Medallion for Entrepreneurship Recipients - 2008
Michael J. Hagan
Chairman & CEO,
NutriSystem, Inc.
Nominated by: Saint Joseph’s University
 Michael J. Hagan is Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of NutriSystem, Inc. Hagan joined the company in December 2002 and helped changed the direction of the company to one more focused on becoming a leading “direct to consumer” weight management company.
Founded in 1972, NutriSystem is a $770 million sales provider of weight management products and services. The Company offers several systematic weight loss programs based on portion-controlled prepared meals and is the first industry player to integrate a comprehensive diet and exercise program for successful weight management.
Over the last few years, Hagan has received numerous awards including the inaugural Ernst & Young Venture Capital Award of Excellence, Ernest & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in the Retail and Consumer Products category for the Philadelphia Region, and was voted Entrepreneur of the Year by Forbes Magazine. Nutrisystem was ranked No. 1 of Forbes’ 200 Best Small Companies for 2006 and No. 2 for 2007, and also No. 1 of Fortune’s 100 Fastest Growing Companies for 2007.
Prior to joining NutriSystem, Hagan was the co-founder of Verticalnet, Inc., a business-to-business internet and software company, and held a number of executive positions at Verticalnet since its founding in 1995, including Chairman of the Board from February 2002 to June 2005, President and Chief Executive Officer from January 2001 to February 2002, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from January 2000 to January 2001, and Senior Vice President prior to that time.
While at Verticalnet, Hagan was awarded the 1999 Ernest & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in the Retail and Consumer Products category for the Philadelphia Region.
Prior to founding Verticalnet, Hagan was a Vice President and senior manager at Merrill Lynch Asset Management from 1990 to 1995, and worked for Bristol Meyers Squibb from 1988 to 1990.
Hagan remains a director of Verticalnet, Inc., and is also a director of Internet CapitalGroup, Inc., and a trustee of Saint Joseph’s University.
A 1985 graduate of Saint Joseph’s University, Hagan and his wife Joyce contributed $10 million to the school in 2007. In return, the Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse – home to Saint Joseph’s University basketball since 1949 – will be renamed the Michael J. Hagan Arena.
Janice Bryant Howroyd
Founder, Chairman, and CEO,
ACT•1 Group
Nominated by: North Carolina A&T State University
 With $987 of her own savings, and $533 borrowed from her mother and brother, Janice Bryant Howroyd rented a small office in Beverly Hills, and with a single phone line launched ACT•1 Personnel Service. Thirty years later, Howroyd is the head of a multi-million dollar staffing consortium with branch offices across the United States and customers around the world.
Howroyd founded ACT•1 in 1978, providing employment staffing services to the entertainment industry. Relying on word of mouth to develop business relationships, Howroyd guaranteed that she would find qualified employees or return any payment received. Over time, ACT•1’s reputation spread, and in 1981 Howroyd opened her first branch office. In 1984 she began taking on non-show business clients, and when widespread layoffs hit the entertainment industry, she moved into the temporary-employment field. Ultimately, ACT•1 expanded into four divisions that provided temporary workers – engineering, entertainment, technical and clerical.
ACT•1 grew steadily throughout the 1990s at a rate of 10 percent each year, but later that decade enjoyed phenomenal growth, as the need for high-tech workers increased with the booming economy. With the success of ACT•1 Personal Services, Howroyd expanded the company’s umbrella by starting Agile•1, a management-solutions company; A-Check America, a background and drug-screening company; Enterprise Communications, a business-communication solutions company; Document Scanning Systems, a document-management solutions provider; and CTA Travel, a corporate travel agency.
Today, the ACT•1 Group ranks as one of the top staffing companies in the United States. With branch offices located across the country, ACT•1 employs some 300 full-time workers and manages the placement of more that 65,000 temporary workers in the entertainment, technical, clerical, engineering, accounting and professional services.
Howroyd, who maintains ownership of 51 percent of her company (her children, Katharyn and Brett, own the other 49 percent), is also active in her community. She has served on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Workforce Initiative Board, Loyola Marymount University’s Board of Regents, and the Women’s Leadership Board of the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Howroyd holds a bachelor’s degree in English from North Carolina A&T State University, a master’s degree from the University of Maryland, and an honorary Doctorate in Humanities from North Carolina A&T State University.
Joseph V. Tortorice, Jr.
President and CEO, Jason’s Deli, Deli Management, Inc.
Nominated by: Lamar University
 Joseph V. Tortorice, Jr. founded Jason’s Deli in 1976, opening his first location in a Beaumont, Tex., shopping center. His wife, Shelley, and other family members ran the deli during the day while Tortorice was tied up at his full-time accounting job. In addition to administrative duties, he worked lunches, nights and weekends to get the business on its feet.
Three years after opening the first location, Jason’s Deli became a restaurant chain, as Tortorice opened two more delis in nearby communities. In 1986, Tortorice and his business partners organized Deli Management, Inc. Two years later, the first Jason’s Deli franchise opened in Tucson, Ariz.
Today, Jason’s Deli has locations in 23 states from Virginia to California, employing more than 8,000 people nationwide. Approximately 100 of the 180 restaurants are owned and operated by Deli Management Inc.
In 2005, Jason’s Deli was one of the first restaurant chains to remove partially hydrogenated oils from all of their food and preparation processes. The deli’s original 12-item menu has transformed into a variety of sandwiches, salads, soups and more – all free of trans-fats.
Jason’s Deli has received numerous awards in the past 32 years and most recently received the 2007 Restaurant and Institutions’ Consumers Choice in Chains Gold Award in the sandwich segment. The company was also recognized as the Family Business of the Year at the 2007 Celebrate Families Luncheon presented by Family Services of Southeast Texas.
Jason’s Deli continues as a family enterprise. His daughter Ashley serves as director of customer relations; son Rob serves as a regional manager; and his other son, Jay, is a franchisee.
Prior to opening Jason’s Deli, Tortorice served two years as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. He earned an MBA from Lamar University in 1971 after completing his bachelor’s degree in marketing from Texas A&M University in 1970.
View a list of Past Medallion for Entrepreneurship Recipients
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