Mellanie Kai Lassiter Matthew Kenefic Lazaros Kalemis James

40 UNDER 40
philadelphiabusinessjournal.com | MAY 11-17, 2012
Lazaros
Kalemis
Matthew
Kenefic
James Kennedy
Alpha Card Services | CEO
Magellan Search Group | President
Alpha Card Services of Huntingdon Valley
processes credit-card transactions for smalland midsize merchants.
Magellan Search Group is a recruiting and
staffing firm with a specialty in accounting
and finance and renewable energy services.
GMH Associates Inc. in Newtown Square
focuses on private-equity investment,
commercial and multifamily housing
ownership, development and management.
Age: 39
Education: LaSalle University, BA in marketing
(1997).
Career history: I founded Kaleo Publications,
a publisher of a “Who’s Who Among Top
Executives” directory.
Family: Married to Angela with two children:
Zoe and Cia.
Motto you live by: “Live every day and make
every decision like you are dying tomorrow.”
How you arrived at your job or field: In 2000,
I happened to read an article about how
credit-card usage in the United States has
grown 15 percent on average every year
since the early 1970s. I realized this was an
incredible business opportunity.
What motivates you: Making sure my family
is taken care of and that our employees
continue to grow within the company.
Best career advice you ever got: There is
a learning opportunity in every situation;
whether it’s good or bad.
Your greatest inspiration: My parents; they
came to the country with nothing and built a
nice business, sent three children to college,
and taught us right from wrong.
Your biggest disappointment: That I, and
our company, doesn’t get the support and
patronization from my fellow Greeks.
How you give back: I created the Alpha Card
Cares initiative. Some of the recent charitable
events that I have sponsored and participated
in include the The Kids-N-Hope Foundation,
Susan G. Komen for the Cure, The Leukemia
& Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night Walk,
The Walk to Defeat ALS and Big Brothers/Big
Sisters.
Little-known fact about you: I’m a two-time
survivor of cancer.■
Age: 37
Education: University of Scranton, BS in
accounting (1997).
Career history: Most recently, senior recruiter
for a regional recruiting firm.
Family: Married to Tara Kenefic with three
children: Taylor, Alexis and Peyton.
Motto you live by: “Think big.”
Your proudest professional moment:
Recognized in the Philadelphia 100 in 2007,
2008 and in 2011 as one of the area’s fastestgrowing privately held companies, and three
times as a Best Places to Work.
Best career advice you ever got: Surround
yourself with great people.
Your biggest break: Attracting my two future
business partners, Joseph Nicolas and Steven
Mickus, to join my company.
Your greatest inspiration: My father, who
taught me how to handle adversity with a
positive attitude.
Your biggest challenge: Preserving Magellan’s
unique culture as we expand.
Your biggest disappointment: Not being
recognized as the No. 1 Best Place to Work
on the Philadelphia Business Journal’s survey
in 2011. But there’s always next year!
How you give back: We encourage all
employees to volunteer. This is a defining
factor of our company’s culture. We also
support almost any cause that is important
to the employee, whether closing the office
for a day so employees can volunteer in the
field, or by sponsoring the employee with a
matching gift donation.
Little-known fact about you: I caught a foul
ball in each game of a Phillies doubleheader
that I went to. ■
GMH Associates Inc. | Senior vice
president and general counsel
Age: 37
Education: West Chester University, BA in
political science (1997); Villanova University
School of Law, JD (2001).
Career history: Cozen O’Connor (2005–2007);
GMH Communities Trust (2007–2008); GMH
Associates Inc. (2008–present).
Family: Married to Jaclyn with four kids:
Jaiden, Jimmy, Jackson and Jared.
Motto you live by: Do or do not. There is no
try.
Your proudest professional moment: Gary M.
Holloway naming me general counsel of GMH
in 2008.
How you arrived at your job or field: Joseph
Macchione, a friend and mentor, asked me
to join GMH Communities Trust as associate
general counsel in 2007.
What motivates you: The smiles on my
children’s faces each night I get home from
work.
Best career advice you ever got: Be patient.
Work hard and prove yourself on a daily basis.
Your greatest inspiration: My father. His
tireless work ethic and dedication to his family
inspires me daily.
Your biggest challenge: Graduating from
USMC Boot Camp in 1996.
Your biggest disappointment: Leaving the
military too soon.
How you give back: Volunteer as a coach
for my children’s baseball, football and
lacrosse teams. Raising awareness and
funding for several military-related charitable
organizations.
