Marcus Lemonis
Marcus Anthony Lemonis (born November 16, 1973 in Beirut , Lebanon ) is an American businessman, investor, television personality and philanthropist . He is the current Chairman and CEO of Camping World , Good Sam Enterprises and Gander Mountain, and is the lead star on The Profit , a CNBC reality show dedicated to saving small businesses.
Career
Private life
Lemoni's first years of life were overshadowed by the Lebanese civil war and the Syrian occupation of his homeland. As a toddler he was Leo and Sophia Lemonis, a Greek couple who in Miami ( Florida lived), adopted. Lemonis came into contact with the automotive industry during his youth. His grandfather owned two Chevrolet dealerships in the United States. Lee Iacocca was a family friend and later a mentor to Marcus. Lemonis acquired in 1995 a bachelor's degree in political science and a minor in criminology at Marquette University in Milwaukee ( Wisconsin ). Shortly after graduating, he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives . As a result of his defeat, he embarked on a career in the automotive industry.
In 2003 he married his wife Ila.
Business career
Lemonis took a job at Republic Industries, Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. From 1997 he held several sales and management positions there. From June 2001 to February 2003, he was CEO of Holiday RV Superstores Inc. He then co-founded a company called Freedom Roads and started motor home dealer to purchase. In 2006 FreedomRoads merged with Camping World and in 2011 with Good Sam Enterprises. Lemonis acted as the company's new CEO after each of the mergers.
As CEO of Camping World, he first worked with NASCAR in 2004 when the company assisted driver John Andretti . In 2007, Lemonis announced that Camping World would be sponsoring the NASCAR East Series from Busch Beer for the 2008-2009 season and that it would be renamed NASCAR Camping World Series . In the same year, 2007, he announced the sponsorship of the Craftsman Truck Series and the change of name to NASCAR Camping World Truck Series . This made the company one of the top three sponsors in sport. In 2014, Lemonis announced sponsorship of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series until 2022.
In addition to his work at Camping World, Lemonis works as an entrepreneur. In this way he has helped several companies that were in trouble. When Rose's Bakery & Wheat Free Café was about to shut down on Christmas Eve 2012, Lemonis got into the company and saved it from closing. After the first sighting of the company he constituted an award of 200,000 dollars and was to invest the majority owner of the company with a pledge another $ 150,000 over the next 18 months in the company. Lemonis not only saved the existing bakery, but it was a second location in Highland Park ( Illinois opened) under his direction. Lemonis added Rose's Bakery & Wheat Free Café and several other businesses including Amazing Grapes, Betty Lou's, Crumbs Bake Shop, Dapper Classics, E-Net IT Group, Key West Key Lime Pie Co., Little Miss Baker, Tonnie's Minis, Mr. Green Tea, ProFit Protein Bars and Sweet Pete's to its holding company, Marcus Lemonis Enterprises LLC . He also added two more companies to his portfolio in the automotive industry as a result of his work at The Profit: 1-800-Car-Cash, a car purchase service, and AutoMatch USA, which specializes in used cars and accessories.
The RV Business Magazine called Lemonis 2007 as ". Newsmaker of the Year" In this context, it wrote the following about him:
"[He has] more impact on the industry than any [other] single individual or company in recent memory as an agent of change and retail consolidation."
"[He] has more impact on the industry than any [other] individual or company in recent years as a driver of change and retail consolidation."
Crain's Chicago Business featured him in its 2005 edition of "40 under 40" and Ernst & Young named him "Entrepreneur of the Year" in 2008. "
As a philanthropist, he has supported the Joffrey Ballet , St. Jude Children's Research Hospital , the Ravinia Festival , the Lincoln Park Zoo , the RV / MH Hall of Fame and the Zacharias Sexual Abuse Center, among others . As a result of his appearances on The Secret Millionaire , he also supported National Voices for Equality, Education and Enlightenment , New Journey's Transitional Home, and Neat Stuff .
Under his leadership, Camping World and Good Sam Enterprises launched the Good Samaritan project as one of their 2013 goals to expand corporate responsibility. As part of this project, almost 7,000 employees are asked to volunteer 32 hours per year (eight hours per quarter) for purposes that they consider important.
In October 2016, Camping World was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CWH). The issue price was $ 22 per share, which translates into a market value of approximately $ 2 billion. On May 1, 2017, a share of Camping World was trading at $ 31.
In April 2017, Camping World announced the purchase of assets from Gander Mountain , a camping, fishing and hunting equipment retailer, including the intellectual property, brands, and domain GanderMountain.com, and the boating and watersports lifestyle retailer Overton's Inc.
In July 2017, Camping World announced the purchase of The House Boardship , an online retailer specializing in bicycles, windsurfing boards , skateboards, wakeboards, snowboards and outdoor supplies . This includes intellectual property and trademarks, including the thehouse.com and the-house.com domains.
Television personality
Lemonis appeared on two episodes of The Celebrity Apprentice , an NBC reality show. In 2011, Lemonis gave each team two Camping World trailers and asked them to host an experience in Midtown Manhattan . In 2012, Lemonis asked candidates to write a 90-second jingle for Good Sam's Roadside Assistance Program . Lemonis also appeared on an episode of The Secret Millionaire , an ABC reality show , in 2012 . He was in his hometown of Miami helping local charities.
