America's Most Inspiring CEOs

Jon Feltheimer, Lionsgate

Headquarters: Santa Monica, California
No. of Employees: 575
Sales: $1.6 billion (2011)
Market Capitalization: $2 billion
First Exposure to Work: Server at Baskin-Robbins
Size of Office: 494 sq ft

Tony Hsieh, Zappos.com

Headquarters: Las Vegas
No. of Employees: 1,200
Sales: $1 billion-plus (2009)*
First Exposure to Work: Ran a photo business out of his bedroom
Size of Office: 16 sq ft (cubicle)
*last available data is for 2009, before acquisition by Amazon

Reggie Chandra, Rhythm Engineering

Headquarters: Lenexa, Kansas
No. of Employees: 43
Sales: $7.8 million (2011)
First Exposure to Work: Tutoring high school students
Size of Office: 240 sq ft

Meredith Whitney, Meredith Whitney Advisory Group

Headquarters: New York
No. of Employees: 10
First Exposure to Work: Paper route
Size of Office: 500 sq ft

Lanham Napier, Rackspace Hosting

Headquarters: San Antonio
No. of Employees: 4,335
Sales: $1 billion (2011)
Market Capitalization: $5.6 billion
First Exposure to Work: Paper route
Size of "Workspace": 60 sq ft

John Mackey, Whole Foods Market

Headquarters: Austin
No. of Employees: 68,000
Sales: $10.1 billion (2011)
Market Capitalization: $15.4 billion
First Exposure to Work: Ice cream server
Size of Office: 300 sq ft

Link: esquire