Concerted efforts to establish new paradigm with entrepreneurial spirit - Winners of EOY 2021 Awards unveiled

EY unveiled today the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year^™ 2021 (EOY 2021) winners (Appendix 1). The selection process lasted for almost six months and 11 outstanding Chinese entrepreneurs have won the EOY 2021 Awards. The EOY 2021 Awards, themed “Make concerted efforts to establish new development paradigm”, aims to recognize outstanding business leaders who have upheld their aspirations to lead their enterprises to overcome the post-pandemic uncertainties in the global economy, and have successfully transformed their businesses.

This year marked the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China and the commencement of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan. At the same time, China has been experiencing the most challenging and complex situation in the global arena yet has constructed the new national dual circulation strategy and opened the doors for high-quality development in both domestic and foreign landscapes.

Jack Chan, EY China Chairman and Greater China Regional Managing Partner, says, “The unleash of market vitality is key to the successful implementation of the dual circulation strategy. This growth momentum is driven by individuals, and most of all, from entrepreneurs and their entrepreneurial spirit¹. The EOY winners represented the vision of many Chinese entrepreneurs who strive to make a difference. They established themselves here but have the readiness to explore the domestic market as well as venture onto the global stage. Entrepreneurs are those who can identify opportunities amidst disruptions and lead enterprises to achieve exceptional development under the dual circulation strategy and contribute to the economic development of China and the world.”

This year, EOY has exhibited the new characteristics and trends in the current economic and industrial development. The award-winning entrepreneurs are involved in high-end equipment, biopharmaceutical, clean energy, new materials, logistics, new generation information technology and other new emerging industries. Same as last year, in addition to technology, health sciences and wellness sectors are the most prevalent industries, which highlighted the uptrend of life science and health care development in the market. In light of their outstanding performance, entrepreneurs from traditional retails and high-end manufacture receive the awards for the second year, which exhibited the diversity of Chinese enterprises and their innovation to build sustainable competitiveness.

Janice Hu, China CEO at Credit Suisse, says: “As the Bank for Entrepreneurs, Credit Suisse is pleased to be the platinum sponsor of these prestigious awards for the sixth consecutive year. Entrepreneurial spirit has been firmly rooted in our DNA ever since the bank was founded more than 160 years ago. We are therefore proud to be working together with EY to encourage continuous innovation and promote entrepreneurship. I am particularly impressed by the increasing number of talented female entrepreneurs who are competing for the EOY Awards. Their participation highlights the important leadership role women are playing in various fields, the breakthroughs they are making in their careers, and their commitment to their companies, clients and communities.”

Entrepreneurship is lashing the development of the times and progression of the country. The award-winning leaders should have incorporated innovation and entrepreneurial spirit into enterprises’ strategies and integrated it with the nation’s development plan in order to enhance its competitiveness worldwide. The EOY awardees have taken up social responsibilities in giving back to society and fostering social and economic development of the country.

Michael Bi, EOY 2021 Awards Program Co-chairman and EY Greater China Markets Managing Partner, says, “China’s economy has evolved from high-speed growth to high-quality development stage. Innovation is the key driver for quality development while entrepreneurship can sustain the momentum for quality growth. The EOY Awards program allows us to witness the rise of Chinese entrepreneurs as they make bold moves to capture the opportunities to innovate and invest in R&D and human capital, and eventually triumph in their respective industries. Under the current economic environment, we believe that more Chinese entrepreneurs will continue to contribute to the nation’s development and shape a better future². These actions in fact align with this year’s EOY theme ‘Make concerted efforts to establish new development paradigm’.”

William Huang, EOY 2021 Awards Program Co-chairman and EY China South Managing Partner, says, “The EOY Awards have been in China for 16 years, and we are devoted to recognizing patriotic, committed, visionary and socially responsible Chinese entrepreneurs. This year’s EOY winners have included China’s carbon goals in their long-term business strategy and core values, contributing to the sustainable development of China. Shenzhen aims to be the world’s innovation and entrepreneurship hub.³ We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all participants for their generous support and congratulate all EOY winners for their exceptional achievements. Looking forward, EY teams will continue to support the development of the Greater Bay Area.⁴”

Tonight, winning entrepreneurs will attend the banquet at Shenzhen and witness the crowning of this year’s winners, while the finalists will represent mainland China and Hong Kong/Macau to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award to be held in 2022. In the future, EY will join hands with Chinese entrepreneurs and various communities to continue our contribution to the long-term development and prosperity of China’s economy.