The CVCA, Canada’s Venture Capital & Private Equity Association, today announced that Sandvine, led by Dave Caputo, co-founder, president and CEO of Sandvine, is the recipient of CVCA’s 14th annual Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Established in 1992, the purpose of award is to promote, highlight and celebrate the achievements of entrepreneurs who lead venture-backed Canadian companies. “The selection process focuses on individuals whose entrepreneurial spirit, drive and success personify the qualities that all venture capital investors seek to find in their portfolio companies,” says Richard Kinlough, chairman of CVCA’s Entrepreneur of the Year committee and managing director, Group Head, CIT Corporate Finance, Canada.

Caputo and co-founders Brad Siim, Marc Morin, Tom Donnelly and Don Bowman have grown Sandvine from the concept stage into the leading developer of intelligent broadband network management solutions. In March 2006, Sandvine was listed on London’s AIM Exchange, raising $37 million and reaching a market cap of over $230 million at first day of closing. Sandvine was listed on the TSX in October 2006, raising a further $13 million. As of May 28, 2007, Sandvine had a market cap of approximately $580 million, the highest market cap of any Canadian VC-backed IT company that has gone public since 2000.

Sandvine develops and markets network equipment targeted to the evolving needs of today’s broadband service providers. Sandvine’s award-winning solutions identify the types and behaviours of traffic on networks, enabling service providers to improve customer satisfaction, reduce operational costs and increase profitability.

Celtic House Venture Partners led Sandvine’s $20 million seed financing in September 2001 and participated in each subsequent funding round. The other venture investors included BDC Venture Capital, Vengrowth Capital Partners, and Tech Capital Partners in Waterloo. Celtic House remains the single largest shareholder.

Caputo was honoured at the gala evening at CVCA’s 2007 Annual Conference in Halifax last night.