InForMatIon teChnoloGy
Leerom Segal Klick Inc.
W
hen someone starts a successful business at the age of 12, it’s a pretty good bet that a bright entrepreneurial future lies ahead. Leerom Segal did just that, only four years after moving to Canada without knowing a word of English. By the age of 14, he had replaced an entire IT department after he overheard the CEO’s frustration with the department’s inability to develop a client database. Within a matter of days, Leerom developed the solution himself. And for payment, he simply said to the CEO – his current business partner, Peter Cordy – “Pay me what you think is fair.”
For the next few years he continued to obtain valuable experience, then in 1997, at the age of 17, he started Klick Inc. with two partners. The company was founded with the idea of creating a different kind of professional services company – one that would harness the long-term strengths of its people and its clients, with a commitment to organic growth. Rather than grow by acquisition, under Leerom’s leadership, Klick grew naturally, attracting some of the best people in the business along the way. He constantly gathers information on clients and employees in order to better manage client relationships and develop staff. “Creating a centre of gravity for the best minds in our industry is how I define success – and it’s our ultimate goal. Over the years, we have hired and retained the best talent in the industry. Being surrounded by smarter, more experienced people has intensified my happiness and level of success,” he says. And by paying close attention to the manner in which the company expands, Klick continues to see its fair share of success. The company has grown at an average rate of 30 per cent annually since 1997 and has generated profit every year of operation. Klick Health is now the largest independent digital health-care agency in the world. “I am most proud of the unique culture that we have been able to build at Klick and our addiction to doing things radically different,” says Leerom. “The results speak for themselves: insane organic growth exceeding 30 per cent per annum, profitability in every year since inception and the lowest turnover rate in the industry.” Leerom was recently named to the PharmaVOICE 100, recognized as one of the most influential people in health care.
Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2012
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