Dr. Bharat Sangani, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dallas-based Encore Enterprises, Inc., has been named a winner of the Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2026 Southwest Award. The prestigious program recognizes visionary leaders of high-growth companies who are driving innovation, growth and prosperity for future generations.
Dr. Bharat Sangani, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dallas-based Encore Enterprises, Inc., has been named a winner of the Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2026 Southwest Award.
Dr. Sangani, a practicing, board-certified cardiologist, founded Encore Enterprises in 1999, a diversified investment and development firm. Over the past three decades, he has overseen nearly $6 billion in real estate and private equity transactions while leading the company’s expansion across commercial real estate, operating companies and strategic investment partnerships. Encore’s holdings include multifamily and hospitality properties, retail centers, government-leased facilities, healthcare-related ventures, dining concepts, a growing private equity platform, and global bonds. Its broad portfolio reflects a diversified investment approach focused on both growth opportunities and capital preservation.
“Entrepreneurs aren’t trying to capture a piece of something that already exists. They’re asking how to build something worth more tomorrow than it is today,” said Dr. Sangani. “That means developing the discipline to see what others don’t yet see, questioning why things work the way they do, and having the patience to hold a position most people won’t sit with. I’m honored to be recognized alongside this group of builders.”
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 regional award winner, Dr. Sangani will now be considered for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards, presented in November at the Strategic Growth Forum®, one of the nation’s most prestigious gatherings of high-growth, market-leading companies. The national overall winner will go on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award in May 2027.
Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winners become lifetime members of a global, multi-industry community of entrepreneurs with ongoing access to the experience, insight and wisdom of program alumni and other ecosystem members across more than 60 countries.
