Congratulations to all of the nominees, finalists and winners in the 2012 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Midwest Area program. For more than 25 years, Ernst & Young has celebrated the entrepreneurial spirit of men and women who make our economy vibrant. This has never been truer than it is today. The energy and passion from these entrepreneurs is being felt in a dramatic fashion throughout the Midwest right now. It is great to see!
Ernst & Young is the world leader in advising, guiding and recognizing entrepreneurs and founded the Entrepreneur Of The Year® Program to recognize those with a passion for “thinking big” and to bring together visionaries and leaders to inspire each other and our communities. We have gathered here and in 25 other cities across the United States to honor all of our regional finalists and welcome a new class of entrepreneurs into our Hall of Fame, recognizing their resilience, ingenuity and innovation.
We applaud them for overcoming challenges, inspiring others, opening new markets and, ultimately, fueling economic growth in the Midwest Area. Let’s celebrate their achievements, perseverance and tireless pursuit of business excellence.
Join us in congratulating the leaders of today — those innovators that have achieved their American dream right here in the Midwest. Ernst & Young along with our sponsors continue to be inspired by the entrepreneurial success of our nominees. The following list of stories highlight those individuals who pursued and obtained the coveted distinction of an Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist. Ernst & Young is proud to recognize and honor the accomplishments of these finalists.
Congratulations to all of the Midwest Area Finalists from Ernst & Young on your continued success.
RANDALL L. TAVIERNE is the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Midwest Area director, Midwest Area Strategic Growth Markets leader and a partner with Ernst & Young LLP. Reach him at (312) 879-3695 or [email protected] or @RandallTavierne on Twitter.
2012 Honorees
EMERGING ENTREPRENEUR
Ryan Kunkel and Joe Reynolds, Red Frog
Events
Bryan Johnson, Braintree Inc.
Elliot Weissbluth,
HighTower
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Hugh
Jones, Accuity Inc.
John Pitzaferro, TransNational Bankcard
LLC
HEALTH SCIENCES
Mark Thierer, SXC Health Solutions
Corp.
Dr. Stuart Bernsen, Chiro One
Wellness Centers
Parker Hinshaw, maxIT Healthcare
MASTER ENTREPRENEUR
David
Storch, AAR Corp.
Steve Russell, Celadon Group Inc.
Gary
Rabine, The Rabine Group
TURNAROUND
John H. Weber, Remy International Inc.
Michael Werner, Gerber Plumbing
Fixtures
Cary
Wood, Sparton Corp.
PRIVATE EQUITY/ VENTURE CAPITAL
Jai
Shekhawat, Fieldglass
Dr. Daphne Preuss, Chromatin Inc.
Matt
Maloney and Mike Evans, GrubHub Inc.
Dhiraj Rajaram, Mu
Sigma
RETAIL AND CONSUMER PRODUCTS
Glenn Lyon, The Finish Line Inc.
Tim
McEnery, Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants
Alan
Schulman, Glentronics Inc.
SERVICES
Joe
Chalhoub, Heritage-Crystal Clean Inc.
Michael
Golden and Thaddeus Wong, @properties
Michele
Honomichl, Celergo
TECHNOLOGY
Michael
Small and Jack Blumenstein, Gogo LLC
Andrew
Sieja, kCura Corp.
Jeff
Maling and Geoff Cubitt, Roundarch Isobar
