Gary Chouest, president and CEO of Edison Chouest Offshore, leads one of the most important privately held maritime service empires in the United States, built from the Louisiana vessel business founded by his father in 1960. Under his leadership, the company has expanded into a vast offshore fleet serving oil, gas, offshore wind, shipbuilding, and national-security markets, helping make Edison Chouest a cornerstone of U.S. marine logistics and deepwater operations. Known for a low public profile and long-term industrial vision, Chouest has become one of the defining figures in American offshore shipping.

Todd Graves, cofounder and CEO of Raising Cane’s, turned a single Baton Rouge chicken-finger shop into one of America’s fastest-growing restaurant brands by doing one thing exceptionally well. Since opening the first location in 1996, Graves has built Raising Cane’s into a national powerhouse with a tightly focused menu, founder-led culture, and a marketing strategy that blends celebrity partnerships with cult-like customer loyalty. Known for relentless operational simplicity and brand discipline, he has become one of the most successful entrepreneurs in modern quick-service dining.

Peter Cancro, founder and chairman of Jersey Mike’s, built one of America’s fastest-growing restaurant chains by turning a single New Jersey sandwich shop he bought at 17 into a national franchising powerhouse. Over five decades, he expanded the brand through a simple model centered on fresh-sliced subs, operator loyalty, and strong local-store economics, helping Jersey Mike’s surpass 3,000 locations. After Blackstone’s 2024 acquisition of the company at an $8 billion valuation, Cancro stepped down as CEO in 2025 but remained chairman and a significant shareholder, continuing to shape the brand’s long-term growth.

Mitchell Morgan, founder and chairman of Morgan Properties, built one of the largest private apartment empires in the United States by focusing on older multifamily assets in secondary markets and scaling them through disciplined acquisitions and renovation. Since founding the company in 1985, he has grown Morgan Properties into a portfolio of more than 350 communities and roughly 100,000 units, making it one of the country’s biggest multifamily owners. In 2026, Morgan stepped down as CEO and passed day-to-day leadership to his sons, while remaining chairman of the business he built.

Steve Lavin, chairman and chief executive of OSI Group, leads one of the world’s largest privately held food processors, a company deeply embedded in the global supply chains of brands such as McDonald’s, Chipotle, and Kraft Heinz. A lawyer by training and the son of longtime OSI leader Sheldon Lavin, he took over the business after his father’s death in 2023 and now oversees a multinational protein and prepared-foods enterprise with operations across dozens of facilities worldwide. Known for a low public profile and long-term family stewardship, Lavin represents the next generation of leadership at one of America’s most important private food manufacturers.

Neal Aronson, founder and managing partner of Roark Capital, built one of the most influential private equity firms in franchising, restaurants, and multi-location consumer businesses. Since founding Roark in 2001, he has developed a reputation for patient capital, operational focus, and deep expertise in brand-driven businesses, helping assemble a portfolio that has included major names such as Subway, Dunkin’, Arby’s, and Buffalo Wild Wings. Before Roark, Aronson cofounded U.S. Franchise Systems, giving him an early grounding in the economics of scalable branded businesses.

Walter Wang, chairman and CEO of JM Eagle, built one of the world’s largest plastic pipe manufacturers by combining industrial scale, disciplined expansion, and a long-term infrastructure vision. After acquiring J-M Manufacturing in 2005 and later merging it with PW Eagle, Wang transformed the business into a dominant supplier of plastic pipe used in water, sewer, gas, and utility systems across North America. Known for a low-profile but ambitious leadership style, he has paired industrial growth with major philanthropic work in education, healthcare, and civic causes, making him one of the most prominent figures in modern infrastructure manufacturing.

Donald R. Levin, founder of D.R.L. Enterprises, built a global rolling-paper empire by controlling nearly every layer of the supply chain—from paper mills and manufacturing to distribution and iconic consumer brands. Through D.R.L.’s Republic Brands unit, Levin amassed labels such as Zig-Zag, E-Z Wider, OCB, and JOB, turning a niche tobacco-adjacent business into a multibillion-dollar private enterprise. Known as the “king of rolling papers,” he paired low-profile operating discipline with vertical integration, extending his holdings into leasing, film production, and sports ownership, including the Chicago Wolves.

Herald Y. Chen, former president and CFO of AppLovin and now a director of the company, helped shape one of the most successful mobile software stories of the AI era. A longtime private equity executive before joining AppLovin, Chen played a central role in the company’s public-market ascent, helping steer its financial strategy, acquisitions, and operating discipline as it evolved into a major force in app monetization, advertising, and mobile gaming. Known for pairing Wall Street rigor with technology execution, Chen remains closely tied to AppLovin’s rise as one of the standout software winners of recent years.

Luis von Ahn, cofounder and CEO of Duolingo, is a pioneering computer scientist who turned language learning into one of the world’s most successful education apps while helping define the economics of crowdsourced internet infrastructure. Before Duolingo, he created reCAPTCHA, later acquired by Google, and built a reputation for converting human attention into scalable digital systems. At Duolingo, he helped grow the company from a mission-driven startup into a publicly traded global platform spanning language, math, and music education, with AI increasingly central to its product strategy.

