Andreas Mayerhofer, the Austrian CEO of Bulgaria's largest mobile operator M-Tel, has been selected by the readers of Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) as Bulgaria's 2011 "Personality in the News" in the Expats category! Congratulations!

In what was an extremely tough and close race Mayerhofer managed to beat Czech Petr Dokladal, the Chairman and Regional Manager of power utility CEZ Bulgaria, in the annual "Personality in the News" poll of Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) for 2011, according to the votes cast by you, our readers from around the world!

Between December 6, 2011, and January 15, 2012, you had the chance to vote to help pick Bulgaria's most deserving individuals in the Novinite.com poll in three different categories: Politics, Business, Expats.

CEZ Manager Petr Dokladal was in the lead during almost the entire voting period, with the supporters of M-Tel CEO Mayerhofer managing to turn the vote around only in the last week of the voting campaign.

The contest in the Expats category of the "Personality in the News" 2011 polls was the most competitive, as it saw more than twice as many votes as did each of the other two categories – for Bulgarian politicians and executives – which seems to be due to the overwhelmingly international readership of Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency).

A more detailed breakdown of the results shows how close Mayerhofer and Dokladal were to being tied for the first spot, with Heineken-Zagorka General Manager Ruud van den Eijnden coming in third:

"Personality in the News" 2011: Expats - Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency)

Andreas Mayerhofer, CEO, M-Tel

– 44.20% (2 555 votes)

Petr Dokladal, Chairman of the Management Board, CEZ Bulgaria EAD

– 40.05% (2 315 votes)

Ruud van den Eijnden, General Manager, Heineken Zagorka Brewery

– 10.19% (589 votes)

Peter Lithgow, Country Manager, AES Bulgaria

– 3.48% (201 votes)

Gerasimos Perdikaris, General Manager, Sheraton Sofia Hotel Balkan

– 2.08% (120 votes)

The winners in all three categories in the "Personality in the News" 2011 polls are to be awarded at a special ceremony!

Thank you for voting in the "Personality in the News" 2011 polls of Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency), thus helping pick Bulgaria's most deserving individuals for last year! Stay with us for more exciting coverage of Bulgaria's events, developments, and top personalities!

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