Geoff Chutter, president and CEO of WhiteWater, has won Ernst & Young's EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2019, beating out competition from more than 300 entrants.

The award, which has been running for 26 years, is designed to recognise 'unstoppable' business leaders from across Canada.

Chutter was nominated, and subsequently won, for his company WhiteWater, which, under Chutter's leadership, has grown from one of Canada's first water parks to a world-leading water park company with more than 600 employees and offices in Vancouver, Denver, San Diego, Shanghai, Barcelona and Dubai.

Chutter was also praised for WhiteWater's product portfolio, which has been described as one of the broadest in the attractions industry and was created through a combination of in-house innovation and strategic acquisition.

As a result of winning, Chutter will compete against 60 other country winners in the world finals of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year, which wil take place in Monaco in June 2020.

Lui Petrollini, EY assurance partner and EYEntrepreneur of the Year Pacific programme director, said: "Geoff's and WhiteWater's entrepreneurial ride towards being crowned the EY Candaian Entrepreneur of the Year is truly an inspiring , 'feel good' story. It's one things to be acknowledged in a sector that supports familyvalues by enabling dreams to come true and lasting memories to be made."

"Becoming the lartgest global designer and the biggest manufacturer of water park products is no small feat. It's taken Geoff, and WhiteWater, years of dedication to their business, product mix, and customer base to achieve this global reach and success," Perollini added.