Victor Kiam Essay

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Born on December 7, 1926, Victor Kiam was an entrepreneur ever since he got involved with his first start-up company: a Coca-Cola stand he opened on the sidewalk near his grandfather's home in New Orleans. The founder was all of eight years old. Known to millions as "The Man Who Bought The Company," Victor Kiam became one of America's leading entrepreneurs. He has been recognized internationally as the epitome of a successful entrepreneur and turnaround specialist. Victor began his corporate career at Lever Brothers in 1951. As a trainee, he lugged cosmetic samples from store to store while building a performance record impressive enough to lift him through the managerial ranks. Even back then, Victor had a way of standing out. The super salesman once persuaded a roomful of hardened buyers to buy Pepsodent toothpaste by making a brief but memorable sales presentation that featured a trained monkey. He joined Playtex as a regional sales manager in 1955 and eventually became Executive Vice President of Marketing and President of that company's Sarong division. While at Playtex, Victor launched the Cross Your Heart Bra. As a forerunner to his future success on television commercials, Victor, with the help of some padding and creative photography, stood in as a simulated model for his company's product in an early commercial. Victor left Playtex when it was sold. After leaving Playtex, Victor decided it was time to run his own venture. With financial backing, he became Chief Executive Officer of the Benrus Corporation, a maker of fine watches. With Victor's successful direction, Benrus developed into a mini conglomerate. Despite this, he opted to leave the organization when the board decided to abandon the continued expansion of its consumer products in favor of strengthening its industrial company. Though no one knew it at the time, Victor's 1979 purchase of

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