BC Business
Judges just named 22 B.C. businesses as finalists for the 2021 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year awards' Pacific Region program.
AbCellera Biologics, led by founder and CEO Carl Hansen (centre), is one of the finalists
Pandemic or not, entrepreneurship in this province looks as strong as ever.
Judges just named 22 B.C. businesses as finalists for the 2021 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year awards’ Pacific Region program. BCBusiness is a longtime sponsor of EOY, which recognizes entrepreneurs across Canada for their contributions to innovation, growth and prosperity.
Ernst & Young partner Lui Petrollini, EOY’s Vancouver-based Pacific Program director, commended the finalists on their success in trying times. “Despite the ongoing shutdowns across B.C.—and the rest of the world—causing knock-on disruption to operations and supply chains, these companies have managed to push challenges to the sideline and respond with resilience and agility,” he said in a statement.
Tech companies are well represented among this year’s finalists, given that many of them “were in an optimal position to pivot and accommodate new demands,” Petrollini added. Other sectors that stood out were consumer goods and retail.
An independent panel of judges will select regional winners that will be announced in July. The winners go on to the national awards, where they’ll square off against finalists from the Prairies, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic regions. A judging panel will name 10 national winners in November, including Canada’s EY Entrepreneur Of The Year for 2021.
The overall Canadian winner will compete against rivals from some 60 countries for a shot at the EY World Entrepreneur Of the Year title next June.
“It’s been incredible to see so many entrepreneurs not only meet the bar for growth—but rise above it while supporting their local and national communities along the way,” Petrollini said.
Here are the EOY Pacific Region finalists and their founders and chief executives.
AbCellera BiologicsCarl Hansen
Apply DigitalChris Coghlan and Gautam Lohia
BeanworksCatherine Dahl and Reza Sanaie
CopperleafJudi Hess
Cymax Group Technologies Rizwan Somji
DeeBee’s OrganicsDionne Laslo-Baker
Fresh Prep FoodsBecky Brauer, Husein Rahemtulla and Dhruv Sood
HME Mobility & AccessibilityRobert Boscacci and Cameron Fleming
Jane AppTrevor Johnston and Alison Taylor
Keystone EnvironmentalRaminder Grewal
Legends HaulCraig Sheridan
Natu’oil ServicesHaresh Bhatt
Nude BeveragesJulius Makarewicz
Power Wood Corp.Jake Power
Save-On-FoodsDarrell Jones
Somatic Mechanical | Electrical | PlumbingGilbert Ghezesan and Patrick Wu
TasktopMik Kersten
The Pro-Claim GroupTony Scott
VessiMikaella Go, Andy Wang and Tony Yu
WeatherhavenRay Castelli
Western LogisticsMary Waring
WPIC Marketing + TechnologiesJacob Cooke and Joseph Cooke