We invite you to join us for the 2026 Pearcey NSW Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. The night will be a celebration of
innovation, entrepreneurship, and ground-breaking technology.
Date: Tuesday, 22 October 2026
Time: 5:30pm - 8:00pm
Venue: Macquarie Technology Theatre, Level 15, 2 Market St, Sydney
What to expect on the night:
The Pearcey NSW Entrepreneur Award is presented to an outstanding individual who has "taken a risk, made a difference and is an inspiration to others" in the NSW ICT industry.
The process draws on nominations from the public and the Pearcey Foundation network. Selection is made in consultation with past award recipients to ensure the continued integrity and quality of this peer based recognition.
Nominations close 26 September 2026.
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This yearly event is made possible with the wonderful support from sponsors.
If you would like to sponsor this or future events, please get in touch.
The 2019 NSW ICT Entrepreneur of the Year award was presented to Ashik Ahmed, co-founder, CTO and CEO of Deputy. The award was presented at a special Pearcey Awards event at the NSW Startup Hub on 10 October 2019.
The 2018 NSW Pearcey awards was presented at a ceremony on November 1 at the NSW Startup Hub. Nick Molnar, co-founder and CEO of Afterpay was recognised as the 2018 NSW Tech Entrepreneur of the Year.
The 2017 NSW Pearcey Tech Entrepreneur of the Year was awarded to Airtasker co-founders Tim Fung and Jonathan Lui. Several other Awards were presented in a packed PowerHouse Museum on Tuesday October 24. The Pearcey award was presented by Chairman of Jobs for NSW and Chair of CSIRO David Thodey.
The NSW Pearcey Tech Entrepreneur of the Year Awards were presented in a packed NSW Parliament House on Tuesday 18th October at NSW Parliament House, at 5.30pm by the Hon Victor Dominello, NSW Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation. The overall winner, was Richard White, Founder and CEO of WiseTechGlobal with Hall of Fame Awards going to the founders of Avoka, Digivizer, Expert360, Invoice2Go, Saasu, Sentral Education, Showpo, Tyro and WiseTech Global.
The 2015 NSW Tech Entrepreneur of the Year Awards were presented at NSW Parliament by the Hon Victor Dominello, NSW Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation, on behalf of the Pearcey Foundation and the technology industry with the pinnacle award, the winners special recognition award, going to Melanie Perkins, co-founder and CEO of Canva.
The 2014 NSW Tech Entrepreneur of the Year Award was presented to Ben Richardson and Dave Greiner, founders of Campaign Monitor and Tim Power, managing director for 3P Learning.
On 23th October 2013 the 2013 NSW Pearcey Entrepreneur of the Year Awards were presented by Mr Paul Toole, Parliamentary Secretary for the Deputy Premier, to joint winners Simon Clausen, founder of Startive Ventures and PC Tools, and Naomi Simson, founder of Red Balloon.
The Pearcey NSW 2012 "Entrepreneur of the Year" Award was jointly presented to Mitch Harper and Eddie Machaalani (founders of BigCommerce) and Jo Burston (founder of JobCapital and other companies).
The 2011 NSW ICT Entrepreneur of the Year award was presented to Simon Poole and Steve Frisken, founders of optical communications company Engana and now Finisar Australia by the Hon Andrew Stoner MP, NSW Deputy Premier in front of over 150 industry leaders. The event was held at NSW Parliament on Wednesday 12th October 2011 in Sydney.
The 2010 NSW ICT Entrepreneur of the Year award was presented to Lars and Jens Rasmussen, founders of Google Maps and Google Wave by the Hon Eric Roozendaal MLC, NSW Treasurer and Minister for State and Regional Development in front of over 220 industry leaders. A further 9 entrepreneurs were inducted into our Hall of Fame. The event was held at NSW Parliament on Tuesday 19th October 2010 in Sydney in conjunction with National ICT Australia's NICTA @ NSW Parliament research showcase.
The 2009 NSW ICT Entrepreneur of the Year was awarded to Ian Gardner, founder of online video and digital media specialist Viocorp.
The 2008 NSW Pearcey Young Achiever's Award were presented to two young entrepreneurs Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, co-CEO's of Atlassian Software Systems by the NSW Minister for Education & Training, the Hon. John Della Bosca. The presentation occurred on the 11th of September 2008 as part of the 2008 National Pearcey Event in Sydney at the Westin Hotel.
The winners of the 2007 NSW State Pearcey Award were Pia and Jeffrey Waugh, a husband and wife team who work in their jointly owned software design and consulting business based in Sydney. This is the first time a joint award has been made and the recognition of their joint contribution to the Australian ICT industry makes their award all the more meaningful. They were presented with their certificate at a ceremony held on 6th December 2007 at the Australian Maritime Museum in Sydney. This presentation was made at the conclusion of the VC Connect conference at the Museum and was made by Mr Ian Dennis, Chairman of the Pearcey Foundation.
The 2006 NSW Pearcey Award has been won by Dr. Matt Barrie. Dr Barrie is currently the CEO and Founder of Sensory Networks and still maintains time to lecture at the University of Sydney.
The 2005 New South Wales Pearcey Award was presented to James Dalziel by The Hon. John Della Bosca, Minister for Commerce. The presentation was made at the Pearcey Cocktail Function at the Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo. The Award forms part of the ICT Outlook Forum initiated by CSIRO, DSTO, NICTA and the ICT Council of CRC's.
The 2004 NSW State Pearcey Award was presented to Hugh Durrant-Whyte, by Loftus Harris, Director General of the NSW Department of State and Regional Development, on behalf of Minister John Della Bosca.
On Tuesday 25th November Lyndsey Cattermole, National Pearcey Medallist for 2003, presented the 2003 NSW Pearcey Award to Dr. Ted Dunstone, Managing Director of Biometix. The award was presented at the NSW State Library.
The 2002 NSW Pearcey Award was presented to Alex Hartman, by NSW Minister for Information Technology, Kim Yeadon, on 11th November 2002. The award was presented at the gala dinner for the Moving Towards The Knowledge Economy Conference held in Homebush Bay, Sydney.
The 2001 NSW Pearcey Award was presented to Derek Renouf, of Adaptive Arts, by NSW Minister for Information Technology, Kim Yeadon, on 12th November 2001.
The 2000 NSW Pearcey Award was presented to Clinton Paddison, of JDS Uniphase, by NSW Minister for Information Technology, Kim Yeadon, on 15th November 2000.
