2008 E&Y Entrepreneur Of The Year Pacific Region Winners Announced
The 2008 Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards were doled out last night and our readers are very familiar with the Pacific Region winner and two runners up in the Technology category. Kevin Ham of Reinvent Technology got the nod and John Livingston of Absolute Software and George Rubin & Jon MacDonald of Day4 Energy were also recognized.
Kevin Ham - Reinvent Technology
Kevin Ham is far too low-key and modest to invite comparisons to Donald Trump. But by quietly amassing a stable of more than 300,000 web domain names, including laptop.com, attorney.com and weddingcatering.com, the CEO of Reinvent Technology is a virtual real estate titan. Having put together a portfolio with annual revenue estimated at $70 million, the 38-year-old visionary now plans to leverage these assets to become a leading force in the Internet’s next generation – web 3.0.
John Livingston - Absolute Software
John Livingston was a faculty member at BCIT when Absolute founder Christian Cotichini approached him in 1994 with an opportunity to put theory into practice. Since Livingston signed on with Absolute, the company, which specializes in laptop theft recovery and data protection, has grown from three to more than 280 employees and now has partnerships with Intel, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba. “We’ve recovered 6,000 laptops, 1,000 every quarter,” he boasts. “We have 30 full-time employees who do nothing but work with police.”
George Rubin & John McDonald - Day4 Energy Inc.
Launched in 2001 by George Rubin, John MacDonald and Rubin’s father, Leonid Rubin, Day4 Energy uses proprietary technology to make photovoltaic modules (solar panels) that produce more energy at a lower cost than traditional solar technology. “We have a very different way of interconnecting cells that produces more energy,” explains COO George Rubin. “And we design solar cells to generate more power.” The company, public since 2007, employs over 200 people and serves 30 clients worldwide.
