“I want Britain to become the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business. To do that, we need to learn from the many success stories coming out of Britain’s business community. The National Business Awards are the perfect way to celebrate the best of British business in every sector and every region”, said George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
As the hunt officially began for the organisations and individuals leading the UK recovery, key representatives from the NBA programme gathered at London’s Canary Wharf to unveil the new creative campaign for the National Business Awards.
“I will be looking for exceptional leadership who are executing strategies extremely well,” said Julie Meyer, CEO of Ariadne Capital, a judge on this year’s Entrepreneur of the Year category and a member of the NBA Advisory Board. “I want to see an understanding of how markets are developing and how they have seized opportunities. It always comes down to execution combined with leadership.”
Commenting on the relevance of the National Business Awards, business economist Professor Dominic Swords said: “The NBAs give us an early sign of where growth and innovation is coming from. I expect some surprises of where people are seeing growth, but clearly export, green and clean tech, manufacturing and technology will feature – areas where we are quite strong in the UK.”
Giving a prediction of trends over the next decade as the National Business Awards enter their tenth year of recognition, Swords added: “There has been a sense that innovation has gone from the private sector to the public sector over the last ten years, but this will reverse over the next ten.”
Recession recognition
Asked how the recession has impacted accolades like the National Business Awards, UBM Awards Managing Director Caroline Jackson Levy said: “In difficult times businesses want to be recognised and they’re digging deep, becoming more innovative and entrepreneurial and they see the NBAs as the platform to show off their success.”
One of last year’s winners who has benefited from recognition is toy designer and marketer Wow! Stuff, which won the Orange Innovation Award. “Recognition has opened doors nationally and internationally,” said managing director Richard North. “Only a few months ago we presented to a major US retail customer and had our NBA win at the forefront. Now we have a listing of 14-15 products with them, worth millions of dollars. If you’re thinking of entering the awards, just go for it.”
Awards categories 2011
Categories open to entries
- The Excellence in Marketing Award
- The WorldPay Online Business of the Year
- The Online Small Business of the Year
- The Customer Focus Award
- The Employer of the Year
- The ICAEW Sustainability Award
- The BlackBerry Growth Strategy of the Year
- The BlackBerry Business Enabler of the Year
- The Orange Innovation Award
- The Entrepreneur of the Year Award
- The Santander Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year Award
Categories run by nomination only
- The 3i Private Business of the Year
- The Grant Thornton Mid-Cap Business of the Year
- The Coutts & Co Large-Cap Business of the Year
- The Daily Telegraph Award for a Decade of Business Excellence
- The Orange Leader of the Year
To enter or nominate an individual or organisation for this year’s National Business Awards, call 020 7234 8755 or visit www.nationalbusinessawards.co.uk – where you can also view a short film about what the judges will be looking for this year.
Finalists will be announced on the 28th July and winners will be honoured at the National Business Awards gala dinner and awards ceremony in London at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Tuesday 8th November.
