Oh,
What a Night!
On Tuesday,
October 24, nearly 850 people converged on the Sheraton City
Center’s main ballroom for the 18th Annual Philadelphia
100. It was the fourth straight year of record attendance
for this event.
From the
start, there was a buzz. Smiling faces, handshakes, laughter
and introductions filled the corridors as the attendees enjoyed
great networking, food and drink. Throughout the reception
area, exhibitors were busy explaining their products and services
to curious onlookers.
The audience
moved to the main dining room for a three course meal and
the Awards Ceremony. During the countdown presentation, the
room was electric with excitement. The companies proudly cheered
as their numbers were displayed, expressing their appreciation.
Keynote
speaker Carol Ammon told the fascinating story of how in 1997
she led a management buyout from The Dupont Merck Pharmaceutical
Company, only having six weeks to secure a commitment letter
for $100 million in equity. This company evolved into Endo
Pharmaceuticals. Carol spoke about the challenges of growing
the company into a leader in pain management and its plans
to expand into complementary therapeutic areas. She called
the decision to locate in Pennsylvania a “no brainer”
citing favorable tax incentives and a highly skilled and well
educated labor pool, among the reasons.
The awards
ceremony continued with the inductions of a company, SES Advisors,
and two CEOs, Christopher Ulsh and Mark Barraclough, into
the Philadelphia 100 Hall of Fame. The climax of the event
was the introduction of The Philadelphia 100 Top 10, the ten
fastest growing, privately held companies in the Greater Philadelphia
region. Neat Receipts topped the list with a two year growth
rate of 4276%!
Sponsors
included Reed Smith (gold), Philadelphia Business Journal
(silver), CBIZ, Flaster/Greenberg, National Penn Bank, Republic
First Bank, Sabre Systems, Stream Companies and Wachovia Bank.
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