The EPIC CEO Award, previously the EPIC Phoenix Award, is presented annually to a company that exemplifies the challenges and merits of entrepreneurship and building a successful business. The company may have faced difficult times in developing its technology, selling its products, raising capital, but ultimately managed in positioning itself as a successful photonics company. Through perseverance, learning from mistakes, engaging its staff, customers, and stakeholders, the company achieved success. Success is no accident, it is hard work, innovation, knowledge, determination, and above all passion for what you are doing!
Criteria
- The company must be member of EPIC
- The company must operate in Europe
- The company must be profitable the last financial year
Nominations
EPIC issues an annual call for proposals, qualified applications are reviewed by the EPIC CEO Award Committee composed of previous award recipients. The award is usually presented at the EPIC Annual General Meeting or other prominent occasion.
How to Apply
Nominations should be sent before 15 January 2023 to neringa.norbutaite@epic-photonics.com and include the following information in total maximum 1 page in MS Word format:
- Brief history of the company, CEO short biography, and the role of the CEO in key milestones
- Specific technology, business, financial accomplishments resulting from the leadership of the CEO
- Year of creation, number of employees/revenue, number of sites
- Other supporting argumentation that demonstrates over several years remarkable leadership skills, innovation, integrity, vision, and a commitment to excellence and financial performance
Past Recipients
- 2023 Kestutis Jasiunas, CEO, Ekspla (Lithuania) Lifetime Achievement Award
- 2023 Håkan Karlsson, CEO, Cobolt (Sweden)
- 2022 Reinhard Voelkel, CEO, Suss MicroOptics (Switzerland)
- 2021 Torsten Vahrenkamp, CEO, ficonTEC (Germany)
- 2020 Hans van den Vlekkert, CEO, Lionix (Netherlands)
- 2019 #500 EPIC Member Award presented to Dispelix (Finland)
- 2018 Thomas Pearsall, Founder of EPIC (France) Lifetime Achievement Award
- 2017 Lars Penning, CEO, Next Scan Technologies (Netherlands)
- 2016 Raylase founding team (Germany)
- 2015 Pim Kat, CEO, Technobis (Netherlands)
- 2014 Benno Oderkerk, CEO, Avantes (Netherlands)
- 2013 Nick Martin, CEO, AFE Optics (United Kingdom)