“For the past 24 years, Ernst & Young has honored the best entrepreneurs through our Entrepreneur Of The Year program,” said Brian Ring, Ernst & Young LLP Entrepreneur Of The Year Program Director for the Greater Los Angeles Area. “We recognize the tremendous impact these entrepreneurs have in the Greater Los Angeles Area. They are truly on the forefront of the economic recovery.”

The Greater Los Angeles Area semi-finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award in 2010 are:

Zarik Megerdichian, CEO, 4Over, Inc.
Therese Tucker, CEO, Blackline Systems
John Rudolph, CEO, Bug Music, Inc.
Daniel Sanker, President & CEO, CaseStack
Isaac Garcia, CEO & Co-Founder, Central Desktop Inc.
Stuart Ellis, President & CEO, Charter School Capital
Alfred Kuehlewind, CEO, Commodity Forwarders, Inc.
Sara Naghedi , President and Fatemeh Mahdavi, Designer, Deux Lux, Inc.
Ronald Miller, Managing Director, Disability Group, Inc.
Mark Cave, CEO, eBridge, Inc.
Greg Waldorf, CEO, eHarmony, Inc.
Aaron Broder, CEO and Brian Fitzgerald, President, Evolve Media
Mark Albarian, President & CEO, Goldline International, Inc.
Jason Meugniot, CEO & Owner, Guidance Solutions
Adam Bernhard, CEO, HauteLook
Saskia Strick, CEO & President, International Checkout, Inc.
Noah Rowles, CEO & Founder, iolo technologies, LLC
John Suh, CEO, LegalZoom, Inc.
Nick Mehta, CEO, LiveOffice LLC
Alan Zafran, Partner, Luminous Capital
David Rivero, President and Gary McNelly,Vice President, Market Health, Inc.
Mike Towbes, Chairman of the Board, Montecito Bank & Trust and The Towbes Group, Inc.
Lyndon Faulkner, President & CEO, Pelican Products, Inc.
Josh Meyers, CEO, People Media
Fash Majoor, President & CEO, Phenomenex, Inc.
Leon Farahnik, Chairman, PWP Industries
Ravi Sawhney, Founder & CEO, RKS Design, Inc
Robert Friedman, Co-Chairman & CEO, Summit Entertainment, LLC
Dan Batrack, Chairman & CEO, Tetra Tech, Inc.
Mike Malin, Co-Owner and Lonnie Moore, Co-Owner, The Dolce Group
Phil Knowles, CEO, Topaz Distribution, LLC
Trina Turk, CEO, L2t ( Trina Turk)
Mike Fiore, Chairman, CEO & Co-Founder, Vantage Oncology, Inc
Scott Painter, CEO & Founder, Zag.com, Inc.

The Entrepreneur Of The Year® program honors entrepreneurs regionally in June, leading up to the national awards in November.  Additionally, venture-backed companies that win an Entrepreneur Of The Year® award regionally are also eligible for the Venture Capital Award of Excellence on a national level. The overall national US winner then moves on to compete for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year title in June. 

This year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year awards program celebrates its 24^th anniversary. The program has expanded to recognize business leaders in over 135 cities in 50 countries throughout the world.  Awards are given to entrepreneurs who demonstrate extraordinary success in the areas of innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Entrepreneurs are nominated and evaluated by those in each region, including local business, academic and community leaders.

All regional honorees are invited to the national Entrepreneur Of The Year® gala, hosted by Jay Leno, on November 13, 2010 in Palm Springs, California. The gala is the culminating event of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum®, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. For more information on the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum, please visit www.ey.com/us/strategicgrowthforum.

Sponsors

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year awards are pleased to have the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and SAP America as national sponsors.

In the Greater Los Angeles Area, sponsors include our Platinum sponsors Marsh, Scherzer International and Union Bank as well as our Gold sponsors Bowne and Montgomery & Co.

Contact information

To make reservations for the Entrepreneur Of The Year awards gala on Tuesday, June 22, 2010, contact Sandra Feldner Vandergriff of Ernst & Young LLP at +1 213 977 3253 or Sandra.feldnervandergriff@ey.com by June 12, 2010.  Tickets are $300 per person. For more information about the program, please visit www.ey.com/us/eoy.

About Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year®

Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year® is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The award makes a difference through the unique way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 135 cities in 50 countries.

About Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Worldwide, our 144,000 people are united by our shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality. We make a difference by helping our people, our clients and our wider communities achieve their potential.

For more information, please visit www.ey.com.

Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young LLP is a client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited located in the U.S.