The Entrepreneur

+ MORE MRC GLOBAL MRC Global, now one of the largest suppliers of pipes, valves and fittings, began as a family-owned business that turned to Goldman Sachs for capital and advice. Goldman Sachs has worked closely with MRC Global since 2007, helping identify opportunities to grow their business. Today MRC Global is a vital link in the production chain for the entire energy industry, with over 400 service locations, and over 5,000 employees, worldwide. SERVICE LOCATIONS 400+ GLOBAL FOOTPRINT 45+ Countries WORKED WITH GOLDMAN SACHS Since 2007   THE HISTORY How MRC Global Began What is now MRC Global began as two American suppliers who were competitors in the energy industry. The McJunkin Corporation was a family-owned business founded in West Virginia nearly a century ago; and Red Man Pipe and Supply, founded in Oklahoma in 1977, was one of the largest Native American-owned businesses in the US. Both had experienced success providing clients with the pipe...

"We are not the first to face what seem like overwhelming challenges," says HBS professor and business historian  Nancy F. Koehn . A new volume edited and narrated by Koehn,  The Story of American Business: From the Pages of  The New York Times, presents more than a hundred timely articles from the 1850s to today. Q&A and book excerpt. Key concepts include: If business leaders are to make sense of the financial crisis and its larger significance, they must have access to both depth and breadth in what they read. Big themes of  The Story of American Business  include Wall Street, leadership, consumption, the workplace, communications, and transportation. Koehn's narrations distill biography and social, economic, cultural, and business history from the 1850s to today.     by Martha Lagace From the dawn of the U.S. transcontinental railroad in 1869 to the widespread embrace of consumer products like cell phones and iPods in our t...