Sixty high-achieving entrepreneurs have been nominated in the 2012 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year awards, including former Dynamic Business cover stars Simon Crowe and Paris Cutler.
The pool of nominees come from a wide range of fields including clothing, fitness, construction, food and beverage, medical research and financial services.
The 60 nominees will be competing for finalist spots in what’s considered to be the only truly global program of its kind, with entrepreneurs from 140 cities and 50 countries taking part in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year program.
According to Ernst & Young Oceania Entrepreneur Of The Year leader Bryan Zekulich, the nominees represent some of the most dynamic and successful entrepreneurs in the country.
“Inclusion in these awards is well-deserved recognition of the significant contribution these passionate and innovative individuals make to the Australian business community,” he said.
Regional judging will be held during May and June, with winners announced at award ceremonies across the country in July and August. Regional finalists will then go on to compete at the national awards in November. The overall national winner will then travel on to Monte Carlo to represent Australia at the World Entrepreneur Of The Year awards.
The nominees for the 2012 Australian Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year awards, by region, are:
Southern region (VIC & TAS)
- Rakesh Aggarwal – Longwarry Food Park
- Nicholas Beames – astutepayroll.com
- Professor Subhash Challa – SenSen Networks
- Simon Crowe – Grill’d
- Will Deague – Asian Pacific Group
- Abigail Forsyth – KeepCup
- Anil Gammampila – Attra
- Tony Lattouf and Joseph Lattouf – The Hairhouse Warehouse
- Peter Law – Australian Independent Rural Retailers
- Luke Marget – NutrientWater
- Greg O’Neill – La Trobe Financial
- Dean Ramler – Milan Direct
- Sachin Rathi – Smart Business Telecom
- Listed award – Anthony Podesta – McMillan Shakespeare
- Social entrepreneur: Daniel Almagor – Engineers without borders
- Champion of Entrepreneurship – Craig Kimberley
Central region (SA & NT)
- Kelly Baker-Jamieson – Edible Blooms
- Tanya Cole – nannySA
- David Fennessy – VersaDev
- Stephan Knoll – Barossa Fine Foods
- Colin Kuchel – Australian Outdoor Living
- Mark Laucke – Laucke Flour Mills
- Ben Lucas – Lucas Earthmovers
- Steve Maras – Maras Group
- Patrick Power – PowerHealth Solutions
- Kevin Renfrey – Renfrey Plant Hire Services
- Social entrepreneur: Geraldine Cox AM – Sunrise Children’s Villages, Cambodia
- Champions of Entrepreneurship: Dr Tim Cooper AM and Glenn Cooper AM – Coopers Brewery Ltd
Western region (WA)
- Dale Alcock – ABN Group
- Geoff Backshall – Rusty
- Sasha de Bretton – Million Dollar Makeovers
- Paul Deuchar – Argon
- Emanuel Dillon – Complete Hire & Sales
- Andrea Horwood-Bux & Adil Bux – Invisible Zinc
- Justin Miller – Sensear
- Paul Newbound – APTS
- Daniel Tucker – Carey Mining Pty Ltd
- Steve Versteegen – Pit N Portal Group
- Damione Wright – Performance On Hand
- Alan Yeo – A.M.S. Tugs & Barges
- Listed award – Aaron Begley – Matrix Composites & Engineering
- Social entrepreneur: Professor Peter Klinken – Western Australian Institute for Medical Research
- Champion of Entrepreneurship: Janet Holmes à Court AC – Janet Holmes à Court Collection
Eastern region (NSW & ACT)
- Jo Burston – Job Capital
- Dan Collins – Genesis Care
- Paris Cutler – Planet Cake
- Glenn Fordham – TRN Group
- Jamie Jackson – Ozsale
- Luke Janssen – Tigerspike
- Daniel Jarosch – brandsExclusive
- Dr Andrew Kuper – LeapFrog Investments
- Kishore Matta – Jewel of India
- Michael McGoogan – UberGlobal
- Paul Rouse – Pybar Mining Services
- David Solsky – CarbonSystems
- Mark van Weelde – Invisalign Australia
- Sheng Yeo – OrionVM
- Alex Snead, Darin Walters, Benjamin Chong and Paul Shepanski – Jetabroad
- Adam Rigby, Colin Fabig and James Gilbert – Jump On It
- Listed award – James Myatt – Australian Power & Gas
- Social entrepreneur: Ronni Kahn – OzHarvest
- Champion of Entrepreneurship: Imelda Roche AO – Roche Group
Northern region (QLD)
- John Cotter – Flinders Group
- Phillip Di Bella – Di Bella Coffee
- Jon Eaves – Indigo
- Gary Gardner – FK Gardner & Sons
- Janine Garrett – charmHealth
- Susie Henderson – Balance Resources
- Brendon Levenson – Jetts
- Fleur Madden – Red PR
- Paul Pettigrew – Mach Technology
- Chris Rolls – Rental Express
- Brian Springer – Springers Solar
- Colin Walz – Walz Construction
- Francesca Webster – Brazilian Beauty
- Chris Winter – RedFlow
- Listed award – Don Meij – Domino’s Pizza Enterprises
- Social entrepreneur: Graeme Wood – Artology and Wild Mob
- Champion of Entrepreneurship: Thérèse Rein – Ingeus and Assure Programs
