July 3, 2001 Jim Ryley, chief executive officer of Cupertino Electric Inc. (www.cei.com), has been named Northern California's 2001 Ernst & Young Lifetime Achievement Entrepreneur of the Year. The distinction qualifies him to be eligible to receive the National Entrepreneur of the Year honor. Cupertino Electric is one of the largest privately held electrical-contracting companies in the country.

Ryley became Cupertino Electric's president in 1985 and CEO in 1997. During his tenure, he formed the corporate technology services group, which provides information-technology product management and consulting, and e-commerce solutions for companies in networking, broadband, data, and voice transmission technologies. In announcing Ryley's award, Cupertino Electric called the technology group's formation a "significant milestone."

Cupertino's revenues grew from $153 million in 1997 to $746.2 million in fiscal year 2000.