SEEK's Bassat named Australian Entrepreneur of the Year

SEEK co-founder and CEO Andrew Bassat has been named Australian Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young Australia.

Bassat will now represent Australia at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year awards, competing against national winners from some 60 countries for the top prize.

Bassat created the SEEK job hunting site in 1997 with his brother, despite having little knowledge of the internet at that time.

“We’d just started using the internet ourselves and recognised that, once it became more mainstream, it could provide a better way of doing anything that classifieds used to do, like looking for a house or, in SEEK’s case, finding a job,” he said.

The company now has operations in Australia, New Zealand, China, Southeast Asia, Brazil and Mexico, and attracts an average of 275 million visits to its websites per month.

According to Michael Smith, chair of the judging panel and principal at strategy consultancy Black House, Bassat was selected for having the drive and determination to turn SEEK into a clear market leader.

Dale Carr, founder and CEO of mobile advertising platform operator Leadbolt.com, has meanwhile won the EY Australia Entrepreneur of the Year award in the technology subcategory.

Judges said Carr was selected for successfully launching a unique web advertising concept into a crowded and hotly competitive market.

Dale has also recently received the 2013 NSW Premier’s Export Award and the Australian Business Award for E-Business.

Image courtesy of AK Rockefeller under CC