Lauren B. Leichtman, cofounder and co-chairperson of the Executive Committee at Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, helped build one of the most established middle-market private equity firms through a structured investment strategy designed to combine downside protection with long-term value creation. Since cofounding LLCP in 1984 with Arthur Levine, she has played a central role in the firm’s strategic direction, management, and investment activities as it grew into a global platform stewarding about $18.1 billion of institutional capital. Leichtman is also widely recognized as a trailblazer in private equity, with Forbes identifying her as the first woman to build a billion-dollar fortune in the industry.

Arthur E. Levine, cofounder of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, helped build one of the most established middle-market private equity firms by focusing on structured equity, downside protection, and long-term value creation. Since launching LLCP with Lauren Leichtman in 1984, Levine has played a central role in shaping the firm’s differentiated investment strategy, combining debt and equity to back founder-led and family-owned businesses across industries. Known for disciplined capital allocation and a low-profile approach, he helped scale LLCP into a global platform with decades of experience in middle-market investing.

Jerry Seinfeld, comedian, writer, and producer, turned observational stand-up into one of the most valuable personal brands in entertainment history. As co-creator and star of Seinfeld, he helped redefine television comedy, then extended his influence through stand-up specials, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, and the 2024 Netflix film Unfrosted. Known for disciplined craft, cultural longevity, and extraordinary syndication economics, Seinfeld remains one of the most commercially successful comedians ever.

John W. Stanton, chairman of Trilogy Equity Partners and chairman/managing partner of the Seattle Mariners ownership group, is a wireless-industry pioneer who helped build multiple major U.S. mobile operators before turning to venture investing and sports ownership. After senior leadership roles at McCaw Cellular, Stanton founded and led Western Wireless and VoiceStream, two formative companies in the rise of modern mobile telecom, and later built Trilogy into an early-stage investment platform focused on wireless and technology opportunities. His career blends telecom entrepreneurship, institutional board influence, and long-term stewardship of one of Major League Baseball’s flagship franchises.

Albert H. Nahmad, founder, chairman, and CEO of Watsco, has spent more than five decades building the company into North America’s largest distributor of air-conditioning, heating, and refrigeration equipment and parts. Since taking control in 1972, Nahmad helped transform Watsco from a modest manufacturer into a dominant HVAC/R distribution platform serving thousands of contractors through an expanding network of locations, joint ventures, and acquisitions. Known for disciplined capital allocation, long-term value creation, and steady operational execution, he has made Watsco one of the most successful compounders in industrial distribution.

Mark Lerner, managing principal owner of the Washington Nationals and a principal of Lerner Enterprises, sits at the intersection of one of Washington’s most prominent real estate dynasties and Major League Baseball ownership. The son of developer Ted Lerner, he assumed control of the Nationals in 2018 and helped oversee the franchise’s 2019 World Series championship, while remaining deeply tied to the family’s privately held real estate business, one of the largest in the Washington, D.C., region. Known for low-profile leadership and long-term family stewardship, Lerner represents the continuation of a multigenerational business legacy across both property and sports.

Philip Falcone, founder of Harbinger Capital Partners, rose to prominence as one of the most aggressive hedge fund managers of the financial-crisis era, making billions by shorting subprime mortgages before turning to large, high-stakes bets in distressed debt and telecom. A former Harvard hockey player turned Wall Street trader, he built Harbinger into a multibillion-dollar fund known for concentrated, contrarian investing, though his later career was marked by regulatory scrutiny and the costly collapse of LightSquared. Falcone remains a memorable figure in hedge fund history for pairing extraordinary conviction with extraordinary volatility.

Daniel Dines, founder and CEO of UiPath, built one of the most important enterprise automation companies of the modern software era by turning robotic process automation into a global category. After starting the company in Romania in 2005, Dines scaled UiPath into a publicly traded software leader serving enterprises with automation, orchestration, and AI-powered workflow tools. Known for pairing engineering depth with long-term product vision, he helped position UiPath at the center of how large organizations automate repetitive work and adapt to the rise of agentic AI.

Willis Johnson, founder and chairman of Copart, built one of the most dominant businesses in auto remarketing by turning a single salvage auction yard in California into a global online vehicle auction powerhouse. Since launching Copart in 1982, Johnson helped redefine how insurers, dealers, dismantlers, and buyers transact damaged and used vehicles, scaling the company through technology, logistics, and a highly efficient auction model. He served as CEO until 2010 and has remained chairman since 2004, continuing to shape the company’s long-term direction as Copart expanded internationally and became a major force in digital auto auctions.

William C. Young, founder of Plastipak, built one of the world’s largest privately held plastic packaging and recycling companies by focusing on engineering innovation, operational scale, and long-term family ownership. Since cofounding the business in 1967 with his parents, Young expanded Plastipak into a global supplier serving major food, beverage, and consumer products companies across dozens of facilities worldwide. Under his leadership, the company became a major force in PET packaging and bottle-to-bottle recycling, combining manufacturing scale with sustainability investment. Following his 2024 transition from the CEO role, Young continued as chairman while the company moved to its next generation of leadership.