Business & Professio

reselling cell phones

has become a big,

"green" business for

Ann Arbor's Charles

Newman.

Charles Newman of Ann Arbor, founder, CEO and president of ReCellular Inc.

A Jewish Star

Bill Carroll
Special to the Jewish News

Dexter, Mich.

T

here are nearly two billion cell
phone users worldwide, with
about 250 million in the U.S.
alone. The new communication craze
started with mobile phone systems in
1947, then progressed to the cellulars a
year later, with cities being divided into
neighborhood-sized zones called cells for
better reception. The first hand-held cell
phone emerged in 1973.
Jewish entrepreneur Charles Newman
of Ann Arbor observed the latter part of
this constantly evolving cell phone scene
while working in the computer industry.
He took a plunge into the burgeoning cell
phone market. He didn't get it right at first,
but now has hit the cell market jackpot
as the co-founder, president and CEO of
ReCellular Inc., in Dexter, just west of Ann
Arbor.
Newman, 65, a computer whiz, had
started his own company while still a stu-
dent at the University of Michigan in 1961,
developing a computerized word processor
and later opening Rent-A-Byte, the first
computer rental store in the U.S.
He got a bachelor's degree in mathemat-
ics and a master's in science and research.
But in 1991, Newman, his brother, Allan,
and some other partners recognized a
trend that was topping even computers:

An increasing number of Americans were
using cell phones, then discarding them
frequently, causing tons of solid waste.
"We saw an opportunity to start a new
industry and help clean up the environ-
ment in the process:' Charles Newman
explained. "However, we really began the
whole thing a little too early (in the late
1980s). In fact, our original idea was to
rent cell phones, which at the time cost
about $2,000 to $3,000 each.
"But when cell phone prices plunged,
we were left with a lot of phones and no
rental-market. So, we decided to sell the
phones and improve the environment and
help charities!"
Today, the pioneering firm is the world's
largest recycler and reseller of used wire-
less phones and accessories in the wireless
industry. Re-Cellular's revenue quadrupled
between 2002 and 2005, zooming to about
$40 million.
In the past 18 months, the firm added
100 employees, bringing the total work
force to 250. About 200 are Michigan-
based; the company now also has offices
in Hong Kong, Brazil and Texas. Allan
Newman is no longer active in the firm,
but is a stockholder. Charles' son, Mike, 32,
is vice president of sales, marketing and
customer service.
"We persevered, and we also got lucky:'
Charles Newman said. "People began
buying cell phones at an amazing rate, to

Cellular Success on page 34

T

he little boy who grew up in
Wayne, Mich., where Jews
are scarce, later founded
the Jewish Community Center of
Washtenaw County and co-founded
Temple Beth Emeth, Ann Arbor's larg-
est synagogue.
Charles (Chuck) Newman is regard-
ed as a key benefactor in the Ann
Arbor Jewish community, remaining
extremely active in civic and chari-
table causes. Newman and his wife,
Sharon, live in Ann Arbor and have
four adult children and four grandchil-
dren.
His family lived in Wayne, in the
shadow of two large Ford assembly
plants, where his father, Louis, owned
a junkyard. Young Chuck started his
entrepreneurial career selling comic
books he found among the junk for a
penny apiece.
"I was the only Jew in high school
there; one other kid was half Jewish,"
he said. "But our family shlepped to
Detroit every week to attend Temple
Beth El."
Newman got two degrees at the
University of Michigan and never really
left Ann Arbor, later joining 41 other
families to form Temple Beth Emeth.
He dabbled in computer companies
for several years before launching
ReCellular.
"After a trip to Israel, my wife and
I decided that Ann Arbor needed a

regular Jewish center, so we took the
initiative to get it going," he said.
The Newmans also started the
University of Michigan Synchronized
Skating Program Booster Club.
Newman is past chairman of the
board of the International Hillel
Foundation and now is vice chairman
for international affairs. He's past
president of the Michigan Jewish
Conference and still serves on the
MJC board. He's on the executive com-
mittee of the U-M Alumni Association,
and is active in the International
Myeloma Foundation and the
NephCure Flundation.
"Chuck is a role model human being
for his peers; he really cares about
people and performs acts of loving
kindness out of love for his commu-
nity," said Julian Sandler of Dix Hills,
Long Island, who has known Newman
for 15 years. Sandler is CEO of Rent-
A-PC in New York and previously was
Newman's competitor when both
bought and sold computers nationally.
Sandler still gets "guidance and
insight" from Newman on his own
activities in the Jewish community,
launching a Jewish community cen-
ter in Dix Hills, and now serving as
chairman of the International Hillel
Foundation.
"Chuck is just a good Jewish per-
son, who's loyal, passionate in his
work and very smart," added Sandler.
"ReCellular is good for the 'green,' and
he's good for the community."

n

- Bill Carroll

March 22 a 2007

33

