EY announces 2014 Ontario Entrepreneur Of The Year(TM) finalists today

EY (Ernst & Young)

EY (Ernst & Young)

Survey finds Canadian entrepreneurs exceed global average for annual revenue growth

TORONTO, July 7, 2014 /CNW/ - EY is pleased to announce this year's gravity-defying Entrepreneur Of The Year finalists in Ontario.

"This year's finalists prove that the future of entrepreneurship in our country is brighter than ever," says Colleen McMorrow, EY's National and Ontario Entrepreneur Of The Year program director. "After 21 years of Entrepreneur Of The Year in Canada, we're still amazed at how these leaders continue to defy the odds and the impossible. They are pushing their boundaries and propelling our country forward."

That's something that appears in EY research time and time again. In a new survey, EY found that Canada's 2013 program finalists recorded average revenue growth of 37% year over year in 2012. That's above the global average of 29% for developed countries. Seventy-four percent also have an international footprint — compared to 41% in Australia.

"Canadian entrepreneurs are reaching new heights every day," says McMorrow. "Not only are our finalists behind incredible economic growth here at home and abroad, they're also at the helm of job creation. Our survey found that last year's finalists created jobs at an average pace of 25% in 2012."

High-growth entrepreneurs create new markets and industries, contributing job growth in the economy. This year's 2014 Entrepreneur Of The Year finalists in Ontario represent close to 8,000 jobs in Canada. Together with all other finalists coast to coast, that number grows to 37,000.

"We're proud to celebrate the achievements of Canada's vibrant entrepreneurs and encourage others to follow in their footsteps," says McMorrow. "Recognizing these visionary men and women is just one of the many ways we can work together to strengthen Canada's entrepreneurial environment."

Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates the contribution and spirit of entrepreneurs everywhere. The Canadian program is in its 21st year of honouring the country's most impressive entrepreneurs from all areas of business. Award finalists are chosen based on their vision, leadership, financial success and social responsibility.

The Ontario winners will be announced at a gala on 29 October 2014. The overall Ontario winner will represent the region at the national gala held in Toronto on 25 November.

The 2014 Ontario finalists for Entrepreneur Of The Year:

Emerging Entrepreneur

Jonathan Webster
EnvAerospace, Inc. | Brampton
envaerospace.com
The world's first environmental aerospace firm and provider of customized nano coating solutions that improve material wear and fuel efficiency for OEMs and end users of gas turbine engines.

Joseph Jackman
Jackman Reinvention Inc. | Toronto
jackmanreinvents.com
A creative management consulting and activation company focused on retail reinvention.

Neil Sweeney
JUICE Mobile | Toronto
juicemobile.com
A full-service mobile marketing and advertising technology firm that provides advertising platforms and services to the mobile marketing industry.

Jay Klein
PÜR Gum | Toronto
pur-gum.com
An aspartame-free healthy alternative chewing gum. PÜR delivers the highest quality flavors and ingredients to consumers by using simple substitutions and eliminating chemical sweeteners

Energy and Cleantech

Paul Bagatavicius, Dean Rookes, Winston Shim
Corrosion Service Company Limited | Markham
corrosionservice.com
Designs cathodic and anodic corrosion protection systems for industrial structures since its founding in 1950.

Emmie Leung
Emterra Group | Burlington
emterra.ca
A leader in waste resources management, collecting, recycling and marketing packaging, printed paper and scrap tires to convert waste liquids into green products.

Martin Ritchie, Justin Woodward, Christian Wray
JCM Capital | Toronto
jcmcapital.ca
A solar photovoltaic developer with experience managing five solar development funds and developing more than 70 solar PV projects across North and South America and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Food and Hospitality

Joel Flatt, Todd Parsons
Give and Go Prepared Foods Corp. | Toronto
giveandgo.com
A privately owned manufacturer of quality frozen and thaw-and-sell baked goods, operating for over 20 years.

Sujay Shah
Kii Naturals Inc./Shashi Foods Inc. | Concord
kiinaturals.com
Sources and trades commodities and manufactures all-natural artisan crisps, crackers, cereals, grains, super-foods, spices and seasonings.

Chris Neal, Peter Neal
Neal Brothers Inc. | Concord
nealbrothersfoods.com
Markets and distributes retail food products under both the Neal Brothers brand and also for a variety of other brands.

