Sir Peter Rigby to chair EY’s Entrepreneur of The Year judging panel
LEADING business figures from across the Midlands have been announced as part of the independent judging panel searching for EY’s 2015 Entrepreneur Of The Year.
The panel will be chaired by Sir Peter Rigby, Group Chief Executive and Chairman of Rigby Group, which contains Europe’s largest independent IT company SCC as well as a network of regional airports, including Coventry.
Joining him on the 11-strong panel are other well known faces such as Paul Thandi, CEO of the NEC Group, and Jason Wouhra, Director and Company Secretary of East End Foods and Chairman of the Institute of Directors in the West Midlands.
They will also be joined by last year’s regional EoTY winner Wayne Martin, CEO of GCI.
The panel in full is:
Sir Peter Rigby – Group Chief Executive and Chairman, Rigby Group – Chair of Judges
Keith Bradshaw – Chairman, Listers Group Ltd
Peter George – CEO, Clinigen Group
Tracy Lewis – CEO, Wacoal Europe
Karen Lowthrop MBE – CEO, Hill Holt Wood
Wayne Martin – CEO, GCI
Melanie Mills – Chief Executive, Social Enterprise West Midlands
Clive Snowdon – Senior Independent Non-Executive Director, Hill & Smith Holdings
Paul Thandi – CEO, NEC Group
Tim Whittard – Investment Director, Business Growth Fund
Jason Wouhra – Director & Company Secretary, East End Foods
Sir Peter Rigby said: “The courage, ingenuity and vision demonstrated by entrepreneurs is at the heart of what makes Britain tick, and events like this are important to both recognise and celebrate their success. Every year this competition sees a remarkable range of businesses that have overcome the odds to bring employment and wealth to the region, and I am delighted to have the opportunity to meet the contenders for the 2015 awards and hear about their success.”
Adrian Roberts, partner sponsor for EY Entrepreneur Of The Year in the Midlands, said: “The confirmed panel of judges reflects the strength and diversity of entrepreneurs and business leaders we have in the Midlands.
“The region is constantly being highlighted as a vibrant and thriving entrepreneurial culture with Birmingham recently named the most entrepreneurial UK city outside of London. This proves that there are entrepreneurs in the Midlands who are continuing to innovate and invest in their businesses and are making a real impact on a local, national and international scale.
“At EY, we are passionate about helping such high potential businesses grow their operations, both in the UK and overseas, and would encourage entrepreneurial businesses to enter our Midlands awards and join our expanding network of the world’s most influential and high-growth business leaders.”
Entries are open until Friday March 6, 2015 and the finalists for each region will be announced in April, with regional finals to take place in June covering the Midlands, London and South, North and Scotland. Regional winners will then compete for the Overall UK Entrepreneur Of The Year title at the final in October.
Last year’s Overall UK Entrepreneur of the Year Award was won by Rosemary Squire of The Ambassador Theatre Group who will compete for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year title in Monte Carlo later this year.
To read more about EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year 2015 awards click here.
