Academics > Majors and Areas of Study > Business Administration and Accounting > Haller Enterprise Institute

Entrepreneur of the Year 2003

Gene Kirila, a native of Brookfield, Ohio, went into business full-time when he was a sophomore at Youngstown State University. He and a fellow Brookfield High graduate started Pyramid Fitness in 1984 and created a high growth profitable business before selling it in 1993. Pyramid was one of four small businesses to have a site visit for the United States Department of Commerce's Malcolm Baldrige Award.

During the nine years that Pyramid Fitness was growing, Kirila founded Pyramid Composites where he pioneered the VEC Operating System (www.vectechnology.com) for which he is widely known today. The VEC - virtual engineering composite - Operating System was described in Fortune Magazine as a "factory in a box." According to Kirila, the VEC technology is a "small factory that can be set up almost anywhere to turn out a variable set of products from the same basic units, run by just a handful of people and controlled by computer... it's fast, inexpensive, efficient and environmentally friendly."

In 1994, Kirila founded his third company, Efficient Machine Tool Sales, Inc.(EMT). EMT reached the number 13 slot on the "Fastest-growing Companies" list published by Inc. Magazine in 1999.

Kirila was given the distinguished "Heroes in Manufacturing" award by Fortune Magazine in 2000. Also in 2000, Kirila was featured in a Time Magazine article, "The Revolution in a Box."

Kirila's current focus is GK Ventures (www.gkventures.com) where he limits his roles to planning and business development.

Mr. Kirila and his wife Ginger have four children and reside in Transfer, PA.