Mark McEwan
The McEwan Group | Toronto
mcewangroup.ca
Owner of North 44, Bymark, One and Fabbrica restaurants, as well as gourmet food store McEwan. Food Network chef with The Heat and the head judge of Top Chef Canada. Owner of three catering companies, author of two cookbooks and owner of a cookware line.

Health Sciences

Anthony Giovinazzo
Cynapsus Therapeutics Inc. | Toronto
cynapsus.ca
A specialty pharmaceutical company developing a convenient and easy-to-use sublingual (oral) thin film strip for the acute rescue of "off" motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

Tom Reeves
Interface Biologics | Toronto
interfacebiologics.com
A commercial stage company that develops a transformative biomedical polymer technology to improve the safety and effectiveness of medical devices.

Dr. Arun Menawat
Novadaq Technologies | Mississauga
novadaq.com
Develops and markets clinically relevant imaging solutions for open and minimally invasive surgical and outpatient procedures that have been shown to improve patient outcomes and reduce health care costs.

Manufacturing

Pyarali Nanji
Belle-Pak Packaging Inc. | Markham
belle-pak.com
Manufactures and supplies flexible packaging products to many of the world's leading brands.

Linda Hasenfratz
Linamar Corporation | Guelph
linamar.com
A diversified global manufacturing company of highly engineered products powering vehicles, motion and lives.

Peter Snucins
Polycorp Ltd. | Toronto
poly-corp.com
Designs and manufactures engineered polymer products for a broad range of customers in the transportation, mining and protective lining sectors.

Media and Technology

James Aitken
Exchange Lab Canada, Inc. | Toronto
theexchangelab.com
Delivers campaigns across digital display, video, social media and mobile channels, evaluating a billion audience interactions daily to find the right audience, at the right time, across digital channels and devices at the most efficient price.

Peter Stavropoulos
FlexITy Solutions Inc. | Richmond Hill
flexity.ca
Works collaboratively with clients in aligning their business goals with technology to help them become high-performance organizations.

Leerom Segal
Klick Health | Toronto
klick.com
The world's largest independent health agency, laser focused on creating solutions that engage and educate health care providers about life-saving treatments.

James Swayze
Symbility Solutions Inc. | Toronto
symbilitysolutions.com
A global provider of cloud-based and smartphone-/tablet-enabled claims technology for the property and casualty and health insurance industries.

Paul Genier
Veritaaq Technology House Inc. | Ottawa
veritaaq.ca
A leading Canadian IT consulting firm that helps public and private sector organizations achieve their strategic business objectives by leveraging information technology.

Real Estate

Greg Romundt
Centurion Apartment REIT | Toronto
centurionreit.com
A private Canadian real estate investment trust with a focus on multi-unit apartment buildings, student housing and lending.

Michael Cooper
Dream Unlimited | Toronto
dream.ca
A real estate investment, management and development company whose purpose is to build better communities to live in and work in.

Jason Castellan
The Skyline Group of Companies | Guelph
skylineonline.ca
Comprising several entities to oversee real estate investment, development, asset management and property management interests.

Services

Lou Serafini Jr.
Fengate Capital Management | Toronto
fengatecapital.com
A privately held asset management firm specializing in alternative assets including real estate, infrastructure and seniors' housing.

Liz Scott
Organizational Solutions Inc. | Burlington
orgsoln.com
A disability and workers' compensation management firm that assists clients in reducing disability cost and lowering durations.  Their expertise ensures sustainable return to work.

Edward Kholodenko
Questrade Financial Group, Inc. | Toronto
questrade.com
An online brokerage, providing clients with direct-access trading in the US and Canadian stock and options markets through its IQ trading platforms, as well as Forex and CFD trading.

Kim Langen
Spirit of Math Schools Inc. | Toronto
spiritofmath.com
Canada's largest "after-school school" for high-performing students. The drill system, curriculum, problem solving and teacher training provide an all-encompassing program producing top Canadian math students.

Alex Handa, Eugene Winer, Justin Van Camp
S-Trip! | Toronto
s-trip.com
Brings students together for once-in-a-lifetime travel experiences where they explore the world, volunteer, seek adventure and celebrate milestones with friends.

