EY US announces winners for the Entrepreneur Of The Year^® 2026 Pacific Southwest Award

Celebrating the bold leaders shaping the future through the world’s most groundbreaking companies

Irvine, CA June 6, 2026 – Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) proudly announces the winners of the Entrepreneur Of The Year^® 2026 Pacific Southwest Award, honoring visionary leaders of high-growth companies driving innovation, growth and prosperity for future generations. For more than four decades, EY US has celebrated ambitious entrepreneurs who are transforming industries, impacting communities and creating long-term value.

Regional winners were selected by an independent panel of past winners, top CEOs and business leaders. Judges evaluated candidates on long-term value creation, entrepreneurial spirit, purpose-driven commitment, and significant growth and impact.

“The Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 Pacific Southwest Award winners are visionary entrepreneurs transforming their industries and setting new standards for leadership and innovation,” said Jon Smith, EY Partner and Pacific Southwest - Orange County Program Co-Director. “Through their vision and dedication, they are building companies that shape their markets, create opportunities for their teams and enhance the communities around them.”

The Entrepreneur Of The Year program honors many different types of business leaders for their ingenuity, courage and entrepreneurial spirit. It 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 Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 Pacific Southwest Award winners are:

• Chris Miner | ArborWorks, LLC | Scottsdale, Arizona
• Dan Magy | Firestorm Labs | San Diego, California
• Mike Godbehere | GCON | Phoenix, Arizona
• John Harris | Harbinger | Garden Grove, California
• Brigham Dallas & Keaton Wall | Hello Sugar | Mesa, Arizona
• Emun Zabihi | iHerb | Irvine, California
• Mark Lappe | Inhibrx Biosciences, Inc. | San Diego, California
• Kevin Maloney | iTrustCapital | Irvine, California
• Glenn Stearns | Kind Lending | Irvine, California
• Craig Chambliss | Neurelis | San Diego, California
• Brian Tate | Oats Overnight | Phoenix, Arizona
• Joel Batule | PaveMasters | Poway, California
• Ryan Black | Sambazon | San Clemente, California
• Morgan Haynes | Tribal Health | Scottsdale, Arizona

These regional award winners will now move on to be considered for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards, set to be presented in November at the annual Strategic Growth Forum^®, one of the nation’s most prestigious gatherings of high-growth, market-leading companies. The National Overall Award winner will move on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award in May 2027.

Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winners become lifetime members of a global, multi-industry community of entrepreneurs. They receive exclusive, ongoing access to the experience, insight and wisdom of program alumni and other ecosystem members in more than 60 countries — all supported by vast EY resources.

Learn more about the winners at ey.com/us/eoypacificsouthwest

Sponsors

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards include presenting sponsors PNC Bank, Cresa, LLC, Marsh Risk, SAP and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. In the Pacific Southwest, sponsors also include Platinum sponsors: Vaco; Gold sponsors: ADP, Big Picture, Cooley (San Diego market) and Stradling (Orange County market) and Silver sponsors: Pierpont Communications (Arizona market).

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 60 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 EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ competition. Visit ey.com/us/eoy.

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