United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

KBR Tower, the headquarters of KBR and a part of Cullen Center, in Downtown Houston

Look up headquarters in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Headquarters (HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities. In the UK, the term Head Office is most commonly used for the HQs of large corporations. The term is also used regarding military organizations.

Corporate[link]

A headquarters is the entity at the top of a corporation that takes full responsibility for the overall success of the corporation, and ensures Corporate Governance. Corporate headquarters is a key element of a corporate structure and covers different corporate functions such as strategic planning, corporate communications, tax, legal, marketing, finance, HR, IT, Procurement (CPO). The corporate headquarters includes: CEO as a key person and his support staff such as the CEO office and other CEO related functions; the "Corporate policy making" functions: Include all corporate functions necessary to steer the firm by defining and establishing corporate policies; the Corporate Services: Activities that combine or consolidate certain enterprise-wide needed support services, provided based on specialized knowledge, best practices, and technology to serve internal (and sometimes external) customers and business partners; the Interface: Reporting line and bi-directional link between corporate headquarters and business units.

Business Unit[link]

A headquarters normally includes the leader of business unit and his or her staff as well as all functions to manage the business unit and operational activities. The head of the Business Unit is responsible for overall result of the business unit.

Regional[link]

Randall's Food Markets headquarters in Westchase, Houston; Randall's is a subsidiary of Safeway Inc.

A headquarters sometimes functions at the top of regional unit, including all activities of the various business units, taking full responsibility for overall profitability and success of this regional unit.

Military[link]

Military headquarters take many forms depending on the size and nature of the unit or formation they command. Typically, they are split into the forward, main and rear components, both within NATO nations, and those following the organization and doctrine of the former Soviet Union (see Isby, 1988).

The forward or tactical HQs (known as 'Tac' for short) is a small group of staff and communicators. Usually very mobile, they exist to allow the commander to go forward in an operation, and command the key parts of it from a position where they can see the ground and influence their immediate subordinates.

The main HQs (known as 'Main') is less mobile and is involved in both the planning and execution of operations. There are a number of staff assembled here from various staff branches to advise the commander, and to control the various aspects of planning and the conduct of discrete operations. A main HQ for a large formation will have a chief of staff (CoS) who coordinates the staff effort; in a smaller HQ this may be done by the second-in-command (2iC).

The rear or logistic HQs ('Rear') is some distance from the battle or front line in conventional operations. Its function is to ensure the logistical support to front line troops, which it does by organizing the delivery of combat supplies, materiel and equipment to where they are needed, and by organizing services such as combat medicine, equipment recovery and repair. ^[1]

Religious[link]

Religious organizations have their headquarters in a city or a place. The headquarters of Catholic Church is Vatican City. The World Council of Churches, including Orthodox Churches, has its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The Headquarters of Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is located in Istanbul, Turkey. The headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is located in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. And Anglican Communion Office is in London.

Budō (honbu)[link]

In budō sports (Japanese martial arts) like karate, judo, aikido, kendo, etc., there is usually a headquarters for each organization or region.^[2] The Japanese word honbu (本部)^[3] is generally used for that, also outside Japan. Sometimes they refer to this headquarters as honbu dojo (本部道場) in which dojo (道場) is a facility provided for practicing discipline, the training ground. Sometimes honbu is written as hombu, the way it is pronounced, but according the Hepburn transcription, the correct spelling should be honbu in which the 'n' is a syllabic n.

References[link]

Notes[link]

• Isby, David C. (1988) Weapons and Tactics of the Soviet Army Jane's, London: 516 pp.
• Wanner, Herbert (2006) Global and regional corporate headquarters in: Kählin, Christian, H. (Editor): Switzerland Business & Investment Handbook; Orell Füssli and Wiley.
• Wanner, Herbert; LeClef, Xavier, & Shimizu, Hiroshi (2004) Global Headquarters on the Move: From Administrators to Facilitators Prims Second Semester 2004; Arthur D. Little.

