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40 Under 40 They’re smart, they’re accomplished, they run multimillion-dollar enterprises — and oh, yes, they’re young. Some helm technology companies, others lead financial firms, others are at the top the health-care game. On these pages, meet the faces of the future. (Move over, Mr. Gates.) Spring 2008 , Page 45continued 3
Jeffrey A. Citron Citron’s story is a little like that of Steve Jobs: In 2006, Citron was booted out of Vonage, the broadband telephone-service provider he helped create in 2000, only to return as interim CEO in April 2007. The company, which had recently gone public, was foundering. By the time he got back in the saddle, its share price had dropped more than 80 percent. His first mission: to get a stay on a judge’s order that the company was not to sign up any new customers during a patent-infringement lawsuit (later settled out of court) in which it was embroiled with Verizon. He then reduced his workforce by 10 percent and hacked the advertising budget by $110 million — all tough decisions. But with Citron in command, Vonage posted revenues of $216 million in the fourth quarter of 2007, a 19 percent jump from the same period in 2006. Previously, Citron did a stint at the Island ECN, a computerized trading system designed to automate the order-execution process, which he founded in 1995. In 1998, he left to become chairman and CEO of Datek Online Holdings before heading to Vonage.
Jonathan Z. Cohen Surely the easiest way onto this list, which rewards precocious power and influence, is when Mom or Dad paves the way. Cohen, a Penn grad who earned a law degree (cum laude) from American University, has been CEO of Resource Capital, a commercial real-estate specialty-finance company, since his father, Edward, the firm’s chairman, stepped aside in March 2005. We try to discount legacies, though, and Cohen stands squarely on his own two feet: Since 2003, he has been the general partner of Castine Partners, a financial-services hedge fund. Oh, yes — he also produces independent films, among them the 1998 comedy Safe Men and On the Ropes, a 1999 documentary about amateur boxing.
Nicholas DeIuliis Like many on this list, DeIuliis has been in a hurry. Leveraging his Penn State chemical-engineering degree into a job in Consol Energy’s R&D group, DeIuliis notched several promotions working full-time while earning his MBA and a law degree from Duquesne — and finishing first in his class. He quickly rose to become vice president of strategic planning at Consol, where he was responsible for maximizing the value of the company’s assets. This led to the creation of CNX Gas in June 2005. In October 2006, Platts, a supplier of energy information, nominated CNX for its Hydrocarbon Producer of the Year award — a worldwide competition in which the four other finalists were Saudi Aramco, CNOOC, Peabody Energy and Williams. CNX didn’t win, but no matter: It’s now truly playing in the big leagues.
Matthew C. Diamond This question once kept Diamond awake at night: How could he help advertisers reach 10-to-24-year-olds? The answer became Alloy Media + Marketing. The company connects corporations to more than 22 million young consumers across its Teen.com network each month, where users can chat with new pals, win prizes and take quizzes. Alloy also develops and produces such entertainment properties as the Gossip Girl television and book series and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Before cofounding the company in January 1996, Diamond, who earned his B.A. in international studies from the University of North Carolina and his MBA from Harvard, worked in finance and operations at GE, spending time in the company’s Tokyo offices. Now, he says, he’s “seeking ways new technology and information can be applied to new media opportunities.” 
Dave Habiger Title: CEO, Sonic Solutions City: NOVATO, California Age: 39 Recent Market Cap: $227.8 million "I’m inspired by things created by groups of people," says Habiger, the CEO of Sonic, which creates the digital-media software that makes CDs and DVDs operate. Under the leadership of this individual, though, Sonic has thrived. Habiger joined the company in 1993 and moved steadily up the ranks, landing in the boss’s chair in 2005. His goals aren’t too lofty: He would like, he says, to become the "GE of digital-media software." Despite the fact that he laments not “building plug-in architecture around professional audio mastering product, or engaging in search and contextual advertising,” à la Google, he might just get his wish one of these days: Sonic’s revenues in 2007 were $150 million. That’s inspirational.
Omar Hamoui Two weeks before the birth of AdMob, a global marketplace that has served more than 1 billion mobile advertisements, a light bulb went off in Hamoui’s head: Six months earlier, he had begun working on FotoChatter, a mobile social network run by cellphone-camera users. But he had difficulty promoting his products. Then he found a mobile Web site and ran an ad there. He was charged a penny per click, which enabled him to grab good customers for just 10 cents a user. It occurred to him that others might appreciate this as much as he did — and a company was born. AdMob launched in January 2006, and the response was overwhelming. With a year, it generated 250 million mobile advertising page views per month in more than 150 countries; the network continues to grow at a rate of 150 percent per month. Advertisers range from small startups to Top 10 global brands. Clearly, Wharton’s loss (Hamoui is on extended leave from the school) is AdMob’s gain.
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