Launched in 2006 by Audemars Piguet and the European Tech Tour Association, who were joined in 2007 by the Schroders Group, the Audemars Piguet Changing Times Award will be decided on 20 November 2008. The award will be attributed to a European entrepreneur whose high-tech company has had a major impact on a significant number of people, in a short space of time. A second award entitled Next Gem will be given to the company with the most promising future, and a special award will be bestowed on a medical start-up.
Audemars Piguet in association with the European Tech Tour created an award that would reflect the watchmaker's ideals of innovation, high technology, precision and audacity. Companies of European origin, fulfilling certain criteria, presented their products to the grand jury. The criteria governing the award includes the ability to demonstrate hyper-growth for the past 3 years, be a relatively young company (around 10 years experience), be active in several countries and ideally still be run by the founder(s).
Given that Audemars Piguet is Switzerland's oldest independent luxury watch manufacturer and is still run by the founder's descendants, the company places particular importance on the latter condition. The jury selected the finalists from the suitable companies presented. The winners of the Audemars Piguet Changing Times Award will be announced during a gala evening to be held on 20 November in Gland. Patrick Aebischer, President of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, will give the key note address.
In 2008, 3 companies have made it through to the final phase.
The Main Award finalists are:
- Fronter (Norway) is Europe’s largest and fastest growing provider of easy-to-use tools for education and collaboration on the web
- Kaspersky Lab (Russia), international provider of IT security solutions and services
- QlikTech (Sweden), world leader in new generation Business Intelligence applications
The Next Gem award finalists are:
- Alfresco (United Kingdom), publisher of Open Source enterprise content management solutions
- DiBcom (France), a fables semiconductor company that designs high-performance chipsets
- Sequans Communications (France), industry leader in fixed and mobile WiMAX semi-conductor solutions
The Audemars Piguet award constitutes a true symbol of the winner's success. However, the award also appeals for its high level of visibility and access to an influential business and financial network. The jury essentially comprises representatives of venture capital and asset management companies, opening up international opportunities to the winners. The 2006 winner, MySQL was sold for US$1 billion to Sun Microsystems approximately 15 months after winning the award – a strong indicator of the awards accurate recognition.
Source: Audemars Piguet |
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