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NEWS RELEASE
Leica Camera AG Voted Germany’s “Entrepreneur of the Year”
Ernst & Young, the global accounting and advisory services company, announces Leica Camera AG as the winner of its seventeenth annual German “Entrepreneur of the Year” award. Leica Camera AG won against 58 finalists in five categories and was voted the winner in the Consumer Goods category after a rigorous selection process. The award was presented to the company in the course of a formal award ceremony in the Alte Oper in Frankfurt.
The independent jury of prominent business experts emphasized Leica’s impressive growth rates, outstanding innovation, efficient organizational structure, strong customer bonds and the social commitment of the company. A particularly significant factor for the jury’s decision was Leica’s willingness to invest and the ability of the company to respond rapidly to changing market situations with innovative products and services.
“This award is a sign that we are taking the right route with our courageous decision to concentrate on digital products,” said Mr. Alfred Schopf, Chairman of the Executive Board at Leica Camera AG. “The potential of the Leica brand lies not only in our powers of innovation, but also in the ability to successfully implement these innovations. This would be impossible without our dedicated and highly-qualified colleagues, and I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks to them all.”
According to Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, majority shareholder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Leica Camera AG, ‘Entrepreneurship means assuming responsibility and creating value. Short-term revenue records and profits alone cannot generate enduring values. What is essential is a high degree of willingness to innovate and invest in technologies, social commitment and the will to change. Although steeped in the traditions of a legacy reaching back almost one hundred years, the Leica brand continues to be open to change and is, in view of the challenges of a global market, better prepared than ever before for continuing success.
Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, and Mr. Alfred Schopf are also nominated as German representatives for the international “World Entrepreneur of the Year 2014” contest. The award ceremony will be on June 7, 2014 in Monte Carlo.
About Leica Camera
Leica represents a union of craftsmanship, technology and experience. It is at once an extension of art, knowledge and philosophy, providing a state-of-the-art optical experience in a precision, hand-made photographic instrument. Leica Camera has a simple mission: to provide users with an incomparable experience, an instrument that defines an unsurpassed heritage and sets a standard of excellence for the industry to meet. www.leica-camera.com
About the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ competition
The independent jury of the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ award honors entrepreneurial excellence in various categories – in 50 countries around the globe and, in 2013, is in its 17th year in Germany. This competition, organized by Ernst & Young, is supported by prominent companies and media, including the DZ BANK, Jaguar, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Manager Magazine. In addition to awarding this honor to successful entrepreneurial personalities, Ernst & Young also promotes emerging entrepreneurial talents with their ‘Entrepreneur of the Year Junior Academy’ program.
