High Tech Council names Entrepreneur of Year finalists

The founders of a Web development company, a Web management firm and a precision laser manufacturing business have been selected as finalists for the New Hampshire High Technology Council’s 23rd Annual Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.The awards will be taking place beginning at 5:30 p.m. Monday, May 9, at the Radisson Center of New Hampshire in Manchester.The three finalists are:• Erik Dodier co-founder of PixelMEDIA in Portsmouth, which has grown to become the largest Web development company in New Hampshire and employs 60 people at four facilities today. Dodier, PixelMEDIA’s president and CEO, also serves as a board member and entrepreneurship advisor at the University of New Hampshire Whittemore School of Business and Optima Bank. He has partnered with New Hampshire Innovation Commercialization Center to continue to promote business in the state.• Bill Rogers, founder of Nashua-based Ektron, which has developed applications that make it easier for end-users to author, publish and maintain content on websites. Rodgers has also co-founded two other technology companies, Global Telemedix, a telemedicine software developer, and Zydacron Inc., co-developer of the first video conferencing chip set.• Jeffrey Sercel, founder of JP Sercel Associates Inc. which is based on the pioneering excimer laser micromachining work performed at another company he founded, Resonetics Inc. JPSA manufactures industrial-grade UV excimer, DPSS, and ultrafast laser micromachining systems for LED, solar, semiconductor, research and biomedical markets. Sercel was named an Entrepreneur of the Year finalist in 1994 for his early excimer laser work.This year’s judges include Nancy Briefs, CardiAQ Valve Technologies; Jesse Devitte, Borealis Venures; Steve Boucher, Airmar Technology Corp.; Andy Lietz, former trustee, University System of New Hampshire; Rajesh Nair, Degree Controls Inc., Mark Galvin, New Hampshire Innovation Commercialization Center; and Matt Pierson, Dunn & Partners.For more information, visit nhhtc.org or call 603-935-8951. – CINDY KIBBE/NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS REVIEW