Don Budinger argues that “good enough” is no longer an option BY JULIE COLEMAN F rom a young age, Don and Bill Budinger were told by their father each night about the profound responsibility Americans inherited after winning World War II. A pilot trainer in the South Pacific during the war, he instilled the family value of leaving the country and their local community in better condition than it was given to them. This principle served as the foundation for Don and Bill founding Rodel Inc., a garage startup in Delaware with operations in Arizona that grew to become the leading global manufacturer of surface-finishing chemicals used to make computer chips, rigid memory disks and specialty optics. Rodel Inc. expanded globally through a joint venture in Japan, Rodel Nitta, as well as the establishment of operations in Europe and across Asia. “As we built our company, we always had in the back of our mind, is this enough? Is building a great company enough? Is leading the world as an American company and a critical technology enough?” Don Budinger said. “And the answer to that was, yes, at the moment, but not totally.” Rooted in Results A 2ND ACT Don Budinger has dedicated his “second act” to systemic change, guided by his father’s belief in leaving a community better than he found it. FRONTDOORS MAGAZINE | 41 FRONTDOORS MAGAZINE | 41