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EY Announces Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2024 East Central Award Finalists
26 Apr 2024
Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates ambitious entrepreneurs who are shaping the future
Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) today announced the finalists for the Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2024 East Central Award. The East Central program celebrates entrepreneurs from Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Northeast and South-Central Ohio and Kentucky. Now in its 38th year, Entrepreneur Of The Year is the preeminent competitive business award for audacious leaders who disrupt markets, revolutionize industries and have a transformational impact on lives. Over the past four decades, the program has recognized the daring entrepreneurs with big ideas and bold actions that reshape our world.
These 29 entrepreneurs were selected as finalists by an independent panel of judges. The candidates were evaluated based on their demonstration of building long-term value through entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth, and impact, among other core contributions and attributes.
"This year's finalists are bold entrepreneurs creating a lasting impression in their industries and communities," said Mike Denove, East Central Program Co-Director and EY Partner.
“Selected by an independent panel of judges, these trailblazers demonstrate unwavering dedication to their companies, customers and communities,” said Shannon Cone, East Central Program Co-Director and EY Executive Director. “We are delighted to recognize their successes."
Entrepreneur Of The Year honors many different types of business leaders for their ingenuity, courage and entrepreneurial spirit. The program celebrates original founders who bootstrapped their business from inception or who raised outside capital to grow their company; transformational CEOs who infused innovation into an existing organization to catapult its trajectory; and multigenerational family business leaders who reimagined a legacy business model to fortify it for the future.
The 2024 East Central finalists are:
Elisabeth Smith | Acutec Precision Aerospace, Inc. | Meadville, Pennsylvania
Eric Lloyd | AERAS | Evans City, Pennsylvania
Greg Baker | AffirmedRX, PBC | Louisville, Kentucky
Jill Schiaparelli | Avation Medical, Inc. | Columbus, Ohio
Gregg Eisenberg | Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP | Cleveland, Ohio
Darrin Murriner and Kirsten Moorefield | Cloverleaf | Cincinnati, Ohio
Purba B. Majumder | Cybervation, Inc. | Dublin, Ohio
Ravi Kopuri | DATAECONOMY Inc. | Dublin, Ohio
Chris Day and Dallas Hogensen | Felux | Cleveland, Ohio
Alex Yastrebenetsky and Michael Loban | InfoTrust | Blue Ash, Ohio
Teresa Huber | Intervala, LLC | Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania
Daniel S. Heit | JusticeWorks Youth Care | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Jordan Rackie | Keyfactor | Cleveland, Ohio
Paula Blankenship | Lakestone Enterprises dba Heirloom Traditions Paint | Taylorsville, Kentucky
Lindsay N. Fork | Luxe Brands, LLC | Columbus, Ohio
Robert Farina | Magna5 MS LLC | Canonsburg, Pennsylvania
Cara Jones | Marinus Analytics | Allegheny, Pennsylvania
Michael Doris | Mars Electric Company | Mayfield Village, Ohio
Ryan Miranda | Miranda Construction | Louisville, Kentucky
Ali Bonar | Oat Haus | Cleveland, Ohio
Michael Kappel | Patriot Software | Canton, Ohio
Stephen Ritchey | Ritchey Metals Company, Inc. | Canonsburg, Pennsylvania
Carl Satterwhite and Scott Robertson | RCF Group | West Chester, Ohio
Christine White | Whirlybird Granola, LLC | Terrace Park, Ohio
Jim Zink | Zink Corporation | Worthington, Ohio
For more information about the Mid-Atlantic program, please visit our website.
Regional award winners will be announced on June 13, 2024 during a special celebration. The winners will then be considered by the National independent panel of judges for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards, which will be presented in November at the annual Strategic Growth Forum®, one of the nation’s most prestigious gatherings of high-growth, market-leading companies.
In addition to Entrepreneur Of The Year, EY US supports other entrepreneurs through the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ program and the EY Entrepreneurs Access Network to help connect women founders and Black and Hispanic/Latino entrepreneurs, respectively, with the resources, network and access needed to unlock their full potential.
Sponsors
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards include presenting sponsors PNC Bank, Cresa, Marsh USA, SAP and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. In East Central, sponsors also include: DFIN, and VRC (Valuation Research Corporation).
About Entrepreneur Of The Year®
Founded in 1986, Entrepreneur Of The Year® has celebrated more than 11,000 ambitious visionaries who are leading successful, dynamic businesses in the US, and it has since expanded to nearly 80 countries and territories globally.
The US program consists of 17 regional programs whose panels of independent judges select the regional award winners every June. Those winners compete for national recognition at the Strategic Growth Forum® in November where National finalists and award winners are announced. The overall National winner represents the US at the World Entrepreneur Of The Year® competition. Visit ey.com/us/eoy.
About EY
EY exists to build a better working world, helping to create long-term value for clients, people and society and build trust in the capital markets.
Enabled by data and technology, diverse EY teams in over 150 countries provide trust through assurance and help clients grow, transform and operate.
Working across assurance, consulting, law, strategy, tax and transactions, EY teams ask better questions to find new answers for the complex issues facing our world today.
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. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. EY member firms do not practice law where prohibited by local laws. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.
