Mark Speese
Mark E. Speese (born 1957) is an American businessman who founded Rent-A-Center and built an empire. Career Speese began his career in the rent-to-own industry in January 1978. He started as an entry level coworker with Rent-A-Center, a brand that has been in existence since 1973. He moved up the career ladder with the company, and after nearly eight years working in the business, he and a colleague left the company to start a competing business known as Vista Rent-To-Own. They opened stores in New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and California. Speese was responsible for choosing store locations, negotiating leases, hiring and training personnel, writing the business model and employee handbook, creating advertising, and getting vendors in place. With Speese as President and COO, Vista Rent-To-Own made its first acquisition of stores in 1993 and officially changed its name to Renter's Choice. The company went public on the NASDAQ market in 1995 under the symbol RCII. In 1998, having grow ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rent-A-Center
Rent-A-Center (commonly referred to as RAC) is an American public furniture and electronics rent-to-own company based in Plano, Texas. The company was incorporated in 1986 and as of 2014 operates approximately 2,972 company-owned stores in the United States, Puerto Rico and Mexico, accounting for approximately 35% of the rent-to-own market in the United States based on store count. Rent-A-Center's operations include 24 retail installment stores called Get It Now (based in Wisconsin); 17 Home Choice stores in Minnesota; and approximately 1,359 Acceptance Now kiosks housed within retail partner stores throughout the United States. Its subsidiary, Rent-A-Center Franchising International Inc. (RACFI), formerly known as ColorTyme Inc., is America's first franchisor of independently owned-and-operated rent-to-own stores. Its franchisees operate 162 rent-to-own stores in 31 states under the Rent-A-Center and ColorTyme brand names, and the company's wheels-and-tires franchise brand, Rim ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware River and Pennsylvania; and on the southwest by Delaware Bay and the state of Delaware. At , New Jersey is the fifth-smallest state in land area; but with close to 9.3 million residents, it ranks 11th in population and first in population density. The state capital is Trenton, and the most populous city is Newark. With the exception of Warren County, all of the state's 21 counties lie within the combined statistical areas of New York City or Philadelphia. New Jersey was first inhabited by Native Americans for at least 2,800 years, with the Lenape being the dominant group when Europeans arrived in the early 17th century. Dutch and Swedish colonists founded the first European settlements in the state. The British later seized control o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated territories of the United States, unincorporated territory of the United States. It is located in the northeast Caribbean Sea, approximately southeast of Miami, Florida, between the Dominican Republic and the United States Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, and includes the eponymous main island and several smaller islands, such as Isla de Mona, Mona, Culebra, Puerto Rico, Culebra, and Vieques, Puerto Rico, Vieques. It has roughly 3.2 million residents, and its Capital city, capital and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, most populous city is San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan. Spanish language, Spanish and English language, English are the official languages of the executive branch of government, though Spanish predominates. Puerto Rico ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territories of the United States by population, most populous U.S. state and the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 3rd largest by area. It is also the most populated Administrative division, subnational entity in North America and the 34th most populous in the world. The Greater Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second and fifth most populous Statistical area (United States), urban regions respectively, with the former having more than 18.7million residents and the latter having over 9.6million. Sacramento, California, Sacramento is the state's capital, while Los Angeles is the List of largest California cities by population, most populous city in the state and the List of United States cities by population, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chief Operating Officer
A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the "C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if the highest-ranking executive is the chairperson and CEO. The COO is responsible for the daily operation of the company and its office building and routinely reports to the highest-ranking executive—usually the chief executive officer (CEO). Responsibilities and similar titles Unlike other C-suite positions, which tend to be defined according to commonly designated responsibilities across most companies, a COO's job tends to be defined in relation to the specific CEO with whom they work, given the close working relationship of these two individuals. The selection of a COO is similar in many ways to the selection of a vice president or chief of staff of the United States: power and responsibility structures vary in government and priva ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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NASDAQ
The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second on the list of stock exchanges by market capitalization of shares traded, behind the New York Stock Exchange. The exchange platform is owned by Nasdaq, Inc., which also owns the Nasdaq Nordic stock market network and several U.S.-based stock and options exchanges. History 1971–2000 "Nasdaq" was initially an acronym for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations. It was founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), now known as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). On February 8, 1971, the Nasdaq stock market began operations as the world's first electronic stock market. At first, it was merely a "quotation system" and did not provide a way to perform electronic trade ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ceolfrith
Saint Ceolfrid (or Ceolfrith, ; c. 642 – 716) was an Anglo-Saxon Christian abbot and saint. He is best known as the warden of Bede from the age of seven until his death in 716. He was the Abbot of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Abbey, and a major contributor to the project to produce the Codex Amiatinus Bible. He died in Burgundy while en route to deliver a copy of the codex to Pope Gregory II in Rome. Early life Not much is known about the earlier period of Ceolfrid's life. His desire to join the monastic community was likely due to his own brother Cynefrid's devotion to the traditions of Christian monasticism. Historians date Ceolfrid's induction into monastic tradition around the date of Cynefrid's death in 660. Ceolfrid is known to have a strong family connection to monastic tradition. In addition to his brother, his cousin Tunbert was the first Abbot of the Monastery of Hexham. His first four years in cloister took place at Gilling Abbey in what is now North Yorkshire, which was a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chairman Of The Board
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group, presides over meetings of the group, and conducts the group's business in an orderly fashion. In some organizations, the chairperson is also known as ''president'' (or other title). In others, where a board appoints a president (or other title), the two terms are used for distinct positions. Also, the chairman term may be used in a neutral manner not directly implying the gender of the holder. Terminology Terms for the office and its holder include ''chair'', ''chairperson'', ''chairman'', ''chairwoman'', ''convenor'', ''facilitator'', '' moderator'', ''president'', and ''presiding officer''. The chairperson of a parliamentary chamber is often called the ''speaker''. ''Chair'' has been used to refer to a seat or office of authority ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also reports on related subjects such as technology, communications, science, politics, and law. It is based in Jersey City, New Jersey. Competitors in the national business magazine category include ''Fortune'' and ''Bloomberg Businessweek''. ''Forbes'' has an international edition in Asia as well as editions produced under license in 27 countries and regions worldwide. The magazine is well known for its lists and rankings, including of the richest Americans (the Forbes 400), of the America's Wealthiest Celebrities, of the world's top companies (the Forbes Global 2000), Forbes list of the World's Most Powerful People, and The World's Billionaires. The motto of ''Forbes'' magazine is "Change the World". Its chair and editor-in-chief is Steve Fo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1957 Births
1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year of the 1950s decade. Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be dismissed for having ''handled the ball'', in Test cricket. * January 9 – British Prime Minister Anthony Eden resigns. * January 10 – Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. * January 11 – The African Convention is founded in Dakar. * January 14 – Kripalu Maharaj is named fifth Jagadguru (world teacher), after giving seven days of speeches before 500 Hindu scholars. * January 15 – The film ''Throne of Blood'', Akira Kurosawa's reworking of '' Ma ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Living People
Related categories * :Year of birth missing (living people) / :Year of birth unknown * :Date of birth missing (living people) / :Date of birth unknown * :Place of birth missing (living people) / :Place of birth unknown * :Year of death missing / :Year of death unknown * :Date of death missing / :Date of death unknown * :Place of death missing / :Place of death unknown * :Missing middle or first names See also * :Dead people * :Template:L, which generates this category or death years, and birth year and sort keys. : {{DEFAULTSORT:Living people 21st-century people People by status ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |