EY will be celebrating the inspirational journeys of 60 entrepreneurs from 51 countries at the 14th World Entrepreneur Of The Year next week in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Each of the individuals at the event have won the title of Entrepreneur of the Year in their country, and will come together to compete for the 2014 World title. The winner will be announced at a ceremony on the evening of Saturday 7 June at the Salle de Etoiles in Monaco.
This year’s finalists include Jennifer Riria of Kenya Woman Holding Group, (Kenya), William Wolfram of DealDash Oyj., (Finland), Uday Kotak of Kotak Mahindra Bank, (India), Rod Drury of Xero, (New Zealand), Dr. Alexander Galitsky of Almaz Captial, (Russia), James Lambert of R&R Ice Cream, (United Kingdom), Hamid Moghadam of Prologis, (United States).
The finalists are some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world, and together they have:
- Combined revenues of approximately US$32b
- Average revenues of US$635m
- Combined revenue growth of 56% in the last three years (2010 – 2013)
- Average annual revenue growth of 16%
- 145,000 employees combined – with job growth of 64% in the last three years (2010-2013)
A full list of the 60 country winners is available at www.ey.com/weoy.
The overall winner is chosen by an independent judging panel of distinguished former EY Entrepreneur Of The Year winners and other well-known entrepreneurs. The award is given on the basis of six criteria allowing all country winners an equal opportunity to compete: entrepreneurial spirit, financial performance, strategic direction, innovation, global impact and personal integrity/influence.
The independent judging panel will be chaired by Rebecca MacDonald of Just Energy Group Inc. (Canada). Joining her will be:
- Chieko Aoki of Blue Tree Hotels (Brazil)
- Mikael Hed of Rovio Entertainment Ltd. (Finland)
- Dr. Tetsuya Iizuka of THine Electronics, Inc. (Japan)
- Kay Koplovitz of USA Network, Koplovitz & Company, and Springboard Enterprises (United States)
- Ulysses Kyriacopoulos of S&B Industrial Minerals SA (Greece)
- Denis O’Brien of Digicel Group (Ireland)
- Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin of Battersea Project Holding Company Ltd, and S P Setia Berhad (Malaysia)
- Ashish Thakkar of Mara Group (Uganda)
- Michael Wu of Hong Kong Maxim’s Group (China)
As well as the awards, EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year program also includes a series of keynote speeches, panel discussions and other events of special interest to entrepreneurs and other influential business leaders in attendance, including EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year alumni.
Keynote addresses will be made by speakers including one of the most successful figures in world football, Sir Alex Ferguson, former Manager of Manchester United; Muhammad Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank and Nobel Peace Prize recipient in 2006; Martha Stewart, Founder and Chair of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia; Eric Wahl, number one best-selling author, entrepreneur, and internationally recognized artist; and Hamdi Ulukaya, Founder and CEO, Chobani Inc., and Winner of EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2013 .
Key themes covered during the event will include emerging markets, natural resources and energy, big data, contributing to society, educating the workforce of the future, private equity and family business.
New to the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year program for 2014 is “Ready, Set, Grow” a competition that gives six high-potential entrepreneurs, selected from a field applicants from across the world, the chance to showcase their companies and discuss their growth plans with a panel of world-class entrepreneurs during one-on-one mentoring sessions at the event in Monaco. The six entrepreneurs receiving mentoring are:
- Denise Wilson, USA, DesertJet
- Hendy Setiono, Indonesia – Baba Rafi Indonesia
- Hugo Ladislao Moreno, Mexico, Opticas ver de Verdad
- Kailash Katkar, India, Quick Heal Technologies
- Michael Sikorsky, Canada, Robots and Pencils
- Michael Cohen, Uruguay, Lolita
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About World Entrepreneur Of The Year
EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year® is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential, and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in 145 cities in 60 countries.