The 2009 Business Person of the Year Award.

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October 2009 saw the celebration of yet another annual “Business Person of the Year” ceremony held by Danish Chamber of Commerce in China (Shanghai). This year, however, the Award was expanded to include the “Entrepreneur of the Year” prize as well.

The Chamber nominates candidates each year, following 3 main criteria in their choice:
- Candidates can be said to have achieved significant results for their companies/institutions in China, over a period of several years.
- Candidates have considerably contributed to the mutual understanding between Denmark and China.
- Finally, candidates are supposed to have a high standing and garner respect in both Danish and Chinese business communities.

Any DCCC member can nominate a person for either category.  All nominees are then presented to the Election Committee consisting of two board members of Danish Chamber of Commerce in China (Shanghai) and two board members from Beijing and Guangzhou. The Election Committee selects three candidates for each award, with the winners being announced during the award ceremony.

Nominees
This year’s nominees included business people with both Danish and Chinese background, with Morten Bay Jensen of Danish-Chinese Business Forum member company Ecco Sko A/S ending up as the winner of the “Business Person of the Year Award” and with Anne Charlotte Lembye of CPH and Lukou Sourcing winning the “Entrepeneur of the Year Award.” The runners up for ‘Entrepreneur of the Year were Lars Andersen of Vestas and Trine Targett of Jooi Design. The runners up for ‘Business Person of the Year’ were Jan Bohne of Project Partner and Lin Qi of LM Glasfiber.

Morten Bay Jensen, president of Ecco China, has been working for Ecco for over 18 years now, and the company’s plant in Xiamen, China, employs today over 3,000 people, boasting an annual production of more than 3 million pairs of shoes.

Anne Charlotte Lembye has built an impressive career in fashion industry, having started her retail shop selling women’s clothing only 18 months ago. Since then her company has expanded into a production and sourcing entities and two fashion brands.

The Gala Event
Some 130 guests were gathered at Hyatt on the Bund in Shanghai on 10 October 2009. The Danish Chamber of Commerce in China (Shanghai) graciously hosted the evening that became a truly pan-China event and whose success was owed to the joint efforts of all three DCCC.

All six candidates were present at the gala and were introduced to the guests by Flash Point presentations covering their personal and business backgrounds.


Morten Bay Jensen, third from left


Anne Charlotte Lembye, third from left