Lawrence Hunt is CEO of Silverjet, the exclusively business class airline serving New York, London, and (from November) Dubai.  Silverjet was a sponsor of The 2007American Business Awards.

What book are you currently reading?
I’m not a great believer in business books, but one I’ve been coming back to again and again is Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World's Most Unusual Workplace by the Brazilian businessman Ricardo Semler. His handling of human resources was ingenious—and transformed his family business, SEMCO, into a multi-billion-dollar business empire. I find this book an inspiration.

On the fiction side, I must suffer from ADD because I lose interest quickly in most books, but right now I’m reading Jay McInerney’s Bright Lights, Big City, which is perfect for me because it’s short!

What was the last movie you saw, and would you recommend it?
I love the movies and have seen the British movie Hot Fuzz three times.  It’s very funny, with very English humor.

What is your favorite sport or hobby?
Sailing is my favorite sport and pastime.  It’s great for just relaxing. I used to race competitively when I was a student, and would do so again if I had the time.

Who is your favorite historical figure?
That would be my great grandfather, William Foyle, the founder of Foyles bookshop in London.  When he left school he sold off his old schoolbooks from a wheelbarrow in the Charing Cross Road.  He ended up running one of the finest bookstores in the world.  He also helped other book sellers on Charing Cross Road to keep their operations going, because he recognized that keeping them all in one area was good for the book business.

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David Erickson, founder and CEO of Free Conferencing Corporation of America, won a Stevie Award for Best Executive in the 2007 American Business Awards.  We look at the vision and strategic initiatives behind his successful company.

David Erickson gives new meaning to the phrase “chronic entrepreneurialism.” With more than a decade of telecommunications experience and an unparalleled market vision, he designed and implemented FreeConferenceCall.com from the ground up, including the current network infrastructure that offers conferencing facilities in twelve cities across the United States and in ten European countries.

At the same time, Erickson has instilled a strong sense of commitment throughout the organization by creating long-standing, value-based client and employee relationships. “It has been a true honor to be recognized for such a prestigious award as The Stevies,” said Erickson “but I share this accolade with the entire company as a total team effort in helping our global customers reap all the benefits of our conferencing solutions.”

A Telecom Industry Thought Leader
Unlike other competitive offerings from paid and non-paid audio conferencing services, FreeConferenceCall.com’s pioneering all-digital network is built on voice routers versus analog-based conference bridges that can be prone to static and other noise. Says Erickson: "Our mission is to redefine the one-to-many communications industry by providing high quality features, excellent customer service, and the best pricing models available."

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Blogs, or web logs, are all the rage these days. Each month in this space we'll point you to several blogs that we think might be of interest to you.

Fast Lane : The official General Motors blog, with their views on the US motor industry, strikes, etc.
Digital Rules/The Blog : Online comments from Rich Karlgaard, publisher of Forbes.
Innovative on Purpose : Blogs, newsletters, surveys on innovation from marketer Jeffrey Phillips.
The New York Times : Now entirely free, including fascinating early archives from 1851 when the paper first started.