Sheldon Yellen

Yellen was born to a Jewish family, the oldest of four boys.^[3] He was raised alone by his mother.^[3] He attended Southfield-Lathrup High School^[4] but dropped out to support his family (he later received his diploma at the age of 53).^[5] In 1985, he went to work as a salesman for his brothers-in-law's company then known as Quality Awning & Construction which also did restoration work.^[6] In 1989, Yellen booked $17 million in sales in South Carolina which was devastated by Hurricane Hugo, effectively doubling the company's sales.^[5] He became CEO in 2001.^[5]

In 2011, Yellen appeared on an Emmy-nominated episode of Undercover Boss on CBS.^[7][8][9]

Per Yellen, in 2016 BELFOR is the world's largest disaster restoration company operating in 29 countries with more than 350 offices and employing more than 7,700 full-time employees.^[5]

He is a guest writer for Entrepreneur - US edition: 4 Ways to Ensure Your Startup Will Survive Disaster, How to Make People, Not Résumés, Your Hiring Priority, How Growing Up With Nothing Equipped Me to Run a Billion-Dollar Company.^[10]

In 2019, Yellen was awarded an honorary doctorate from Oakland University.^[11]

Yellen hand-writes over 12,000 cards each year for employees' birthdays and other thanks and congratulations.^[12]

At the age of 26, he married at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan; he has two sons.^[3] Although he had a bar mitzvah, he did not begin to practice Judaism until he was in his mid-40s.^[3]