James recognized for 45 years of entrepreneurial leadership in
energy, logistics, manufacturing, supply chain management, MRO,
government and other industries
DETROIT, June 17,
2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Ernst & Young LLP (EY
US) has announced that CEO Louis E.
James of SEEL LLC is a finalist for the Entrepreneur Of The
Year® 2024 Michigan and Northwest Ohio Award. Now in its 38th year,
Entrepreneur Of The Year is the preeminent competitive business
award for audacious leaders who disrupt markets, revolutionize
sectors and have a transformational impact on lives. Over the past
four decades, the program has recognized the daring entrepreneurs
with big ideas and bold actions that reshape our world.
Louis E. James was one of 34
regional entrepreneurs from 30 companies selected as finalists by
an independent panel of judges. The candidates were evaluated based
on their demonstration of building long-term value through
entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth and impact, among other
core contributions and attributes.
A combat-wounded veteran of the U.S. Army who served in the
Vietnam War, James has more than 45 years of entrepreneurial
experience parlaying joint ventures with majority companies into
solely owned corporations, providing jobs in the community and
sustainable opportunities for other minority-owned businesses.
After his service in Vietnam
and discharge from the Army, James began his entrepreneurial career
by opening grocery and convenience stores in the Chicago area in the early 1970s. He went on to
purchase Morrilton Plastic products, a manufacturing tier 1
supplier to the Big 3 auto manufacturers, and later TTO Inc., a
Xerox and IBM sales and service company, before forming MCL JASCO
Inc., a supply chain management and logistics company.
In 2009, James founded Solutions for Energy Efficient Logistics,
LLC. to provide energy efficiency program implementation and
management services to the energy industry. Over the past 15 years,
SEEL has become one of the nation's most respected firms in this
space, with offices in four states. In addition to program
management, SEEL has also become a leader in energy industry
workforce development, with a special focus on bringing the promise
of "green jobs" to low-income, underserved and minority communities
that have in the past been under-represented in the energy
workforce. SEEL's programs connect and train workers to in-demand
jobs and long-term careers with the nation's utilities, energy
efficiency contractors and other energy industry employers.
Today, SEEL working with the U.S. Department of Energy and other
federal agencies to educate and assist local governments,
nonprofits, businesses and other stakeholders across the country in
identifying and implementing energy efficiency, workforce
development, recycling, energy grid modernization, EV
infrastructure and other related energy and environmental programs
created or expanded by the Inflation Reduction Act and other
federal and state legislation.
SEEL is one of five sister companies under MCL JASCO. The others
are global warehousing and distribution company Jasco
International; supply chain management materials supplier Motor
City International (MCI); quality containment solution provider
QIC, LLC; and vegetation management provider SEEL WX. His companies
are headquartered in Detroit and
do business nationwide from 11 offices in eight states.
Companies built and steered by James have won dozens of prestigious
awards including the national Andromeda Star of Energy Award,
Honda's Top Quality Award, General Motors Supplier of the Year
Awards in 2003 and 2004, four separate recognitions as Black
Enterprise Magazine's Top 100 Companies, and the 2019 National
Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) Supplier of the Year
Award. James also serves in a number of philanthropic roles.
Entrepreneur Of The Year honors many different types of 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 fortify it for the future.
Regional award winners will be announced on Thursday, June 20, 2024 during a special
celebration 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.
In addition to Entrepreneur Of The Year, EY US supports other
entrepreneurs through the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ program
and the EY Entrepreneurs Access Network to help connect women
founders and Black and Hispanic/Latino entrepreneurs, respectively,
with the resources, network and access needed to unlock their full
potential.
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 80
countries and territories 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 World Entrepreneur
Of The Year® competition. Visit ey.com/us/eoy.
About EY
EY exists to build a better working world, helping to create
long-term value for clients, people and society and build trust in
the capital markets. Enabled by data and technology, diverse EY
teams in over 150 countries provide trust through assurance and
help clients grow, transform and operate. Working across assurance,
consulting, law, strategy, tax and transactions, EY teams ask
better questions to find new answers for the complex issues facing
our world today.
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more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each
of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global
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For more information about our organization, please visit
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Media Contact
Jason Brown,
www.PublicCityPR.net, 248-663-6166, JBrown@PublicCityPR.net,
www.PublicCityPR.net
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SOURCE Ernst & Young(EY)