Nominations:

Submissions are invited from the industry from now until September 23. They should relate to investment, exit and fundraising activity in the last 12 months, i.e., from September 23, 2023 to September 22, 2024. Submissions can be made on behalf of third parties. Firms nominating themselves may submit only one entry per category. Nominations can be made via this website.

Judging:

The AVCJ Editorial Board will evaluate the entries and submit a long list in each category to a select panel of industry judges. The judges will consider these recommendations, and if necessary, review the original submission documents and propose alternative candidates. The final shortlists - no more than five per category - will then be drawn up.

Voting:

The shortlists will be posted online for the entire private equity and venture capital community to vote on from October 9 until October 31. As in previous years, voting is not limited to AVCJ subscribers, but voters must register - providing name, firm and contact details - so as to avoid vote packing. No more than 10 votes will be accepted from employees of a single firm. Registered voters and the judging panel each have a 50% say in the result.

Three categories are not subject to a public vote. The Responsible Investment Award and the Operational Value Add Award are presented at the discretion of the AVCJ Editorial Board with input from separate expert judging panels comprising industry professionals with experience in ESG and operations, respectively. The AVCJ Special Achievement Award is presented solely at the discretion of the AVCJ Editorial Board, although as in previous years, suggestions from the private equity and venture capital community are considered and valued.

Winners:

The winners will be announced on November 18, coinciding with the AVCJ Forum, which runs from November 18 to November 21.

Preparation:

There is no limit on the amount of documentation that can be submitted in support of nominations. However, please bear in mind that it is easier for the judging panel to assess entries that are reasonably concise and clearly identify the merits of a particular deal, fundraise, firm or individual. In the Responsible Investment and Operational Value Add categories submissions will only be considered if they are accompanied by supporting documentation.
 
Submitted information can be shared with the judging panel. Short summaries will be produced for shortlisted entries based on that information (except for details marked as confidential in the submission materials).

If you have any further questions, please contact Tim Burroughs, Managing Editor of AVCJ (Tim.Burroughs@iongroup.com).