Rockwood exec plans own ‘Apprentice’
BY KECIA BAL
The Tribune-Democrat
ROCKWOOD — He doesn’t look or act much like Donald Trump, but Rockwood millionaire Eric Skys is setting up his own “Apprentice”-
“We’re going to see if anyone has what it takes to be a CEO,” said Skys, chairman of Rockwood-based Kaiser Himmel Corp., which buys technology companies in rural areas in the U.S., Germany and Asia. “They will actually get a chance to win a future.”
Skys is offering recent high school graduates the chance to be junior executives at the technology-based companies that Kaiser Himmel has purchased. He plans to host “Race to a Billion,” an Internet-based TV show and podcast.
The teens will be appointed to divisions of the company’s 20 or so businesses around the world. With a $1 million budget each, they will be charged with developing a product or service and multiplying that cash to $10 million in two months. Skys’ corporation – which is footing the bill – is valued at more than $150 million.
The contest is to begin this month. Every two months, new contestants will take the helm. The idea may continue for several years, Skys said, and more than one winner may be named.
“We hope so,” the 26-year-old Skys said.
“The goal is to create a billion dollars in one year with the future of our business – young minds.”
Chris Sterner and Zach Sipe, both 18-year-old recent Rockwood graduates, are gearing up for the competition.
“We’re just getting prepared right now,” Sipe said. “This is a good chance for us to look a the business world before we go out for jobs.”
The two found out about the contest through MySpace.
Sterner said he never dreamed he would spend his first summer out of high school as an executive at a multimillion-
“Sell more than you buy,” he said. “You just have to give (clients) what they want.”
Sipe and Sterner will head to Hiram College in Ohio in the fall. But their connections won’t keep them from scrambling to be the best. “It’s every man for himself,” Sterner said.
Prizes still are being determined, Skys said. Among other rewards, $20 million will be donated to winners’ high schools. Successful contestants also may be offered to keep their jobs, as long as they maintain a 3.0 college GPA.
“These kids have great minds,” Skys said. “They invent and create at a constant rate.
“The short-term goal is to prove to younger generations that there is no end to what they can accomplish and that anyone, at any age, can be successful and reach their goals and dreams. The long-term goal is to provide young people with advanced careers and to also increase the profitability of my companies by having qualified, fresh, young minds at the helm.”
Skys attributed his own success to calculated decision-making.
“I am never wrong,” he said, adding that the students’ fresh ideas are just what his corporation needs.
“I don’t gamble.”
