David Jolley: managing partner - salt lake city office Ernst & Young LLP.

• Position: Influential Leaders

When Audit Partner David Jolley was appointed as the Managing Partner for Ernst & Young LLP's Salt Lake City office over eight years ago, he had a vision to build a strong, professional team who would be well qualified to serve Utah's emerging growth companies. And that is exactly what he did.

Under Jolley's leadership, Ernst & Young LLP:

* Has become the leading provider of professional accounting services in the Utah market

* Is the auditor for 8 of Utah's top 10 public companies, based on market cap

* Has been the auditor for all of Utah's IPOs in the last five years

* Has helped several of Utah's high-growth companies execute strategic transactions and complete successful equity and debt offerings

Celebrating Utah's entrepreneurs and innovators of tomorrow

But Jolley's leadership didn't stop there. In addition to providing first-class client service, Jolley saw a need to recognize and celebrate Utah's thriving entrepreneurial community.

"Entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of the global economy and our economy right here in Utah," says Jolley.

And he channels this support into the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year [R] Award program for the Utah Region, a program he has led since 2003. Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur Of The Year Award is regarded as the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs, and the program now spans more than 140 cities and 50 countries worldwide.

Under Jolley's guidance, the program has recognized many of Utah's game-changing entrepreneurs, the kind of leaders that develop new businesses, create jobs, drive innovation and increase economic activity. SkyWest, Inc., Ancestry.com, Skullcandy Fusion-io and Vivint are globally recognized companies and are among Utah's most successful emerging companies that have been honored as past Entrepreneur Of The Year Award recipients.

"I feel very fortunate to connect with many of Utah's great business...