Nominations have opened for this year's EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards, which is now in its 24th year.
This year’s programme will see 24 companies from across the island selected to compete across three categories – emerging, industry and international – with eight finalists chosen per award.
"Entrepreneurs will be a central part of the recovery in Ireland following the Covid-19 pandemic and we are keen to hear from a broad array of nominees, across industries, age, gender, location and background," said Roger Wallace, EY's partner lead for the awards.
Together, EOY alumni generates revenues of €21 billion, and employs more than 200,000 people locally.
Last year's overall EY Entrepreneur of the Year winner was Nicola Mitchell, founder and chief executive of Irish agrochemicals company Life Scientific. Previous winners include Denis O'Brien, Aidan Heavey, Pádraig Ó Céidigh, Liam Casey and Patrick and John Collison of Stripe.
Anne Heraty, chief executive of CPL Resources, who was the first woman to win the overall award, in 2006, chairs the judging panel once again this year.
“Entrepreneurs have been facing into one of the most challenging environments we’ve ever seen over the last year and we continue to be impressed by their relentless determination and resilience in an uncertain climate. We know there are brilliant entrepreneurs out there who are delivering outstanding work across every category of business imaginable and we want to hear from them,” Ms Heraty said.
The awards, which operate in more than 60 countries worldwide, work to recognise, promote and build a supportive community around Ireland’s high-growth entrepreneurs. The Irish Times is a media partner for the awards.