Howard Brodsky
Howard Brodsky is an American businessman. In 1984 he co-founded CCA Global Partners, and in 2014 is its Chairman, and Chief Executive.
Early life and education
Brodsky grew up in Manchester, New Hampshire. He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1966 with a degree in economics.
Career
After graduation, Brodsky joined the family business, Dean’s Carpet in Manchester, New Hampshire, and became its president. In 1980, he helped to create the American Floor Covering Association, now named the World Floor Covering Association, an international trade advocacy organization representing floor covering retailers, manufacturers and distributors. He was elected president and later served as chairman.
In 1984, Brodsky and his friend Alan Greenberg, who was also in the floor covering business, created the company CCA Global Partners, and launched Carpet One Floor & Home as its first unit. Initially, there were thirteen Carpet One Floor & Home stores; in 2014, the chain has more than 1,000 outlets.
Brodsky and Greenburg operated CCA Global partners as a cooperative, taking in local partners as a way of expanding their business. They expanded from carpet into other retail sectors.
In 2014, with annual sales of $10.2 billion, CCA Global's 14 divisional companies collectively have over 2,700 locations in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, and is one of the largest privately owned companies and cooperatives in the world.
Brodsky speaks and writes on various topics related to business practice. He has been a keynote speaker at the Better Business Bureau Torch Awards, the Harvard Business School, and Ernst & Young. He has also spoken as a featured speaker at TedEx Manchester and at Entrepreneur of the Year events. He has also served as a judge for National Judge for Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Winning Women, Global Student Entrepreneur Awards, the Cooperative Hall of Fame and the UNH Social Business Innovation Challenge.
In 2015, Brodsky, along with co-author Dustin S. Klein, published a book, The Unexpected: Breakthrough Strategies to Supercharge Your Business and Earn Loyal Customers for Life, through Smart Business Network.
Associations
Broadsky has served on the boards of several organizations, including Southern New Hampshire University, the Palace Theatre, Elliot Hospital, New Hampshire Institute of Art, National Cooperative Business Association. He was Chairman of Better Business Bureau of New Hampshire, the Floor Covering Industry Foundation, and the National Judging Committee for Entrepreneur of the Year. He was Vice Chair of the Governor’s Commission on Innovation and the New England Chapter of CEO’s Against Cancer.
As well as the American Floor Covering Association, Brodsky founded the Social Entrepreneurship Student Leadership Program of New Hampshire and the Manchester division of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.
Honors and Awards
- Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame
- World Floor Covering Industry Hall of Fame
- New Hampshire Business Review Hall of Fame
- Retail Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young and NASDAQ Stock Exchange
- Induction into Cooperative Hall of Fame
- New Hampshire Business Leader of the Year (2012?)
- National Retailer of the Year by National Congress Floor Covering Associations
- Blue Chip Enterprise Initiative Award of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- Named to HFM’s “Power 100”