BC Business
Every year since 1994, BCBusiness has partnered with Ernst & Young (EY) to produce the definitive look at entrepreneurship in British Columbia. The EY Entrepreneur of the Year program honours the very best in our business world—the risk-takers and game-changers whose visionary leadership and exemplary performance put them a step above the rest. Below, you'll meet the 30 entrepreneurs who made the cut this year—including the 10 category winners and our overall Pacific Region winner
Dr. Allen Eaves (Pacific Region Overall Winner)President and CEO, Stemcell Technologies Inc.
Bhawnesh Mathur + Geoff ReedCEO + Chair, Creation Technologies
Geoff ChutterCEO and President, WhiteWater West Industries Ltd.
Cody GreenFounder and Co-CEO, Canada Drives
David GensFounder, President and CEO, Merchant Advance Capital Ltd.
Hamed ShahbaziCEO, Tio Networks Corp.
Roger Hardy + Sean ClarkCEO + CTO, Shoes.com
Trent Shumay + Ryan PetersonCTO + CEO, Finger Food Studios
Lance PriebeCEO, Hyper Hippo Productions Ltd.
Paul DunstanPresident, Plenary Group (Canada) Ltd.
Jonathan Whitworth + Kyle WashingtonCEO + Executive Chairman, Seaspan ULC
Jeff StibbardCEO, JDS Energy & Mining
Matias MarquezFounder and COO, Buyatab Online Inc.
Johann StarkePresident and CEO, FCV Interactive
Morgan CareyCEO, Real Estate Webmasters
Todd, Scott + Jason JacobPrincipals, Jacob Bros. Construction Inc.
Ken MayhewOwner and President, Penfolds Roofing and Solar Inc.
William (Bill) DowningPresident, Structurlam Products Inc.
Kate Ross LeBlanc + Jean-Pierre LeBlancCEO and Co-Founder + Chair and Co-Founder, Saje Natural Business Inc.
John NeateCEO and Founder, JJ Bean Inc.
Daniel FrankelFounder and CEO, Tap & Barrel Brands Ltd.
Tim BermanPresident and Founder, Fluxwerx Illumination Inc.
Casey O’NeillFounder and CEO, Cypress Solutions Inc.
Philip VanderpolPresident and Founder, Vitalus Nutrition Inc.
Ken Sim + Cathy Thorpe + John DeHartCo-founder + President and CEO + Co-founder, Nurse Next Door
Zeeshan + Karina HayatCEO + President, Prizm Media Inc.
Cameron Fleming + Robert BoscacciDirectors, HME Mobility and Accessibility
Elana RosenfeldCEO, Kicking Horse Coffee
Ian WalkerFounder and Owner, Left Coast Naturals
Ray RussellFounder and Owner, Fresh Slice
The EY Entrepreneur of the Year is an annual global awards program administered by Ernst & Young (EY). Canada’s Pacific Region competition is overseen by the Ernst & Young LLP Vancouver office, which selects judges from among business leaders and past EOY winners. Judges look for a number of factors, including vision, leadership, financial performance and social responsibility. The Pacific Region winner is among five regional winners for Canada’s EY Entrepreneur of the Year; the Canadian winner advances to an annual competition for World Entrepreneur of the Year from among 60 country winners, each year held in Monte Carlo. Details of the nomination process and judging criteria are available online. Nominations are accepted year-round.
2016 Pacific Region judgesRyan Beedie, President, Beedie Group Charles Chang, President + Founder, Lyra Growth Partners Ashley Cooper, President, Paladin Security Christine Cooper, Corporate Finance Head, BMO Bank of Montreal Debra Hewson, President, Odlum Brown Shannon Rogers, President, Global Relay Communications Inc. Lisa Shields, Founder + CEO, FI.SPAN Bill Tam, President, BC Technology Industry Association