ROBERT SIRES
FOUNDER & CEO, AMERICAN ELITE MOLDING, CRESTVIEW
Sires started American Elite, which manufactures nylon cable ties, 21 years ago. He moved it to Crestview 16 years ago, when it had four employees. Today, the firm employs 175 and produces more than 1.5 billion cable ties a year. Employees are paid above-average wages, get 100% funded health insurance and a 401(k) program. The company has had 15 straight years of double-digit growth and expects to reach $50 million in sales within the next few years. Sires serves on the board of trustees of the University of West Florida.
| EDUCATION | Quinnipiac University (BA) |
| CAREER EVOLUTION | I originally started as an accountant, became a CPA and then decided to move to the entrepreneurial world. My first company was in the offsite fueling industry. A partner and I started the company with $10,000 each and sold it three years later for $5 million. |
| CIVIC EFFORT | A partnership with the Arc of the Emerald Coast to provide jobs for their local clients. We also work with CareerSource Okaloosa Walton to hire new employees and have achieved a strong, diverse workforce by hiring locally and promoting from within. |
| SOMETHING SURPRISING | I drink six Diet Cokes a day. |