Founder and CEO, Chau Nguyen of Vintage Modern, Inc was named an EY US Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2026 Southeast Award winner. Nguyen was selected among nearly 35 program participants, including 592finalists across 17 regions, competing for the title. 

Rising from humble beginnings to his third entrepreneurial success, Nguyen has built Vintage Modern into one of the country's most innovative luxury automotive companies. After founding and exiting two technology ventures, including Campus Special, acquired by Chegg, and Hirewire, acquired by Seasoned, Nguyen launched Vintage Modern in 2018 with a vision to create an entirely new vehicle category: a classic-inspired luxury vehicle equipped with today’s safety features and technology.  

Today, the Atlanta-based company handcrafts more than 250 vehicles annually, pairing classic-inspired design with fully modern platforms, safety systems and performance. With a global following of more than 4 million enthusiasts and a clientele that includes Mark Wahlberg, LeBron James and Ryan Reynolds, Vintage Modern has emerged as a disruptive force in the luxury automotive market. 

“This honor is deeply meaningful because it recognizes a journey defined by resilience, discipline, and an unwavering belief that there is always a better way forward,” said Nguyen. “I’m grateful to the incredible team whose talent, craftsmanship, and commitment have helped transform a bold idea into an entirely new vehicle category. While I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together, I believe our best work is still ahead as we continue building a new category in the luxury automotive space.” 

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 a Southeast award winner, Nguyen 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:  

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 the Southeast, sponsors also include VACO, LLC as the regional Platinum sponsor; ADP and King & Spalding as the regional Gold sponsors; and Babbit Bodner as the regional Silver sponsor.