Meet the four entrepreneurs joining Kentucky’s Entrepreneur Hall of Fame in 2026

The Kentucky Entrepreneur Hall of Fame honors the state's most accomplished entrepreneurs for their contributions to economic growth through job creation, business development and innovation.

Established in 2010 by Lexington-based entrepreneurial hub Awesome Inc. and Sustainable Business Ventures Corporation, the organization celebrates the business leaders who helped build the Bluegrass State while preserving their stories to inspire future generations of entrepreneurs.

Since its inception, the organization has inducted more than 60 members, typically honoring three to five people each year.

The Kentucky Entrepreneur Hall of Fame's Class of 2026 includes John Neace, founder of Neace Lukens; Roger Griggs, founder of Richwood Pharmaceuticals; Ervin Houchens, founder of Houchens Industries; and Purna Veer, co-founder and president of V-Soft Consulting.

The four entrepreneurs will be formally inducted during a ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at the Central Bank Center in Lexington.

Meet the four inductees below:

Neace has been involved in numerous industries and business ventures, including insurance, logistics, manufacturing, hospitality, real estate and professional sports.

After 10 years in the insurance industry, Neace founded his namesake firm, Neace Lukens, in 1991. The insurance brokerage grew to more than $100 million in annual revenue over the next two decades. He and his business partners exited in 2011, selling the firm to private equity.

Neace has built an investment portfolio that includes Talon Logistics, GC International, Falls City Beer, Old 502 Winery, AllTerrain Paving & Construction, Four Gate Whiskey, Bothy Trading and Hectare’s. Neace also helped build, and eventually sell, an Ashley Furniture business and holds ownership stakes in 13 PARLOUR Pizza + Pints locations.

Neace played a significant role in bringing professional soccer to Louisville. He currently serves as chairman of Louisville City Football Club and has been involved with the organization since its inception. He is also a co-founder of The Women’s Cup, an annual international club tournament featuring women’s teams from the U.S., Europe and South America.

In addition, Neace is an active real estate investor, with interests in several development projects across Louisville and Southern Indiana.

At 19, Houchens opened a small Barren County general store that would eventually grow into one of the largest employee-owned companies in the U.S. Over the following decades, he transformed his store into a grocery chain that expanded across Kentucky and neighboring states.

While the U.S. economy contracted in 1931, Houchens expanded his retail footprint, opening three additional stores in Glasgow. He continued expanding throughout the 1930s, opening his largest store in Bowling Green in 1939. The store introduced the self-service grocery concept, which was revolutionary at the time, allowing customers to select products themselves rather than relying on store clerks. The location also hosted Bowling Green's first live radio broadcast from a retail store.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Houchens expanded into neighboring states, including Tennessee. He continued adopting emerging retail technologies, such as frozen food offerings, self-service meat departments and data-processing systems, which helped the company grow. Today, Houchens Industries operates in retail, manufacturing, construction, insurance and investments, generating billions of dollars in annual revenue.

According to its website, Houchens Industries has grown into a conglomerate comprising more than 13 operating companies and employing more than 19,000 employee-owners.

Roger Griggs founded Richwood Pharmaceuticals, a Florence-based company that was integral to the development and marketing of Adderall and other drugs.

Griggs founded the company in 1991 after nine years in the pharmaceutical industry. While Richwood developed numerous drugs, it is best known for Adderall, a medication widely prescribed to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, commonly known as ADHD. The company merged with Shire Pharmaceuticals of the United Kingdom in 1997, and products originating from Richwood eventually generated peak annual sales of about $1.5 billion.

Throughout his career, Griggs and his business partners introduced or marketed more than 30 prescription medications.

In 2002, Griggs co-founded the Drug Enhancement Corporation of America, also known as DECA, which served as a platform for licensing and developing pharmaceuticals. The organization helped establish several healthcare businesses, including Integrity Pharmaceutical Corporation, Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals and PediaMed Pharmaceuticals, whose products each generated tens of millions of dollars in peak annual sales.

Griggs later expanded into the consumer healthcare industry, founding Union Springs in 2005. The company developed naturally derived healthcare products. In 2017, Union Springs Healthcare merged with Enzymotec, an Israel-based nutrition and healthcare company. Following additional corporate transactions, Union Springs became part of Medella Springs Healthcare in 2019.

Griggs has received various honors recognizing his contributions to healthcare entrepreneurship, including Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in Healthcare in 1997, Ohio Deal Maker of the Year in 2005 and recognition as a Master Entrepreneur by Northern Kentucky University in 2007.

He has also served on the boards of several pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including Shire Pharmaceuticals, New River Pharmaceuticals and Prism Pharmaceuticals. He currently serves on the board of Alphyn Biologics and is a member of Queen City Angels, a Cincinnati-based angel investment organization.

Veer, a first-generation Indian immigrant, is the co-founder and president of V-Soft Consulting, a Louisville-based technology solutions company specializing in IT staffing, digital transformation and technology infrastructure.

Founded in 1997, V-Soft has expanded from a regional IT staffing business into an international technology consulting firm with offices across the United States, Canada and India.

Over nearly three decades, Veer has overseen the company's growth through strategic acquisitions, service expansion and investments in emerging technologies. One such acquisition was Logisolve, which strengthened V-Soft's expertise in AI, data analytics and enterprise technology solutions. These investments have positioned V-Soft as a technology partner for businesses seeking to modernize their operations.

His business accomplishments and community involvement have earned him numerous honors. Veer appeared on Louisville Business First's Power 50 list in 2022 and 2023. The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Executives also named him Volunteer of the Year in 2022. Other recognitions include Business First's Most Admired CEO, the Mosaic Award Celebrating International Americans and Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year.

Veer's business interests extend beyond technology into hospitality, agriculture and Kentucky's equine industry. His ventures include Skylight Stables, an equestrian business, and Tandoori Fusion, an Indian fusion restaurant in Louisville. He is also involved in Veering Creek Farm, which supplies ingredients to the restaurant and is home to Pravasa Vineyard and Winery.