Inventor Howard Head His Determination Revolutionized The Way We Ski And Play Tennis.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)

Byline: David Saito-Chung

Howard Head despised the concept of marketing. The best way to appeal to the masses, he thought, was simple: Come up with the best product.

"I think marketing is a dirty word. I've never liked it," Head told students at Harvard Business School in 1988. "Get it right, and the product will sell itself."

Head proved his point by designing and mass-producing the first composite skis in the early 1950s. Why did the sleek black Head skis schuss past the competition? They made skiing easier and fun.

"No discussion of the American ski scene would be complete without a reappraisal of the Head Ski, the metal-plastic sandwich that revolutionized ski making," SKI Magazine wrote in 1953. "Its wonderfully easy skiing characteristics have given it a firm and secure place in the affections of almost everybody."

Head (1914-91) made a fortune through the Head Ski Co., which he sold in 1969 for $16 million. Seven years later, Head stunned the sports world again with the Prince tennis racquet, the first oversized racquet to achieve commercial success. Today some of the world's best tennis players, including Jennifer Capriati and Australia's Patrick Rafter, are competing at the U.S. Open in New York with Prince gear.

In hindsight, the composite ski and the oversized racquet seemed so obvious. Why was Head the first to come up with both? He was disgusted with what was available on the market and acted on it.