Entries for this year’s Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award are up significantly on last year, according to Frank O’Keeffe, partner in charge of the programme.
Mr O’Keeffe said that entries for the awards, which identify, acclaim and support entrepreneurs, were up in all sectors, but there was strong interest from food, life sciences, technology and business services.
The deadline for entries is tomorrow, March 30th.
Individuals can be nominated in three categories – emerging, industry and international – and, following interviews and a rigorous judging process, a shortlist of 24 entrepreneurs will be announced in May.
The finalists engage in a programme of activities over the following six months, with the Entrepreneur of the Year and the category winners announced at a televised award ceremony in the autumn.
Mr O’Keeffe was speaking from San Francisco, where he was making preparations for the chief executive’s retreat, one of the key activities that nominees participate in.
“We are planning on demystifying Silicon Valley but this is not just for technology companies,” said Mr O’Keeffe. “We want to show people why so much business is done here and what’s so attractive about it.”
