ʼEscapeʼ and Reward Ethical, Sustainable Creativity

BBJ: What is the inspiration for the Atlas Award?

Alessandro Farina: I come from an Italian family with a long entrepreneurial tradition that goes back two centuries. From a young age I learned that entrepreneurs have a moral obligation to their predecessors and to future generations for building a better world. We call this moral obligation an E.S.C. approach. E.S.C. stands for Ethics, Sustainability and Creativity. And these are the values that inspired the Atlas Award and that we hope the Atlas Award will inspire.

BBJ: Why launch it now?

AF: We live in a fast-changing world and our daily choices have a huge impact on it. After 25 years of passionate work and devoted service to our business community in Hungary, I felt the need to share this vision. I believe that leading a company is a responsibility towards society at large. Therefore, I chose to create an award to inspire and reward those entrepreneurs who are shaping a better world thanks to their ethical, sustainable and creative approaches.

BBJ: What are the selection criteria?

AF: The winner will be identified through a two-step process: an open nomination and a jury discussion. The first phase has already started. Anyone can nominate an entrepreneur who they believe deserves to be rewarded for their E.S.C. approach and the positive impact of his/her company, based here in Hungary. On May 28 we will close the nomination period and afterwards a qualified jury will verify the requirements and identify the winner from the ten highest-ranking entrepreneurs nominated.

BBJ: How can people nominate candidates?

AF: That is super easy. You can nominate a candidate by filling in the simple form at the bottom of our webpage: www.atlasaward.itlgroup.eu In the form, people are asked to support their nomination by explaining how the entrepreneur is driven by ethical, sustainable and creative approaches. We believe this is the most important phase, because people can make the difference by highlighting these positive examples.

BBJ: Who is on the jury and how will they pick the winner?

AF: The jury will be formed by us, some prominent partners of the BB19, the upcoming edition of our annual Budapest Business Party, and Silvia Merighi, founder of MSP Group as a partner of the Atlas Award. The jury will discuss and vote to identity the winner from the ten entrepreneurs who have received most nominations. It will be an interesting discussion, but what we really care about is that it will be an opportunity to “press” the ESC button to Escape mediocrity and the status quo, to Start thinking out of the box and to Create a better world!

BBJ: What will the winner receive?

AF: We are really proud to say that the winner will receive a unique art masterpiece designed by the well-known international artist Marco Veronese, specifically for the Atlas Award. The prize is a hybrid sculpture in which Atlas (the Titan of Greek mythology who supported the world on his shoulders) and Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian man (depicting the ideal human body proportions) are blended together, with two precious stones (a ruby and an emerald) placed one on the heart of the man and the other one on Hungary. The prize-giving ceremony will be held at the 2019 edition of the Budapest Business Party on June 7.