Alaska Business Junior Achievement Hall of Fame Laureate: Bob Jacobsen: wings of Alaska co-owner was mentored and now fills that role.

• Author: Orr, Vanessa

One of the secrets to becoming a successful businessperson is learning from someone who already knows the ropes. Bob Jacobsen, the president and CEO of Wings of Alaska, understands the importance of having a mentor in the business--and acting as a mentor to others.

"I learned an awful lot from my father, who started a heating oil delivery service in Juneau in 1952," Jacobsen explained. "He was a great mentor--while he never told me what to do, he listened to me when I talked about the business, and he helped me to make good decisions."

Jacobsen, originally from Juneau, was working as a deckhand in the fishing industry when he decided to learn to fly to enjoy more of Alaska. "I had no intention of going into commercial aviation," he laughed.

When a skipper asked him to fly a plane to spot fish, Jacobsen agreed, and spent a couple of years in that job, working in Southeast Alaska and Bristol Bay. In 1982, he and a couple of friends decided to start a commercial aviation business in Juneau.

"We were working for another company at the time, and thought that we could do a better job," said Jacobsen. "The equipment we were flying wasn't being cared for as it should, and the customers were not being treated with respect the way they should. And there was a rotating door for employees."

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With help from his family, best friend Drew Haag and Mike Fenster, who he also credits with being a mentor, Jacobsen started Wings of Alaska. Though the company started with only two planes, it has since grown to be the largest carrier in Southeast Alaska, with 15 planes, more than 90 employees during the summer, and gross revenues of $5 million.

In 2002, the company split into two entities, Wings of Alaska and Wings Airways, which provides services for the cruise ship industry, as well as flights to the Juneau Icefield and Taku Glacier Lodge. "When we divided the company, we invited long-time employees and key managers to become part owners of Wings Airways," said Jacobsen. Both companies have become highly successful in what is a very competitive industry--in 2004, the airlines boarded more than 82,000 passengers.

When asked why Wings has been so successful, Jacobsen gives credit to the people who have helped it grow. "I think...