Barletta president named finalist for Entrepreneur of the Year

Bill Fenech, president and founder of Barletta Pontoon Boats was named an Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020 National Award Finalist by Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) during it’s annual award program this past month.

The Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards program is one of the preeminent competitive awards for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies. The award recognizes those entrepreneurial leaders who are excelling in overcoming adversity; financial performance; societal impact and commitment to building a values-based company; innovation; and talent management. Fenech was selected by an independent panel of judges.

In October, Fenech was selected as a 2020 Midwest Region Award Winner, which then qualified him for the national competition. Out of several hundred entries, Fenech was selected as part of an elite group of 32 entrepreneurs named as national finalists. From this group, one entrepreneur is selected as the national overall winner.

“What an honor and validation of all we are trying to accomplish here in our little corner of the world in Bristol, Indiana,” stated Fenech. “To be chosen as a national finalist amongst the hundreds of competing companies across the country is amazing. I have to give a lot of credit to my team and the culture we’ve built here. In my RV days, i would tell people that I can’t build RV’s by myself – and the same holds true for the boat business. Without my team, this would be a much more difficult task.”

Celebrating nearly 35 years of recognizing entrepreneurial excellence, the program takes place in more than 145 cities in over 60 countries around the world. The Entrepreneur of the Year program is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs and the only competitive awards program in the world for entrepreneurs and leaders of high growth companies. Collectively, 2020 award recipients employ more than 183,000 people and are growing their employee base by more than 39%. They have combined revenues of more than $27 billion, and are growing at a rate of more than 79%. Past winners include John Mackey of Whole Foods Market, Inc., Pierre Omidyar of eBay, Inc., Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn Corporation, and Kendra Scott of Kendra Scott.

Fenech will go on to become a lifetime member of the esteemed multi-industry community of award winners, with exclusive, ongoing access to the experience, insight and wisdom of fellow alumni and other ecosystem members in over 60 countries — all supported by vast EY resources.

The national awards are the culminating event of this year’s virtual Strategic Growth Forum, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. The Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner will then move on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in June 2021.