EY Midlands Entrepreneur of the Year 2015 revealed
SIMON Ward, chief executive officer of Inspired Thinking Group (ITG), was named EY Midlands Entrepreneur of the Year at an awards dinner in Birmingham last night.
Ward, who also took home the Technology award, was described by judges as a “serial entrepreneur” who isn’t afraid to take risks and has “grown a succession of businesses by pioneering new approaches and innovating”.
Birmingham-based ITG delivers technology-led solutions to help marketing departments operate more efficiently. These includes outsourced print management services to major retailers and branded businesses.
The business was formed in 2009 by Ward, following his acquisition and integration of three independent Birmingham-based marketing businesses.
TheBusinessDesk.com is a media supporter of the Entrepreneur of the Year awards. To read more about the awards click here.
Adrian Roberts, partner and Midlands Entrepreneur of the Year leader at accountancy and advisory firm EY, said: “Simon’s entrepreneurial spirit, passion for innovative technologies and strong leadership skills have been the driving force behind ITG’s rapid growth over just six years.
“Their innovative software is a differentiator in the market and makes the firm ideally positioned to accelerate growth in existing and new overseas markets over the coming years.”
Held at the Birmingham Town Hall and hosted by BBC Midlands Today presenter, Nick Owen, the awards dinner honoured local business leaders across ten categories.
The following – aside from Ward – took home awards:
Chris Charnley, Mark Osborne and John Thompson of Ambrey Risk (Emerging)
Pino De Rosa of Bridgeway Consulting (Master)
Peter Jarvis of Contechs (Business Products and Services)
Michael Britton of Goodwill Solutions (Social Enterprise)
Iain Lister of Greenray Energy Solutions (International)
Dr Mark Payton of Mercia Technologies (AIM Listed)
Jim McCarthy of Poundland Group (Consumer Products and Services)
Dr Mark Egerton of Quotient Clinical, The Translational Pharmaceutics Company (Healthcare)
Simon Cashmore of TCL Group (PE-backed)
All of the above winners will go to represent the Midlands at the UK finals in October.
