Coolibar President and Founder John Barrow is an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2013 Winner in the Upper Midwest

MINNEAPOLIS, June 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Coolibar today announced that President and founder John Barrow was named a winner for Consumer Products in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year^® 2013 program in the Upper Midwest.  The award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence, extraordinary success and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Barrow was selected from an esteemed pool of nominations by a panel of independent judges.  Awards were presented at a special gala on June 13, 2013 at the Marriott City Center hotel in Minneapolis, MN.

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Now in its 27th year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Program has expanded to recognize business leaders in more than 140 cities in more than 50 countries throughout the world.

Regional award winners are eligible for consideration for the Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur Of The Year Program. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur Of The Year Overall Award winner, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, California, on November 16, 2013. The awards are the culminating event of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum, the nation's most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies.

Prior to Coolibar, Mr. Barrow was the Vice President of Marketing for techies.com, a Minneapolis based recruiting service that grew from $1 million to $30 million in sales over 4 years. Mr. Barrow was previously the co-founder of an IT education company, J3 Learning Corporation, which was acquired in 1996 by GartnerGroup, Inc., a NYSE public company. Earlier, Mr. Barrow worked for McKinsey & Co., Inc. on consulting assignments for multinational consumer products companies. Mr. Barrow, who was born in Australia, holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of New South Wales and an MBA degree from Harvard Business School.

About Coolibar

Coolibar is the most recommended and tested sun protective clothing company in the United States. Based in Minneapolis, the company was founded in 2001 to bring Australia's world-leading approaches to sun protection to the American market and beyond by producing and selling sun protective apparel for active families through catalog and online. Dedicated to the highest quality sun protective clothing, hats and accessories, Coolibar guarantees 50+ UPF ratings for the life of their garments.  Each garment is developed with sun protection as the number one priority with a full line of proprietary SUNTECT® fabrics. Coolibar has been recognized by the Skin Cancer Foundation, the American Academy of Dermatology and the Melanoma International Foundation for effective sun protection. Coolibar Cares, the company's giving back initiative, supports programs such as SunAWARE, School Sun Hat program, Doctor Connect, the AAD Camp Discovery for sun sensitive children as well as athlete sponsorships and product donations.

For information about Coolibar, go to www.coolibar.com or call 1-800-926-6509.

About Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year^®

Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential, and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 140 cities in more than 50 countries.

About Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Worldwide, our 152,000 people are united by our shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality. We make a difference by helping our people, our clients and our wider communities achieve their potential.

Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit www.ey.com.

This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, a US client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited.

Contact:

Carol Schuler

Schuler Publicity

612-281-7030

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SOURCE Coolibar