EY Announces Davis Smith and Stephan Jacob of Cotopaxi as an Entrepreneurs of The Year® 2020 Utah Region Award Winner

October 20, 2020

SALT LAKE CITY, UT 10/20/2020 – Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) recently announced that CEO and co-founder Davis Smith and COO and co-founder Stephan Jacob of Cotopaxi were named an Entrepreneur Of The Year^® 2020 Utah Region 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 entrepreneurial leaders who are excelling in overcoming adversity; financial performance; societal impact and commitment to building a values-based company; innovation; and talent management. Smith and Jacob were selected by an independent panel of judges. The award was announced through the program’s first-ever virtual awards gala, hosted by Deborah Norville, anchor of Inside Edition, on October 6, 2020.

“Stephan and I are honored to receive this award and to represent our whole team, the B-Corp community, and our home state of Utah,” said Cotopaxi CEO Davis Smith. “Cotopaxi was founded on the idea that we can and must do capitalism better. We are committed to not only creating sustainable products that inspire outdoor adventure, but also to using our unique impact model to help fund the alleviation of global poverty.”

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

• Joe DeSimone of Carbon, Inc.
• Howard Schultz of Starbucks Corporation
• Pierre Omidyar of eBay, Inc.
• 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

As a Utah Region award winner, Davis Smith and Stephan Jacob are now eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020 National Awards. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner, will be announced Thursday, November 19, during a virtual awards gala. The 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.

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 Utah Region, sponsors also include Diversified Insurance Group, Strong & Hanni Law Firm, Silicon Slopes, Truss, & The Community Foundation of Utah.

About Cotopaxi

Cotopaxi is an outdoor gear brand and Benefit Corporation with a social mission. With two storefronts and a strong ecommerce platform, and employing over 80 staff members, we offer conscious customers responsibly designed apparel whose sales support our mission to alleviate poverty. Through the Cotopaxi Foundation, the company has awarded more than 60 traceable grants to vetted organizations on the front lines of addressing poverty. For more information please visit https://www.cotopaxi.com

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. 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/private

About EY

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