EY Announces Ensono CEO Jeff VonDeylen as an Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2024 Midwest Award Finalist

Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates ambitious entrepreneurs who are shaping the future

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. May 2, 2024 – Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) today announced that Ensono CEO Jeff VonDeylen was named an Entrepreneur Of The Year^® 2024 Midwest Award finalist. The Midwest program celebrates entrepreneurs from Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. Now in its 38th year, Entrepreneur Of The Year is the preeminent competitive business award for audacious leaders who disrupt markets, revolutionize sectors and have a transformational impact on lives. Over the past four decades, the program has recognized the daring entrepreneurs with big ideas and bold actions that reshape our world.

Jeff was one of 30 regional entrepreneurs selected as finalists by an independent panel of judges. 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.

“Being recognized as a finalist for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2024 Midwest Award is very humbling. At Ensono, we’re dedicated to driving innovation and providing transformative solutions to our clients and creating a great place to work for our associates,” said VonDeylen. “This acknowledgment reflects the hard work and dedication of our entire team, who continuously push the boundaries of what’s possible in the technology landscape. I’m immensely proud of our achievements and excited about the future growth and success of Ensono.”

During the last eight years, Ensono has grown from an underappreciated company to nearly a $1B business providing mission-critical infrastructure services to leading companies across the private and public sectors.  The launch of the Modern, Cloud-Connected Mainframe, Ensono’s approach to mainframe modernization, underscores the company’s commitment to innovation, and helping clients to integrate legacy systems with cloud technology seamlessly.

Ensono’s growth is a result of its investment in the next generation of tech leaders through initiatives like Ensono Academies, focusing on mainframe and cloud technologies, as well as Ensono’s Junior Academy, an internship for inner-city youth. In addition, Ensono fosters a culture of belonging and inclusivity with the creation of eight associate resource groups based on demographics, socialization, cultural awareness, community involvement, and lifestyle support. All of this is aligned around an equity reward program that provides ALL associates with a vested financial stake in Ensono’s success.

Entrepreneur Of The Year honors many different types of business leaders for their ingenuity, courage and entrepreneurial spirit. 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 fortify it for the future.

Regional award winners will be announced on June 12^th during a special celebration and will become lifetime members of an esteemed community of Entrepreneur Of The Year alumni from around the world. The winners will then be considered by the National judges for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards, which will be presented in November at the annual Strategic Growth Forum^®, one of the nation’s most prestigious gatherings of high-growth, market-leading companies.

In addition to Entrepreneur Of The Year, EY US supports other entrepreneurs through the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ program and the EY Entrepreneurs Access Network to help connect women founders and Black and Hispanic/Latino entrepreneurs, respectively, with the resources, network and access needed to unlock their full potential.

Sponsors

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards include presenting sponsors PNC Bank, Cresa, Marsh USA, SAP and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. In the Midwest, sponsors also include regional Platinum sponsor LaSalle Network, regional Gold sponsor Becker, and regional Silver sponsor ADP.

About Entrepreneur Of The Year^®

Founded in 1986, Entrepreneur Of The Year^® has celebrated more than 11,000 ambitious visionaries who are leading successful, dynamic businesses in the US, and it has since expanded to nearly 80 countries and territories globally. The US 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 World Entrepreneur Of The Year^® competition. Visit ey.com/us/eoy.

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