Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates ambitious entrepreneurs who are building a better world
Allen, TX (June 28, 2023) – Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) today announced that Chris Bradford, President & Co-Founder and Kevin Wang, CEO & Co-Founder of Newline Interactive were named an Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2023 Southwest Award winners. The Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards program is one of the preeminent competitive awards for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies.
Chris Bradford and Kevin Wang were selected by an independent judging panel made up of previous award winners, leading CEOs, investors, and other regional business leaders. The candidates were evaluated based on their demonstration of building long-term value through entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth, and impact, among other core contributions and attributes.
“Kevin and I are extremely honored to be named an Entrepreneur of the Year winner,” said Chris Bradford, President of Newline Interactive. “For nearly 40 years, this award has recognized leaders who are creating long-term value through their entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth and impact. We are pleased to be recognized among the 14 visionary winners in the Southwest.”
Headquartered in Allen, Texas, Newline Interactive is a leading supplier of interactive touch screens and innovative software that increases productivity and enables collaboration. Newline Interactive develops products that help organizations in a wide range of vertical markets including financial services, education, healthcare, law enforcement, manufacturing, municipalities, and legal services.
For nearly four decades, EY US has honored entrepreneurs whose ambition, courage and ingenuity have driven their companies’ success, transformed their industries and made a positive impact on their communities. Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winners become lifetime members of a global, multi-industry community of entrepreneurs, with exclusive, ongoing access to the experience, insight and wisdom of program alumni and other ecosystem members in over 60 countries — all supported by vast EY resources. Since 1986, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program has recognized more than 11,000 US executives.
As a Southwest award winner, Chris Bradford and Kevin Wang are now eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2023 National Awards. The National Award winners including the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner will be announced in November at the Strategic Growth Forum®, one of the nation’s most prestigious gatherings of high-growth, market-leading companies. The Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner will then move on to compete for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award in June 2024.
The Entrepreneur Of The Year program has honored the inspirational leadership of entrepreneurs such as:
- Andreas Bechtolsheim and Jayshree Ullal of Arista Networks
- Daymond John of FUBU
- Hamdi Ulukaya of Chobani, Inc.
- Holly Thaggard and Amanda Baldwin of Supergoop!
- Howard Schultz of Starbucks Coffee Company
- James Park of Fitbit
- Jodi Berg of Vitamix
- Joe DeSimone of Carbon, Inc.
- Kendra Scott of Kendra Scott LLC
- Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn Corporation
- Sheila Mikhail of AskBio
Sponsors
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards include presenting sponsors PNC Bank, N.A.; SAP America; and the Kauffman Foundation. In the Southwest, sponsors also include Platinum sponsors Colliers International, Donnelly Financial Solutions and Haynes and Boone LLP, Gold sponsor Roach Howard Smith & Barton, and Silver sponsors D CEO, Marquee Events and The Slate.
About Entrepreneur Of The Year®
Entrepreneur Of The Year® is the world’s most prestigious business awards program for unstoppable entrepreneurs. These visionary leaders deliver innovation, growth and prosperity that transform our world. The program engages entrepreneurs with insights and experiences that foster growth. It connects them with their peers to strengthen entrepreneurship around the world. Entrepreneur Of The Year is the first and only truly global awards program of its kind. It celebrates entrepreneurs through regional and national awards programs in more than 145 cities in over 60 countries. National Overall Award winners go on to compete for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year® title. Visit ey.com/us/eoy.
About EY Private
As Advisors to the ambitious™, EY Private professionals possess the experience and passion to support private businesses and their owners in unlocking the full potential of their ambitions. EY Private teams offer distinct insights born from the long EY history of working with business owners and entrepreneurs. These teams support the full spectrum of private enterprises including private capital managers and investors and the portfolio businesses they fund, business owners, family businesses, family offices and entrepreneurs. Visit ey.com/us/private.
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