Entrepreneur of the year? That’s us!
At the beginning of March 2025, the co-owners of Accolade became the winners of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2024 competition in the Czech Republic. They also won the regional round of the Karlovy Vary region a week earlier.
Milan Kratina and Zdeněk Šoustal are the winners of the 25th iteration of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2024 Czech Republic competition. The award recognises their contribution to creating new opportunities for business development and employment in neglected regions across Europe and their active approach to social issues and sustainability in business. The jury, made up mainly of national winners from previous years, was chaired by Sotirios Zavalianis, founder of healthcare group AKESO and winner of last year’s global award.
Developing potential in areas where others don’t see it is key for us, and this was picked up on by the jury. The foundations of our network of industrial parks lie in long-overlooked localities, such as the Karlovy Vary region in the Czech Republic or Szczecin in Poland, that nevertheless offer a strategic location, a willing and able workforce, and less competition. By applying the same approach in other countries, Accolade has been able to forge business links between eastern and western Europe, simultaneously driving up employment and overall living standards in the areas where we operate.
We are honoured to join the group of successful entrepreneurs who have received this award in the past. We are confident it will help us keep expanding, especially abroad, where this award is highly respected among businessmen. It’s kind of a business Oscar, a business Olympic medal. –Zdeněk Šoustal
Although the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2024 award bears my name and Zdeněk’s, in reality it belongs to the entire Accolade team. Equally, it is due recognition for our investors, tenants, banks and business partners, whose trust and cooperation are the key to our success. We want to thank everyone who’s joined us on our journey. At the same time, we’re still at the beginning – we’re going to keep pushing forward and working together to create the infrastructure for a strong, democratic and independent Europe. –Milan Kratina
A company with a story to tell
Accolade was founded in 2011 by Milan Kratina with the idea of focusing on finding suitable land for industrial development and obtaining zoning permits. With the value of the land thus increased, the original intention was to resell it. Soon, though, with Zdeněk Šoustal now on board, they decided that they would themselves invest in the construction and management of facilities. In 2014 they jointly founded the Accolade Industrial Fund, a fund for qualified investors, which changed the public’s view of industrial real estate as an attractive investment and enabled local investors to put their money to profitable use in their own regions. To date, over 30,000 jobs have been created in the facilities used by Accolade group’s tenants, many of them global companies that would not have come to these localities if the facilities they needed hadn’t been available.
EY Entrepreneur of the Year is a prestigious international competition that honours outstanding entrepreneurs. Founded by EY in 1986, the competition currently takes place in nearly 60 countries on six continents. It has been held in the Czech Republic since the year 2000. Its aim is to showcase outstanding examples of entrepreneurship by individuals who can serve as role models for aspiring young businesspeople. The competition includes categories such as EY Entrepreneur of the Year, EY Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year, EY Social Entrepreneur of the Year, and others. Participants are judged on the basis of honesty, integrity, an exceptional entrepreneurial story and long-term value creation. The winner of the Czech competition represents the country at the world finals in Monte Carlo, where they compete for the title of EY World Entrepreneur of the Year.
Both co-owners of Accolade place a strong emphasis on the societal benefits of their business and pride themselves on their sustainable approach, contributing to the development and revitalisation of locations associated with traditional industries. Their support for young people and activities related to sport, science and ecology are also important. They demonstrate that
a company can have a positive real impact on the environment it operates in. –Martina Kneiflová, Managing Partner, EY Czech Republic