Art Van Elslander named Lifetime Achievement Award winner and Governor Rick Snyder to attend awards gala
Celebrating 25 years of inspiration
Ernst & Young LLP is pleased to announce the 2011 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® Michigan and Northwest Ohio semifinalists. This group of outstanding entrepreneurs was selected by an independent judging panel made up of previous winners of the award, leading CEOs, and other regional business leaders.
Finalists and winners will be revealed at an awards gala on June 9 at the MGM Grand Detroit. Scheduled to attend the gala is Governor Rick Snyder, who will help honor entrepreneurs who have made a positive impact in Michigan and Northwest Ohio.
In addition to recognizing the 41 semifinalists, Art Van Elslander of Art Van Furniture will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Art Van Elslander will be honored for building one of the largest and most successful furniture companies in Michigan and for contributing to the community through his philanthropic endeavors.
The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2011 Michigan and Northwest Ohio semifinalists are:
- Hortensia Albertini – Global LT (Troy, Michigan)
- Thomas Amato – Metaldyne (Plymouth, Michigan)
- Rumia Ambrose-Burbank – Vendor Managed Solutions Inc. (Troy, Michigan)
- Matthew Aston – Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, Inc. (Toledo, Ohio)
- Dan Behm – Open Systems Technologies (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
- John Bower – The Bower Companies (Troy, Michigan)
- Michael Brillati – Salus Group (Sterling Heights, Michigan)
- Steve Burke – Airman, Inc. (Wixom, Michigan)
- Fred Calero – EnovateIT (Canton, Michigan)
- Matt Carpenter – Olga's Kitchen, Inc. (Troy, Michigan)
- Robert DePierre – Henniges Automotive (Farmington Hills, Michigan)
- Terry Duperon – Duperon Corporation (Saginaw, Michigan)
- Carl Erickson – Atomic Object (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
- Craig Erlich – pulse220 (Southfield, Michigan)
- Larry Freed – ForeSee Results (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
- Daniel Gizaw – Danotek Motion Technologies (Canton, Michigan)
- Paul Glantz – Emagine Entertainment, Inc. (Troy, Michigan)
- Douglas Grimm – Grede Holdings LLC (Southfield, Michigan)
- Donald Hicks – LLamasoft (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
- John Hwang – Mutually Human Software (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
- Duane Jones – D2 Abatement, Inc. (Sterling Heights, Michigan)
- Kimberly Kaplan – K-Limited Carrier, Ltd. (Toledo, Ohio)
- Alan Kaufman – HW Kaufman Financial Group (Farmington Hills, Michigan)
- Bridget Lorenz Lemberg – Forensic Fluids Laboratories Inc. (Kalamazoo, Michigan)
- Paul Mastronardi – Mastronardi Produce Limited (Livonia, Michigan)
- Joel Mueller – MacUpdate (Kalamazoo, Michigan)
- Michael Nevins – Full Spectrum Solutions (Jackson, Michigan)
- Brad Oleshansky – Big Communications (Ferndale, Michigan)
- Nagesh Palakurthi – Angstrom Holdings LLC (Taylor, Michigan)
- Mark Petroff – Marketing Associates LLC (Detroit, Michigan)
- Jeffery Prough – Critical Signal Technologies, Inc. (Farmington Hills, Michigan)
- John Pruitt – Randall Industries Inc. dba Detroit Radiator Corp. (Romulus, Michigan)
- Kevin Schnieders – Educational Data Systems, Inc. (Dearborn, Michigan)
- Russell Schoenherr – FloraCraft Corporation (Ludington, Michigan)
- Alan Schultz – Valassis (Livonia, Michigan)
- Mary Shapton – Reagan Marketing & Design, LLC (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
- Jake Sigal – Livio Radio (Ferndale, Michigan)
- Rich Stanbaugh – ANX (Southfield, Michigan)
- Mark Symonds – Plex Systems, Inc. (Auburn Hills, Michigan)
- Vince Thomas – Billhighway (Troy, Michigan)
- Joanne Ulnick – Ducker Worldwide (Troy, Michigan)
"These semifinalists create jobs in our area, encouraging community development and innovation in our broader economy," said Jamie Simpson, Entrepreneur Of The Year Michigan and Northwest Ohio Program Director. "No matter who wins on June 9 we know one thing for sure — Michigan and Northwest Ohio are enriched by every one of these semifinalists."
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 Entrepreneur Of The Year Venture Capital Award of Excellence on a national level. The overall National US winner then moves on to compete for the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in June.
This year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Program celebrates its 25th anniversary. The program has expanded to recognize business leaders in more than 140 cities and more than 50 countries throughout the world. Awards are given to entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.
All regional honorees are invited to the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards gala, hosted by Jay Leno, on November 12, 2011, 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, which will be held November 9–13, 2011. For more information on the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum, please visit www.ey.com/us/strategicgrowthforum.
Sponsors
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are pleased to have the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation as a national sponsor.
In Michigan and Northwest Ohio, sponsors include Charter One Bank, Foley & Lardner LLP., Smart Business, University of Michigan – Dearborn, Grand Valley State University Seidman College of Business, Hermanoff Public Relations, and News/Talk 760 WJR.
Contact information
To make reservations for the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards gala on June 9, contact Julie Wasco of Ernst & Young at + 1 313 628 7204 or julie.wasco@ey.com. Tickets are $250 per person. For more information about the program, please visit www.ey.com/us/eoy/mi-nwo.
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 141,000 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 LLP is a client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited operating in the US. For more information about our organization, please visit www.ey.com.
This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, a US client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited.
Contacts:
Ernst & Young LLP
Lisa Bower, + 1 313 628 8212
lisa.bower@ey.com
or
Hermanoff
Public Relations
Courtney Curran, +1 248 851 3993
