Sobhi Batterjee is 'Entrepreneur Of The Year'

Ernst and Young announced the names of the winners of their coveted annual Entrepreneur Of The Year awards at a prestigious event held at the King Hussain bin Talal Convention Centre on the Dead Sea in Jordan.

In a hotly contested event, Sobhi Batterjee, President and CEO of Saudi German Hospitals Group, was named the Middle East Entrepreneur Of The Year 2008 by Ernst and Young out of 16 finalists, each a dynamic and gifted regional business leader.

The award was presented to Batterjee at a glittering awards ceremony held under the Royal Patronage of King Abdullah, and attended by Prince Ali Ibn Al Hussein.

A new category, Emerging Entrepreneur Of The Year, was added to the awards this year. It was won by Sheikha Nadia Aldossary, CEO and Partner of Al Sale Eastern Company. Sheikha Nadia was also the first woman to become a finalist of the Middle East Entrepreneur Of The Year awards.

The winners were selected by an independent panel of judges after a gruelling process of evaluation, which included an analysis of the economic and social value added by the finalists to regional development.

The judging process was based on the criteria of entrepreneurial spirit, financial performance, strategic direction, global impact, innovation and personal integrity and influence. Commenting on the impressive list of nominees, Ahmed Al Aiban, Chairman, Ernst and Young Middle East, had said earlier: "The age old question of whether entrepreneurs are born or can be made was left wide open with no clear majority view from the entrepreneurs.

Some were categorical that entrepreneurs are born, while others stated that the personal and social environments in which they grow up are critical."

Fouad Alaeddin, Managing Partner, Ernst and Young Middle East, added: "In fact, nearly three-quarters of entrepreneurs we surveyed believe they will innovate and find opportunities in the current economic situation which most believe will turn around in the long term."

The Entrepreneur Of The Year programme is now in its 22nd year globally. Ernst and Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services.

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