Press release

8 Oct 2020 Chicago, US

EY Announces Winners for the Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2020 Midwest Award

EY builds on three decades of honoring unstoppable entrepreneurs in the Midwest

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Related topics Entrepreneur Unstoppables

EY builds on three decades of honoring unstoppable entrepreneurs in the Midwest

Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) is pleased to announce the winners of the Entrepreneur Of The Year® Midwest Award. Entrepreneur Of The Year® is one of the preeminent competitive business awards for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies. The Midwest program celebrates entrepreneurs from Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. This group of unstoppable entrepreneurial leaders transforming our world was selected by an independent judging panel made up of previous award winners, leading CEOs, investors and other regional business leaders. Midwest award winners were unveiled during the program’s first-ever virtual awards gala, hosted by Deborah Norville, anchor of Inside Edition, on Wednesday, October 7, 2020.

“There are many successful entrepreneurs in this world, but building something of long-term value takes grit, persistence and a sense of ambition where nothing is impossible,” said Ram Ramanan, EY’s Midwest Program Director. “EY is proud to honor these unstoppable visionaries who are inspiring innovation without limitation and fueling growth around the globe. They are a wonderful addition to our global alumni community of past winners, and we look forward to serving as a resource as they continue to make an impact.”

The winners for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020 Midwest Award are:

  • Bill Fenech, Barletta Boat Company LLC (Bristol, Indiana)
  • Justin Christian, BCforward (Indianapolis, Indiana)
  • Dave Durand, Best Version Media (Brookfield, Wisconsin)
  • Arnav Dalmia and Shivani Jain, Cubii (Chicago, Illinois)
  • Ahmed Shaaban, Fulcrum Global Technologies (Chicago, Illinois)
  • Kimberly Moore, KDM Engineering, PLLC (Chicago, Illinois)
  • Jace Mouse, PerkSpot (Chicago, Illinois)

Nominees were evaluated based on six criteria, including overcoming adversity; financial performance; societal impact and commitment to building a values-based company; innovation; and talent management.

Since its launch, the program has expanded to recognize business leaders in more than 145 cities in over 60 countries throughout the world.

Regional award winners are eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020 National Awards, to be announced Thursday, November 19, during a virtual awards gala. The awards are the culminating event of this year’s virtual Strategic Growth Forum®, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. The Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner will then move on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award in June 2021.

Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winners become lifetime members of a global, multi-industry community of entrepreneurs, with exclusive, ongoing access to the experience, insight and wisdom of program alumni and other ecosystem members in over 60 countries — all supported by vast EY resources. Since 1986, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program has recognized more than 10,000 US executives.

Midwest Focus

Each year, EY US showcases successful entrepreneurs from 20 regional competitions across the United States. In 2019, more than 9 entrepreneurs leading companies from Midwest were selected as Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winners. Our very own Entrepreneur Of The Year Midwest award winner, Brad Keywell of Uptake Technologies, Inc. (IL), went on to be the 2019 Overall US Winner and was also named the EYWorld Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2019.

For information on the Entrepreneur Of The Year Midwest program, please visit https://www.ey.com/en_us/entrepreneur-of-the-year/midwest/overview.

Sponsors

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

In the Midwest, sponsors also include Cresa, LaSalle Network, PNC Bank, Becker Professional Education and 1871.

About Entrepreneur Of The Year®

Entrepreneur Of The Year® is the world’s most prestigious business awards program for unstoppable entrepreneurs. These visionary leaders deliver innovation, growth and prosperity that transform our world. The program engages entrepreneurs with insights and experiences that foster growth. It connects them with their peers to strengthen entrepreneurship around the world. Entrepreneur Of The Year is the first and only truly global awards program of its kind. It celebrates entrepreneurs through regional and national awards programs in more than 145 cities in over 60 countries. Winners go on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ title. ey.com/us/eoy

About EY Private

As Advisors to the ambitious™, EY Private professionals possess the experience and passion to support private businesses and their owners in unlocking the full potential of their ambitions. EY Private teams offer distinct insights born from the long EY history of working with business owners and entrepreneurs. These teams support the full spectrum of private enterprises including private capital managers and investors and the portfolio businesses they fund, business owners, family businesses, family offices and entrepreneurs. Visit ey.com/private

About EY

EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, strategy, transaction and consulting 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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