Monaco to roll out red carpet for world’s brightest entrepreneurs

Just a few weeks after many of the world’s biggest movie stars descended on the French Riviera for Cannes, the region is to pay host to yet another prestigious event with the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year awards commencing in Monaco.

Brendan Mooney, chief executive of Belfast-based IT services company Kainos, will be among more than 50 business leaders battling it out at the awards ceremony at the Salle des Eoiles on Saturday to be named EY World Entrepreneur of the Year.

The event, now in its 17th year, honours the leading innovators behind ground-breaking products and services in more than 145 cities in 60 countries.

The overall winner is chosen by an independent judging panel with the award given on the basis of a number of factors including entrepreneurial spirit, financial performance and innovation.

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Last year's winner was Manny Stul, joint chief executive of Australia's Moose Toys. Mr Stul, a toy designer and innovator, started life in a refugee camp before going on to take over the Melbourne-based company and transforming it into the sixth-largest toy company in the United States.

In addition to the award, this year’s week-long programme includes a series of summits, keynote interviews, panel discussions and events of special interest to entrepreneurs, government officials and business leaders.

Keynote speakers

Keynote speakers include William P Lauder of Estée Lauder, serial entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Academy Award-winning actor Kate Winslet.

Mr Mooney, who is jetting out to Monaco on Wednesday to compete in this year’s awards, was recognised as the winner of the 2016 EY Ireland Entrepreneur of the Year last October for his role in leading Kainos, which is the largest indigenous IT services company in Northern Ireland.

The firm, which employs nearly 1,000 people and has a market capitalisation of $358 million, develops solutions for businesses and organisations in the public, healthcare and financial services sectors. Its stock has risen 78 per cent since it listed in 2015.

In addition to Kainos, 2017 finalists include Ambarish Mitra of Blippar (UK); MK Goh of Karex (Malaysia); Peter Beck of Rocket Lab (New Zealand); Dieter Mueller and Ursula Schelle-Mueller of Motel One (Germany); Motokuni Takaoka of Airweave (Japan); Natalya Kaspersky of InfoWatch (Russia); and J.W. "Bill" Marriott jnr of Marriott International Inc (US).