2006 ERNST & YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR: SCOTT HUMPHRYS, GREG MILLER and CHAD MONNIN, Mission critical

SCOTT HUMPHRYS/Vice President

GREG MILLER/COO

CHAD MONNIN/CEO

Aegis, Mission Essential Personnel

Aegis, Mission Essential Personnel has grown from its founders' expertise.

Aegis, Mission Essential Personnel has its origins in an interesting set of circumstances. Following Sept. 11, Chad Monnin was called up to serve in his Army Special Forces reserve unit. He was tem porarily paralyzed in a parachuting accident and began studying Arab culture and language. When federal contractors working in Iraq began approaching him for his expertise, he joined forces with Scott Humphrys and Greg Miller, a police officer and Special Forces reservist fluent in Arabic, to found Aegis, Mission Essential Personnel.

The goal was to establish a business to provide he U.S. government and select corporations with integrated solutions that encompass security, language and training services, with a focus on the Middle Eastern culture and region.

In three years, Aegis has grown from six employees to more than 120, with 30 in Columbus and the rest overseas. In 2005, Aegis won a 30month contract from the State Department to provide linguistic and security services at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

The company's next goal is to expand into the private sector to assess terrorist vulnerability for companies and to serve as cultural advisers for international businesses.

HOW TO REACH: Aegis, Mission Essential Personnel, (614) 4162345 or www.aegismep.com