2009 marks the eighth year that the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® Malaysia Awards have been run. This programme enables Malaysian entrepreneurs to compete to become the Malaysian Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year®. The Malaysian Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® award recipient will represent Malaysia and will join other country recipients at the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Event in Monte Carlo.

Eversendai Corporation Sdn Bhd, founded by Dato’ A.K. Nathan in 1984 is a reputable player in the fabrication, design and erection of steel structures, having been involved in the construction of such iconic landmarks as the Petronas Twin Towers, the Burj al-Arab hotel in Dubai and the Burj Dubai – currently the world’s tallest building. In all, the company has completed over 100 projects in Malaysia, Singapore, the Middle East, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand.

Having to curtail his pre-university course due to financial difficulties, he started work as a printing machine operator and subsequently as an insurance agent. With no formal education in engineering, Dato’ Nathan has grown Eversendai to where it is today, with sheer hard work and perseverance. His first foray into the construction sector was accidental, when he was given the opportunity to work on the Dayabumi project where he learnt Japanese project management techniques on the job.

Dato’ Nathan has steered Eversendai into one of the largest steel contractors in the Middle East with fabrication plants in Dubai, Sharjah and Qatar. Eversendai has awarded the “2005 International Achievement Award” by the Construction Industry Board, Malaysia and at the 20th International Golden Construction Award (New Milenium Award). @ Sept 08

Dato’ Edmund Santhara ventured into the healthcare industry in October 2004 when, conscious of the acute shortage in healthcare personnel, he took up a stake in the then ailing Masterskill School of Nursing and Healthcare. He upgraded it to college status soon after and aggressively promoted the study in health science fields among high school graduates.

By paving the way for direct entry into health science studies, he made study loans accessible to potential students, a paradigm shift from the traditional pathway via government or hospital sponsorships. Within 3 years, he escalated Masterskill’s revenue from RM 2 million in 2004 to RM 60 million in 2006, becoming an award winning college with a 10,000-student capacity, the largest nursing and health college in the Asia Pacific.

In 2008, Masterskill was upgraded to university-college status known as Masterskill University College of Health Sciences (MUCH). Dato’ Edmund has well-laid plans underway to make Masterskill one of the largest health institute of its kind by 2010 with 20,000 new seats created through its 3 new state-of-the-art branches within Malaysia and the setting up of a university campus with a capacity of 25,000.

An unwavering personification of perseverance, Dato’ Edmund and Masterskill have won numerous international awards for their rapid and outstanding accomplishments. Dato’ Edmund was the 2007 Malaysian Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. @Sept 07

Y Bhg Dato' Tony started his career with Virgin Group, before joining Warner Music International London. At a youthful age of 27, he was transferred back to Malaysia to head Warner Music Malaysia where he had twelve illustrious years, his last position being the Vice President ASEAN.

His drive to become his own boss led Dato' Tony, with three partners, to takeover an ailing airline. In December '01, Asia's first low cost carrier - low fare, no frills - was born. In a mere 5 years, the airline had formed 2 successful joint ventures in Thailand (Jan '04), and Indonesia (Dec '04), became the first airline in the world to introduce SMS booking (Aug '03), introduced ticket-less travelling, expanded its fleet from the original two to forty-six, and now flies to over 40 destinations in Malaysia, Thailand (Nov '03), Indonesia (Apr '04), Macau (Dec '04), China (Apr '05), Philippines (Apr '05), Brunei (Jul '06), Cambodia (Nov '05), and Vietnam (Oct '06), thereby revolutionizing air travel in these countries.

Since its inception, AirAsia has recorded profits annually despite increasing fuel costs. It is now a public listed company on Bursa Malaysia, having raised RM717.4 million in one of the largest public offering in Malaysia.

In less than 5 years, AirAsia group has carried over 23 million guests and now everyone can truly fly! @ Sept 06

Tan Sri Dato' Professor Dr Lim is a rare combination of a creative mind with sharp business acumen.

