RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. — Jerry Paolone, chairman, founder and CEO of MagnaFlow Exhaust Products, was recognized as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2013 Award winner.
The award recognizes outstanding high-growth entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. More than 30 years ago, Paolone moved from Italy to the United States and built Car Sound Exhaust Systems Inc., now MagnaFlow, from the ground up. When asked at the ceremony who his first customers were, he simply replied, “Anyone who would buy it.”
The finalists and winners were selected by an independent panel of judges and honored at a gala event at the St. Regis Resort in Laguna Niguel, Calif., on June 6, 2013.
Now in its 27th year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Program has honored the inspirational leadership of such entrepreneurs as Howard Schultz of Starbucks Coffee Company, Arthur M. Blank of AMB Group, LLC (The Home Depot, Atlanta Falcons), Pierre Omidyar of eBay Inc., Ruth Fertel of Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Maxine Clark of Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc., Tom Adams of Rosetta Stone, Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn and 2012 winner Hamdi Ulukaya, founder of Chobani Inc.
Paolone and the other regional award winners now go on to compete at the national level. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the National Entrepreneur Of The Year Overall Award winner, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, Calif., on Nov. 16, 2013. The awards are the culminating event of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies.
For more information about the Entrepreneur Of The Year program in Orange County, click here.
