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Bill Withers, 2010 Western Region Entrepreneur Of The Year

Date posted: 17/08/2010

It’s human nature to dream about the future. Most of us think of what “can” be, but entrepreneurs think of what “will” be.  Once they have an idea, they pursue it, convince others of its worth and make sure it becomes a reality. In doing so, they create the future.

Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year (EOY), is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The award recognises the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. The EOY award celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses in more than 50 countries.

The 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year, Western region (Australia) awards were announced in Perth at a dynamic ceremony on 12 August 2010. This year, six winners from the Western region were selected. Bill was announced the 2010 Entrepreneur Of The Year, Western region - Technology & Emerging Industries and will go on to compete in the national program for the title of 2010 Australian Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year in November.

Bill Withers wrote the original business plan to develop acQuire in August 1996 whilst on a plane from Brisbane to Perth. At the time, he was Managing Director of the mining consultancy, Metech. Following requests from three customers for custom-built solutions in the emerging area of data management, Bill decided it was time to build a product for the industry. Even though acQuire had its first big sale in 2000, it still resulted in being a tough year to a point where Bill needed to extend his mortgage to cover payroll. The risk proved to be worthwhile with acQuire enjoying annual growth between 35% and 50% over the last few years.

Starting from a small Perth base, by FY2008, acQuire had opened six other offices in Belo Horizonte, Brisbane, Calgary, Johannesburg, Manchester and Santiago, and revenue had reached $10 million.  Today the business transacts in eight currencies, four languages and 60 counties. Bill was determined to ensure that acQuire wouldn’t evolve into regional fiefdoms. He insisted on a ONE-company model world-wide, with identical processes in every office, one CRM and one ERP. Bill also ensured that there wouldn’t be any competition or territorial behaviour between the regions by having one consolidated global profit and loss (P&L) and no-commission selling models. This proved a huge advantage when negotiating Enterprise Agreements with global customers.

Bill was committed to defining and preserving the essential culture of acQuire amidst significant growth and changes. To achieve this, he established a detailed charter of values, incorporating: leadership and innovation, brutal honesty, commercial pragmatism, equality and accountability, mutual respect, empathy, flexibility, and professionalism.

acQuire uses these values in all facets of their business, including all recruiting and review processes, customer interaction and commercial negotiation. When a candidate is interviewed, one member of the interviewing panel is the ‘Cultural Representative’, who has the power of final veto.

In his role as Managing Director, Bill continues to inspire his staff by his strategic leadership and passion for the acQuire values.

Congratulations, Bill! Everyone at acQuire is proud of you.