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Daryle Doden, CEO of Ambassador Enterprises, has focused on integrating practical Christian principles into a simple business ethic upon co-founding the company in 1974. We have included some of his story below...

It was with certain expectations that the TwoTen team arrived in Fort Wayne, Indiana, at the corporate headquarters of Ambassador Enterprises. The successful investment management and consultant group specializes in corporate evaluation and restructuring for the purpose of reawakening organizational performance. Expectations of grandeur were exceeded as the team was ushered into the executive conference room through a lobby that boasted a vast library of volumes describing ways to succeed in business. First impressions were of successful leadership within an atmosphere of corporate excellence and a deep commitment to ethics and morality, but Daryle Doden shattered the pre-existing notions of the untouchable nature of successful corporate America.

The son of a small-town preacher, Daryle was raised to believe that biblical principles should permeate every aspect of life, both personal and professional. “I saw Christ lived out every day in my father,” said Daryle. “He was an incredible man of God who spent an hour or two every day in Bible reading and prayer. He didn’t require me to be like him; he modeled Christ and I wanted to model the same character that he did.” This early character development morphed into the distinctive business principles that created Ambassador Enterprises.

Originally believing that he was destined for the ministry, Daryle attended Moody Bible Institute and earned his degree in Sacred Music. He met and married his wife, graduated, and entered the ministry, but was miserable. After taking a personality assessment, he discovered that his left-brain operating system rebelled against relational-type careers and realized that the ministry was not where he was uniquely designed to serve. At 26, he resigned from his pastoral position and began seeking God’s will for the next chapter of his life.

“Once I resigned from the ministry, I had no job, no insurance, a third child on the way, no savings, and I was too young to be scared,” said Daryle.

“That was in 1973. I had two months of severance that ended in October. In November, we had our baby and had no money to pay the hospital bills.” Throughout this financial test, Daryle never doubted that God had a plan and would provide what was necessary for his growing family.

Rolling Up the Sleeves: Ambassador Steel

In the early 1970’s, restrictions were imposed upon the export of steel. This created a production crisis and raised the demand for steel bars within manufacturing plants across the country. At the same time, Darlye began taking odd jobs to provide for his wife and children. One odd job led to another, until he was called upon to give a quote for steel reinforcement bars for a successful businessman...

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