EY Entrepreneur of The Year finalists named

Rascal + Friends founder Grant Taylor, Ethique's Brianne West and Chia Sisters founder Chloe van Dyke have been named finalists of this year's EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Photos / Supplied

Seventeen businesspeople from a range of industries including health, medical, beauty, marketing, design and finance have been named finalists for this year's EY Entrepreneur of the Year award.

This year's finalists are: Brianne West (Ethique), Grant Taylor (Rascal + Friends), Chloe van Dyke (Chia), Gavin Young (Trademonster), Ezel Kokcu (Passphere), Harry Zeng (New Zealand Healthcare) Murray Holdaway (Vista Group), Bronwen Thomson (Springload) Ajay Kumar Agarwal (Global Financial Services), Richard Conway (Pure SEO) Yi Huai Gao (Alpha Health Care), Shaun Holt (HoneyLab), Stuart Wilson (Modica Group), Mohammed Hikmet (HMI Technologies), Olie Body (Wa Collective), Richard Corney and Matt Graylee (Raw Material).

EY Entrepreneur of the Year New Zealand director Darren White said he was blown away by the businesses in the competition, who collectively generate close to $330 million in revenue and employee about 1500 people.

This year's New Zealand winner will compete in the World Entrepreneur of the Year in Monaco next June.

"We're absolutely thrilled to have such a diverse group of talented entrepreneurs in the program this year representing a broad range of industries and specialty areas," White said.

"They are outstanding leaders, supporting the New Zealand economy and shining a light on New Zealand's fantastic products and services on the world stage."

The finalists will be assessed by a panel of independent judges, including previous EY Entrepreneur of the Year award winners across six criterias: entrepreneurial spirit, innovation, personal integrity and influence, financial performance, strategic direction, and national and global impact.

"We are seeing some exceptional stories of entrepreneurship coming through from our New Zealand 2019 finalists, many of whom are rapidly growing businesses with deep ties into the community and areas in which they operate."

The overall award winner will be announced in October.

Zuru Toys co-founder Nick Mowbray was last year crowned EY's Entrepreneur of the Year.