Dairymaster chief executive Edmond Harty will represent Ireland at the Ernst & Young 2013 World Entrepreneur of the Year competition in Monte Carlo this Saturday.

As winner of the 2012 Entrepreneur of the Year award for Ireland, he will be inducted into the prestigious World Entrepreneur of the Year hall of fame at a black-tie awards gala, where 49 country winners will vie for the World Entrepreneur of the Year title.

Dr Harty, a mechanical engineer by profession, joined the family business in 1998 while studying for a PhD in University College Dublin, where he focused on the area of milking performance.

Dairymaster is now a world leader in the development and manufacture of dairy farm equipment, exporting a range of products including milking equipment, automatic scrapers and feeders, milk cooling tanks and heat detection systems to more than 40 countries worldwide.

Mr Harty said winning the Irish leg of the competition has been incredibly positive for business: “It has enhanced our profile and recognition with customers, staff, our families and in the wider Irish business community. It has opened doors for us domestically and internationally.”

He says that outside of Dairymaster’s customer base, no-one knew the company before they won the Entrepreneur of the Year award.

“Edmond Harty represents the very best that Ireland has to offer on a global stage, particularly in the agribusiness sector. Ireland is now regarded as a highly entrepreneurial country,” said Frank O’Keeffe, partner-in-charge of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Speakers at the event include former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan, World Wide Web inventor Sir Timothy Berners-Lee, two-time Formula One world champion Mika Häkkinen and Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder and chairman of the The Stelios Philanthropic Foundation.

They will address issues including the workplace of the future, cleantech, sustainability, emerging markets and private equity.