EY Entrepreneur Of The Year
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| EY Entrepreneur Of The Year | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name | EY Entrepreneur Of The Year |
| Awarded for | Entrepreneurial excellence |
| Presenter | Ernst & Young |
| Country | International |
| Year | 1986 |
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is an annual award program recognizing founders, chief executives, and business leaders for entrepreneurial achievement across multiple industries and regions. Launched by Ernst & Young, the program operates through national and regional competitions that feed into global finals, involving firms, investors, and academic institutions. It has become associated with high-profile business figures, corporate networks, and industry conferences.
History
The program was established in 1986 by Ernst & Young during a period of expansion for professional services firms such as Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and KPMG and amid rising public attention to entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Jack Welch, and Tom Peters. Early winners and participants included leaders from firms similar to Microsoft Corporation, Apple Inc., Virgin Group, General Electric, and Oracle Corporation, reflecting intersections with venture capital firms like Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Accel Partners, and private equity groups such as KKR and The Carlyle Group. Over subsequent decades the program expanded internationally into markets including United States, United Kingdom, India, Germany, Japan, Brazil, Australia, and Canada, mirroring globalization trends involving organizations such as World Economic Forum, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and industry associations like National Venture Capital Association.
Program Structure and Criteria
The award is administered by national and regional offices of Ernst & Young with juries often drawn from corporate executives, investors, and academics affiliated with institutions such as Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, London Business School, INSEAD, and Wharton School. Eligibility criteria emphasize leadership demonstrated by founders and chief executives of enterprises comparable to Amazon (company), Alibaba Group, Tencent, Berkshire Hathaway, and Siemens AG, with assessment metrics encompassing revenue growth, innovation, strategic vision, and social impact evaluated alongside commitments to governance and sustainability aligned with frameworks like United Nations Global Compact and Sustainable Development Goals. Categories and benchmarks vary by region to reflect ecosystems involving accelerators and incubators such as Y Combinator, Techstars, Plug and Play Tech Center, and research institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, University of Cambridge, and National University of Singapore.
Selection Process and Awards
Nomination and selection involve multi-tiered processes: submission by nominators or self-nomination, regional judging panels featuring leaders from companies such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and UBS; finalists advance to national juries and international finals judged by representatives from multinational corporations including Cisco Systems, Intel Corporation, Google LLC, Facebook (Meta Platforms), and Samsung Electronics. Award events are often hosted alongside conferences and forums including World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, TED Conference, SXSW, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, culminating in national winners who may proceed to an international competition for categories analogous to Forbes CEO of the Year and TIME Person of the Year. Prizes include trophies, media exposure through outlets like The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Bloomberg, Forbes, and consulting or mentoring from partners at Ernst & Young.
Notable Winners and Alumni
Alumni lists feature entrepreneurs and executives comparable to figures such as Howard Schultz, Elon Musk, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Reed Hastings, Satya Nadella, Indra Nooyi, Sheryl Sandberg, Peter Thiel, and Michael Dell who exemplify trajectories celebrated by business networks including Entrepreneur (magazine), Inc. (magazine), Fast Company, and Fortune (magazine). Past national and regional awardees have come from sectors represented by companies like Stripe, Square (company), Airbnb, Uber Technologies, Spotify, Snap Inc., Zillow Group, and PayPal Holdings. Mentors and judges have included leaders from McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Company, and academic advisers from Oxford University and Columbia University.
Impact and Criticism
Proponents cite the program's role in elevating entrepreneurs comparable to those associated with Silicon Valley, Wall Street, Shenzhen, Bangalore, and Tel Aviv startup ecosystems, connecting winners to capital providers like Andreessen Horowitz, SoftBank Group, Benchmark Capital, and Benchmark (venture capital), and policy forums such as Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and G20. Critics point to concerns raised in analyses by outlets like The Guardian, The New York Times, The Economist, and The Atlantic about selection bias toward established, high-revenue firms, conflicts of interest related to consulting firms including Ernst & Young itself and peer firms, and the publicity dynamics found in award cultures studied at Harvard Business Review and by scholars at London School of Economics and Stanford University. Debates also reference corporate governance scandals involving firms such as Theranos, Enron Corporation, and WorldCom as cautionary examples cited in critique of awards emphasizing growth over governance.
Global and Regional Variations
Regional editions adapt category labels and criteria to local markets including Silicon Valley, Greater China, Nordics, Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia with partnerships involving national chambers of commerce like U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Confederation of British Industry, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, and trade bodies such as European Business Association. Global finals convene delegates from national programs similar to multinational summits hosted by United Nations, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, European Commission, and African Union, reflecting differing regulatory and capital market contexts involving stock exchanges such as New York Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, Shanghai Stock Exchange, and Bombay Stock Exchange.
Category:Business awards