Atlantic's most disruptive and innovative entrepreneurs named finalists of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ program

HALIFAX, July 6, 2016 /CNW/ - EY is recognizing an impressive group of Atlantic entrepreneurs for their financial performance, vision, leadership, personal integrity and entrepreneurial spirit. Today, the firm named 26 finalists across 7 categories in its EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Atlantic 2016 awards program.

"Entrepreneurship is about finding new ways to approach challenging problems. It's about growing your community while growing your business, and building prosperity for yourself, as well as others," says Gina Kinsman, Entrepreneur Of The Year Atlantic program director. "This year's finalists in our region are diverse and brimming with ideas to help build a better world for the next generation. We couldn't be more proud."

An independent panel of judges will name winners in a number of categories, and one of the category winners as the overall Atlantic winner. That winner will then compete with winners from Québec, Ontario, Prairies and Pacific regions for the Canadian Entrepreneur Of The Year title. The Canadian winner will go on to compete with winners from more than 50 countries for the title of EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year, in June 2017.

The Canadian Entrepreneur Of The Year program is in its 23rd year of recognizing, celebrating and telling the inspiring stories of the country's most impressive entrepreneurs from all areas of business and different stages of their entrepreneurial journey.

The Atlantic winners will be announced at a gala in Halifax on 6 October 2016.

More information

Follow @EYCanada, #EOY and #EOYAtlantic on Twitter for the latest event updates.

Visit ey.com/ca/eoy for more program details and a complete list of category finalists and gala dates in the regions.  

The 2016 Atlantic EY Entrepreneur Of The Year finalists
Business Services

Don Mills
Corporate Research Associates Inc. | Halifax, Nova Scotia
www.cra.ca
Provides insight and strategic direction to clients using state-of-the-art research, as well as strategic consulting services in both official languages.

Keith Brideau
Historica | Saint John, New Brunswick
www.historicadevelopments.com
Known for their quality work and positive community impact, Historica designs, develops, builds, renovates, leases and manages real estate.

Judith Bobbitt
Oceans Limited | St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador
www.oceansltd.com
Offers services in physical oceanography, marine weather forecasting, iceberg profiling, bio-monitoring of fish health, plus climate & oceanography studies.

Paul Pynn
One Wind Services Inc. | Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
www.onewindinc.com
A professional service organization serving the North American wind energy market.

Business-to-Business Products and Services

Bob Kiely
Envirem Organics Inc. | Fredericton, New Brunswick
www.envirem.com
Provides innovative recycling solutions and manufactures a line of value-added bio-products from waste.

Ed Clarke
Global Ad Source | St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador
www.globaladsource.com
Provides capture and analysis of competitor advertising campaigns and brand strategies across 80 countries and seven media types.

Brad Langille
GoGold Resources Inc. | Halifax, Nova Scotia
www.gogoldresources.com
A Canadian-based gold and silver producer with properties in Mexico.

Thomas Soucy
Groupe Westco Inc. | Saint-François-de-Madawaska, New Brunswick
www.groupewestco.com 
One of Canada's largest integrated poultry farming organizations, with hatcheries, breeding farms and related shipping companies.

Business-to-Consumer Products and Services

Alex MacLean
East Coast Lifestyle | Halifax, Nova Scotia
www.eastcoastlifestyle.com 
Designs and produces unique, high-profile clothing that showcases Atlantic Canadian pride.

Bert and Jonathan Hickman
Hickman Automotive Group | St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador
www.hickmangroup.ca 
A fourth-generation family automobile business, Hickman Automotive Group owns and operates 12 locations that offer multiple vehicle brands.

Dave Powell
Powell Group of Companies | Bay Roberts, Newfoundland & Labrador
www.agdnl.ca 
Newfoundland's largest wholesale distributor to independent grocers – a network encompassing supermarkets, rental units, a shopping plaza, and Atlantic Grocery Distributors.