French Montana (born November 9, 1984) is an American rapper and singer of Moroccan^[2][3] and Somali^[2][4] descent. He is the founder and CEO of Cocaine City Records, and in 2012, signed a joint venture recording deal with Maybach Music Group and Bad Boy Records. He is known for his frequent collaborations with Max B, and more recently with Rick Ross and with his group Coke Boys.

Early life[link]

French Montana was born Karim Kharbouch in 1984 in Rabat, Morocco,^[1][4] where he lived for the first 13 years of his life. Growing up in Rabat, he was consumed by playing soccer and rapping, describing them as his two favorite childhood hobbies.^[5] In 1996, French emigrated with his parents and two younger brothers to the Bronx in New York City.^[6] His father left the family when French was 17, and so he began to provide for his mother and younger brothers.

Music career[link]

Cocaine City[link]

In 2002, along with his friend Camz he created a series of street-flavoured DVD documentaries called 'Cocaine City' after drawing inspiration from the 'Smack' DVD series. Under the name Young French he used the DVDs as a means of showcasing his talent as an underground artist. To gain a broader fan base, French incorporated interviews with major artists, as well as some up and comers. The first edition in the series included Pee Wee Kirkland and Remy Ma alongside French himself among others. What started out as simply a medium for developing an audience quickly grew into one of the top-selling "street DVDs".^[3][6][7] The series ran for 8 years between 2002 and 2010, with a total of 14 editions being released.^[8]

2009-2010[link]

In 2009, French signed a deal with Akon's Konvict Muzik record label, but later left the label in 2011 due to album delays.^[9] Montana was subsequently reportedly close to signing a deal with Rick Ross's Maybach Music Group (MMG).^[10] There were also reports that he would join Kanye West's GOOD Music label.^[11]

Bad Boy Records/ Maybach Music Group[link]

In December 2011, Montana signed a record deal with P. Diddy's Bad Boy Records^[12] and Interscope Records.^[13] According to French, of the many major labels that were courting him, Maybach Music Group would have been his second choice had he not signed with Bad Boy.^[14] However on January 2, 2012 while in the studio with Rick Ross Montana announced that he had signed a joint venture deal with Bad Boy Records and Maybach Music Group with Rick Ross and Diddy set to executive produce his debut album.^[15] It was announced that his debut album Excuse My French would be released July 17, 2012. French was featured on XXL's Freshman Class of 2012 alongside Future, Kid Ink, Danny Brown, Macklemore, Don Trip, Hopsin, Iggy Azalea, Roscoe Dash and labelmate Machine Gun Kelly (rapper).^[16][17] However, he later revealed to Sway Calloway on RapFix Live that he almost turned down the cover opportunity, feeling he "deserved it two years ago" and that he had surpassed the current crop of rap rookies.^[18][7]

Influences[link]

According to French, the rappers Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, The Notorious B.I.G. and Wu-Tang Clan were among the hip hop artists that he listened to while growing up. He also considers himself a general music lover.^[19]

Personal life[link]

Between 2003 and 2004, French was shot in the head as he was exiting a recording studio in New York. He was rushed to the hospital after the incident and survived. Describing the shooting as a possible assassination attempt, the artist was subsequently involved in a murder trial in which he was eventually found not guilty. Rumors began to swirl that he had received settlement money from the case, which he then used to start his rap career. However, French later dismissed these claims as false in an interview.^[20]

Religion[link]

French Montana is Sunni Muslim, having been raised in Morocco under the Maliki madhab, or school of thought. In an interview for Vlad TV which took place on the first day of the Islamic holy month Ramadan, French revealed that he participates in fasting during the month.^[21]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• Excuse My French (July 17, 2012)

Mixtapes[link]

