Jill Hebert Named
Finalist for Ernst & Young Entrepreneur
of the Year 2006
Addison,
IL – June 2006 - Jill Hebert, President and CEO of Matrex Exhibits, Inc.,
has been named one of 40 finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of
the Year 2006 awards in the state of
The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The
Year awards are given each year in over 100 cities and 35 countries. This year it’s 20th anniversary recognizing
outstanding entrepreneurs who are building and leading dynamic and growing
businesses. Finalists are selected by an independent panel of local business
and community leaders. Selections are based on leadership, raising the
visibility and importance of entrepreneurship locally and nationally,
transferability and replication of the concept in other environments, giving
back to the community, originality in concept, and overcoming difficulties
through identification and implementation of unique solutions to complex
problems.
In 1987 Ms. Hebert founded Matrex Exhibits in
her spare room after five years of working in a negative environment. She believed
it was important to create a culture that rewarded independent thinking,
provided the highest quality products and services to clients, and promoted a
strong sense of employee ownership in the business’ success.
“I could not fail. I had a point to prove
that a woman could succeed in what had been a man’s domain. I knew I could do
better,” stated Ms. Hebert.
Since leaving what is now a competitor, Ms.
Hebert has grown Matrex Exhibits from her spare room with one employee and no
revenues, to a $20.9 million corporation boasting 58 employees and a 105,000 management,
construction and warehouse facility. Matrex
remains the first and only woman owned business in its industry, showing a
stellar annual growth rate of over 19 years.
Much of Ms. Hebert’s success is attributed
to her relationship with her employees. Every department and employee is
charged with independently creating new ideas and concepts, while maintaining
perspective on the larger metrics of the organization. Rewards are both
financial and personal; with events being held to reward employees and their
spouses. This has created a unique esprit
de corps where one department’s success is the success of all departments.
“Our
staff is devoted to their work and takes great pride in the success of our
business. At all times they perform at an optimal level,” Ms. Hebert continued.
“Also, I make sure all of the departments well informed as to what the other
departments are doing. This has eliminated the finger pointing that has ruined
productivity at other companies.”
Clients also have experienced the unique corporate
culture of Matrex Exhibits. Matrex Exhibits averages a 62% closing rate on new
business presentations compared to an industry average of 33%.
“First we want our clients and prospects to
visit our facility, meet with our department heads and experience the Matrex
culture. Each manager is asked to not only prove the ‘how and why’ we do things
the best, but also to educate. Second, we take pride in customer service and
are meticulous with the details. Our clients are kept informed during each step
of the creation of their state of the art exhibit.
“As an example, one of the eight divisions
of a large pharmaceutical company had been a long-time, loyal customer. Because
of this relationship, representatives from each of the other seven divisions
visited our facility for a group presentation. Today all eight divisions are
clients of Matrex Exhibits,” stated Ms. Hebert.
Past National Entrepreneur of the
Year honorees have included Michael Dell, Chairman and CEO of Dell Computer, Joseph R. Ficalora of New York Community Bancorp, Inc., Robert
Basham, Tim Gannon and Chris Sullivan of Outback
Steak House, Jack and Andy Taylor of Enterprise-Rent-A-Car, Richard M. Schulze
of Best Buy and Wayne Huizenga
of Huizenga Holdings, Inc.
The Entrepreneur of the Year Awards is
sponsored nationally by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
Matrex Exhibits is the premier, full-service exhibit marketing
agency serving nationwide Fortune 500 companies by focusing on the
client's brand strategy and flawlessly executing customized turnkey tradeshow
experiences. Matrex Exhibits provides clients with marketing environments:
design, production, field services, inventory systems and warehouse facilities.
For Additional Information, contact:
Design Director
Matrex Exhibits
(630)
628-2233, ext. 338
jeff@matrexhibits.com