ST. LOUIS — The CEO of Bridgeton-based Dent Wizard has been named Entrepreneur of the Year by accounting firm EY.
Mike Black was named a winner of the Heartland award, which recognizes entrepreneurs from Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Black was one of 10 winners out of 24 finalists.
Nominees were evaluated on six criteria, including overcoming adversity; financial performance; societal impact and commitment to building a values-based company; innovation; and talent management, according to a release.
Since its launch, the program has expanded to recognize business leaders in more than 145 cities in over 60 countries throughout the world, EY officials said.
Dent Wizard services light vehicle needs for more than 7,000 customers – including over 5,000 car dealership accounts – in 97 of the top 100 U.S. markets, according to the company. The company bills itself as North America's largest provider of automotive reconditioning services and related finance and insurance products. About 280 of its nearly 2,660 employees companywide were based in St. Louis as of last month, according to Business Journal research.
In January, Cleveland-based tire distributor Dealer Tire bought Dent Wizard. Dealer Tire, which distributes replacement tires to automotive dealerships, said it has agreed to acquire Dent Wizard from Gridiron Capital. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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