Two Cheshire business women have been recognised at the Forward Ladies Women in Business Awards (WIBA) regional final.
Suzan Thompson, of Elegant Address Luxury Property Group, Chester is winner of the SME Business of the Year (Emerging – less than 10 employees) category and Helen O’Donnell, of Cheshire Community Foundation in Northwich takes top slot in the Not for Profit/Social Enterprise of the Year category.
Hosted by journalist and broadcaster Christa Ackroyd, the awards for the North West and Isle of Man heat took place at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel in Manchester on October 23 where 40 entrepreneurial female business leaders from across the region competed in nine categories to be crowned the winner.
The regional winners from each category, which includes Inspiring Leader of the Year, Start-up Business of the Year and Rising Star, will now compete in the national final taking place on November 20 in Leeds at the Queens Hotel.
But first each of today’s winners will be put through their paces at a live session with the judges on November 4, held at headline sponsor of the awards HSBC’s offices in Leeds.
The WIBAs, now in its sixth year, has become one of the most high profile and respected accolades for women recognising their enormous contribution to the economy and acknowledges start-ups to multi-million pound companies.
This year’s guest speaker for the North West was Nancy Cruickshank, founder of MyShowcase and Myhandbag.com.
Managing Director at Forward Ladies Griselda Togobo said: “This year we received a number of outstanding entries from right across the North West and Isle of Man and the awards really did showcase some of the best talent and businesses from across the region.
“The awards have attracted women from all ages, all professions and all walks of life and we are delighted to welcome the winners from today’s event to the eagerly anticipated finals in Leeds in November.”
This year, for the first time, award finalists and winners will be offered support from two of the most influential names in business – HSBC, headline sponsor of the Forward Ladies Women in Business Awards, and Microsoft, the awards technology partner.
HSBC regional director of small businesses in the North of England Debra White said: “We are proud to support the Forward Ladies National Women in Business Awards programme and entrepreneurial women working and innovating across the UK. As part of our commitment to supporting Britain, we welcome the opportunity to provide help and guidance to this year’s winners of the Forward Ladies Women in Business Awards to expand their business in the future.”
Microsoft will offer finalists a full review of their ICT set up. The review will explore how their organisation can utilise technology across a range of business functions to drive business results.
Sharon Jandu, Strategic Partnerships, Small and Medium Business, at Microsoft, said: “Our mission and values are all about helping businesses unlock their full potential and we are excited about the prospect of working with the UK’s leading women in business in their companies to support them to achieve this aim.”
