EY announced the finalists for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2017 Award in the Southeast. The awards program recognizes entrepreneurs who are excelling in areas such as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. These business leaders were selected by a panel of independent judges. Award winners will be announced at a special gala on June 8 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia.

The finalists are:

Richard Balot – A Wireless, Greenville, North Carolina

Bruce Irwin, MD – American Family Care, Birmingham, Alabama

Sreeniwas Prabhu – Angel Oak Capital Advisors, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia

Haywood Glenn Clayton – Appleton Learning Corporation, Huntsville, Alabama

Brad Smith – Aspire Health, Nashville, Tennessee

Shawn Jenkins – Benefitfocus, Charleston, South Carolina

Beth Rupert Chase – c3/consulting, Nashville, Tennessee

Brian Fox, CPA – Capital Confirmation, Inc., Brentwood, Tennessee

Tal Frankfurt – Cloud for Good, Asheville, North Carolina

Jack DeMao – Electric Guard Dog, Columbia, South Carolina

Barrett Ward – FASHIONABLE Inc., Nashville, Tennessee

Joseph Scibelli – FS Food Group, Charlotte, North Carolina

Nicholas Miller – Gather, Atlanta, Georgia

Rebecca Loranger – Lakeside Project Solutions, Inc., Denver, North Carolina

James Wesley Rogers – Landmark Properties, Athens, Georgia

Edward Karl Aldag, Jr. – Medical Properties Trust, Inc., Birmingham, Alabama

Adam Bruckman – OneDigital Health and Benefits, Atlanta, Georgia

Aviva Leebow Wolmer – Pacesetter, Kennesaw, Georgia

Asif Ramji – Paymetric, Roswell, Georgia

Ryan Carfley – Personify, Raleigh, North Carolina

Michael Terry Turner – Pinnacle Financial Partners, Nashville, Tennessee

Bill Ira Smith – Shipt Inc., Birmingham, Alabama

Reagan Farr – Silicon Ranch Corporation, Nashville, Tennessee

Matt Kisber – Silicon Ranch Corporation, Nashville, Tennessee

Satya Tiwari – Surya Carpet, Inc., White, Georgia

Scott Pressly – Tropical Smoothie Café, Atlanta, Georgia

David Alexander – TruGreen, Memphis, Tennessee

Syed Ahmed – VDart Inc., Alpharetta, Georgia

Debbie James – Vivere, Franklin, Tennessee

Adam McClain, CFA – Vulcan Value Partners, Birmingham, Alabama

Phyllis Winchester Newhouse – Xtreme Solutions, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia

Now in its 31st year, the program has expanded to recognize business leaders in over 145 cities and more than 60 countries throughout the world.

Regional award winners are eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year national program. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the Entrepreneur Of The Year Overall National Award winner, will be announced at the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards gala in Palm Springs, California, on November 18, 2017. The awards are the culminating event of the Strategic Growth ForumTM, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. The Entrepreneur Of The Year Overall Award winner then moves on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award in Monaco in June 2018.

Judges

The 2017 judging panel for the Southeast includes the following individuals:

Farad Ali – President and CEO at The Institute, Durham, North Carolina

Leah Brown – President and Chief Health Innovator of A10 Clinical Solutions, Inc., Cary, North Carolina

Michael R. Burcham – CEO of Narus Health, Nashville, Tennessee

Ben Chestnut – Co-founder and CEO of MailChimp, Atlanta, Georgia

Brian Hagerty – Senior Director, Head of Healthcare Capital Markets at the New York Stock Exchange, New York City, New York

Cordia Harrington – Founder and CEO of The Bakery Companies, Nashville, Tennessee

Scott B. Perper – Managing Partner of Pamlico Capital, Charlotte, North Carolina

Ed Weisiger, Jr. – Chairman and CEO of CTE, Charlotte, North Carolina

Mark A. Wilson – President and CEO of Chime Solutions, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia