The bosses of a radiation technology firm and a social media advertising company have been honoured at the Institute of Directors’ (IoD) Director of the Year Awards.
Dr Arnab Basu, chief executive of Sedgefield-based Kromek Group, was named the Innovation Director of the Year at the annual awards for excellence in business leadership in Yorkshire and the North East.
Kromek Group is a leading global supplier of radiation detection technology for medical, security screening and nuclear applications. Dr Basu also chairs NHS England’s Academic Health Science Network for the North East and North Cumbria and is a council member of Innovate UK.
The judges said Kromek is an impressive example of a significant business built on highly innovative products.
Ben Maughan, managing director of Chester-le-Street-based social media advertising business Epic Social, was named Start-Up Director of the Year.
Having founded his first business at the tender age of 16, Ben has repeatedly shown what it takes to be a successful young entrepreneur – passion, ambition and creativity. The judges described him as a true entrepreneur with a great level of focus on culture and people.
Lesley Wild, chair of independent family business Bettys & Taylors Group, received the Judges’ Special Award while Roger Marsh, chair of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP), was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The awards, held at the Principal York hotel, honour leaders from the public and private sectors along with entrepreneurs of all ages and backgrounds.
Guest speaker was Charlotte Valeur, chair of the IoD and the evening was compèred by BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Danni Hewson. The judging panel was chaired by Simon Walton, managing partner at Berwick Partners/Odgers Berndtson, Leeds.
The winners go forward to the national Director of the Year finals, where they will compete against winners from across the UK.
Jon Geldart, chair of IoD Yorkshire and North East, said: “Exceptional businesses are only so because of the exceptional people who create, drive and sustain them. The Director of the Year Awards celebrates these leaders, often unsung and unrecognised. At a time when our country remains fractured by dysfunctional politics and politicians it is heartening that British business displays leadership where politics does not.”
The full list of winners is:
CSR: James Cain, Harrogate Water Brands
Family Business: Tim Rix, J.R. Rix & Sons
Inclusivity: Charlotte Armitage, Yorkshire Academy of Film and TV
Innovation: Dr Arnab Basu MBE, Kromek Group PLC
International: Prof Adam Beaumont, AQL
Non-Executive: Colin Glass OBE, Shine
SME: James Cain, Harrogate Water Brands
Start Up: Benjamin Maughan, Epic Social
Third Sector: Adeem Younis, Penny Appeal
Young: Oliver North, O&H Vehicle Technology
Large Business: Jacqui Hall, CNG
Chairman’s Award: Linda Pollard CBE DL, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Judges Special Award: Lesley Wild, Bettys and Taylors Group
Lifetime Achievement Award: Roger Marsh OBE, Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership
Awards partners are CNG, Dine, Topic UK, Leeds Beckett University, BDB, Forward Ladies, RTC North, The Alchemist, Principal Hotel, York and Walking with the Wounded.