NEW YORK, Nov. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) today announced that the Toast Inc. leadership team of Chris Comparato, Chief Executive Officer; Aman Narang, President and Co-Founder; Steve Fredette, President and Co-Founder; and Jon Grimm, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder, have been named the Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2020 National Overall Award winners. Nine other national award winners were also announced during a virtual awards celebration. The awards were the culminating event of the first ever virtual EY Strategic Growth Forum®, one of the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies and one of America’s largest gathering of entrepreneurs. For 34 years, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Award has recognized and celebrated the unstoppable entrepreneurial leaders who are transforming our world.
The national award winners were selected by an independent panel of judges from 207 regional award recipients. They excelled in overcoming adversity, financial performance, societal impact and commitment to building a values-based company, innovation, and talent management. The Toast leadership team is awarded the overall national title for transforming how the restaurant industry runs its businesses and offering the community leadership and support during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In these trying times, the Toast leadership team showed incredible levels of ingenuity and tenacity to not only save their own business, but work to help others save theirs,” said Andrew (AJ) Jordan, EY Americas Entrepreneur Of The Year Director. “We are honored to recognize Chris, Aman, Steve and Jon as entrepreneurs whose leadership positively impacted their industry and reflected unwavering dedication to their customers and the larger community.”
Launched in 2013, Toast is a cloud-based technology platform that helps restaurateurs run their businesses more efficiently by streamlining the management of operations. The solution combines cloud-based point-of-sale technology with front-of-house, back-of-house, guest-facing technology and third-party applications, permitting restaurateurs greater time to focus on the guest experience.
As the COVID-19 pandemic began to ravage the restaurant industry in early 2020, the Toast team rapidly pivoted their offerings to support struggling restauranteurs. Their ability to quickly adapt their strategy and product offerings helped keep restaurants open while also maintaining profitability. The company offered temporary relief from monthly fees and access to free products to all its customers, including a special suite with software for digital ordering and gift cards. The team launched a “Rally for Restaurants” initiative that encouraged communities to support their local restaurants through purchases of gift cards, takeout and urging community government officials to pass industry-supporting policies. Additionally, the team launched Toast Delivery Services during the height of the pandemic’s impact, enabling restaurants of all sizes to access an on-demand delivery network of local drivers without high fees. Food, community and environment are at the core of the company’s purpose, providing meals for at-risk children through No Kind Hungry and rescuing food through Project Bread.
Entrepreneur Of The Year National Award winners
“In a pivotal and consequential year for business, our nine other national winners showed a level of determination and transformation unmatched by most,” Jordan said. “Our national winners have shown true entrepreneurial leadership, including a commitment to society and building companies rooted in uplifting their employees and community stakeholders.”
In addition to the Toast leadership team, the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Award winners include:
- Raj Vattikuti, Founder & CEO — Altimetrik, Southfield, Mich.
- Justin Christian, Founder & CEO — BCforward, Indianapolis, Ind.
- Mike Salguero, Co-Founder & CEO — ButcherBox, Boston, Mass.
- Brian Niccol, Chairman & CEO — Chipotle Mexican Grill, Newport Beach, Calif.
- Laureen Asseo, Founder & Co-CEO — Fresh n’ Lean, Anaheim, Calif.
- Saeju Jeong, Co-Founder & CEO — Noom Inc., New York, N.Y.
- Dr. Gordon Vanscoy, Founder, Chairman & CEO — PANTHERx Rare, Pittsburgh, Pa.
- Nick Green, Co-Founder & CEO — Thrive Market, Marina Del Rey, Calif.
- Erin Bradley, Founder & CEO — ZYIA Active, Draper, Utah
Notes to editors
Videos and photos
Videos and photos of all Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winners will be uploaded to ey.com/us/eoy.
Sponsors
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are nationally sponsored by SAP America and the Kauffman Foundation.
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
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