The President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker was awarded tonight the “European Leader of the Year” Award at the second European Leadership Awards ceremony, organised by the European Business Summit in partnership with international news channel Euronews.
For the past five years, Jean-Claude Juncker has been at the helm of the European Commission at a time of great challenges for the European Union. As he prepares to leave the Presidency of the European Commission, this award recognises the impact Jean-Claude Juncker has had on an ever-changing Europe.
Jean-Claude Juncker received the award at a gala ceremony concluding the first day of the European Business Summit at the Egmont Palace in Brussels. The other nominees in the “European Leader of the Year” category were European Commissioner Cecilia Malmström and the Commission’s Chief Negotiator for Brexit Michel Barnier.
The other winners of the awards are:
· European Personality of the Year: Zuzana Čaputová, President of Slovakia
· European Innovator of the Year: Yvan Bourgnon, CEO of the Sea Cleaners
· European Corporate Social Initiative of the Year: Saori Dubourg, Senior Vice President of BASF’s global Diversity and
Inclusion project
· European Entrepreneur of the Year: Markus Kessler & Vincent Zimmer, Kiron Open Higher Education
Jean de Gheldere, Managing Partner of the European Business Summit said: “We are proud to present these awards to outstanding individuals who strengthen the core values of European Union and shape the future of Europe and its citizens”
Michael Peters, CEO of Euronews, said: “We are proud to partner with the European Business Summit in these prestigious awards recognising a diversity of remarkable European leaders. The choice of Jean-Claude Juncker as ‘European Leader of the Year’ is a natural one, as he prepares to leave the European Commission. Over five years, he presided over an institution, which has had to deal with many challenges, not least of which Brexit. I want to congratulate each of the winners tonight.”
The European Leadership awards ceremony recognises outstanding achievements in business, politics, entrepreneurship and innovation. The winners were selected by a jury of experts from business, academia and media, including Pierre Gattaz (BusinessEurope), Ann Mettler (EPSC), Gardenia Trezzini (Euronews), Bart Becks (Euractiv) and Celia Moore (CSR Europe).
The event – attended by high-level decision makers, business leaders and key partners of EBS and Euronews – was broadcast live by Euronews, streamed on Facebook and the European Leadership Awards.
