Press ReleasesNed Bennett and David Kalt of optionsXpress Named Ernst & Young 2004 Illinois Entrepreneurs of the Year®Co-founders of Online Broker Win in Emerging Companies Category CHICAGO-June 11, 2004—At a formal awards banquet held in the Grand Ballroom of Chicago's Navy Pier the evening of June 10, 2004, optionsXpress co-founders Ned Bennett, CEO, and David Kalt, president, were named the 2004 Illinois Entrepreneurs of the Year, Emerging Companies, by professional services firm Ernst & Young LLP. Bennett and Kalt were selected from nominations in Illinois by a panel of judges comprised of local community and business leaders. "Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year® award winners embrace the entrepreneurial spirit and determination necessary to achieve success," said Randall L. Tavierne, partner. "Ernst & Young is proud of its history recognizing and supporting these outstanding leaders and their companies." Bennett and Kalt, along with other Illinois region winners, are now eligible for consideration for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year® 2004 national program. Winners in several national categories, as well as the overall national Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year®, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, Calif., in November 2004. The overall national Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year® award winner is then considered for the world event held in Monte Carlo. The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards program is nationally sponsored by Microsoft and by the Kauffman Foundation. Illinois program sponsors are Crain's Chicago Business, Clifton Gunderson LLP, Mayer, Brown, Rowe, & Maw, Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center and The British Midlands. About The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year® Awards ProgramThe Entrepreneur of the Year awards program was created and is produced by professional services firm Ernst & Young LLP. As the first award of its kind, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who are building and leading dynamic and growing businesses. The program honors entrepreneurs through regional, national and global award programs in over 100 cities and 35 countries. About Ernst & YoungErnst & Young, a global leader in professional services, is committed to restoring the public's trust in professional services firms and in the quality of financial reporting. Its 103,000 people in more than 140 countries around the globe pursue the highest levels of integrity, quality, and professionalism to provide clients with solutions based on financial, transactional, and risk- management knowledge in Ernst & Young's core services of audit, tax, and transaction advisory services. Further information about Ernst & Young and its approach to a variety of business issues can be found at www.ey.com/perspectives. Ernst & Young refers to all the members of the global Ernst & Young organization. About optionsXpressoptionsXpress (www.optionsxpress.com) is the online brokerage for self-directed investors who want to use options to protect portfolios, increase investment income and maximize returns on stock movements. With its suite of proprietary, innovative tools and features, optionsXpress reduces the mystery and complexity of options and ensures that users can identify, evaluate and then execute suitable options investment opportunities. optionsXpress was named both the top online broker in the 2003 Barron's online broker survey, with an unprecedented four-and-a-half star rating (out of five), and the favorite options site by Forbes Best of the Web. # # # |
