Frank S. Hermance, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AMETEK, Inc. Named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2014 National Distribution and Manufacturing Award Winner

BERWYN, Pa., Nov. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Frank S. Hermance, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AMETEK, Inc., has been named the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2014 National Distribution and Manufacturing Award winner.

The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award, a leading business award for entrepreneurs, encourages entrepreneurial activity and recognizes leaders and visionaries who demonstrate innovation, financial success and personal commitment as they create and build world-class businesses.

Under Hermance's leadership, AMETEK, a manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices, grew its sales from $1 billion in 1999 to nearly $4 billion in 2014. He was honored at the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards gala, the culminating event of the EY Strategic Growth Forum® in Palm Springs, Calif. The Forum is the nation's premier gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. Awards were given in 10 additional categories.

The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winners were selected by an independent panel of judges and from more than 250 regional award recipients.

"The tremendous growth of the company attributed to Frank Hermance's exceptional leadership and innovations really stood out to us as having a significant impact on the industry as a whole," said Mike Kacsmar, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Americas Program Director.  "Hermance has focused his attention on building a diverse and talented management team by providing them the opportunity and tools needed to grow a business beyond their expectations."

Building a leader
Hermance transitioned from the engineering field to becoming a leader and executive of an organization in 1990 when he was offered the opportunity to become Head of the Marketing department. In this role, as well as later when he became President and then the COO, he learned to absorb details, listening to team members and peers to gain a better understanding of their ideas before making decisions that would significantly impact the company.

Hermance brings the same hands-on approach to his role as CEO, which he started in 1999. Under his leadership, company managers are provided opportunities to increase revenues and margins, as well as expand the overall growth of a small part of the business to establish the skills necessary to develop a larger income statement. Hermance actively challenges his senior management to recruit, train and develop colleagues with diverse backgrounds and experiences. He has established a companywide leadership award that recognizes achievement toward AMETEK's objectives.

Growing and growing
During Hermance's tenure as Vice President and COO, AMETEK launched a Corporate Growth Plan based on four growth strategies: Operational Excellence, Strategic Acquisitions, New Products, and Global and Market Expansion. These strategies have served as the foundation for the company's unprecedented success in recent years.

Most recently, Hermance has been challenged to expand and succeed in the international market. In order to excel in Global and Market Expansion, Hermance focused on solid incremental growth within international countries over a sustained period of time in order to manage the risk and achieve market expansion. Another key strategy is to acquire highly differentiated businesses with leading positions in niche markets. AMETEK then fully integrates them in order to establish new platforms for growth in diverse, attractive markets.

EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2014 National Distribution and Manufacturing finalists
In addition to Hermance, the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Distribution and Manufacturing finalists in the U.S. were: Billy Brown, President and CEO, Blackhawk Specialty Tools, based in Houston, Texas; Jerry Jendusa, Founder and CEO, EMTEQ, based in New Berlin, Wis.; and Albert I. Salama, CEO, Sabert Holding Corporation, based in Sayreville, N.J.

EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2014 National Overall Award winner
Dr. David Hung of Medivation was named the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2014 National Overall Award winner.

Video and photos
To view photos of all of the Entrepreneur Of The Year winners, please visit ey.com/us/eoy.

Sponsors
Founded and produced by EY, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are nationally sponsored in the US by SAP America and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

About EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The program makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global awards program of its kind, Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries. ey.com/eoy

About EY's Strategic Growth Markets Network
EY's worldwide Strategic Growth Markets Network is dedicated to serving the changing needs of high-growth companies. For more than 30 years, we've helped many of the world's most dynamic and ambitious companies grow into market leaders. Whether working with international mid-cap companies or early stage, venture-backed businesses, our professionals draw upon their extensive experience, insight and global resources to help your business succeed. For more information, please visit us at ey.com/sgm or follow news on Twitter @EY_Growth.

About EY
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

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. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, an EY member firm serving clients in the US.

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