Heseltine given special award at Chamber event

LORD Michael Heseltine was presented with Birmingham Chamber’s President’s Award at the Chamber’s annual dinner at the city’s International Convention Centre last night.

Chamber president Steve Brittan, who praised Heseltine for his role in the Matrix Churchill affair when he was President of the Board of Trade in 1992, described the politician as a visionary who recognised that the Chamber movement should be a cherished national asset and the Chamber brand is an international currency.

He said: “Few other national policymakers have spotted the potential that chambers of commerce offer the country. And he had fully endorsed that by stating in his report ‘No Stone Unturned’ that Chambers of Commerce be given an enhanced role in the creation of local one-stop shops for business support.”

In last night’s awards Mike Tresham, operations director at BHSF in Birmingham, was unveiled as the Future Face of Business in the region.

His responsibilities at the not-for-profit healthcare insurer and employee benefits provider include overseeing customer service, fraud and complaints.

The Chamber judges commented: “We were particularly impressed with Mike’s willingness to go the extra mile for both his employer and the city in which he works.”

BHSF’s strong corporate responsibility programme also earned the award for Excellence in Contributing to the Community, shared with Arup, the multi-disciplinary consulting engineering firm based in Solihull.

The award for Excellence in Customer Service went to Crescent Motoring Services, based in Burton-on-Trent.

The Excellence in Innovation category had joint winners. The judges felt they could not separate Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Aero Engine Controls, based in Hall Green and part of the Rolls-Royce group.

Solihull-based Miller Construction won the Excellence in People Development award while The Excellence in International Business award went to Fracino, the Birmingham-based coffee machine manufacturer famous for selling its products to the Italians.

Jaguar Land Rover’s commitment to delivering long-term strategies for sustainability earned it the Excellence in Environmental Management award.

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