Entrepreneurs of the Year: Communications

Award Recipient: Dudley R. Slater, Vice Chairman, Founder & Retired CEO, Integra Telecom [Portland]

With a Harvard M.B.A. in his pocket and a career as a geophysicist searching for oil for Texaco on his resume, Dudley Slater went to work for Pacific Telecom in Portland and quickly cracked the telecommunications code. He cofounded Integra in 1996 with the ambition of capturing a business slice of the telecom pie, which had been opened by the Telecom Act of 1996.

Slater carved a competitive edge by providing efficient and responsive customer service experiences. Thats why Integra has offices in its geographical regions, each responsible for all services to its local client base, with representatives of every department sitting within feet of each other.

With careful cash-flow management, Integra weathered difficult times, including the dot-com bust and the recession, which left many competitors filing for bankruptcy protection. It was like flying a 747 through the eye of a needle, recalls Slater. Today, the company has 2,200 employees and more than 100,000 business clients in 11 states.

Slater, who recently reduced his role at the company, tries to avoid being singled out, but his fellow employees praise his high standards for integrity, which is one reason CEOs have selected Integra as one of Oregons 10 most admired companies six years in a row.

Finalist: John Marick, President & CEO, Consumer Cellular [Portland]

John Marick cofounded Consumer Cellular in 1995 to make cellular service affordable and easy to use for seniors. The first cellular company of its kind, Consumer Cellular instituted usage alerts for customers, and it avoids drawn-out, restrictive contracts. Today, the Portland-based wireless wholesaler boasts 570,000 customers and has an exclusive agreement to provide wireless service to AARP members. The company has 300 employeesall in the U.S.but Marick maintains a family-business feel with monthly companywide meetings and participation in community projects.

Finalist: Mike McSherry, CEO, Swype [Seattle]

Mike McSherry was already a seasoned international entrepreneur when he paired up with Cliff Kushler to bring Kushlers Swype technologyhelping people with limited motor skills more easily enter text on touchscreen devicesto a mainstream market. In the year after Swype launched in December 2009, it attracted investment from Samsung, Nokia and others, and was preloaded on more than 25 million devices. Founded to serve a need among those with disabilities, the Seattle-based startup provides its software free to individuals in need.