Meet the 2024 Greater Philadelphia finalists

Manik is the President & CEO of Arora Engineers, LLC.      

Arora Engineers has spent nearly four decades providing multidisciplinary engineering design, IT, construction services, facilities management, master systems integration and asset management solutions for critical infrastructure projects across the globe. Arora’s mission is to improve the quality of life by Rethinking Infrastructure® and lives that mission as Asset Data experts focused on addressing clients’ needs for design and construction services, as well as providing solutions for operations & maintenance across the lifecycle of an asset.

Under Manik’s leadership, Arora has expanded rapidly, growing in revenue by 1100% in the last decade and establishing four subsidiary companies. Manik spearheaded the creation of Arora’s Enterprise Solution Group which has helped numerous clients to harness the data created during design and construction for more efficient operations and prepare them for the implementation of automation technologies such as virtual reality or a Digital Twin. He is a registered Professional Engineer in 30+ states in North America and has over three decades of specialized experience. Arora Engineers consistently ranks amongst the top national engineering firms on the ENR Top 500 Design Firms list, the Inc. 5000 list, and Building Design + Construction’s Top 75 Engineering firms and list, along with ranking #6 on their Top 65 Airport Terminal Engineering Firms list.

Charlie is the Founder & CEO of Burro

Burro is the leading robotics company in the world by number of robots working outdoors in the field with customers. The company’s mission is to free people from tedious work and solve the critical labor shortages faced by farmers and others that work outdoors. Burros can be described as Disney's Wall-E for agriculture and work outdoors, in a 1.0 format.  They function, today, as people / pallet scale autonomous ground vehicles used for harvest assist / carrying, towing, mowing, scouting, and patrolling, and are designed to lay the base for the fully autonomous future of work outdoors.

Steve is the CEO & Vice Chairman of Auxilior Capital Partners      

Auxilior Capital Partners is North America’s fastest-growing independent commercial finance company. Auxilior’s bespoke programs are designed to increase sales and market share for their partners with durable, innovative, and frictionless sales-catalyst solutions. Industries served include construction and infrastructure, transportation and logistics, franchise, financial institutions and healthcare.  Built upon the fundamental belief that “above all we serve,” Auxilior is powered by a holocratic, empowered culture integrated with market-leading technologies resulting in an agile, digitally optimized business and operating model. The company is headquartered in Plymouth Meeting, PA with its Canadian subsidiary Auxilior Capital Partners Canada, located in Burlington, Ontario, Canada.

Greg is the CEO of Bentley Systems, Inc.

Bentley Systems (Nasdaq: BSY) is an infrastructure engineering software company that provides innovative software to advance the world’s infrastructure – sustaining both the global economy and environment. Their industry-leading software solutions are used by professionals, and organizations of every size, for the design, construction, and operations of roads and bridges, rail and transit, water and wastewater, public works and utilities, buildings and campuses, mining, and industrial facilities.

John is the CEO of CODi Worldwide         

CODi develops mobile accessories for B2B. Our products serve the work from anywhere space, including carrying cases, power, connectivity, monitors, docking stations.

Sam is the President & CEO of Deval Lifecycle Support    

DeVal Lifecycle Support, a Parts Life, Inc. company, is a full-service build to print mechanical manufacturer of armament and ground support equipment, sub-assemblies, and major parts and components for military systems and sub-systems for over 60 years. As a small business certified HUBZone contractor for the Department of Defense, DeVal LCS is a full-service original equipment manufacturer with extensive high precision machining capabilities used to support prime and government customers. Products include munitions trailers adapters & add-ons, drawbars, cargo loaders, weapon transport adapters, bomb hoist, dollies, self-propelled weapons loaders, testing and tool sets, and more. DeVal operates under regimented performance guidelines constituted by ISO9001:2015 and AS9100D Certified Quality Management Systems Programs. 

Karla is the President of Electro Soft Inc.               

