His advice for those starting out: "If we always do what we've always done, we'll always get what we've always got." Strive to be a catalyst for change. The industry requires it.
Dan Lunoe, 33
Vice President Marketing, Stuart & Associates, Cleveland
His big break: I was 17 years old umpiring a little league baseball game for 8- and 9-year-old boys in my hometown of Bay Village, Ohio. I called a strike on a batter. (The strike zone was from the eyes to the ankles to encourage the kids to swing the bat.) A father on the batter's team starting yelling at me to open my eyes and call a fair game. I stopped the game, walked over to the father and told him he could either be quiet and watch the game or keep yelling and I would eject him from the field. Other parents starting cheering for me as apparently this father was vocal at all the games. The president of Stuart & Associates, Craig McAllester, was coaching the other team and came over, shook my hand and thanked me for handling the situation. Next thing I knew I was working for him over the summers selling hats for a company he also owned and then was offered a job at Stuart out of college.