FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida— Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) announced that Jon Ferrando, CEO, and President of RV Retailer, LLC (RVR), was named an Entrepreneur of the Year® 2021 Florida Award winner. The Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards program is one of the preeminent competitive awards for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies. The award recognizes unstoppable entrepreneurial leaders excelling in talent management, degree of difficulty; financial performance; societal impact; building a values-based company; and originality, innovation, and plans. An independent panel of judges selected Jon Ferrando, and the award was announced during the program’s virtual awards gala on August 5, 2021.
Jon Ferrando co-founded RV Retailer in 2018 with a bold vision of building the greatest RV retail company the world has ever seen with a focus on customer service, innovation, training, leadership development, and investing in RVR’s associates. With the recently announced expansion, RV Retailer will have 70 full-service RV stores in 24 states in just over three years, with over 2,600 associates selling tens of thousands of RVs annually.
“Being named a winner of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award is the ultimate honor,” said Ferrando. “What we have accomplished at RV Retailer would not have been possible without our leadership team and growing family of associates nationwide. The support and inspiration I receive from my team are unmatched, and I am thrilled about what is to come. I am also incredibly blessed with a great family that amazingly supports me.”
Ferrando is now eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2021 National Awards as a Florida award winner. Award winners in several national categories and the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner will be announced on November 13 at the Strategic Growth Forum®, one of the nation’s most prestigious gatherings of high-growth, market-leading companies.
The Entrepreneur Of The Year program has honored the inspirational leadership of entrepreneurs such as:
- Joe DeSimone of Carbon, Inc.
- Hamdi Ulukaya of Chobani
- Chris and Robin Sorensen of Firehouse Subs Restaurant Group Inc.
- James Park of Fitbit
- Mindy Grossman of HSN, Inc.
- H. Wayne Huizenga of Huizenga Holdings Incorporated
- Kendra Scott of Kendra Scott LLC
- Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn
- Ellen Latham of Orangetheory Fitness
- Howard Schultz of Starbucks Corporation
- Justin Wetherill of uBreakiFix
- Jodi Berg of Vitamix
About RV Retailer, LLC
RV Retailer, LLC is a leading recreational vehicle retail company in the United States focusing on providing an outstanding experience for recreational vehicle customers in new and used sales, service and parts, and customer financial services. Upon completion of the Blue Dog acquisition, RV Retailer will have 70 RV stores in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, Montana, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Regional store brands include RV One Superstores, Motor Home Specialist, ExploreUSA, Sonny’s Camp-N-Travel, Cousins RV, Camper Clinic, Lifestyle RVs, Family RV Group, Northgate RV, Tom’s Camperland, and Blue Dog RV, which sell a wide range of new and used RV brands with thousands of RVs in inventory.
RV Retailer is led by co-founders Jon Ferrando, Chief Executive Officer and President, and John Rizzo, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer. Jon Ferrando and John Rizzo were instrumental in building America’s largest automotive retailer from start-up to over $20 billion in revenue. RV Retailer’s leadership team has over 250 years of automotive and RV retail industry experience.
Sponsors
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are nationally sponsored by SAP America and the Kauffman Foundation. In Florida, sponsors also include Premium sponsor PNC Bank and Supporting sponsors DLA Piper LLP and Donnelly Financial Solutions.
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 winners go on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ title. ey.com/us/eoy
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