Finalists for San Diego 1999 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards Announced; Winners to Be Selected at Awards Banquet on June 10

Business Wire, May 10, 1999

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 10, 1999--

Niki Krutop of Ernst & Young LLP Monday announced that 24 finalists for San Diego's 1999 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) awards have been selected.

Winners will be announced on June 10, 1999 at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines.

The finalists are:

LIFE SCIENCES CATEGORY

Agouron Pharmaceuticals -- Dr. Peter Johnson

Aurora Biosciences Corp. -- Dr. Timothy Rink

Nanogen -- Dr. Tina Nova

CONSUMER PRODUCTS/RETAIL

Carbite Golf Company -- Mike Spacciapolli

Oscar's -- John Sarkisian

San Diego Magazine Publishing Co. -- James Fitzpatrick

GENERAL CATEGORY

ITLA Capital Corp. -- George Haligowski

Newgen Results Corp. -- Gerald Benowitz

SMS Technologies -- Bob Blumberg

REAL ESTATE/CONSTRUCTION CATEGORY

ConAm Management -- Daniel Epstein

GMS Realty LLC -- William Gerrity

Mission Pools Inc. -- G. Bruce Dunn

SOFTWARE/INTERNET CATEGORY

Blue Sky Software Corp. -- Jorgen Lien

COMPS.COM -- Christopher Crane

InterVu Inc. -- Harry E. Gruber

TELECOMMUNICATIONS CATEGORY

AMCC -- David Rickey

ViaSat Inc. -- Mark Dankberg

WFI -- Massih Tayebi and Masood Tayebi

YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR CATEGORY

Accent Presentations Inc. -- Amy Vavrunek

AXXIS Computer Technologies -- Richard LaChina

Inflatable Design Group -- Shawn P. McEachern

MASTER ENTREPRENEUR CATEGORY

Cardiff Software Inc. -- Joseph C. Larson

Enterprise Partners -- William Stensrud

Leap Wireless -- Harvey White

Winners selected from these finalists will be eligible for 12 national Entrepreneur Of The Year category awards, as well as the National Entrepreneur Of The Year. All National Entrepreneur Of The Year finalists and award winners will be announced at the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year International Conference in Palm Springs, Calif., on November 13, 1999.

Recipients of the Entrepreneur Of The Year award become lifetime members of the Entrepreneur Of The Year Hall of Fame.

The San Diego finalists were selected by an independent panel of judges, including:

--   Dr. Bob Beyster, CEO and chairman of the board, SAIC
--   Allan Camaisa, president and CEO, High Technology Solutions
--   Dr. Sandy Ehrlich, executive director of the Entrepreneurial
     Management Center, SDSU
--   Anne Evans, chairman, Evans Hotels
--   Bill Otterson, director, UCSD/CONNECT
--   Bill Rastetter, president, chairman and CEO, IDEC Pharmaceuticals
--   Ralph Rubio, president and CEO, Rubio's Restaurants Inc.
--   Gary Sabin, chairman and CEO, Excel Legacy Corp.
--   Julie Meier Wright, president, Economic Development Corp.

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young and nationally co-sponsored by USA Today, CNNfn and CNN, the Nasdaq-Amex Market Group, and the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the awards will be sponsored locally by Marsh Inc., KFMB-TV, KPBS-Radio, San Diego Business Journal, SAIC, Sprint and The Citibank Private Bank.

For more information, or for banquet reservations, contact: Irene Veca, Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards, Ernst & Young, 501 W. Broadway, Ste. 1100 or call 619/235-5061. Information can also be found on the Ernst & Young Web site at www.ey.com/industry/entrepreneur/eoy.> Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) is a registered service mark of Ernst & Young LLP.

Ernst & Young LLP (www.ey.com) provides assurance and advisory business services, tax services and consulting for domestic and global clients. The firm has 30,000 people in 87 U.S. cities. Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Services is dedicated solely to meeting the business needs of owner-managed businesses worldwide.

The Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership has become a trusted resource for accelerating entrepreneurship in America, promoting opportunities for entrepreneurs, educators and youth nationwide. The center is at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the largest foundation supporting entrepreneurship in the United States.

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Note to Editors: Media are invited to attend the awards banquet, and may take advantage of interview and photo opportunities. Call Irene Veca at 619/235-5061 as soon as possible so that a free reservation will be held for a representative from your organization. Media credentials must be presented.