Entrepreneur Of The Year program

The Entrepreneur Of The Year® (EOY) awards program was created in the United States in a single Midwestern city by Ernst & Young in 1986 to honor entrepreneurs whose ingenuity and perseverance have created and sustained successful, growing business ventures.

This year EOY is celebrating its twentieth anniversary. In those years, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program has expanded to more than 135 cities in 50 countries with awards presented annually to over 900 of the world’s most successful and innovative entrepreneurs.

Previous Entrepreneur Of The Year winners include individuals who have built some of business's most recognizable names:

• Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com, US
• Tony Tan Caktiong, Jollibee Foods Corporation, Philippines
• Andrea Illy, Illy caffè S.p.A., Italy
• Ingvar Kamrad, IKEA, Sweden
• Pierre Omidyar, eBay, Inc., US
• Narayana Murthy, Infosys Technologie, India
• Barry Lam, Quanta Computer, Taiwan
• Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Google, Inc., US
• John Mackey, Whole Foods Market, US
• Mario Moretti Polegato, Geox International, Italy
• Robert Braithwaite, Sunseeker International, Great Britain
• Howard Schultz, Starbucks Corp., US,
• Eddie Jordan, Jordan Grand Prix, Ireland

Guy Laliberté named 2007 Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year

Canada's Guy Laliberté was named as the 2007 Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year at the climax of a glittering ceremony in Monte Carlo on 2 June. Guy Laliberté, Founder and CEO of Cirque du Soleil, was praised for the "commitment to his artistic vision and the passion he has for his work" by the chairman of the independent judging panel. Watch the moment when Guy won the award.

How do I participate?

What does it take to become the next Entrepreneur Of The Year? What are the entry criteria? What are the judges looking for?