Ernst & Young LLP Seeks Utah Region’s Outstanding Entrepreneurs

Ernst & Young LLP is calling for nominations for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2012 Awards, recognized as one of the most prestigious business award programs in the country. The deadline for applications is March 9, 2012, with the Utah Region Awards ceremony scheduled for June 7, 2012, at The Grand America Hotel.

Now in its 26th year, the program has honored the inspirational leadership of such entrepreneurs as Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com, Michael Dell of Dell Inc., Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines, Fred Smith of FedEx, Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google, Richard Schulze of Best Buy, Andrew Mason of Groupon, Mindy Grossman of HSN, Inc., Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn, and many more.

“Entrepreneurs are the key to the innovation, economic growth, and job creation that we need so desperately in America right now,” said Bryan Pearce, Americas director of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Program. “Our Entrepreneur Of The Year Program is helping to build a movement by celebrating the stories of these men and women whose confidence, tenacity and drive to be the next business leaders are already impacting the way we live and work as well as the revitalization of our economy.”

Award winners are selected in a number of industry categories by a panel of independent 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 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards in the Utah Region
Last year, 10 entrepreneurs in 9 categories from the Utah Region were selected as Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winners from more than 75 nominations. Past award winners in the Utah Region have included Rick Alden of Skullcandy, Amy Rees Anderson of MediConnect Global, Inc., Patrick Byrne of Overstock.com, Todd Crosland of Interbank FX, Ryan DeLuca of Bodybuilding.com, David Flynn and Rick White of Fusion-io, Bill Haberstock of Million Air – Salt Lake City, Heidi and Orville Thompson of Scentsy, Inc., Kate Maloney of Costume Craze, Matt Minkevitch of The Road Home, Rob Moore of Big-D Construction, Todd Pedersen of Vivint, Robert Pedersen II of ZAGG, and Will West of Control4.

“This program honors the outstanding entrepreneurs in our area,” said David Jolley, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Program director for the Utah Region. “These entrepreneurs make our community a better place by providing jobs, developing new products and services, and encouraging economic development. They deserve our support and recognition.”

Nationally, more than 250 entrepreneurs from across the nation were selected as Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2011 Award winners from more than 1,900 nominations. Past award winners have included Howard Schultz of Starbucks Coffee Company, Arthur M. Blank of AMB Group, LLC (Home Depot, Atlanta Falcons), Pierre Omidyar of eBay, Inc., Ruth Fertel of Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Maxine Clark of Build-a-Bear, Tom Adams of Rosetta Stone, Matt Szulik of Red Hat and the 2011 national winners, Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn.

The Entrepreneur Of The Year Program honors entrepreneurs regionally in June. All regional honorees are then invited to the national Entrepreneur Of The Year gala, hosted by Jay Leno, on Nov. 17, 2012, in Palm Springs, Calif. The gala is the culminating event of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. For more information on the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum, please visit www.ey.com/us/strategicgrowthforum.

The overall national US winner will compete for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year title in Monaco in June 2013.
(2.3.12)