From left: FIRE1 CEO Conor Hanley, EY Entrepreneur of the Year director Eimear McCrann and partner lead Roger Wallace. Image: Naoise Culhane
These finalists will be competing for the Emerging, Established, International and Sustainability awards, with one to be named Overall EY Entrepreneur of the Year at an event in November.
The finalists of the latest EY Entrepreneur of the Year Ireland awards have been revealed, with 24 entrepreneurs competing across various categories.
The 24 shortlisted individuals come from a range of sectors, including health-tech, pharma, energy and engineering. EY Ireland said this group of business leaders collectively generates annual revenues of more than €700m and employs more than 4,000 people.
These finalists will compete across three award categories – Emerging, Established and International – while one will take the top prize of EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2024. The event will also include a special Sustainability Award, which will be presented to the finalist who is making the biggest contribution towards sustainability.
The full list of finalists can be found on the programme page here. The winners will be revealed at an awards ceremony in November.
EY Ireland said the finalists were shortlisted out of more than 200 nominations by an independent judging panel of previous winners. Roger Wallace, partner lead for the EY programme, said these finalists are exploring new markets while “revolutionising their own industries and creating opportunities for their local communities”.
“Each year we enter into the nomination process hopeful and excited about the incredible people and businesses we are about to meet, and this year we were honoured to receive the most nominations ever in the history of the programme,” Wallace said.
“Our finalists hail from a diverse mix of backgrounds and are at the helm of some of the most inspiring and innovative businesses in their industries. They are all true trailblazers – leaders with the courage and capacity to plot and follow their own path, pushing conventional boundaries and limits.”
Included among the shortlist are Sharon Cunningham and Orlaith Ryan of Shorla Oncology, a pharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of oncology drugs for orphan and paediatric cancers.
Ciaran Burke and Andrea Reynolds of Swoop are also among the finalists. This company has developed a platform to help SMEs source financing by finding the right funding across loans, equity and grants. The fintech was declared the fastest-growing tech company in Ireland in the Deloitte Fast 50 annual ranking for 2023.
Another finalist is Dr Barry Flannery, the CEO and founder of battery systems manufacturer Xerotech. The Galway-based company makes advanced lithium-ion battery systems for use across construction, agriculture and mining machinery.
Last year, Sam Moffett, the founder and MD of Moffett Automated Storage, was named both the Emerging and Overall EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2023.
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