EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2023 finalists revealed

Dublin, 13 April 2023: The finalists of the 2023 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Ireland programme have been revealed today. The 24 shortlisted entrepreneurs span a range of sectors including technology, manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, retail, consumer products, and engineering.  Collectively this group of world class business leaders are already generating annual revenues of more than €700M and employ over 5,000 people.  

The finalists who hail from across the island of Ireland will compete across three categories - Emerging, Established and International - with a special Sustainability Award presented to the finalist who is making the biggest contribution towards environmental sustainability through their business. One overall winner will be selected as The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2023 at a gala awards ceremony which will take place in November.   

Commenting on the announcement, Roger Wallace, Partner Lead for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ programme, said: “We received a record-number of nominations for this year’s programme and the highest ever number of nominations for female entrepreneurs which we are delighted to see. This year’s finalists represent a broad spectrum of industries, including technology, manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, retail, consumer products, and engineering to name but a few. Our finalists come from diverse backgrounds and communities across Ireland north and south, showcasing the depth of entrepreneurial spirit and talent running through the island. 

This theme for this year’s programme is ‘The Art of Entrepreneurship’. Both Artists and Entrepreneurs are creators, thinking differently and bringing new ideas and concepts which inspire and challenge. The EOY alumni group welcome and foster that spirit of innovation like no other, collectively impacting the ambition and culture of our Island. I would like to extend a very warm welcome to our 24 eminent finalists into the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ community and I look forward to working with them closely over the coming months.”

The 2023 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ finalists are:

This year’s finalists have been shortlisted out of more than 150 nominations by an independent judging panel of previous winners, chaired by Anne Heraty, Founder of CPL Resources Plc, and EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2006 who commented: “The calibre and number of nominations received for this year’s programme was incredibly high. The process of selecting 24 finalists posed a very real challenge to our judging panel. It highlighted in a very big way that the spirit of entrepreneurship in Ireland is very much alive and thriving and gives much hope for optimism for the future of our island."

"I would like to congratulate this year’s finalists and extend a very warm welcome into the EOY community. I know first-hand just how incredible an experience awaits them and I along with my fellow alumni I look forward to them playing a valuable part in our network.” 

Since its inception, the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Ireland™ community has grown to a tight-knit network of more than 600 alumni who harness each other’s wealth of experience, with three quarters (75%) conducting business with one another. Together, the EOY alumni community generates revenues of €25bn, and employs more than 250,000 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.

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Notes to Editor

For further information please contact:

Barry Dunning, Head of External Communications, EY Ireland: barry.dunning@ie.ey.com | +353 83 167 4871

Anne Marie Butler, Communications Manager, EY Ireland: anne.marie.butler@ie.ey.com | +353 86 873 2234

What finalists can expect

This year’s 24 finalists will engage in a strategic growth programme over a 10-month period which includes a week-long CEO Retreat in Singapore. As part of this retreat, the finalists will join a group of more than 100 previous finalists and winners of the programme where they will meet a range of world-class entrepreneurs, businesspeople, and academics. 

The finalists will also be welcomed into a community of 600 peers in the Irish EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ community. To date, three quarters (75%) of the alumni of the programme have conducted business with one another. Together, the EOY alumni community generates revenues of €21bn, and employs more than 200,000 across the island of Ireland.

The programme will include executive education sessions; networking fora; extensive media profiling; the annual Gala Awards. An award is presented for each category, and an overall winner will be announced at the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Awards in November. The overall winner will represent Ireland at the World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Awards in June 2024. 

Award Categories

Emerging: Nominees in the Emerging category run businesses that have been trading for a minimum of two years. They are ambitious entrepreneurs who have started a business which is growing quickly. They are high potential, dynamic, resourceful and ‘ones-to-watch’ for the future.

Established: Established, longstanding businesses with a pedigree of growth and innovation, contributing significantly as employers on the Island of Ireland. Including some of our greatest family businesses, our Established finalists are market leaders in their sectors and have made a significant contribution to the economy over a considerable period of time.

International: The International category consists of entrepreneurs who are global players. Their companies operate in multiple markets across the globe and can be headquartered here in Ireland or overseas.

The Sustainability Award: Recognising the critical importance of innovation leadership in meeting our collective sustainability challenges, we are introducing the new Sustainability award to the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Ireland programme. This award is presented to the finalist who is making the biggest contribution towards environmental sustainability through their business. They are striving to protect our future by providing solutions and taking transformative business actions to address some of the world’s most pressing environmental issues and concerns.

About EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™

The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ programme is a global recognition programme run in 145 cities in more than 60 countries. Currently in its 26th year in Ireland, the programme works to recognise, promote, and build a supportive community around Ireland’s high-growth entrepreneurs and is considered one of the strongest programmes globally.

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