On January 20, Exact CEO Raj Patel was voted ""Entrepreneur of the Year 2008". The award was presented at a special ceremony during the annual "Big Improvement Day" (BID) in Amsterdam. The award was handed over to Raj by last year's winner, John Fentener Van Vlissingen, founder of BCD Travel.
The "Entrepreneur of the Year 2008" award (also known as BID Award) is presented to someone with a vision - someone who successfully contributes to the economy and employment within the Netherlands, but also to the spirit within the country. The jury report said "Drive and entrepreneurship brought this man all the way up from computer salesman to CEO of a public listed company. Because of Raj's foresight, Exact took measurements against the upcoming recession nine months ahead. Fully deserved by Raj Patel, the BID Award goes to him as CEO of Exact Software."
Since the middle of December, visitors of the BID website were able to cast their votes based on a shortlist containing the other nominees: media magnate Joop van den Ende; Jaap Blokker, director of Blokker Holding and Hans Wijers, former minister of economic affairs and senior official at Akzo Nobel.
Three more awards were presented at the BID. A "LEF Award" for the most courageous entrepreneur, the "ID Award" for the entrepreneur with the best idea and the "Third Tuesday Award" for the most entrepreneurial government official.
About Big Improvement Day
The Big Improvement Day (BID) is an annually recurring event at which representatives from the public and private sectors join forces to show inspiring examples of things that are going well in the Netherlands. Specific focus goes to examples of sustainability, entrepreneurship, education and leadership. With this initiative, the organizational team would like to spread a new spirit through the country and stimulate a sense of positivism and creativity. |
