The entrepreneur competed for the great title with 43 other business leaders and will represent Romania in the world final EY World Entrepreneur of the Year in Monte Carlo in June 2019.
Mulberry Development, an internationally known company in Timisoara for the development of several top real estate projects, such as the City Business Center in Timisoara and The Office in Cluj Napoca, is developing an ample real estate development project in the center of Timisoara called ISHO.
Ovidiu Sandor, the entrepreneur, is actively involved in numerous cultural projects in the region, such as the Art Encounters Biennial he organizes.
At the ceremony attended by more than 200 representatives of the business community, Alexandru and Tudor Iliescu, founders of Mondly, received the title of EY Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year: Technology & Innovation.
Established in late 2013, in Brasov, Mondly has developed a complete educational platform that offers digital language learning solutions and offers free and paid courses to students in 33 languages.
With a total of 1056 developed courses implemented in a single digital solution, the application currently has over 40 million users in 190 countries and one million reviews.
Also, within the gala, a prize was awarded for the excellence of a successful family business that already involves the next generation in business management. The Family Business Excellence Award went to the Boromiz family, who runs the Boromir group.
Boromir, a company born of respect for tradition and family, has built its entire range of products using traditional recipes and artisanal production methods.
Founded in 1994 in Ramnicu Valcea, the company has as main object of activity the acquisition, processing of cereals and the superior valorization of fine pastry. Thanks to the dedicated team and the innovative spirit, the brand is recognized at national level for the quality and originality of the products.
"This year's edition has brought to competition several big companies with an already established brand. We have seen more cases of regional expansion, through acquisitions, the establishment of greenfield business or significant external contracts. The governance structures of these companies are evolving, and innovation is a priority. The governance structures of these companies are evolving, and innovation is a priority. Of the 43 candidates entering the competition, 17 Romanian entrepreneurs signed up for the Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year category, which for the first time we dedicated exclusively to technology companies from which we are expecting a new unicorn, " said Bogdan Ion, Country Managing Partner, EY Romania.
EY Entrepreneur of the Year Jury - Romania 2018
To select winners, the jury examined each application based on six criteria: entrepreneurship, financial performance, strategic direction, community impact, innovation capability, and personal integrity.
The independent jury was made up of five entrepreneurs, including two winners of the previous edition, Cristi Covaciu, IPEC CEO (EOY winner 2016, Jury President), Daniel Dines, UiPath CEO (Emerging EOY 2016), Doina Popescu, Managing Partner, ForeVest Capital Partners, Marius Stefan, CEO Autonom Rent a Car and Vasile Armenean, CEO of Betty Ice.
Entrepreneurs who competed in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year competition - Romania 2018
This edition brought together 43 entrepreneurs, leaders in the sectors in which they operate, with a combined turnover of over 620 million euros and a total of over 10,000 employees.
The seven finalists in the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year category were:
1. Ovidiu Sandor, Mulberry Development – winner of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year title
2. Mihai Marcu, Medlife
3. Radu Timis, Cris-Tim
4. Victor Mates, Apidava
5. Mihai si Cristian Logofatu, Bittnet
6. Andrei si Lucia Costea, Secom
7. Laurentiu Badescu, S.I.L.D.B.V.
The three Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year: Technology & Innovation Awards were awarded to entrepreneurs:
1. Alexandru si Tudor Iliescu, Mondly – winners of the Emerging Entrepreneur Of The Year
2. Calin Vaduva, Forthech - second place
3. Liviu Apolozan, DocProcess - third place
From 2014, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year, the only global entrepreneurial competition, is also taking place in Romania. EY Entrepreneur of the Year is organized in 145 cities in 60 countries for 30 years and rewards entrepreneurs for the vision and strategic direction with which they grow their business, for the power to innovate, personal integrity and, last but not least, for the impact positive on the community.
