Partner Article

Leading FDs and Financial Service Providers Shortlisted for FDs’ Excellence Awards

The Real Business FDs’ Excellence Awards held in association with ICAEW and supported by the CBI, announces the 2015 shortlist today.

The awards, now in their 11th year, celebrate the best FDs in the UK as well as the top finance sector service providers.

Winners are decided by a combination of independent research, judging panels and the annual Satisfaction Survey, which gathers opinions from financial sector decision makers. This year the survey generated a record-breaking 1,800 responses.

Craig Wildman (Albion), Matthew Powell (Lending Works), David Lee (Mendeley) and Yomi Amunikoro (Silixa) are all in the running for the Private Company of the Year: Smaller Business category (less than £10m turnover). Competing for Private Company FD of the Year: Mid-Sized Businesses (£10-£50m turnover) are Andrew Insley (Cordium), Brian McKenzie (Process Systems Enterprise), Colin Webster (BRUIN Financial) and Brad Wilkinson (The Vineyard Group). The Private Company FD of the Year: Larger Businesses (£50m+ turnover) category shortlist features Helen Rieupeyroux (Genuine Solutions Group), Marcus Jennings (Just Eat), Edwin Strang (Industrial Chemicals Group) and Robin Brown (United Biscuits).

Shortlisted FDs in the FTSE categories include Chris Kennedy (easyJet), Mike Phillips (Micro Focus) and Liz Dixon (Tristel).

Last year saw winners such as Andrew Langford of Global Payments crowned Young FD of the Year and Richard Gibson of SwiftKey named Private Company FD of the Year.

Young Finance Professional of the Year (Under 30), Private Equity-Backed FD of the Year and Bank Manager of the Year will also be awarded on the night, while separate categories will see banks, software vendors, recruitment companies, pensions providers and accountancy firms honoured.

All winners will be revealed on 14th May 2015 at an awards ceremony at the London Marriott, Grosvenor Square, hosted by comedian Marcus Brigstocke.

ICAEW Chief Executive Michael Izza said: “Finance directors hold the reins in business as they steer organisations to growth, which is vitally important as today’s companies contend with a fragile global economy.

I’m immensely proud that many of the shortlisted finance directors are ICAEW Chartered Accountants, particularly some of the rising stars under 30 showing the future of business is bright.

This year has seen some exceptionally strong entrants, so everyone shortlisted should be particularly pleased with their achievements. We look forward to celebrating the success of some of the brightest finance minds in the country.“

Matthew Fell, CBI Director for Competitive Markets, said: “As the economy continues to grow steadily, the role of skilled finance directors is really important to keeping this growth on track. The shortlist includes current and future leading lights from the sector and the CBI is delighted to offer them, and the awards, our continued support.”

Amy Carroll, Group Editor, Caspian Media, adds: “The calibre of entrants this year is reflected in the strength of the shortlist, with FDs from big consumer brands like Just Eat through to consultancies like Albion and hospitality businesses such as The Vineyard Group. It will be interesting to learn more about their individual stories at the ceremony. We know from previous years the impact they have, both on their organisations and the wider business community.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by David Martin .