BRIAN CONLON, founder and chief executive of the Co Down-headquartered firm First Derivatives, was awarded the title of 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year at a ceremony in Dublin’s Citywest last night.

Mr Conlon was presented with the award by President Mary McAleese, after first being named the winner of the competition’s International category.

Mr Conlon described the award as a “fabulous achievement” not only for him, but also for the people behind him. He said that his is not a nine-to-five job and thanked his support network, including friends and family.

He encouraged aspiring entrepreneurs to “give it a go”, adding that “there’s not much alternative at the moment”.

He praised the innate ability of Irish business people to empathise and connect with people, and said that hopefully in a few years the country will be “back to where we were before”.

After training as an accountant with KPMG, Mr Conlon earned his investment banking stripes with Morgan Stanley in London and New York during the 1980s.

When he returned to his Newry roots in the mid-1990s, he realised he had enough experience to start his own business. In 1996 he founded First Derivatives as a consultancy and services business aimed at the investment banking market, with a seed capital of just £5,000.

First Derivatives is now a leading global service provider to the capital markets industry and its client list boasts nine of the 10 largest US investment banks, 30 of the world’s top hedge funds, two of the world’s largest stock exchanges and three of the largest retail banks in south-east Asia.

The company was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2002, (and subsequently joined the Irish Stock Exchange), and has since grown at a compound rate of about 40 per cent per annum. It is one of only two listed Northern Ireland companies.

It has been profitable since inception – turnover has grown from £96,000 to a projected turnover of £33 million and an operating profit of £8 million in 2011. Its turnover is almost 100 per cent export-based.

Outside Ireland, where it has operational offices in Newry and Dublin, it also has bases in London, Australia and North America.

The company employs more than 400 people, many of whom are recent Irish graduates.

“Brian Conlon has demonstrated exceptional entrepreneurial vision with an innovative and successful business model,” commented Frank O’Keeffe, partner in charge of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year programme in Ireland. “He is at the forefront of Irish companies contributing to the new global economy.”

“All of our 24 finalists’ creativity and risk-taking ability will continue to be a significant source for our future economic wellbeing,” he added.

Conlon will now go on to represent Ireland at the World Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2011 in Monte Carlo.

The President last night paid tribute to the dynamism and optimism of all 24 nominees in this year’s programme. “The prevailing mood in the room is one of practicality, can-do, hard-headedness, determination,” she said, adding that the event was a reminder of the relentless work being done every day to restore prosperity to Ireland.

“There is no room for fantasy or false hope,” she continued, “but in this room there is palpable positivity.” She noted that Ireland has one of the highest rates of entrepreneurship in the world, and added that our export sector is a source of considerable hope.

A special award for achievements outside of the traditional business arena was presented to Dr Martin McAleese for his role in the “Your Country, Your Call” competition. Commenting on Dr McAleese’s award, Mr O’Keeffe said he had “proved to all of us the meaning of leadership”, adding that as a nation we need to be reminded of our potential.

Dr McAleese said that he was honoured to be chosen as the recipient of this “very special” award, and thanked the 200 or so companies, individuals and organisations who supported the initiative behind the scenes.

ERNST & YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR AWARD

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award is part of a global recognition programme to identify, acclaim and support entrepreneurs.

Now in its 13th year in Ireland, the programme is run in association with The Irish Times, Enterprise Ireland, InterTradeIreland, RTÉ and Newstalk.

This year's winners were chosen from a total of 24 finalists shortlisted by a judging panel. The judges are business people who have achieved success in their own right.

The judging panel, chaired by Padraig Ó Ceidigh of Aer Arann, looked at criteria including growth in turnover and employee numbers, as well as vision, degree of innovation, creativity in production and expansion in local and international markets.

Brian Conlon, chief executive of First Derivatives, will now go on to represent Ireland at the World Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in Monte Carlo in June 2011.