Calgary eye doctor named nation’s top entrepreneur
The Calgary doctor behind Canada’s largest independent eye care service is this year’s Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year.
Alan Ulsifer, president and chief executive of FYidoctors, was awarded the title Wednesday night in Toronto. He started FYidoctors in April 2008. Today, it has 107 loca- tions across Canada.
“Being a fairly new company, we’ve been investing in infrastructure and trying to grow,” Ulsifer said Thursday. “We’ve grown quickly. But we’ve tried to manage that as well.”
Ulsifer, who opened his first optometry practice in Grande Prairie almost 20 years ago, said the FYidoctors business model has successfully merged independent doctors into a larger company structure that assists with training, marketing and day-to-day needs.
“Independent optometrists were having trouble managing their practice.
They were having trouble managing supply chain and getting competitive costs,” he said.
“So we’ve really given them a whole bunch of support and allowed them to focus on their patients and checking eyes versus all the other griefs of operating a business.”
The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year program is in its 19th year. One winner from the competition’s five regions is chosen based on several factors including leadership, financial performance and social responsibility.
Ulsifer advanced to the national competition after he was named the Prairies representative last fall.
“His innovative vision of merging full scope optometric practices into a single entity — the first of its kind in the country — transformed Canada’s optometry industry,” said Colleen McMorrow, partner and national director of the Ernst and Young program.
“These kinds of innovative solutions that overcome a struggling economy take strong leadership and an even stronger team.”
The 2013 World Entrepreneur of the Year awards will be held June 6 to 9 in Monte Carlo.
Ulsifer will compete with more than 50 other international winners.