Ernst & Young made executives with Design Within Reach Inc., Fitlinxx, and Viridian Energy among dozens of finalists for its annual “Entrepreneur of the Year” award covering the New York and New England regions.
The upscale furniture retailer Design With Reach Inc. relocated to Stamford in 2010 from San Francisco. Ernst & Young recognized CEO John Edelman and John McGee, its chief operating officer, with the two men eligible for Ernst & Young”™s New York region.
Also a finalist in New York was Michael Fallquist, CEO of Norwalk-based Viridian Energy, which sells electricity there, in Connecticut and four other states. Viridian enters the Massachusetts market on June 1.
In New England, Ernst & Young chose as a finalist Fitlinxx CEO Dave Monahan, who joined the company as a vice president in 2006, having previously worked for Microsoft Corp; and was promoted to CEO in 2008. Shelton-based Fitlinxx runs systems to monitor the wellness of employees, among others including an “ActiPed” device that estimates how long a person engages in physical activity and the amount of calories they burn. The company”™s backers include Ironwood Capital, which has an Avon office.
Also nominated in New England was Paul English, the Concord, Mass.-based chief technology officer of Kayak Software Corp., which has its headquarters in Norwalk under Steve Hafner.
