Edward Perrin started his company, Karndean Designflooring, in Export in 1998, based on a new idea for wood vinyl flooring.
Since then the company, which is part of U.K.-based Karndean International, has experienced phenomenal growth. Today, it is recognized as one of America’s leading luxury vinyl tile and flooring companies, employing around 90 employees locally. The company is planning a major expansion to manufacture, warehouse, and centralize the distribution of the product here soon. “We should be adding many jobs in the Pittsburgh area over the next few years,” Perrin says.
Perrin, CEO, was named a top entrepreneur by Ernst Young at the awards gala on Friday night, one of nearly a dozen regional entrepreneurs were are now in contention for the national awards in November.
“Being an [Ernst & Young] Entrepreneur of the Year was a big surprise,” says Perrin. “It feels fantastic. But it is also quite humbling to get so much recognition and be up there with so many top innovators and entrepreneurs.”
Every year for 28 years, Ernst & Young runs an entrepreneurial awards ceremony to honor and recognize top entrepreneurs in 11 categories. The EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 winners for Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia were announced at the Wyndham Grand in downtown Pittsburgh Friday.
The winners are:
Michael A. Cherock, PE, Chief Executive Officer and President, AE Works Ltd.
John P. Burke, Chief Executive Officer, Armada
Dean Grose, President, Comtech Industries, Inc.
Luis von Ahn, PhD, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Duolingo
Edward Perrin, Chief Executive Officer, Karndean Designflooring
David Levine, Chief Executive Officer, NuGo Nutrition
Paul Hennigan, PhD, President, Point Park University
William F. Sarris, President, Sarris Candies, Inc.
Pamela Petrow, President and Chief Executive Officer, Vector Security
In addition, Richard P. Simmons was awarded the Master Entrepreneur Of The Year Award and Heather Bresch, CEO of Mylan Inc. received the Global Impact Award.
Now in its 28th year, the program has expanded to recognize business leaders in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries throughout the world.
The Entrepreneur Of The Year Program honors entrepreneurs regionally in June, leading up to the national awards in November. Additionally, venture-backed companies that win an Entrepreneur Of The Year Award regionally are also eligible for the Venture Capital Award of Excellence at the national level. The Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner then moves on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award.