Young Entrepreneur

Ryan Marien, Anatoliy Melnichuk, Michele Romanow
Buytopia.ca | Toronto
buytopia.ca
One of Canada's largest online marketplaces for amazing deals on local goods and services.

Arjun Kumar
Kela Medical Inc. | Whitby
kelamedical.com
Harnesses the power of innovation and technology to pioneer leading-edge solutions and demonstrate the value of a fully accessible personal health record to individuals, physicians and practitioners of the health care industry.

Bill Hennessey
RoyalPak Inc. | Toronto
royalpak.com
Manufactures industrial cleaning products for the janitorial sanitation, automotive, specialty and food plant industries selling to distributors and end users.

Devon Galloway, Michael Litt
Vidyard | Kitchener
vidyard.com
Leading provider of video marketing, video analytics and video management solutions that help small businesses, large enterprises and Fortune 1000 companies maximize the impact of online video.

Special Citation — Social Entrepreneur

Social entrepreneur is a unique special citation awarded to an entrepreneur whose achievements have driven large-scale social change and improved people's lives or quality of life.

Tim Jones
Artscape | Toronto
artscape.ca
A not-for-profit urban development organization that makes space for creativity and transforms communities.

About EY Entrepreneur Of The Year
EY 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 145 cities in more than 60 countries.

The 2014 Ontario judging panel consists of John Albright, Founder and Managing Partner, Relay Ventures; Mitch Green, Managing Director, Clairvest Group Inc.; Jon Hantho, Entrepreneur Of The Year Services category winner 2012, Ontario, National Entrepreneur Of The Year Entrepreneurial Leadership Special Citation recipient, and Chief Executive Officer, Maxxam Analytics; Tim Jackson, Senior Advisor, Capital Solutions, MaRS Centre for Impact Investing; Romeo Leemrijse, Vice President, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan; Stacey Mowbray, former CEO, Second Cup Ltd.; Jim Orlando, Managing Director, OMERS Ventures; and Tracie Tighe, Executive Producer, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

For more information on the program, FAQs and key dates, please visit ey.com/ca/EOY.

For more information about our Entrepreneur Of The Year Ontario awards gala on 29 October 2014, please contact Julie Olden at 416 943 2062 or [email protected].

Follow us on Twitter @EYCanada: #EOYOntario.

This year's national program sponsors are National Post, La Presse, RDI, TEC Canada, Merrill DataSite, The Printing House Limited and Kira Talent. In Ontario, Entrepreneur Of The Year is sponsored by RBC Royal Bank and OT Communications.

About EY's Strategic Growth Markets Network

EY's worldwide Strategic 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 ey.com/ca/Entrepreneurs.

EY was recently named 2014 Professional Services Organization of the Year by Startup Canada. The Startup Canada Awards celebrate and distinguish the individuals, communities and institutions in Canada that have demonstrated innovation, excellence, outstanding achievement and impact in advancing Canadian entrepreneurship.

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.

EY is proudly celebrating 150 years in Canada. For more information, please visit ey.com/ca. Follow us on Twitter @EYCanada.

EY refers to the global organization and may refer to one or more of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

Video with caption: "Video: Finalists weigh in: why programs like Entrepreneur Of The Year are important". Video available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/playback.cgi?file=20140707_C9847_VIDEO_EN_41965.mp4&posterurl=http://photos.newswire.ca/images/20140707_C9847_PHOTO_EN_41965.jpg&clientName=EY%20%28Ernst%20%26%20Young%29&caption=Video%3A%20Finalists%20weigh%20in%3A%20why%20programs%20like%20Entrepreneur%20Of%20The%20Year%20are%20important&title=EY%20%28ERNST%20%26%20YOUNG%29%20%2D%20EY%20announces%202014%20Ontario%20Entrepreneur%20Of%20The%20Year%28TM%29%20finalists%20today&headline=EY%20announces%202014%20Ontario%20Entrepreneur%20Of%20The%20Year%28TM%29%20finalists%20today

PDF available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/media/2014/07/07/20140707_C9847_DOC_EN_41967.pdf

SOURCE: EY (Ernst & Young)

please contact: 

Erika Bennett
[email protected]
416 943 5497

Sarah Shields
[email protected]
604 648 3607

Julie Fournier
[email protected]
514 874 4308