Honoring the best of the best

NCA Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2013
Since 1986, Ernst & Young has celebrated the entrepreneurial spirit of men and women who have followed and achieved their dreams, changing the lives of countless others by building their businesses and giving back to their communities.
Their passion, vision and persistence stand as a testament to their dedication. It was 27 years ago that Ernst & Young founded the Entrepreneur Of The Year program to recognize these dynamic leaders and to build an influential community of innovative entrepreneurs.
We have gathered here and in 25 other cities in the U.S. to welcome the men and women who are regional finalists into our community and to toast their vision. Their energy and self-confidence have turned their dreams into reality. We applaud them all for taking the road less traveled to launch new companies, open new markets and fuel job growth.
So let’s lift our glasses to celebrate their passion, innovation and unwavering commitment to win in the marketplace.
Ernie Cortes, program director, Ernst & Young Northern California
Here are the Northern California Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award recipients and finalists:
 
Advertising Technology
Award recipient – Tod Sacerdoti, founder and CEO, BrightRoll
Finalist – Aaron Bell, founder and CEO, AdRoll
Finalist – Bill Demas, president and CEO, Turn Inc.
 
Financial Services
Award recipient – Renaud Laplanche, founder and CEO, Lending Club
Finalist – Harpal Sandhu, president, founder and CEO, Integral Development Corp.
Finalist – Hayes Barnard, founder and CEO, Paramount Equity Mortgage
 
Life Sciences
Award recipient – Mark Fischer-Colbrie, president and CEO and Rich Ellson, Co-founder and CTO, Labcyte, Inc.
Finalist – Maky Zanganeh, D.D.S., COO, Pharmacyclics, Inc.
Finalist – Jeffrey Dunn, president and CEO, SI-BONE, Inc.
 
Platform Technology
Award recipient – Gurbaksh Chahal, founder and CEO, RadiumOne
Finalist – Chris Friedland, president and founder, Build.com
Finalist – Fabio Rosati, president and CEO, Elance
 
Retail and Consumer Products
Award recipient – Neil Grimmer, co-founder and CEO, Plum Organics
Finalist – Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry, co-founders, Method Products, Inc.
Finalist – Katie Rodan, M.D. and Kathy Fields, M.D., co-founders, Rodan + Fields Dermatologists
 
Services
Award recipient – Lyndon Rive, co-founder and CEO, SolarCity
Finalist – Mike Sechrist, CEO, and Elena Whorton, president, ProTransport-1
Finalist – Burton Goldfield, president and CEO, TriNet
 
Software
Award recipient – Aneel Bhusri, co-founder, co-CEO and chairman, and David Duffield, co-founder, co-CEO and chief customer advocate, Workday, Inc.
Finalist – Lewis Cirne, founder and CEO, New Relic
Finalist – Erik Swan, co-founder and CTO, Splunk
 
Technology Infrastructure
Award recipient – Ashar Aziz, founder, FireEye, Inc.
Finalist – Steve Smith, president and CEO, Equinix
Finalist – Robert Pera, founder, Chairman and CEO, Ubiquiti Networks