• French Revolution Vol. 1 (Hosted by Cutmaster C) (2007)^[22]
• Live From Africa (Hosted by Cocaine City) (2008)^[23]
• Coke Wave (with Max B; Hosted by DJ Whoo Kid) (2008)^[24]
• Coke Wave 2 (with Max B; Hosted by Evil Empire) (2009)^[25]
• The Laundry Man (Hosted by Evil Empire & Big Mike) (2009)^[26]
• Mac Wit Da Cheese (Hosted by Big Mike) (2009)^[27]
• The Laundry Man 2 (Hosted by Evil Empire) (2009)^[28]
• Cocaine Konvicts: Gangsta Grillz (Hosted by DJ Drama) (2009)^[29]
• Mac & Cheese 2 (Hosted by Evil Empire, Self & Big Mike) (2010)^[30]
• Coke Boys (with Coke Boys; Hosted by DJ Lust, DJ Drama & DJ Diggz) (2010)^[31]
• Mister 16 (Casino Life) (Hosted by DJ Holiday) (2011)^[32]
• Coke Boys 2 (with Coke Boys) (Hosted by Evil Empire) (2011)^[33]
• Coke Boys Run NY (with Chinx Drugz; Hosted by ItsBizkit, Trapemasters Inc & Evil Empire) (2011)^[34]
• Lock Out (with Waka Flocka Flame; Presented by DJ Drama & DJ Green Lantern) (2011)^[35]
• Cocaine Mafia (with Juicy J and Project Pat; Hosted by Evil Empire) (2011)^[36]
• Coke Boys 3 (2012)^[37]
• Mac & Cheese 3 (Hosted by Evil Empire, Self & Big Mike) (TBA)

Other mixtapes

• Cocaine & Caviar (2010)
• Cocaine & Caviar 2 (2011)

Album appearances[link]

Singles[link]

As featured performer

Videography[link]

2008

• "Why So Serious"
• "Do It Right"
• "Smoking"
• "We Run New York"
• "Why So Serious"

2009

• "Im So Special"
• "New York Minute"
• "Playing In The Wind"
• "Henny & My 44"
• "Lay Down"
• "Stick up Boys"

2010

• "Them Girls"
• "Go Hard"
• "Whatcha Know About It"
• "Im On It"
• "Heartache & Pain"

2011

• "Tryna Breathe"
• "Choppa Choppa Down"
• "Choppa Choppa Down (Remix)"
• "Shot Caller"
• "We Mobb"
• "Stay Schemin'"

2012

• "Weed & Drinks"
• "Everything's a Go"

References[link]

External links[link]

• French Montana - Breakthrough Artist 2009/2010
• French Montana - Last.fm
• XXL magazine - French Montana
• CHAMP Magazine
• [3]
• [4]
• [5]
• [6]

Bobby Byrd born Robert Howard Byrd (August 15, 1934 – September 12, 2007) was an American funk/soul/R&B/gospel musician, songwriter and record producer. He was born in Toccoa, Georgia, and is a 1998 winner of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's prestigious Pioneer Award,and a 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. He is also noted as the man who founded the famed Rhythm & Blues singing group The Famous Flames, the vocal group with whom James Brown first became famous.

On April 14, 2012, Bobby was inducted posthumously and retroactively with the rest of The Famous Flames into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Early Gospel years[link]

Bobby Byrd was raised in the relative security of a church-going family in Toccoa, Georgia. His family were respected members of their congregation and active in supporting their community.^[1] He was active in his local church's gospel choir, The Zioneers and then made a local name for himself in the Gospel Starlighters. It was a time when church elders disapproved of secular singing, so Byrd and the other members of the Gospel Starlighters would leave the state to perform secular material as The Avons. Byrd provided vocals, piano, and organ, and he led a group including: Sylvester Keels, Fred Pulliam, Doyle Oglesby, Nashpendle "Nash" Knox, and Nafloyd Scott on guitar.

