Ontario region's legacy-building entrepreneurs advance to finalist stage of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ program

TORONTO, July 9, 2015 /CNW/ - Accelerating growth, driving innovation and building a strong legacy are what Canadian entrepreneurs do, every day. This year, EY is celebrating the achievements of 40 entrepreneurial stars in the Ontario region through the prestigious EY Entrepreneur Of The Year awards program. 

These inspiring category finalists were chosen by an independent panel of judges. One of these category winners will be named the overall Ontario winner, who will compete with winners from four other regions – Pacific, Prairies, Quebec and Atlantic – to become Canada's EY Entrepreneur Of The Year. The Canadian winner will go on to compete globally with more than 50 countries for the title of EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year in June 2016.

"Canadian entrepreneurs succeed because they're always searching for better," says Colleen McMorrow, EY's national Entrepreneur Of The Year program director. "This year's Ontario finalists are some of the best and brightest stars we've seen – and they're building their legacies by asking better questions to gain better answers; pushing boundaries to grow our economy; and helping build a better working world."

The Canadian Entrepreneur Of The Year program is in its 22^nd year of recognizing, celebrating and telling the inspiring stories of the country's most impressive entrepreneurs from all areas of business and at different stages of their entrepreneurial journey. Award finalists are chosen based on their vision, leadership, innovation, financial success, personal integrity, and work in giving back to their communities.

The Ontario winners will be announced at a gala on 29 October 2015.

More information
Follow @EYCanada, #EOY and #EOYOntario 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 2015 OntarioEY Entrepreneur Of The Year finalists

Business Services

Orin Litman
Canadian Veterinary Network Inc. | Woodbridge
http://www.vetstrategy.com
Services for veterinary clinics across Canada, including financial services, facility and equipment maintenance, human resource management, business development, inventory, technology, and strategic advice.

Rubson Ho, Joe Milstone
Cognition LLP | Toronto
www.cognitionllp.com
An innovative law firm structured to deliver relevant commercial and corporate legal solutions to businesses and legal departments in the most cost-effective manner.

Graham Rosenberg
Dental Corporation | Toronto
www.dentalcorp.ca
Focused on acquiring and partnering with leading, growth-oriented dental practices throughout Canada. Today, it is the country's largest provider of dental services with 115 locations.

Alex Haditaghi
Pacific Mortgage Group | Toronto
www.radiusfinancial.ca
An approved lender with the largest Canadian mortgage insurers and owner of Canada's largest mortgage brokerage firm.

Consumer Products and Services

Hemant Bhagwani
Amaya Group of Restaurants | East York
www.amayarestaurant.com
A group of 15 restaurants, including fine dining restaurants, locations in food courts and neighbourhoods, plus products in grocery stores and a catering division.

Marc Anthony Venere
Marc Anthony Cosmetics Inc. | Concord
www.marcanthony.com
A marketing and distribution company specializing in personal hair care and beauty products, offering customers professional quality products at affordable prices.

Kevin Martin
Martin's Family Fruit Farm | Waterloo
www.martinsapples.com
A vertically integrated agriculture company that grows, stores, packs and markets fresh apples, as well as manufactures and markets apple products.

Norman Hardie
Norman Hardie Winery | Wellington
www.normanhardie.com
Crafts world class, acclaimed wines and sells them in London, New York, Chicago, Tokyo and across Canada.

Emerging Entrepreneur

Jacqueline Prehogan
Canada Pooch Ltd. | Toronto
www.canadapooch.com
A household name for pet parents looking to keep pets warm and dry, the brand is sold in Canada, the US and internationally.

Andrew Hoffman
CentreCourt Developments Inc. | Toronto
www.centrecourtdevelopments.com
A real estate developer and builder based in Toronto focused on the development of well thought out high-rise condominiums located in close proximity to Toronto's major amenities.

Justin Creally, Mia Pearson
North Strategic | Toronto
www.northstrategic.com
Canada's fastest-growing national public relations and social media agency, with a proven track record for working with leading brands to improve business impact.

Simon Nyilassy
Regal Lifestyle Communities Inc. | Toronto
www.regallc.com
Offers seniors care, comfort, and peace of mind in sixteen elegant retirement residences staffed by a professional, compassionate, and devoted team.

Health Sciences

Dr. Jan Oudenes
Alphora Research Inc. | Mississauga
www.alphoraresearch.com
Provides API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient) technology development services for the scale-up of complex small molecules for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Dr. Jeff Daiter, Dr. Michael Varenbut
Canadian Addiction Treatment Centres | Richmond Hill
www.oatc.ca
Provides methadone maintenance therapy and counselling to individuals who are addicted to opiate-based substances as well as other addictive substances.

Steven Stein
Multi-Health Systems (MHS) | North York
www.mhs.com
A leading publisher of scientifically validated assessments for more than 30 years, Multi-Health Systems Inc. (MHS) serves clients in educational, clinical, corporate, public safety, government, military, pharmaceutical, and research settings.

