HOF 05 Groomed for Success -- Thomas Engdahl

"There was never an opportunity for me to go to college, graduate, then come back and work in the family business to succeed my father," he notes.

Turning Points

The tragic loss of his father marked a childhood that otherwise featured a "Leave it to Beaver" quality in the suburbs of the Windy City. After graduating high school, Engdahl enrolled in the University of Michigan, where he went on to earn a BS in industrial and operational engineering. He followed that up with a Masters degree.