CA Ventures announced that Tom Scott, founder and CEO of the Chicago-based firm, received the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2016 Award in the Real Estate category for the Midwest region.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the award program, which recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance, and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.
Scott was selected by an independent panel of judges, and the award was presented at a black-tie gala at the Navy Pier Grand Ballroom on June 15.
“I am humbled and honored to have been selected for this award from such a talented and respected pool of finalists,” Scott said. “This wouldn’t have been possible without the unwavering support of my family and tireless efforts of so many CA employees who love what they do and love coming to work each day. This team has been integral in taking CA Ventures from startup to the multibillion-dollar company it is today, and will continue to feed the exponential growth we’ve been experiencing over the past 12 years.”
Scott founded the company in 2004 as Campus Acquisitions with fewer than 10 employees and a focus on student housing development. In 2012, the company was rebranded as CA Ventures and launched separate development divisions – CA Student Living, CA Office, CA Residential, CA Senior and CA Hospitality – in order to strategically expand its commercial real estate portfolio. Between 2012 and 2015, the company added 100 employees and saw 327 percent employee growth in 2013 alone. Over the last three years, CA has maintained an average year-over-year employee growth rate of 107 percent. Today, the firm’s international portfolio is valued at $6.3 billion.
As a Midwest award winner, Scott is now eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2016 national program. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner, will be announced at this year’s Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards gala in Palm Springs, California on Nov. 19. The US Entrepreneur Of The Year Overall Award winner then moves on to compete for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year Award, which will be presented in Monaco in June 2017.
