EY Announces Tom Brennan, CEO and CTO of Sol-Ark, as an Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2023 National Award Winner

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Nov 20, 2023, 13:27 ET

Disrupter of Energy Technology On Track to Reduce Energy Storage Costs for Families and Businesses, Awards Employees $1M+, and Generates Profitable Growth for Nine Consecutive Years

ALLEN, Texas, Nov. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) announced that Tom Brennan, CEO & CTO of Sol-Ark was named an Entrepreneur Of The Year^® 2023 National Award winner, following his selection as a Southwest regional award winner in June. Winners were selected from a pool of 224 regional Entrepreneur Of The Year 2023 Award winners from 197 companies across the US. Entrepreneur Of The Year was created to honor those audacious entrepreneurs who dare to reimagine what's possible and develop products and solutions that disrupt markets, revolutionize industries and transform lives. Now in its 37th year, it is celebrated as one of the most respected business award programs in the world.

"I am deeply honored to be an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2023 National Winner. This award is a testament to the hard work and dedication from my business partner and CMO, Bhawna Oberoi, as well as the entire Sol-Ark Team. I founded Sol-Ark to serve God, my Family and my Extended Family at Sol-Ark," said Tom Brennan, CEO and CTO of Sol-Ark. "I serve God by enabling more families and businesses to be energy independent. I serve my Family by spending more time with them. I serve my Extended Family at Sol-Ark by making them financially independent and ensuring their families are free of debt. Bhawna and I shared the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® National Award with 43 employees who played a pivotal role in our success by awarding them with a collective $1M+ bonus."

Winners were selected by a panel of independent judges made up of entrepreneurs and other notable business leaders from across the US. The candidates were evaluated based on their demonstration of building long-term value through entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth and impact, among other core contributions and attributes.

Tom Brennan is the pioneer of hybrid inverters. After doing extensive research across the globe, Tom concluded the current energy storage solutions were cumbersome, expensive, overly complex, and offered minimal power capability. He saw the opportunity to disrupt the energy industry through innovation and technology. Tom founded Sol-Ark over a decade ago with a mission to make the most reliable, innovative, and cost-effective energy storage solutions to power families and businesses.

Today Sol-Ark is a global energy technology leader with over six generations of hybrid inverters, nine years of profitable growth, and is on track to significantly reduce the cost of energy storage for families and businesses. Sol-Ark recently launched a Commercial and Industrial LimitLess Lithium™ Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), which includes high voltage batteries with built-in fire protection. LimitLess LIthium™ BESS is an industry leading efficient, flexible, scalable, and cost-effective solution to energy storage. Commercial organizations are leveraging LimitLess Lithium™ BESS as a competitive advantage to reduce energy costs, enhance building power capacity for EV fleet integration and charging stations, combine renewable energy sources, and increase uptime and reliability of critical operations.

Tom Brennan joins the following leaders from across the nation as Entrepreneur Of The Year 2023 National Award winners:

Cheri Beranek, President and CEO, Clearfield, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Jason McGowan, Co-Founder and CEO, Crumbl Cookies, Lindon, Utah
Felipe Hasselmann, President and CEO, Cuisine Solutions, Sterling, Virginia
Wemimo Abbey, Co-Founder, Co-CEO and Samir Goel, Co-Founder, Co-CEO, Esusu, New York, New York
Dr. Sohail Masood, CEO, KabaFusion, Cerritos, California
RJ Melman, President, Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants, Chicago, Illinois
Gaurab Chakrabarti, Co-Founder and CEO and Sean Hunt, Co-founder and CTO, Solugen, Houston, Texas
Josh Meyerowitz, Founder and CEO, SupplyHouse, Melville, New York
Michael Happe, President and CEO, Winnebago Industries, Eden Prairie, Minnesota (National Overall Award winner)

"Business leaders everywhere are navigating a slew of macro-economic and geopolitical challenges. Still, this year's National Award winners led their companies to new heights, showcasing indomitable spirits and commitments to their people and communities," said Andrew (AJ) Jordan, EY Americas Entrepreneur Of The Year Director. "They embody the best of entrepreneurship and the ingenuity so necessary to drive markets and help societies the world over."

Since 1986, Entrepreneur Of The Year has celebrated entrepreneurs whose drive, innovative spirit and creativity have fueled their companies' success, revolutionized their industries and positively impacted their communities. The National finalists and winners were announced during a celebration held at the Strategic Growth Forum^®, one of the nation's most prestigious gatherings of high-growth, market-leading companies. They become lifetime members of the esteemed community of award winners, with exclusive, continued access to the experience, insight and wisdom of fellow alumni and other ecosystem members in over 60 countries — all supported by a wide array of EY resources.

Sponsors
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards include presenting sponsors PNC Bank, SAP America and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

Videos and photos
Videos and photos of all Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winners will be available at https://www.ey.com/en_us/entrepreneur-of-the-year/meet-the-winners-and-finalists.

About Entrepreneur Of The Year^®
Entrepreneur Of The Year^® is the world's most prestigious business awards program for ambitious 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 Award winners go on to compete for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year title. Visit ey.com/us/eoy.

About EY
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Enabled by data and technology, diverse EY teams in over 150 countries provide trust through assurance and help clients grow, transform and operate.

Working across assurance, consulting, law, strategy, tax and transactions, EY teams ask better questions to find new answers for the complex issues facing our world today.

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Ernst & Young LLP is a client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited operating in the US.

About Sol-Ark
Sol-Ark is a global leader in smart energy solutions for residential, commercial and EV applications. Trusted by the Fortune 500 in telecommunications, retail, big tech, restaurants and the largest space agency in the world, Sol-Ark has been solving complex energy challenges with innovation and technology for over a decade. Powered by a vast ecosystem including thousands of distributors, installers, EPCs, EV charging companies, integrators, and battery manufacturers, Sol-Ark is transforming energy resilience for homes and businesses. Visit sol-ark.com.

For additional information, please contact:

Amy Hartzer

Director of Marketing, Sol-Ark

[email protected]

SOURCE Sol-Ark