North’s best finance directors recognised
Six of the 12 winners at last night’s 2018 Northern Finance Director Awards all hail from Yorkshire.
The award ceremony, attended by more than 200 guests at Leeds Town Hall, highlighted the achievements of finance directors working across the North of England.
The winners were selected by an independent judging panel from a shortlist of 46 individuals from across a range of sectors and industries in the North.
Candidates were judged on all-round commercial and managerial skills, including interpersonal qualities, business acumen, innovation and influence, as well as technical accounting and financial skills.
The ceremony was sponsored by Barclays, EY and Squire Patton Boggs, and compered by comedian Jo Caulfield.
The Yorkshire winners include:
- Beverley Shepherd from Ripon-based Econ won Best Finance Director of a limited company up to £25m – £100m
- Sue Allen from Hull-based Willerby Limited won Best Finance Director of a limited company up to Over 100m
- Martin Johnson from York-based Great Rail Journeys won Best Finance Director of a Private Equity Backed
- Scott Fawcett from Leeds-based Pharacy 2U won Northern Finance Director of the year 2018 – Innovation
- Adam Coates from Castleford-based Premier Technical Services Group won Northern Finance Director of the year 2018 – Strategic Impact
- Rboin Brown from Scunthorpe-based Nisa won Northern Finance Director of the year 2018 – Outstanding achievement
Mark Pickard, partner at EY, said: “We know that the North of England houses some very talented FDs who help steer companies through a multitude of challenges in their respective sectors, showing great leadership qualities for the benefit of their finance team and the wider business.
“It has been fantastic to see the exceptionally high calibre of all of the finalists for this year’s award and to be able to showcase all that they, and the North, has to offer and celebrate their great achievements.”
Alex Fogal, relationship director at Barclays, added: “We’re proud to continue our support for the Northern Finance Director Awards. It is fantastic to see FDs receive due recognition for the pivotal role they play in driving financial success for their company.”
John Alderton, Leeds office managing partner at Squire Patton Boggs, who chaired the judging panel, said: “We were overwhelmed with the quality of the nominations, we saw a real spread of businesses in this year’s awards; an incredibly wide mix of size, sectors and specialisms that once again emphasises the vibrancy and strength of businesses here in the Northern Powerhouse.”
