Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates ambitious entrepreneurs who are shaping the future 

Phoenix, Az May 5, 2025  – Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) announced the finalists for the prestigious Entrepreneur Of The Year 2025 Pacific Southwest Award. Now in its 40th year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program celebrates the bold leaders who disrupt markets through the world’s most ground-breaking companies, revolutionizing industries and making a profound impact on communities. The program honors bold entrepreneurs whose innovations shape the future and pave the way for a thriving economy and a hopeful tomorrow.  

An independent panel of judges selected Michael L. Popovich for their entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth and lasting impact in building long-term value. 
 

“To say I am honored is not saying enough. Every day I meet someone who makes me think that person is a real entrepreneur, although they may not know it yet. The world is full of these folks which is what makes the world go around. The EY program that finds and recognizes just a few is really a recognition of the many. I am blessed with a gift to even be considered for this program and appreciate the opportunity to represent all those across the country and around the globe who ensure the world keeps spinning with ideas and innovation. ” 

STChealth is a data and technology company with a focus on population health and preventable disease. Here in 2025, there is a measles outbreak. It reminds us that vaccines prevent disease. One reason a death occurs is an individual was not vaccinated or the population they live in was insufficiently vaccinated to protect others. Accurate information in a timely fashion that can inform health care providers of their patient’s immunization gaps and educate individuals to reduce the risks is the goal of the STChealth technology service offerings. Specifically, the company mission is to prevent preventable disease by deploying information technology that connects health care professionals, pharmacies with public health, and patients and providing intelligence through data analysis.  

STC brings thirty-six years of applied problem solving through innovative solutions for immunization registries, vaccine management systems and analytics for data understanding through predictive modeling, simulations, machine learning and AI.  Through a national connected network to state immunization registries in all states and nearly 50,000 providers, pharmacies and schools with all public health immunization registries, STChealth’s products and services are used every day to inform, educate, predict and provide situational analysis to health professionals across the country to achieve an outcome of preventing disease through knowledge for informed decision making to reduce the risk of disease, short or long term health impacts or a death.  

 Entrepreneur Of The Year honors business leaders for their ingenuity, courage and entrepreneurial spirit. The program celebrates original founders who bootstrapped their business from inception or who raised outside capital to grow their company; transformational CEOs who infused innovation into an existing organization to catapult its trajectory; and multigenerational family business leaders who reimagined a legacy business model to strengthen it for the future. 

Regional award winners will be announced on June 6th during a special celebration in San Diego and will become lifetime members of an esteemed community of Entrepreneur Of The Year alumni from around the world. The winners will then be considered by the National judges for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards, which will be presented in November at the annual Strategic Growth Forum^®, one of the nation’s most prestigious gatherings of high-growth, market-leading companies. 

Sponsors 

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards include presenting sponsors PNC Bank, Cresa, LLC, Marsh McLennan Agency and SAP. In the Pacific Southwest, sponsors also include Platinum sponsor: Vaco; Gold sponsors: Cooley (San Diego market) and Stradling (Orange County market) and Silver sponsors: ADP and Big Picture. 

About Entrepreneur Of The Year  

Founded in 1986, Entrepreneur Of The Year has celebrated more than 11,000 ambitious visionaries who are leading successful, dynamic businesses in the US, and it has since expanded to nearly 60 countries globally. 

The US program consists of 17 regional programs whose panels of independent judges select the regional award winners every June. Those winners compete for national recognition at the Strategic Growth Forum^® in November where National finalists and award winners are announced. The overall National winner represents the US at the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ competition. Visit ey.com/us/eoy. 

About EY 

EY is building a better working world by creating new value for clients, people, society and the planet, while building trust in capital markets. 

Enabled by data, AI and advanced technology, EY teams help clients shape the future with confidence and develop answers for the most pressing issues of today and tomorrow.  

EY teams work across a full spectrum of services in assurance, consulting, tax, strategy and transactions. Fueled by sector insights, a globally connected, multi-disciplinary network and diverse ecosystem partners, EY teams can provide services in more than 150 countries and territories. 

All in to shape the future with confidence.  

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