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First Orr Fellow named to IBJ's '40 Under 40' 

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009) – Ali Sales, president of Compendium Blogware and one of the first members of the Governor Robert D. Orr Fellowship, has been named to the prestigious Indianapolis Business Journal "Forty Under Forty" list for 2009.

Sales, a Columbus, Ind., native, is the first member of the Governor Robert D. Orr Fellowship to be named to the list of up-and-coming business leaders.

"The Fellowship's goal is to help shape tomorrow's business leaders by exposing them to the fantastic resources offered by our great state and encouraging these ambitious young-professionals to build sensational careers right here in Indiana," said Scott Brenton, co-founder of the Fellowship program and Chief Operating Officer at Angie's List. "We're very proud of Ali's accomplishments.  She epitomizes the outcomes the Fellowship is striving to facilitate and we hope that her selection by the IBJ further validates the work we're doing.  Only time will tell, but we certainly hope to be helping the IBJ with this list for many years to come."

Sales is a member of the 2002 Fellowship, through which she worked with Chris Baggott, then an executive at ExactTarget. In 2007, Baggott and Sales reunited and founded Compendium together.

"It's a great honor for me to be on this list, and I think it proves the value of the Fellowship," Sales said. "The things I learned as a Fellow were instrumental in getting me to this point, and I know they'll be helpful in the future as well."

Since its inception in 2001, the Orr Fellowship has fulfilled its mission to keep Indiana’s best and brightest graduates in the state by placing 65 fellows at sponsoring Indiana companies. 

Orr Fellows are hand-picked by executives at Indiana’s fastest growing entrepreneurial companies, and they benefit from unique exposure to these same executives during their two-year Orr Fellowship assignments.  Orr Fellows meet regularly with Indiana’s most accomplished business and community leaders to discuss leadership development. The Fellows also participate in community service projects, including mentoring at New Tech High School through a partnership with Junior Achievement and the TechPoint Foundation.

Past fellows have gone on to pursue graduate degrees at Harvard Business School, the Kellogg School of Management, the Johnson School at Cornell University and Georgetown University, found their own start-up companies, and hold key positions at companies across the state.

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The Governor Bob Orr Indiana Entrepreneurial Fellowship works to retain and inspire Indiana’s brightest minds. It serves as an applied training vehicle for the State’s future entrepreneurs and organizational leaders.  The fellowship offers Indiana’s top college graduates a challenging position with strong entrepreneurial companies across the state for a two-year fellowship.  Through interaction with senior leadership at sponsoring companies and monthly meetings with Indiana’s distinguished business and political leaders, the Orr Fellowship aims to prepare fellows for successful careers, ultimately aiding in the development of Indiana’s economy.  For more: www.orrfellowship.org.

The IBJ's Forty Under 40 recognizes 40 local business and professional leaders who have achieved success before the age of 40. These people have demonstrated leadership, initiative and dedication in pursuing their careers, and are likely to continue to achieve in the future. For more: http://www.ibj.com