Voices CEO 2013 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist

For over 20 years, entrepreneurs around the globe have received recognition from the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards with more than 50 countries participating every year. The Canadian finalists for the 2013 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, including David Ciccarelli of London, Ontario-based Voices, were recently announced.

These entrepreneurs represent 5 regions: Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, the Prairies, and Pacific. In a statement issued by Ernst & Young, it was revealed that, “of the 128 nominees spanning our region (Ontario), the judges narrowed the field down to 36 deserving entrepreneurs in nine categories.”

The topic of “job creation” across the nominated entrepreneurs’ ventures has emerged as the theme of this year’s awards, an initiative that Ciccarelli tackles head-on daily at Voices.

He explains, “Voices employs some of the brightest, most talented individuals in the industry, and we are growing to accommodate the consistent expansion of our client base. The company has not only created fantastic career opportunities for our employees, but also opportunities for an entire industry. Over 100,000 voice actors rely on Voices to empower them in the search and acquisition of quality jobs and projects. We are a tech company that helps people, and we are honoured to be acknowledged by Ernst & Young for our efforts.”

Finalists will be honoured at regional galas. The Ontario award gala will take place on October 24, 2013 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, with the overall winner representing the region at the national gala in November. National winners will then continue on to Monte Carlo to compete to become Ernst & Young’s World Entrepreneur of the Year.

Recent achievements for David Ciccarelli and his team at Voices include:

• Ranked #57 on the 2013 PROFIT 500 List
• Inaugural recipient of the SOFII loan to spur job creation
• First Canadian Google Glass Explorer

To stay up to date on Voices and on David Ciccarelli’s progress in the 2013 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, follow him on Twitter at @davidciccarelli

About David Ciccarelli

David Ciccarelli is the co-founder and CEO of Voices, an award-winning online marketplace, connecting clients with voice-over talent. The unique blending of his audio engineering background with his self-taught business savvy and website development afforded David the creative freedom to pursue his passion for innovation during the first dot com boom, the result of which catapulted him onto the scene as a pioneer in his field in the early 2000s. His areas of expertise include customer relationship management, search marketing, social media marketing, and e-commerce, topics of which he speaks regularly at conferences in Canada and the United States.

A number of case studies regarding Voices’s growth and rebranding strategy have been published and are used on college and university campuses worldwide. David is an honours graduate of the Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology and an alumnus of the entrepreneurship program hosted by the Ivey School of Business. When he’s not spending time with his wife and four children, David serves as a volunteer for a number of local organizations and manages his family’s philanthropy and investment portfolio.

About Voices

Voices strives to achieve amazing things through the talent and faith of ordinary people. Voices is the online marketplace that connects businesses with voice over talent. More than 200,000 people from companies like ABC, NBC, ESPN, PBS, The History Channel, The Discovery Channel, Sony Pictures, Audible, Comcast, Bell Canada, Google, Microsoft, Cisco, Western Union, American Airlines, Toyota, Ford and GM as well as organizations such as the US Army and the US Government entrust the Voices online marketplace with their stories and collaborate online.