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Combining passion and skills to tackle complex challenges

Since 1994, EY Canada (formerly Ernst & Young) has celebrated the accomplishments of Canadian entrepreneurs who continuously reshape the nation’s economy through innovation and hard work. Now in its 30^th year, the Entrepreneur of the Year awards program shines a light on those who combine passion and determination with skill to create businesses that tackle the world’s most complex challenges.

Mekhail adds that it was Dal prof Dr. Ken Wilkie’s hands-on, practical approach to engineering that fostered his engineering mindset. “I’m beyond proud to call H���� my alma mater and find passion in encouraging fellow scientists to pursue business ownership.”

This year, 160 businesses from coast to coast were selected by an independent panel of judges and recognized for their value creation, purpose-driven leadership and the impact of their work on the communities around them. Twenty-nine of those businesses were from Atlantic Canada.

In addition to Mekhail, Dal alumni Sheena Russell (BSc’09), CEO of , a company that makes packaged foods out of locally sourced ingredients, and Sonja Mills (MBA’07, LLB’07), co-owner of , a craft brewery in Newfoundland, won entrepreneur of the year honours.

Two other Dal alumni reach finals

Greg Poirier (BSc’00), founder and president of , a company centred around cloud services like Salesforce and Google, also earned a nomination ahead of this year’s Atlantic awards ceremony.

And Amanda Rogers (BA’06), CEO of , which offers writing and editing services, was Dal’s fifth finalist. She says it was her undergraduate studies in sociology at H���� that sparked her passion for philanthropy, guiding her into leadership roles in the non-profit sector.

“When I transitioned to owning my own business, I continued to foster my sociological perspective my helping under-resourced organizations and underserved communities secure critical funding for their programming,” Rogers said.