The Pearcey National Entrepreneur Award recognises an outstanding entrepreneur who is making an impact both locally and globally.
Each year, the national entrepreneur is selected from one of the State Pearcey Entrepreneurs for that year.
This award celebrates the breadth and depth of Australian entrepreneurs who are "taking a risk", "making a difference" and "are an inspiration" in the Australian ICT Industry.
Nominations can be received at any time.
Historically, this award began as the Pearcey Young Achiever Award in 2005. In 2011 it became the Benson Award, sponsored by the CSIRO in memory of a great Australian ICT pioneer, Tony Benson.
Tony Benson was a Fellow and Honorary Life Member of the ACS, and the 2001 Pearcey Medallist.
In 2016 it became the Pearcey National Entrepreneur Award. The Pearcey State Entrepreneur Awards have been awarded every year since 1999.
The 2025 Victorian Pearcey Entrepreneur Award presented to Sam Kroonenburg, co-founder and CEO of A Cloud Guru, co-founder and co-CEO of Cuttable. Award was presented at a special dinner in Melbourne, by Professor Eduard Hovy, Executive Director of Melbourne Connect at the University of Melbourne. This was the flagship event of the Melbourne Connect Innovation Week.
The 2024 Pearcey National Entrepreneur Award was presented to Ian Croser AM and David Gaul, founders of CEA Technologies. The presentation was made by Emeritus Professor Roy Green AM at the Pearcey Foundation National Event on 19 November 2024 in Brisbane.
Chris Piastri, recipient of the 2024 Victorian Pearcey Entrepreneur Award is interviewed by 9News about his Pearcey award and the work he has done to receive this prestigious recognition.
The 2024 Victorian Pearcey Entrepreneur Award presented to Chris Piastri, co-founder and CTO of HP Tuners. Award was presented at a special dinner in Melbourne, by Professor Eduard Hovy, Executive Director of Melbourne Connect at the University of Melbourne. This was the flagship event of the Melbourne Connect Innovation Week.
The 2023 Pearcey National Entrepreneur Award was presented to Didier Elzinga founder and CEO of Culture Amp, by Rick Harvey, National Awards Director of the Pearcey Foundation at the prestigious 2023 Pearcey National Awards gala dinner, in Sydney.
The 2022 Pearcey National Entrepreneur Award was presented to Dr. Mark Englund founder and CEO of FiberSense, by Hon Madeleine Ogilvie MP, Minister for Science and Technology. The award was presented in Hobart as part of the prestigious 2022 Pearcey National Awards held in conjunction with the Australian Computer Society (ACS) and TasICT.
The 2021 Pearcey National Entrepreneur Award was presented to the co-founder and CTO of DTEX Systems Mohan Koo by South Australian Premier Steven Marshall. The presentation was broadcast live on a national Zoom call, as part of the Pearcey Foundation's National Awards event.
The 2020 Pearcey National Entrepreneur Award was presented to Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design. The announcement was made during the 2020 Pearcey Foundation National Event, this year being a ‘virtual’ celebration held on 25 November 2020 on a national Zoom broadcast.
The 2019 Pearcey National Entrepreneur Award was presented to Craig McDonald, CEO and Founder of Mailguard, at the annual Pearcey national Awards gala dinner on 14th November 2019 in Melbourne.
The 2018 Pearcey National Entrepreneur Award was presented to Tony Clark at the ACS 2018 Digital Disruptor Awards gala dinner on 1 November 2018 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The 2017 Pearcey National Entrepreneur Award was presented to Cyan & Collis Ta'eed at the ACS 2017 Digital Disruptor Awards gala dinner on 2 November 2017 at Sydney's Star Ballroom in Pyrmont. The Award was presented by Dr Mary O'Kane, NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer, and also the 2014 Pearcey Medallist.
The 2016 Pearcey National Entrepreneur Award was presented to Aaron Birkby at ACS's Digital Disruptor's gala dinner on 1st December 2016. The Award was presented by Dr Alex Zelinsky AO, Australia's Chief Defence Scientist and also the 2013 Pearcey Medallist.
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