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In announcing the 2008 regional finalists, Ernst & Young Area Managing Partner Oceania & CEO Australia James Millar said:  “Through Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year program, we acknowledge the great wealth of entrepreneurial talent shaping Australia’s future.  The stories told by the men and women coming through Entrepreneur Of The Year are inspirational and their places as finalists in the first round of these Awards are truly deserved.  We congratulate them on their success so far.

Employing close to 10,000 people around Australia, the 2008 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year finalists represent an extraordinary group of business leaders who generate close to $2.5 billion in annual turnover between them.

These individuals have built and lead successful businesses across a diverse stream of industries including Crocodile and Duck farming, Medical research, Marine Services and Gourmet food production.

The 83 regional finalists are now firmly on the path to competing with their state counterparts in five regional events. Winners from each region will then progress to the national awards ceremony in November where an overall national winner will be invited to represent Australia at the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year which is held annually in Monte Carlo in June. 

Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year is one of the leading business awards program in Australia and the only program of its kind with an international platform.  Founded and produced by Ernst & Young, and launched in Australia in 2001, it celebrates entrepreneurs who build and lead successful businesses.  The international recognition of the awards positions finalists and winners as world-class entrepreneurs and provides a benchmark for entrepreneurial excellence.

Since Ernst & Young’s global program started in Australia in 2001, more than 700 leading Australian entrepreneurs have been recognised for their entrepreneurial spirit.  Entrants are assessed by a leading panel of independent judges on their innovation, integrity, influence, strategic direction and national/global impact.  Their relationships with their local communities are also taken into account.

The program was first established in the US in 1986.  Entrepreneur Of The Year winners outside of Australia include Scott McNealy of Sun Microsystems (1987), Michael Dell of Dell Computer (1989), Howard Schultz of Starbucks (1991), Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com (1997), Eddie Jordan of Jordan Grand Prix (2000), Narayana Murthy of Infosys Technologies (2003), Wayne Huizenga of Blockbuster Entertainment (2005) and Guy Laliberté of Cirque du Soleil (2007).
Former winners who have represented Australia at the World Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards in Monte Carlo have included Peter Farrell of ResMed Limited (2001), John Rothwell AO of Austal Limited (2002), David Bussau AM of Opportunity International (2003); Robert Gerard AO of Gerard Corporation (2004) and Tony D’Antonio and Peter Hosking of Global Machinery Company Worldwide (2005), Mike Cannon-Brookes & Scott Farquhar of Atlassian (2006) and Shane Yeend of Imagination (2007).

In Australia the Entrepreneur Of The Year program is sponsored by Westpac Business Banking, Qantas and supported by the Federal Government through Austrade.

The 2008 regional Entrepreneur Of The Year finalists

Central region

Maggie Beer, Maggie Beer Products
Mick Burns, Darwin Croc Farm
Bradley Byrne, Micro I.T Solutions
Roberto Cardone, Cibo Espresso
Sue Chase, Cowell Electric
Claude Cicchiello, La Casa Del Formaggio
Scott Elvish, ScreenCheck Plastic Cards
Marc Fabig, OSMOFLO
Greg Fletcher-Harriss, Data Mobility Voice
Jairo Kerr Azevedo & Lee Walker-Roberts, Opto Global
Con Makris, Makris Group
Tammy May, MyBudget
Adam Mumme, Mumme Products
Peter Nikoloff, Nova Defence
Hagen Stehr, Clean Seas Tuna Limited
Don Totino, Festival City Wines & Foods
Gary Williams, Assured Group

Eastern region
Danny Bhandari, Tibra Capital Pty Limited
Kaz Bialecki, Bitek
Brendan Bilston, Point Project Management
Jeff Boyd & Lara Corry-Boyd, Brindabella Airlines
Sarina Bratton, Orion Expedition Cruises
David Fuller, The Nepean Group
Matthew Gilmour, OzForex
Peter Hall, Hunter Hall Investments
Damian Kay, Telcoinabox
Dorry Kordahi, DKM
Ken Kroeger, Catalyst Interactive
Michelle Nugan, Nugan Group
Michael Rosenbaum, DealsDirect.com.au
Sue Selby, ecareer
Grant Steward, Consep Pty Ltd
Richard White, CargoWise edi

Northern region
Sukhi Bhullar, Mindworx
Steve Brabeck, Crimsafe Security Systems Pty Ltd
Phillip DiBella, DiBella Coffee
Jon Eaves, Hosting Shop
Stuart Giles, APHS – Your Pharmacy Partner
Peter Graham, Allied Brands Limited
Bruce Kiehne, OMI Limited
Robin Levison, Industrea
Michael Mullins, Earth Commodities
Roz Shaw, Hawkins Family Group
Trevor St Baker, ERM Power
Michael Symes, Triasx Pty Ltd
Calvin Treacy, Intellection

Southern region
Philip Allison, PJA Solutions
Costa Anastasiadis, Crust Gourmet Pizza Bars
Karen Cariss, PageUp People
Matthew Franceschini, Entity Solutions
Ray Frost, Ray’s Outdoors
Jack Gringlas, CMG Engineering Group
Michael Howard, Frontier Software
Sue Jackson, Solterbeck
Hamish Leighton, Revolution IT
Michael Lennox, ICS Industries
Kirsten MacKelden, Indigo Media Group
Anthony Nicholls, Carlingford Fleet
Hatem Saleh, Atlantic Group (v)
Katherine Sampson, Healthy Habits
Richard Sattler, Barnbougle Dunes Golf Links
Quin Scalzo, Scalzo Food Industries
Arthur Shoppee, Luv-A-Duck
John van Roemburg, Air Aroma

Western region
Nick Bath, Blue Cow Cheese Company
George Gelavis, UltimateSkills
Andy Greathead, ADG Global Supply
Rod Jones, Navitas Limited
Torsten Ketelsen, GMA Garnet Group
Christian Lange, Neptune Marine Services
Bob McIntyre, CAPS Australia
David Mierowsky, Fundi Software
Mark Newbold, Strategic Marine
Dave Osman, Weldtronics
Aaron Papandroulakis, Aristos Group of Companies
Kristy Porter, Porter Consulting Group
Richard Poulson & Kylie Radford, Morrison
Doug Sims, Eastland Medical Systems
Terry Streeter, Western Areas NL
Laurence Walker, Industrial Catalyst Composites

World Entrepreneur Of The Year, Monte Carlo – 29 May, 2008
Northern Region award ceremony, Brisbane – September 18, 2008
Western Region award ceremony, Perth – July 24, 2008
Eastern Region award ceremony, Sydney – August 28. 2008
Southern Region award ceremony, Melbourne – July 31, 2008
Central Region award ceremony, Adelaide – July 3, 2008
National award ceremony Melbourne – November 27, 2008