Entrepreneur Of The Year® US

Yes. The information on the nomination form will be used by the EY team (in connection with the administration of the award), the sponsors (who will review nonfinancial information), and the independent national and regional panels of judges.

Nominees should be the founder or the current executive responsible for the day-to-day operations of the for-profit business. This is typically the company's CEO or president. These individuals should be in their role for a minimum of two years, and the business should be operational for at least two years. Co-founders are eligible if they share leadership responsibilities at the company.

Past eligible regional award winners are eligible to apply again for the national competition if desired. Please contact the regional program team for more information about the process.

Anyone who is associated with a successful entrepreneur can nominate a candidate. This includes spouses, employees, bankers, attorneys, public relations managers or entrepreneurs themselves. Self-nominations are encouraged! After all, no one knows the dimensions of an entrepreneur's success better than the entrepreneur.

Nominations are now closed for the 2026 program. Please reach out to your regional manager for more information. Find your program here.

You do not need to be a client or have any relationship within the EY organization as it pertains to services.

For nominees who advance to the finalist round, we estimate that the total time commitment over the course of the program cycle will be between 8 and 12 hours:

• Complete nomination
• Interview with EY leaders and select sponsors
• Interview with the independent panel of judges
• Participate in video filming
• Join awards celebration
• Attend any related events (virtual or in-person)

There is no cost to submit a nomination.

At the regional level, all nominees are judged based on their individual merits, stories and achievements. They are not scored in categories or only against companies in their industry. The judges carefully consider all of the nominees across the same scorecard and select the most impressive and compelling ones to be named finalists and winners each year. 

The regional and national independent panels of judges include entrepreneurs and other prominent C-suite business leaders. Many of the judges are past winners of this award and now members of our Entrepreneur Of The Year® alumni community. There are separate judging panels for each of the 17 regional programs and a national panel. 

The number of awards varies across the individual programs every year. Each regional independent judging panel selects award recipients based on the quality of the nominations received. After the regional award winners are announced, the national panel of judges will select the strongest candidates, who will be named national finalists and winners as part of the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards celebration. 

At the regional level, we have moved away from industry categories and all award winners are named Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winners. At the national level, awards are judged in industry categories, as well as Emerging and Family Business categories.

Winners are honored at the regional award celebrations every summer.

The annual Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards celebration where national finalists and winners are named is traditionally held in Palm Springs in November at the Strategic Growth Forum®.

Since its inception in 1986 in Milwaukee, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program has grown into a global business awards program that is now in more than 60 countries and more than 145 cities around the world. Every year, country winners from around the world are inducted into the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year Hall of Fame and vie for the title of World Entrepreneur Of The Year. The awards celebration is typically held in June in Monaco. 

All Entrepreneur Of The Year regional award winners are inducted into the Entrepreneur Of The Year Hall of Fame, an elite roster of business leaders who have been recognized for their exceptional entrepreneurial achievements. All Entrepreneur Of The Year Hall of Fame members, also known as Entrepreneur Of The Year alumni, join an esteemed community of like-minded entrepreneurs from around the globe. To learn more about our program alumni, search the Entrepreneur Of The Year Hall of Fame portal.

Please contact Wendy Fox, Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Americas Program Manager.