Standard Meat
Ashli Rosenthal Blumenfeld and Ben Rosenthal.
Fort Worth-based Standard Meat executives Ben Rosenthal and Ashli Rosenthal Blumenfeld have been awarded distinction as Entrepreneur Of The Year in the Southwest by Ernst & Young.
Rosenthal and Blumenfeld, siblings in the family-owned and operated company, were selected by an independent panel of judges made up of previous winners, leading CEOs, and other business leaders.
Candidates were evaluated based on their ability to create long-term value through entrepreneurial spirit, commitment to their purpose and the demonstration of growth and substantial impact, among other key indicators.
“We are deeply humbled and honored to receive this award,” said Ben Rosenthal, co-president and CEO, in a statement. “Being recognized among so many outstanding companies who were nominated and advanced as finalists is a tremendous privilege. This award is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team.”
Said Blumenfeld, co-president: “Our purpose, 'To inspire the connections and breakthroughs that ultimately feed our life,' guides us daily. As a multi-generational, family-owned company, we view our team as extended family, fostering deep connections that also extend to our customers and suppliers. Ben and I are honored to celebrate this award with them.”
Entrepreneur Of The Year is the preeminent competitive awards program for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies.
Founded in 1935 and headquartered in the Fort Worth Stockyards, Standard Meat Company is a meat processing and packaging firm with plants in Fort Worth, Dallas, Ponder, and Saginaw. An industry leader in quality and innovation, the company is a global supplier of custom meat portioning and packaging solutions for the food service and retail industries.
“We appreciate that EY recognizes that while we are a fourth-generation company, we are a ‘90-year-old startup’ at the same time,” said Rosenthal. “Ashli and I are doing things our own way, but we maintain the same entrepreneurial spirit that our dad had, as well as those who came before him.”
As Southwest award winners, Rosenthal and Blumenfeld are now eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2024 National Awards.
The National Award winners, including the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner, will be announced in November at the Strategic Growth Forum®, one of the nation’s most prestigious gatherings of high-growth, market-leading companies. The Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner will then move on to compete for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award in June 2025.
Entrepreneur Of The Year recognizes 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.
The Entrepreneur Of The Year program has recognized the leadership of entrepreneurs such as:
- Barbara Smith of Commercial Metals Company
- Hamdi Ulukaya of Chobani, Inc.
- Holly Thaggard and Amanda Baldwin of Supergoop!
- Das and Nipa Nobel of MTX Group
- James Park of Fitbit
- Jodi Berg of Vitamix
- Kendra Scott of Kendra Scott LLC
- Michael Happe of Winnebago Industries
- Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn Corporation
- Tom Brennan of Sol-Ark