EY Announces The 2021 EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year
Last week, EY hosted its annual EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards. I joined the many passionate viewers who watched the event as it was streamed live for 30 minutes on June 10. As we were introduced to the finalists from 38 different countries all over the world, the anticipation for who would win the big award was palpable.
Ultimately, EY Chairman and CEO Carmine DiSibio made the big announcement, JungJin SEO, Honorary Chairman of Celltrion Group was named the 2021 EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year. Chairman SEO is the first winner from South Korea in the award’s history. It was a thrilling moment, not just for Chairman SEO but for all of us ardent supporters of entrepreneurs everywhere and from all walks of life.
About EY World Entrepreneur Of the Year 2021
EY World Entrepreneur Of the Year is the ultimate global competition for entrepreneurs. This year’s annual celebration of entrepreneurship recognized unstoppable entrepreneurs from 38 different countries and territories.
This year’s event highlighted entrepreneurship through the prism of four distinct pillars:
Long-term value
Sustainability
Innovation & technology
Health & wellness
During the broadcast, these themes were spotlighted during various panel discussions where we were able to hear from a select group of finalists before the winner was announced. One of the key takeaways from this event was how now, more than ever, entrepreneurs are rising up to help build a better world. EY WEOY plays an important role by providing a platform to recognize the power of entrepreneurship in today’s business landscape.
Who is JungJin SEO, 2021 EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year?
The story of South Korean entrepreneur JungJin SEO is one of the simple goals but a big ambition - to develop the antidote to expensive health care.
In 2003 after losing his job at an automaker, he founded the biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion Group. Chairman SEO knew very little about science when he founded his company at the age of 45, but he believed in the future and potential of biosimilars, affordable biologic products highly similar to already approved biological drugs. He began researching them by interviewing scientists which led to innovation.
His company, Celltrion Group, launched its first biosimilar drug, Remsima, for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. This was followed by drugs for breast cancer and lymphoma that are now used worldwide. Today, his business is a multibillion-dollar global pharmaceutical company, and most recently it developed an antibody treatment for COVID-19.
Where can you watch the awards?
How can you get involved with future EY events?
2021 is behind us, but EY will soon be accepting applications and nominations for the 2022 EY World Entrepreneur of the Year. Are you or someone you know eligible? The links below will help you decide!
Other Opportunities
In addition to the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year, they also celebrate women with their Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ North America. The EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ program identifies ambitious women entrepreneurs and provides them with the advice, resources, and access they need to unlock their full potential.
To take advantage of this extraordinary opportunity, applicants must be women business owners who are founding CEOs and majority owners* of any privately held company in the US or Canada. The company must be 10 years old or less and have reported at least US $2 million in sales during each of the past two fiscal years. Company revenues of typical applicants range from the US $2m to approximately US $30m.
See all of the eligibility criteria here:
Join the conversation!
Even if you are not eligible yet, you can still join the conversation. For EY World Entrepreneur of the Year, follow #WEOY and #Unstoppables. For the Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ North America, follow #WinningWomen.
