EY Entrepreneur of The Year™ Programme in Ireland

Deadline: 2-Mar-23

The Ernst & Young (EY) has launched its EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ programme that support, advises, and connects a community of entrepreneurs, championing entrepreneurship throughout the island of Ireland.

The EY Entrepreneur of The Year™ programme passionately believes in promoting entrepreneurship across the island of Ireland and empowering entrepreneurs to grow their businesses in Ireland, Northern Ireland and around the world.

Theme

The theme for the ur 2023 programme is ‘The Art of Entrepreneurship’ recognising how entrepreneurs reframe the society and create businesses that leave a lasting impact and legacy on the society. They are not afraid to take risks and put their ideas and dreams to the test. Only a special kind of leader has the ability to use their imagination to take a blank canvas and create genuine masterpieces and truly original businesses that leave a valuable and lasting impact on the society. This is ‘The Art of Entrepreneurship’.

Prize Information

By becoming a finalist, your prize includes but is not limited to:

• Peer mentoring and network.
• Media profiling across national & local newspaper and broadcast media.
• Finalist specific digital content creation and profiling to a global audience.
• An invitation to join the annual CEO Retreat.
• Bespoke EY Enterprise Evolution Sessions with EY Partners.
• In-depth profiling on the website, eoy.ie, and on the social media platforms.
• Business development opportunities with the programme sponsor.
• Alumni-specific events such as conference days & dinners.
• Membership of a unique and trusted network.
• Bespoke Growth strategy workshop session: 7 Drivers of Growth.

Categories

The categories in the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ programme apply to a wide range of businesses across all sectors on the island of Ireland. These range from fast growth entrepreneurial businesses, established international groups to longstanding family enterprises. This wide range of business leaders and entrepreneurs is the backbone of the alumni community and what makes it such a valuable and unique network.

• The Sustainability Award

  • Recognising the critical importance of innovation leadership in meeting the collective sustainability challenges, EY introduced a new Sustainability award to the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Ireland programme. This award is presented to the finalist who is making the biggest contribution towards environmental sustainability through their business. They are striving to protect the future by providing solutions and taking transformative business actions to address some of the world’s most pressing environmental issues and concerns.
    • Emerging
      • Nominees in the Emerging category run businesses that have been trading for a minimum of two years. They are ambitious entrepreneurs who have started a business which is growing quickly. They are highpotential, dynamic, resourceful and ‘onesto-watch’ for the future.
    • Established
      • Established, longstanding businesses with a pedigree of growth and innovation, contributing significantly as employers on the Island of Ireland. Including some of the greatest family businesses, the Established finalists are market leaders in their sectors and have made a significant contribution to the economy over a considerable period of time.
    • International
      • The International category consists of entrepreneurs who are global players. Their companies operate in multiple markets across the globe and can be headquartered here in Ireland or overseas.

Eligibility Criteria

• EY Entrepreneur of The Year™ is an all-island programme.
• Nominees must own a minimum of 5% of the company (publicly listed companies will be assessed on a case-by-case basis).
• Nominees must be primarily responsible for the recent performance of the company.
• Nominees must either be Irish or running a company based on the island of Ireland.
• Turnover in excess of €1 million or £1 million.
• The nominee’s company must be trading for a minimum of two years (companies with a long R&D process pre-commencement of trading, early-stage life sciences and technology companies and companies that have received significant investment are dealt with on a caseby-case basis).
• If nominees have previously applied and not been shortlisted to the final 24, the judging panel welcomes and encourages them to apply multiple times. Some of the previous finalists and even winners have successfully been invited into the programme after multiple applications.

• Who can nominate?
  • Anyone, including employees, company advisors and financiers, can nominate a successful entrepreneur, with their consent. Many of the nominations come from the entrepreneurs themselves.

Judging Criteria

The panel of independent judges is at the heart of the integrity of EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™. When reviewing the judging reports, the judges are looking for evidence of specific entrepreneurial traits:

• Entrepreneurial spirit and vision.
• Financial performance.
• Innovation.
• Strategic direction.
• Sustainability and growth in employee numbers.
• Industry impact.
• Personal integrity/influence.
• Risk management.

For more information, visit EY.