Ernst & Young, which has a large practice in downtown Detroit, has announced the winners of the Entrepreneur of the Year 2025 Michigan and Northwest Ohio Awards, honoring leaders of high-growth companies.
For 40 years, EY US has celebrated ambitious entrepreneurs who are transforming industries, impacting communities, and creating long-term value.
Regional winners were selected by an independent panel of past winners, top CEOs, and business leaders. Judges evaluated candidates on long-term value creation, entrepreneurial spirit, purpose-driven commitment, and significant growth and impact.
The program celebrates original founders who bootstrapped their business from inception or who raised outside capital to grow their company; transformational CEOs who infused innovation into an existing organization to catapult its trajectory; and multigenerational family business leaders who reimagined a legacy business model to strengthen it for the future.
“The Entrepreneur Of The Year 2025 Michigan and Northwest Ohio Award winners are trailblazers who redefine excellence and set new benchmarks in their industries,” says Joe Lenglet, an EY partner and co-director of the Entrepreneur Of The Year Michigan and Northwest Ohio Program.
The Entrepreneur Of The Year 2025 Michigan and Northwest Ohio Award winners are:
- Jen Julien and Jon Julien | Braveworks Inc. | Houghton
- Patrick Hines | Functional Fluidics | Detroit
- Pat Gillespie | Gillespie Group | Lansing
- Charlie Schaefer | Greyson Clothiers | Detroit
- Linzie Venegas and Jesse Venegas | Ideal Group | Detroit
- Avinash Rachmale | LGC Global Inc. | Detroit
- Todd Stamper | Priority Waste | Clinton Township
- Jocelyn Ho | Rare Plant Fairy | Detroit
- Patrick Kelly | Signal Advisors | Detroit
- Anthony Ahee | Together Women’s Health | Grosse Pointe
- Stephen Ezell | Truly Free Inc. | Williamsburg
Learn more about the winners at ey.com/us/eoymnwo.
The regional award winners will now move on to be considered for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards, set to be presented in November at the annual 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 represent the US as they compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in June 2026.
“They set the standard for scaling businesses while prioritizing their employees, customers and communities,” says Laura Trosper, EY Partner and Entrepreneur Of The Year Michigan and Northwest Ohio Program Co-Director.
Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winners become lifetime members of a global, multi-industry community of entrepreneurs. They receive exclusive, ongoing access to the experience, insight and wisdom of program alumni and other ecosystem members in more than 60 countries — all supported by vast EY resources.
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards include presenting sponsors PNC Bank, Cresa, Marsh USA, and SAP.
In Michigan and Northwest Ohio, sponsors also include regional Gold sponsor, Full View Productions, and regional silver sponsors, KLA Laboratories Inc., P.I.E. Management, and Tanner Friedman Strategic Communications.
Founded in 1986, Entrepreneur Of The Year has celebrated more than 11,000 ambitious visionaries who are leading successful, dynamic businesses in the U.S., and it has since expanded to nearly 60 countries globally.
The U.S. program consists of 17 regional programs whose panels of independent judges select the regional award winners every June. Those winners compete for national recognition at the Strategic Growth Forum in November where National finalists and award winners are announced.
The overall National winner represents the US at the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year competition. Visit ey.com/us/eoy.
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