EY Calls for Nominations for the Most Innovative Entrepreneurs in Michigan and Northwest Ohio

Nominations are open for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2015 Awards, celebrating innovative business leaders who turn vision into reality.

Detroit, 13 January 2015 – EY is calling for nominations for the 29th EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards, recognized as one of the most prestigious business award programs in the country. In 2014, 14 entrepreneurs with leading companies from the Michigan and Northwest Ohio region were selected as EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winners, including Steven Greenawalt of Alta Equipment Company, James Verrier of BorgWarner, Inc., Choon Ng of Choon’s Design, Robert Verdun of Computerized Facility Integration, LLC, Josh Linkner, Dan Gilbert and Brian Hermelin of Detroit Venture Partners, Stacy and Mike Marsh of Flatout, Inc., Art Bott of Grand Rapids Plastics, Inc., Rich Beckman of Great Expressions Dental Care, Nick Nicolay of Kar’s Nuts, Inc., Todd Sachse of Sachse Construction and Richard Penington, Summit Health, Inc.

Each year, EY showcases successful entrepreneurs from more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries. Recent US national winners include: Hamid Moghadam, CEO and Chairman of Prologis; Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner, Chairman and CEO of LinkedIn; Hamdi Ulukaya founder of Chobani; and 2014 winner Dr. David Hung, President and CEO of Medivation.

A look at the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2014 US finalists, reveals how they are surpassing benchmarks for high impact entrepreneurship by a large margin. They particularly excel in the areas of revenue growth, with median sales growth of more than 30% per year in each of the last two years, and growth in average headcount of more than 30% over the same period.

“For almost 30 years, we have had the privilege of getting to know many high impact entrepreneurs through our Entrepreneur Of The Year Program,” said Mike Kacsmar, Americas Director, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year. “The entrepreneurs we have honored lead highly disruptive companies in their industries and create a lion’s share of new job creation in the economy.”

Award winners are selected in a number of industry categories by a panel of independent regional judges, including previous winners of the award, leading CEOs and private capital investors and other regional business leaders. Entrepreneurs may nominate themselves or be nominated by peers and other business leaders.

“The entrepreneurs we have honored through the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Program are creating high growth companies and causing a positive ripple effect in our communities, our capital markets and our economy. We are proud to recognize them,” said Angie Kelly, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Program Director for Michigan and Northwest Ohio.

The program has a firm deadline of March 6, 2015 for nominations, with the Michigan and Northwest Ohio awards ceremony scheduled for June 11, 2015 at Cobo Center Grand Ballroom in Detroit.

The Entrepreneur Of The Year Program honors entrepreneurs regionally in June. All regional honorees are then invited to the Entrepreneur Of The Year National gala, on November 14, 2015 in Palm Springs, California. The gala is the culminating event of the EY Strategic Growth Forum®, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. For more information on the EY Strategic Growth Forum, please visit www.ey.com/us/sgf.

The US Overall National winner will go on to compete for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year title in Monaco the following June.

Awards criteria
Entrepreneurs eligible for consideration include not only company founders, but also leaders of multi-generation family businesses and transformational public and private company CEOs. Additionally, the nominee’s company must be at least two years old. Self-nominations are encouraged, and there is no fee. The firm deadline for 2015 nominations is March 6.

Information is available at www.ey.com/us/eoy. For information on the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards in Michigan and Northwest Ohio please visit ey.com/us/eoy/mnwo. To nominate a candidate, please visit the secure application site.

Sponsors
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are nationally sponsored by SAP Americas and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

In Michigan and Northwest Ohio sponsors include: Merrill Corporation, Foley & Lardner LLP, Fuel, Tanner Friedman, Crain’s Detroit Business, and WJR.

 

About EY Entrepreneur Of The Year ™
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries.

About EY’s Strategic Growth Markets practice
EY’s Strategic Growth Markets (SGM) practices guide leading high-growth companies. Our multidisciplinary teams of elite professionals provide perspective and advice to help our clients accelerate market leadership. SGM delivers assurance, tax, transactions and advisory services to thousands of companies spanning all industries. EY is the undisputed leader in taking companies public, advising key government agencies on the issues impacting high-growth companies and convening the experts who shape the business climate. For more information, please visit us at ey.com/us/strategicgrowthmarkets, or follow news on Twitter @EY_Growth.

About EY
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

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This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, an EY member firm serving clients in the US.

For more information, please visit ey.com.

SOURCE: Ernst & Young