With the second stage of the judging process now finalized, we are ready to announce this year’s finalists: from over 100 nominees, 43 made it to the short list. See below the finalists for each category.
The winners will be announced at the Awards Gala, on February 27, in the presence of 200 of Romania’s top business community representatives. Book tour place now!
1. BEST COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE
Nominees:
- Aiming for the Olympiad!” by the eMAG Foundation
- “Bursa Binelui” by BCR
- Acquisition of ventilation machines for medical centres by ENGIE Romania
- Hospice Casa Sperantei by Kaufland
- “Idei din Tara lui Andrei” by OMV Petrom
- “The Garden with Remedies” by Secom
Winner: Aiming for the Olympiad!” by the eMAG Foundation
- Proven social impact of the business / initiative (community impact)
- Developing long term programs or projects for the local communities (long term commitment to the local community)
- The initiatives coming from companies meet a real need of the community (e.g. education, social intervention, health, environment, technology)
- Being transparent to the local community by publishing annual sustainability reports (GRI 4)
3. INNOVATION IN TECHNOLOGY
Nominees:
- Hypervisor Introspection (HVI) by BitDefender
- inteliLIGHT by Flashnet
- MIRA by Mira Rehab
- FinTech OS by Softelligence
Winner: inteliLIGHT by Flashnet
- Innovation and research-driven orientation of the strategy implemented
- Investment made, amount and performance against other markets where the company is present
5. BEST EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE
Nominees:
- “Managers for Romania” by BCR
- Profiling Project by Mega Image
- “Free Monday” by WebDigital
Winner: Profiling Project by Mega Image
- Innovation and effectiveness of the program
- Impact on the company business or society overall
- Look at the net personnel increase vs. the net of the industry (percentage also)
- Look at the industry growth and its importance for the Romanian economy
- Qualitative reviews: employees feedback, employer branding efforts, NPS scores, or any other internal KPIs (engagement, retention, personnel turnover)
7. DEAL OF THE YEAR
Nominees:
- Noriel ( for being acquired by Enterprise Investors )
- Enterprise Investors ( for selling Profi to Mid Europa Partners )
- Vector Watch/Gecad Ventures ( for selling to FitBit )
Winner: Enterprise Investors (for selling Profi to Mid Europa Partners)
- Value of the transaction
- Impact within the industry/ local business scene and economy as a whole
- Novelty elements characteristic to the transaction.
9. BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR
Nominees:
- Dragos Anastasiu – Eurolines
- Felix Patrascanu - FAN Courier
- Ilinca Paun - Colliers International
- Radu Georgescu – Gecad Ventures
Winner: Radu Georgescu - Gecad Ventures
- The main business achievements of the nominated person’s past year of tenure
- Results of any projects/initiatives (not necessarily connected to the core business) done to support the overall business environment in Romania
- Evidence of the nominee’s achievements and role as a leader within the community
CERTIFICATES OF DISTINCTION
Teach for Romania
Funky Citizens
2. BEST COMEBACK STRATEGY
Nominees:
- Blue Air
- Gosselin Mobility
- Impact Developer & Contractor
- Softelligence
Winner: Blue Air
- Strategy employed to achieve the turnaround
- The amount of time necessary to achieve it
- Financial and non-financial results of the company before and after
4. BEST START-UP SUPPORTER
Nominees:
- AeRO by the Bucharest Stock Exchange
- The Venture by Chivas Regal
- Startarium by Impact Hub & ING Bank
- Accelerator Program by Spherik Accelerator
- Innovation Labs by Tech Lounge
Winner: Startarium by Impact Hub & ING Bank
- To what extent does the project/service support the activity of start-ups. The added value for the entrepreneur
- Number of start-ups/ individuals supported
- Resources and strategy employed to support start-up activity (infrastructure, consultancy services)
- The easiness to access the solution/service/product for start-ups.
6. ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR
Nominees:
- Daniel Truica – Vola.ro
- Ioan Iacob – Qualitance
- Laurentiu Banescu and Alexandru Geamanu - Bere Zaganu
- Radu Savopol – 5 To Go
- Teodor Blidarus – Softelligence
Winner: Laurentiu Banescu and Alexandru Geamanu - Bere Zaganu
- Development of the business over the years
- Unique characteristics of the business
- Results achieved against investment and the overall industry
- Look at the ethics and values exemplified in the business
- The added value of his/her business on the market
8. BEST START-UP
Nominees:
- 5 To Go
- Get Pony
- Iutta
- ReFlex
- Yellow Menu
Winner: ReFlex
- General: description of the start-up; the year in which it launched its service or product; age of start-up: up to 3 years; profile of founder(s)
- Objectives & Strategy: innovation factor, concept quality, disruption potential
- Evidence of Results: financing type, growth potential, recognitions, business achievements, impact on overall start-up scene
10. EXCELLENCE IN BUSINESS
Nominees:
- Autonom
- eMAG
- Regina Maria
- Vola.ro
Winner: Autonom
- The strategy for development in the past years
- Business growth over the previous year
- Unique endeavors to support the local business community
- Sustainable development strategy
- Top market position
- Exceptional business growth compared with peers
HONORARY AWARDS
Ovidiu Sandor, Mulberry Developments
Superbrands Romania