Julie Deane, founder and CEO of The Cambridge Satchel Company was announced winner of the RSM Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the prestigious European Business Awards ceremony last night in Istanbul. RSM, the sponsor of the Entrepreneur of the Year award category, is the seventh largest worldwide network of independent audit, tax and advisory firms.  

The ceremony, attended by 250 European business leaders, marks the culmination of a year-long programme which began with over 15,000 businesses and ended with just 100 Ruban d’Honneur finalists hoping to become one of the ten category winners, including the RSM Entrepreneur of the Year.  

The Cambridge Satchel Company is a British company founded in 2008 by Julie Deane and her mother Freda Thomas. The company produces handmade, vibrantly coloured and classically styled satchels and other leather goods made in the UK with leather sourced in the EU. Within four years the company has grown to £10 million turnover and is now selling in over 100 countries. The company employs over 60 people and manufactures around 900 satchels a day.

The judges, made up of European business leaders, academics and entrepreneurs, have been involved in the robust awards process which included written submissions, video entries and face-to-face presentations. Entrants have been judged on a number of business markers, including innovation, ethics, growth and international drive and ambition. 

The Awards offer entrants unparalleled opportunities to network and share best practice, as well as providing a chance to meet like-minded businesses from across Europe, with a view to forging new and successful business relationships.

Jean Stephens, CEO of RSM, comments: “The RSM Entrepreneur of the Year Award is a highly competitive platform for showcasing Europe’s most promising business talent. As one of the world's largest audit, tax and advisory networks, our member firms engage with entrepreneurs and their businesses on a daily basis. Julie Deane has created an outstanding business with the Cambridge Satchel Company. Her vision and sheer determination, together with her shrewd business mind, make her an outstanding entrepreneur and a very worthy winner of the RSM Entrepreneur of the Year Award.” 

Entries for the 2013/14 Awards programme are open until 21 June 2013, from which up to 800 National Champions will then be shortlisted. For more information, or to register your interest in the 2013/14 awards, please visit: www.businessawardseurope.com.