ErnstYoung: Horatiu Tepes, Bilka CEO is Entrepreneur of 2020 in Romania

Horatiu Tepes, Bilka CEO, was named on Thursday evening as the winner of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year - Romania 2020.

According to a press release from EY, he competed for the grand title with 38 other business leaders and will represent Romania in the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year World Final on June 10, 2021.

Bilka is a 100 pct Romanian company, from central Brasov, market leader in Romania in the field of roofing, specializing in the production and development of complete systems for roofs (metal tile, rain system and accessories) for residential and industrial constructions. In his 14 years of presence on the Romanian market, entrepreneur Horatiu Tepes has transformed the business from a roofing supplier into a European brand. Today, Bilka has the largest roofing systems factory in Eastern Europe and its products are increasingly known in the foreign markets.

At the 5th edition of EY Entrepreneur of the Year Romania, Mihai Ivascu, founder of Modex, was awarded the title EY Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year in Technology, and the award of excellence granted to a successful family business, Family Business Excellence Award, went to the Serban family, which heads the Serban Group Holding.

Modex company has patented its own technology (Modex Blockchain Database), which makes blockchain adoption very easy and interoperable with any traditional systems. Founded in 2017, Modex is present in four countries globally and has offices open in Bucharest, London, Silicon Valley and Washington.

The Serban Holding Group currently operates six companies, employs more than 400 employees and owns more than 12,500 hectares of land cultivated with cereals, oil plants and vegetables, three chicken farms and five groceries.

Edition 2020 of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Romania included two special categories dedicated to entrepreneurs who have been involved in the community and those who have demonstrated flexibility and adaptability to new business realities in the global health crisis.

The Social Responsibility in the context of COVID-19 award went to Iulian Nedea, Simtel. In the pandemic, Simtel supported the application 9SOS, the first integrated private telemedicine system in Romania, which provides assistance and support services to people affected by COVID-19.

The prize The most successful business transformation during the COVID-19 period went to Mihai Filip, Techtex. In 2020, Techtex, which specializes in the production of non-tissue synthetic material (spunbond), used in the manufacture of upholstered furniture, but also in the manufacture of medical protective materials, including the masks, quickly adapted to the global demand for medical textiles and began to produce surgical and protective masks. As a result of the investments made in mid-2020, the production of protective masks increased to 50 million masks per month, and that of robes and protective suits to 1.5 million, becoming the largest Romanian producer of such equipment.

This edition brought into the competition 39 entrepreneurs, from more than 15 business sectors, together with a turnover of almost 500 million euros and a total of over 5,000 employees.

The six finalists in the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year category were: Horatiu Tepes, Bilka - the winner of the title EY Entrepreneur of the Year, Radu Savopol, 5 to Go, Mihai Pohontu, Amber Studio, Adrian Cocan and Madalina Cocan, Laptaria cu caimac, Vlad Popescu, Norofert, and Ioan Cocan and Marius Hanganu, Tremend.

The three Emerging Entrepreneur of the year in Technology were awarded to entrepreneurs: Mihai Ivascu, Modex - winner of the emerging Entrepreneur of the year in Technology, Raul Popa, TypingDNA and Teodor Blidarus, FintechOS.AGERPRES