David Giuliani

David Giuliani has been earning his successes ever since he studied graduate-level electrical engineering and business at Stanford University.

He didn’t have to go too far from college to get his first opportunity. But after 12 years working with light-emitting diodes, semiconductors and high-volume production at Hewlett-Packard, Giuliani moved to the Northwest to try something new. Initially he was not happy, but his wife told him, “Think of all the energy you are using being upset. Why don’t you use it for a new product or a new job?”

He took her advice, first creating a 70-employee division of a company called International Biomedics and later Optiva Corp., which came up with the original sonic toothbrush, Sonicare.

Optiva was sold in 2000 to Phillips Oral Healthcare, but Giuliani’s fascination with sonic technology remained. So he created a research and development company, Pacific Bioscience Labs Inc. of Bellevue, better known by the name of its primary product, an ultrasonic skin-cleansing device called Clarisonic. The device would eventually be sold by doctors, aestheticians and high-end retailers across the country. He also insisted that the product be manufactured in the United States.

Never idle, Giuliani has served on the Washington Technology Center board and, in an effort to get business involved in solving political problems independent of political philosophy, he has established the Washington Business Alliance.

Finalists:

Rick Steves

President, CEO, Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door (Edmonds)

Nobody’s going to get rich quick at Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door, says its founder. But in terms of investing for the long term, keeping employees and subscribing to a general philosophy of sharing the wealth, it doesn’t get much better than this Edmonds-based travel company.

Steves has embraced the internet by developing travel journals, blogs, podcasts, streaming radio programming and video. People, Steves says, will come to the company for free information and be led in time to his guides, baggage line, accessories and guided tours, which are the most lucrative segments of the business. Promotion through his regular PBS program, radio show and podcasts only adds to his reputation as the foremost authority on European travel among Americans.

Hector Rivas Jr.

CEO, Thriftbooks LLC (Auburn)

Hector Rivas has a strong work ethic and a talent for selling. So when the founders of Thriftbooks gave him a job as the company book buyer, he made the most of it. Thriftbooks sells used books online. Since Rivas knew he needed to fill the warehouse with inventory if Thriftbooks were to succeed, he developed relationships with charitable organizations such as Value Village, the Salvation Army and Goodwill to procure books. Rivas provides collection bins for a percentage of the profits. 

Rivas later became CEO when the company was in debt. He had the IT department create software that automatically reprices books lower than competing listings. Under Rivas’ leadership, Thriftbooks is profitable, has 230 employees and is Amazon.com’s largest third-party retailer.

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