Howard Brodsky

Howard Brodsky

Howard Brodsky is an American entrepreneur. In 1984 he co-founded CCA Global Partners, and has been its Chairman and Chief Executive for the past 33 years.[1][2] During that time, he built the organization into the largest retail floor covering company in the world, and later diversified the company to create brands in multiple other industries.[3][4][5][6]

Early life and education

Brodsky grew up in Manchester, New Hampshire.[7] He attended Wesleyan University in Connecticut, and graduated in 1966 with a degree in economics.[8][9] Brodsky paid for his Wesleyan education by selling rugs to fellow students.[10]

Career

After graduation, Brodsky joined the family business, Dean’s Carpet in Manchester, New Hampshire, and became its president.[8] In 1980, he helped to create the American Floor Covering Association, now named the World Floor Covering Association, an international trade advocacy organization representing floor covering retailers, manufacturers and distributors. He was elected president and later served as chairman.[8]

In 1984, Brodsky and his friend Alan D. Greenberg, who was also in the floor covering business, created the company CCA Global Partners, establishing it as a cooperative and launching Carpet One Floor & Home as its first business.[11][12] Initially, there were thirteen Carpet One Floor & Home stores.[13][14] Brodsky and Greenberg later expanded into other segments of the floor covering industry. They founded the wholesale division ProSource in 1991, followed by Carpet One Canada and International Design Guild in 1995.[15] CCA Global purchased Flooring America and Flooring Canada in 2000, and then FloorExpo that same year.[15] Soon, the company expanded from carpet into other retail sectors.[16]

In 2017, CCA Global Partners comprises 14 divisional companies with annual sales of $10.8 billion.[17][18][19]

Current divisions of CCA Global Partners include Carpet One Floor & Home, Flooring America, Flooring Canada, The Floor Trader, International Design Guild, Lighting One, ProSource,[20] and The Bike Cooperative, totaling over 3,300 retail locations in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.[18] Carpet One, its flagship division, has over 1,000 stores in 50 states and 9 Canadian provinces.[13] The newest company divisions are CCA for Social Good,[21] which serves over 6,500 U.S. child care centers and 1,600 nonprofits; BizUnite, which provides business services for over half a million independent businesses; CCA Sports Retail Services, which helps independent fitness and ski stores compete with national chains; and Innovia Community Management Cooperative, which is a cooperative of home owner associations and management companies across North America.[22]

Brodsky is also the chairman of Cooperatives for a Better World, a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization that aims to increase the number of cooperatives around the globe by 25 percent.[23][24] Cooperatives for a Better World focuses on the economic and social impact the cooperative business model can have on a local, national, and global level.[25]

Public Appearances

Brodsky speaks and writes on various topics related to business practice. He has been a keynote speaker at the Harvard Business School,[26][27] the Better Business Bureau Torch Awards, and the 2015 Global Conference of the International Co-operative Alliance in Antalya, Turkey, which coincided with the 2015 G20 Antalya summit.[18] Brodsky traveled to the United Kingdom in March, 2017, to give the keynote address to European business leaders at one of the major retailing events in Europe. Brodsky was the only speaker from the United States to address the Cooperative Retail Conference.[28]

Brodsky has also addressed the XIX Regional Conference of Cooperatives of the Americas in Panama City, Panama,[29] and the 2016 International Summit of Cooperatives in Quebec City, Canada.[30][31][32] He also keynoted the Rivier College President's Leadership Forum,[33] and Brodsky has been a featured speaker at TedX, and at E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year symposiums and summits in New York City, Boston, and Palm Springs.[34] He has participated in several Chief Executive Magazine CEO Roundtables at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).[35][36][37] In May 2017, Brodsky was the keynote speaker to America’s top cooperative executives at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.[38]

Brodsky has served as a judge for multiple prestigious business competitions. He has been a national judge for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the United States, and was appointed Chairman of the National Judging Committee for the Ernst & Young Retail and Consumer Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.[39][40][41][42] He has also judged the Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Winning Women Awards,[43][44][45] the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards,[46] the Cooperative Hall of Fame, and the UNH Social Venture Innovation Challenge.[47]

In 2015, Brodsky, along with co-author Dustin S. Klein, published a book, The Unexpected: Breakthrough Strategies to Supercharge Your Business and Earn Loyal Customers for Life, through Smart Business Network.[48][49]

Brodsky, left, talking with Prince Charles at Highgrove House U.K. in 2012.

