New Balance CEO

Boston, Massachusetts

Jim Davis bought New Balance, a fledgling maker of running shoes with six employees, for $100K in 1972. In 2015, it had about 5,000 employees and revenue of $3.7B.

The shoemaker became a developer when it joined forces with John Hancock Financial to develop Boston Landing, a 15-acre, $500M mixed-use development in Brighton, Massachusetts. The project opened in June with a new 250K SF New Balance headquarters, a hotel and a practice facility for the NHL’s Boston Bruins. — Scott Klocksin