Health Sciences

David Ford and Andrew Steeves
BioScript Pharmacy Ltd. | Moncton, New Brunswick
www.bioscript.ca 
A specialty pharmacy supporting the unique biological and specialty pharmaceutical needs of patients managing complex illnesses and the physicians who treat them.

Charlene Brophy
FONEMED | St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador
www.fonemed.com 
A patient-centered platform incorporating technology and disease-specific protocols to provide 24/7 teletriage support, remote biometric monitoring, and behavioral health counseling to 10 million individuals globally.

Lesley Steele
Vet Alliance Inc. | Fredericton, New Brunswick
www.vetalliance.ca 
Canada's largest organized affiliate buyers group for veterinary hospitals, helping independent veterinary practices thrive.

Hospitality/Tourism

Hanspeter Stutz
Grand Pre Wines Ltd. | Grand Pre, Nova Scotia
www.grandprewines.com 
Atlantic Canada's oldest farm winery, developing special wines true to Nova Scotia.

Tony Nahas
Mezza Lebanese Restaurant Group | Halifax, Nova Scotia
www.mezzalebanesekitchen.com 
A fast-casual franchise chain specializing in Lebanese cuisine that uses locally sourced meats, poultry, produce, and bread.

Bill Mahoney
Regal Realty Limited | St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador
www.murraypremiseshotel.com 
Owns, manages and develops commercial, hotel and residential real estate. Holdings include the Murray Premises Hotel and St. John's Executive Suites.

Information Technology

Saar Fabrikant
B4Checkin | Halifax, Nova Scotia
www.b4checkin.com 
A developer and provider of cloud-based software solutions for the hospitality industry.

Travis McDonough
Kinduct Technologies Inc. | Halifax, Nova Scotia
www.kinduct.com 
Specializes in human performance software solutions for professional and amateur sports organizations as well as military, public safety, and health and wellness organizations. 

Todd Hiscock
Beaufort Solutions Inc. | St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador
www.beaufortsolutions.com 
Provides easy-to-use software to customers around the world that enable them to deliver high-quality digital solutions.

Russell Pelley
GRi Simulation Inc | Mount Pearl, Newfoundland & Labrador
www.grisim.com 
A software development company that focuses on real-time 3D simulation, visualization, and integrated engineering technologies for critical marine activities.

Media and Entertainment

Paul Rigg
Copernicus Studios Inc. | Halifax, Nova Scotia
www.copernicus.ca 
Develops original entertainment media, supplies animated television content, and produces gaming and educational content for the evolving apps market.

Mike Johnston
REDspace Inc. | Bedford, Nova Scotia
www.redspace.com 
A digital studio specializing in creating interactive experiences for large broadcasters and media brands all over the world. Services include website and application development, game production, design and animation, live event support and more.

Phil Otto
Revolve Branding Inc. | Bedford, Nova Scotia
www.revolve.ca 
A full-service branding and marketing firm serving clients across Canada and the US, with a knack for overcoming complex challenges with simple, strategic solutions.

About EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™

EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award makes a difference through the 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, EY 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 140 cities in 50 countries.

The 2016 Atlantic independent judging panel consists of Nancy Mathis, Executive Director, Wallace McCain Institute; Dr. Kenneth A. (Sandy) Maclver, Director, Ron Joyce Centre for Business Studies, Mount Allison University; Ben Cowan-Dewar, Managing Director, Cabot Links Ventures Inc.; and Iris Petten, President, Petten Holdings Inc.

This year's program national sponsors are TEC Canada, La Presse, RDI, The TMX Group, The Globe and Mail Inc., Merrill Corporation, Kira Talent, Air Canada and The Printing House Limited. Atlantic regional sponsors are Progress Media, Royal Bank of Canada and McInnes Cooper.

About EY

EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

For more information, please visit ey.com/ca. Follow us on Twitter @EYCanada.

EY refers to the global organization and may refer to one or more of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

SOURCE EY (Ernst & Young)

Sasha Anopina, [email protected], 416 943 2637; Julie Fournier, [email protected], 514 874 4308; Leigh Kjekstad, [email protected], 604 648 3807