QBS Technology Group chief executive Dave Stevinson has been named as a regional finalist for London and the South East in EY’s prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.

Lynn Rattigan, chief operating officer at EY UK & Ireland and partner sponsor for the awards, added: “This year’s finalists are truly inspirational.

“At a time when many businesses have had to respond rapidly to challenges of the pandemic, these entrepreneurs have shown they can innovate and adapt, while also creating long-term value for their clients and broader stakeholders.”

EY promotes the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards to “celebrate unstoppable entrepreneurs” whose ambitions add value and transform our world.

Victoria Price, private-tax leader at EY UK and awards partner lead, said entrepreneurship will help drive a post-Covid economic recovery.

“The regional finalists are proof that many entrepreneurs have been unstoppable in the face of adversity over the past year — continuing to display their incredible ambition to make a difference and solve some of business and society’s biggest challenges.”

David Durlacher, chief executive at the awards sponsor, Swiss wealth management group Julius Baer International, said: “The strength of entrepreneurship across the UK is simply outstanding.

“A huge congratulations to those who have made it through to be finalists – no easy feat among such tough competition.”

What happens next

Some 126 entrepreneurs from 102 UK businesses have been selected from different sectors, including science and tech, as regional finalists. Winners will be selected later this month to go on to the national competition in October, with a UK overall winner announced in November.

Past UK country winners include Octopus Group’s Chris Hulatt and Simon Rogerson, Markit’s Lance Uggla, Vue’s Tim Richards, and Codemasters‘ David Darling.

Country winners go on to compete for EY World Entrepreneur of the Year in 2022, awarded annually at a glittering ceremony in Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Global winners include the likes of Guy Laliberté from Cirque du Soleil, Narayana Murthy from Infosys Technologies, and the UK’s Michael Spencer from ICAP.

Click here for a full list of this year’s UK regional finalists on the EY website.