News
June 21, 2010
Cover: Phil Busey CEO Moves from law to aerospace, energy
CEO's entrepreneurial career switch leads to success
Van Mitchell, The Business Times of Edmond, Oklahoma 
Issue: June 2010 Vol. 2 No. 6
Phil Busey, an Edmond resident, is no stranger to business success having founded the Busey Group of Companies in 2000 when he set out to help individuals, small, minority-owned and tribal businesses start up, organize, expand and meet marketplace challenges. And, that success hasn’t gone unnoticed for Busey, a member of the Cherokee Nation and Delaware tribes, who recently was named the 2010 Oklahoma Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
He was nominated for the award by Liberty Strategic Solutions. Busey represented the state in Washington, D.C., during National Small Business Week events May 23-25. “We started in 2000 doing business consulting and support for small businesses,” said Busey, who is first cousin of actor Gary Busey. “That was my goal after practicing law for multiple years in Oklahoma. That expanded into government contracts in 2002.”
Busey attended Oklahoma City University, where he played baseball. Graduating in 1974 baseball. Graduating in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, he went on to graduate from Oklahoma City University Law School in 1977 with a J.D. degree. He has practiced law regionally and nationally for
30 years. His expertise is in Native American, commercial, corporate, government, public finance and contracting law. Busey serves as the chairman and chief executive officer of The Busey Group of Companies, which includes a law firm, management and third-party logistics services company, government and commercial contracting and program management business and helping create economic development opportunities for tribal governments, minority businesses and individuals.
The flagship of the Oklahoma City firm is Delaware Resources Group, which was created in 2002. That year, he started working with Boeing Aerospace as a subcontractor, going from two employees one day to 95 the next. That project was the U.S. Air Force’s E-3 AWACS mission crew training program at Tinker Air Force Base, and since then, DRG has added prime contract and subcontract projects to its portfolio. His company is now in the top supplier bracket for Boeing and is that company’s largest state supplier. DRG now has experience in aerospace, defense and oil and gas and manages contracts in seven states. Recently it was awarded its first international contract.
Today, the Busey Group has grown to more than 250 employees and more than $24 million in gross revenues. Busey said that growth has come at a price. He said they have currently outgrown their current location at 5721 N.W. 132nd St. in Oklahoma City. He said they are looking at possible new headquarter locations in north Oklahoma City or Edmond. “We have continued to grow and we have outgrown this space and now we are looking to expand,” Busey said. “Our goal is to in the next year to build a 10,000-12,000 square foot building in Edmond or north Oklahoma City. We have been fortunate with our growth. We have some really good people working for us.”
Q. What is the biggest challenge in running your company today?
A. The key challenges are to control our growth while maintaining an entrepreneurial spirit within the company. We constantly work to train and get employees into new positions of responsibility. Our philosophy is to try and keep processes as lean as possible so that our people are free to make decisions and delegate authority without being bound by a bureaucracy. We have grown by providing innovative solutions.
Q. What do you see as your chief responsibility in running _ e Busey Group as its CEO?
A. I don’t micromanage our operations. I work primarily on business development, customer relationships, strategic and financial issues. I interface daily with our corporate staff . I like to manage by what I call management by walking around. I will walk to everyone’s office every day to ask them how they are doing and ask them is there anything they need help with. That’s how
I keep the pulse of everything without pulling them into a formal meeting. Our goal is to build team, “We” vs. “I.”
Q. What was your reaction to being named the 2010 Oklahoma Small Business Person of the Year by the SBA?
A. It was a humbling experience because I never envisioned we would get to the point that we would be considered for a prestigious award like that. It means a lot. I was humbled and honored by the award. It’s an award that I don’t consider about me. I consider it about the company we have built and the people who work here that really make all that possible because they are good at their jobs.
Q. What is it like having your two sons Philip Jr. and Brian and your wife Cathy be part of your company?
A. It’s real rewarding to have them in the business. Both sons came into the business voluntarily. They wanted to be part of it. We did so with the understanding that they would start and work their way up. We felt as a family owned company we needed to be very sensitive to our other employees that they understood it was level playing field. My wife Cathy came into the business full time about five years ago and she has been incredible in helping manage some of the financial issues and bringing a whole other perspective to our growth.
Q. What leadership qualities are the most important in your day-to-day work?
A. I try to be a student of leadership. I read a lot about leadership. I study notable leaders. I think the most important traits of leadership are integrity, courage in taking calculated risks, truthfulness and trust. We don’t ask our employees to do anything we wouldn’t do ourselves. My job is to empower our employees and help them to do the best they can. We encourage them to try and fail instead of not trying at all.
Q. How do you spend your time away from work?
A. We have a lake house at Fort Gibson Lake. We can really relax there even though we are never really out of touch with the Blackberry. We travel. We read a lot. I work out at the gym. I play golf, but not a lot. We are very active in church and community. Giving back is a large part of who we are. We try to do things that will take our minds off work.
Q. What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the business field?
A. You should follow your passion. Get with some people who can really mentor you and get experience utilizing your talents. Don’t be afraid to fail. Have faith in yourself that you can do it. Adversity breeds character. Just try. If you don’t try, you will never know what you can accomplish.