City Electric Supply (Dallas): Thomas Hartland-Mackie, president and CEO of City Electric Supply (CES), was recently awarded the Ernst & Young (EY) Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 Award at the award gala in Palm Springs, CA, on Nov. 16. He earned the distinction in the family business category for CES, his family’s Dallas-based electric wholesale distributing company.
Hartland-Mackie took over the North American business in 2008, helping bring CES out of the recession. His vision and entrepreneurial spirit helped take CES from a traditional business into the digital age, with the recent launch of an online shopping experience that’s now available nationwide, in addition to almost 30 new brick-and-mortar stores each year. He always says his grandfather “invented the wheel” and that it is his job to “evolve that wheel, not reinvent it.”
The 2019 Entrepreneur of The Year U.S. Awards gala was held at the Strategic Growth Forum and was emceed by Seth Meyers. For more than 30 years, the EY organization has recognized entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies and communities. The program takes place in 145 cities and more than 60 countries around the world. It has honored the inspirational leadership of well-known entrepreneurs, such as Howard Schultz of Starbucks Coffee Company, John Mackey of Whole Foods Market Inc. and Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn Corporation.