Eastern Michigan's 2003 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) Award Winners Announced at June 19 Gala

Local Entrepreneurs Recognized for Their Vital Roles in the Business Community

DETROIT, June 20 -- The winners of Eastern Michigan's 2003 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) awards were announced last night by Program Director, Frank Maselli at a gala event. The awards banquet, held at the Ritz-Carlton, marks the end of an intensive search to identify and recognize outstanding entrepreneurs in the area.

The 11 Eastern Michigan 2003 Entrepreneur Of The Year award winners by category are:

  Construction/Real Estate Category:
  *  Cyndi Broad Nestor, President and CEO of CBN Steel Construction in Novi

CBN Steel Construction was formed in March 2001 and was built on the experience Nestor gained by watching her grandfather and her father run steel companies. The company is now positioned to be one of the best steel erectors in North America.

  Financial Services Category:
  *  Richard D. James, CEO of Financial Services of America in Warren

Financial Services of America was founded in 1984 after James saw a niche opportunity to provide financial services to blue-collar and middle white- collar retirees.

  Health Sciences Category:
  *  Anthony Filippis, President and CEO of Wright & Filippis in Rochester

Wright & Filippis was founded in 1939 by Anthony's father and grandfather and specializes in orthotics, prosthetics, respiratory care and home medical equipment. Anthony took over as President in 1997 and the company is now the only provider of total equipment services for the disabled in the country.

Manufacturing Category:

* Richard E. Dauch, Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of American Axle & Manufacturing in Detroit

American Axle & Manufacturing was co-founded by Dauch in 1994 by purchasing GM's final drive and forge business units. This Fortune 500 company is now the 10th largest automotive supplier in North America, and one of the top 30 in the world.

  Staffing/Consulting Services Category:
  *  Ravinder Shahani, President of Acro Service Corporation in Livonia

Acro was founded in 1982 and is a contract-engineering firm that specializes in locating and placing top design and development engineers with the "Big 3" and their "Tier One" suppliers. Acro has grown to be a national- level player in staff augmentation, consulting services, human capital management, and, most recently, information technology services.

  Technology Category:
  *  John McMillan, CEO of Wise Solutions in Plymouth

Wise Solutions was co-founded by McMillan and is the leading provider of application installation software and services. Wise products include a suite of tools that help system administrators manage applications and professional developers create reliable installations for their software applications

  Business Services / Retail Category:
  *  Jeff Hall, Founder and CEO of Second To None, Inc. in Ann Arbor

Second to None was founded in 1989 and specializes in mystery shopping programs and customer satisfaction survey solutions for regional and national chain operators and government entities across the country.

  Socially Responsible Entrepreneur:
  *  Rajendra Vattikuti, President and CEO of Synova in Troy

In 2001, Vattikuti and his wife, Padma donated $20 million each to cancer programs at Henry Ford Health System and William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak. In addition, Vattikuti has partnered with Focus: HOPE and is a sponsor of a charter school in Detroit that focuses on the development of information technology skills in young people.

Emerging Entrepreneur:

* Carlton Guthrie, Co-Chairman and Michael Guthrie, President of Detroit Chassis in Detroit

Detroit Chassis provides concept to customer design-engineering assembly and delivery services to automotive markets in Detroit. Detroit Chassis has quickly become one of the most relied upon suppliers and manufacturers in Michigan.

  Master Entrepreneur:
  *  Don Barden, President and CEO of Barden Companies, Inc. in Detroit

Over the past three decades, Barden has successfully developed, owned and operated many business enterprises in a variety of industries, including real estate development, casinos and hotels, broadcasting, cable television, and automotive sales, service and manufacturing. Barden's involvement continues in most of these enterprises, and they comprise Barden Companies, Inc.

Eastern Michigan's winners are now eligible for the National Entrepreneur Of The Year awards, which are designed to honor outstanding owners of fast- growing companies who have demonstrated excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance, and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

The national search will culminate at a black-tie awards gala in Palm Springs, California, on November 22, 2003, where national finalists and the National Entrepreneur Of The Year award winners will be announced and celebrated by more than 1,500 attendees.

The Entrepreneur Of The Year Award program was created and is produced by professional services firm Ernst & Young LLP. In Eastern Michigan, the awards were sponsored by Bowne, Crain's Detroit Business, the law firm of Dykema Gossett PLLC, Marsh USA Inc., Seymour Gill Financial/Mass Mutual and WJR Radio. Recipients of the Entrepreneur Of The Year award become lifetime members of the Entrepreneur Of The Year Hall of Fame.

About Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young, a global leader in professional services, is committed to restoring the public's trust in professional services firms and in the quality of financial reporting. Its 110,000 people in more than 135 countries around the globe operate with the highest levels of integrity, quality and professionalism to provide clients with solutions based on financial, transactional and risk-management knowledge in its core services of audit, tax and corporate finance. The firm also provides legal services in those parts of the world where permitted. A collection of Ernst & Young's views on a variety of business issues can be found at www.ey.com/perspectives . Ernst & Young refers to all the members of the global Ernst & Young organization, including the U.S. firm of Ernst & Young LLP.

Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) is a registered service mark of Ernst & Young LLP.

  Media Relations Contact:          EOY Program Contact:
  Sonja Bultynck                    Christine Moran
  (248) 457-3883                    (216) 583-1933
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