Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> May 25, 2004
RICHARD J. HECKMANN presently serves as Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of the Board of Directors of K2 Inc., a manufacturer of sporting
goods equipment listed on the New York Stock Exchange. K2 is a premier,
branded consumer products company with a primary focus on sporting goods
and other recreational products as well as certain niche industrial
products. Mr. Heckmann founded USFilter on July 16, 1990, and embarked
on a series of acquisitions aimed at building the world's largest water
treatment company. Mr. Heckmann was named 1993 Entrepreneur of the Year
in the turnaround category for the Inland Empire Region of Southern
California and again in 1997 for the Master Entrepreneurial category. In
1999, USFilter was acquired by Vivendi SA of Paris, France for $8.2
billion in cash and debt assumption. Mr. Heckmann was director and owner
of Smith Goggles (Sun Valley, Idaho). He is also a founding shareholder
of Callaway Golf, Inc. Mr. Heckmann was also Chairman of the Listed
Company Advisory Committee of the New York Stock Exchange and a member
of the Exchange's Special Governance Committee. Mr. Heckmann was
appointed Associate Administrator for Finance and Investment of the
Small Business Administration in Washington, DC, from 1978 to 1979,
where he was responsible for small business lending and venture capital
investments made by the United States government. He also served as the
White House liaison from the SBA and is a former director of the
Advisory Board of the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Presently, the
International Center for Entrepreneurial Management (The Heckmann
Center) is under construction in Palm Desert, California. Mr. Heckmann
along with the State of California donated the funds to build the
school. The new graduate school is to become part of the University of
California, Riverside system, located on a 20-acre campus donated by the
City of Palm Desert. Profile
What should investors focus on?
Mr. Heckmann: Aside from the acquisition of Rawlings that happened about
a year ago, we
