Some 140 Irish entrepreneurs and business leaders have travelled to Japan on what’s being dubbed the biggest unofficial trade mission to the Asian country.
The trip has been organised by EY as a CEO retreat that is part of the Big Four firm’s annual Entrepreneur of the Year (EOY) programme.
The visit includes the 27 Irish entrepreneurs representing 24 companies who will vie to win awards across three categories – emerging, established and international – later this year.
The overall Entrepreneur of the Year is then chosen from the three category winners from a panel of judges chaired by Harry Hughes of Portwest. Former EOY winners and finalists are also making the trip to Japan.
The group will meet local business leaders, academics and Irish agencies during the weeklong trip.
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In a busy itinerary, they will visit the Tokyo Stock Exchange, be hosted by Japanese corporate giant SoftBank and meet with its president Kunihiro Fujinaga and executive vice-president Daichi Nozaki. They will also meet the Irish Ambassador Damien Cole to discuss Irish-Japanese business ties, travel to Osaka for the World Expo, and have a “mini MBA” experience at Hitotsubashi University.
Japan is the world’s fourth largest economy and is Ireland’s second largest trading partner in Asia Pacific. Many of the entrepreneurs travelling to Japan are already conducting business there, while others are seeking to expand their markets.
Commenting on this year’s retreat, Roger Wallace, partner lead for EY Entrepreneur of the Year said: “This year we are taking the biggest ever cohort of entrepreneurs on the retreat.
“Japan is renowned as an innovative leader across various industries, including manufacturing, electronics, automotive and robotics, with world-class Japanese companies such as Sony, Honda, Yamaha. This retreat is an opportunity for Irish entrepreneurs to delve deeper into new market opportunities in Japan and expand their knowledge of business and trade in the region.”
The finalists in the emerging category are: Alan Doyle of Aerlytix; Eoin Cluskey of Bread41; Eddie Dillon of CreditLogic; Laura Dowling of fabÜ; Caitríona Ryan & Nicola Ralph of Institute of Dermatologists; Liam Dunne of Klearcom; Aidan & Hilary O’Shea of Otonomee; and Áine Kennedy of The Smooth Company.
In the established category, the finalists are: Karl Fitzpatrick of Chevron College; Derek Foley Butler of Grid Finance; James Kelly of LMH Engineering Group; William McColgan of McColgans Quality Foods; Gareth Sheridan of Nutriband Inc; Terry Hughes of Pivotal; Larry Bass of Shinawil; and Gary Lavin of VitHit Drinks.
The international category finalists are: Donnchadh Campbell of Europlan; Conor Buckley of Granite Digital; Seamus Fahey of ICS Medical Devices; Brendan Noud and Desmond Anderson of LearnUpon; Brian McGrath of MSL Engineering Limited; Martin Tierney of Seating Matters; David Corcoran of Soltec Ireland Ltd; and Edward McCloskey of WaterWipes.
The EOY programme is supported by Enterprise Ireland, Invest NI and Julius Baer, with The Irish Times and Newstalk as media partners.
Some 650 alumni have come through the EOY awards programme since inception. According to EY, three-quarters of them conduct business with one another. Together, EOY alumni generate revenues in excess of €25 billion and employ more than 250,000 people across the island.
