20111028 Entrepreneur Of The Year 2011 winners announced - Ernst & Young - Switzerland

Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2011:
winners announced

ZURICH, 28 October  2011 — This evening, Ernst & Young presented the Entrepreneur Of The Year® award to outstanding Swiss entrepreneurs for the 14th time. The prize is known worldwide as one of the most prestigious honors a businessperson can receive. It recognizes successful entrepreneurs who, thanks to their personal commitment and willingness to take risks, are making a contribution towards strengthening the Swiss economy. Over 360 guests from the world of business, politics and culture attended the awards ceremony in the Maag EventHall in Zurich. This year, an Entrepreneur Of The Year® prize was awarded in four categories. The coveted title went to:

• Sébastien Tondeur, MCI Group Holding SA, Geneva, Trade/Services category
• Frank Ziemer, Ziemer Group AG, Port, High-Tech/Life Sciences category
• Kurt Schär, Biketec AG, Huttwil, Industry category
• Kai Glatt, The Rokker Company AG, Widnau, Emerging Entrepreneur category

The independent jury (see box) reached a decision based on key factors such as the candidates’ accomplishments as entrepreneurs, their business development, innovation, leadership and future sustainability.

“Once again this year, we were treated to an impressive overview of entrepreneurial activity in Switzerland,” says Bruno Chiomento, CEO of Ernst & Young Switzerland. “There is no doubt in our minds as to the high quality and caliber of the entrepreneurs from a broad spectrum of sectors. They reflect the competitive strength, climate of innovation and economic momentum of Switzerland as a business location. I warmly congratulate the winners on their success.”

Connecting: Sébastien Tondeur wins the Trade/Services category
This year’s winner in the Trade/Services category is Sébastien Tondeur, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of MCI Group Holding SA from Geneva. MCI designs, plans and runs customized events and conferences for companies, associations and governments. Worldwide, MCI helps organize over 3,100 events each year. The international aspect of its business is impressive as well. Today, MCI is at home and operating successfully on every continent. This has resulted in a unique network of event experts, all inspired by award-winning Sébastien Tondeur’s motto: “When people come together, magic happens.”

Visionary: Frank Ziemer wins the High-Tech/Life Sciences category
Frank Ziemer, the medical technology entrepreneur from Port in Switzerland’s Three-Lake-Country, has taken home the award in the High-Tech/Life Sciences category. The Ziemer Group, which he founded in 1999, specializes in surgical and diagnostic instruments for ophthalmology. Within just a few years, the company has built up an exceptional position in this area. Well over 1 million operations have already been carried out using the mobile femtosecond laser for refractive and corneal surgery, just one of the products offered by this ambitious company from Three-Lake-Country.

Vigorous: Kurt Schär wins the award in the Industry category
Kurt Schär, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Biketec AG from Huttwil, has been honored with the 2011 Entrepreneur Of The Year® award in the Industry category. Under his leadership, the electric bike pioneers from the Emmental region have had an enormous impact on the two-wheel vehicle sector as a whole, the bicycle market in particular and specifically on the way people spend their free time. Kurt Schär and his team have succeeded in getting new target groups excited about mobility on two wheels. The Huttwilers are working hard to nurture and develop this new market, with plenty of ingenious ideas and confidence in the future.

Passionate: Kai Glatt "rocks" the Emerging Entrepreneur category
Kai Glatt is the 2011 Entrepreneur Of The Year® in the Emerging Entrepreneur category. The award underscores his strong entrepreneurial instinct for the extraordinary. He has been causing quite a stir in the motorcycle gear market with The Rokker Company since 2008. The "Rokkers" from Widnau in the canton of St. Gallen are committed to the idea of combining fashion and practicality for bikers. Motorcycle enthusiasts across Europe and the US are now fans of both the concept and the company. Rokker products are sold in bike stores in 13 countries, where they are increasingly customers’ first choice.

Finding the best
The Entrepreneur Of The Year® competition has a three-stage selection process. The first hurdle is qualification: only those who fulfill the criteria based on real-life aspects of entrepreneurialism are nominated to enter the competition. The Ernst & Young interviewers then take a closer look at the entrepreneurs and their companies. The jury votes for the finalists based on their observations. In 2011, 13 of the 47 nominees made it to the final round. Finally, the independent jurors pick the winners. Before doing so, they visit the companies and conduct extensive interviews with the finalists in order to separate the very best candidates from the very good.

The only global competition of its kind
Ernst & Young is the only organization worldwide to hold an international competition for entrepreneurs based on standard criteria. Each year, about 10,000 entrepreneurs in around 50 different countries compete for the coveted title of Entrepreneur Of The Year®. In early summer of the following year, an independent jury also decides on the World Entrepreneur Of The Year® in Monte Carlo. The Entrepreneur Of The Year® competition was held for the 14th time in Switzerland this year. Its exclusive program partner is Credit Suisse. As in the previous year, sponsors for the 2011 event included Allianz Suisse, AMAG, the watchmaker Roger Dubuis and the airline SWISS.

The independent jury 2011 

• Bernhard Alpstaeg, Swisspor Management AG, Patron and Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2007
• Jean-Claude Biver, Hublot SA, CEO and Delegate of the Board of Directors
• Brigitte Breisacher, Alpnach Holding AG, CEO and Delegate of the Board of Directors
• Beat Curti, businessman
• Corinne Fischer, Bataillard & Cie AG, CEO and Delegate of the Board of Directors
• Prof. Elgar Fleisch, University of St.Gallen and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Professor for Information and Technology Management
• Markus Oberholzer, First Catering Group; Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2002
• Pierre-Alain Schnegg, SolvAxis S.A., Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2004

From 10:30 p.m. on Friday, 28 October 2011, you will be able to download photos of the winners:

• Sébastien Tondeur, MCI Group Holding SA, Geneva, Trade/Services category
• Frank Ziemer, Ziemer Group AG, Port, High-Tech/Life Sciences category
• Kurt Schär, Biketec AG, Huttwil, Industry category
• Kai Glatt, The Rokker Company AG, Widnau, Emerging Entrepreneur category

Brief portrait of Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Worldwide, our 152,000 people are united by our shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality. We make a difference by helping our people, our clients and our wider communities achieve their potential. In Switzerland, Ernst & Young Ltd is a leading audit and advisory company offering services with about 2,000 employees at 10 locations also in the area of tax and legal, as well as in transactions and accounting. For more information about our organization, please visit www.ey.com/ch

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