Doctor awarded prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Dr. Sam Hazledine, founder of successful medical recruitment agency MedRecruit, was recently announced winner of the prestigious Ernst and Young ‘Young Entrepreneur Of The Year’ award.

The award is New Zealand’s most prominent global business award aimed at recognising successful entrepreneurs and highlighting their contribution to the New Zealand economy. 

Dr. Hazledine is the managing director of MedRecruit, a medical recruitment agency he started in 2006 specialising in working with doctors to place them in locum and permanent positions so they can have it all – career and lifestyle. Over the past five years Sam has transformed the medical industry to give doctors back their lifestyles, and in doing so has positively impacted the provision of healthcare throughout Australasia.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be announced winner of Ernst and Young’s ‘Young Entrepreneur Of The Year’ award. It acknowledges the fantastic work of the team at MedRecruit and the belief the doctors and hospitals place in us to provide what they need right now – namely the ability for doctors to go further with both a life and a career, and providing hospitals and GP Practices with certainty and confidence in their staffing”, Dr. Hazledine says.

Chief judge Greg Cross from Icehouse says the finalists were the most articulate group of finalists the panel has ever judged.  

“It’s always hard to compare one year with the next but across the board, the level of presentation and the standard of the businesses was the best we’ve seen. As is always the case, the passion of these people is phenomenal,” Cross says.

“The Young Entrepreneur category in particular, was very hotly contested. It’s just fantastic to see young people coming through and making our job as judges really difficult. But ultimately, like any business, it comes down to the numbers. You’re looking at the top line, you’re looking at the bottom line, and you’re looking at the growth potential” 

Dr. Hazledine has been close to winning this award in the past having been named a finalist in 2008. “The judges gave me some great advice in 2008 and we’ve applied that successfully to grow MedRecruit. It’s exciting to be running a fast growing business that is having such a positive impact for our clients and beyond; that’s what keeps me focused every day.”