When the InDaily 40 Under 40 Awards are announced in June, forty of South Australia’s brightest young leaders and changemakers will be acknowledged for their ongoing contributions in propelling the state forward.

Awards judge and CityMag editor Johnny von Einem said he has noticed a difference in motivations among Adelaide’s younger business leaders, compared to those of a few years ago.

“I can see that purpose is becoming a really strong driver for people,” von Einem said.

“Not only do people want to be successful in their business, but they want to do good for the community around them as well. That seems to be a growing trend in what we see in the city.”

CityMag is the sponsor of the First Among Equals Award, which recognises the person who embodies the 40 Under 40 Awards.

Previous years’ winners have included Bailey Abbott owner and managing director Thomas Carlton, Pirate Life Brewing cofounder Jack Cameron and Fleet Space Technologies CEO and cofounder Flavia Tata Nardini.

Winners of this award often lay the foundations in their local industry for others to follow said von Einem.

“[These] are people who have gotten in early to their industries here in South Australia, and really created a wider community for themselves,” he said.

“In the case of Pirate Life, they really helped build the beer industry in South Australia.

“Flavia, as well, was very early in the space scene, and you can definitely see [each winner’s] influence.”

He said the “tight knit” nature of Adelaide’s business community allowed young business people to forge and make use of close connections to their advantage.

“The city is a place where people can put all their effort into something, get recognised and build a community around themselves,” he said.

“Events like 40 Under 40 allow people to [network] and get to know each other and get to know contacts that [they] maybe only vaguely knew.

“That can go a really long way in helping secure and helping build your business.”

His ambition for this year’s InDaily 40 Under 40 Awards is that they continue to encourage greater diversity in the nominees and alumni.

He said this has been “slowly increasing year-on-year”, particularly with more women entering, and that organisers and judges were keen to foster diversity and inclusion within the awards.

Winners of this year’s awards will be announced at a gala night on June 8 at the Adelaide Oval, when twelve of the forty alumni will take home category awards.

Winners will also be featured the print edition of CityMag in June.

Tickets for the gala night go on sale Tuesday, May 2.