Entrepreneurs create jobs that build a better working world in Canada - and beyond
MONTRÉAL, July 4, 2013 /CNW/ - EY is proud to announce the 2013 Quebec Entrepreneur Of The Year finalists today. The announcement marks 20 years of shining the spotlight on leading entrepreneurs revving the job creation engine across Canada and around the world.
"Our Québec Entrepreneur Of The Year finalists are no strangers to overcoming adversity and seizing new business opportunities," says Luc Charbonneau, Québec Entrepreneur Of The Year program co-director. "But what's even more impressive is each of their contributions beyond the bottom line — together they're helping us build a better working world."
The theme of job creation was very clear at EY's World Entrepreneur Of The Year (WEOY) awards held in Monaco last month. Together, the 47 companies gathered at the event represented a remarkable 59,000 jobs created in the last three years alone.
That finding was compounded by EY's latest report, Global job creation, which found the leading entrepreneur survey respondents are continuing to hire, not only to support their entry into new markets but to meet new demand for goods and services. Accordingly, the future of job creation is set to come not from big corporations or government, but from entrepreneurs who represent 66% of job creation within the OECD and 85% within the EU.
"The entrepreneurial drive to build businesses and create jobs is alive and thriving in Québec," says Daniel Baer, Québec Entrepreneur Of The Year program co-director. "As evidence of this entrepreneurial spirit, we received a record number of nominations from Québec entrepreneurs under the age of 30, and of entrepreneurial businesses created within the last five years. Our finalists are at the forefront of job and wealth creation."
From coast to coast, our finalists represent 50,909 jobs in Canada.
That's something that WEOY keynote speaker Kofi Annan called a crucial step toward tackling youth unemployment. Baer adds: "Fostering an environment that supports and encourages entrepreneurship and innovation is a key step towards addressing youth unemployment. Our entrepreneurs play a big role in job creation, and we have a big role to play in supporting them."
Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates the contribution and spirit of entrepreneurs everywhere. The Canadian program is in its 20th year of honouring the country's most impressive entrepreneurs from all areas of business. Award finalists are chosen based on their vision, leadership, financial success and social responsibility.
The Québec winners will be announced at a gala on 30 October. The overall winner will represent the region at the national gala held in Toronto on 27 November.
The 2013 Québec finalists for Entrepreneur Of The Year:
Business-to-business products and services
Gulshan Arora
Biena Inc. | Saint-Hyacinthe
biena.com
Designs and produces probiotic dairy products and enzymes.
André Laramée
Groupe CVTech Inc. | Drummondville
cvtech.ca
Provides construction and maintenance of electrical transmission and distribution lines, powerhouses and power stations, as well as pruning services.
Stéphane Chevigny
Groupe Intersand Canada | Boucherville
intersand.com
Producer of finest-quality cat litter, exporting to specialty pet stores in over 28 countries.
Business-to-consumer products and services
Robin Barré
Artizan | Pointe-Claire
artizangifts.com
Develops, designs, wholesales and retails a line of fashion accessories and apparel geared towards women, with retail outlets located in airports, and wholesale.
Luc Maurice
Le Groupe Maurice | Saint-Laurent
legroupemaurice.com
Develops, manages and owns residences for retirees.
Mario Jutras, Stephen Bray
P.H. Vitres d'autos Inc. | Sainte-Perpétue
ph.ca
Sells, distributes and installs automobile windshields and windows, also offering related automotive products.
Emerging entrepreneur
Alain Lefrançois
Epsylon Concept Inc. | Québec City
epsylon.ca
Manufactures and installs prefabricated aluminum and glass curtain walls for the commercial and institutional markets.
Mohamed Hage
Lufa Farms | Montréal
montreal.lufa.com
Pioneered commercial urban rooftop farms, produces more than 100 tons of vegetables without chemical pesticides, herbicides or fungicides annually.
Eduardo Mandri, Jérôme Guidollet
Tuango Inc. | Montréal
tuango.ca
Offers daily deals for restaurants, spas, activities, shows, hotels, products and more.
Health sciences
Ronald Reuben
A.R. Medicom Inc. | Lachine
medicom.ca
Enhances, manufactures and distributes high-quality infection-control, single-use and oral health care prepared products for the medical, dental, industrial and veterinary and laboratory markets.
Éric Gervais
Duchesnay Inc. | Blainville
duchesnay.com
A unique health care company primarily dedicated to safeguarding the health of expectant women, advancing maternal-fetal medicine.
Daniel Minogue
Minogue Medical Inc. | Montréal
Specializes in the delivery of innovative medical technologies to hospitals and medical clinics, and provides nutritional and supplemental products for weight-conscious patients and athletes.
Information technology
David Baazov
Amaya Gaming Group Inc. | Pointe-Claire
amayagaming.com
Designs, develops, manufactures, distributes and sells technology-based gaming solutions for the regulated gaming industry worldwide.
Mark Soucy
InnovMetric Logiciels Inc. | Québec City
innovmetric.com
The premier supplier of universal software platform 3D metrology solutions for industrial manufacturers.
Jacques Delarochellière
ISAAC Instruments Inc. | Chambly
isaac.ca
Develops complete vehicle telemetry solutions and provides a one-stop shop for user-friendly, reliable and powerful software, recorders, sensors and communication modules.
