Business has always been a passion for Trustee Randall Pittman, but even after 150 mergers and acquisitions, he said he enjoyed helping people so much that he was ready to try his hand in another facet of entrepreneurship - health care.

As chief executive officer of Forest Health Services Corp., Chatham Capital Corp. and MedCell Biologics LLC, Pittman oversees policy decisions, but does not operate the day-to-day activities of his companies.

Chatham owns and operates several nationwide hospitals and health-care companies, while Forest Health provides medical services and specializes in bariatric surgery - a process that eliminates weight from the morbidly obese.

MedCell's purpose is finding ways to cure diseases, such as cancer.

"The most critical thing is putting together executive teams," Pittman said, adding that the teams help with policy decisions and updating him on his companies' success rates. "A policy would be to say, 'Are we going to open a hospital in a new area?'"

But before Pittman got involved with running businesses, he was a 17-year-old who painted stripes in parking lots in western Michigan. He also worked another job that summer, saving up money to attend MSU. At the university, he would study political science and pre-law and later, finance.

"I was interested in engineering, but I was no good in math," Pittman said. "So I went to law school, I took economics classes and found I was good in math and my math teacher in high school was no good."

In the 30-plus years since his admittance to MSU, Pittman has worked on Wall Street, at a vehicle manufacturing company called PACCAR Inc. in Washington, formed his own businesses and fought opponents in and out of court.

"Very much smarter than the average bear," said Matt Jeffrey, Pittman's former boss at PACCAR and former member on the Board of Directors with Forest Health. "He was the type of individual that not only knows how to manage people, but how to make people like and respect him."

However, Pittman has not had an obstacle-free journey since his days at PACCAR.

In 1997, a Cook County, Ill., circuit court found Pittman, one of his associates and his company Forest Group Inc. liable of civil fraud. The decision was appealed, but in 2000, an Illinois appellate court affirmed the decision but said the $1 million-plus judgment was too high and sent the case back to the circuit court level, where it is once again under review.

Pittman said the case was remanded because of business practices of one of his former partners and a question over when Pittman and his associate were removed from the company by their former partner.

A new court date has not been set.

Complicating matters is MedCell Biologics Inc., which is planning legal action against Pittman for not disclosing that he, as well as one of his companies and associates, were found liable on multiple civil counts of fraud in 2000. This occurred before his company Chatham and MedCell formed a partnership earlier this year.

Pittman said the MedCell consultant seeking legal action, who has also served as chief executive officer and president, cannot be trusted because he has spent time in jail.

He said he knew about the consultant's jail time, but he still moved the deal ahead with the cancer-treating company.

"We said, 'The science is golden' because this was a perfect chance for trying to find cures for cancer," Pittman said. "We could make a difference.

"What he's doing to us, he's done to multiple people."

John Truscott, spokesman for Forest Health Services, defended Pittman.

"He is extremely ethical, and one of the smartest guys I have ever met," he said. "He's out there to make a difference in the world."

During his free time, Pittman races sailboats, and attributes his love for the sport to growing up in Holland, Mich. He's married to Mary and the couple have a daughter, Jennifer. Pittman credits his professional success to one factor.

"Michigan State gave me an education and I took that education and got a job in business," Pittman said.