Jim Richards, owner and CEO of Total Security Solutions, was named an EY US Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2026 Michigan and Northwest Ohio Award winner.
Jim was selected from nearly 1,000 program participants that included 592 finalists across 17 regions competing for the title.
Jim started TSS in 2004, compelled by a mission to stop bullets and save lives.
At the time, bullet-resistant barriers were primarily used in banks to protect assets, and they were heavy and unattractive. He had a vision for designing custom barrier systems that supported each building's design, rather than detracting from it.
Under Jim's leadership, TSS has grown to three locations and more than 140 team members in Michigan and California. The company has protected more than 30,000 buildings, including corporate offices, schools, banks and credit unions, healthcare facilities, governmental buildings, and more.
"I'm honored to receive this award, but what drives TSS has never been recognition," he said. “What motivates us is knowing our work keeps people safe. That commitment reflects every member of our team and inspires us to show up and deliver every day.”
Now in its 41st year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program honors business leaders for their ingenuity, courage and entrepreneurial spirit. It celebrates original founders who bootstrapped their business from inception or 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.
Regional winners were chosen by an independent panel of past winners, top CEOs and business leaders. Judges assessed candidates on long-term value creation, entrepreneurial spirit, purpose-driven commitment, and significant growth and impact.
As the Michigan and Northwest Ohio award winner, Jim will now be considered by the national judges for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 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. The National Overall Award winner will move on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award in May 2027.
The Entrepreneur Of The Year program has recognized the leadership of entrepreneurs such as:
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Sponsors
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards include presenting sponsors PNC Bank, Cresa, LLC, Marsh Risk, SAP and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. In Michigan and Northwest Ohio, sponsors also include regional gold sponsor Full View Productions and regional silver sponsors KLA Laboratories Inc., P.I.E. Management L.L.C., Tanner Friedman Strategic Communications, Varnum LLP and 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 60 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 EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ competition. Visit ey.com/us/eoy.
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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.