Update: In a virtual presentation on August 5, 2021, Jim O'Leary was announced as an Entrepreneur Of The Year Florida Award winner! Congratulations to Jim and all 1,800+ Haskell team members who 'create things that matter' for our clients every day.

James O’Leary, Haskell Chairman, CEO and President, has been named an Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2021 Florida Award finalist, Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) announced today.

Now in its 35th year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program honors unstoppable business leaders whose ambition, ingenuity and courage in the face of adversity help catapult us from the now to next and beyond.

O’Leary was selected by a panel of independent judges. Award winners will be announced during a special virtual celebration on August 5, 2021, and will become lifetime members of an esteemed community of Entrepreneur Of The Year alumni from around the world.

Entrepreneur Of The Year is one of the preeminent competitive award programs for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies. The nominees are evaluated based on six criteria: entrepreneurial leadership; talent management; degree of difficulty; financial performance; societal impact and building a values-based company; and originality, innovation and future plans. Since its launch, the program has expanded to recognize business leaders in more than 145 cities in over 60 countries around the world.

O’Leary joined Haskell in 1989, assuming progressive roles of responsibility, including field engineer, project manager, senior project manager, director, vice president, senior vice president, executive vice president, COO and President. He became CEO in August 2018 and was named Chairman during Haskell’s April 2021 Board of Directors meeting.

He graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in building construction, and he is a certified general contractor. He is active in several civic and professional organizations, including Chair of the Jacksonville Speech & Hearing Center board of directors and the Design-Build Institute of America.

Regional award winners are eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards, to be announced in November 2021 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 compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award in June 2022.

Prior award winners from the Florida include Mike Jackson, AutoNation, Inc.; Joe Lee, Darden Restaurants; Wayne H. Huizenga, Huizenga Holdings Incorporated; Ellen Latham, Orangetheory Fitness; Robert Basham, John Gannon and Chris Sullivan, Outback Steakhouse, Inc.; and Justin Wetherill, uBreakiFix.

To be eligible for an Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award, the nominee must be the manager or owner of a private or public company and be primarily responsible for the company’s recent performance.

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are nationally sponsored by SAP America. In Florida, sponsors also include Premium sponsor PNC Bank and Supporting sponsors DLA Piper LLP and Donnelly Financial Solutions.