Entrepreneurs honored for growth

SARASOTA — Five Gulf Coast executives were among nine Florida leaders honored with the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award at a Thursday night gala at the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach.

The men are the top executives at PPi Technologies Group, Sarasota; Accuform Manufacturing, Brooksville; C1 Bank, St. Petersburg; Tervis Tumbler, Venice; and DEX Imaging, Tampa.

They have diverse backgrounds but were selected for their “extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities,” says a release from Ernst & Young. Collective, the nine Floridians honored grew employment for their companies by 64% and revenue by 48% between 2010 and 2012.

The entrepreneurs - Charles Murray, CEO of PPi Technologies; Wayne Johnson, CEO of Accuform Manufacturing; Trevor Burgess, CEO of C1 Bank; Norbert P. Donnelly, chairman of Tervis Tumbler; and Dan Doyle Jr., CEO/president of DEX Imaging - are now in the running for the national Entrepreneur of the Year award to be announced in November.

Murray was a finalist for the Ernst & Young Florida award in 2012, and he was named one of the top executives of the year by Business Leader Magazine in November. His company, which makes pouches for food and beverage products, has been expanding rapidly the past few years.

Burgess has also headed rapid expansion at C1 Bank, which has been in acquisition mode after moving its headquarters from Bradenton to St. Petersburg.

In its 27th year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program has honored some of the nation's most successful entrepreneurs, including Howard Schultz of Starbucks Coffee Co., Arthur M. Blank of Home Depot, Pierre Omidyar of eBay, Ruth Fertel of Ruth's Chris Steak House, Maxine Clark of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Tom Adams of Rosetta Stone, Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn and 2012 award recipient Hamdi Ulukaya, founder of Chobani Inc.