June 7, 2010 - Detroit, Mich. – Ernst & Young LLP is pleased to announce the finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® award in Michigan and Northwest Ohio. This group of outstanding entrepreneurs was selected by an independent judging panel made up of regional business, academic and community leaders. The winners will be revealed at a gala event on June 10, 2010 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Dearborn.
“Entrepreneurship is especially vital as our nation recovers from recession,” said Frank Maselli, Ernst & Young LLP Entrepreneur Of The Year Program Director for Michigan and Northwest Ohio. “These finalists create jobs in our area, encouraging healthy growth, development and innovation in the local economy.”
The Michigan and Northwest Ohio finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award in 2010 are:
• Mr. Ravinder Singh Sandhu, President, Advanced Assembly Products, Inc.
• Mr. Dan Coker, Chief Executive Officer, Amerigon Incorporated
• Mr. Richard L. Stanbaugh, President and Chief Executive Officer, ANXeBusiness
• Mr. Richard J. Bloom, President, Bloom Asset Management, Inc.
• Mr. Robert A. Verdun, President, Computerized Facility Integration, LLC
• Mr. Phil Hagerman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy
• Mr. Stephen W. Blocki, Vice President, Dürr Systems, Inc.
• Mr. Kevin Schnieders, Chief Executive Officer, Educational Data Systems, Inc.
• Ms. Mindi K. Fynke, President, Employee Health Insurance Management, Inc.
• Mr. Joseph Ruicci, Vice President – Director of Purchasing, Gil-Mar Manufacturing Co.
• Mr. Sandy Rosen, Chief Executive Officer, Great Lakes Recycling
• Mr. David C. Zimmermann, Chief Executive Officer, Kalexsyn, Inc.
• Mr. Matthew Hill, Chief Executive Officer, Liquid Web, Inc.
• Mr. Richard B. Sheridan, President and Chief Executive Officer, Menlo Innovations
• Mr. Pete Lazic, President, Michigan Automatic Turning, Inc.
• Mr. Fred Minturn, President and Chief Executive Officer, MSX International
• Mr. Don Leith, President and Chief Executive Officer, Panther Global Technologies
• Mr. Mark Symonds, President and Chief Executive Officer, Plex Systems
• Mr. Matthew Jonna, Co-founder, Managing Member, Plum Market
• Ms. Margery Brown Krevsky, President and Chief Executive Officer, Productions Plus – The Talent Shop
• Ms. Linda Girard, Visionary and Co-founder, Pure Visibility
• Mr. Stephen Polk, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, R. L. Polk & Co.
• Mr. Terry Terhark, Chief Executive Officer, The RightThing, Inc.
• Mr. John Rakolta, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Walbridge
The Entrepreneur Of The Year® program honors entrepreneurs regionally in June, leading up to the national awards in November. Additionally, venture-backed companies that win an Entrepreneur Of The Year® award regionally are also eligible for the 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 June.
This year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year awards program celebrates its 24th anniversary. The program has expanded to recognize business leaders in over 135 cities in 50 countries throughout the world. Awards are given to entrepreneurs who demonstrate extraordinary success in the areas of innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Entrepreneurs are nominated and evaluated by those in each region, including local business, academic and community leaders.
All regional honorees are invited to the national Entrepreneur Of The Year® gala, hosted by Jay Leno, on November 13, 2010 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.