ONE used to hate business, and had to spend all his summer holidays in the family concern as a teenager, when he'd rather be out on the cricket pitch.

A second also helped out in dad's company as a child - and despite it being the furthest thing on his mind - eventually stayed on to run it.

Another dreamt of being a doctor or engineer, but ended up a property tycoon whose many projects around Singapore carry signboards proclaiming "thanks be to God".

A fourth, a former Navy regular, built on his engine-room experience to move on to much bigger things.

They are among a diverse half-dozen business leaders here who have just been named the most entrepreneurial by an independent judging panel for Ernst & Young's annual Entrepreneur of the Year Awards Singapore 2007.

And one of these six winners will be the Entrepreneur of the Year Singapore 2007, representing the republic at the annual World Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in Monte Carlo next year.

The six top local entrepreneurs are: Stephen Riady, executive director of Auric Pacific Group, who won in the Strategic Investment category; Robert Chandran, executive chairman and CEO of Chemoil Energy, for Oil & Gas; and Nash Benjamin, CEO of FJ Benjamin Holdings for Lifestyle.

David Loke, group managing director of Tru-Marine, clinched the Marine Engineering category; Robert Yap, chairman and CEO of YCH group, won in Logistics; and Richard Tay, group managing director of YHI International, won in the Manufacturing category.

They were picked from a total of over 30 nominations received from the public this year.

The results, says Ernst & Young, reflect an alignment of the industries in which the six winners operate and those that are currently propelling the growth of the Singapore economy.

"Singapore has traditionally been very strong in the manufacturing, retail and logistics sectors, and highly competitive in marine and offshore engineering.

"The property and investment sectors are also thriving. So it is not surprising that these are the same sectors where our winners are making waves in," said Ong Yew Huat, country managing partner for professional services firm Ernst & Young.

"While nothing is left to chance, a strong economic and infrastructural foundation increases the probability of success. However, the reverse is true as well," he added.

"Entrepreneurship has a positive spiral effect. Successful entrepreneurs, through their cutting-edge innovations, business resourcefulness and global connectedness, not only generate new employment and wealth, but also create multiple spin-off value for the sector, paving the way for other entrepreneurial activities to flourish."

The doubling in the number of winners to six this year, from three in 2006, "also demonstrated the diversity of entrepreneurs in Singapore, given their varying paths to success and business portfolios, while displaying common traits of a risk-taker, innovator, strategist and global business player," Ernst & Young said.

Three of this year's winners - Mr Riady, Dr Yap and Mr Tay - are role models for "second-generation" entrepreneurs, responsible for driving their respective businesses to new heights after taking over the helm.

In the same spirit, Mr Benjamin and Mr Loke, who are among the founders of their respective companies, had helped to maximise their company's potential; while self-made entrepreneur Mr Chandran's foresight, coupled with a series of strategic investments and acquisitions, fuelled the steady expansion of his business.

Ernst & Young's Mr Ong said: "Having an entrepreneurial leader is key to a business's success, regardless of its stage of enterprise development."

"Our winners lead companies with 10 to 60 years of history, and clearly, even when the companies were doing well, these leaders never stopped innovating, adapting and taking risks to make that quantum leap to achieve leadership in their respective markets.

"Such is the strong desire to excel that epitomises a true entrepreneur."

Congratulating the winners, Francois Monnet, head of private banking for South-east Asia and Australasia at Credit Suisse - which together with J Robert Scott Executive Search are major award sponsors - said: "These accolades are a valuable recognition of the recipients' significant achievements in their respective fields and the contributions they have made in building up the diversity of Singapore's economy."

The chairman of the judging panel, Cham Tao Soon, who is chancellor and chairman of SIM University, said: "The short-listed nominees impressed the panel of judges with their entrepreneurial spirit and often took risks in the face of uncertainty. Many turned their strategic business visions into business realities and had expanded to overseas markets with a high degree of success.

"The six winners differentiated from the rest by their financial track records and business impact both locally and in the region," he added.

Is this article useful to you?