Last week, a group of us including Robert Craig and his wife Claire, Mindy Pawinski and her husband Leon, my daughter Mary Ann (for the weekend), and my wife Betty and I attended the National Entrepreneur of the Year awards festivities at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort in Palm Springs, California. This is a magnificent show put on by Ernst & Young every year, and I have attended more times than I can remember.
The festivities went on for five days and most of us enjoyed them very much. The awards program itself was not very technical, instead focusing on entrepreneurship and financial success.
The national awards were given out in ten different categories, plus an overall winner. Here is who won in each of the categories:
- Overall Winner: Howard Lutnick, BCG Partners, Inc.
- Financial Services: Howard Lutnick, BCG Partners, Inc.
- Distribution and Manufacturing: Thad Simons, Jr., Novus International, Inc.
- Emerging: Bob Moore, iGPS
- Energy, Chemicals, and Mining: W. Keith Maxwell, III, Spark Energy Gas & Electricity
- Health Sciences: Lawrence Stern, Talecris Biotherapeutics
- Media, Entertainment, and Communications: Robert Friedman, Summit Entertainment LLC
- Real Estate, Hospitality, and Construction: Larry Silverstein, Silverstein Properties, Inc.
- Retail and Consumer Products: Jack Link, Jack Link’s Beef Jerky
- Services: Mary Tolan, Accretive Health, Inc.
- Technology: Lars Bjork, Qlik Tech
The surprise to me was that none of the San Diego award winners won any of the national awards. I went to the San Diego Entrepreneur of the Year awards gala this year and the local winners seemed quite strong to me. Hopefully we will make a better showing for the 2011 national awards.
Jay Leno was master of ceremonies again. I always enjoy his jokes and amusing presentations. SIr Richard Branson of Virgin Group spoke to our group about his advice to entrepreneurs. Most of the speakers, in addition to being very smart, were very confident. This showed in the clarity of their presentations.
We did go on a few adventures while we were in Palm Springs. We drove to a date farm and took the tram up to the 8,500-foot level of Mt San Jacinto. It was 42 degrees, but no snow yet.
— Bob