Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> June 8, 1998
University, graduating in 1979 with a B.B.A. in Business Management.
After graduation, Ford managed sporting goods stores in College Station
until 1982, when he bought half-interest in C.C. Creations and began his
career in the screen printing industry. At that time the company was a
small five-person operation in downtown Bryan. By 1985 it had expanded
to nine employees and had 'boldly' left its upstairs locations and moved
to a ground-level 3,000 square foot location, and Ford had also bought
out his partner to become sole proprietor. In 1986 a second facility
opened in the northwest Houston area, and in 1988 a third, housing the
embroidery operation in College Station. All three were combined in 1989
in a new 27,000 square foot facility located in College Station. Sales
for that year were $2.3 million, and employees numbered 50. In
recognition of his successes, Ford was named Small Business Person of
the Year for both the State of Texas and a 5-state region. In 1990 Ford
sold a portion of the business to a company that had been both vendor
and customer, which is now Brazos Sportswear, but he continued to
oversee the operation. By 1993 the facility size had expanded by another
55,000 square feet and had a combined staff of 150 and over $20 million
in sales. In 1995 Ford's role was expanded to President of the Decorated
Sportswear Division of all of Brazos Sportswear. In 1996 he became
President & CEO of Brazos, which has grown from $130 million to
approximately $320 million. Through all of this, Ford always found the
time and energy to give back to the community. He was an active board
member of the Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce, TAMU/BCS
Council and Brazos Beautiful. He has served as President of the Lady
Aggie Maroon club and the Brazos Valley Quality Work Force Planning
Committee, and Treasurer of the Leadership Education Foundation, a non-
profit organization that funds teen leader programs, and spoke
frequently in classrooms from 5th grade to college level. He has
supported, sponsored and co-sponsored many charitable, community and
school activities, including the D.A.R.E. program, American Heart
Association and many others. Today Ford Taylor is President and CEO of
Brazos Sportswear, a publicly traded company (NASDAQ symbol 'BRZS'),
headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio with facilities in 12 states, a
customer base of more than 12,000 and annual sales of over $300 million.
He and his wife Sandra, also a Texas A&M graduate, and their three
daughters, Whitney, 7, Emily, 4, and Quincy, 2, recently relocated to
Cincinnati, Ohio. Profile
JERRY FORD TAYLOR's career has been meteoric. Born in Paris, Texas in
1957, he graduated from Paris High School and attended Texas A&M Profile
historical background on Brazos Sportswear and then bring us up to date.
Over the next two to three years what do you see as the
