Ernst & Young LLP Seeks Outstanding Entrepreneurs in Illinois and Indiana

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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 Midwest regional awards ceremony scheduled for June 21, 2012, at the Hilton Hotel in Chicago. The Midwest program recognizes companies based in Illinois and Indiana.

“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.”

For the past 26 years, The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards program has honored the inspirational leadership of entrepreneurs such as Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com, Michael Dell of Dell, Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines, Fred Smith of FedEx, Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google, Richard Schulze of Best Buy, Wayne Huizenga of Huizenga Holdings (Blockbuster Video, Waste Management, Inc., and AutoNation), and many more.

“We’ve been extraordinarily proud to honor men and women who have had the inspiration to create innovative, market-leading companies that have truly changed the world during the 26-year history of our Entrepreneur Of The Year program,” said Bryan Pearce, Americas Director of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year program. “We believe entrepreneurs are the lifeblood and foundation of our economy. It’s very exciting to think about the impact that entrepreneurs and transformational CEOs will have on the way we live and work over the next quarter century as well.”

Award winners are selected by a panel of independent judges, including previous winners of the award, leading CEOs and private capital investors and other regional business leaders.

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards in the Midwest

Last year, eight entrepreneurs from the Midwest region were selected as Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winners from more than 80 nominations. Among the winners were Andrew Mason of Groupon; James Reynolds, Jr. of Loop Capital Markets; Jeffrey M. Yordon of Sagent Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; and Jeff Silver of Coyote Logistics LLC.

“This program honors the outstanding entrepreneurs in our area,” said Randy Tavierne, partner and Strategic Growth Markets Leader with Ernst & Young’s Midwest practice. “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, approximately 250 entrepreneurs from across the nation were selected as Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2011 award winners from more than 1,500 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; Maxine Clark of Build-a-Bear; Tom Adams of Rosetta Stone; Matt Szulik of Red Hat; and Howard Lutnick of BGC Partners and Cantor Fitzgerald.

The Entrepreneur Of The Year program honors entrepreneurs regionally in June, leading up to the national awards in November. Venture-backed companies that win an Entrepreneur Of The Year award regionally are also eligible for the special Venture Capital Award of Excellence on a national level. The overall national US winner then moves on to compete for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year title in Monaco in June. Entrepreneurs are nominated and evaluated by those in each region, including local business and community leaders.

All regional honorees are invited to the national Entrepreneur Of The Year gala, hosted by Jay Leno, on November 17, 2012, in Palm Springs, California. 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.

Awards Criteria

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. Self nominations are encouraged, and there is no fee. Application forms must be received by March 9, 2012.

Entrepreneurs eligible for consideration include not only company founders, but also leaders of multi-generation family businesses and transformational public and private company CEOs. Additionally, the nominee's company must be at least three years old.

Additional information is available at http://www.ey.com/us/eoy/mw. To access an online nomination form, visit https://eoy-nomination.ey.com.

Sponsors

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are nationally sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and SAP America, Inc.

For the Midwest program, regional sponsors include ManpowerGroup, Benefitdecisions, Winston & Strawn LLP, Becker Professional Education and Smart Business. Local sponsors include the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center and WBBM Newsradio 780.

Contact Information

For more information and nomination forms, contact: Christine Evans, Program Manager, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Midwest Awards, at 312 879 2470 or christine.evans@ey.com.

About Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year

Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The award makes a difference through the unique way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 135 cities in 50 countries.

About Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Worldwide, our 152,000 people are united by our shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality. We make a difference by helping our people, our clients and our wider communities achieve their potential.

For more information, please visit www.ey.com

Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients.

This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, a US client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited.