Ernst & Young is a global professional services company most well known for being one of the “big four” accounting firms. As the ninth largest private company in the world, one of the firm’s largest publicity efforts is its Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards program, whereby the company recognizes the world’s top entrepreneurs in 50 countries. This year marks the program’s 25th anniversary.
In the United States Ernst & Young first honors a set of regional finalists, which were announced yesterday. Here in New England, this years honorees include familiar names like Walt Doyle of WHERE (now PayPal), John Pepper of Boloco, Richard Doyle and Daniel Kenary of Harpoon Brewery, Brian Halligan of HubSpot, Paul Brient of PatientKeeper, and Theodore Werth of PlumChoice. (The full list of 34 finalists is below.)
“These finalists create jobs in our area, encouraging community development and innovation in our broader economy,” said Entrepreneur Of The Year New England Program Chair Kristin Keating. “New England is enriched by every one of these finalists.”
Congratulations from BostInno to all of The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2011 New England finalists!
- George Sakellaris – President & CEO, Ameresco, Inc.
- John Donohue – Chairman, President & CEO, Arbella Insurance Group
- Dr. Omid Farokhzad – Co-founder & Director, BIND Biosciences, Inc.
- Todd Blount – President, Blount Fine Foods
- John Pepper – Co-founder & CEO, Boloco
- Gregory Shook – President & CEO, Essex Savings Bank
- Richard Doyle – Co-founder & CEO, Harpoon Brewery
- Daniel Kenary – Co-founder & President, Harpoon Brewery
- Douglas Godshall – CEO, HeartWare International, Inc.
- Michelle Russo – President, Hotel Asset Value Enhancement
- Andrea Cohen – Co-founder & CEO, HouseWorks
- Brian Halligan – Founder & CEO, HubSpot, Inc.
- Chris Sandusky – Principal, Integrated Process Technologies, Inc.
- James Banks – President, Integrated Process Technologies, Inc.
- Jamey Bennett – CEO, LightWedge, LLC
- Craig Wheeler – President & CEO, Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- Jeffrey Burbank – CEO, NxStage Medical, Inc.
- Paul Brient – President & CEO, PatientKeeper, Inc.
- Theodore Werth – Founder & CEO, PlumChoice
- Mike Tuchen – President & CEO, Rapid7
- Beth Williams – President & CEO, Roxbury Technology Corporation
- Brad Sterl – President, Rustic Crust
- Jamie Mair – Principal, Marketing and Merchandising, Swervepoint, LLC
- Juli Sinnett – Principal, Client Services, Swervepoint, LLC
- Kevin Phoenix – Principal, Operations and Administration, Swervepoint, LLC
- Robert Roche – President & CEO, Tegra Medical
- Dr. Yiannis Monovoukas – Chairman, President & CEO, TEI Biosciences Inc.
- Perk Perkins – CEO, The Orvis Company
- David Hartmann – President & CEO, Tiger Claw, Inc.
- Richard Schenkel – President & CEO, Unidine Corporation
- George Dannecker – President & CEO, Vette Corp
- Dayton “Joe” Deetz – Founder & CEO, Visual Magnetics LP
- Walter Doyle – President & CEO, Where, Inc.
- Michael Dubyak – Chairman, President & CEO, Wright Express Corporation
An independent panel of judges consisting of previous winners and investors selected the finalists, with awards given to entrepreneurs who “demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.”
Winners from this pool of New England finalists will be announced at a gala event on June 15th here in Boston, and will then move forward in the national awards competition which is held in November (and hosted by Jay Leno). The overall winner representing the United States then moves on to compete for the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in June 2012.
