Ernst & Young has announced the national winners of its 2024 Entrepreneur Of The Year program—and two meat-loving, fourth-generation sibling business leaders in Fort Worth made the cut. 

Fort Worth-based Standard Meat Company’s Co-President and CEO Benjamin Rosenthal and Co-President Ashli Rosenthal Blumenfeld were named national winners in EY’s Family Business category. They were among just 12 people across the country to win a national EY honor for 2024.

The only other Texan to win a national 2024 honor was Houston’s John Poindexter, CEO and board chairman at J.B Poindexter & Co, who won in the category of Industrials and Energy.

Brother-and-sister team gets national nod

The science behind the smoke: Thanks to advances in smoking technology, the sausage from Standard Meat Co. can achieve mass-produced efficiency without losing its artisanal quality. [Photo: Standard Meat Co.]

Standard Meat Company’s two co-presidents are brother and sister, representing the fourth generation of Rosenthals to helm the 89-year-old company. Standard Meat is a top supplier of meat portioning and packaging to the global food service and retail industries, EY noted.

“Fourth-generation leaders Ben and Ashli have revitalized the company by blending a commitment to sustainability with a family-first culture, fueling exceptional growth and securing Standard Meat’s legacy as an industry trailblazer,” read a statement from EY’s judges.

EY said Rosenthal and Blumenfeld  “have continued the family’s tradition of innovation through the early adoption of sous vide cooking technology (now a major growth driver), an industry-leading cast-iron searing approach to meat preparation and the strategic entry into the burgeoning meal-kit delivery space.”

“Since assuming their leadership positions six years ago, the siblings have blazed a new way forward.” EY said. “In addition to reacquiring family ownership of the company, they invested in four new major product lines and beefed up SMC’s revenue—even during the pandemic. Expanding the client base by entering the fast-casual and quick-service restaurant spaces further fueled the company’s growth.”

Last January, Dallas Innovates wrote about Standard Meat’s plans to build its fifth protein processing plant in Fort Worth, a 166,000-square-foot facility in a renovated, historic 1955 meat processing facility on the city’s north side.

The company is headquartered in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards.

Dallas’ HighLevel co-founders get national ’emerging finalist’ recognition

Left to right: Shaun Clark, co-founder and CEO of HighLevel; Robin Alex, co-founder and COO; and Varun Vairavan, co-founder and CTO. [Photos: LinkedIn]

In addition to the Standard Meat leaders’ win, the three co-founders of Dallas-based marketing platform HighLevel were recognized by EY as national “emerging finalists,” listed among pioneers who have launched their businesses within the last five years.

HighLevel is led by CEO Shaun Clark, COO Robin Alex, and CTO Varun Vairavan.Their all-in-one platform for marketing agencies features marketing automation, lead generation, and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools. Its mission is “to help agencies reduce churn and supercharge customer grow.”

Last April, HighLevel received a minority growth investment from General Atlantic, a global growth equity firm.

The leaders of Standard Meat Co. and HighLevel were among the 19 winners of the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2024 Southwest Award, who went on to compete for the national honors announced by EY Monday.

Here’s the full list of EY’s 2024 Entrepreneur Of The Year national winners:

• Christopher Barnett, founder and chairman of ABA Centers, Nashua, New Hampshire (Overall Award Winner)
• Michael Intrator, CEO, Coreweave, Roseland, New Jersey
• Christine Chang and Sarah Lee, Co-Founders and Co-CEOs, Glow Recipe, New York, New York
• Eric Reimer, CEO and Co-Chairman of the Board, Healthmap Solutions, Tampa, Florida
• John Poindexter, CEO and Chairman of the Board, J.B Poindexter & Co, Inc., Houston, Texas
• Cassandra Thurswell, CEO, Kitsch, Los Angeles, California
• Marco Assis, CEO, Propio Language Services, Overland Park, Kansas
• Terrence McLean, CEO and Co-Founder, SageSure, Jersey City, New Jersey
• Dhruv Saxena, CEO, ShipBob, Chicago, Illinois
• Benjamin Rosenthal, CEO and Co-President and Ashli Blumenfeld, Co-President, Standard Meat Company, Fort Worth, Texas

You can see all the winners and learn more about their companies by going here.

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