With James Brown and The Famous Flames[link]

In 1952 Bobby Byrd was playing baseball against the inmates of the Alto Reformatory prison team and met James Brown who was serving time there on armed robbery charges. Byrd befriended him and arranged for Byrd's family to oversee Brown's parole.^[2] It began a personal and professional association that lasted until 1973 and although Byrd had twenty years plus as a solo performer it is his association with Brown for which he is chiefly remembered. Brown was a remarkable tour de force of vitality and personality and within a short time he had not only joined the Avons but he was directing affairs changing their name to The Flames. Byrd recognised early that Brown was unique and that it would be impossible to control him: "I didn't need him in competition, I needed him with me, that's why I worked so hard to get him over to my group.".^[3]

The group, with the addition of Johnny Terry and Baroy Scott on bass, moved to Macon, Georgia and signed with the King subsidiary label, Federal. Their first record "Please, Please, Please" appeared in February 1956 as by James Brown and the Flames, a fact that did not please some members of the band and after just three sessions the original Flames had split. At the final session Byrd and Brown wrote the rhythm & blues dancer "Can't Be the Same," which was the first of many collaborations with Brown for which Byrd failed to gain credit.

The Flames without Brown changed their name to Byrd's Drops of Joy but found the going tough so that when Brown approached them to reform the Flames they agreed. The power within the group was now with James Brown. At this point, The Famous Flames ceased being a vocal/instrumental group, and became a straight vocal group, as there was no need for additional instrumentalists, since Brown, in the interim, had already began to employ his own road band, the old J.C. Davis outfit, which became the first incarnation of the new James Brown Band (now a separate entity from The Flames,who were now all vocalists save for Byrd, who sang and occasionally also doubled on keyboards). Original Flames members Bobby Byrd and Johnny Terry returned, and new Flames members Bobby Bennett and Lloyd Stallworth were added. Original Flames guitarist Nafloyd Scott also returned, and was added to the band in 1958.

Career[link]

Byrd also recorded many solo funk tracks, most famously "I Know You Got Soul" (1971), which have been sampled by musicians including Public Enemy, Eric B. & Rakim, Ice Cube, LL Cool J and A Tribe Called Quest. He was the original leader and founder of The Famous Flames, the vocal group with which James Brown first became famous. Byrd is actually the man who discovered James Brown.^{[citation needed]}

Byrd and Brown met in a Georgia youth detention facility, where Brown was an inmate. Byrd's local baseball team played the prison team of which Brown was a member. It was Bobby Byrd's family that sponsored his release and took him in afterwards^[4]

Byrd was leader and founder of a vocal group called The Avons when Brown joined in the mid 1950s. The Avons later became The Flames, then The Famous Flames, before they were repackaged with Brown as the frontman. James Brown and the Famous Flames, with Byrd as a member, recorded many hit singles, including "Please, Please, Please", "Try Me", "Think", "Bewildered", "Oh Baby, Don't You Weep", "I Don't Mind","Shout and Shimmy", "This Old Heart","Good Good Lovin" , "Three Hearts In a Tangle", "I'll Never Never Let You Go.", " I'll Go Crazy", and many more.

Brown and The Flames were also known for their powerful on stage performances across the United States in venues such as the Apollo Theatre in New York, (where they recorded the million-selling Live At The Apollo album) the Regal in Chicago, and The Royal Theatre in Baltimore (where they recorded the 1964 Top 10 live album, Pure Dynamite! Live at the Royal) and on film in the 1964 concert film, The T.A.M.I. Show, where they upstaged The Rolling Stones. Byrd also appeared with Brown and the Flames in the Frankie Avalon film Ski Party (1965), Dick Clark's American Bandstand, and twice on The Ed Sullivan Show. Byrd was the only member of The Flames to remain with Brown when the group disbanded in 1968.

In 1993 Byrd released a solo album On the Move on the German record Label, Soulciety Records.

