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Business News of Wednesday, 15 January 2003

Source: PRNewswire

From West African Fishing Village to Corporate America:

The Inspiring Story of Money Mailer's President/CEO

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. -- Like most boys growing up in the small West African fishing village of Akplabanya, Ghana, young Godfred Otuteye dreamed of becoming a fisherman.

But Otuteye's mother had other plans for her youngest son. She wanted him to be the first of her six children to receive an education. With her encouragement, Otuteye left the small tropical village at age 12 to attend boarding school 30 miles away. It was the start of an educational journey that would earn Otuteye an MBA from one of America's most prominent universities and eventually land him the prestigious title of President/CEO for Money Mailer, LLC, a franchise front-runner in the $49 billion direct mail industry.

An outstanding student at his elementary boarding school, Otuteye next traveled 140 miles to attend Adisadel, one of West Africa's finest secondary schools (the equivalent to junior high/high school). Based on his stellar academic performance at Adisadel, along with high-test scores and impressive personal interviews, the African Scholarship Program of American Universities awarded Otuteye a scholarship to attend Harvard University.

Arriving in the United States in 1967, his initial glimpses of the country, complete with "flower children," unsettled him. Still, Otuteye never lost sight of his educational goals. He went on to graduate with distinction from Harvard College with an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and the University of Southern California with an MBA.

Before joining Money Mailer, he served on the executive teams at Micro-D, Inc. (now Ingram Micro, Inc.) the largest wholesale distributor of microcomputer software and hardware accessories in America, and DATADESK, a leading edge keyboard and input device manufacturer.

Today, he tells students that "education should be the primary pursuit of every young person." He stresses these values to his children, Bethany (a Harvard graduate); Bethel (a student of Stanford University); and Mark (a student of Stanford University).

About Money Mailer

Money Mailer is a quality leader in the $49 billion direct mail industry since 1979 with more than 250 franchises nationwide. The Garden Grove, California-based company serves over 100 categories of local businesses, mails over 110 million envelopes and services more than 30,000 advertisers with its core product each year. Money Mailer accomplishes its goals by remaining committed to its mission: "To help businesses get and keep more customers and to help consumers save money everyday."(TM)