EY Announces Clearfield’s Cheri Beranek as an Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2023 Heartland Award Winner

June 12, 2023 at 09:00 AM EDT

Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates ambitious entrepreneurs who are building a better world

Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) today announced that Cheri Beranek, CEO of Clearfield, was named an Entrepreneur Of The Year^® 2023 Heartland Award winner. The Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards program is one of the preeminent competitive awards for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies. Beranek was selected by an independent judging panel made up of previous award winners, leading CEOs, investors and other regional business leaders. 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.

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Cheri Beranek, Clearfield CEO - EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2023 Heartland Award Winner or Clearfield CEO Cheri Beranek (Photo: Business Wire)

Noted for her extensive leadership experience and insightful management style, Beranek has streamlined Clearfield’s manufacturing processes to navigate supply chain challenges for its customers as fiber broadband enters its largest investment cycle ever. Beranek continues to intentionally focus on what customers need and the role Clearfield can play in their success, while providing solutions that enable operators to move from homes passed to homes connected.

Beranek said, “It is an honor to receive this recognition from EY and a reflection of Clearfield’s success based on our company’s core values to listen, recognize, understand, collaborate, deliver and celebrate. It validates the hard work of our dedicated employees since the inception of Clearfield in 2008 and will be a motivator to continue to focus on community broadband and the role fiber can play in changing the economics and quality of life for people and their communities.”

For nearly four decades, EY US has honored entrepreneurs whose ambition, courage and ingenuity have driven their companies’ success, transformed their industries and made a positive impact on their communities. Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winners become lifetime members of a global, multi-industry community of entrepreneurs, with exclusive, ongoing access to the experience, insight and wisdom of program alumni and other ecosystem members in over 60 countries — all supported by vast EY resources. Since 1986, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program has recognized more than 11,000 US executives.

As a Heartland award winner, Beranek is now eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2023 National Awards. The National Award winners, including the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner, will be announced in November at the Strategic Growth Forum^®, one of the nation’s most prestigious gatherings of high-growth, market-leading companies. The Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner will then move on to compete for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year^® Award in June 2024.

Sponsors

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards include presenting sponsors PNC Bank, N.A.; SAP America; and the Kauffman Foundation. In Heartland, sponsors also include regional Platinum sponsors Colliers International, Padilla and Twin Cities Business.

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. National Overall Award winners go on to compete for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year^® title. Visit ey.com/us/eoy.

About EY Private

As Advisors to the ambitious™, EY Private professionals possess the experience and passion to support private businesses and their owners in unlocking the full potential of their ambitions. EY Private teams offer distinct insights born from the long EY history of working with business owners and entrepreneurs. These teams support the full spectrum of private enterprises including private capital managers and investors and the portfolio businesses they fund, business owners, family businesses, family offices and entrepreneurs. Visit ey.com/us/private.

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