In 2012, Brodsky was invited to attend the first White House Leader Briefing on Cooperatives. He met with White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew and other senior Obama administration staff and top federal agency officials to discuss cooperatives in the United States economy.[50]

In March 2012, Brodsky met with Charles, Prince of Wales at Highgrove House, the prince’s private residence outside of London. Brodsky was one of a handful of U.S. and U.K. executives to hold private meetings with Prince Charles for his Campaign for Wool, one of the prince’s main charities.[51][52]

In June 2017, Brodsky was interviewed live on Canadian national television at CBC headquarters in Toronto. He appeared on CBC News network's On The Money program with journalist Peter Armstrong to promote the cooperative business model.[53]

Associations

  • Founder of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of New Hampshire and chairman for over 18 years [54]
  • Founder of the Social Entrepreneurship Student Leadership Program of New Hampshire[55]
  • Founder and chairman of the American Floor Covering Association (now known as the World Floor Covering Association)
  • Chairman of the Floor Covering Industry Foundation (FCIF) [56]
  • Created NonProfit Next, a web-based platform in conjunction with the New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits[57]
  • Vice Chair of the Governor’s Commission on Innovation, Efficiency, and Transparency[58][59]
  • Vice Chairman of the American Cancer Society New England Chapter of CEOs Against Cancer[60][61]
  • Judge and chairman of the National Judging Committee for the North American Entrepreneur of the Year Program[40][41]
  • National Cooperative Business Association Board of Trustees[62]
  • Southern New Hampshire University Board of Trustees [54][63]
  • Palace Theatre Board of Trustees. Named one of only four Trustee Emeriti for his lifetime dedication [54]
  • Elliot Hospital Board of Trustees[64]
  • New Hampshire Institute of Art Board of Trustees[65]
  • Incorporator of the Manchester division of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation

Personal life

Brodsky's wife Joan is a whole health educator. His son Greg is a 1999 Wesleyan graduate[9] and founded CCA Bike and Ski Cooperative groups.[66][67] His son Jeffrey is an oral historian with an advanced degree from Columbia University.[68][69] In his free time, Brodsky serves as a justice of the peace. He has performed over 30 wedding ceremonies with no divorces.[70]

Honors and awards

  • Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame [56][71]
  • Induction into Cooperative Hall of Fame (2009)[72]
  • World Floor Covering Industry Hall of Fame (1992)[56]
  • New Hampshire Business Leader of the Year (2012) [73]
  • Granite State Legacy Award (2015) [74]
  • New Hampshire Business Review Hall of Fame (2011) [75]
  • Retail Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young and NASDAQ Stock Exchange (1997) [56]
  • Blue Chip Enterprise Initiative Award of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (1998) [56]
  • Best Company to Work for by Business New Hampshire Magazine[76][77][78][79][80][81]
  • New Hampshire Jobs for America's Graduates (NH JAG) Leadership Award (2016) [82][83]
  • Named to HFN’s “Power 100” (2004) [84][85]
  • National Retailer of the Year by National Congress Floor Covering Associations (1994) [8]
  • USA Weekend Make a Difference Day Awards[86][87]
  • Best New Idea to Change the World[24]
  • 2017 “Follow the Footsteps” Award from Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s Building for America’s Bravest[88]

