.
Before SpaceX, Musk owned several companies like X.com (currently under a new brand name we know as PayPal), Tesla, and Zip2 (which, after being sold to Compaq Computers made him a multimillionaire even only during his late 20s).
Today, SpaceX stands at the frontline of aerospace companies across the globe. It is estimated to rake around $2 billion annually.
Twitter: @elonmusk
Website: www.spacex.com; www.tesla.com/elon-musk
- Jeff Bezos
Photo by: Michael Prince for Forbes
So many lives have been changed because of Amazon. The e-commerce giant has positioned itself to be the global leader in cloud computing, digital streaming, retailing, and e-commerce. The man behind its success, Jeff Bezos, is a 56-year-old American internet entrepreneur who graduated summa cum laude from Princeton with degrees in electrical engineering and computer science.
With headquarters in Washington, Amazon has spread and has reached global prominence. In 2019, Amazon had more than $280 billion in revenue.
Instagram: @jeffbezos
Website: www.amazon.com
- Sara Blakely
Photo by: Getty Images
Sara Blakely is one of Forbes’ 2016 Power Women and Global Game Changers. Founder and owner of Spanx, Sara Blakely runs a multimillion dollar shapewear brand. Since it was founded, Spanx has been providing intimate wear for women like undergarments, swimwear, maternity wear, and leggings. Spanx has become a global game changer, and it has spread across the US with over 65 branches. Time and time again, Blakely is highly acknowledged for her success, by no less than Forbes Magazine. Last year, she snatched a spot in Forbes’ America’s Self-Made Women and Billionaires.
Instagram: @sarablakely
Website: www.spanx.com
- R. Nicole Sharp
R. Nicole is the CEO of Griffin Consulting Partners LLC, a consulting firm that focuses on IT, health care, and real estate.
Today, Griffin Consulting Partners LLC (GCP LLC) works with clients in the government and commercial sector. GCP LLC helps clients design virtual high-performing environments, business infrastructure and business processes. In R. Nicole’s spare time, she speaks at STEM/STEAM events. R. Nicole is writing a book that provides effective strategies for leaving your 9 to 5 and scale to entrepreneurship. The book will be available in 2021.
Website: www.rnicole.com; www.griffincpl.com
- Noel Verdejo
Noel is known as The Real Credit King because he knows exactly how to turn bad credit around and give someone a Fresh Start. Many of his clients can attest to his knowledge and skill with regard to credit. Through Fresh Start Financial Group, he has changed many people’s lives.
Noel gives solid and sage advice to his clients, such as “If you are going to quit anything, quit making excuses and quit waiting for the right time.” This advice is applicable to everyone with a dream, and especially when that dream is tied to having a Good Credit Score.
Website: www.freshstartfinancialgroup.com
- Steven Ridzyowski
Steven Ridzyowski has been a leader in the e-commerce/digital media buying space for over ten years. Currently the founder of Ecommerce Marketing Agency. His business specializes in Shopify store creations and marketing via multiple advertising platforms and does not just rely on typical social media marketing campaigns like most agencies do. He and his team have created a true turnkey experience to start your brand and business online. Steven is a top entrepreneur who can help businesses make that transition to online retail what better time than now!
Website: www.ecommercemarketingagency.com
- Jonathan Azizi
Jonathan Azizi, CEO of FlyBy Auto Transport and Azizi Imports Inc. is a 21 year old businessman who transformed a small and practically bankrupt business into a successful company that is now popular among major dealerships and auctions. Jonathan was raised in Los Angeles in an immigrant community filled with small businesses, which inspired his passion for entrepreneurship
Website: www.flybytransport.com
- Henry Calix
This dreamer and millennial who was raised in Miami culture has a can-do attitude toward anything in life. He is the founder of Calix Fashion, author of Perspective Podcast with Henry Calix, and now the founder and CEO of Weedsies.com, an online marketplace for the cannabis industry. With Weedsies, Henry is revolutionizing the CBD, hemp, and cannabis industry in 2020 by providing vendors the ability to sell any and all cannabis related products online within each State’s regulations while still complying with federal law.
Amid pandemic challenges, Henry facilitated businesses in the cannabis industry the ability to remain operational while their doors were closed. “I love the process of entrepreneurship, and building a brand from scratch.” Henry said.
Website: www.weedsies.com
- Parker McCumber
Parker McCumber is an active duty US Army veteran, 2nd Lieutenant in the Utah Army National Guard, e-commerce entrepreneur, and CEO of ORO Tactical. Parker believes that entrepreneurship is the gateway to financial freedom and true satisfaction in life. Under Parker’s leadership, his businesses have seen over 285% increase in revenue in 2020. Parker emphasizes team building and believes it to be a critical component of his organization’s success.
Parker draws on his military experiences to develop functional business practices for himself, his partners, and clients.
Parker’s motivation comes from a passion for self-improvement and helping others.
Website: www.toolsforbusinessgrowth.com/parker-mccumber
- George Caceres
George Caceres is a business developer, entrepreneur, #1 best-selling author of Do the Hustle, film producer, creator of Vocal Star & The Celebrity Experience, and a business strategist. George’s passion is creating businesses that provide opportunities for people to prosper and the importance of having multiple streams of income.
He is now getting ready to launch his second book FOCUS – STRATEGY – POWER. The book is for entrepreneurs who want to break through to the next level.
