Edward McCloskey named EY Entrepreneur of the Year
James Cox
WaterWipes founder Edward McCloskey has been named the overall EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2025.
He received the award at the 28th annual awards gala held on Thursday evening at Powerscourt Hotel, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.
Founder and executive chairman of WaterWipes, Mr McCloskey also took home the International category award, recognising his "leadership in building a global brand that has redefined the wipes category with its pure, innovative and sustainable products".
In addition to WaterWipes, he owns and leads Boyne Valley Group, a portfolio of well-known FMCG brands including household names such as Chivers, McDonnell’s and Kinetica Sports Nutrition.
Together, his businesses employ more than 650 people.
Mr McCloskey will go on to represent Ireland at the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards in Monaco in June 2026.
Áine Kennedy, founder of The Smooth Company, was named winner of the Emerging category. Ms Kennedy launched her business in 2022 from her attic "to revolutionise haircare with innovative products designed to simplify routines and deliver salon-quality results at home". Today, her brand is worldwide, with customers in 70 countries.
Derek Foley Butler, chief executive of GRID Finance, received the award for the Established category. Derek has built GRID Finance into a leading fintech platform dedicated to improving the financial health of SMEs.
The Sustainability award was presented to David Corcoran of Soltec Ireland Ltd, a company at the forefront of environmental services and waste management.
The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Ireland programme is supported by Premium Corporate Sponsor Julius Baer International, and Government sponsors Enterprise Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland.
