Entrepreneurs travelling as part EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ CEO Retreat include a mix of 2025 finalists and programme alumniEntrepreneurs will visit the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Ireland House Tokyo, and meet with Japanese business leaders including Director & Chairman of SoftBank Corporation Yasuyuki Imai and CEO of Sony Ventures Corporation Kazuhito Hadano, WPP, Yamaha Motors before finishing at the World Expo in OsakaMany entrepreneurs already conducting business in Japan, while others investigating new market opportunities
Dublin, 24 May 2025: A delegation of 140 of Ireland’s top entrepreneurs are travelling to Japan today for the annual EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ CEO Retreat. Running from Monday 26th to Saturday 31st May, the retreat will see the entrepreneurs travel between Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto as they participate in a comprehensive programme of executive coaching, education and networking, while also experiencing Japan’s vibrant culture and traditions.
This year’s retreat will visit sites of major business, academic and diplomatic importance across Japan. Key visits will include SoftBank Corporation HQ where the group will meet with SoftBank President Kunihiro Fujinaga and Executive Vice President Daichi Nozaki, a ‘Mini MBA’ experience at Hitotsubashi University, delivered by leading Japanese academics Professor Yoshinori Fujikawa and Professor Hiroshi Ono, and Ireland House Tokyo, the centre of Ireland’s diplomatic relations in Japan, where the group will meet with Ambassador of Ireland to Japan, Damien Cole. Later in the week the group will immerse themselves in Japanese culture in Kyoto before concluding with a visit to the World Expo in Osaka.
Japan is the world’s fourth largest economy with enduring strengths in areas including innovation, technology, automotive and manufacturing. The existing trade relationship between Ireland and Japan is strong with Japan positioned as Ireland’s second largest trading partner in the Asia-Pacific region. Many of the entrepreneurs travelling to Japan are already conducting business there, while others are seeking to expand their markets.
The delegation includes this year’s 24 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ finalists as well as programme alumni representing a broad spectrum of industries and representatives from Enterprise Ireland, Invest Northern Ireland and Julius Baer International.
Roger Wallace, Partner Lead for EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ said:
“The CEO retreat is one of the highlights of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year programme and this year we are taking the biggest ever cohort of entrepreneurs on the retreat to Japan, for what will be Ireland’s largest annual unofficial trade mission. Supported by Enterprise Ireland, Invest NI and Julius Baer, our 140 entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to meet with local business leaders, academics and experts, while also experiencing Japan’s vibrant culture and traditions.
“Japan is renowned as an innovative leader across various industries, including manufacturing, electronics, automotive and robotics, with world-class Japanese companies such as Sony, Honda, Yamaha. It is a country rich in opportunity for entrepreneurs looking to expand beyond traditional markets and into the wider Asia-Pacific region, an area which continues to move from strength-to-strength. This retreat is an opportunity for Irish entrepreneurs to delve deeper into new market opportunities in Japan and expand their knowledge of business and trade in the region.
“More broadly, our CEO Retreat is designed to enable entrepreneurs to have the space to step back, engage with their peers and think differently, to embrace new ideas and to push themselves even further. The retreat is also an opportunity for entrepreneurs to deepen business relationships with fellow participants, often leading to fruitful collaborations, which is a core element of the Entrepreneur Of The Year ™ programme. We hope the retreat will inspire and energise our entrepreneurs and may even be the spark that ignites some great new and exciting business possibilities for this talented group of business leaders.”
Since its inception, the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Ireland™ community has grown into a tight-knit network of 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 in excess of €25bn, and employs more than 250,000 people across the island of Ireland.
The 2025 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ finalists are:
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