Finance leaders humbled to be recognised by their peers at glittering awards ceremony

The winners of the Yorkshire Finance Leaders Awards have said they were delighted and humbled to have been recognised for their work by their peers.

The Yorkshire Finance Leaders Awards saw 200 people celebrate the achievements of those working in fiance across the region.  The awards evening recognises and celebrates the outstanding achievements of Yorkshire’s strong finance community.

The awards are jointly sponsored by accountancy and business advisory firm BDO LLP, insurance brokers Lockton Companies, recruitment group Brewster Partners, and law firm Walker Morris.

At the black-tie awards evening, held at The Queens Hotel in Leeds, Baroness Eliza Manningham-Buller spoke about her time as Director General of MI5, the British internal Security Service, from October 2002 until her retirement on 20 April 2007. Talking about her experiences in such a high profile and pressurised position she spoke about some of the key qualities of leadership and trying to not take yourself too seriously.

Quoting anecdotes from her time she relayed to the audience a conversation with Dame Judi Dench about the actor’s character ‘M’ in the James Bond franchise, only to clarify that M works for MI6 not MI5 and the characters and portrayal of the service through TV shows such as ‘Spooks’ is vastly different from real life.

Baroness Manningham-Buller also talked about the importance of building a strong team around you and ensuring that a business and organisation is there to provide support and development opportunities for staff. She talked at length about the ways in which the security service obtains its information, how much it relies on people putting themselves at risk to share their information and help try and stop plots to endanger and harm the public.

Taking questions from the audience she spoke about her fears for the security service following the UK’s departure for the EU.

All images and details of the award can now be found online. 

Winners

Kate Platts

Winner of the Not For Profit or Public Sector Organisation category, Kate Platts, Executive Director of Finance and

Resources, The Sheffield College, said: “I feel very honoured to have won an award and want to pay credit to my colleagues and team at the College. I couldn’t have achieved this without them. I’d also like to thank the sponsors for organising a great event.”

Spencer Morris

Spencer Morris of J Marr (Seafood) won the International Company award. He said: “It was an honour to have both been nominated for, and to have won, the award for Yorkshire Finance Leader in an International Company.”

Winner of the High Growth Start Up award, James Tucknott, who is finance director at Homes for Students, said: “I

James Tucknott

am proud to have won this award and to be recognised by my peers. I have built an enviable finance team and we are looking forward to helping the company deliver on its first five-year plan and beyond that, as it continues to expand its portfolio across the UK.”

Private or Family Owned Company winner Stephen Hammell of Sheffield Forgemasters International added: “The Executive team at Sheffield Forgemasters has faced many challen

Stephen Hammell

ges and significant change over the last 12 months. Whilst I am delighted to have won this award, it has was only possible thanks to the creativity, energy and commitment of the entire Forgemasters team.”

Catherine Bradshaw, of Greencore, which jointly won the Yorkshire Finance Team of the Year award with Willerby, said: “It’s a privilege to work with such a dynamic team and for that to be recognised by winning the Yorkshire Finance Team of Year award means a great deal to the whole finance team who deliver value for Greencore every day.”

Adnan Velic, formerly Finance Director at MRC Global now of Nobia UK, took away the Outstanding

Adnan Velic

Yorkshire

Finance Leader of the year award. He reflected: “To win this award against such a strong field is very humbling. Recognition from my peers makes all the hard work truly worth it.”

The Yorkshire Finance Leaders Awards 2019 – winners and judge’s special mentions:

Yorkshire Finance Leader in a Private Equity Backed Company

Winner: Neil Maskrey, Allied Glass Containers Limited

Special mention: Stuart Sharp, NEOM Organics

Yorkshire Finance Leader in a Not For Profit or Public Sector Organisation

Winner: Kate Platts, The Sheffield College

Special mentions: Donna Needham, The Key Fund and Jo Garnham-Parks, We are IVE

Yorkshire Finance Leader in a Private or Family Owned Company

Winner: Steve Hammell, Sheffield Forgemasters International Limited

Special mention: Nigel Barker, Project ff&e

Yorkshire Finance Leader in a Plc

Winner: Kris Lee, Card Factory PLC

Special mention: Mark Fryer, Augean Plc

Yorkshire Finance Leader in an International Company

Winner: Spencer Morris, J Marr (Seafood) Limited

Special mention: Irfan Mahomed, Eminox

Yorkshire Finance Leader in a High Growth Start Up

Winner: James Tucknott, Homes for Students

Special mention: Simon Tomlinson, etiCloud Limited

Yorkshire Finance Deal of the year

Winner: Theresa Spencer, Ring Automotive Limited

Special mention: Kris Sutton, Acumen Waste Services Limited and Mark Watford, PTSG

Yorkshire Finance Team of the year

Joint winners: Willerby Limited and Greencore Food to Go

Special mention: DB Cargo Limited and VP plc

Outstanding Yorkshire Finance Leader of the year

Winner: Adnan Velic, Nobia UK (formerly MRC Global)

Funds to support local charity Variety, the Children’s Charity were also raised during the evening.