Winners of the Yorkshire Finance Leaders Awards 2023 Unveiled

Morrisons, Leeds Bradford Airport and Riva Homes were among the winners at the prestigious Yorkshire Finance Leaders Awards, which took place at the Royal Armouries in Leeds and were compered by British sports journalist and former BBC Look North television presenter, Tanya Arnold.

Over 250 guests gathered to see the region’s most talented finance stars recognised and celebrated for their outstanding achievements and contribution to Yorkshire’s economic growth.

Keynote speaker Nicolas Hamilton

Alex Tong from Leeds Bradford Airport took home the Outstanding Yorkshire Finance Leader of the Year Award, Stacy Hopson of Rosemont Pharmaceuticals was awarded the Future Yorkshire Finance Leader Award, and Yorkshire Finance Team of the Year went to Morrisons.

The awards evening was sponsored by leading global professional services firm Aon, international professional services firm BDO LLP, financial recruitment specialist Marks Sattin, and Lloyds Bank. Racing driver Nicolas Hamilton entertained and inspired the guests with his keynote speech.

Alex Tong, from Leeds Bradford Airport, said: “I am both very proud and humbled to win this award. We are blessed with some incredible finance talent in the region and so it is an honour to be recognised in this way. I’d like to thank all of my amazing colleagues as I couldn’t do what I do without them.”

From left, keynote speaker Nicolas Hamilton with compere Tanya Arnold

Steve Wilson, business development manager at Aon Leeds said: “These awards recognise, celebrate, and showcase the incredible talent we have in Yorkshire’s finance community. Once again, the standard has been incredibly high and I want to congratulate all our winners and those shortlisted.

“The region is home to the very best finance professionals who play a crucial role in steering companies through many, and in recent times, unprecedented challenges.

“I’m thrilled and privileged to celebrate our finance stars and recognise their contribution to the region’s business community.”

Full list of winners 

Award title- Outstanding Yorkshire Finance Leader of the Year

Winner

• Alex Tong, Leeds Bradford Airport

Shortlisted

• Ben Wright, Swift Group

• Hannah Norbu, Riva Home

Award title – Yorkshire Finance Leader in an International Group

Winner

• Bryony Heath, Solera

Shortlisted

• Gemma Doyle, Magnet

• Jonathan Pervin, Synetiq

Award title – Yorkshire Finance Leader in a Private Equity Backed Company (<£30m Turnover)

Winner

• Ajay Handa, RAM Tracking

Shortlisted

• Claire Elcock, SmartSearch

• Ben Turnock, Roxy Leisure

Award title – Yorkshire Finance Leader in a Private Equity Backed Company (>£30m Turnover)

Winner

• Louise Crossley, Inspired Pet Nutrition (IPN)

Shortlisted

• Alex Cook, Nexus Rental

• Alex Tong, Leeds Bradford Airport

Award title – Yorkshire Finance Leader in a Privately-Owned Business (<£30m Turnover)

Winner

• Hannah Norbu, Riva Home

Shortlisted

• Jacob Bury, Krimpterm Ltd

• Craig Roberts, MattressOnline

Award title – Yorkshire Finance Leader in a Privately-Owned Business (>£30m Turnover)

Winner

• Ben Wright, Swift Group

Shortlisted

• Garry Clarke, Education Placement Group

• Ian Davies, Cloud Nine

Award title – Significant Impact

Winners

• Gemma Doyle, Magnet (Turnaround/Transformation)

• Alex Cook, Nexus Rental (Deal of the Year)

Shortlist

• Ian Davies, Cloud Nine

• Christina Geary, BJSS

• Tom Mather, LNT Group

Award title – High Growth

Winner

• Edgar Chibaka, First Response Group Ltd

Shortlist

• Louise Crossley, Inspired Pet Nutrition (IPN)

• Ben Turnock, Roxy Leisure

• Christina Geary, BJSS

Award title – Yorkshire Finance Team of the Year

Winner

• Morrisons

Shortlist

• Sumo Digital

• Premier Farnell

• Wolseley

Award title – Yorkshire ESG Finance Leader

Winner

• Jason Sutton, CPL Industries

Shortlist

• Ben Turnock, Roxy Leisure

• Alex Tong, Leeds Bradford Airport

Award – Future Yorkshire Finance Leader

Winner

• Stacy Hopson, Rosemont Pharmaceuticals

Shortlist

• Emily Large, Sumo Digital

• Ben Turnock, Roxy Leisure

To learn more about Aon UK, visit www.aon.com/unitedkingdom, BDO, visit www.bdo.co.uk, Lloyds, visit www.lloydsbank.com/business and Marks Sattin, visit www.markssattin.co.uk/.