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

MONTRÉAL, July 6, 2016 /CNW/ - EY is recognizing an impressive group of Québec entrepreneurs for their financial performance, vision, leadership, personal integrity and entrepreneurial spirit. Today, the firm named 33 finalists across 9 categories in its EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Québec 2016 awards program.

"Entrepreneurs spur innovation, create jobs and help drive economic growth," Luc Charbonneau and Daniel Baer, Entrepreneur Of The Year Québec program co-directors agree. "Québec's finalists are positively disrupting the way we do business and enhancing our communities along the way. We're excited to have each of them in our program this year."

An independent panel of judges will name winners in a number of diverse categories, and one of the category winners as the overall Québec winner. That winner will then compete with winners from Ontario, Atlantic, 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 Québec winners will be announced at a gala on 20 October 2016.

More information

Follow @EYCanada, #EOY and #GPEQuébec 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 Québec EY Entrepreneur Of The Year finalists

Business Services

Enzo Vardaro
Artitalia Group | Montréal
www.artitalia.ca
Provides end-to-end manufacturing of innovative custom metal, wood and acrylic fixtures, from design & engineering to project management & customer service.

Jean-Yves Moreau
Moreau | Rouyn-Noranda
www.moreau.ca
Construction contractor specializing in services to the industrial, mining, commercial and institutional sectors.

Azad Chichmanian
NEUF architect(e)s | Montréal
www.neufarchitectes.com
Architecture and interior design firm providing services in strategic planning and urban design for resorts, hotels, residential, commercial, industrial and office buildings.

Business-to-Business Products and Services

Éric Ledoux
DCM Group | Boucherville
www.groupedcm.com
Designs, develops and manufactures aerospace structural components and equipment for the commercial, military and industrial sectors.

Marc Hamilton
Groupe EnvironeX | Québec
www.labenvironex.com
Offers a diversified range of chemical and microbiological analyses for the environmental, agri-food, nutritional, health and pharmaceutical sectors.

Martin McNicoll
GURUS Solutions | Montréal
www.gurussolutions.com
Provides support and guidance in the implementation, integration and optimization of modern software to scale up businesses using cloud-based software products.

Sébastien Moreau
Rodeo FX | Montréal
www.rodeofx.com
Provides award-winning, world-class visual effects services to clients in cinema, television and advertising.

Business-to-Consumer Products and Services

Erick Geoffrion and Francis Maheu
Functionalab | Montréal
www.jouviance.com
Develops and markets a complete range of scientifically developed skin care products for beauty professionals and the general public.

David Cape
Groupe Marcelle | Montréal
www.groupemarcelle.com
A Canadian leader in the research, development, production and marketing of cosmetic and skincare products.

Tatiana Bossy and Bernard Le Grand
Le Grand | Blainville
www.maisonlegrand.com
Manufactures high-quality fresh pesto, sauces, soups and hummus made from natural ingredients.

Emerging Entrepreneur

Adrian Schauer
AlayaCare | Montréal
www.alayacare.com
End-to-end home healthcare software focused on providing better patient outcomes through robust clinical documentation, back office solutions and next-generation technology.

Mathieu Beauchesne and Olivier Marcotte
Nucleom | Québec
www.nucleom.ca
Provides the nuclear industry with optimized inspection solutions through innovative and advanced non-destructive testing practices.

François Thériault
Surmesur | Québec
www.surmesur.com
Offers unique, custom men's apparel tailored to clients' tastes, preferences and styles.

Health Sciences

Étienne Crevier
BiogeniQ | Montréal
www.BiogeniQ.ca
Provides personalized genetic testing as a tool for healthcare professionals and patients, integrated with healthcare IT systems.

François-Thomas Michaud
Feldan Therapeutics | Québec
www.feldan.com
Has developed a protein-based technology that delivers proteins directly to cells in cell therapy, helping accelerate the application of new discoveries.

Jonathan Goodman and Jeffrey Kadanoff
Knight Therapeutics | Westmount
www.gud-knight.com
Specialty pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, licensing, marketing and distributing innovative prescription pharmaceuticals, consumer health products and medical devices.

Information Technology

Paul Raymond
Alithya | Québec
www.alithya.com
Provides consulting services in information technology and organizational management, creating synergies between business and IT for the financial services, telecommunications, transportation, healthcare and government sectors.

Marty Algire and Corey Velan
FixMeStick Technologies | Montréal
www.FixMeStick.com
Maker of the FixMeStick computer virus removal device that's easy to use and effective.

Alain Lamothe
V-NEO | Québec
www.v-neo.com
Offers innovative business architecture and IT services to guide insurance industry clients through their transformation challenges, including digital initiatives.

Manufacturing

Gervais Rioux
Argon 18 | Montréal
www.argon18bike.com
Develops and engineers high-end bikes using state-of-the-art technology.

Danielle Lafond
Labplas | Sainte-Julie
www.labplas.com
Manufactures sterile sampling and transport products for laboratory analysis in the food, environmental, veterinary and pharmaceutical industries.

Andrew Richardson
Targray Technology International | Kirkland
www.targray.com
A leading supplier of critical raw materials, consumables and equipment to manufacturers in the solar, biofuels, lithium-ion battery and optical media industries.

Media and Entertainment

Stephen Kosters
Intellimix | Saint-Laurent
www.intellimix.com
Distributes exclusive sound, lighting, musical instrument and software products to Canadian audio, lighting, recording and musical instrument industries.

Gilbert Rozon
Just for Laughs | Montréal
www.hahaha.com
The world's largest festival of comedy for over 34 years, Just for Laughs is a world leader in TV comedy show distribution, with presence in over 135 countries.

Ernest Yale
Triotech Amusement | Joliette
www.trio-tech.com
Creates technologically advanced immersive and interactive media-based simulators for both the entertainment and edutainment markets. 

Technology and Communications

Jean-François Côté
District M | Montréal
www.districtm.ca
Digital media company offering diverse programmatic solutions to advertisers and publishers for automating and optimizing the online buying and selling of advertising space.

Martin Thériault
Eddyfi | Québec
www.eddyfi.com
Hi-tech company producing non-destructive testing equipment for clients in the energy sector.

Jim Alexopoulos
Stanex | Saint-Laurent
www.stanex.com
Helps improve safety for clients and their properties through the distribution of fire alarm and power back-up products.

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 Québec independent judging panel consists of Chris Arsenault, Managing Director, iNovia Capital; Jean-Françoys Brousseau, President and CEO, Outbox Holding CRB Inc.; Anne Darche, President, Pertinence Inc.; Martin Deschênes, President and CEO, Groupe Deschênes Inc.; and Marie-Anne Tawil, President and CEO, Iron Hill Investments 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. Québec regional sponsor is Captivate Networks.

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