Best Bosses

Richard CaturanoCompany: Vitale Caturano, BostonStrategy: It's not unusual for employees of accounting firms to spend more time at work than they do at home during tax season. To ease the stress on the 300-member staff of his public accounting firm, president Richard Caturano offers workers free gourmet dinners and Saturday lunches during the busy season.For those who don't have time to fuel up at home, there is a year-round, complimentary breakfast buffet with free espresso. A concierge service handles staffers' errands, such as picking up dry cleaning, laundry drop-offs and visits to the auto shop.And when employees do have spare time, the company makes it easy for them to give back to the community. It provides free or low-cost access to charity events. Perhaps it is not surprising that the company is so generous to its team. It is 100% employee-owned.

Paal GisholtCompany: SmartPak, Plymouth, Mass.Strategy: While many CEOs rely on Monster.com, Paal Gisholt prefers to find employees for SmartPak, a maker of equestrian products, at horse shows and university equine-studies programs.Since he founded the company seven years ago with his wife, Gisholt estimates that he and his HR team have attended 85 horse shows and built relationships with 15 equine-studies programs.Ashley Wener, 22, who received a degree in animal sciences from the University of Vermont, sent her résumé to SmartPak after a professor recommended the company to her. She joined SmartPak in June and now works as a product specialist in the sales department.Her 3.67 GPA helps, she says, but Wener has expanded her knowledge of horses since Gisholt hired her. "I'm constantly learning," she says.Sales at SmartPak grew from $15 million in 2004 to $23 million in 2005, and the company recently expanded into selling prepacked daily helpings of all-natural dog food.Don't be surprised if Gisholt starts scouting for talent at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

Mellody HobsonCompany: Ariel Capital Management, ChicagoStrategy: Ariel prides itself on its slow and steady approach to investing. The investment firm, which runs three mutual funds and has $17 billion in assets under management, uses the same strategy to advance its social mission: educating African-American kids about investing.Its 97 employees reach out to Chicago children through Ariel Community Academy, a public school that the firm helped the city found and that it supports with help from two financial firms: John Nuveen and Lehman Brothers.Each first-grade class receives $20,000, which Ariel invests equally in its Ariel fund and the Nuveen Rittenhouse Growth fund.Hobson, the company's president, gives regular lectures at the school to both students and their parents on topics such as saving and investing, and she came up with the child-friendly statements that each student receives on the $20,000 investment.Says Hobson: "Ariel Community Academy allows us to attract like-minded employees who have a sense of community."

Graham WestonCompany: Rackspace Managed Hosting, San AntonioWhat's the best way to keep a young company in the fast lane? Weston, co-founder and CEO of Rackspace Managed Hosting, based in San Antonio, hands top performers the keys to one of his cars, a BMW M3 convertible, for a week. Finding creative ways to recognize the stars on his 1,000-employee staff has helped Weston grow annual sales to $139 million at seven-year-old Rackspace, which hosts web applications for other firms."I think it's one of the biggest bargains in business," Weston says. "If you gave somebody a $200 bonus, it wouldn't mean very much. When someone gets to drive my car for a week, they never forget it."For extra recognition, he offers workers the use of a guest house he owns on the Comal River in New Braunfels, Texas, where the water is 72 degrees year round."You know if you work hard, Graham sees it and will take care of you," says David Bryce, 34, vice president of customer care at Rackspace. "You don't have to worry about fighting for yourself to get what's 'due' to you. It's not a lot of fun working for a boss who doesn't give you a raise unless you ask for it."Weston also offers flexible arrangements for employees working through personal problems. When Bryce, who joined Rackspace in 1999, was struggling to cope with a divorce, Weston offered him several months of paid leave, which he gratefully accepted. "I would do anything for Graham," he says.

David WilliamsCompany: Merkle, Lanham, Md.It's just as tough for employees to stay competitive in the marketplace as it is for companies. To help his 850-member staff keep their skills sharp, David Williams, CEO of this database marketing agency, requires them to take classes on subjects such as computer programming, business writing, public speaking, and best practices in their field at the firm's The Merkle Institute of Technology, founded in 1990.Classes are taught by their colleagues, offering lots of opportunities to cross-pollinate ideas with folks in other departments. Classes don't cut into employees' personal time, because they are scheduled during business hours.To make sure the firm's commitment to employee-education is clear, Williams requires each member to earn a certain number of credits and, in some cases, to teach a certain number of hours to be eligible for an annual raise. The firm, which is 80% employee-owned, holds him to the same standard.