Media and entertainment
Mark Sherman
Media Experts | Montréal
mediaexperts.com
Canada's largest independent media services company.
Michael Reha
Newad | Montréal
newad.com
Provides advertisers with media faces to reach young and affluent urban adults.
Eric Boyko
Stingray Digital | Montréal
stingraydigital.com
Leading provider of multi-platform music services for television service operators worldwide.
Professional/financial services
Jeff Mitelman
Advanceit Financial Corporation | Montréal
advanceit.com
Provides cash advances to small and medium-sized businesses.
Bernard Asselin
Communications Bleublancrouge Inc. | Montréal
bleublancrouge.ca
An integrated marketing communications agency.
Pascal Fortin
GoSecure Inc. | Montréal
gosecure.ca
Provides cutting-edge technical security testing services and security operations consulting.
Real estate and construction
Marc Dutil
Groupe Canam Inc. | Saint-Georges
groupecanam.com
Provides component design and manufacturing services for the construction industry.
Louis Lemay
Lemay | Montréal
lemayonline.com
Offers an array of integrated design services including architecture, urban design, interior design, landscape architecture, brand imaging, graphic design, energy efficiency and project management.
Robert Michaud
Ramp-Art Inc. | Lévis
ramp-art.ca
Manufactures upscale, multi-unit, residential highrise and hotel railing products.
Technology and communications
Sanjay Bakshani, Vicken Kanadjian
Cesium Telecom Inc. | Mont-Royal
cesiumtelecom.com
One of North America's leading distributors of original branded accessories (OEM) and other select wireless-related and consumer electronic products.
Sylvain Boucher
Ergoresearch Ltd. | Laval
ergoresearch.com
The leading manufacturer of intelligent orthotics and a trendsetter in the development of medical equipment and software for the orthopedics market.
Constance Raymond, Jean-Françoys Brousseau
Outbox Holding CRB Inc. | Montréal
outboxtechnology.com
Manages and processes worldwide high-volume ticket sales for venues and shows over an easy-to-use, innovative technology platform.
Young entrepreneur
Simon Bertrand
Crudessence Kombucha | Montréal
risekombucha.com
Produces and sells the organic and fair trade health beverage RISE Kombucha in more than 600 stores across Canada.
Hicham Ratnani, Yifeng Song
Frank & Oak | Montréal
frankandoak.com
A leading menswear brand and e-tailor that designs, manufactures and curates a monthly collection of fine clothing and accessories.
Simon De Baene
Groupe GSoft | Montréal
gsoft-group.com
Montréal's leader in agile software development.
Mitchell Sweibel
Montreal Office Maintenance (M.O.M.) | Mont-Royal
ilovemom.ca
Provides cleaning and maintenance services to commercial and residential clients.
Special citation — Social entrepreneur
Social entrepreneur is a unique category that awards a special citation to an entrepreneur whose achievements have driven large-scale social change and improved people's lives or quality of life.
Claudine Labelle
Fillactive | Sainte-Thérèse
fillactive.ca
Helps teenage girls discover the advantages and the enjoyment that come from taking part in physical activity in an environment that is positive, promotes a healthy self image and is open to all teenage girls.
About Entrepreneur Of The Year
Entrepreneurs turn us on. To new ideas, new ways of thinking and new possibilities. We've shone the spotlight on entrepreneurs for 20 years — and we've only just begun. Nominees are reviewed by an independent judging panel composed of several distinguished business leaders and previous award recipients. The 2013 Québec judging panel consisted of Isabelle Bettez, President and CEO, 8D Technologies Inc; Claude Champagne, Entrepreneur en residence, Cycle Capital Management; Jean Cloutier, 2010 Québec Entrepreneur Of The Year Manufacturing category winner and Vice President, Operations and Finance, Outdoor Gear Canada (OGC); Martin Deschênes, 2003 Québec Entrepreneur Of The Year Business-to-business products and services category winner and President and CEO, Groupe Deschênes Inc.; Michel Gendreau, 2012 Québec Entrepreneur Of The Year and Manufacturing category winner and President, Garaga Inc.; Nathalie Marcoux, Vice President, Finance, Capinabel Inc.; Sam Scalia, 2009 Québec Entrepreneur Of The Year Real estate/construction category winner and President, Samcon Inc.; and Étienne Veilleux, 2010 Québec Entrepreneur Of The Year Cleantech category winner and President and CEO, Distech Controls Inc.
For more information on the program, FAQs, and key dates, please visit ey.com/ca/EOY.
For more information about the Quebec Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards gala on 30 October 2013 and sponsorship opportunities please contact Sophie Leclerc 514 879 8173 at [email protected].
Follow us on Twitter @EYCanada: #EOY20, #EOYQuebec.
This year's national program sponsors are National Post, La Presse, RDI and Merrill DataSite. In Québec, Entrepreneur Of The Year is sponsored by Fonds de Solidarité FTQ.
About EY's Entrepreneurial Services practice
EY's Entrepreneurial Services practice guides Canadian entrepreneurs by delivering integrated services tailored to their goals and needs at every stage of the business lifecycle. We are the world's leader in advising, guiding and recognizing the entrepreneurs who propel the economy — and community — forward.
For more information, please visit ey.com/ca/Entrepreneurs.
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.
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)
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