EY announces winners of the Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2019 Orange County Award

IRVINE, Calif., June 19, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ernst & Young LLP (EY) is pleased to announce the winners of the Entrepreneur Of The Year^® Award in Orange County. As the world’s most prestigious business awards program for entrepreneurs, Entrepreneur Of The Year recognizes business leaders who are excelling in areas such as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

Entrepreneur Of The Year 2019 Orange County Award Winners

This group of entrepreneurial leaders was selected by an independent judging panel made up of previous award winners, leading CEOs, investors and other regional business leaders. The winners were unveiled at a special gala on June 18, 2019 at the Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, hosted by Fox 11 News anchor Christine Devine.

EY has recognized more than 10,000 business leaders around the world, since the inception of the program more than 30 years ago. Past winners have transformed industries, created new product categories and successfully brought new innovation and technology to traditional industries. The program has honored the inspirational leadership of such entrepreneurs as Howard Schultz of Starbucks Coffee Company, John Mackey of Whole Foods Market, Pierre Omidyar of eBay, Inc., Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn and Mindy Grossman of HSN.

“These unstoppable entrepreneurs have transformed how we all live, work, and dream of what is yet to come,” said Jon Smith, Entrepreneur Of The Year Orange County Program Director. “EY is proud to honor the 2019 Entrepreneur Of The Year winners who are the legacy builders and innovators contributing to the thriving economy in Orange County and beyond.”

The Entrepreneur Of The Year 2019 Orange County Award winners are:

• Jim Conroy III, CEO | Boot Barn
• Lori Torres, CEO | Parcel Pending Inc.
• Jeff Kearl, Co-founder and CEO | Stance, Inc.
• Roland Spongberg, CEO | WKS Restaurant Group
• Anthony Geisler, CEO | Xponential Fitness, LLC

To learn more about the Orange County program, please visit ey.com/us/eoy/oc. Join us in congratulating this year’s winners on social media by following us @EY_EOYUS and using #EOYOC.

Since its founding in 1986, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program has expanded to recognize business leaders in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries throughout the world. 

Regional award winners are now eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards.  Award winners in several national categories, as well as the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner, will be announced at the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards gala in Palm Springs, California, on November 16, 2019. The awards are the culminating event of the Strategic Growth Forum^®, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. The Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner then moves on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award in Monaco in June 2019.  

Sponsors

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are nationally sponsored by SAP America and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

In Orange County, local sponsors include Platinum sponsors: Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, P.C., Hollencrest Capital Management, Lockton Insurance Brokers, LLC. and Gold sponsor: Tangram, LLC.

About Entrepreneur Of The Year^®
Entrepreneur Of The Year^®, founded by EY, is the world’s most prestigious business awards program for entrepreneurs. The program 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 awards program 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 145 cities in more than 60 countries. ey.com/eoy

About EY’s Growth Markets Network
EY’s worldwide Growth Markets Network is dedicated to serving the changing needs of high-growth companies. For more than 30 years, we’ve helped many of the world’s most dynamic and ambitious companies grow into market leaders. Whether working with international mid-cap companies or early stage, venture-backed businesses, our professionals draw upon their extensive experience, insight and global resources to help your business succeed. For more information, please visit us at ey.com/gm or follow news on Twitter @EY_Growth.

About EY
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

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This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, a member of the global EY organization that provides services to clients in the US.

For more information, please visit ey.com.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bcdab58a-2d6f-45d7-9579-7c02501245f2

Sara Nazarian

Ernst & Young LLP

+ 1 213 240 7557

[email protected]