In October 2004 Bobby Byrd's songs "I Know You Got Soul" and "Hot Pants" were featured on the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas soundtrack, playing on fictional radio station Master Sounds 98.3. In September 2005 his song "Try It Again" appeared on the soundtrack of Indigo Prophecy.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction in 2012[link]

On April 14, 2012, Bobby was inducted posthumously and retroactively with the rest of The Famous Flames into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. When the group's lead singer, James Brown, was inducted into the Hall of Fame's inaugural class in 1986, his original group, Famous Flames members Bobby Byrd, Johnny Terry, Bobby Bennett, and Lloyd Stallworth, were not inducted. This caused a 26 year controversy, and puzzled many of the group's fans. Finally, in 2012, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame formed a special committee to discuss certain deserving pioneering groups that were not inducted with their front men. As a result of this committee's decision, The Famous Flames, including Byrd, the group's founder, were automatically inducted into the Hall of Fame, without the need for nomination and voting, under the premise that they should have been inducted with James Brown back in 1986. Bobby Bennett, the sole surviving member of the Famous Flames at age 74, accepted on behalf of the group.^[5][6][7]

He was married, for many years until his death, to soul singer Vicki Anderson, another James Brown collaborator. His stepdaughter is Carleen Anderson. On September 12, 2007, surrounded by his family, Byrd died of cancer, aged 73 in Loganville, Georgia.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Bobby Byrd, James Brown, and The Famous Flames from Last FM
• The Times Obituary for Bobby Byrd
• Bobby Byrd discography at MusicBrainz
• Bobby Byrd - Condolence book (Hungarian)
• Bobby Byrd eulogy from Rolling Stone .
• Bobby Byrd page on Future Rock Legends
• The Famous Flames' page on Future Rock Legends

• The Famous Flames Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction site- inducted 2012

Rhys Millen (born in New Zealand), nephew of IMSA GTS driver Steve Millen, son of Rod and elder brother of Ryan, is one of the America's top competitors in drifting. Prior to that he was a top rally driver in the US, and became the first works backed driver from a car manufacturer with GM in 2004 after narrowly losing to Ken Nomura in the US D1 Grand Prix exhibition event in 2003. In 2011 Millen raced a 500bhp AWD Hyundai Veloster in the US Rallycross championship, in 2012 he will compete in the US-based so-called Global Rallycross Championship.

Career[link]

Millen became just the second champion in the short history of the United States' top drifting series, Formula D, just a year after his good friend, Samuel Hubinette, became the maiden series champ. Millen has two wins in his Formula D career: the 2004 season finale at the Irwindale Speedway, and the 2005 season opener at the Wall Speedway in Wall Township, New Jersey. He became the highest placed non-Japanese driver in the US round of the D1GP event in 2005, making it to the last 8 after beating Masato Kawabata, only to lose to Yasuyuki Kazama through a "One More Time" rerun. Millen's father, Rod, also competes in drifting on occasion. In fact, Rod made his Formula D debut at the 2005 season finale at Irwindale, the same event where his son was crowned the champion.

Millen has driven a Pontiac GTO drift car for three seasons (Winning in 2004 and 2005, but losing out to Hubinette in 2006) and a Pontiac Solstice for the 2007 D1 Season. For the 2009 season, he will drive a Hyundai Genesis Coupe.^[1] Red Bull has been a major sponsor of Rhys' drifting efforts, as well as the paint schemes of many of his cars.

Besides racing, Millen is also a stunt driver for films such as The Dukes of Hazzard, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. He also did the driving for the first Hyundai Genesis Coupe commercial.

On December 31, 2008, he became the first person to back-flip an off-road truck in the air. He landed off-balance, forcing his vehicle to flip on its side a few times after landing, but then walked away unharmed.

In 2009, Hyundai teamed up with Millen to race the Hyundai Genesis Coupe at the Formula Drift Professional Drifting Championship, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and select Redline Time Attack Series events in 2009.^[2][3] On July of that year, Millen set a new rear wheel drive record to take Pikes Peak's time attack title.^[4][5]

Complete Drifting Results[link]

(key)

D1 Grand Prix[link]

Formula D[link]

References[link]

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (April 2009)

External links[link]

• IMDB entry
• Official Site
• Formula D profile
• Rhys Millen Documentary Mad Skills
• Rhys Millen Interview before attacking the Pikes Peak Hill Climb