NOMINATIONS for the 15^th annual EY Entrepreneur Of The Year (EOY) awards close on March 27.

Past national winners include the entrepreneurs behind highly successful Australian companies such as Pepperstone, Seek, McMillan Shakespeare, iiNet, Carsales.com.au, ResMed and Atlassian.

EY’s EOY leader for Oceania, Bryan Zekulich, said the program had been founded to promote the important role entrepreneurs play in local and global economies and to help inspire the next generation.

“Entrepreneurs have the courage create the change they wish to see in the world,” Mr Zekulich said. “In doing so, they help shape our economies, our communities and our world by creating jobs, growth, diversification and innovation.

“This is our 15th year of celebrating entrepreneurial excellence in Australia. Many of our overall winners from the last 14 years are global leaders in their field and we are excited about finding the 15th anniversary winner to join them in the hall of fame.

“We are calling on people to nominate themselves or an inspiring entrepreneur they know to be part of this year’s milestone program.

“We know that Australia is home to plenty of world-class entrepreneurial talent and we are looking for the best of the best – those entrepreneurs who are shaping the future and making a significant contribution to the business community,” Mr Zekulich said. 

The only truly global program of its kind, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is considered the world’s most prestigious business award, Mr Zekulich said, with entrepreneurs participating from more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries.

He said the award made a difference through the unique way it encouraged entrepreneurial activity and recognised the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement.

Over 1,400 outstanding entrepreneurs have been recognised through the EOY program in Australia since 2001.

Each year the overall Australian winner continues on in the global program, travelling to Monte Carlo to compete against other country winners for the chance to be crowned the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year.

The deadline for nominations in the 2015 Australian EY EOY awards is March 27, with the successful nominees announced in May.

Regional awards ceremonies will be held around the country during July and August, with the regional category winners going on to compete at the national awards ceremony in Sydney in October.

Nominees are assessed by a panel of independent judges, including previous EOY winners and other successful Australian business leaders according to six core criteria: entrepreneurial spirit, innovation, personal integrity and influence, financial performance, strategic direction, and national and global impact.

www.ey.com/au/eoy

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AUSTRALIAN organic foods brand five:am has been awarded a special status among food producers, awarded for its rigorous social and environmental approach to business.

The B Corp certification five:am has been awarded reinforces the Gold Coast-founded brand’s ongoing commitment to using business as a force for good, according to managing director Michael Tinkler. 

Mr Tinkler, said the certification reflects the company’s long-standing commitment to running its business ethically through sourcing quality local and organic ingredients. B Corporations – known as B Corps – are certified by the not-for-profit B Lab to demonstrate the principles of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency.

“Five:am’s B Corp certification gives us an opportunity to demonstrate our values of health and nutrition, locality, community and the environment, which are ingrained in the DNA of five:am,” Mr Tinkler said.

“We make products that empower and inspire people to take on their day and live a healthier lifestyle.

“Our B Corp status means that consumers can be confident that the product they are buying comes from a company that genuinely cares about the environment and our community. “These values are exactly what attracted PZ Cussons to acquire the business last year, and we look forward to seeing how five:am continues to  flourish with the support of PZ Cussons,”  Mr Tinkler said.

Founded in the Tallebudgera Valley five years ago by ‘chief yoghurteer’ David Prior, five:am was a reflection of his lifestyle – named after his love for 5am starts to the day, of surfing and meditation, that bring “a moment of clarity and anticipation at the very beginning of the day, when hope and promise lie ahead”. He developed yoghurts using Australian organic fruit, sustainable cane sugar, and sourcing milk from the Organic Dairy Farmer’s Cooperative, a group of farms in the region dedicated to upholding the highest of standards of sustainable and organic farming.  Mr Prior has remained involved with five:am since its sale to PZ Cussons Australia and New Zealand, known for its brands Imperial Leather, Morning Fresh and Radiant.

B Lab executive director Alicia Darvall said the certification recognises five:am’s commitment to upholding the core values the brand was built on, as the company grows in presence and market share.

“We are delighted to announce five:am as a certified B Corporation – the largest company in Australia to achieve this status,” Ms Darvall said.

Five:am is joining a global movement of 1200 B Corps, so far, that are helping to redefine success in business.

www.fiveam.com.au

EXTRA >> BLAST Movement Technologies won the Minerals and Energy category at the highly regarded Australian National Export Awards presented in Sydney in December – capping of an extraordinary year of acclaim for the company.

