Celebrating the bold leaders shaping the future through the world’s most ground-breaking companies
Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) proudly announces the winners of the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2025 Pacific Southwest Award, honoring visionary leaders of high-growth companies driving innovation, growth and prosperity for future generations. For 40 years, EY US has celebrated ambitious entrepreneurs who are transforming industries, impacting communities and creating long-term value.
Regional winners were selected by an independent panel of past winners, top CEOs and business leaders. Judges evaluated candidates on long-term value creation, entrepreneurial spirit, purpose-driven commitment, and significant growth and impact.
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 strengthen it for the future.
“The winners of the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2025 Pacific Southwest Awards are innovators who transform the meaning of excellence and establish new standards in their respective fields,” said Jon Smith, EY Partner and Entrepreneur Of The Year Pacific Southwest Orange County Program Director. “They establish the benchmark for growing businesses while placing a strong emphasis on their employees, customers, and communities.”
The Entrepreneur Of The Year 2025 Pacific Southwest Award winners are:
Amish Purohit & Jerry Williamson, Arkos Health
Sarah Boyce, Avidity Biosciences
Robert Maguire & Jaime Leija, BioLab Holdings Inc
Rich Yang, Biolinq Incorporated
David Zhao, Chubby Group
Bryan Appio, DryWater
Puneet Nanda, Gurunanda LLC
Troy Wilson, Kura Oncology
Kent Yoshimura & Ryan Chen, Neuro Inc
Greg Ayres, Nox Group LLC
Bobby Azamian, Tarsus Pharmaceuticals
Sheryl Palmer, Taylor Morrison
Scott McDonald, Wallcor
Mandy Fry, Z Supply
These regional award winners will now move on to be considered for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards, set to be presented in November at the annual Strategic Growth Forum®, one of the nation’s most prestigious gatherings of high-growth, market-leading companies. The Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner will then represent the US as they compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award in May 2026.
Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winners become lifetime members of a global, multi-industry community of entrepreneurs. They receive exclusive, ongoing access to the experience, insight and wisdom of program alumni and other ecosystem members in more than 60 countries — all supported by vast EY resources.
