Duluth, Ga. - Craig Gunckel, CEO of Iconex, the world's leading provider of highly differentiated label solutions and low-cost paper receipts, was named an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2023 Southeast Award winner. One of the preeminent competitive awards for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies, Gunckel was selected by an independent judging panel made up of previous award winners, leading CEOs, investors, and other regional business leaders. Candidates were evaluated based on their demonstration of building long-term value through entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth, and impact, among other core contributions and attributes.

"This isn't my award, but one made a reality by the hard work, dedication, and heart of our 900 Iconex coworkers worldwide," says Gunckel. "They are an inspiration to me and our entire leadership team, and the only way our company leads and innovates a global industry like ours. Their commitment to producing the very best product on the market drives us to greatness each and every day."

In the last six years, Iconex has been completely transformed into the industry leader of paper receipt and label solutions. Building on its history of innovation, the company has operations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, U.K., and France, and continues to scale through new product development, and acquiring and integrating several businesses to increase scale and add new customers.

Iconex has and continues to make substantial investments in equipment, R&D, and personnel to increase its profitability and spur innovation. On the heels of establishing standalone growth strategies for the Labels and Paper Receipts businesses, the leadership team recently invested $26 million to expand production capabilities, which resulted in a 20% revenue increase from 2021 to 2022. The company has also implemented a new ERP platform with data-driven reporting tools to improve decision making, realigned Iconex's geographic footprint and plant configurations, and divested non-core operations.

For nearly four decades, EY US has honored entrepreneurs whose ambition, courage and ingenuity have driven their companies' success, transformed their industries and made a positive impact on their communities. Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winners become lifetime members of a global, multi-industry community of entrepreneurs, with exclusive, ongoing access to the experience, insight and wisdom of program alumni and other ecosystem members in over 60 countries -- all supported by vast EY resources. Since 1986, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program has recognized more than 11,000 US executives.

As a Southeast award winner, Gunckel is now eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2023 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.