AUSTIN, Texas, July 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ernst & Young (EY) has honored Vital Farms’ (Nasdaq: VITL) President & CEO Russell Diez-Canseco as an Entrepreneur Of The Year^® 2024 Gulf South Award winner. Entrepreneur Of The Year is the preeminent awards program for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies celebrating “the bold leaders who disrupt markets, revolutionize industries and transform lives.” The award recognizes many different types of leaders including original founders, transformational CEOs, and multigenerational family business leaders.

Diez-Canseco was selected by an independent judging panel made up of previous award 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.

“This acknowledgment reflects the work the entire Vital Farms team does to further our purpose—to improve the lives of people, animals, and the planet through food—while remaining committed to our entrepreneurial roots as we continue scaling a world-class organization,” said Russell Diez-Canseco, President & CEO, Vital Farms. “Thank you, EY, and congratulations to all the inspiring leaders recognized for positively impacting their respective industries and stakeholders.”

Diez-Canseco believes his greatest contribution to Vital Farms is scaling a high-performing organization and world-class Board of Directors while cultivating a strong, values-driven culture. Since joining Vital Farms as VP of Operations in 2014, he has helped the company build and expand its award-winning egg washing and packing plant, Egg Central Station in Springfield, Missouri, grow its network of family farms from 50 to over 300 farms, recruit hundreds of talented crewmembers, and drive consistent, volume-driven net revenue growth to $471.9M in 2023 from approximately $28.7M in 2014. In his role as President & CEO since 2019, he led Vital Farms through its successful initial public offering in 2020 and he has shaped the company’s long-term goals including reaching at least $1 billion in net revenue by the end of 2027.

As a Gulf South award winner, Diez-Canseco is now eligible 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 2024 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.

Learn more about Entrepreneur Of The Year here: https://www.ey.com/en_us/entrepreneur-of-the-year-us

ABOUT VITAL FARMS  
Vital Farms (Nasdaq: VITL) is a Certified B Corporation that offers a range of ethically produced foods nationwide. Started on a single farm in Austin, Texas, in 2007, Vital Farms is now a national consumer brand that works with over 300 family farms and is the leading U.S. brand of pasture-raised eggs by retail dollar sales. Vital Farms’ ethics are exemplified by its focus on the humane treatment of farm animals and sustainable farming practices. In addition, as a Delaware public benefit corporation, Vital Farms prioritizes the long-term benefits of each of its stakeholders, including farmers and suppliers, customers and consumers, communities and the environment, and crew members and stockholders. Vital Farms’ products, including shell eggs, butter, hard-boiled eggs, and liquid whole eggs, are sold in approximately 24,000 stores nationwide. Vital Farms pasture-raised eggs can also be found on menus at hundreds of foodservice operators across the country. For more information, visit https://vitalfarms.com/.

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.

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