County Derry man named among EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2025 finalists

County Derry-based Martin Tierney of Seating Matters has been revealed as a finalist in the 2025 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Ireland programme today. 

The entrepreneur will compete with the 23 other shortlisted entrepreneurs spanning a range of sectors including consumer, technology, media, health, life sciences, manufacturing and financial services. 

Collectively this group of world class business leaders are already generating annual revenues approaching £860 million and employing over 4,000 people. 

The finalists hail from across the island of Ireland and will compete across three categories - Emerging, Established and International - with a special Sustainability Award presented to the finalist who is making the biggest contribution towards environmental sustainability through their business. 

One overall winner will be selected as The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2025 at a gala awards ceremony which will take place in November. 

Martin Tierney of Limavady-based Seating Matters is competing in the International category.

Rob Heron, EY Northern Ireland Managing Partner said: “This is the 28th year of the Entrepreneur of the Year programme on the island of Ireland, and with every year the bar is raised higher in terms of the quality of the impressive entrepreneurs that submitted nominations. I know that our judging panel had a seriously difficult job selecting our 24 incredible finalists.

“From well known and loved consumer brands to pioneering life science and technology businesses, and so much more in between, our finalists, including those from Northern Ireland - Martin Tierney of Seating Matters, William McColgan of McColgans Quality Foods, and Terry Hughes of Pivotal - lead outstanding businesses creating opportunities and employment across the island of Ireland. The creation of world class businesses from across Northern Ireland and the island of Ireland has never been more important and our 24 finalists are leading the way.

“Our finalists are exploring new markets and technologies to solve challenges and find solutions that will revolutionise their own industries, confirming this island’s exceptional reputation as a centre of excellence for innovation and business. I am delighted to formally welcome this year’s 24 finalists into the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year community and I look forward to working with them closely over the coming months.”

This year’s finalists have been shortlisted by an independent judging panel of previous winners, chaired by Harry Hughes, CEO of Portwest and Chairperson of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Judging™ Panel who commented: “We were so impressed with the outstanding calibre of all of the nominations received for the programme this year. Selecting just 24 finalists was an incredibly challenging task but I am thrilled to congratulate this year’s finalists and extend a very warm welcome into the EOY community. An immensely valuable experience now awaits each of them and I wish them every success as they embark on this journey and join this extraordinary group of passionate, courageous individuals who are truly driving entrepreneurship forward.”

Since its inception, the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Ireland™ community has grown to a tight-knit network of more than 650 alumni who harness each other’s wealth of experience, with three quarters (75%) conducting business with one another. Together, the EOY alumni community generates revenues of €25bn, and employs more than 250,000 people across the island of Ireland.

The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Ireland programme is supported by Premium Corporate Sponsor Julius Baer International, and Government sponsors, Enterprise Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland. 

For further information, visit EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™