Law crowned by IoD as city leaders honoured

BUSINESS group IoD has announced its North West directors of the year, with a special honour for Manchester’s city leaders, Sir Richard Leese and Sir Howard Bernstein, for their role in agreeing an historic devolution deal with the government last year.

More than 250 people from across the region attended the dinner at Manchester’s Midland Hotel on Wednesday. A total of 13 awards were presented across a range of categories and covering regions including Manchester, Cheshire, Lancashire, Merseyside and Cumbria.

Richard Law, chief executive of fast growing Chester-based company GB Group, was named the overall North West Director of the Year and topped the coveted large company category.

Law has been at the helm of the acquisitive IT security business since 2001 and has been instrumental in helping the AIM-listed company to successfully compete and expand in a highly innovative industry.

Other winners included Tom New from Manchester technology business Formisimo in the Start Up category, Sandy Lindsay from Tangerine PR in the SME category, Richard Anderson from Crawford Healthcare was named Science & Innovation Director of the Year, and Vanda Murray from Manchester Airports Group was awarded the non-executive Director of the Year accolade.

Mike Perls, chair of the IoD North West said: “This year’s winners have all proven themselves to be innovative directors who are the driving force behind their organisations and their inspirational success stories underline the positive impact that business leaders have on the region’s economy.”

He said of Richard Law: “As the chief executive of one of the North West’s fastest-growing tech companies, Richard is a very worthy overall winner. He’s an excellent example of how a director should operate, demonstrating extensive business knowledge and excellent people management skills.”

Perls added: “Sir Howard Bernstein and Sir Richard Leese embody the outstanding public leadership we have seen in the North West, working closely with the private sector to create an environment that makes businesses thrive.

“Their long list of achievements have helped to position Manchester as the UK’s powerful second city, helping it to compete on a national and global scale. Their work over the last four years in particular, has been instrumental in securing more power from Whitehall and ultimately the historic devolution deal, which will not only benefit Greater Manchester, but the whole of the North West economy.”

All of the North West winners will be put forward to the National Iod Awards, which will be held later this year in London. The full list includes:

Overall Director of the Year Richard Law, GB Group
Large Company Director of the Year:  Richard Law, GB Group
SME Director of the Year Sandy Lindsay: Tangerine PR
Family Business Director of the Year: Daniel Halenko, Blackburn Alarms
Young Director of the Year: Richard Freye, Service Care Solutions
Global Director of the Year: Mottie Kessler, 2M Holdings
CSR Director of the Year: Lee Petts, Remsol Limited
Public Sector Director of the Year: Rob Johnston, Cumbria Chamber of Commerce
Non-Executive Director of the Year: Vanda Murray, Manchester Airports Group
Start Up Director of the Year: Tom New, Formisimo
Science & Innovation Director of the Year: Richard Anderson, Crawford Healthcare
Chairman’s Award: Sir Howard Bernstein and Sir Richard Leese, Manchester City Council
Chartered Director Programme Student: Paul Banford, Bioscience IP
of the Year Award

 

 

 

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