In 2013, Lemonis became the main actor on The Profit, a CNBC reality show where Lemonis is on the hunt for promising small businesses that are in trouble. From the summer of 2016 (fourth season) he is using his own money across the board to save a company and at the same time generate a profit. After the third season, Lemonis had invested $ 35 million in companies that were featured on the show.
In 2017, Lemonis appeared on The Partner , a second CNBC reality show, looking for a CEO to help him with the running businesses he was investing money in at The Profit.
Political career
Lemonis ran for the Florida House of Representatives in 1996. He competed against the two-time Republican incumbent Bruno Barreiro. Despite the support of the Miami Herald , he suffered one defeat, 42.44% to 57.56% of the vote. The Miami Herald described Lemonis as "political neophyte," but supported him because "he exudes energy and ideas."
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kim, Jae-Hae: Go away with Marcus Lemonis , Chicago Tribune, September 30, 2013
- ↑ a b 40 Under 40 2005 - Pages - Crain's Chicago Business , Chicagobusiness.com, November 17, 2005
- ↑ Katherine Pfrogner: Part 1 of the Marcus Lemonis Deposition for Stetler V , youtube.com, April 29, 2017
- ↑ FreedomRoads, LLC: Private Company Information - Businessweek , Investing.businessweek.com
- ↑ Who is Marcus Lemonis? - Zap2it, Blog.zap2it.com, July 26, 2013
- ^ NASCAR's hottest drivers and the companies that sponsor them , CNBC.com
- ↑ Albert, Zack: LEMONIS: CAMPING WORLD IN NASCAR FOR LONG HAUL , nascar.com, May 5, 2014
- ↑ Smith, Bill: Specialty bakery finds Santa it needed , Evanston Now, December 24, 2012
- ↑ Stone, Emily: Rose's Wheat Free Bakery Now Open in Highland Park , patch.com, March 11, 2014
- ↑ Entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis, of CNBC's Hit Reality Series "The Profit," Announces New Locations of AutoMatch USA SuperCenters to Open Later This Year , finance.yahoo.com, June 17, 2014
- ↑ The Profit on CNBC ( Memento of the original from December 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , TVTycoons.com, July 24, 2016
- ↑ Camping World / FreedomRoads Chairman and CEO Lemonis Named RV Business Newsmaker of The Year , businesswire.com, November 29, 2007
- ↑ Scheffler, Mark: 40 under 40 2005, Crain's Chicago Business, November 17, 2005
- ↑ Goldenberg, Sherman: Lemonis Recognized with Ernst & Young Award ( Memento of the original of July 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , rvbusiness.com, June 30, 2008
- ↑ Landmark Gift Ensures Ongoing Success for The Joffrey Ballet's Chicago Public School Residency Initiative Renamed The Joffrey Ballet Lemonis Bridge Program, joffrey.org, August 6, 2013
- ↑ Financial Gift Allows Joffrey to Continue, Expand, Public School Outreach, dancestudiolife.com
- ^ Camping World Cares - St. Jude Children's Hospital , youtube.com, May 25, 2011
- ^ Salute To Our Sponsors , ravinia.org
- ↑ Zoo Ball 2013: Wild at Heart, lpzoo.org
- ↑ Lemonis Donation Helps Boost RV / MH Hall Fund Raiser ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , rvmhhalloffame.org
- ↑ Camping World CEO Backs Charity Fundraiser ( Memento of the original from December 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , rvbusiness.com, October 27, 2011
- ↑ Secret Millionaire comes back home to Miami to help - and party! , miami.com, August 3, 2012
- ^ Good Sam and Camping World Launch 'Project Good Samaritan' to Institute Employee Volunteerism Program , goodsam.com
- ↑ Camping World Holdings rises 3% after IPO , CNBC.com, October 6, 2016
- ↑ Camping World acquires Gander Mountain assets in auction , dailyherald.com, May 1, 2017
- ↑ Camping World Agrees to Acquire TheHouse.com, one of the Largest Outdoor Gear Retailers in the World , campingworld.com, July 27, 2017
- ^ All-Star Celebrity Apprentice , nbc.com
- ↑ The Apprentice: Season 11, Episode 3 Unhappy Campers , imdb.com
- ↑ The Apprentice: Season 12, Episode 11 Jingle All the Way Home , imdb.com
- ↑ Lemonis: Miami, abc.go.com, June 25, 2013
- ↑ The profit , cnbc.com
- ↑ a b Lisa de Moraes: 'The Profit' Host Marcus Lemonis To Star In CNBC Spinoff, 'The Partner' - TCA , deadline.com, January 14, 2016
- ↑ CNBC Greenlights 'Cleveland Hustles' with NBA Superstar LeBron James and 'The Partner' with Marcus Lemonis , cnbc.com, Jan. 14, 2016
- ↑ General, Nonpartisan and Special Elections: Dade County, Florida , miamidade.gov, Nov. 5, 1996
- ↑ Miami Herald Archive Search Results , nl.newsbank.com
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lemonis, Marcus |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Lemonis, Marcus Anthony (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American businessman, investor, television personality, and philanthropist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 16, 1973 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Beirut , Lebanon |