Krzysztof Folta, President of the Management Board and one of the founders of TIM SA, has made it to the group of 15 people competing for the Entrepreneur Of The Year title in the competition organized in Poland since 2003 by the consulting and auditing company EY (formerly Ernst&Young). The winner will represent Poland during the world finals of the competition in Monte Carlo where they will compete against the best entrepreneurs from over 60 countries.

EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is the Polish edition of the international competition for the best entrepreneur EY Entrepreneur Of The Year. By 2019, a total of 219 finalists were selected in the Polish edition, 18 of whom received the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year title. The competition is currently run in over 60 countries which together account for 94% of global GDP.

The participation is free and the criteria for the assessment of the candidates are the same in all countries, giving entrepreneurs equal chances to compete for victory in the world finals. Any company owner and co-owner, founder or family member of the founder may become a candidate for the Entrepreneur Of The Year. The first stage of the competition is the detailed online application and the next stage is an evaluation interview conducted by EY employees. It is devoted to the history of the establishment and operation of the company and the vision for development. The organizers emphasize that this is of particular importance as “the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year competition is an initiative aimed at distinguishing a person – entrepreneur, visionary and leader whose success is evidenced by the run company”.

The finalists are elected by an independent 13-person jury from EY. It is composed of outstanding personalities of the Polish business scene and the winners of the previous years’ competitions (heads and/or founders of such companies and brands as eobuwie.pl, CD Projekt, KRUK, NOWY STYL, MASPEX, RABEN Group, WIŚNIOWSKI). Assessments of candidates are based on such criteria as: resourcefulness, strategy, financial performance, international activity, new technologies/innovation and relations with employees and the environment.

A total of 15 entrepreneurs from 12 companies have found their way to the finals of the 2020 edition. Together with President Krzysztof Folta, the finalists in the „New Technologies / Innovation” category are: Michał Mikulski – EGZOTech, Dawid Zieliński – Columbus Energy and Jacek Świderski – Wirtualna Polska Holding. The profiles of all categories finalists can be found at https://przedsiebiorcaroku.pl/lista-finalistow/ and https://www.ey.com/pl_pl/news/2021/01/15-przedsiebiorcow-w-finale-18-edycji-konkursu-przedsiebiorca-roku.

One of those people (or one of the partner duos, as there are also duos among the finalists) will become the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020.

– Bearing in mind the fact that I am one of those best Polish entrepreneurs makes me convinced that starting e-commerce, making a revolution not only in my own company but also in the entire industry,  was worth it – says Krzysztof Folta, the President of the Management Board of TIM SA. – TIM has just experienced the best year in terms of turnover in the company’s 33-letniej history. My presence in the finals of one of the most prestigious business competitions, in Poland and in the world, once again confirms our success and rightness of the development strategy adopted years ago. It is a great honour and great joy – he adds.

Winner of the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020 title will be announced at the gala finale on 4 March 2021. This will be the person to represent Poland during the international finale in Monte Carlo planned for June 2021.