Leonard Tan

Leonard Tan

Age: 30
Companies: PurpleClick Media, 9 Minutes

This former employee of Yahoo! (YHOO) Southeast Asia gave up a promising career and started PurpleClick Media, an online search marketing agency in 2006. Just a year later, he received support from his former company and was recognized by Yahoo! as its certified search ambassador in Southeast Asia. In 2007, Google also officially named PurpleClick its authorized AdWords reseller, making PurpleClick the first agency in Southeast Asia to be accredited by both Yahoo! and Google. The company now serves clients in six countries in the region and boasts such high-profile clients as Avis (CAR), Citibank (C), and Cisco (CSCO). In 2007, Tan also founded 9 Minutes, which offers the same products as PurpleClick but serves smaller clients. Tan holds an undergraduate degree from the National University of Singapore and a master's degree from the IIT Stuart School of Business in Chicago.