This Mayo-based businessman has scooped the Entrepreneur of the Year award
Harry Hughes runs workwear manufacturer Portwest with his two brothers.
HARRY HUGHES, THE chief executive of Mayo-based workwear manufacturer Portwest, has been named as the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year.
Hughes runs Portwest in Westport with his brothers Cathal and Owen. The Hughes family has been trading in the Mayo town since 1904 and the trio are the third generation of their family to run the business.
Together, they have expanded the company from turnover of about €200,000 in 1979 to more than €140 million in revenue last year. The company employs over 2,000 people worldwide, with sales in 110 countries.
Earlier this year the Hughes family bought the iconic Westport House and estate, which they intend to refurbish and develop as a major tourist attraction.
Hughes will now go on to represent Ireland at the World Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards in Monte Carlo in June 2018, where he will compete with over 60 leading businesspeople from across the globe.
In addition to being the overall winner, Hughes was also named as the EY International Entrepreneur Of The Year.
‘Visionary’
Anne Heraty, the CEO of CPL Resources and the chair of the judging panel, said that Hughes “stood out”.
“He is a visionary leader who has built a world-class business from his roots in Westport,” she said.
“The judges were impressed with Harry’s clear thinking, his perseverance, commitment to his team, community and his humility.”
Other award winners included Evelyn O’Toole and Jack Teeling.
Teeling (right) Hughes (centre) and O'Toole
O’Toole is the founder of Complete Lab Solutions, a contract laboratories provider of sampling and analysis for different sciences industries. She was named EY Industry Entrepreneur Of The Year.
Teeling picked up the award for Emerging EY Entrepreneur Of The Year. In 2015 he and his brother Stephen opened the first new distillery to be established in Dublin city for over 100 years.
