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Economy

The Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 Award Finalists List Is Out

Candidates represent the wide swath of industries that propel the Pacific Northwest economy

By Bill Conroy April 18, 2019

01/26/17, For Corner Office. Jessie Woolley-Wilson, CEO of Dreambox. Earl Wilson/The New York Times
01/26/17, For Corner Office. Jessie Woolley-Wilson, CEO of Dreambox. Earl Wilson/The New York Times

The names of the finalists for the 33rd annual Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Pacific Northwest region are in, and they cover a wide range of industries, including technology, hospitality, health care, communications, manufacturing, logistics and more.

The breadth of the finalist list speaks to the diversity of the Pacific Northwest regional economy, with individuals represented from Seattle; Portland, Oregon; Bellevue; Spokane and beyond. The awards program recognizes entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies who have demonstrated excellence across a range of areas, including innovation, financial performance and personal investment in their communities.

The regional awards program is part of an international effort to recognize outstanding entrepreneurship, with regional award winners eligible to compete in a national awards contest to be held later this year. The overall award winner in the national competition moves on to compete in the global contest slated to be held in Monaco in June 2020.

The contest, founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, touches some 145 cities and 60 countries worldwide. The finalists for this years Pacific Region were selected by an independent judging panel composed of local business leaders, previous award winners and leading executives. The award winners in the Pacific Norwest region will be announced on June 14 at a black-tie gala in Seattle to be held at the King Street Ballroom & Perch. In 2018, a total of eight winners were chosen across just as many categories, including life sciences, media and advertising, family business, B2B software and services and Lifetime Entrepreneur.

The 2019 finalists are as follows:

  • Rajeev Singh, chief executive officer, Accolade Inc. (Seattle, Washington)
  • Aaron James, chief operating officer, and David Steinberg, CEO, Adpearance (Portland, Oregon)
  • Kabir Shahani, CEO and Derek Slager, chief technology officer, Amperity (Seattle, Washington)
  • Chris Moore, CEO, Concord Technologies (Seattle, Washington)
  • Jessie Woolley-Wilson, president and CEO, DreamBox Learning LLC (Bellevue, Washington)
  • Bobby Balachandran, CEO, Exterro (Beaverton, Oregon)
  • Karl Siebrecht, co-founder and CEO, Flexe Inc. (Seattle, Washington)
  • Derrick Morton, co-founder and CEO, and Douglas Pearson, co-founder and CTO, FlowPlay (Seattle, Washington)
  • Jason Greer, president, General UI LLC (Seattle, Washington)
  • Alissa Leinonen, founder and CEO, Gourmondo Catering & Cafe Co (Seattle, Washington)
  • Madeline Haydon, CEO, nutpods (Bellevue, Washington)
  • Robert Wahbe, co-founder and CEO, Highspot (Seattle, Washington)
  • Michael K Lester, CEO, LifeStance Health (Bellevue, Washington)
  • Henry Albrecht, CEO, Limeade (Bellevue, Washington)
  • Rajeev Agarwal, founder and CEO, MAQ Software (Redmond, Washington)
  • Kyle Stavig, CEO, Myers Container LLC (Portland, Oregon)
  • Peggy Jarvis Miller, CEO, Pacific Star Communications Inc. (“PacStar”) (Portland, Oregon)
  • Mike Radenbaugh, CEO, and Ty Collins, chief marketing officer, Rad Power Bikes (Seattle, Washington)
  • Jacob Weatherly, co-founder and CEO, SheerID (Portland, Oregon)
  • Jordan Allen, CEO, Stay Alfred (Spokane, Washington)
  • John Lauer, co-founder and CEO, Zipwhip (Seattle, Washington)

More information on the Pacific Northwest awards program can be found here.

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