SYRACUSE — The 48th recipient of the annual Crystal Ball Award from the Central New York Sales & Marketing Executives (CNYSME) will be the youngest person yet to be bestowed this honor.

CNYSME selected Jeff Knauss, 38, a serial entrepreneur and angel investor who lives in Skaneateles.

CNYSME will present the award to Knauss during the Crystal Ball and Sales & Marketing Excellence Awards event, which is set for Thursday, May 15, 2025, at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown.

Described as an “enduring symbol of the organization’s mission,” the Crystal Ball is awarded annually by CNYSME to a CEO, president, or director of a Central New York business in recognition of their contributions to the sales and marketing profession and for their endeavors in the areas of community development and support.

Knauss started as the CEO and co-founder of Digital Hyve, a Syracuse–based digital-marketing firm. He is currently a partner and investor in 13 businesses ranging from various startups focused on medical research, professional networking, mobile-payment apps, commercial real estate, three restaurants (Hidden Fish, Clover’s, and XO Taco), diversity recruitment, and e-commerce.

Knauss tells CNYBJ that he was both “surprised and extremely honored” when told CNYSME had selected him as the Crystal Ball Award recipient, adding that it “feels surreal.”

“The incredible people who have won before me. I know the prestige that this award carries and the level of excellence that the people that have been awarded in the past rise to,” he says in a Dec. 20 phone interview. “Many of them are my friends, and many of them came before me and have built incredible things in Central New York”

When Knauss first moved to Central New York from the Finger Lakes area, he didn’t know anyone. He started working at CNY Central (the branded name of TV stations WTVH-5, WSTM, and CW6) and part of his job was to get to know people, he says. The first organization that he joined was CNYSME. Knauss worked on the group’s committees and served on its board of directors for a few years, and even helped with past Crystal Ball Award efforts.

And as he noted in the CNYBJ interview, “to have it all come full circle is pretty cool.”

Knauss also tells CNYBJ that he’s been working on an artificial intelligence (AI)-based project that will be launching early in 2025. “It’s been what I’ve been obsessing over for the last year,” he notes.

In the CNYSME announcement, Knauss discussed his philosophy and perspective on entrepreneurship.

“Entrepreneurship isn’t just about growing businesses — it’s about uplifting those around you, fostering innovation, and giving back to the communities that support us. This award is a reflection of the collective effort of every team, mentor, and partner I’ve been lucky enough to have had along the way. I’m proud to be part of a region that embraces entrepreneurship and philanthropy so deeply, and I’m committed to using this recognition to further those ideals,” he said.

CNYSME’s leader lauded Knauss for personifying what the Crystal Ball Award is all about.

“Jeff embodies everything the Crystal Ball Award represents. Not only his contributions to the sales and marketing community throughout Upstate New York, but to his relentless dedication to philanthropy and giving back,” Charles Harkola, president of CNYSME, said in the organization’s announcement. “He is a premier example of what leaders can and should aspire to and we’re excited to present him this year’s Crystal Ball.”

In addition to the Crystal Ball, local companies will award Sales and Marketing Excellence Awards to their top performing sales and marketing professionals within their organizations. Proceeds from the event will go toward Jeff Knauss’s charity of choice, South Side Community Growth Foundation, as well as scholarships to local students pursuing education in the sales and marketing fields, CNYSME said.