EUGENE, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Grape Solar today announced that founder and CEO Ocean Yuan was named a finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year 2012 program in the Pacific Northwest. The prestigious award recognizes entrepreneurs and leaders who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Ocean Yuan was selected from more than 60 nominations by a panel of independent judges. Awards will be presented at a special gala in Seattle on June 15, 2012.
Now in its 26th year, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of the Year Program has honored the inspirational leadership of such entrepreneurs as Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com, Michael Dell of Dell Inc., Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines, Fred Smith of FedEx, Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google, Richard Schulze of Best Buy, Andrew Mason of Groupon, Mindy Grossman of HSN Inc., Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn, and many more.
The recognition comes on the heels of Grape Solar's celebrating its third anniversary with tremendous growth since its inception in June, 2009: its revenue has grown over 700% and its financial measurements outperformed the vast majority of its peers in the solar industry worldwide. Grape Solar is now the leading E-commerce system integrator of solar panels and solar kits in the American market through its partnerships with multiple Fortune 100 customers and numerous independent installers and consumers nationwide. Ocean Yuan says, "I am honored and humbled by the recognition of this prestigious award. This acknowledgement is a testament of our visionary business model to service American consumers directly for their solar energy needs. This award is not for me alone, it belongs to our dedicated team with creativity and passion to bring values to our customers."
Ocean Yuan founded Grape Solar with a determination to make solar energy accessible and affordable to millions of American home owners and businesses by utilizing leading E-commerce platforms that consumers trust. Grape Solar pioneered the business model of “Custom Orders” to meet each individual consumer’s unique needs for solar energy with low cost solutions.
Sponsors
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur of The Year Awards are nationally sponsored in the United States by SAP America and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
In the Pacific Northwest, local sponsors include ADP, Puget Sound Business Journal, Scherzer International, The Big Picture Video Film & Arts, and Union Bank.
About Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year
Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year is the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award makes a difference through the 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, 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 140 cities in more than 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.
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. For more information about our organization, please visit www.ey.com.
About Grape Solar, Inc. (www.grapesolar.com)
Headquartered in Eugene, Oregon, Grape Solar is the leading E-commerce solar system integrator in North and South America. Grape Solar designs and deploys solar panels and kits for home and businesses. Grape Solar's products can be found at leading E-commerce sites such as www.homedepot.com, www.amazon.com, www.globalindustrial.com, www.pricesmart.com, and many more.
If you would like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Ocean Yuan, please contact Sara Thomas at 541-349-9000 or email her at sara.thomas@grapesolar.com