Some 24 Irish business people have been shortlisted for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards which will be presented by the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, on September 13th. Finalists for this year's event, which is organised in conjunction with Citibank, Enterprise Ireland, The Irish Times and RTE, have been shortlisted into three separate categories: Emerging Entrepreneur; Technology Entrepreneur; and Industry Entrepreneur. This week Ciaran Brennan profiles the shortlist for the Emerging Entrepreneur Of The Year award.
Declan Conway: chairman and president of Openet Telecom Ltd and Taltan Capital Partners
Declan Conway focuses on building businesses that enable customers to compete more effectively in the deregulated telecommunications and financial services marketplaces.
Openet Telecom Ltd, established in 1999 by Mr Conway, has become a leading provider of key mediation technology that enables communication service providers bill for usage and content rather than the time/duration parameters most common today.
The company has enjoyed impressive growth in its two-year existence and now employs 130 people in 10 different countries. In December, it secured the AT&T Wireless mediation contract, the world's largest deal of its kind.
Enda O'Coineen: chairman, Kilcullen Kapital Partners
While most entrepreneurs are content to start one business, Mr Enda O'Coineen has founded more than 10 businesses. He is still starting companies and currently has ASPEKT Central Europe, Czech Credit Bureau, Key 6, Bumblebee Telecom, SIMPLY and the MOZART funds within his portfolio. All come under the umbrella of Kilcullen Kapital Partners which provides finance and management support.
Among his major achievements was the founding of GLOBIX Telecom in Prague in 1997. In 2000, GLOBIX was taken over by eTel, valuing it at $35 million with Mr O'Coineen taking cash and shares in eTel. Mr O'Coineen was also behind the £4 million (#5.08 million) Sail Ireland round the world project in 1989/90.
Hugh Reynolds: chief executive, Havok
Havok was founded in 1999 by Mr Hugh Reynolds. The company develops software that allows computer games and web-based 3D animation to look more realistic.
The Havok engine, with its physics technology, lies at the very heart of a game and determines the motion and behaviour of all objects and characters on-screen. Havok's technology is now being used across a wide range of games consoles including PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Major Hollywood studios are using Havok to enhance realism in post-production special effects, while the company is seeking to become the dominant supplier of technology in the area of e-tailing.
Kelly Murphy: chief executive, Marrakech
Marrakech has developed a commercial transaction network that connects large corporates to their trading partners and facilitates corporate procurement and supply chain management across the Internet.
The company was founded in December 1998 by Mr Kelly Murphy. By the third quarter of 2000, Marrakech had gone from being a start-up with 10 employees and one office to an operation with 200 staff and offices in five countries.
The company has developed strategic alliances with Citibank and IBM Global services and has signed up more than 50 large purchasing organisations.
Sharon Kennedy: managing director, Eirco Web Services Ltd
Marketing and sales departments, technical specialists and others are frustrated by the need for third-party involvement in website management, content revision and customer relationship management, according to Ms Sharon Kennedy.
Eirco is dedicated to putting this control back at the fingertips of the people who understand the customer, both internal and external.
Established in April 2000 by Ms Kennedy, Eirco uses emerging technologies, such as WAP, SMS and the Internet, to create innovative business tools, reducing complex technologies into simple solutions.
Martin McVicar: managing director, Combilift Ltd
Martin McVicar spotted an opportunity to design, develop and manufacture a specialised combined new forklift concept. As a result, he set up Combilift Ltd in March 1998 which produces the Combilift, the world's first engine-powered, fourway, all-wheel hydrostatically driven industrial forklift capable of operating both indoor and outdoor.
Combilift Ltd now employs 60 people in Clontibret, Co Monaghan. So far, the company has sold more than 750 forklifts through 36 dealerships in 24 countries.
Robbie O'Brien: chief executive officer, e-Host EUROPE
Robbie O'Brien set up eHost EUROPE in 1999. The company creates the technology that enables Internet-based architectures to deliver the next generation applications and solutions and has positioned itself as a virtual extension of client IT departments through the supply of portals and managed services.
E-Host EUROPE has grown from an original staff of seven to its current workforce of 80 spread across offices in five European cities.
The company is now in a position to become a leader in managed service provision and portal technology throughout the continent.
Raomal Perera: chief executive, Network365
In 1999, Mr Raomal Perera identified the opportunity of the emerging wireless market and founded Network365, a company which is a leading innovator in the development of software solutions for the wireless marketplace.
Network365, with its mZone mobile commerce server, was one of the first companies in the world to develop and deploy a secure web-based transactional mobile commerce platform.
The company has established a global presence with offices throughout Europe, Asia and the US and has developed a number of strategic partnerships with leading companies such as Logica, Siteloft Wireless of Norway and Tomen of Japan.
