Martha de la Torre and Joe Badame remain in the race for the most prestigious award for entrepreneurs in the country.
The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award has been celebrating local entrepreneurs nationwide for more than 25 years and recognizes the most innovative business leaders. This year, Martha de la Torre and Joe Badame, founders of El Clasificado, have been selected as greater Los Angeles finalists for this prestigious business award.
To be eligible to receive an award, the nominee must be an owner or manager of a private or public company who is primarily responsible for the recent performance of the company and an active member of top management for at least two years. Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Nominees are reviewed by an independent judging panel composed of several distinguished business leaders and previous award recipients. In 2004 and 2008 Martha de la Torre and Joe Badame qualified to the second round and were selected as finalists.
“It’s a real honor to have been selected as finalists for the Entrepreneur of the Year award by Ernst & Young,” said Martha de la Torre. “As entrepreneurs, we constantly work to ensure the welfare and growth of the company as well as the community, to be able to inspire others with our leadership, vision and achievements is truly rewarding.”
This desire to inspire others is one of the main reasons the successful entrepreneurs developed opportunities to support the small business entrepreneurs in the Latino community. Since 2006, El Clasificado has developed “Su Socio de Negocios,” a series of Expos and breakfasts where Hispanic entrepreneurs are provided with informational tools for success such as: how technology can improve company sales, common mistakes when running a business and how to build a business plan, among others.
“Martha and Joe are outstanding examples of the phenomenal level of commitment, passion and determination that are required to generate over $20 million dollars in revenue and effectively lead the largest free classified advertising Spanish-language publication in the US,” said Liliana Zambrano, Director of Sales and Advertising. “It is an inspiration to work under their leadership and in a company that aims to produce and deliver the best products to empower their customers, community and readers.
Winners of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2013 contest will be announced at a special gala on Tuesday, June 18th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA.
