Manager Magazin Online reports on the winners of Entrepreneurs of the Year 2013 (in German) which is essentially a list of six categories and judged by Ernst & Young of outstanding medium-sized companies that impressed by sustainable growth, innovation and community involvement. Leica Camera AG was one of those six, taking the "Consumer Goods Industry" category:

Category Consumer Goods Industry: Andreas Kaufmann and Alfred Schopf, Leica Camera AG, Solms / Hesse. Since 1913 builds unique Leica cameras for advanced photographers. Today Leica is an international premium manufacturer who has mastered the leap from analog to digital photography.
.
.
Also been nominated as the German representative to the international competition "World Entrepreneur of the Year 2014" Andreas Kaufmann and Alfred Schopf with Leica Camera AG. The award ceremony will take place on 7 June 2014 in Monte Carlo.

Translation into English (via Google):

The "Entrepreneur of the Year" have been announced in six categories Ernst & Young honored outstanding medium-sized companies that impressed by sustainable growth, innovation and community involvement.

Frankfurt - The accounting and consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY) each year recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs as "Entrepreneur of the Year". At the gala event at the Alte Oper Frankfurt, the winner of the 2013 competition were honored on Thursday evening. 58 companies had qualified for the final round, six of them were excellent and are now allowed to use the title "Entrepreneur of the Year 2013 '.

In addition to sustainable business, the award winners are characterized by innovative technologies and strong customer loyalty. Moreover, they are aware of their social responsibility and are involved in social projects.

The Entrepreneurs of the Year 2013 are:

• Category Capital Goods Industry: Michael Marhofer, ifm electronic GmbH, Essen. With more than 100,000 customers in 70 countries worldwide, the family provides for the optimization of technical processes and is now considered the world leader in sensors.
• Category Consumer Goods Industry: Andreas Kaufmann and Alfred Schopf, Leica Camera AG, Solms / Hesse. Since 1913 builds unique Leica cameras for advanced photographers. Today Leica is an international premium manufacturer who has mastered the leap from analog to digital photography.
• Service Category: Alfred Keschtges and Kai F. Wißler, invenio Group, Rüsselsheim. Founded in 1986 as a design office, is now a Invenio industry operating across full-service engineering services for all phases of the product development process.
• Category Commercial: Walter Ulrich, Ulrich Walter GmbH, Diepholz / Lower Saxony. As one of the first in the organic industry Ulrich Walter has created an ecological vision and social responsibility, the market leader for tea, coffee and spices in organic quality.
• Category Information and Communication Technology / Media: Peter Samuelsen, Thomas and Stefan Köhler greaves, Novomind AG, Hamburg. The software provider counts in the areas of e-communication, e-commerce, product information management and marketplace integration of the technology leaders in Europe.
• Start-up Category: Saskia Biskup and Dirk Biskup, CeGaT, Tübingen. CeGaT specializes in the molecular diagnosis of genetic diseases and revolutionized in just four years, the decoding of genetic information and its interpretation.

Also been nominated as the German representative to the international competition "World Entrepreneur of the Year 2014" Andreas Kaufmann and Alfred Schopf with Leica Camera AG. The award ceremony will take place on 7 June 2014 in Monte Carlo.

2nd Part: Honorary Award for Family goes to Graf von Faber-Castell

For the second time, a prize for family business has been awarded: to be honored for exemplary performance of a family company, which is in a special way for sustainability, value orientation and the acceptance of social responsibility because of its tradition. The prize for family's 2013 Count Anton Wolfgang von Faber-Castell.

The Faber-Castell AG, with its more than 240-year history, one of the oldest family businesses in the world. It is now run by the eighth generation of Count Anton Wolfgang von Faber-Castell. Was presented the prize by Florian Langenscheidt, said in his guest lecture in front of guests at the Alte Oper on the "luck of setting up".

The competition

The "Entrepreneur of the Year" honors business excellence by an independent panel in different categories - worldwide in 60 countries, in Germany in 2013 to 17 The time of the audit and consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY) organized competition is supported by well-known companies and media: These include HSBC, Jaguar, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and the manager magazin. Besides honoring successful entrepreneurs, EY promotes the program "Entrepreneur of the Year Junior Academy" entrepreneurial talent.

Press release (in German):

Solms (ots) - The accounting and consulting firm Ernst & Young for 17 's Best medium entrepreneur in Germany "Entrepreneur of the Year" award. From the 58 finalists in five categories, Leica Camera AG went to a multistep, rigorous selection in the consumer goods category as the winner. The business award was handed over at a ceremony at the Alte Oper Frankfurt yesterday evening. Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, principal shareholder and Chairman of the Board of Leica Camera AG, and Alfred Schopf, CEO, were also nominated as the German representative to the international competition "World Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 '. The award ceremony will take place on 7 June 2014 in Monte Carlo.

The independent jury of renowned industry experts praised for their selection, the impressive growth rates, the high technological innovation, the efficient organizational structures and strong customer relationships and the social commitment of companies. A key decision criterion of the jury was the willingness to invest and the ability of the company , with innovative products and services to respond quickly to changing market conditions.

Alfred Schopf, CEO of Leica Camera AG: "The award shows once again that we have taken the courageous digitization of our products the right way, the potential of the Leica brand and their staff but not only lies in the power of innovation, but also in the. ability to successfully implement these innovations. require the contribution of dedicated and highly qualified staff, which my special thanks at this point."

Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, principal shareholder and Chairman of the Board of Leica Camera AG: "Entrepreneurship is about taking responsibility and creating value Short-term sales records and profit per se do not generate lasting value, it also requires a high level of technological innovation, investment readiness, social commitment and desire for change.. The tradition of the Leica brand remains compulsory despite its versatile, nearly a hundred years of heritage and is facing the challenges of global markets more than ever successfully installed."