DEVENS, Mass. – Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) today announced that Paul Sellew, Founder and CEO of Little Leaf Farms was named an Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2023 New England Award winner. The Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards program is one of the preeminent competitive awards for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies. Sellew 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.
“It’s truly an honor to be named the EY New England Entrepreneur of the Year and I’m extremely proud of our company’s achievements,” said Sellew. “This could not have been possible without the entire team at Little Leaf Farms – all of our success comes from the dedication and passion every team member puts in day after day to move our mission forward, and I’m grateful to share this recognition with them.”
Sellew founded Little Leaf Farms in 2015 with the mission to transform the way food is grown. Today, the brand is the #1 packaged lettuce sustainably grown through controlled environment agriculture (CEA) and delivers local, deliciously crisp, wonderfully fresh, uniquely long-lasting and sustainably grown leafy greens from its state-of-the-art greenhouses to grocery shelves within 24 hours of harvesting. Little Leaf Farms operates greenhouses in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, with plans for additional expansion in Pennsylvania, and recently announced its projection to break $100 million in retail sales by the end of 2023. Little Leaf Farms is available at major retailers throughout the Northeast into the Southeast, with additional growth to come throughout the Midwest.
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 New England award winner, Sellew 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.
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
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 New England, sponsors also include Cresa Global, Inc., Woodruff Sawyer & Company, and DLA Piper, LLP.
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.
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About Little Leaf Farms
Little Leaf Farms is on a mission to transform the way food is grown through peri-urban agricultural practices that are rebuilt for the modern world. Using advanced greenhouse technologies, Little Leaf Farms is growing fresh, sustainably farmed lettuce 365 days a year. Little Leaf Farms utilizes captured rainwater, natural sunlight that shines through high transmission glass, and solar-powered energy in their precise, soil-less hydroponic farming. The crispy, flavorful baby greens are harvested without ever touching human hands and are never treated with chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides. For more information, visit littleleaffarms.com or @littleleaffarms.
