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Ernst And Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2005 Montreal Ceremony

It felt very surreal. I attended last night’s ceremony for the Ernst And Young Entrepreneur Of The Year ceremony in Montreal. Beyond wearing a tux (not exactly my attire of choice) and the usual hotel-rushed meals, the event is quite an… err… event.
Twist Image did have a nomination in for this year but we did not even make it to the “finalist” round (maybe next year?). What amazed me (beyond the huge caliber and interesting businesses that were finalists) was the vibe in the room. Considering these free-spirited entrepreneurs who bucked the norms of society and jetted out on their own, the Ernst And Young Entrepreneur Of The Year awards is very formal and corporate. My guess is the winners were just as “out of their element” in tuxes while making small-talk with lawyers, accountants and auditors as I was.
The big prize went to Jean-Marc Eustache who is the President and CEO of travel group Transat A.T. Inc. – they operate travel agencies, tour operators and airlines (full-service).
This is a very cool event as the winner from Montreal goes on to compete at a national event and then a global finale. It’s quite prestigious and the Ernst And Young Entrepreneur Of The Year really does celebrate the spirit of being an entrepreneur.
Celebrating the notion of entrepreneurship is critical in our society. If you don’t believe me, take a read of Free Agent Nation by Dan Pink. I actually read a line in The Cluetrain Manifesto that related working for a company as “volunteer slavery” (yikes!).
For the past few years, I have been speaking to many groups on the spirit of being an entrepreneur and it always comes down to two key points for me:
1. I am unemployable.
2. I don’t have a job.
I have work that I love and I cherish the ability to do it on my own accord.
So, a hearty congrats to all of the winners, finalists and nominees for the 2005 Ernst And Young Entrepreneur Of The Year ceremony in Montreal last night – may you all be unemployable for a long time.
A special thanks to Jim for the invite to sit at his table.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.