Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates ambitious entrepreneurs who are shaping the future.
Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) announced that Jim Loffler, Founder & CEO, and James Loffler, President of Loffler Companies, were named Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2024 Heartland Award finalists. The Heartland program celebrates entrepreneurs from the Dakotas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas. 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.
A total of 36 entrepreneurs across 28 companies were selected 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.
“We are truly humbled by the recognition of being named finalists in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2024 Heartland program. It’s an honor to stand among our fellow leaders who disrupt markets, revolutionize sectors and positively impact lives, and to be recognized with my son is very special. This would not be possible without the support of our family and incredible Loffler Team members.” said Jim Loffler, Founder & CEO of Loffler Companies. “We are grateful to be surrounded by an incredible team, focused on helping our customers, community, partners and fellow team members succeed,” said James Loffler, President of Loffler Companies.
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 20th 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 Heartland, sponsors also include regional Platinum sponsor, Twin Cities Business; regional Gold sponsor, Padilla; and regional Silver sponsors, Brillect and Robert Half.
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.
About EY
EY exists to build a better working world, helping to create long-term value for clients, people and society and build trust in the capital markets.
Enabled by data and technology, diverse EY teams in over 150 countries provide trust through assurance and help clients grow, transform and operate.
Working across assurance, consulting, law, strategy, tax and transactions, EY teams ask better questions to find new answers for the complex issues facing our world today.
EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. EY member firms do not practice law where prohibited by local laws. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.
About Loffler
Loffler Companies provides the most comprehensive business technology solutions in the country, with experts who bring it all together to build secure, optimized technology environments. Loffler’s offerings include IT managed and security services, business security systems, disaster recovery/business continuity, multifunctional copiers and printers, print management services, software and workflow technology consulting, professional IT services/consulting, unified communications, and on-site management of print and mail centers.
As one of the top Canon and Konica Minolta dealers in the U.S., Loffler Companies also works with leading partners such as Nutanix, Arctic Wolf, Microsoft, Mitel, 8x8, Xerox, HP, Lexmark and FP Mailing Solutions. These wide-ranging products and services exist for one purpose: to help organizations succeed. Loffler’s specialized trainers, flexible billing and financing options at all price levels and award-winning service and support benefits all clients.
Founded by Jim Loffler in 1986, and now led by James Loffler, Loffler Companies is nationally recognized as a leader in business technology and managed services. Loffler is among the top office solutions dealers in the US for service and support, with more than 500 employees working every day to exceed the expectations of their clients, partners and the community.
