EY US unveils Entrepreneur Of The Year^® 2026 Mountain West Award finalists 

Recognizing ambitious leaders who are shaping the future of their industries

Salt Lake City, April 21, 2026 – Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) today announced the finalists for the Entrepreneur Of The Year^® 2026 Mountain West Award. Now in its 41st year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year^® program celebrates the bold leaders who disrupt markets through the world’s most ground-breaking companies, revolutionizing industries and uplifting communities. The program honors entrepreneurs whose innovations drive economic growth and help shape the future of business. The Mountain West program celebrates entrepreneurs from Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

An independent panel of judges selected 40 finalists based on their entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, company growth and lasting impact in building long-term value.

“This year’s finalists are bold entrepreneurs making a lasting mark on their industries and communities across the Mountain West,” said Shawn Goff, Partner and Entrepreneur Of The Year^® Mountain West Program Co-Director. “Chosen by an independent panel of judges, their companies are creating jobs, accelerating innovation and strengthening the regional business community. We’re thrilled to celebrate their success.” 

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 strengthen it for the future. 

The 2026 Mountain West finalists are:

• Bradley Cheetham | Advanced Space | Westminster, CO
• Herbert Fricke, PE | Akana | Portland, OR
• Brian Beutler | Alianza | Pleasant Grove, UT
• Steve Richards | Becklar | Ogden, UT
• Allyse Jackson | Beehive Meals | Layton, UT
• Dr. Luyuan Fang | Curative AI, Inc. | Bellevue, WA
• Eric Sonner | Data Airflow | Garden City, ID
• Doug Daniels and Matt Hendrick | Elevate Dental Partners | Denver, CO
• Larry Keith | ENTEK | Lebanon, OR
• Dr. Akrum Al-Zubaidi | Eon | Denver, CO
• Ryan Anderson | Filevine | Salt Lake City, UT
• Kyle Freebairn | Frazil | Salt Lake City, UT
• Richard Brown | High to Low Voltage | Commerce City, CO
• Hayden Wadsworth and Jake Wadsworth | HydroJug | Ogden, UT
• Parker Ence | Jump | Draper, UT
• Brett Hopkins | Ken Garff Automotive Group | Salt Lake City, UT
• Arian Lewis | Kiln. | Lehi, UT
• Clark T. Bell, Warren Bell and Mike Bullock | Nano-Yield | Sandy, UT
• Curtis Anderson | Nursa | Murray, UT
• Dave Kenny, Mark Liffmann and Ray Szylko | Omnidian | Seattle, WA
• Byron Boots | Overland.ai | Seattle, WA
• Logan Chierotti | Physician’s Choice | Wheat Ridge, CO
• Tony Huang | Possible Finance | Seattle, WA
• Luke Farny | Rossmönster | Longmont, CO
• Dr. Anoop Gupta | SeekOut | Bellevue, WA
• Jeff Reynolds | Sensapure Flavors | Salt Lake City, UT
• Richard Grieve | Sphere Renewables | Fort Lupton, CO
• Ben Casavant, PhD | Tasso, Inc. | Seattle, WA
• Fee Stubblefield | The Springs Living, LLC | McMinnville, OR
• Glen Tullman | Transcarent | Denver, CO
• Mike Linton | VLCM | Salt Lake City, UT
• Esha Joshi and Varun Puri | Yoodli.ai | Seattle, WA
• Clint Reid | Zonos | St George, UT

Learn more about the finalists at ey.com/us/eoymountainwest.

Regional award winners will be announced on June 18 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^®.

Sponsors

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year^® Awards include presenting sponsors PNC Bank, Cresa, LLC, Marsh USA, SAP, and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. In Mountain West region, sponsors also include regional gold sponsors, Big Picture, Perkins Coie, Strong & Hanni Law Firm and Truss and regional silver sponsors, ADP, Pierpont Communications, and Silicon Slopes.

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 national overall winner represents the US at the World Entrepreneur Of The Year^® competition. Visit ey.com/us/eoy.

About EY

EY is building a better working world by creating new value for clients, people, society and the planet, while building trust in capital markets.

Enabled by data, AI and advanced technology, EY teams help clients shape the future with confidence and develop answers for the most pressing issues of today and tomorrow. 

EY teams work across a full spectrum of services in assurance, consulting, tax, strategy and transactions. Fueled by sector insights, a globally connected, multi-disciplinary network and diverse ecosystem partners, EY teams can provide services in more than 150 countries and territories.

All in to shape the future with confidence. 

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