EY Entrepreneur of the Year shortlist revealed
THE bosses of 19 North West businesses – including the chief executive of recently floated Revolution Bars Group, the chairman of Liverpool jewellers Boodles and the general manager of breakaway football club FC United, have been shortlisted for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.
Mark McQuater, Nicholas Wainwright and Andy Walsh are among 38 entrepreneurs from across the North, who will attend the awards dinner on June 23 at the Lowry Hotel.
Collectively the North West companies have a turnover of £1.3bn and employ more than 14,000 people. They come from all sectors of the economy, ranging from online holidays to recruitment and packaging.
They are:
Steve Granite, managing director at Abbey Logistics Group (Liverpool)
Patrick McGeary, managing director and chairman at Blue Group (Northwich)
Nicholas Wainwright, chairman of Boodles (Liverpool)
James Wilkinson, chief executive at Car Loan 4U (Macclesfield)
Mark Januszewski, chief executive and Craig Foster, CFO at Designer Habitat (Manchester)
Philip Edge, managing director at EWL (Salford)
Andy Walsh, general manager at FC United of Manchester (Manchester)
Vincent Ferguson, chairman of INCINER8 (Southport)
David Grimes, managing director at My Parcel Delivery (Manchester)
Simon Cooper, chief executive at On The Beach (Cheadle)
Rob Crossland, founder and chief executve of Optionis Group (Warrington)
Adam Hodges, executive chairman at Playnation (Runcorn)
Mark McQuater, chief executive at Revolution Bars Group (Ashton-Under-Lyne)
Gareth Mobley, CEO of Solidor Group (Stoke-on-Trent)
Andy Hirst, global director; Chris Dummett, commercial director and John Collins, managing director at Sudlows (Manchester)
Maggie O’Carroll, chief executive and Helen Millne, chief of operations and finance at The Women’s Organisation (Liverpool)
Trevor Maund, chief executive at TRM Packaging (Ormskirk)
Dominic Clark, founder and chief executive at TyresOnTheDrive (Holmes Chapel)
Mark Brown, director at Worldwide Recruitment Solutions (Altrincham)
The winners will go on to vie for the title of EY UK Entrepreneur Of The Year 2015 in London in the autumn and a chance to represent their country at a global awards ceremony in Monte Carlo in 2016.
The 2015 northern judging panel will be chaired by award-winning green energy pioneer Ian Kelly, a former UK Entrepreneur Of The Year winner.
Kelly said: “Entrepreneurs are a cornerstone of the Northern economy and it’s important that we celebrate their success. Having been both a winner and a judge at previous Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards, I know what it means to those involved and it’s a privilege to be chairing the judging panel now.
“Entrepreneurs come in different packages, but we’ll be looking for individuals who have exceptional leadership and motivational qualities, and who set about achieving their vision through innovation, adaptability and inspiration – whilst maintaining their focus on momentum.
“I’m sure we will hear some fascinating stories about the journeys these entrepreneurs have been on – and these stories need to be shared through programmes like Entrepreneur Of The Year to inspire future leaders in the region.”
Three Northern entrepreneurs, comprising Missguided’s Nitin Passi, Radius Payment Solutions’ Bill Holmes and Sir Michael Bibby of Bibby Line Group, were among 10 business leaders who won categories at the UK EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards in London last year.
Robert Crooks, North West Entrepreneur Of The Year Leader at EY, commented: “Our 2015 finalists are all outstanding entrepreneurs, who have driven the expansion of their companies by developing strong and often differentiated propositions, and robust management. Many of them remained resilient throughout the downturn and are prospering today in the improving economy.
“Investment in technology and innovation, and domestic and international expansion are just some of the ways these entrepreneurs are growing their businesses and positioning themselves for even more expansion over the years ahead. These dynamic, fast growing companies – and the people behind them – are vital to the North West’s national and global competitiveness, and these awards rightly recognise their success.”
