Durham entrepreneur Nickie Gott was awarded her OBE at Buckingham Palace, London on Wednesday 22 June 2016 for services to women into business and female entrepreneurship in the North East.
Nickie, 50, founded She’s Gott It! in April 2002 and the company based on the Lambton estate has now become renowned for creating exciting events internationally, including the recent Hitachi plant opening attended by the Prime Minister and Chancellor and the opening of the new Crowne Plaza Newcastle.
A previous winner of the North East Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, NE Entrepreneur of the Year and Region’s Best Small Business award, most recently Nickie’s company has been awarded two national event awards; Best Practice and Best Event at the National Outdoor Events Awards.
Following being named North East Woman Entrepreneur in 2007, Nickie became actively involved in supporting and growing the region’s female business community and entrepreneurs.
Her commitment to growing the region’s female talent pool led to her forming the North East Women’s Advisory board, part of the North East Chamber of Commerce, in September 2012.
Through this group Nickie actively supports and promotes female entrepreneurship, as she believes passionately in the need to use networks and mentors to grow regional talent. Nickie also now drives and supports the annual North East Women Entrepreneur of the Year awards that take place each November and acts as a business mentor to a number of businesses.
On receiving her OBE, Nickie said: “Championing women to start and grow their own business is my big passion, so being presented with this prestigious honour especially for my services to women into business is absolutely wonderful, we all had such a great day.”
Nickie has overcome numerous challenges in her life to become the success she is today, including failing all of her eight O-levels at 16, being made redundant at three months’ pregnant with her first child, having a seriously ill second child and recovering from breast cancer and treatment in 2008.