References

  1. ↑ Jack W. Plunkett (1 December 2008). Plunkett's Retail Industry Almanac 2009: The Only Comprehensive Guide to the Retail Industry. Plunkett Research, Ltd. pp. 246–. ISBN 978-1-59392-139-2.
  2. ↑ Hoover's Business Press (1999). Hoover's Handbook of Private Companies. Hoover's Business Press.
  3. ↑ "Magazine Names CCA as Top Retailer". Floor Daily. June 5, 2017. Retrieved 2017-06-06.
  4. ↑ "World's Largest Carpet Seller Keeps Getting Bigger". New Hampshire Union Leader. November 29, 2000.
  5. ↑ "CARPET ONE SETS PACE; FROM EDUCATION TO BRAND BUILDING AND ADVERTISING, THIS GROUP SHOWS HOW IT'S DONE". HFN - Home Furnishings News. August 16, 1999. Retrieved 2017-06-06.
  6. ↑ Arora, Priya (May 26, 2017). "The Rise Of Co-ops". Floor Covering Weekly. Retrieved 2017-06-06.
  7. ↑ "Howard Brodsky: 'Bringing equality to the world'". Union Leader. May 30. 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "National Retailer of the Year". The Telegraph, Mar 1, 1984
  9. 1 2 "How to Succeed in Business: Co-op". Wesleyan University. 6 May 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  10. ↑ "CEO Brodsky Shares Humor and Wisdom". The Magazine of Saint Anselm College. July 2, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Starting a New Business Cooperative". INC.
  12. ↑ St. Louis Jewish Light: "Greenberg was business exec, volunteer" September 19, 2007
  13. 1 2 Robert J. Kriegel (13 February 2002). How to Succeed in Business Without Working so Damn Hard: Rethinking the Rules, Reinventing the Game. Grand Central Publishing. pp. 145–. ISBN 978-0-7595-2710-2.
  14. ↑ Chain Store Age. Lebhar-Friedman. 1997. p. 92.
  15. 1 2 Helm, Darius (November 2016). "Focus 100 Retail: Rebounding markets and hard surface gains". Floor Daily. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  16. ↑ Stacy Mitchell (January 2007). Big-box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses. Beacon Press. pp. 247–. ISBN 978-0-8070-3501-6.
  17. ↑ "NHHTC Entrepreneur of Year finalists named". New Hampshire Business Review. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  18. 1 2 3 Feingold, Jeff. "Q&A with CCA Global CEO Howard Brodsky". New Hampshire Business Review. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  19. ↑ "CCA Global's Howard Brodsky addresses international leaders in the UK". Floor Covering News. 9 March 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  20. ↑ "Prosource Wholesale Floorcoverings Featured on Distinguished List of Top Franchise Companies" (PDF). 8 September 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  21. ↑ "Member Feature: CCA For Social Good". New Hampshire Businesses for Social Responsibility. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  22. ↑ Daley, Jason (2012-11-30). "Cooperative Companies Offer an Alternative to Franchising". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2017-06-01.
  23. ↑ "Marketing the Movement". CoopMatters.com. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  24. 1 2 "2016 Best of Business Awards winners". New Hampshire Business Review. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  25. ↑ "Cooperatives for a Better World"
  26. ↑ "8TH ANNUAL CEO ROUNDTABLE". Harvard Business School Association of Boston. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  27. ↑ "9TH ANNUAL CEO BRAND LEADERSHIP ROUNDTABLE". Harvard Business School Association of Boston. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  28. ↑ "CCA Global's Howard Brodsky addresses international leaders in the UK". Floor Covering Weekly. March 9, 2017. Retrieved 2017-05-29.
  29. ↑ "XIX Regional Conference of Cooperatives of the Americas" Cooperatives of the Americas
  30. ↑ "All 2016 Speakers" International Summit of Cooperatives.
  31. ↑ "Howard Brodsky". Quebec 2016 International Summit of Cooperatives. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  32. ↑ Metts, Michele. "Co-op Revenue - $243.2 billion - International Summit of Cooperatives 2016 - Quebec". agaric. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  33. ↑ "President's Circle Leadership Forum features prominent CEOs sharing 21st-century successes". Rivier University. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  34. ↑ "TedxAmoskeagMillyard" Youtube.
  35. ↑ Pellet, Jennifer. "The Entrepreneurial Imperative". Chief Executive Magazine. Chief Executive Magazine. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  36. ↑ Pellet, Jennifer. "Top 10 Enterprise Risks". Chief Executive Magazine. Chief Executive Magazine. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  37. ↑ Pellet, Jennifer. "Rebuilding Trust in the CEO". Chief Executive Magazine. Chief Executive Magazine, pp. 58-62. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  38. ↑ "Howard Brodsky addresses coop leaders". Floor Covering Weekly. May 4, 2017. Retrieved 2017-05-29.
  39. ↑ "CEO Brodsky Shares Humor and Wisdom". Portraits: The Magazine of Saint Anselm College. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  40. 1 2 "Howard Brodsky.(Consumer Entrepreneur of the Year awards)". New Hampshire Business Review. 2 October 2006. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  41. 1 2 "CCA's Brodsky to Judge Entrepreneur of the Year". Floor Daily. 6 November 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  42. ↑ "Howard Brodsky - Retail". New Hampshire Business Review. 5 December 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  43. ↑ Haines, Angela. "Winning Women". wStartUp.
  44. ↑ "Ernst & Young LLP Announces 11 National Winners Of 2010 Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ Program". The Street. 26 October 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  45. ↑ "LEADERS Ernst and Young Entrepreneurial Winning Women". Leaders Magazine. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  46. ↑ "Global Student Entrepreneur Awards Announce Top Students Slated to Compete at 2009 Global Finals". SYS-CON Media. 12 November 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  47. ↑ "2016 Judging Panel". University of New Hampshire. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  48. ↑ "The Unexpected" ISBN 0988962292
