Dickey’s CEO named an EY Entrepreneur of the Year

Roland Dickey, Jr., CEO of Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, has been named the 2015 EY Entrepreneur of the Year in the family business category for the Southwest region.

The selection puts him in contention for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year National Award, an honor previously bestowed on such business icons as Howard Schultz, chairman of Starbucks.

Among the other contenders is the CEO of another Dallas-area restaurant company, Rave Restaurant Group, the parent of Pie Five and Pizza Inn. CEO Randy Gier was the Entrepreneur of the Year for the Southwest in the hospitality category.

The Entrepreneur of the Year National Award will be announced in November.

Dickey took over day-to-day operations in 2006 of the company his grandfather started in the 1940s. Since assuming control, the younger Dickey has put Dickey’s on a fast growth track through franchising.

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