EY Announces Sam Thigpen of Sapphire Gas Solutions as an Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2021 Gulf Coast Area Award Winner

CONROE, Texas, Aug. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) today announced that Sam Thigpen, CEO of Sapphire Gas Solutions was named an Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2021 Gulf Coast Area Award winner. 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 who are unstoppable entrepreneurial leaders, excelling in talent management; degree of difficulty; financial performance; societal impact and building a values-based company; and originality, innovation and future plans. Mr. Thigpen was selected by an independent panel of judges, and the award was announced during the program's virtual awards gala on August 4, 2021.  

"It's truly an honor to receive this award. Entrepreneurs, like myself, seldom set out to do this for the recognition. We have a passion and dream that drives us. It's wired into us to build something for our team, our community, or for society. To have that effort and success recognized with an award like this is amazing." – Sam Thigpen, CEO of Sapphire Gas Solutions

For 35 years, EY US has honored entrepreneurs whose ambition, courage and ingenuity have driven their companies' success, transformed their industries and made a positive impact on their communities. Sam Thigpen 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.

As a Gulf Coast Area award winner, Mr. Thigpen is now eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2021 National Awards. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner, will be announced in November at the Strategic Growth Forum®, one of the nation's most prestigious gatherings of high-growth, market-leading companies.

The Entrepreneur Of The Year program has honored the inspirational leadership of entrepreneurs such as:

• Brian Niccol of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.
• Saeju Jeong of Noom
• Joe DeSimone of Carbon, Inc.
• Howard Schultz of Starbucks Corporation
• Jodi Berg of Vitamix
• Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn
• Hamdi Ulukaya of Chobani
• Kendra Scott of Kendra Scott LLC
• Andreas Bechtolsheim and Jayshree Ullal of Arista Networks
• James Park of Fitbit
• Daymond John of Fubu 

Sponsors

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are nationally sponsored by SAP America and the Kauffman Foundation. In the Gulf Coast Area, sponsors also include Colliers International, DLA Piper, LLC, PNC Bank, Houston Business Journal, Pierpont Communications, and SolomonEdwards.

About Entrepreneur Of The Year® 
Entrepreneur Of The Year® is the world's most prestigious business awards program for unstoppable entrepreneurs. These visionary leaders deliver innovation, growth and prosperity that transform our world. The program engages entrepreneurs with insights and experiences that foster growth. It connects them with their peers to strengthen entrepreneurship around the world. Entrepreneur Of The Year is the first and only truly global awards program of its kind. It celebrates entrepreneurs through regional and national awards programs in more than 145 cities in over 60 countries. National overall winners go on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ title. ey.com/us/eoy

About EY Private
As Advisors to the ambitious™, EY Private professionals possess the experience and passion to support private businesses and their owners in unlocking the full potential of their ambitions. EY Private teams offer distinct insights born from the long EY history of working with business owners and entrepreneurs. These teams support the full spectrum of private enterprises including private capital managers and investors and the portfolio businesses they fund, business owners, family businesses, family offices and entrepreneurs. Visit ey.com/us/private

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SOURCE Sapphire Gas Solutions