Tuuci

Entrepreneur of The Year celebrates ambitious entrepreneurs who are shaping the future

Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) announced that founder, CEO, and chief product designer Dougan Clarke of Tuuci® was named an Entrepreneur Of The Year^® 2024 Florida Award finalist. The Florida program celebrates entrepreneurs from Florida and Puerto Rico. Now in its 38th year, Entrepreneur Of The Year is the preeminent competitive business award for audacious leaders who disrupt markets, revolutionize sectors and have a transformational impact on lives. Over the past four decades, the program has recognized daring entrepreneurs with big ideas and bold actions that reshape our world.

Dougan Clarke was one of 22 regional entrepreneurs selected as finalists by an independent panel of judges. The candidates were evaluated based on their demonstration of building long-term value through entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth and impact, among other core contributions and attributes.

“I’m grateful to be recognized as an Entrepreneur Of the Year 2024 Florida Award Finalist. It’s an honor to lead and grow the exceptional team we’ve built at Tuuci, and I couldn’t be more excited for the journey ahead,” said Dougan Clarke, founder, CEO, and chief product designer for Tuuci.

Entrepreneur Of The Year honors many different types of business leaders for their ingenuity, courage and entrepreneurial spirit. The program celebrates original founders who bootstrapped their business from inception or who raised outside capital to grow their company; transformational CEOs who infused innovation into an existing organization to catapult its trajectory; and multigenerational family business leaders who reimagined a legacy business model to fortify it for the future.

Regional award winners will be announced on June 14 during a special celebration and will become lifetime members of an esteemed community of Entrepreneur Of The Year alumni from around the world. The winners will then be considered by the National judges for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards, which will be presented in November at the annual Strategic Growth Forum^®, one of the nation’s most prestigious gatherings of high-growth, market-leading companies.

In addition to Entrepreneur Of The Year, EY US supports other entrepreneurs through the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ program and the EY Entrepreneurs Access Network to help connect women founders and Black and Hispanic/Latino entrepreneurs, respectively, with the resources, network and access needed to unlock their full potential.

Sponsors

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards include presenting sponsors PNC Bank, Cresa, Marsh USA, SAP and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

About Entrepreneur Of The Year®

Founded in 1986, Entrepreneur Of The Year^® has celebrated more than 11,000 ambitious visionaries who are leading successful, dynamic businesses in the US, and it has since expanded to nearly 80 countries and territories globally.

The US program consists of 17 regional programs whose panels of independent judges select the regional award winners every June. Those winners compete for national recognition at the Strategic Growth Forum^® in November where National finalists and award winners are announced. The overall National winner represents the US at the World Entrepreneur Of The Year^® competition. Visit ey.com/us/eoy.

About EY

EY exists to build a better working world, helping to create long-term value for clients, people and society and build trust in the capital markets.

Enabled by data and technology, diverse EY teams in over 150 countries provide trust through assurance and help clients grow, transform and operate.

Working across assurance, consulting, law, strategy, tax and transactions, EY teams ask better questions to find new answers for the complex issues facing our world today.

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. EY member firms do not practice law where prohibited by local laws. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

About Tuuci

For more than 26 years, Tuuci® has revolutionized outdoor living spaces with durable, innovative shade and furniture products featuring nautically inspired designs. Founded by Dougan Clarke in 1998, the Ultimate Umbrella Company, Inc., (simply known as “Tuuci”), was born from his seaside roots in Miami, where Clarke began his career as a marine outfitter for high-performance yachts.

With a keen eye on design and a passion for form and function, Clarke applied his craftsmanship to the shade industry to create Tuuci’s unique brand of marine-grade shade architecture. Today, Tuuci’s distinctive, award-winning shade designs, luxury outdoor furniture, and shelter structures are experienced around the world and sought by leading design professionals within the commercial, hospitality, and residential design communities.

Globally headquartered in Miami, the company owns two additional manufacturing centers in Northern Europe and Southeast Asia and operates showrooms in Miami, Chicago, Atlanta, and The Netherlands.

Tuuci’s sense of community is a cornerstone of the company’s foundation, providing charitable outreach across a host of environmental and humanitarian concerns. The company’s mission is to help people live their best life outdoors through inspiring design, enduring performance, and convivial service.

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Press Contact:
Marisa Jones Issa, Hello PR Group
+1 (323) 989-2925 Mobile
tuuci@helloprgroup.com