Ulrike Klein recognised for a lifetime of achievement at the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year awards in Adelaide
Having had great success with Jurlique, Ulrike Klein is now fashioning a second legacy with the Ukaria Cultural Centre.
Ulrike Klein co-founded Australia’s number one premium skincare business, has created a lasting legacy with her Ukaria performance space, and is now a “Champion of Entrepreneurship”.
Ms Klein was honoured at EY’s 2019 Entrepreneur Of The Year Central Region awards, held at the Adelaide Town Hall last night.
The event also celebrated the achievements of five Adelaide entrepreneurs: Theo Kristoris of Leader Computers; Stefan Ahrens from Ahrens; Martin Perelman from SILK Laser Clinics; Taryn Brumfitt from Body Image Movement; and Paul Enginton from SYC.
This year’s central region winners will now vie for the ultimate prize of 2019 EY Australia Entrepreneur of the Year, to be announced at a gala dinner on 31 October 2019.
EY Adelaide managing partner Mark Phelps said this year;s winners came from a diverse set of industry sectors.
“This year’s Central Region winners have used their personal experience and skills to develop services, products and even social movements that are positively impacting people lives throughout Australia and around the world. They contribute many millions of dollars to the economy and employ hundreds of people in South Australia and beyond,” Mr Phelps said.
Ms Klein’s entrepreneurial journey began in 1983, when she arrived from Germany with a dream to build a business in the natural skin care field.
With her then husband she settled at Mt Barker in the Adelaide Hills, and set about building Jurlique - now a business exporting internationally, with turnover of about $180 million.
Ms Klein sold a 25 per cent stake in the business to Kerry Packer in 2002 with further selldowns following, allowing Ms Klein to turn to her other passion - music.
“We started small and worked hard,’’ Ms Klein told The Advertiser earlier this year.
“Australia gave me the chance to create and build what was so close to my heart.
“First Jurlique, which came right at the start of the trend in natural skin care, then selling the business, which allowed me to follow my other great passion which is music.”
Ms Klein’s focus is now on the Ukaria Cultural centre in the Adelaide Hills, which hosts a variety of musical performances, which invariably sell out quickly.
The $7 million project, opened in 2015, features a 220-seat concert hall, state-of-the-art acoustics, an artists’ studio, conference and function facilities, indoor art works and outdoor sculptures.
She also donated $3 million, and helped raised a further $3 million, towards the purchase of a ‘quartet’ of instruments made by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini between 1743-84.
That set is on loan to the Adelaide’s Australian String Quartet, and its acquisition is the subject of the film Highly Strung by renowned Adelaide director Scott Hicks.
More than 1500 Australian business people have been recognised through the EY awards program since 2001.