Business services firm EY has opened nominations for the 25th iteration of its EY Entrepreneur Of The Year competition.

Partner Roger Wallace said: “Our alumni of over 560 entrepreneurs represent the very best of innovation, bravery and leadership, building world class businesses, creating employment and inspiring others to become change makers in their own right. We start this 25th year of the programme with optimism and a strong belief that the health of Irish entrepreneurship is stronger than ever.”

The programme is open to entrepreneurs from all sectors and growth stages in the Republic and Northern Ireland. The awards programme is divided into three categories, Emerging, Established and International,  with eight finalists chosen per category.

This year an inaugural sustainability award will also be presented to the finalist making the biggest contribution towards environmental sustainability through their business.

“This award will recognise those entrepreneurs that are making a material difference in the critical area of environmental sustainability," Wallace added. "Entrepreneurs have always found solutions to our most pressing challenges and the award will acclaim those whose core business ambition is to provide answers to our critically important environmental questions.”

In Association with

Aimee Connolly, founder of Sculpted By Aimee who won the Emerging category in the 2021 awards, is to join the judging panel.

"My experience of the programme in 2021was fantastic from start to finish," she said. "What stood out for me as a finalist was the amazing support that I felt from the alumni community right from the beginning.  It was a real privilege to be surrounded by people who are continually setting the bar ever higher in business and I’m looking forward to meeting and working with the next group of finalists in 2022.”

Anyone interested can find out more or complete an online nomination form here. Nominations close on February 28.

Nominees must either be Irish or running a company based on the island of Ireland, and they must own a minimum of 5% of the company and be primarily responsible for the recent performance of a company.

 This year’s 24 finalists will engage in a strategic growth programme over a 10-month period, which includes a week-long CEO Retreat. As part of this, the finalists will join a group of more than 100 previous finalists and winners, where they will meet a range of entrepreneurs, businesspeople and academics.

Photo: Roger Wallace (lft), Aimee Connolly and Brian O'Sullivan, the 2021 overall winner. (Pic: Naoise Culhane)