EY Announces Michael Rucker of Scout Clean Energy as an Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2023 Mountain West Award Winner
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CONTACT: Chad Thompson
[email protected] /901.331.0779
Michael Rucker of Scout Clean Energy Announced as an Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2023 Mountain West Award Winner
Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates ambitious entrepreneurs who are building a better world
Boulder, CO – July 20, 2023 – Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) announced that Michael Rucker, founder and CEO of Scout Clean Energy was named an Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2023 Mountain West Award winner. Now in its 37th year, The Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards program is one of the preeminent competitive awards for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies. The Entrepreneur Of The Year program honors unstoppable business leaders whose ambition, ingenuity and courage in the face of adversity help catapult us from the now to next and beyond.
“I am extremely honored and humbled to be placed in such an esteemed group of entrepreneurial leaders,” said Michael Rucker. “I can attribute much of my success as an entrepreneur to the fact that my company is also my mission. I’ve been a crusader for the climate for my whole career. Founding Scout Clean Energy was just the natural progression of my work in the renewable energy sector.”
Mr. Rucker was selected by a panel of independent judges comprised of previous award winners leading CEOs, investors and other regional business leaders. Award winners were announced during a special celebration on June 18, 2023, and will become lifetime members of an esteemed community of Entrepreneur Of The Year alumni from around the world. The Mountain West program includes Oregon, Washington, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado and Alaska.
Entrepreneur Of The Year is one of the preeminent competitive award programs for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies. The nominees are evaluated based on their demonstration of building long-term value through entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth, and impact, among other core contributions and attributes. Since its launch, the program has expanded to recognize business leaders in more than 145 cities in over 60 countries around the world.
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.
As a Mountain West award winner, Mr. Rucker 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.
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About Scout Clean Energy
Scout Clean Energy is a renewable energy developer and owner-operator headquartered in Boulder, Colorado with approximately 1,000 MW of operating and under construction wind assets, and a pipeline of over 19,000 MW of wind, solar and storage projects across 22 states, including more than 2,300 MW of advanced-stage projects. Scout has expertise in all aspects of renewables project development, permitting, power marketing, finance, construction, 24/7 operations, and asset management. For more information, please visit www.scoutcleanenergy.com
About Michael Rucker
Michael Rucker is the Founder and CEO of Scout Clean Energy, a renewable energy owner-operator. Scout was acquired by the Brookfield Global Transition Fund in 2022 and the company continues to expand its operations throughout the United States. Michael was also co-founder and formerly President of Harvest Energy Services, Inc. which specialized in O&M, construction management, and asset management services. Michael previously served as CEO of juwi Wind North America, a German wind developer, and as VP of Business Development at Clipper Windpower Development. Prior to that, he was a Commercial Director at GE Energy for west region wind, hydro, and natural gas turbine sales. He also supported the Climate Change negotiations at the International Energy Agency in Paris as Administrator of the Climate Technology Initiative program. Michael was also a Manager at the Edison Electric Institute, the trade association for the US investor-owned utilities.
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 the Mountain West region, sponsors also include Big Picture, Colliers International, Cresa, Diversified Insurance, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, Strong & Hanni Law Firm, Truss, Woodruff- Sawyer & Co. and Silicon Slopes.
The Entrepreneur Of The Year program has honored the inspirational leadership of entrepreneurs such as:
- Andreas Bechtolsheim and Jayshree Ullal of Arista Networks
- Daymond John of FUBU
- Hamdi Ulukaya of Chobani, Inc.
- Holly Thaggard and Amanda Baldwin of Supergoop!
- Howard Schultz of Starbucks Coffee Company
- James Park of Fitbit
- Jodi Berg of Vitamix
- Joe DeSimone of Carbon, Inc.
- Kendra Scott of Kendra Scott LLC
- Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn Corporation
- Sheila Mikhail of AskBio
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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