AvePoint Co-Founders Kai Gong and Dr. Tianyi Jiang Named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2009 Award Finalists in New Jersey

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Award recognizes innovative business leaders in over 50 countries and is considered among the most prestigious commendations for entrepreneurs around the world

Jersey City, New Jersey – May 16, 2009 — AvePoint today announced that company co-founders Kai Gong and Dr. Tianyi Jiang have been named finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2009 Award in New Jersey.  According to Ernst & Young LLP, the awards program recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate extraordinary success in the areas of innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.  Mr. Gong and Dr. Jiang were selected as finalists from among hundreds of nominations by a panel of independent judges.  Award winners will be announced at a special gala event on Tuesday, June 23rd, at the Teaneck Marriot in Greenepointe, New Jersey.

“We are thrilled by this recognition”, said Mr. Gong, AvePoint co-founder and CEO. “It is an honor to be named a finalist among such a noted group of innovators as this year’s nominees, and it speaks to the dedication and effort the AvePoint team around the globe has made to build our business while maintaining the highest levels of product quality and customer service.”

Mr. Gong and Dr. Jiang co-founded AvePoint in 2001, initially working from the public library in Mr. Gong’s hometown of Somerset, NJ. Under their leadership, AvePoint has experienced sustained, organic growth and is now the recognized market leader in infrastructure management solutions for Microsoft SharePoint, with offices on four continents, the largest SharePoint-exclusive development team outside of Microsoft, and over 350 employees globally.

“This is a proud moment for our team”, said Dr. Jiang, AvePoint co-founder and COO. “From the very beginning, our vision was to build a company dedicated to innovation and customer service. To realize this, we recruit the best, the brightest, and the most creative minds in the world, and have included these individuals in every way in our shared success. Our company’s accomplishments - and the honor of being named as finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award - are a result of this shared vision and teamwork.”

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year awards program celebrates its 23rd anniversary this year.  The program has expanded to recognize business leaders in over 135 cities in 50 countries throughout the world. 

Regional award winners are eligible for consideration for the Ernst & Young LLP Entrepreneur Of The Year national program.  Award winners in several national categories, as well as the overall national Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award winner, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, California on November 14, 2009.  The awards are the culminating event of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies.

Sponsors

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year awards are pleased to have the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and SAP America as national sponsors.

About AvePoint

AvePoint is proud to be a U.S. based technology company and software innovator. Since 2001, AvePoint has been a global leader in enterprise-strength infrastructure management solutions for all Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies. Propelled by one of the world's largest SharePoint-exclusive development teams outside of Microsoft, AvePoint's award-winning DocAve Software Platform delivers comprehensive and flexible infrastructure support for backup and recovery, replication, migration, administration, archiving, deployment management, and compliance.

AvePoint's pioneering technology pilots the products of OEM partners such as NetApp and IBM. With headquarters, research facilities, and engineering centers in Jersey City, NJ, and wholly owned engineering centers and sales offices in San Jose, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C., and Houston, USA; London, UK; Melbourne, Australia; Tokyo, Japan; Singapore; and Changchun, Dalian, China, AvePoint serves over 3000 enterprise customers, including many Fortune-500 companies. Winner of the Best of Tech Ed award for "Best SharePoint Product" in 2008, AvePoint is a Managed Gold Certified Microsoft Partner and GSA Certified Provider.

About Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards Program

Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year Award is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 135 cities in 50 countries.

AvePoint Media Contact

Christopher Musico - Business Content Editor
AvePoint
Tel:  (201) 793-1111
Email:  Christopher.Musico@avepoint.com

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