EY Announces Tricia Wallwork of Milo's Tea Company as an Entrepreneur Of The Year 2025 National Award Winner

BESSEMER, Ala., Nov. 17, 2025 – Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) announced that Chair and CEO Tricia Wallwork of Milo's Tea Company was named an Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2025 National Award winner, following Wallwork's selection as a Southeast regional award winner in June.

National winners were chosen from a group of 221 Entrepreneur Of The Year regional winners, representing 191 companies across the United States. For 40 years, the Entrepreneur Of The Year award has recognized entrepreneurs who are revolutionizing industries and leading businesses that will shape the future.

"Family businesses are the backbone of the American and global economies, and I truly believe are the key to solving many of the challenges facing humanity today because we are able to think in terms of generations, not quarters, and invest in long-term value creation while stewarding deep, meaningful purpose," said Wallwork. "At Milo's, we're in our third generation of growth, purpose, and passion, and each generation shepherded totally different businesses – so I feel like a founder too – and I credit a lot of our success to always having that entrepreneurial spirit."

Winners were selected by a panel of independent judges composed of entrepreneurs and other respected business leaders from across the US. 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.

Wallwork joins the following leaders from across the nation as Entrepreneur Of The Year 2025 National Award winners:

• Jitendra Mohan, Co-Founder, CEO; Sanjay Gajendra, Co-Founder, President & COO; and Casey Morrison, Co-Founder, Chief Product Officer, Astera Labs, San Jose, California (National Overall Award winners)
• John V. Oyler, Co-founder and Chairman and CEO, BeOne Medicines, Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Kate Haviland, CEO, Blueprint Medicines, Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Don Wenner, Founder and CEO, DLP Capital, St. Augustine, Florida
• Mitchell Eviston, Founder and CEO, Meristem Crop Performance Group, LLC, Powell, Ohio
• Stephen Ellsworth, Founder & Chief Product Officer, and Allison Ellsworth, Founder & Chief Brand Officer, Poppi, Austin, Texas
• Walter Driver, Co-CEO and Chairman of the Board, Scopely, Culver City, California
• Charlie Youakim, CEO and Founder, Sezzle, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Nathan Ough, President & CEO, VoltaGrid, Houston, Texas

"Entrepreneur Of The Year has celebrated the bold leaders who redefine what's possible for more than four decades. This program honors the many ways entrepreneurs drive our economy — through ingenuity, courage and an unwavering spirit of innovation," said Andrew (AJ) Jordan, EY Americas Entrepreneur Of The Year Co-Director.

Since 1986, Entrepreneur Of The Year has honored an array of business leaders for their ingenuity, courage and entrepreneurial spirit. The program recognizes original founders who grew their business from inception; visionary CEOs who transformed companies with innovation, and family business leaders who modernized legacy models for future success.

The National winners were announced during a celebration held at the Strategic Growth Forum®, the nation's most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. All regional and national winners who were celebrated this year are lifetime members of an esteemed community of award winners, with exclusive, continued access to the experience, insight and wisdom of fellow alumni and other ecosystem members to nearly 80 countries— all supported by the full suite of EY resources.

EY US also supports 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.

Sponsors

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards include presenting sponsors PNC Bank, Cresa LLC, Marsh USA, SAP and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

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.

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