24 November 2016
For the 20th time, the consulting and auditing firm EY (Ernst & Young) has honored successful entrepreneurs with their “Entrepreneur des Jahres“ (Entrepreneur of the Year) award. Dachser CEO Bernhard Simon was among the winners of the prize, which is given for entrepreneurship, innovation and personal dedication. He accepted the award for family-owned companies in Berlin on November 18.
This is the fifth time that the award has been given in the family-owned companies category. It honors entrepreneurs who actively contribute to sustainability, values orientation, and the assumption of social responsibility. The jury based its decision to give the award to Mr. Simon on the fact that he has prepared the successful family-owned company for the future by instituting exemplary leadership and succession rules. In this way, according to the jury, he has strengthened the innovative and earning capacity of the company, one which has set many industry standards over the course of its history. Among other innovations, its use of bar codes laid the foundation for the digitalization of logistics.
Other winners of the 2016 award include the Siegwerk Druckfarben AG & Co. KG (in the industrial category), the Stern-Wywiol group (in the consumer goods/retail category), the Motel One Group (in the services/IT category) and Celonis (in the start-up category), as well as Dr. Brigitte Mohn of the Bertelsmann foundation (who received a special award for social entrepreneurship).