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
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SOURCE Ernst & Young(EY)
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