EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Finalists Revealed
17th May 2021
The 24 finalists of the 2021 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Ireland programme have been revealed. The entrepreneurs, which span the retail, consumer, technology, health and leisure sectors among many more, collectively generate annual revenues in excess of €1.325bn. The finalists from across the island of Ireland will compete across three categories – Emerging, Industry and International – and one overall winner will be selected as The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2021 in November.
Of the 24 finalists, there is a growing number of female entrepreneurs in the line up to include: Lisa & Vanessa Creaven, Spotlight Oral Care; Aimee Connolly, Sculpted by Aimee; Chupi Sweetman, Chupi; Roisin Molloy, TriMedika Ltd; Xuemei Germaine, MicroGen BioTech; Oonagh O’Hagan, Meaghers Pharmacy; Jaqueline O’Reilly, KonFloor IRL Ltd and Jackie Reid of Deli Lites (Ireland) Ltd.
Commenting on the announcement, Roger Wallace, Partner Lead for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ programme said: “This year’s finalists highlight the vibrant diversity of the entrepreneurial landscape across the island of Ireland, with sectors including technology, consumer, leisure and healthcare all represented, as well as our highest ever proportion of female finalists which is great to see.”
“The ability of entrepreneurs to embed the power of digital into all aspects of their businesses is reflected strongly in this year’s cohort of finalists, who include a number of exceptional consumer goods businesses reaching international markets, achieving exponential growth in the past year, along with the highest quality companies leading the way in health testing and antimicrobial technology amongst others. In what has been a really tough period of trading for many entrepreneurs, it has been equally uplifting to see so many manufacturing finalists also thriving, and able to continue growing their businesses and employment in the current environment.”
The 2021 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ finalists include:
The 24 finalists have been shortlisted from more than 120 nominations by an independent judging panel of previous winners, chaired by Anne Heraty, CEO of CPL Resources Plc, and EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2006 who commented: “Entrepreneurs are facing one of the most challenging business environments we’ve seen and we continue to be impressed by their relentless determination and resilience in an uncertain climate. The calibre of all the applicants has been truly inspiring. While some of our finalists have had to navigate a very turbulent year, some have been able to seize unexpected opportunities to accelerate growth.”
Together, the EOY alumni community generates revenues of €21bn, and employs more than 200,000 people across the island of Ireland. The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Ireland programme is supported by Premium Corporate Sponsor Julius Baer International, and Government sponsors Enterprise Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland. For further information, please visit www.eoy.ie.
Image: Roger Wallace, Partner Lead for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ programme alongside finalists from the Emerging category, Chupi Sweetman, Founder, Chupi and Niall Horgan, Co-Founder, Gym+Coffee.
