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So what's it like to be the third generation of a well-known family leading one of the largest privately held companies in North America?
Just ask Louis (Lou) Jacobs, grandson and namesake of the founder of Delaware North Companies, a company that is celebrating its 90th anniversary in business this year. Jacobs' father, Jeremy Jacobs Sr., is the chairman and chief executive of one of the leading hospitality and foodservice companies in the world. And his father is no ordinary CEO. Jacobs Sr. was recently listed on Forbes Wealthiest Americans list, and his accolades and achievements span his entire career. And, if this isn't enough pressure, it was Louis Jacobs' grandfather, Louis M. Jacobs, who founded the company with his two brothers in 1915 and is known in industry circles as one of the pioneers of foodservice in high traffic venues like sports stadiums and airports.
When you sit down to talk to Lou Jacobs, surprisingly, you don't see the ego of someone who has competed in athletic events on a global scale, or whose father owns a major league sports team. You get a down-to-earth, funny and warm-hearted father of two, who is shepherding his children around town for hockey practice and riding lessons, while at the same time masterfully and strategically guiding Delaware North Companies to great heights in new businesses and in new markets.
"Each day I wake up and think that I am one of the luckiest people in the world," says Jacobs. "Not only do I have a wonderful and supportive family, whom I can't wait to spend time with each day, but I get to work in a company steeped in history, where without question,...