His empire was built on pizza.
With last week’s death of Mike Ilitch, that empire is now in the hands of his son Christopher.
Daniel Howes, columnist and associate business editor of the Detroit News, joined Stateside to discuss the future of that empire, Ilitch Holdings.
Mike Ilitch “bet on Detroit before it was fashionable and before it was cool,” Howes said.
He said Ilitch Holdings now pulls in roughly $3.3 billion in annual revenue and employs around 21,000 people.
But even before his father’s passing, Christopher Ilitch contributed to that success. Though little known to some, he’s been CEO of the company since 2004.
“This is a guy who spent a lot of years studying what his parents did, to the point where he eventually came up with something he called the ‘secrets to the sauce,’” Howes said.
For those secrets and more, listen above.
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