Electro Soft is a Gen2, MBE, WBE, and WOSB that has been in business for 37 years.  It all began on the kitchen as a short-term way to pass the post-layoff time of electrical engineer and founder Jim Wallace.  Its unique niche market is the custom electronics contract manufacturing industry, where customer volumes are too low for high volume and complexity too high for automation. Electro Soft focuses on building the "brain and central nervous system of an electronics device."  This allows design engineers to focus on innovation while outsourcing the manufacturing of the printed circuit boards, cables, wiring harnesses, and box-built enclosures to a skilled manufacturing partner, Electro Soft.

William is the President & CEO of Empower Construction LLC      

Empower Construction is a minority-owned utility construction firm that specializes in electrical utility infrastructure. Committed to excellence and a passion for community development, the company brings reliability and expertise to every project.

Charles is the CEO & Founder Evolution Sustainability Group       

The Evolution Sustainability Group family of companies collectively represents the most comprehensive suite of energy and sustainability solutions in the industry today. Their collaborative, non-siloed approach to solving customer’s most pressing needs has made the company a best-in-class energy and sustainability consultancy and design-build energy engineering firm. It offers every client, regardless of size, a fully customized approach that directly improves their financial bottom line while simultaneously maximizing the good and reducing global environmental impact.

Richard is the Executive Chairman & Owner of Firstrust Bank       

Founded in 1934, with assets of approximately $5 billion, Firstrust Bank is one of the region’s largest and strongest full-service commercial banks, now in its third generation of ownership. Firstrust offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, businesses, and institutions. In commercial banking, Firstrust provides a wide variety of solutions, including commercial real estate finance, business banking, asset-backed lending, and deposit and treasury management services. Firstrust meets the needs of its consumer customers by offering a full range of deposit, lending, and residential mortgage products. Firstrust serves its customers through 18 branch banking offices located in Southeastern PA, Cherry Hill, NJ, and Towson, MD.

Mike is the President & CEO of Flagger Force      

Flagger Force® is recognized as an industry-leading, Safety-Driven®, short-term traffic control company, headquartered in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, with operations that span the East Coast, and expanding. They utilize a crew-centric operations model to establish safe work zones with a full-time employee base of 2,000 professionals. Flagger Force’s best-in-class resources and expertise have driven the consistent growth of their service capacity to help support the nation’s expanding utilities, telecommunications, and other infrastructure-centered needs.

 Lee is the CEO of Rampmaster  

Rampmaster is the premier manufacturer of aircraft refueling solutions, known in the commercial and general aviation markets for its technical innovation, quality production standards and superior customer service. The company manufactures the aviation industry’s only aircraft refueler truck with a modular design. The power, pump, and tank modules easily swap out for maintenance, repair, upgrade, or overhaul. The design elongated refuelers lifespan from 10 to 20 years, while lowering capital investment and maintenance costs for customers. In 2023, they launched the industry's only Electric Vehicle refueler.

Dennis is the Chairman & CEO of Goddard Systems, LLC

Established in 1988, Goddard Systems, LLC, is the manager of The Goddard School® franchise system. The Goddard School is the acknowledged leader in the premium early childcare and education market segment and provides every child with a warm, caring and safe environment that supports their individual social, emotional and academic development and appreciates their unique talents and personalities. Goddard Systems has been consistently named one of the leading franchises in the United States by Entrepreneur (#68 in the 2024 Franchise 500) and one of the top franchise systems in worldwide sales by Franchise Times (#70 in the 2023 Top 400). Additionally, Goddard Systems is included in Franchise Business Review’s Top 200 Franchises, a recognition of the best franchise opportunities based solely on ratings and reviews provided directly by franchise owners. Goddard Systems currently licenses more than 630 Goddard School franchises that serve almost 100,000 students in 37 states and Washington, D.C.

David is the CEO of Heart + Paw, LLC       

Heart + Paw owns and operates multi-service pet care centers focused primarily on veterinary care, but also extending services to dog daycare, grooming, and boarding for the modern pet and pet parent. Thoughtfully designed, digitally enabled and powered by the best and brightest, Heart + Paw serves your whole pet with the best quality care that starts with a trusted collaboration between pet parents and the veterinary team as shared partners in your pet’s health.