The Metropolitan New York Area's Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) Award Winners Announced

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ernst & Young LLP today announced the winners of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year^® 2007 award in the Metropolitan New York Area. This year’s award winners were lauded at a special gala event at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square, on June 28, 2007, with nearly 600 people in attendance.

“For 21 years, Ernst & Young has recognized outstanding entrepreneurship through our Entrepreneur Of The Year program”

All award winners were selected by an independent panel of judges composed of area leaders from business, academic and civic organizations. The Metropolitan New York Area’s Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2007 award winners are:

Business Services – Ms. Celeste Gudas, Chief Executive Officer, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, 24 Seven, Inc., New York, N.Y.
Business Services – Ms. Sheilah Hogan, Chief Executive Officer, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, 24 Seven, Inc., New York, N.Y.
Business Services – Mr. Stuart Kagel, Chief Executive Officer, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, 24 Seven, Inc., New York, N.Y.
Innovation – Mr. Ron Cohen, Chief Executive Officer, Acorda Therapeutics, Hawthorne, N.Y.
Financial Services – Mr. Sunil Hirani, Chief Executive Officer, Creditex Group Inc., New York, N.Y.
Emerging – Mr. David Spurlock, Founder, Eos Airlines, Inc., Purchase, N.Y.
Turnaround – Mr. David Sorbaro, Manager, Mavis Discount Tire, Mt. Kisco, N.Y.
Turnaround – Mr. Stephen Sorbaro, Manager, Mavis Discount Tire, Mt. Kisco, N.Y.
Digital Media – Mr. Michael Walrath, Chief Executive Officer, Right Media, New York, N.Y.
Technology – Mr. Jonathan Harber, President, SchoolNet, Inc., New York, N.Y.
E-Services – Mr. Jason Finger, President, SeamlessWeb, New York, N.Y.
Social Enterprise – Mr. Brian Grissler, President & Chief Executive Officer, Stamford Health System, Stamford, C.T.
Social Enterprise – Mr. Joel Levy, President & Chief Executive Officer, YAI / National Institute for People with Disabilities Network, New York, N.Y.
Social Enterprise – Mr. Philip Levy, President & Chief Executive Officer, YAI / National Institute for People with Disabilities Network, New York, N.Y.
Young Entrepreneur – Kamarin Lee, Founder & President, Squared Designs, New York, NY – Kamerin is 17 years old and was also recently honored as the New York Metro winner of the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) competition.

“For 21 years, Ernst & Young has recognized outstanding entrepreneurship through our Entrepreneur Of The Year program,” said Joseph Capparelli, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year program director for the Metropolitan New York Area. “This year’s winners are truly an inspiration to all. We salute them for their drive, determination and hard work – and congratulate them on their success.”

The Metropolitan New York Area award winners are eligible for consideration for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2007 national program. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the overall national Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award winner, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, California on November 17, 2007. The overall national Entrepreneur Of The Year award recipient is then considered for the worldwide event held in Monte Carlo.

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year awards program celebrates its 21^st anniversary this year and continues to recognize the leaders and visionaries who are creating and building world-class businesses. Awards are given to entrepreneurs who have demonstrated excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance, and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

This year’s independent panel of judges included:

Christopher Duda, Vice President, Goldman Sachs
Marsha Firestone, President and Founder, Women Presidents’ Organization – Marsha was a National Finalist in 2006
Dr. Anat Lechner, Clinical Associate Professor of Management, Stern School of Business at New York University
Stephen Messer, CEO, Messer Holdings – Stephen was a MNYA Award Recipient in 2005 for a company he founded and sold, Linkshare
Gary Nusbaum, Managing Director, Palladium Equity
Terrence Powell, Managing Director, The Nasdaq Stock Market
Giuseppe Soccodato, Chief Financial Officer, Steve & Barry’s University Sportswear – Steve & Barry’s was an Award Recipient in 2006

Sponsors

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are pleased to have Bank of America as the national presenting sponsor, as well as SAP America and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation as national sponsors. In the Metro New York Area, the local Platinum Sponsor includes MARSH; Gold Sponsors include Bowne, Crain’s New York Business and Curran & Connors; Silver Sponsors include Geller & Company, Scherzer International and WithumSmith+Brown/WithumSmith+Brown Global Assurance; the News Distribution Sponsor is Business Wire.

About the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards

The Entrepreneur Of The Year^® awards program was created and is produced by professional services firm Ernst & Young LLP. As the first award of its kind, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year^® Award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who are building and leading dynamic and growing businesses. The program, which celebrated its 20^th anniversary in 2006, honors entrepreneurs through regional, national and global award programs in over 125 cities and 40 countries.

About Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young, a global leader in professional services, is committed to enhancing the public’s trust in professional services firms and in the quality of financial reporting. Its 114,000 people in 140 countries pursue the highest levels of integrity, quality, and professionalism in providing a range of sophisticated services centered on our core competencies of auditing, accounting, tax, and transactions. Further information about Ernst & Young and its approach to a variety of business issues can be found at www.ey.com/perspectives. Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, a U.K. company limited by guarantee, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited does not provide services to clients. Ernst & Young LLP is a U.S. client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited.