Richard Tang - Customer Service Entrepreneur of the Year

Zen Internet Managing Director Richard Tang outside the new headquarters

Richard Tang, Founder and Managing Director of Zen Internet, has been named North and Midlands Regional winner of Ernst and Young Customer Service Entrepreneur of the Year.

Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year celebrates people who build and lead successful, growing and dynamic businesses; recognising them through regional, national and global awards programmes in more than 135 cities in 50 countries.

‘I am very happy to be the regional winner of the Customer Service Entrepreneur of the Year award and would like to thank each and every member of our workforce for turning my dream for Zen into a reality,’ said Richard Tang, Managing Director, Zen Internet.

Zen has an award winning reputation for customer service, support and reliability and consistently demonstrates a commitment to providing the best ISP service in the UK. Earlier this year Zen was the only ISP to be awarded a “Best Buy” by the consumer organisation Which? out of 130 broadband packages tested.

In 1994 at the age of 28, Richard armed with a Computer Science degree and 6 years experience as a computer software and hardware designer, decided to embark on a lifelong ambition to run his own business. Over the next 15 years the company has grown organically to where it is today: £41m turnover, employing 385 staff, and providing Internet services to around 100,000 customers across the UK.

‘Entrepreneur of the Year recognises and rewards the people behind many of the world’s most innovative businesses. More than ever, this year’s finalists have shown their ability to adapt to market conditions, to forge ahead by seizing opportunities and taking market share in the toughest of times’, said Richard Hall, Partner and UK Entrepreneur of the Year leader at Ernst & Young.

113 business leaders from across the UK have been short-listed as regional finalists. 47 are based in London and the South, 22 in Scotland, and 43 in the North of England and the Midlands.

The North and Midlands regional awards event was held at the Lowry Hotel, Manchester on the 17th June.