EY Announces Winners for the Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2024 Mid-Atlantic Award

Celebrating the bold leaders who disrupt markets, revolutionize industries and transform lives

Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) is pleased to announce the winners of the Entrepreneur Of The Year^® Mid-Atlantic Award. This prestigious award program recognizes the ambitious leaders of high-growth companies who are creating a more equitable, sustainable, and prosperous world for future generations.

The regional winners were chosen by an independent judging panel made up of previous award winners, leading CEOs and other business leaders. Candidates were evaluated based on their success in creating long-term value through entrepreneurial spirit, commitment to their purpose and the demonstration of growth and substantial impact, among other key indicators.

Entrepreneur Of The Year honors many different types of business leaders for their ingenuity, courage and entrepreneurial spirit. The program celebrates original founders who bootstrapped their business from inception or who raised outside capital to grow their company; transformational CEOs who infused innovation into an existing organization to catapult its trajectory; and multigenerational family business leaders who reimagined a legacy business model to fortify it for the future.

“The 2024 Entrepreneur Of The Year Mid-Atlantic Award winners show exceptional commitment to growth and innovation as well as diversity and inclusion within their business cultures and in their broader communities,” said Anthony Calderazzi, EOY Mid-Atlantic Program Co-Director.

Steve Canaras, fellow Program Co-Director of EOY Mid-Atlantic, commended the winners, stating, "All of these entrepreneurs are on a mission to solve real problems in business and in the world, and their journeys are truly inspirational. It’s an honor to give them the recognition they deserve through our program.”

The Entrepreneur Of The Year 2024 Mid-Atlantic Award winners are:

• Anil Sharma | 22nd Century Technologies, Inc. | Tysons Corner, Virginia
• Josh Matthews | Apkudo | Baltimore, Maryland
• Sid Chowdhary | Credence Management Solutions | Tysons Corner, Virginia
• Tom Walker | DroneUp | Virginia Beach, Virginia
• Dr. Samir Khleif | Georgiamune | Gaithersburg, Maryland
• Kyle Hanslovan | Huntress | Columbia, Maryland
• Prashant Agrawal | Impact Analytics Inc. | Washington, DC
• Steve Sidel | Mindoula | Silver Spring, Maryland
• Manu Smadja | MPOWER Financing | Washington, DC
• Kristina Bouweiri | Reston Limousine | Sterling, Virginia
• Sarela Herrada | SIMPLi | Baltimore, Maryland

Learn more about the winners at ey.com/en_us/entrepreneur-of-the-year-us/mid-atlantic. 

These regional award winners will now move on to be considered for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards, set to be presented in November at the annual Strategic Growth Forum^®, one of the nation’s most prestigious gatherings of high-growth, market-leading companies. The Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner will then represent the US as they compete for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year^® Award in June 2025.

Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winners become lifetime members of a global, multi-industry community of entrepreneurs. They receive exclusive, ongoing access to the experience, insight and wisdom of program alumni and other ecosystem members in more than 60 countries — all supported by vast EY resources.

In addition to Entrepreneur Of The Year, EY US supports other entrepreneurs through the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ program and the EY Entrepreneurs Access Network to help connect women founders and Black and Hispanic/Latino entrepreneurs, respectively, with the resources, network and access needed to unlock their full potential.

Sponsors

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards include presenting sponsors PNC Bank, Cresa, Marsh USA, SAP and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. In Mid-Atlantic, sponsors also include regional Platinum sponsor ADP, regional Gold sponsors Cooley and DLA Piper, and regional Silver sponsor Kelly Benefits Strategies.

About Entrepreneur Of The Year®

Founded in 1986, Entrepreneur Of The Year® has celebrated more than 11,000 ambitious visionaries who are leading successful, dynamic businesses in the US, and it has since expanded to nearly 80 countries and territories globally.

The US program consists of 17 regional programs whose panels of independent judges select the regional award winners every June. Those winners compete for national recognition at the Strategic Growth Forum® in November where National finalists and award winners are announced. The overall National winner represents the US at the World Entrepreneur Of The Year® competition. Visit ey.com/us/eoy.

About EY

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