Thursday, November 9th marked the fourth annual Rhode Island Entrepreneur Hall of Fame induction. Annually, the Hall of Fame recognizes and admits an outstanding, and widely recognized entrepreneur. This year’s Hall of Fame inductee is Navyn Salem, founder and CEO of Edesia the North Kingstown company that produces and distributes Edesia’s signature product, Plumpy’nut.™
Salem is recognized at home and abroad for the profound impact her company and products have made in the fight to reduce and eventually eliminate malnutrition in children.
At an evening event on the Met campus, more than 70 well-wishes, including friends, family, and Rhode Island business people joined in celebrating her dedication, and single-minded purpose.
Additional recognition was accorded to Rajiv Kumar, founder of Shape Up RI, a company recently acquired by Virgin Pulse. Kumar is the 2017 Entrepreneur Honoree of the Year. Stephen Prak, founder of Superior Wireless, is named Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year.
Navyn Salem joins previous Hall of Fame recipients, Stanley Goldstein, founder of CVS, Barrett Hazeltine, Ph.D., Brown University, and Carolyn Rafaelian, founder and CEO of Alex and Ani.
During the evening, Met alumni and current students spoke about their Met entrepreneurship experiences, and described how local entrepreneurs, including Hall of Famers were not only role models, but also generous givers of their time and counsel.
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