Two north Gwinnett businessmen have been named finalists for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year 2021 Southeast Award.
Austin Singleton, founder and CEO of OneWater Marine Inc. in Buford, and Marc Gorlin, founder and CEO of Roadie in Suwanee, are two of 31 finalists for the recognition, which honors entrepreneurs from Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
The Entrepreneur of the Year program honors “audacious business leaders whose ambition, courage and ingenuity help catapult us from now to next and beyond,” according to a news release issued by Ernst & Young.
“It’s an honor to be recognized as a finalist for such a prestigious award,” Singleton said. “However, the credit really belongs to the hard-working and committed members of the OneWater team. Without them, none of this would be possible.”
The 31 finalists for the recognition were selected by a panel of independent judges and were 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.
“Our finalists have been carefully selected by our independent panel of judges for their innovative and transformative leadership, impressive growth trajectories, and unwavering commitment to their employees,” said Chevy Arnold, Entrepreneur Of The Year Southeast program director. “We are extremely impressed with their grit, perseverance and ambition.”
Award winners will be announced during a virtual event on July 29 and those winners are eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards that will be announced in November.
About Austin Singleton
Singleton is the founder and CEO of OneWater Marine, a company headquartered in Buford that purchases and operates marine retail dealerships across North America. Singleton has served as CEO since the company’s formation in 2014. He previously served as CEO of Singleton Marine, which merged with Legendary Marine to form OneWater Marine Holdings LLC. He joined Singleton Marine in 1988, shortly after his family founded the business in 1987. Singleton studied business and finance at Auburn University.
About Marc Gorlin
Gorlin is the founder and CEO of Roadie, an app-based shipping community based in Suwanee. Roadie, which Gorlin started in 2014, uses excess capacity in passenger vehicles to connect customers with items to send to drivers traveling in the same direction as the delivery location. A serial entrepreneur, Gorlin co-founded Kabbage Inc., a firm that provides working capital to small and medium sized businesses. He is also co-founder of Pretty Good Privacy, a company formed to commercialize prevalent security standards used on the Internet, and VerticalOne Corporation, a content personalization service. Gorlin is a graduate of the University of Georgia.
