EY announced the winners of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in the Utah region at a black-tie awards gala held recently at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City. The event was attended by more than 1,000 business leaders.
EY announced the winners of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in the Utah region at a black-tie awards gala held recently at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City. The event was attended by more than 1,000 business leaders.
In its 30th year, the program has expanded to recognize business leaders in over 145 cities in 60 countries throughout the world and this year marks the award’s 30th anniversary. Utah’s winners were selected by an independent judging panel made up of previous winners of the award, leading CEOs, private capital investors and other regional business leaders.
“EY has been at the forefront of recognizing and honoring outstanding entrepreneurs over the past 30 years,” said Shawn Goff, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year program director for the Utah region. “This year’s winners have not only built successful, thriving companies, but they have also served as mentors to their employees, bolstered Utah’s economy, and made impressive contributions to their communities.”
The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2016 Utah Region Award winners are Jeremy Andrus, CEO of Traeger Grills LLC in the Consumer Distribution and Manufacturing category; Joseph Carbone, president and CEO, Eye Care 4 Kids, Social Entrepreneur category; Carine Clark, president and CEO, MaritzCX, Technology category; Brandon Fugal, chairman, CBC Advisors, Residential and Commercial Services; Nick Hales, CEO, DigiCert, Services; Glenn Hileman, CEO, Highmark School Development, Construction; Mike McEwan, CEO, Jane.com, Retail and Consumer Products; and Stephen Richards, president and CEO, BetterBody Foods and Nutrition LLC, Consumable Products.
Also honored at the event was 14-year-old Kyalynn Johnston, owner of Kyalynn’s Studio, who participated in the Kool Kids competition. Junior Achievement teamed up with Grow Utah and My Tech High to put on a statewide competition in search of a deserving young entrepreneur to be honored. As the winner of the competition, Johnston received EY’s 2016 Youth Entrepreneur scholarship award for her business idea. Kyalynn’s Studio is a business that supplies custom engraved goblets, mugs and gifts to a growing list of clients in Logan. In recognition of her entrepreneurial concept, Johnston was awarded a $2,000 college scholarship at the event.
This year’s winners join the ranks of 30 years of winners. As a group, the 2016 Utah region finalists made a significant mark on innovation and the economy, EY said in a statement. They employ more than 5,000 people and are a major source of economic stability, adding nearly 3,000 jobs in the past two years – a 115 percent boost in employees across the honored companies. They have an aggregate revenue of more than $5.2 billion and an impressive revenue growth rate of 175 percent over the past two years.
Regional award winners are eligible for consideration for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year national program. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year overall national award winner, will be announced at the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards gala in Palm Springs, California, on Nov. 19.
The U.S. Entrepreneur Of The Year overall award winner then moves on to compete for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in Monaco in June 2017.
EY refers to the global organization and may refer to one or more of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, a U.K. company.