Out of 300 nominees, 65 have now reached the final round of the well-known competition for the title "Entrepreneur of the Year". "Mid-sized companies are the motor of the German economy, but the people behind these successes are rarely noticed by the public", says Wolfgang Glauner, organizer and project manager of the competition. "Therefore, with the title of 'Entrepreneur of the Year', Ernst & Young is recognizing entrepreneurial dedication and sustainable growth."

The nominated companies have to complete a demanding, multi-stage selection process. A high-profile, independent jury consisting of scientists and entrepreneurs determines the prize winners in the following categories: trade, industry, services, information and communication technology/media, and start up.

Oswald P. Zimmermann, CEO of datango AG, commented: "I am proud to have been accepted into the ranks of the best entrepreneurs in Germany. datango has been able to note rapid growth worldwide in the recent past with its electronic performance support and eLearning technology. I am pleased that my work and that of the whole team has borne fruit in this way."

The currently growing fear of a cyclical downturn is being counteracted by the above-average growth of the best mid-sized companies. "Altogether the 65 finalist companies have generated ten billion Euros in the past year", says Glauner.


The impressive economic power is significantly apparent on the job market: the companies that have reached the finals employ around 48,000 people and created almost 6,000 new jobs in the past year. In this way, datango was also able to increase their turnover by 100% from 2006 to 2007. The customer and employee numbers have also more than doubled.