Yves François is a firm owner who defies convention. The 45-year-old designer was born in Haiti but spent most of his childhood in Brooklyn. In 1986, he earned an architecture degree from the New York Institute of Technology and went on to work for 10 years at Pepsico as a facility manager and architectural consultant. He later held similar positions at Philip Morris and Cablevision. Photo: Aric Mei François, born in Haiti but raised in Brooklyn, derived his firm’s name from the names of his children, Erin and Chandler. Related Links: Congress Moving on Aid for Haiti, But Little Rebuilding