The Brisbane-based company was also recently announced as the Queensland Exporter of the Year at the Premier of Queensland’s Export Awards, topping off an amazing 2014 where the company enjoyed phenomenal export growth. 

Blast Movement Technologies’ (BMT) core business is a patented technology to measure the movement of rock during blasting.  The technology provides accurate, easy to use three-dimensional blast movement data for mining companies.

The patented system reduces ore loss and dilution and improves mine reconciliation, meaning that mining companies potentially gain millions of dollars worth of extra mineral from their mine sites.

BMT was cited by the judges for its innovation in the marketing strategy, ability to sustain its export growth, its clear competitive advantage and its commitment to expansion and international business.

“Blast Movement Monitoring (BMM) System is a world-first hardware and software solution for routinely measuring rock movement during open-pit mine blasting,” co-owner and creator of the BMM System, Darren Thornton said.

 “Many people not involved in mining don’t realise that most of the rock that comes out of a mine has no commercial value. Open pit mines are only economic if they can separate these ore and waste zones and send the respective materials to their correct destinations.

“Getting it wrong will accidentally throw away tens of millions of dollars profit per year per mine.”

Mr Thornton believes that much of the company’s success is due to the fact that the company’s technology can be easily supported and maintained, irrespective of where clients are.

“Our subscription model means that the system has no geographic boundaries. Our flexible and mobile team can provide services to mines across the globe, exporting to 26 countries so far, with more to come,” he said.

Export growth for the Brisbane based firm has been phenomenal with 74 percent of the company’ s revenue derived from exports, supporting the company’s rapid growth.

“Our market is the global mining industry, therefore exporting has been a big part of our business since inception,” Mr Thornton said.

“Not only have we created the technology, we have sparked an emerging discipline within the global mining community. This puts us at the forefront of the blast movement specialty.”

This year BMT plans to add an office in the US to service North and Central America. In preparation for the move a USA-based consultant has been engaged since January 2013.

“We have revised the entire corporate structure so that future regional business entities can be replicated efficiently as BMT’s presence expands internationally,” Mr Thornton said.

“We are upgrading our Enterprise CRM to ensure that all staff across any region will always have access to critical information and take the best course of action to serve BMT and its customers. Workflows will ensure consistency across all levels of BMT.”

www.bmt.com.au

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EXTRA >> ADVANCE, the global network for Australia’s high achievers and business alumni, has been joined by global professional services firm KPMG in a program to fast-track innovative early-stage companies.

Named elevate⁶¹– in reference to Australia’s IDD code – the program designed “to help fast track Australian entrepreneurs and enable growth and productivity for globally competitive industries” has been introduced to entrepreneurs, government and business support organisation through a series of presentations around the country, completed at KPMG’s Brisbane office on February 19.

KPMG’s Queensland chairman Robert Jones said the vision for elevate⁶¹ was to help shape and empower Australia’s entrepreneurial eco-system, leading to high value job creation and corporate and social growth for Australia. 

“In a high stakes global economy, Australia needs new sources of growth,” Mr Jones said. “To improve corporate efficiency and advance technology-driven entrepreneurship, innovation and someone to take a risk is required.

“Sometimes the effort will not pay off, but just occasionally it will and when it does, we find a better process, a more efficient organisational design or an idea that radically transforms how we do things.”

Showing their support for the program at the Queensland launch, and outlining key areas in which Australia can step up to help drive its entrepreneurs to success globally, were Southern Cross Venture Partners managing partner Bob Christiansen, iLab CEO Bernie Woodcraft, RedEye Apps CEO and founder Wayne Gerard, and Innovation Clearinghouse founder Sandy Plunkett.

According to Advance global CEO Serafina Maiorano, target industries for the program are agriculture, energy, natural resources, financial services, healthcare, infrastructure, telecommunications, media and technology.

Ms Maiorano said for the first time the complementary international business and advisory networks, technical expertise and global experience of the two organisations will be integrated and made accessible to the ‘best of the best’ Australian entrepreneurs, through elevate⁶¹.

She said elevate⁶¹ was the third business innovation initiative from Advance, and part of its highly successful Advance Innovation Program launched in 2012. The program has been

More than 100 entrepreneurs and 55 start-ups are already benefiting from these programs, Ms Maiorano. So far, about 30 percent of participating start-ups secured investment in Australia following the program; 60 percent reported an increase in Australian investor interest following the program; 25 percent secured strategic partnerships in the US due to the program; and 65 mentors have contributed 400 hours of mentorship.

www.elevate61.com.au

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