  49. ↑ "Webinar: Breakthrough Strategies to Earn Loyal Customers for Life". Soundview Executive Book Summaries. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  50. ↑ "Howard Brodsky. Cooperative Conference". New Hampshire Business Review. 23 March 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  51. ↑ "Prince of Wales opens gates of Highgrove to Campaign for Wool". www.voxy.co.nz. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
  52. ↑ "Women in flooring: Krista Eliason – Success comes from staying true to yourself | FloorCoveringNews". www.fcnews.net. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
  53. ↑ "CCA Global's Brodsky appears on Canada's CBC news television network". Floor Covering Weekly. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  54. 1 2 3 "Howard Brodsky" Bloomberg Retrieved 12 Jan 2017
  55. ↑ Stone, Tracie (28 March 2008). "Program helps students meet the challenge of leadership". Nashua Telegraph. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  56. 1 2 3 4 5 "Howard Brodsky" CCA Global Partners
  57. ↑ "Nonprofit Next". NH Center for Nonprofits. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  58. ↑ Schinella, Tony (20 June 2013). "Bouley Named to Innovation, Efficiency and Transparency Commission". Concord Patch. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  59. ↑ "Granite State Report Appendix A: Commission Membership" (PDF). University of New Hampshire Carsey School of Public Policy. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  60. ↑ "CEOs Against Cancer creates healthy workplaces". NH Bedford Bulletin, p. B6. 21 November 2012.
  61. ↑ "New England CEOs launch effort to fight cancer Initiative offers support for employers; focuses on risk reduction, early detection, quality care". Hospital Newspaper. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  62. ↑ "NCBA CLUSA Board of Directors". National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  63. ↑ "Board of Trustees". Southern New Hampshire University. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  64. ↑ "Elliot Hospital Board of Trustees & Elliot Health System Board of Directors 2016". Elliot Hospital. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  65. ↑ "Business People: Named to Board". The Telegraph. 22 December 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  66. ↑ "Board". Cooperative Development Institute. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  67. ↑ "Brodsky hands Bike Co-op reins to Barrett". Bicycle Retailer and Industry News. 4 February 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  68. ↑ "Announcing the Jeffrey H. Brodsky Oral History Thesis Prize". Columbia Center for Oral History Research & Interdisciplinary Center for Innovative Theory and Empirics. 22 November 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  69. ↑ "Telling Tales Of Politicians' First Campaigns". New Hampshire Public Radio. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  70. ↑ Nicholas, George. "CEOs Who Work Hard and Play Hard". Chief Executive Magazine. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  71. ↑ Crozier, Sarah. "Everything Co-op with Vernon Oakes: Howard Brodsky". National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  72. ↑ "Howard Brodsky and Alan Greenberg". Cooperative Hall of Fame. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  73. ↑ "Business Leader of the Year" Business NH Magazine. May 2012
  74. ↑ "Granite State Legacy Awards" New Hampshire Sunday News. May 2015
  75. ↑ "2011 NHBR Business Excellence Awards winners" NH Business Review Nov 2011.
  76. ↑ "September 2016: NH's Best Companies to Work For". Business New Hampshire Magazine. September 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  77. ↑ "#5 Best Large Company to Work For CCA Global Partners". Business New Hampshire Magazine. 27 February 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  78. ↑ "NH's Best Companies to Work For Unveiled". Business New Hampshire Magazine (January 2015). Millyard Communications, Inc. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  79. ↑ Mahoney, Rebecca (January 2015). "The 2014 best companies to work for: CCA Global Partners". Business New Hampshire Magazine. Millyard Communications, Inc. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  80. ↑ Cohen, Erika; Mowry, Matthew J. "Best company to work for: CCA Global Partners". Business New Hampshire Magazine (December 2013). Millyard Communications, Inc. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  81. ↑ Ducharme, Wendy (1 December 2002). "Building on excellence, NH's 10 best companies to work for: Number 2 - LARGE COMPANY - CCA Global Partners". New Hampshire Business Magazine. Millyard Communications, Inc. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  82. ↑ "NH JAG RECOGNIZES SUPPORTERS AT THE 10th ANNUAL LEADERSHIP AWARDS EVENT" NH-JAG Retrieved 11 Jan 2017.
  83. ↑ "NH Jobs for America's Graduates to honor civic leaders, graduates". New Hampshire Union Leader. Union Leader Corp. 25 February 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  84. ↑ "About Us" CCA Global Partners
  85. ↑ "Leadership Teacher Board of Directors". Leadership Teacher. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  86. ↑ "Carpet One honored by USA Weekend magazine". Floor Covering Weekly. 14 April 2005. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  87. ↑ "14th Annual Make A Difference Day Awards". USA Weekend. 15 April 2005.
  88. ↑ "CCA Global co-founder recognized for helping to build 'smart homes' for quadruple amputees". New Hampshire Business Review. May 12, 2017. Retrieved 2017-05-29.
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