Richard J. Buoncore, managing partner, MAI Wealth Advisors LLC
FINALIST: Financial and Business Advisory Services Richard J. Buoncore and his partners really wanted MAI Wealth Advisors LLC and they had to fight to purchase the wealth management firm. But once they had it, they had a company facing a number of significant concerns. It had operated for several decades as a captive affiliate of […]
Sabah Ammouri, President and CEO, ATM of America Inc.
Semifinalist, Business Services Sabah Ammouri immigrated to America with his family at the age of 5. Originally from Iraq, Ammouri spent his childhood overcoming language, cultural barriers and financial instability. The challenges of his early life helped instill in him a strong work ethic. He used his determination and willingness to work hard as the […]
Joseph M. McClure, Co-founder, McClure’s Pickles
Semifinalist, Consumer Products In 2006, after years of making pickles in their tiny Michigan kitchen and using their great-grandmother Lala’s recipe, Joseph McClure and his brother, Bob, started McClure’s Pickles. Six years later, the company has expanded and now produces relish, bloody mary mix and other products. The McClures credit their steady growth to putting […]
Jim McCluney, CEO, Emulex
FINALIST – Technology Jim McCluney CEO Emulex Emulex has come a long way from its start 30 years ago, diversifying product and making strategic acquisitions to adapt to and survive changes in the technology industry. With the acquisition of Vixel Corp. in 2003, Emulex obtained perhaps its most valuable asset — its current president and […]
Kim E. Letch, partner, EOY Orange County; John Belli, office managing partner, Ernst & Young, Orange County
PARTNERS – Orange County Kim E. Letch, partner and program director for Entrepreneur Of The Year, Orange County. John Belli, office managing partner for Ernst & Young, Orange County. For more than 25 years, Ernst & Young has celebrated the entrepreneurial spirit of men and women pursuing innovation and entrepreneurial excellence in their businesses, their […]
Charles Puccini, president and CEO, Bauer Foundation Corp.
AWARD RECIPIENT – Real Estate and Construction Charles Puccini president and CEO Bauer Foundation Corp. Charles “Chuck” Puccini, president and CEO of Bauer Foundation Corp., knows technology and innovation drive change, and those who don’t keep up with it will fall behind. Puccini has driven the company, which provides deep foundation services for the construction […]
Jay Whitacre Ph.D., Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Aquion Energy Inc.
FINALIST / TECHNOLOGY As an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University, Jay Whitacre strived to take the problems surrounding energy storage and address them with real-world solutions powered by innovation and collaboration. It’s a mentality he took into the business sphere when he founded Aquion Energy Inc. in 2008. Whitacre founded Aquion to help answer […]
Frederick Minturn, CEO, MSX International
Finalist, Business Services When Frederick Minturn became MSX International’s CEO in 2009, he inherited a company with declining revenues, poor financial performance and customer satisfaction and 3,000 employees spread all over the globe. To make matters more complicated, the outsourcing business was looking at some of the worst economic times since the depression. Although many […]
Cory Wiedel and Ryan Zink, Complete Nutrition
FINALIST Cory Wiedel founder and CEO Ryan Zink president and co-owner Complete Nutrition When Cory Wiedel took two years off from college to open his first business, it was ultimately unsuccessful, but the experience cemented his ambitions to be an entrepreneur. With his solid work ethic, he paid off his debt and finished school a […]
Dennis Oates, Chairman, President and CEO, Universal Stainless & Alloy Products Inc.
WINNER / INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING Universal Stainless & Alloy Products Inc. was launched in 1994 when founder Mac McAninch rejuvenated a defunct stainless steel mill in Bridgeville, Pa. The company became a successful stainless steel producer and soon opened two more previously shuttered mills in Titusville, Pa., and Dunkirk, N.Y. When Dennis Oates joined Universal’s board […]