Viresh Bhatia Honored at 13th Annual Awards Ceremony as Part of the Largest Gathering of Leading Entrepreneurs in the World

SCHAUMBURG, Ill – November 16, 1999 – InstallShield® Software Corporation, the leading provider of software installation and deployment solutions, today announced that its co-founder and CEO, Viresh Bhatia, was named a national finalist in the Software Information Services Category at Ernst & Young’s 13th annual Entrepreneur Of The Year® awards ceremony held Saturday night in Palm Springs, California. Bhatia was one of just three national finalists in the category. The Schaumburg entrepreneur was one of nearly 500 regional Entrepreneur Of The Year award recipients culled from a record number of more than 4,000 nominees in 47 regional competitions.

“Because of people like Viresh who take their ideas to the marketplace and create successful companies, E&Y created the Entrepreneur Of The Year,” said Cy Griffith, area director of marketing for E&Y. “For InstallShield to prosper and grow in this fiercely competitive business climate requires a rare talent. Viresh is a prime example of what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur and we are extremely pleased to honor him as a national finalist.”

In 1987, Viresh Bhatia and Rick Harold founded InstallShield, adopting the mission of producing applications and software development tools for emerging Microsoft® Windows platforms. Today, InstallShield boasts industry-standard software distribution products worldwide, with a vast international network of strategic partners and a staff of more than 240 employees.

“I am honored to be named a national finalist in the company of such fine entrepreneurs,”said Bhatia. “The entrepreneurial spirit with which we started InstallShield continues to drive our business today. It is with this spirit that we will continue to deliver leading-edge installation, deployment and enterprise management solutions for the Internet and electronic business spaces.” 

Originally from Delhi, India, Bhatia immigrated to the U.S. with his family in 1979, when he was fourteen. While in high school, he developed an interest in computers, and his self-taught knowledge of computer technology established his reputation as the resident computer expert among his teachers, fellow students and friends. After completing high school, Bhatia attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he and longtime friend, Rick Harold, first began developing the business model for InstallShield.

The Entrepreneur Of The Year Program In June, Bhatia was named the award recipient in the software category of the Illinois/Northwest Indiana Entrepreneur Of The Year program at the annual Chicago banquet. As a local award recipient, Bhatia then became eligible for the national finalist and national Entrepreneur Of The Year award.

More than 2,000 leading entrepreneurs and their supporters from the U.S. and abroad came together at the 13th Annual Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year International Conference, the largest gathering of the world’s entrepreneurs. The conference concludes an intensive year-long search and review of 4,200 nominations. All of the national finalists and winners were announced at the National Awards Gala on Saturday. The companies included among the 500 Regional EOY award winners announced earlier this year have, on average, 786 employees, generated 66,000 new jobs in the past year, had revenues of $196 million, and grew by 33 percent.

The conference draws together past and current EOY award recipients from around the world for workshops, discussions, and the induction of all 1999 Entrepreneur Of The Year winners as lifetime members in the Entrepreneur Of The Year Hall of Fame – a “Who’s Who” of fast-growth business leaders. Past inductees include Michael Dell of Dell Computer Corporation, Scott McNealy of Sun Microsystems, Jim McCann of 1-800-FLOWERS, Chris Sullivan of Outback Steakhouse, Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines, and Steve Case of America Online.

Highlights of the National Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards Gala will be featured on CNN’s Movers with Jan Hopkins on Saturday, November 20 at 3:30 p.m. ET and repeated on CNNfn on Thursday, November 25 at 10:30 p.m. ET.

About Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young LLP (www.ey.com) provides assurance and advisory business services, tax services and consulting for domestic and global clients. The firm has 30,000 people in 87 U.S. cities. Chicago-based operations, with more than 2,800 people, make up the firm’s second largest facility. Globally, the Ernst & Young organization has 85,000 people working in 675 offices. Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Services is dedicated solely to meeting the business needs of owner-managed businesses worldwide. Entrepreneur Of The Year® is a registered service mark of Ernst & Young LLP.