Ernst & Young to salute regional entrepreneurs
Ernst & Young LLP announced the 2011 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Upper Midwest finalists.
The group of entrepreneurs was selected by an independent judging panel made up of previous winners of the award, leading CEOs, private capital investors and other regional business leaders.
The winners will be revealed at a gala on June 15 at the Frontier Center in Milwaukee.
"These finalists create jobs in our area by encouraging community development and innovation in our broader economy," said Kevin Klimara, Ernst & Young partner and Entrepreneur Of The Year Upper Midwest Program Director. "No matter who wins on June 15 we know one thing for sure – the Upper Midwest is enriched by every one of these finalists."
The Upper Midwest region includes companies based in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2011 Upper Midwest finalists are:
Joseph G. Bartolotta – Bartolotta Restaurants (Wauwatosa, Wis.)
Peter F. Bemis – Bemis Manufacturing Company (Sheboygan Falls, Wis.)
Deborah Carey – New Glarus Brewing Co (New Glarus, Wis)
Chris Coborn – Coborn’s Incorporated (St. Cloud, Minn.)
Duane Crandall – Knowledge Marketing (Plymouth, Minn.)
Robert D. Hansen – Electromed Inc. (New Prague, Minn.)
Eric Hawkins – Park Tool Co (Mahtomedi, Minn.)
Jeff Julkowski, Killian Rieder and Michael Flaherty – Chamilia, LLC (Minneapolis, Minn.)
Robert Kamphuis – Mayville Engineering Company Inc. (Mayville, Wis.)
Jim Loffler – Loffler Companies (Bloomington, Minn.)
Henry W. Knueppel – Regal Beloit Corp. (Beloit, Wis.)
Craig Kruckeberg – Spray Control Systems Inc. (Blooming Prairie, Minn.)
Aldo Madrigrano – Beer Capitol Distributing Inc. (Sussex, Wis.)
James Joel Quadracci – Quad/Graphics (Sussex, Wis.)
Kevin Schuele – PAK Technologies (Milwaukee, Wis.)
Roland Stephenson – Faith Technologies Inc. (Menasha, Wis.
Timothy Sullivan – Bucyrus International Inc. (Oak Creek, Wis.
Joel D. Theisen – AgeWell (Edina, Minn.)
Nicolas Thomley – Pinnacle Services Inc. (Minneapolis, Minn.)
Majdi Wadi – Holy Land Brand Inc. (Minneapolis, Minn.)
Paul J. Wagner – Minnesota Wire (St. Paul, Minn.)
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, which originated in Milwaukee, 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(R), 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, visit www.ey.com/us/strategicgrowthforum
