By Martin Vedris

UTAH, USA: Rick Alden, the CEO and founder of Skullcandy, the audio products supplier, was named winner of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 award for Utah on Friday 27 June.

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award recognises men and women who have excelled at growing and sustaining market-leading businesses.

Skullcandy is currently experiencing its fourth year-on-year growth of more than 300 per cent.

“Skullcandy has been a crazy venture since day one,” Alden said in a statement. “Being an entrepreneur is normally an independent activity. Ernst & Young has spent 20 years fostering entrepreneurial communities bringing resources together with opportunities. Thank you to Ernst & Young for their support of young companies and this unique recognition. There is nothing better than finding a project you love, building an incredible team to work with, and watching it grow.”

Alden formed Skullcandy in 2003 to offer high-performance headphones to a core demographic in the action sports industry. In five years, Skullcandy has introduced a line of more than 100 SKUs of headphones as well as other audio products, such as backpacks with built-in speakers and iPod accessories. Skullcandy products are currently available in more than 40 countries worldwide.

Alden is one of 26 regional Entrepreneur of the Year award recipients. This win secures Alden a seat as a nominee for the national award, which will be announced on 15 November, at a black-tie gala hosted by comedian Jay Leno.