The Family Business CEOs to Watch Class of 2023 recognizes 23 exceptional business leaders. The CEOs honored run the gamut of family business leadership, from entrepreneurial founders to fifth-generation stewards of a multifaceted enterprise to non-family executives trusted by the family ownership group to lead and expand their operations.
Eric L. Goodman
President and CEO | First generation | Mountain View Services Inc., Redlands, Calif.
Mountain View Services (MVS) was established in 1988 as a supplier of products and services to healthcare facilities for developmentally disabled adults and children in Southern California. Eric Goodman, who began in sales and progressively advanced in his career at the company, purchased MVS from the original owner in 2020.
Goodman also bought his parents’ business, Chem-Pak Janitorial Supplies & Equipment in San Bernardino, Calif. He plans to continue operating Chem-Pak, which is a supplier to MVS, as a separate company.
Goodman’s wife, Roxanne Goodman, works full-time at MVS as finance manager. Their daughter, Vanessa See (marketing manager), son-in-law, Mark See (internet manager) and son, Grant Goodman (social media manager), are part-time employees.
Goodman and MVS have been honored for service to the community. Goodman recently created the MVS Foundation and established a fund and formal grant process with the help of the Orange County Community Foundation. In addition, MVS employees are given full pay for up to 20 hours of volunteer work, and the company matches their charitable donations. MVS supports the Ronald McDonald House, the American Heart Association and local organizations through volunteerism, financial gifts and board roles.
Goodman’s own life story has influenced his commitment to community service and volunteerism. From the ages of 3 to 5, he wore leg braces. At 15, he was diagnosed with Scheuermann’s kyphosis, a condition similar to scoliosis but much more severe. Doctors discovered that his condition was putting pressure on his internal organs, and he had a lifesaving operation at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital. He was in the intensive care unit for weeks and hospitalized for months. He had a full-body cast for eight months and needed therapy to relearn how to walk.
“Eric Goodman has turned childhood crisis and near death into a career serving those less fortunate than most of us,” says Ed Hart, senior vice president and director of the Center for Family-Owned Businesses at First Bank. “His company, Mountain View Services, has become a resource for organizations that most need their supplies. His heart of gold is evident in everything he does.
“As a CEO of a mid-sized family business, he treats every individual in his circle as family. He has won countless awards for his philanthropy, his leadership and his business success, and is the true definition of a servant leader.”
“My passion for my community starts with my family business,” Goodman says. “We all work together to give back every day. All my family members work with the business. My wife, daughter, son, son-in-law and father all work together. We have about 50 non-related team members, but we are all family. One of my managers has been with the company all 35 years, and most of the other top managers have been with the company for over 20 years.”