SAN DIEGO, CALIF., September 22, 2020 — Ernst & Young has announced that Sayed Ali, President and CEO of Interpreters Unlimited (IU), is a Finalist for the 2020 Entrepreneur of the Year Pacific Southwest – San Diego Award. This marks the second consecutive year that Sayed has been selected for this prestigious honor.
Now in its 34th year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program honors entrepreneurial business leaders whose ambitions deliver innovation, growth and prosperity as they build and sustain successful businesses that transform our world. It is one of the preeminent competitive award programs for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies and recognizes business leaders in more than 145 cities in over 60 countries around the world.
The nominees are evaluated based on six criteria, including overcoming adversity; financial performance; societal impact and commitment to building a values-based company; innovation; and talent management. This year, unstoppable entrepreneurs who have provided extraordinary support for their communities, employees and others during the COVID-19 crisis will also be recognized for their courage, resilience and ingenuity.
Sayed’s story is an impressive one. This year alone he has demonstrated so much of what the award evaluations are based on. In response to COVID-19 Sayed transitioned his office to a work from home model for staff, and he pivoted to focusing on video remote translating instead of in person on-site translating. This move ensured that language services continued without interruption for all of the organizations who depend on them daily, from hospitals to schools and everything in between. Sayed is also involved in many charities including helping to house the local homeless with PATH San Diego (People Assisting The Homeless) and feeding the homeless weekly without wavering, continuing to do so throughout COVID-19. Additionally, at 74 years of age, he just launched a new sister company to IU, Interpreter Marketplace, a smart phone app for scheduling interpreters in San Diego.
Regional award winners will be announced during a virtual awards gala event on October 6th. Those regional award winners then move on to national judging followed by a Virtual Strategic Growth Forum® experience and the National Entrepreneur Of The Year US Awards celebration in November. The Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner will then move on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award in June 2021.
Sayed remarked, “I am thrilled and honored to be named a finalist for the second year in a row. This has been one unforgettable year. I congratulate the other finalists and look forward to the final award announcement in October.”
The complete list of finalists can be seen at https://www.ey.com/en_us/entrepreneur-of-the-year/san-diego/finalists.
About Interpreters Unlimited, Inc.
The IU Group of companies include: Interpreters Unlimited, Accessible Communication for the Deaf, Albors & Alnet, Arkansas Spanish Interpreters and Translators, and IU GlobeLink, LLC, and are headquartered in San Diego, California as a minority-owned company. IU Group is committed to providing equal opportunity in the work environment with its diverse team to aid in supplying linguistic and cultural translation services to clients. A combined 70 years in the industry has demonstrated a surplus of leadership and best practices, which has helped establish its respected role in the language services community. Its services include spoken translation, document translation and non-emergency medical transportation.