Manufacturing

Bob Peacock
Almag Aluminum Inc. | Brampton
www.almag.com
Extrudes, fabricates and finishes aluminum for progressive North American companies. Designs innovative products and delivers those products with the shortest lead-time in the industry.

Steve Blanchet
CSR Cosmetic Solutions, Inc. | Barrie
www.csrcs.ca
A proven leader in formulating, manufacturing and filling of personal care and colour cosmetic products.

Michael Solcz
Valiant Machine & Tool Inc. | Windsor
www.valiantcorp.com
Designs, manufactures and integrates lean and flexible automated production systems, tooling, and components.

Media and entertainment

Vince Commisso
9 Story Media Group | Toronto
http://www.9story.com/
An industry-leading creator, producer and distributor of award-winning animated and live action content for young audiences around the world. 9 Story has produced over 900 animated and live action episodes, seen worldwide.

Jan Kestle
Environics Analytics | Toronto
www.environicsanalytics.ca
Specializing in data, software and consulting, Environics Analytics provides data-driven analytics to help organizations understand their customers and markets.

Brett Farren
Match Marketing Group | Mississauga
www.matchmg.com
An innovative, digitally driven activation agency dedicated to being the First to Recognize™ the insights, content, experiences and technology that motivate decisions.

Technology

Neil Cawse
Geotab Inc | Oakville
www.geotab.com
Develops, manufacturers, and supplies GPS fleet management and tracking for local and Fortune 500 companies. These end-to-end solutions monitor driver safety, productivity and vehicle fuel and maintenance.

Carl Rodrigues
SOTI | Mississauga
http://www.soti.net
Leading provider of Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy management, enabling mobility for more than 14,000 enterprise customers.

Jason Flick
You.i TV | Kanata
www.youi.tv
You.i Engine plugs into the tools designers use every day and directly represents motion designs on any device with stunning performance.

Technology Enabled Services

Nan Chen, Ron Gavillet, Ed Ogonek
CENX, Inc. | Ottawa
www.cenx.com
A new-generation software company delivering service orchestration solutions that automate the entire lifecycle of advanced data services in software-defined networks.

Chris Sukornyk
Chango Inc. | Toronto
www.chango.com
Uses exclusive intent data and technology to create relevant and timely advertising campaigns that produce rich customer insights.

Ata Moeini, Neda Moeini
Group of Gold Line | Markham
www.GroupofGoldline.com
A Canadian group of companies specializing in the research, development, marketing and worldwide distribution of telecommunication solutions and technology products through four lines of business: Telephony, Web2Print, WebTV & Business Solutions.

Young Entrepreneur

Grant Belanger, Leen Meyer
EasyInsure | Windsor
www.easyinsure.ca
A national insurance brokerage distributing property, casualty, life and accident sickness products through a proprietary online product distribution and servicing technology.

Jordan Hyde
GoDay.ca | Toronto
www.goday.ca
A financial technology company providing short-term low-value loans online to Canadian residents.

Hooman Bahador, Geordie Konrad, William Konrad
Konrad Group | Toronto
www.konradgroup.com
A digital agency providing strategy, design and development services to some of the biggest and most exciting brands around the globe.

Stephen Lake
Thalmic Labs | Kitchener
https://www.thalmic.com/en/myo/
Pioneering new ways of interacting with technology, the company's first product, the Myo™ armband, measures electrical activity in muscles to wirelessly control the digital world.

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 2015 Ontario independent  judging panel consists of Andy Burgess, Managing Director, Russell Square Partners and Entrepreneur Of The Year Media and Entertainment category winner 2006, Ontario; Jill Denham, Corporate Director; Jon Hantho, Chief Executive Officer, Maxxam Analytics, Entrepreneur Of The Year Services category winner 2012, Ontario, and National Entrepreneur Of The Year Entrepreneurial Leadership Special Citation recipient; Jim Orlando, Managing Director, OMERS Ventures; Jeff Parr, Co-Chief  Executive Officer  and Managing Director, Clairvest Group Inc. and Tracie Tighe, Executive Producer, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

This year's program national sponsors are National Post, TEC Canada, La Presse, RDI, TMX, Merrill DataSite, Kira Talent, Air Canada, The Printing House Limited. Ontario regional sponsors are Captivate Network, OT Communications and RBC Royal Bank.

About EY's Strategic Growth Markets Network
EY's worldwide Strategic Growth Markets Network is dedicated to serving the changing needs of high-growth companies. For more than 30 years, we've helped many of the world's most dynamic and ambitious companies grow into market leaders. Whether working with international mid-cap companies or early-stage venture-backed businesses, our professionals draw upon their extensive experience, insight and global resources to help your business succeed.

About EY
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. For more than 150 years in Canada, we've delivered the insights and quality services that help build trust and confidence in capital markets here 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 about the program, FAQs and key dates, please visit ey.com/ca/EOY.
Follow us on Twitter @EYCanada, #EOY

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)

For further information about this press release, gala information and sponsorship opportunities, please contact: Erika Bennett, [email protected], 403 206 5157; Julie Fournier, [email protected], 514 874 4308; Sasha Anopina, [email protected], 416 943 2637