World Entrepreneur of the Year Awards

5 May 2005

World Entrepreneur of the Year Awards

New Zealander Joins International Judging Panel in Search for the World's Top Entrepreneur

New Zealander joins world's business elite on the judging panel at the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.

David Johnson, CEO of Trends Publishing and inaugural winner of the New Zealand Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year title in 1998, will this month join an international line-up of judges in deciding the winner of the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year.

This is only the second time that a New Zealander has been invited to join the independent judging panel, which is made up of previous Entrepreneur of the Year winners and leading international business figures. The first New Zealander asked to join the panel was Bill Day in the 2002 world competition.

The Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year is being held in Monte Carlo, Monaco, with the winner being announced on 28 May. 35 country winners, including New Zealand's own Phillip Mills, will compete to be named the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year.

Mr Johnson is excited about the opportunity and looks forward to working alongside some of the world's top business leaders to select an overall winner.

"It is a huge honour to be asked to join the judging panel of the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year. The awards are highly prestigious and the other members of the panel are all incredibly successful businesspeople who I will be able to learn a lot from. Opportunities like this don't come along every day when you're a businessman in Auckland," says Mr Johnson.

"Being asked to join the panel is also a wonderful reflection that New Zealand business, and in particular our entrepreneurial ability, is considered to be world class. We often think of ourselves as being at the bottom of the world, but being invited to make a contribution to an event such as this shows that New Zealand is held in high esteem internationally," he adds.

Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award Director, Carol Campbell, says the fact that a New Zealander has been invited to sit on the judging panel is an indication that New Zealanders can compete on the world stage and that the country's spirit of entrepreneurship is alive and well.

"New Zealanders are innovative and demonstrate incredible entrepreneurial flair. With David being appointed a member of the international judging panel, we can be very proud that New Zealand is represented on the world stage," says Ms Campbell.

"We also have very high hopes for this year's representative from New Zealand, Phillips Mills. Phillip has a business offering which is unique in the world. He is a genuine contender for this year's title."

David Johnson joins eleven others on the judging panel: Chairman of the panel, Howard H. Stevenson (Harvard Business School) and 2004 World Entrepreneur of the Year Judging Panel (Chairman); Tony Tan Caktiong, (Jollibee Foods Corporation), 2003 Philippine Entrepreneur of the Year and 2004 World Entrepreneur of the Year; Michael Holm, (Systematic Software Engineering A/S), 2003 Denmark Entrepreneur of the Year; Patrice Motsepe, (ARMGold), 2002 South Africa Entrepreneur Of The Year and South Africa Entrepreneur Of The Year Judge; Barbara Mowry, (Silver Creek Systems), 2000 Entrepreneur Of The Year; Hans Georg N„der (Otto Bock HealthCare GmbH), 2003 Germany Entrepreneur Of The Year; T. N. Ninan, (Editor and Publisher, Business Standard), India Entrepreneur Of The Year Judge; Markus Oberholzer, (First Catering Production), 2002 Switzerland Entrepreneur Of The Year and Switzerland Entrepreneur Of The Year Judge; Joseph Sansone, (Sansone Medical Enterprises), 1997 U.S. National Entrepreneur Of The Year and U.S. Entrepreneur Of The Year Judge; Maria Wi niewska, (President, Trust Fund Society), Poland Entrepreneur Of The Year Judge - Chairman.

Entries for the 2005 New Zealand awards opened on 7 April and close on 8 July. New Zealand's 2005 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year will be announced at an Award Banquet on Wednesday, 12 October.

Now in its eighth year in New Zealand and nineteenth year worldwide, the award programme was launched by Ernst & Young to celebrate the world's leading entrepreneurs and share their stories to inspire others. It is recognised as the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs and is the only global business award in New Zealand.

Potential entrants can contact Ernst & Young for more information, phone 0800 368 737, email entrepreneur@nz.ey.com or visit www.ey.com/nz . Applications close on Friday, 8 July 2005.

ENDS

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