People You Should Know: Byron Hill
Byron Hill
President and CEO, Analytical Bio-Chemistry Laboratories Inc. (ABC Labs)
JOB DESCRIPTION: Reporting to my board of directors, I am responsible for the growth and financial stability of ABC Laboratories and for improving its underlying shareholder value.
YEARS LIVED IN COLUMBIA: 6.5 EDUCATION: B.S., Southern Illinois University
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: I’m currently serving as chair of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce; board member of the Great Rivers Council, Boy Scouts of America, the Missouri Innovation Center and the Missouri Bio Technology Association; former board member of the Heart of Missouri United Way; am actively involved with and supporter of the Central Missouri Development Council, the Regional Economic Development Inc. and the MU Flagship Council. On a statewide level I am a gubernatorial appointee to the Southern Growth Policy Board and the State of Missouri Workforce Investment Board.
PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND: More than 40 years experience in financial and general management positions for leading public companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Emerson Electric Co. and Crane Co. as well as the privately held The Marmon Group, a Pritzker family industrial business enterprise.
A COLUMBIA BUSINESSPERSON I ADMIRE AND WHY: Tom Atkins is a Columbia businessperson I admire because Tom is a self-directed individual who has achieved success as a businessman, a family man and a community leader. He loves his family, his community and the University of Missouri and has faithfully served each of them as an acknowledged leader and achiever.
WHY I’M PASSIONATE ABOUT MY JOB: At ABC Labs, I have had a rare opportunity to work with industry-leading scientists serving a dynamic and exciting growth industry. It also affords opportunities to collaborate with a great number of business leaders, academic leaders and administrators and policy makers on issues important to Columbia and mid-Missouri, such as job creation.
IF I WEREN’T DOING THIS FOR A LIVING, I WOULD: Having worked since an early age, I look forward to pursuing my passion for travel to exotic and interesting places. My current dream is to bob around the waters of Tahiti in a small dingy, and I might even keep a hook in the water to satisfy one of my other passions for fishing.
BIGGEST CAREER OBSTACLE I’VE OVERCOME AND HOW: Upon graduation from SIU, I had no worldly experience and lacked confidence that I could compete in an unknown professional world. During my service in the military, I found myself competing with people from all walks of life, including an all-American football player and a world-class gymnast. During our experience together, these individuals looked to me for leadership, and gradually I realized that I was up to any task I put my mind to.
A FAVORITE RECENT PROJECT: Obtaining financing for several critical projects during a tumultuous period in the financial markets. These projects include the construction of a $15 million pharmaceutical facility, the $4.2 million expansion and renovation of the original laboratories east of town, the acquisition of a business in California and the start-up of a new Pharmaceutical BioTech service line.
WHAT PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THIS PROFESSION: My business career has centered on serving as a leader with struggling and distressed companies. In my experience, I have often been asked to lead technical companies that have failed financially. My role is to focus on “fixing” the broken parts of the business while making sure the technical leadership is in place to assure the highest quality service to its served industry.
WHAT I DO FOR FUN: At an early age my father taught me to hunt, fish and to play golf. Columbia, to me, is like a man’s heaven because I can do all these things I enjoy without a major commitment of time to get there.
FAMILY: My wife, Janet, and I have been married for 46 years. We have one daughter, Shelly. She and her husband, Jeff, have two teenage daughters: Katie and Danielle (Dee Dee).
FAVORITE PLACE IN COLUMBIA: Although I enjoy many places in town, I particularly enjoy Murry’s restaurant, where I can meet with friends to enjoy good food and the Tom Andes jazz group.
ACCOMPLISHMENT I’M MOST PROUD OF: Having had a lot of fascinating and successful business situations during my career, I am most proud of the business turnaround and subsequent growth and financial success of ABC Laboratories.
MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW THAT My graduate school studies at Southern Illinois University were interrupted in 1965 when I enlisted in the USMC. After training as an infantry and artillery officer, I served in Vietnam with the 3rd Battalion 5th Marines, where we managed to irritate the enemy so that Bruce Beckett could fight them when he served with the 5th Marines the following year. After the war I continued a 30-year career in the Marine Corps Reserve and retired as a colonel in 1995.