Brady "Tripp" Rackley, IE 1992, has been named Ernst & Young's eFinance Southeast Regional Entrepreneur of the Year. Rackley is vice chairman of Digital Insight, an Internet banking firm. In November, he competed for the National Award in Palm Springs.

E-business awards are a new addition to Ernst & Young's annual awards. As with the traditional business categories, e-business winners must be primarily responsible for the growth of a company. Companies must have operated for at least two years and show a profit. In publicly held companies, the founder must be an active member in top management. He or she must possess first mover advantage, or have established a recognized digital brand.

Rackley was the founder, chairman, and CEO of Atlanta-based nFront, Inc., a leading provider of Internet banking services for small to mid-size financial institutions, which merged with Digital Insight in February 2000. He possesses a comprehesive background in both software development and banking technology and is considered an authority on bank technology issues.

"I was honored to be nominated and honored to win. In the past few years, we've grown from one employee to more than 800," Rackley said, noting that his company growth fully embraced the whole entrepreneurial spirit. "A lot of companies are success stories, but only a few entrepreneurs stay from concept all the way through. I've enjoyed all the pieces at every stage."

Rackley is a director of the Alexander Tharpe Fund and the Technology Executives Roundtable board and serves on the ISyE Advisory Board.