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PHILADELPHIA is no stranger to great ideas, or the start up of great systems. After all, Philadelphia is where this nation itself was founded.
Among the scores of organizations founded here is Nutri/System, a nationally recognized company in the weightloss service field.
Nutri/System was founded in 1971 by Harold Katz, who later bought the Philadelphia 76ers -- partially as a result of his company's success.
LEVERAGED BUY-OUT: The firm, however, had its ups and downs. A. Donald McCulloch Jr. was brought in by Katz to stabilize the company, which he did. As his fee it's said he asked for the option to buy the company -- which he and two other principals did in a leveraged buy-out in 1986.
Since then the privately held company has been headed by McCulloch. The other principals are Albert J. DiMarco and Reef C. Ivey II.
McCulloch, 43, was once headlined as the "Turnaround King" by Business Month. In the past 17 years he has taken on the job of turning around five companies -- all successfully.
The companies were Wilson Sporting Goods, where tennis products grew from $14 million to $90 million in five years; Pepsi-Cola Bottling Group where...