Welcome to our annual 40 Under 40 feature. Since 1988, Crain's City Brands have gathered 40 of the community's overachievers for a special salute. Past winners have started companies, climbed the corporate ranks and made nonprofits stronger while giving back to the community and mentoring others. Crain's Grand Rapids Business is proud to recognize leaders in West Michigan who have proven themselves leaders in their field before their 40th birthday.

To be eligible, a nominee must be working in the West Michigan and be 39 years old or younger as of Oct. 14, 2024. 

The deadline to nominate an individual for 40 Under 40 is May 17, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. EST. 

Ready to submit your application? Start here.

How to nominate: 

• To get started, click the application link and sign into your account. If you do not have an account, you will be asked to create one before you can proceed with the nomination form. We recommend using Chrome or Firefox web browsers to complete your application. 
• To submit someone for consideration, there is a nomination fee of $25, which must be paid before the nomination can be formally submitted. The nomination fee ensures that your nominee will be considered for inclusion in the final published story; it does not ensure your nominee will automatically be included.
• Candidate forms: After the nomination form is submitted, the candidate will recieve an email to complete a separate candidate form with questions specifically for the 40 Under 40 nominee. This candidate form is required for consideration.  

Honoree notification: 40 Under 40 honorees will be notified by phone or email approximately 5 weeks before publication. Please note that we do not notify all applicants, only those we have chosen to include.

Got questions? We have answers. Click to our FAQ page to see answers to the most common questions.

Contact us: To address technical issues with the submission form or payment process, please contact our customer service department at customerservice@crainsgrandrapids.com. 

Nominate a 40 Under 40 rising star: Click here.

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