Facebook: George Caceres
Instagram: @georgecaceres
LinkedIn: George Caceres
Twitter: @georgecaceres
Website: www.georgecaceres.com
- Racquel Johnson
Racquel Johnson, CEO of KMJ Clothing, is a Jamaican woman who is taking her pain and turning them into joy. She gains strength through building a brand to honor her daughter’s memory and this memory, through KMJ Clothing, will become a significant part of this world’s future.
Website: www.kmjlove.com
- Kendra Stephen, Esq.
Kendra Stephen is the CEO of The Trademark Firm, PLLC, a boutique virtual law firm that focuses on brand protection, trademark registration, monitoring, and enforcement.
Today, The Trademark Firm, PLLC protects brands for entertainers, professional athletes, and entrepreneurs. The Trademark Firm helps clients by designing a 360 Brand Protection plan that provides strategic legal protection and brand monetization strategies. In addition to registering and enforcing trademarks, the law firm also helps clients handle trademark infringement matters. The law firm enjoys working with clients in all fifty states and internationally.
Instagram: @kendrastephen
Website: www.trademarkregistration.lawyer
- Donye Kimal
Donye Kimal is an entrepreneur that is now teaching his community how to start their own companies within the logistics industry. After being labeled a felon, he was repeatedly denied employment opportunities and decided to start his own trucking company. The same year he also started a freight brokerage company, both companies were six-figure companies within one year. This entrepreneur is also a passionate activist determined to create change within his community.
Instagram: @donyekimal
- Torland Greene Jr.
The 32-year-old from Manassas, Virginia, is the co-founder and current CEO of Ars Media Arts Group, also known as Ars MAG! He has used his design talent and eye for esthetics to build a boutique creative agency that is unmatched in resources, hands-on directions, and dedication to the future to the creative industry. He is a CEO with the knowledge to consult and skills set to execute. Ars MAG has achieved nationwide success, upholding the vision of Torland Greene Jr.
Website: www.thetimeisars.com
- Chase Hughes
Referred to as a world-leading expert by Dr. Phil, Chase Hughes retired from the US military in 2018. After a 20-year career, Chase published his #1 Bestselling book on persuasion and influence, The Ellipsis Manual. His training is widely known as the gold standard for intelligence operations, sales, and interrogation. Chase has been named in the 2020 40-under-40 with Mark Zuckerberg, and is also the author of the fiction thriller about mind control, Phrase Seven which is soon to be a television series.
Website: www.chasehughes.com
- Johanan Dujon
Photo by: Business Focus St Lucia
Johanan Dujon is the founder and CEO of Algas Organics, the first indigenous agriculture biotech firm across the Carribean. As a place famous for its tourism, Algas Organics is a significant and helpful company in the country as it uses over two million pounds of seaweed as its main ingredient. Converting invasive plants and converting them into organic products like fungicides, pesticides, and fertilizers, not only helps the farmers but also make Algas Organic an eco-friendly company. This year, the company looks at $2 million in revenue as they gain confidence among investors and other stakeholders.
Instagram: @algasorganics
Twitter: @algasorganics
Website: www.algasorganics.com
- Winnie Karanja
Photo from: Caffeine Clarity
The fight against discrimination toward women of color is a hard one. But every single day, we are seeing more and more advocates toward the erasure of the lines that separate race and color. Winnie Karanja is one of the best examples. She is the founder and CEO of Maydm, a company that takes in women, young girls, and trains them so they hone their skills that would help them take jobs efficiently. Since November of 2015, Maydm has sat down with girls and women, helped them, and turned things around for them.
Twitter: @maydmtech
Website: www.maydm.org
- Danya Sherman
Photo by:William Atkins/ GW Today
Danya Sherman founded KnoNap after an unfortunate encounter with people who took advantage of her when she was studying abroad in 2016. Someone slipped a drug to her drink which made her vulnerable for physical molestation.
The event, while traumatizing, challenged her to innovate and find ways so women or anyone would never have to undergo the same fate as her. That is when the idea for KnoNap came to her. A cocktail napkin that detects the presence of drugs in liquids when spilled by changing color, KnoNap is an invention unlike any before.
Because of her invention, she was named one of Washington Life’s 2017 Technology 25 Innovators and Disruptors, Cafe 100’s 2018 Change Maker, Toyota’s 2018 Mother of Invention, and part of Forbes’ 30 Under 30.
Instagram: @knonap
Twitter: @RealKnoNap
Website: www.knonap.com
- Samir Lakhani
Photo from: Eco Soap Bank Org
Eco-Soap Bank promotes healthy practices and sanitation directed toward the underprivileged sector while protecting the environment. The 28-year-old social entrepreneur is the head of a company that recycles and redistributes soap to impoverished communities.
Joining social causes for six years, Samir knows the woes of poor people, and so he created Eco-Soap Bank to help in his own way. He earned the CNN Heroes Award, Unilever’s Young Entrepreneurs, and was part of Forbes’ 30 Under 30.
Instagram: @ecosoapbank
Twitter: @EcoSoapBank
Website: www.ecosoapbank.org
- Lisa Skeete Tatum
Photo Source: ImpactAlpha
Lisa Skeete Tatum is the founder and CEO of Landit, a company that helps women succeed in different fields or areas of expertise by creating playbooks and connecting them to the right companies. Fostering a healthy and diverse environment, Landit has been helping women by the thousands land jobs that suit their skills. Lisa’s featured in many publications like Forbes, BBC, INC, Vanity Fair, CNBC, etc.
Instagram: @applandit
Website: www.landit.com
