Entrepreneurial Spirit: David Layton Wins EY's Top Honor, Credits 'Team of Innovators'

Salt Lake City, UT (June 20, 2025) – Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) today announced that President and CEO David S. Layton of Layton Construction was named an Entrepreneur Of The Year 2025 Mountain West Award winner. Entrepreneur Of The Year is the preeminent competitive awards program for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies. For 40 years, EY US has celebrated ambitious entrepreneurs who are transforming industries, impacting communities, and creating long-term value.

David S. Layton was chosen by an independent panel of past winners, top CEOs and business leaders. Judges assessed candidates on long-term value creation, entrepreneurial spirit, purpose-driven commitment and significant growth and impact.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by EY and to be part of this year’s cohort of winners,” said David S. Layton, President and CEO. “This award reflects the strength, values, and performance of the entire Layton team. As we have continued to grow, it highlights the work being done by all our employees across the country to deliver predictable outcomes for our clients and make a difference for good in our communities. Every day, they put their best skills, creativity, and work ethic into every project. Although EY recognized me as an entrepreneur, I’ve said many times we are a team, and we encourage talent to be talented every day—demonstrating that Layton is filled with entrepreneurs.”

As a Mountain West award winner, David S. Layton is now eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2025 National Awards. The National Award winners, including the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner, will be announced in November 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 EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award in June 2026.

Entrepreneur Of The Year recognizes many different types of business leaders for their ingenuity, courage and entrepreneurial spirit. The program celebrates original founders who bootstrapped their business from inception or who raised outside capital to grow their company; transformational CEOs who infused innovation into an existing organization to catapult its trajectory; and multigenerational family business leaders who reimagined a legacy business model to strengthen it for the future.

The Entrepreneur Of The Year program has recognized the leadership of entrepreneurs such as:

• Sheila Mikhail of AskBio
• Caryn Seidman Becker and Ken Cornick of CLEAR
• James Park of Fitbit
• Arthur Blank of The Home Depot
• Kendra Scott of Kendra Scott LLC
• Reed Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn
• Saiju Jeong of Noom
• Howard Schultz of Starbucks Coffee Company
• Jodi Berg of Vitamix
• Michael Happe of Winnebago Industries
• Eric Yuan of Zoom

Sponsors

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards include presenting sponsors PNC Bank, Cresa, LLC, Marsh USA, and SAP. In the Mountain West region, sponsors also include regional Gold sponsors, Perkins Coie, Strong & Hanni Law Firm and Truss and regional Silver sponsors, Big Picture, Pierpont Communications, and Silicon Slopes.

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 60 countries 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 EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ competition. Visit ey.com/us/eoy.

About EY

EY is building a better working world by creating new value for clients, people, society and the planet, while building trust in capital markets.

Enabled by data, AI and advanced technology, EY teams help clients shape the future with confidence and develop answers for the most pressing issues of today and tomorrow.

EY teams work across a full spectrum of services in assurance, consulting, tax, strategy and transactions. Fueled by sector insights, a globally connected, multi-disciplinary network and diverse ecosystem partners, EY teams can provide services in more than 150 countries and territories.

All in to shape the future with confidence.

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Have questions about Layton’s leadership? Or have a project coming up? Read about our values and get in touch with our team to discuss.

About Layton Construction

Layton Construction is a privately held national general contractor, delivering predictable outcomes in commercial construction since 1953. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, Layton operates from 16 strategic offices across the United States, employing more than 1,400 construction professionals who serve diverse markets including healthcare, education, commercial office, industrial, hospitality, and multi-unit residential. Founded on the core values of honesty, unity, safety, and quality, Layton has built a reputation for excellence in complex project delivery while maintaining strong partnerships with clients, architects, and trade partners nationwide.