Dan Daniels of Daniels Health named Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2026 Midwest finalist by EY US
EY US celebrates ambitious entrepreneurs shaping the future of business
Dan Daniels of Daniels Health has been named a finalist for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 Midwest Award by Ernst & Young LLP (EY US). Now in its 41st year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program celebrates the bold leaders who disrupt markets through the world’s most ground-breaking companies, revolutionizing industries and uplifting communities. The program honors entrepreneurs whose innovations drive economic growth and help shape the future of business.
An independent panel of judges selected our Founder and CEO Dan Daniels among 30 finalists based on their entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, company growth and lasting impact in building long-term value.
“In four decades our purpose has been singularly focused on making healthcare safer; protecting frontline healthcare workers who have dedicated their lives to serving others. Ours is an audacious mission, and our global impact over the last four decades would not have been possible without those who served alongside me. There are more people than I can list who made this mission their own, who stewarded and protected it, who fought with me in the trenches with steadfast belief and commitment, and who every day encouraged and inspired me that the mission was worth fighting for. While I am deeply honored by the recognition that EY has given me, the growth and impact of Daniels Health is directly attributed to the tenacity, resilience and belief of my global leadership team and their families who have faithfully served across multiple timezones, geographies and decades, and the hospital partners who backed us against all odds.”
Dan Daniels
Founded in 1986, Daniels Health was the first company in the medical waste sector to try and solve an infection problem with deep clinical research and microbiological testing. With 54 sharps container competitors (many being multi-million dollar businesses), Dan Daniels entered into a saturated market in Melbourne Australia with nothing but a van, his home garage aka “office”, and a deep-seeded belief that no nurse, doctor or EVS worker should ever have to go home to their families with an occupational needlestick injury. In 1986, without a cure for AIDS or hepatitis C, a needlestick injury had the potential to be life-threatening.
Across four decades Dan has built the company from a one-person startup competing against 54 independent competitors in Australia – an underdog challenging EPA and UN standards for safety and environmental norms, into a global healthcare safety and sustainability leader. While once its specialization was limited to sharps container technology wth a US service footprint confined to the Mid West, the North East, and California, today Daniels is the second largest healthcare waste provider in the country with services covering 47 states. Daniels’ patented container engineering and robotic technology leads the world in healthcare waste disposal security and microbiological cleaning validation; and its hospital partnerships with Stanford, UPMC, Henry Ford Health System, Advent Health, Rush University and other industry leading health systems, have set it apart as America’s premium provider of clinical waste services.
Daniels’ 30% compounded growth year on year for 5+ years is testament to the confidence of US hospitals wanting more in a healthcare waste partnership than “waste to dock” service. Daniels’ impact across waste reduction, unprecedented safety and infection control improvements, labor efficiencies, industry-leading service levels, and impact on total cost of ownership, has created an unstoppable momentum.
Entrepreneur Of The Year honors business leaders for their ingenuity, courage and entrepreneurial spirit. The program celebrates original founders who bootstrapped their business from inception or who raised outside capital to grow their company, transformational CEOs who infused innovation into an existing organization to catapult its trajectory, and multigenerational family business leaders who reimagined a legacy business model to strengthen it for the future.
This year’s Midwest finalists represent Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin across all industries, including technology, consumer products, manufacturing, finance and more.
Regional award winners will be announced on June 11 during a special celebration in Chicago and will become lifetime members of an esteemed community of Entrepreneur Of The Year alumni from around the world. The winners will then be considered by the national judges for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards, which will be presented in November at the annual Strategic Growth Forum®, where high-growth CEOs, Fortune 1000 executives and investors converge to shape the future of business.
Sponsors
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards include presenting sponsors PNC Bank, Cresa, LLC, Marsh USA, SAP, and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. In Midwest, sponsors also include Platinum sponsor LaSalle Network, Gold sponsors Becker Professional Education and Big Picture, and Silver sponsor ADP.
About Entrepreneur Of The Year®
Founded in 1986, Entrepreneur Of The Year® has celebrated more than 11,000 ambitious visionaries who are leading successful, dynamic businesses in the US, and it has since expanded to nearly 80 countries and territories globally.
The US program consists of 17 regional programs whose panels of independent judges select the regional award winners every June. Those winners compete for national recognition at the Strategic Growth Forum® in November where national finalists and award winners are announced. The national overall winner represents the US at the World Entrepreneur Of The Year® competition. Visit ey.com/us/eoy.
About EY
EY is building a better working world by creating new value for clients, people, society and the planet, while building trust in capital markets.
Enabled by data, AI and advanced technology, EY teams help clients shape the future with confidence and develop answers for the most pressing issues of today and tomorrow.
EY teams work across a full spectrum of services in assurance, consulting, tax, strategy and transactions. Fueled by sector insights, a globally connected, multi-disciplinary network and diverse ecosystem partners, EY teams can provide services in more than 150 countries and territories.
All in to shape the future with confidence.
EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. EY member firms do not practice law where prohibited by local laws. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.
News Release
Finalist Company’s PR Contact: John Meilink | [email protected]
Company: New Media
Tel: O: (636) 946-3525 | C: (847) 912-1482
Laura Wakelam
Let's Talk!
Your time is valuable, and we don’t want to play hard to get. You can either phone us directly on the details listed on our contact page, or feel free to fill out this short form and one of our team members will get back to you as quickly as possible.