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Richard J. Heckmann is the chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of K2 Inc., a manufacturer of sporting goods equipment listed on the New York Stock Exchange. K2 is a premier, branded consumer products company with a primary focus on sporting goods and other recreational products as well as certain niche industrial products. He is also an owner of the NBA Phoenix Suns basketball team.
Previously, he founded USFilter on July 16, 1990 and embarked on a series of acquisitions aimed at building the worlds largest water treatment company. In 1990, USFilter had annualized revenues of approximately $17 million, reporting multimillion dollar losses in its previous two years. USFilter’s revenues for fiscal year 1999 were approximately $5 billion. In 1999, USFilter was acquired by Vivendi S.A. of Paris France for $8.2 billion in cash and debt assumption.
Mr. Heckmann was named 1993 Entrepreneur of the Year in the turnaround category for the Inland Empire Region of Southern California and again in 1997 for the Master Entrepreneurial category. He was also director and owner of Smith Goggles (Sun Valley, Idaho), and founding shareholder of Callaway Golf, Inc.
Mr. Heckmann was also chairman of the Listed Company Advisory Committee of the New York Stock Exchange and a member of the Exchange’s Special Governance Committee. He was appointed associate administrator for finance and investment of the Small Business Administration (SBA) in Washington, D.C., from 1978 to 1979, where he was responsible for small business lending and venture capital investments made by the
United States government. He also served as the White House liaison from the SBA and is a former director of the Advisory Board of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
The International Center for Entrepreneurial Management (The Heckmann Center) is currently under construction in Palm Desert, California. Mr. Heckmann along with the State of California donated the funds to build the school. The new graduate school is to become part of the University of California, Riverside, located on a 20-acre campus donated by the City of Palm Desert.
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