MT. CLEMENS – SVS Vision announced that Dr. Robert Farrell Jr., CEO, and Kenneth Stann, President and CFO, are finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2013 Award in Michigan and northwest Ohio. The award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Award recipients will be named at a black-tie gala on June 20, 2013 at the MGM Grand, Detroit.
Farrell and Stann, two lifelong Michigan natives, purchased SVS Vision in 2007. Farrell is a doctor of optometry and attended both the University of Michigan and Michigan College of Optometry. Stann is originally from Madison Heights and earned a bachelor’s in business administration from Wayne State University. Stann became a CPA while practicing at Plante & Moran and later Ernst & Young. Both Farrell and Stann have optical backgrounds that preceded SVS Vision including experiences with NuVision and Cole Vision.
Both have invested millions of dollars modernizing their retail locations and the manufacturing laboratory in downtown Mt. Clemens. They have opened seven new locations in Michigan in the past two years and relocated/remodeled 10 locations. The recently upgraded laboratory manufactures eyeglasses for all of their 60 retail operations as well as safety eyewear for hundreds of companies around the nation. Over 200,000 eyeglasses are manufactured at the Mt. Clemens facility each year. The growth in both the retail and manufacturing areas has resulted in adding over 100 new jobs in Michigan.
Now in its 27th year, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Program has honored the inspirational leadership of such entrepreneurs as Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com, Michael Dell of Dell Inc., Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines, Fred Smith of FedEx, Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google, Richard Schulze of Best Buy, Andrew Mason of Groupon, Mindy Grossman of HSN, Inc., and Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn. Local award recipients include Florine Mark of the WW Group, Dan Gilbert of Quicken Loans and Art Van Elslander of Art Van Furniture.