Having Joined the advertising industry at an early age, Tan Sri Lim quickly rose through the ranks of McCann Erikson advertising agency to become the Regional Creative Director. He was 29 when Tan Sri Lim founded Wings Creative in 1974 and in less than 10 years, its turnover grew to RM44 million. The mid 80s and early 90s saw him as a strategic communicator, building campaigns for companies, governments and humanitarian causes. With a vision to propel Malaysia as a centre of excellence for education as well as to evoke design consciousness among Malaysians, Tan Sri Lim established Limkokwing Institute of Creative Technology in 1991 and in just 12 years nurtured it to University status. Today Limkokwing University is one of Malaysia's leading brands, recognised for international quality education. What started as a college with 200 students in rented premises is today a fully-owned full facility RM100 million campus in Cyberjaya with 4,000 students from 65 countries.

Ever the philantrophist, Tan Sri Lim is closely associated with more than ten charity organisations, and over the years, has received numerous accolades for his many accomplishments. @ Sept 05

Y Bhg Dato’ Sri Dr Lim Wee-Chai founded Top Glove Corporation in the early 1990s with the vision of exporting Made-in-Malaysia gloves to every corner of the world. In a little over 13 years, under Dato' Dr Lim's visionary leadership, the Group now has 8 manufacturing plants in Malaysia, 2 in Thailand and 1 in China, producing more than 13 billion pieces of gloves annually and exports to 160 countries worldwide. Today Top Glove keeps the Malaysian flag flying high as it is now the world's No 1 disposable gloves manufacturer.

From humble beginnings, Y Bhg Dato’ Sri Dr Lim stays very focused, dedicated, committed and believes firmly in "Hands-on leadership by example". Being an advocate of good business philosophies, Y Bhg Dato’ Sri Dr Lim believes adhering to his personal favorite philosophy of `Must Know, Must Do and Must Teach' and this philosophy is imbedded in Top Glove's professional team of senior management and staff. With his strong and disciplined emphasis on quality and excellence Top Glove has won numerous international quality accreditations and excellence awards.

In the pipeline to build more plants to accommodate the world's growing demand, Y Bhg Dato’ Sri Dr Lim is all set to steer Top Glove to double its global market share from the current 12 % to 24% in the next 2 -3 years. Under Y Bhg Dato' Sri Dr Lim's visionary leadership, Top Glove is poised to remain in this premier position for many years to come. @ Sept 04

Dato’ Mohd. Nadzmi started his career as a professional manager – He was appointed the CEO of Edaran Otomobil Nasional Bhd and 3 years later as CEO of Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Bhd. He made the successful transition to being an entrepreneur in 1996 when he took over the ownership and management of Mara Holdings, now known as Nadicorp Holdings. Despite the Asian financial crisis, he successfully turned around the loss making Group within 1 ½ years with his own innovative management style and by revamping the corporate and operational structure.

Nadicorp is today Malaysia’s biggest Bumiputra conglomerate and is at the forefront of land transportation industry serving 60 million customers a year with 1,200 buses plying 234 routes throughout Peninsular Malaysia. His achievements earned him many accolades, including being inducted into the prestigious membership of the “Global Leaders of Tomorrow” at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland. He currently serves as the President of Badminton Association of Malaysia.@ Sept 03

Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Francis Yeoh is the Chairman of the YTL Corporation group of companies. Since taking over YTL Corp at a tender age of 21, Tan Sri Francis, a Civil Engineer by training, has been instrumental in transforming the family business from a mid-sized contractor into a conglomerate. The Group grew from a single listed entity in 1985 to a force comprising five listed companies - YTL Corp Bhd., YTL Power International Bhd., YTL Cement Bhd., YTL Land and Development Bhd., and YTL e-Solutions Bhd. with a combined market capitalization of RM12 billion with core activities spanning from power generation and transmission, owning and managing integrated water and sewerage facilities, property and hotel development, cement manufacturing, construction contracting to e-commerce initiatives.

With the clear commitment to produce world class products and services at third world prices, the YTL Group has registered an impressive compounded annual growth rate of 55% since 1986. With Tan Sri Francis at helm, YTL Corp achieved many significant firsts and has won many local and international excellence awards including those for corporate governance. Apart from serving on numerous Boards and Business Councils, Tan Sri Francis also promotes arts, music and sports as he believes, other than business, these are important alternative means of communication that represent the best human endeavours. @ Sept 02