BYPY16 finalists announced
THE finalists have been announced for this year’s Birmingham Young Professional of the Year awards.
Eighteen top professionals from a range of business and professional service sector firms have been shortlisted. They work for firms including Deutsche Bank, NatWest, EY, Mace, HS2 Ltd and Eversheds.
The winners in each category, together with the overall winner, will be announced at the awards ceremony at the ICC on Thursday May 12.
The shortlist for BYPY16 is:
Finance
Andy Lee, NatWest
Ben Collins, EY
Riyaz Sachedina, Deutsche Bank
HR, Recruitment and Training
Errol Lawson, Emerge Leadership UK CIC
Faye Pressly, Mortimer Spinks
Ruqia Sharif, HS2 Ltd
Legal
Imogen Francis, Shoosmiths
Russell Hill, Squire Patton Boggs
Tammy Paleari, Eversheds
Marketing and Communications
Abby Corfan, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Joseph Schuppler, Independent Birmingham
Lauren Bansal, ORB
Property and Construction
Anna Parker, Intervention Architecture
Mike Lally, Mace
Will Jordan, Knight Frank
Technology
Andrew Ward, Scorchsoft
Hannah Quinton, GuyKat Solutions
Mike Brooman, Vanti
Bina Ganatra, chair of the BYPY Committee, said the candidates comprised one of the strongest shortlists in the awards’ history.
“Each category attracted a strong calibre of candidates, which made the final shortlisting extremely difficult. It’s a great problem to have and demonstrates the strength of the region’s business and professional services community,” she said.
“The next stage is an interview before a highly respected judging panel. Ultimately, the judges are looking for people who are great at what they do, have a passion for Birmingham and can be great ambassadors for our sector and the city – and bring those qualities together to make a difference.”
The overall BYPY16 winner will be chosen from one of six category winners and will benefit from a range of professional development opportunities, including a place on the Common Purpose Navigator course, designed for emerging leaders. This comes in addition to the Aspiring Talent award, which will acknowledge the rising stars of the business and professional services sector.
Three students are in the running: Chris Parnell, from Aston University; Josh Henwood, DBS Law; and Mary Agbesanwa, from the University of Birmingham.
An exemplary figure within the city’s professional services community will also be crowned ‘Inspiring Leader’.
Sponsors for this year’s event include Santander UK, Gateley, Squire Patton Boggs, SCC, the Mailbox, Malmaison Birmingham, SimkissGuy Recruitment, Hotel La Tour, and the Greater Birmingham Professional Services Academy.
