23 who laughed at the recession

CEO since 2005: Gregory L. Henslee

Last year's big task for O'Reilly chief Gregory Henslee was integrating the 1,350 CSK stores he bought in 2008.

These were not mere pit stops: Many locations closed for a week or more to remove inventory, upgrade computer systems, and install new inventory. But the $1 billion merger is revving O'Reilly's top and bottom lines, with sales up 36%, to $4.8 billion and earnings up 65%, to $307 million.

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