EY announces Entrepreneur Of The Year Winners

EY announced the winners of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award in Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. This group of leading 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 were revealed at a special gala on Friday, June 20th at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown Hotel.

“EY has honored outstanding entrepreneurs for the past 28 years,” said Kim Gillespie and Darrell Smalley, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Program Directors for Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. “These business leaders are accomplished entrepreneurs who have contributed a tremendous amount to the community.”

The Entrepreneur Of The Year 2014 Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia Award winners are:

Michael A. Cherock, PE, Chief Executive Officer and President, AE Works Ltd.

John P. Burke, Chief Executive Officer, Armada

Dean Grose, President, Comtech Industries, Inc.

Luis von Ahn, PhD, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Duolingo

Edward Perrin, Chief Executive Officer, Karndean Designflooring

David Levine, Chief Executive Officer, NuGo Nutrition

Paul Hennigan, PhD, President, Point Park University

William F. Sarris, President, Sarris Candies, Inc.

Pamela Petrow, President and Chief Executive Officer, Vector Security

In addition, Richard P. Simmons was awarded the Master Entrepreneur Of The Year Award and Heather Bresch, CEO of Mylan Inc. received the Global Impact Award.

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 at the national level. The Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner then moves on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award.

Now in its 28th year, the program has expanded to recognize business leaders in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries throughout the world.

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 National Overall Award winner, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, California, on November 15, 2014. The awards are the culminating event of the EY Strategic Growth Forum^®, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies.