Trading up


Finalist
Distribution, Manufacturing and Defense

Every business leader has a cliffhanger moment in their career. Neal Asbury’s came with a little more drama than your average CEO.

The founder of The Legacy Companies — a company that focuses on acquiring established foodservice companies — was living in the Philippines in the mid-1980s during the People Power Revolution. He had recently started his first company and had been awarded a contract to fabricate kitchens for McDonald’s restaurants across the entire Asia-Pacific region. But his success hit a major roadblock when a CIA agent met with him and told him that Communist insurgents were seeking out high-profile Americans for assassination attempts.

Asbury could have taken his wife — who was a famous actress in the Philippines — and fled back to the safety of the United States, but instead, he elected to stand his ground and continue to build his business in spite of the danger.

It was that experience more than any other that taught Asbury how to face his fears head-on and meet challenges.

It’s a mentality that he took to The Legacy Companies, which is one of the companies he founded after moving back to the U.S. in 2000. Asbury is very excited about his companies and the opportunities that lay ahead. He is actively acquiring other legacy companies and working on strategic alliances with well-known brands throughout the country and the world. Thanks to Asbury’s experience and effort, about 40 percent of The Legacy Companies’ current revenue now comes from domestic legacy products, with the remaining 60 percent now based on the export side of the business — showing Asbury’s ability to grow the domestic portion of the business and his ability to adapt to unfamiliar environments.

How to reach: The Legacy Companies, (954) 202-7419 or www.thelegacycompanies.com