Business

Ulster entrepreneurs dominate 2023 EY awards

Sam Moffett (right), who was named the emerging and overall, EY Entrepreneur of the Year for 2023 and Dr Andrew Woods (left), of Belfast firm Catagen, who won the EY sustainability award.
Sam Moffett (right), who was named the emerging and overall, EY Entrepreneur of the Year for 2023 and Dr Andrew Woods (left), of Belfast firm Catagen, who won the EY sustainability award.

One of the island’s most prestigious business events has been dominated by winners from Ulster.

The 2023 EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards named Monaghan’s Sam Moffett as the overall winner on Thursday night.

The managing director of Moffett Automated Storage Ltd, Mr Moffett also won the best emerging entrepreneur award.

It was only the second time the emerging winner has also won the overall prize in the 26-year history of the all-island awards.

The last time it was achieved, the winner was Martin McMcVicar, who co-founded Monaghan's Combilift with Sam Moffett’s father Robert.

Founded in Clontibret, close to the Armagh border in 2017, Moffett Automated specialises in the development of innovative, automated pallet storage and warehousing solutions.

Dr Andrew Woods, founder of Belfast green tech firm Catagen, as also acknowledged at the Powerscourt Hotel, Co. Wicklow with the 023 EY Entrepreneur of the Year sustainability award.

The company, which was spun out of research by the Queen's University academic in 2019, initially specialised in emissions testing, but is now developing new ways of making hydrogen, e-fuels, capture carbon and compress hydrogen.

Other award winners on the evening included Ciaran Marron of Activ8 Solar Energies in Co Monaghan and Tom Walsh of Staycity.

Mr Marron won the established entrepreneur of the year award for his Carrickmacross-based solar energy business, while Mr Walsh won the international prize for his accommodation firm, which has an estate of 5,300 apartments across 32 locations.