Jeff Mettais: memories for Alzheimer's sufferers.

• Author: Bronikowski, Lynn
• Position: Executive Edge - Memory Lane Company

Jeff Mettais, president of The Memory Lane Co. based in Lone Tree, witnessed first-hand the devastating impact of Alzheimer's disease when his own grandmother was diagnosed with dementia.

Her eight-year battle and Mettais' realization that some 4.5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's while another 4 million are living with related forms of dementia, inspired him to help found Memory Lane, which is creating a line of videos, CDs and memory books designed to help entertain and stimulate people with the disease.

"I saw there was a big need for such products," says Mettais. "So much emphasis has been placed on medical treatments, but there was nothing in the marketplace to help people connect or find pleasure in their memories. Our products also can give caregivers much-needed breaks as their loved ones affected by this disease are entertained while watching the videos."

Mettais is not new to what he calls "philanthropic publishing." Memory Lane's principals in 1996 founded The Baby Einstein Co. in Lone Tree, which developed, produced and sold videotapes, DVDs and CDs that expose babies to various forms of human expression--language, poetry, music, art and science. In 2001, the Walt Disney Co. acquired Baby Einstein for a reported $25 million.

Mettais, as executive vice president, oversaw sales, marketing and product distribution for Baby Einstein and over three years saw annual sales increase from $1 million to $20 million through online efforts and strategic relationships with specialty distributors, domestic and international licensees.

A 1985 graduate of St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., Mettais had virtually stumbled on Baby Einstein while living in Japan and reading about its explosive success...