Sixteen finalists, five category winners were whittled down to one overall winner, at a glittering award ceremony held at the Langham Hotel Auckland on Thursday 22nd October. At the awards, Diane Foreman, Emerald Group Limited, was named the 2009 New Zealand Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year.

Diane will go on to represent New Zealand at the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards in Monte Carlo in May 2010.

Chairman of the judging panel, David Johnson, said choosing one winner from this strong line up of entrepreneurs was incredibly difficult.

"All five category winners have a huge passion for business and amazing self belief," said Johnson. "Each one has the ability to represent New Zealand at the World Entrepreneur Of The Year awards in Monte Carlo next year. When it came down to the wire, we had to look at small differences, to reach a consensus of opinion," said David.

Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards Director Jon Hooper congratulated all finalists.

"The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards is a unique opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate talented and dynamic people who are contributing to our economy and to society in so many ways,” says Hooper.

“Diane managed to differentiate herself even in this year’s stellar line up of entrepreneurs. It takes a great deal of passion, drive and perseverance to be chosen to represent your country on the world stage. Diane has all of this in spades, as well as the qualities of leadership and innovation the judges of the World Entrepreneur Of The Year in Monte Carlo expect to see," says Hooper.

The ICEHOUSE has continued having strong representation at these prestigious entrepreneurial business awards. This year, Hamish Whyte from Furnware, Hastings, a graduate from the 2007 OMP programme was one of these inspirational entrepreneurs.

Registrations of interest will soon be open for the 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year awards. Find out more online at www.ey.com/nz/eoy

Insights from winning Entrepreneurs

On Saturday, 30th of May the 2009 Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year was announced at a glittering ceremony in Monte Carlo.  This year this prestigious global business award for entrepreneurs was won by China’s Cao Dewang, of Fuyao Glass Industry Group.  Representing New Zealand at the awards was Michael Hill, our 2008 New Zealand Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year.  Michael commented from Monte Carlo, that “As Entrepreneurs we don’t meet and talk to each other enough, extraordinary things can happen when you put creative, lateral thinking business leaders together”.

And extraordinary things did happen.

The world’s leading entrepreneurs are a diverse group – no two of them followed the same path to success, and each has a unique spark. But in the broad array of their experiences are commonalities – a willingness to suffer doubt and potential failure, a special genius for recognizing an unmet need, and a knack for hiring people who have the same sense of mission.

These traits form a picture of how entrepreneurs think and act.  At the 2009 Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year awards we spoke with many of this year’s country winners to explore some of their experiences, to talk about how they are coping in the current economic environment; what they think of government stimulus spending in the economy; and what the future holds, not just for entrepreneurship, but for the global economy.

We have collated these thoughts into a collection of short video clips and articles on our website called ‘Conversations with Entrepreneurs’.  Do take the time to check out the films and what some of the worlds leading entrepreneurs have to say.  We are sure you will find what they have to say inspiring in its simplicity and focus.

As you may imagine with so many entrepreneurs gathered in one location, the state of the global economy was a much debated issue.  And these entrepreneurs were more than willing to offer insights on the current recession.

The key message from finalists at this year's awards was that the recession can be an opportunity, offering entrepreneurs a chance not just to make their businesses leaner and more efficient, but also to uncover new revenue streams, products and ideas.  There is also a whitepaper in which the entrepreneurs discuss their perspectives on business and a sustainable recovery. The study also includes thoughts on the role of entrepreneurs in global recovery by Adrian Cooper, Managing Director of Oxford Economic Forecasting, a major independent economic consultancy with which Ernst & Young works on a range of projects.

Back here in Godzone, the 2009 New Zealand Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year awards program is underway.  We are looking for the next leading entrepreneur to represent New Zealand in Monte Carlo.  If this could be you, complete our Registration of Interest form available online at http://www.ey.com/NZ/en/About-us/Entrepreneur-Of-The-Year/2009-Registration-of-interest-form or call Michael Vukcevic on +64 9 308 1071 to find out more information.  Applications for the 2009 awards close on Friday 10 July 2009.