A Limerick Entrepreneur is set to battle it out for the title of National Entrepreneur as a finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year which is set to be televised at the Gala Awards Ceremony Dublin later this month.
One of Limerick’s most successful and innovative entrepreneurs will battle it out for the prestigious title of Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year, 2012 on Thursday, October 25 next.
Shane Leahy, CEO of Oxygen8, a global provider of integrated mobile solutions based in Birmingham UK, will be amongst 24 finalists from across the island of Ireland who will gather, along with their guests and other luminaries of the entrepreneurial community at a celebratory Entrepreneur Of The Year banquet to be broadcast to a worldwide audience via RTE Television and online.
Here, their stories and achievements will be acclaimed before a glittering array of 1,300 guests, culminating in the announcement of three individual category winners in addition to that of the overall recipient of the 2012 Entrepreneur Of The Year accolade. The overall winner will then go forward to represent Ireland at the World Entrepreneur Of The Year finals in 2013, where he or she will compete with over 55 country winners for this prestigious global title.
Frank O’Keefe, Ernst & Young Partner-in-Charge of the Entrepreneur Of The Year Programme, re-iterated the importance of business awards, such as these, and spoke of the immense value that is being created by Ireland’s innovators as they continue to push the boundaries of possibility in order to ignite the long-term economic recovery of this island: “Despite the numerous economic and social challenges currently facing our island’s economies, the culture and spirit of enterprise in Ireland remain strong with a genuine and positive predisposition towards entrepreneurship. “Through their participation in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards Programme, entrepreneurs, such as Shane, have been introduced to an environment that champions innovation, nurtures entrepreneurial progression and challenges finalists to be at the cutting edge of international business and innovation.”
He continues: “As participants in an increasingly-buoyant export sector who are capitalising upon the presence of a highly-skilled workforce and an open economy, it is their stellar achievements, global ambition and unrivalled vision that will continue to stimulate economic growth and create an exciting new vista of prosperity and hope for our island in the years to come.”
