Stuart Lombard of ecobee Inc. named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2018 Ontario winner

Ontario entrepreneur reduces Canadian's environmental impact with smart home technology

TORONTO, Oct. 26, 2018 /CNW/ - Stuart Lombard, co-Founder, President and CEO of ecobee Inc. – a leading home automation company that develops intuitive thermostats for residential and commercial use – is this year's EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2018 Ontario winner.

Prior to founding ecobee in 2007, Stuart looked to reduce his family's carbon footprint after finding frustration with existing complex and costly solutions, like solar panels and energy-efficient vehicles. Seeing that the majority of energy usage (50%-70%) in Canadian homes went towards heating and cooling, he developed an easy-to-install energy saving thermostat.

In just one year, Stuart's product had saved more energy than his solar panels combined. He left his venture capitalism career behind and, by 2009, ecobee released the world's first Wi-Fi connected thermostat – controlled with built-in touchscreens which connected wirelessly to a companion app available through iOS and Android.

"ecobee is a recognized pioneer in the connected home industry competing alongside the most notable tech companies in the world. No company can afford not to move forward and accelerate, especially when there are innovative companies like ecobee that are disrupting their sectors with market-shifting products," says Paula Smith, Entrepreneur Of The Year Ontario Program Co-Director. "Stuart is a role model to all of us that problems do have solutions – we just have to find them." 

The ecobee thermostat saw immediate success with significant revenue growth before expanding into a direct to consumer sales model. Today, ecobee is known across North America with an online retail business growing at an astounding rate year over year. 

"Stuart's innovation is an important step in making sustainability attainable for all Canadians. It's not just a thermostat, it's a change in lifestyle. Already, ecobee estimates that together their customers have saved enough energy to take New Orleans completely off the grid," says Elena Doucette, Entrepreneur Of The Year Ontario Program Co-Director. "We're thrilled to honour the important work Stuart is doing to define a new – and better – future for us all."

What's next?
As the Ontario region's EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2018, Stuart Lombard will compete with top entrepreneurs from the Pacific, Prairies, Atlantic and Quebec regions for the national honour of EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2018 Canada, to be presented at a gala celebration on 29 November 2018 in Toronto. In June 2019, Canada's EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2018 will move to the world stage to compete with more than 50 country recipients for the title of EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year.

More information
Follow @EYCanada 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 other regions.

The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2018 Ontario category award recipients:

Business-to-Business Products and Services
Hunter Amenities International Ltd. | Burlington
John Hunter

Consumer Products & Services
Mariposa Dairy Ltd. | Lindsay
Bruce Vandenberg, Sharon Vandenberg

Emerging Entrepreneur
Decentral Inc. | Toronto
Anthony Di Iorio

Entertainment and Hospitality
INK Entertainment | Toronto
Charles Khabouth

Financial Services
Paradigm Quest Inc. | Toronto
Katherine Gregory

Health Care
Delivra Corp. | Hamilton
Joseph Gabriele

Industrial Manufacturing
Woodbridge Foam Corporation | Mississauga
Charles Daly, Robert Beamish, Robert Magee, Terence Campbell

Software / Information Technology
SOTI Inc. | Mississauga
Carl Rodrigues

Technology / Cleantech
ecobee Inc. | Toronto
Stuart Lombard

Social Entrepreneur
Green Economy Canada | Ottawa
Mike Morrice

About EY Entrepreneur Of The Year^®
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year^® is the world's most prestigious business awards program for entrepreneurs. The program 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 awards program of its kind, 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 145 cities in more than 50 countries. ey.com/ca/EOY

The 2018 Ontario independent judging panel consists of Andy Burgess, Managing Partner, Russel Square Partners; Anne Sado, President, George Brown College; Code Cubitt, Founder & Managing Director, Mistral Venture Partners; Gerald Slemko, CEO, Trudell Medical; Lisa Melchior, President & Founder, VERTU Capital; Mark Gordon, Managing Director, Oncap; and Steve Faraone, Managing Partner, Peloton Capital.

This year's program national sponsors are ICI RDI, The TMX Group, The Globe and Mail Inc., Merrill Corporation, Kira Talent, Air Canada, Media One Creative and The Printing House Limited. Ontario regional sponsors are BNN, TEC Canada,Steam Whistle Brewing, PearTree Canada and Bell Canada.

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], [phone]; Victoria McQueen, [email protected], [phone]; Camille Larivière, [email protected], [phone]

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