North Texas gets a lot of attention for the big corporate relocations it continues to attract. But the real strength of its economy is its strong and diverse base of entrepreneurs. That foundation was obvious Saturday night when EY hosted its annual black tie gala and named 11 Southwest region winners in its Entrepreneur of the Year program.
EY’s Debra von Storch, who has passionately led the program for years, said the most successful entrepreneurs are unstoppable. “To build something truly remarkable, you can’t let anything stand in your way,” she said.
The 11 category winners are:
Beauty, Health and Wellness: Jamie O’Banion, BeautyBio
Energy Services: Rhett Bennett, Black Mountain
Family Business: Thomas Hartland-Mackie, City Electric Supply Co.
Industry Disruptor: Jonathan Gross and Derek Harvey, Fusion Packaging
Energy Exploration and Production: Jay Still, Guidon Energy
Technology Innovator: Ben Lamm, Hypergiant Industries
Retail and Consumer Products: Michael Wittmeyer, JM Bullion
Technology: Pardeep Kohli, Mavenir
Social Technology: Richard Margolin, RoboKind
Real Estate, Hospitality, and Construction: Michael Browning Jr., Urban Air Adventure Parks
FinTech and Financial Services: Kate Richard, The Warwick Group
A special “Master Entrepreneur” award was presented to Clark Hunt, CEO of FC Dallas and the Kansas City Chiefs. Read about him here.
For a 12 years, D CEO has profiled all finalists in EY’s annual program. This year, we wrote about 50 entrepreneurs at 41 companies. It’s hard to not be inspired by their innovative ideas and stories of perseverance. Read more here.
