Some of Baltimore’s founders got all gussied up Thursday night with a black-tie gala at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront. The hundreds of attendees packed the ballroom to watch Ernst & Young hand out Maryland’s Entrepreneur of the Year awards.
The global firm taps local judges to hand out such awards across the country, then holds a national awards gala in the fall. (Here’s the recent Philly gala, for instance.) The Maryland panel included DBED Secretary Mike Gill, Betamore CEO Jen Meyer and Millennial Media cofounder Paul Palmieri, among others.
With a live band to play on the winners, speeches and slick videos introducing the crowd to the entrepreneurs (and their spirit animals), the event hit all the notes that award ceremony watchers have come to expect.
Matt Doud and Ed Callahan, the founding duo behind Baltimore-based digital marketing firm Planit, delivered a speech befitting the company’s out-of-the-box culture, full of high fives and wisecracks after winning in the Services category.
Matt Doud and Ed Callahan Named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2015: http://t.co/CbIm9MbHId. #EOY_MD pic.twitter.com/WZBNcnNF8Q
— Planit (@planit) June 26, 2015
Doud said founders often struggle with titles. “But entrepreneur has got a different sort of swagger to it,” he said. “The term ‘entrepreneur’ is one that you’re proud of. It’s one that you like to own. There’s no baggage with it.”
Meanwhile, CyberPoint International CEO Karl Gumtow won in the Technology category. His first dedication was to his wife Vicki, who is a cofounder of the downtown-based cybersecurity firm.
Keith Dunleavy of Bowie-based healthcare data analytics company Inovalon topped the Growth category, which also featured city-based finalists Chris Jeffery of OrderUp and Nick Miller of Parking Panda.
Here’s the full list of winners:
- Real Estate, Hospitality and Construction: John Martindale, Brothers Services Co.
- Retail and Consumer Products: Glenn Gaynor, DTLR
- Government Services: Patrick Munis, NewWave Telecom and Technologies
- Services: Ed Callahan and Matt Doud, Planit
- Technology: Karl Gumtow, Cyberpoint International
- Health: John Heller, Health Pro Rehabilitation
- Growth: Keith Dunleavy, Inovalon
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