1999 — The First Crown in Asil Ersoydan’s Industrial Story

In 1999, at only twenty-seven, Asil Ersoydan received the Businessman of the Year Awardfrom the Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIR – Camera de Comerț șiIndustrie a României). The honor was bestowed during the Topul Național al Firmelor gal, a ceremony celebrating Romania’s most successful enterprises.

Typically, the award recognized corporations based on metrics like turnover, profit, and workforce size; however, the jury highlighted one individual that particular year. What the jury decided was a seldom-seen deviation from the usual. They selected a young entrepreneur credited with redefining an entire manufacturing discipline.

The award was more than just prestigious. For Ersoydan, that’s when his ideas went from paper to the real world.

A Young Engineer, a Box, and a Nation‘s Applause

Eastern Europe’s industry changed a lot in the late 90s. The state-owned factories were replaced by private businesses eager for new stuff but a bit scared of the risks. Even with all that going on, Ersoydan’s Canpack S.A. turned out to be a surprising hit.

While other regional manufacturers kept making standard cartons, Canpack dove into things like engineering geometry, print quality, and ergonomics – areas usually not tied to cardboard. He led the change in packaging, making it more than just a box and turning it into a design element.

The six-pack beer carrier he invented was strong, efficient, and really eye-catching. They rebalanced the load, improved the grip, and added more branding areas with this design. In Romania’s beverage sector, it changed how products are transported, displayed, and sold.

Commercially and culturally, that invention was significant. It made packaging a focus for new and exciting competition.

Recognition at Twenty-Seven

Asil’s innovations revitalized the sector. Sales increased, and demand increased. Ersoydan and his company experienced rapid growth, peaking in 1999. 

The CCIR award recognized more than a business milestone; it acknowledged an idea.
Ersoydan’s name really popped in that room of corporate pros. He was the face of a new leadership style, skilled in engineering and sales, who recognized production as a means to progress, not just a customary practice.

He accepted the trophy on behalf of Canpack S.A., but to him, it meant something broader. It showed that a business focused on smarts, speed, and creativity could go head-to-head with bigger, more established players.

Years later, he would describe that night as the “first public confirmation that innovation mattered more than scale.” It was a lesson he would never forget.

The Year Innovation Found Its Name

Getting noticed in Bucharest kicked off a business journey that went way beyond Romania. The way he thought about systems at Canpack kept showing up in his future projects.

So, he went on to found MoPromo Technologies. They were ahead of the curve, developing Europe’s first NFC card payment and Romania’s first Bluetooth marketing network, which was a pretty cool early way to connect physical items with digital stuff.

His work at AES Holdings and SEG–Someone’s Entertainment Group basically had the same core: on point, innovative, and built solid. No matter if it was financial algorithms or event ecosystems, he tackled projects like the engineer he was.

You can still see how every company after that got its roots from that first moment. The CCIR trophy basically launched his legendary status. It was the thing that linked the young inventor he was to the big-shot businessman he’d turn into.

The First Crown Shaped the Future

Awards fade; systems endure. Despite that, this one was an exception. It wasn’t about ceremony for Ersoydan. It was a matter of evidence. Evidence that design could transform industrial reasoning. Showing how curiosity, discipline, and venturing into the unknown can yield better results than sheer size and financial backing.

Many entrepreneurs receive their first acknowledgment late in life. He arrived early, and it changed his trajectory. The award supported his view that production needs to bring together art, engineering, perception, and material science.

His timeline still features that early Romanian award from a regional chamber, a small trophy that quietly anticipated an international career, even as he currently oversees businesses in technology, entertainment, and infrastructure.

Every empire begins somewhere. For Asil Ersoydan, it started with a box, a new shape, and a night in Bucharest when the industry finally looked at innovation and saw a person behind it.