Jeff Eastman, co-founder and CEO of Alchemy Systems, was named 2017 Entrepreneur of The Year^® at a gala event last week in Austin, Texas. The award was created by the global accounting firm Ernst & Young. Since the 1980s, the Entrepreneur Of The Year award has recognized individuals who excel in innovation, financial performance, and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Jeff was selected by an independent panel of judges for the technology services category.

“I’m honored to receive the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year award on behalf of our amazing team at Alchemy,” Eastman said. “They work tirelessly every day to help our clients safeguard food, protect employees from harm, and protect their brands.”

Eastman is a life-long entrepreneur in a variety of successful ventures in software, real estate, and retail. In 2003, he recognized the gap in providing quality, interactive training for frontline workers. So he combined an instructional media company with a learning management software company to form Alchemy Systems.

Fast forward 15 years and today, Alchemy’s learning, communications, and performance programs are used by leading food companies and retailers worldwide, including Tyson, Kellogg’s, Nestle, ConAgra, Mars, Publix, and Home Depot. Each month, Alchemy’s award-winning programs engage more than two million frontline workers at 20,000 locations and give them the knowledge and confidence they need to take smart action on the job.

As a Central Texas award winner, Eastman is now eligible for the National Entrepreneur Of The Year award, to be announced on November 18, 2017. Previous national award winners include Howard Schultz of Starbucks, Pierre Omidyar of eBay.com, Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn.com, and James Park of Fitbit.