Nancy Haley
DENVER - Nancy Haley, co-founder and CEO of TEHÀMA, was honored by Ernst & Young with the Entrepreneur of the Year award in the retail / manufacturing category. TEHÀMA is a high-end line of contemporary sportswear Haley owns with Hollywood legend, Clint Eastwood. Ernst & Young, a global leader in professional services, honored Haley for her accomplishments, as TEHÀMA has become one of the fastest growing sportswear companies in the nation.

"I am incredibly honored to be given this prestigious award by Ernst & Young," said Haley. "This award is a true measure of the hard work and dedication exemplified by each person at TEHÀMA. Without them, our company's tremendous success would not have been possible."

The Entrepreneur of the Year Institute and the 17th annual Rocky Mountain Region 2003 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year event celebrates the accomplishments of the nation's great entrepreneurs. The program was established to honor entrepreneurs whose ingenuity, hard work and perseverance have created and sustained successful, growing business ventures.

"Ernst & Young recognizes only the brightest, most outstanding business leaders, and Nancy Haley is certainly no exception," said Mark Siegel, Partner, Ernst & Young. "Our independent panel of judges recognized Haley's great achievements."

Haley's leadership has driven TEHÀMA to experience impressive double-digit sales growth each year since its inception in 1997. TEHÀMA reported more than $7.5 million in sales in its first year and the line was named to The Robb Report's "Best of the Best Apparel Brands" top five list, two years in a row. TEHÀMA's sales continue to be strong in 2003, with expectations for sales to grow 25 percent in fiscal year 2004.

"Being recognized for this award by Ernst & Young is like Clint Eastwood winning an Oscar," said Haley. "This is my Oscar."

Haley's achievements began long before her Cinderella story began with TEHÀMA. Haley began her career as an entrepreneur with Haley Interiors, an interior design firm, which she owned for ten years. What inspired Haley to start her second business was her love of golf. She was constantly amazed at the limited selection of fashionable sportswear options for women. Haley decided to exit her interior design career and enter the sportswear industry to create versatile apparel that could be worn from work to play. In 1986, she launched Sun-Daze by Nancy Haley.

Sun-Daze was a smashing success with women's apparel and in 1990, Haley expanded into menswear, dropping the Sun-Daze name and creating the Sport-Haley brand. She successfully took Sport-Haley public in 1992. When Haley retired in 1996, Sport-Haley had approached its peak at more than $21 million in annual sales. Her accomplishment placed Haley on Golf Magazine's list of "The 40 Most Powerful People in Golf". She was one of only two women on the list in the company of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Eli Callaway.

"When I met Clint and he asked me to come out of retirement, I knew it was the opportunity of a lifetime," said Haley.

Haley met Eastwood in 1996 at his Mission Ranch in Carmel, CA. Eastwood had worn some of Haley's designs and asked her if she would consider starting a sportswear line with him. Eastwood suggested they call it TEHÀMA - after his golf club in Carmel. Haley accepted, came out of retirement, and has built TEHÀMA to be one of the fastest growing sportswear companies in the nation.

Haley's Ernst & Young award qualifies her for the national entrepreneur award which will be announced in November 2003, in Palm Springs, CA. Previous award winners have included Michael Dell of Dell Computer Corporation, Steve Case of America Online, Leon F. Gorman of L.L. Bean and Howard Schultz of Starbucks.

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