EY Calls for Nominations for the Most Innovative Entrepreneurs in the Central Midwest

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

St. Louis, 21 January 2015 – EY is calling for nominations for the 29th Annual EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards, recognized as one of the most prestigious business award programs in the country. Past regional award winners have included Maxine Clark of Build-A-Bear, Inc., Henry Bloch of H&R Block and Len Rodman of Black & Veatch. 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.

Each year, EY showcases successful entrepreneurs from more than 145 cities in 60 countries. In 2014, 22 outstanding business leaders from across Kansas and Missouri were celebrated as EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award Central Midwest region finalists. Ten of these entrepreneurs were named award recipients, including Anthony Sansone, Sr. of Sansone Group, Greg Graves of Burns & McDonnell, John Pantanella of Chemline, Inc., Byron Thompson of Country Club Bank, Bob O’Loughlin of Lodging Hospitality Management, Dan Schuppan of MBS Textbook Exchange, Inc., Alaina Macia of MTM, Inc., Smitty Belcher of P1 Group, Inc., David Payne of PayneCrest Electric, Inc. and Cris Burnam of StorageMart.

A look at the 663 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 to honor many high impact individuals through our Entrepreneur Of The Year Program,” said Mike Hickenbotham, Central Midwest Program Director, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year. “These leaders drive high growth, innovative companies that disrupt industries, create new jobs, and give back to their communities.”

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 Central Midwest’s awards ceremony is scheduled for June 24, 2015 at the Sheraton Overland Park in Overland Park, KS. 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.

For a nomination form or information on the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards in the Central Midwest please visit ey.com/us/eoy/cm.

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 the Central Midwest, region sponsors include: PNC Bank, Smart Business, Common Ground, Lockton and Merrill Corporation.

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.

EY refers to the global organization and may refer to one or more of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

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.