What was your first job: Cashier at Hermans
Sporting Goods in the Springfield Mall.
Little-known fact about you: I hunt for a
television show. ■
PHILADELPHIA BUSINESS JOURNAL
B9
Mellanie Kai
Lassiter
Peco Energy Co. | Corporate
contributions manager
Peco is an utility subsidiary of Exelon Corp.
based in Philadelphia.
Age: 38
Education: Spelman College (Atlanta), BA
in economics (1995); St. Joseph’s University,
M.Ed. in training and organization
development (2005).
Career history: Peco, community relations
manager (2005–2008); ING Direct, community
reinvestment act officer (2003–2005); Fannie
Mae Foundation, regional program manager
(1997–2003).
Motto you live by: “The ultimate expression of
generosity is not in giving of what you have
but in giving of who you are.” — Johnetta B.
Cole.
How you arrived at your job or field: Growing
up in church as the pastor’s kid, I never knew
when I would be called upon to sing a song,
read a scripture, or say a prayer. All of my
early lessons on leadership I learned in church.
Best career advice you ever got: Watch who
you make alliances with.
Your biggest break: Working at the Fannie
Mae Foundation. That was my first job in
philanthropy and where I grew up in the field.
Your greatest inspiration: My greatest
inspiration is my parents. Both are firstgeneration college graduates from the rural
south who led by example in encouraging
their children to pursue a higher education in
pursuit of our goals.
Your biggest challenge: Pacing myself. I have
to constantly remind myself that Rome wasn’t
built in a day and everything I want to do in
life won’t be done in a day’s work either.
Your biggest disappointment: I don’t have
one. Every situation is a learning opportunity.
What was your first job: Clerk at a local real
estate firm at age of 13. My first employer
continues to mentor me to this day. ■
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40 UNDER 40
PHILADELPHIA BUSINESS JOURNAL
philadelphiabusinessjournal.com | MAY 11-17, 2012
40 Under 40 class of 2012
Getting to here from there is almost never a straight
line, and most successful people have taken a leap at
some point to reach their goals — or sometimes just
for fun. As part of a photo shoot staged at the SugarHouse Casino, we asked the class of 2012 to tell us,
“What’s the biggest gamble
you ever took?”
Dan Calista
“Starting Vynamic
without any
significant savings
and building it one
person, one customer
at a time.”
Jane Saul
“I gambled on
Philadelphia ...
especially when
all of my college
friends were moving
to New York after
graduation.”
Reese Blair
“Leaving my home
and everythingg I
knew behind inn
the Bahamas.”
”
Laurie Alberts Salita
“Deciding to give up my
competitive equestrian
career ... sell my horse and
go to law school.”
TJ Henderson
“Going out and
starting my company
on my own after
subcontracting for
another agency.”
Sarah Glover
“I decided at 20 years
old that I was going to
dream big and do what
makes me happy.”
Theodore Qualli
“Asking [my future wife]
Maria McCann for her phone
number.”
Danielle Cohn
“Becoming a part of the
Philadelphia Convention
and Visitors Bureau senior
management team at 30.”
Mellanie Kai Lassiter
“Working as a CRA officer.
Prior to accepting the position,
I had no formal banking
experience other than being a
bank teller during college.”
Dan Roitman
“Financing the
startup of Stroll
with $70,000 of
credit-card debt in
my name.”
Anthony Campisi
“Walking away from the job
I thought I always wanted
... to create the company I
always dreamed of working
for.”
James Kennedy
“Leaving Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute
sophomore year and
enlisting in the U.S.
Marine Corps.”
Ameet Shah
“Quitting a high-paying
consulting job to sell
Maryland blue crabs online
with a childhood friend.”
Tim MacColl &
Jeff Larsen
“Coming together
and starting a
business.”
Matthew Kenefic
“Switching careers
from accounting to
recruiting.”
Lisa Mann
“Leaving my prior
financial institution
for an opportunity at
a startup computer
business.”
Lazaros Kalemis
“Buying out my
former business
partner.”
Kymberly
Robinson
“Making
the leap into
entrepreneurship
by starting my first
business in my late
20s.”
Michelle Hong
“Leaving private
legal practice to
enter the financial
services industry.”
MAY 11-17, 2012 | philadelphiabusinessjournal.com
40 UNDER 40
PHILADELPHIA BUSINESS JOURNAL
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B21