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Top North East Women Revealed

The winners of the prestigious annual North East Women Entrepreneur of the Year Awards have been announced with 12 women picking up top honours.

Winner of the Sage-sponsored Best Small Business Award and the prestigious Susan Dobson Award was All England Gas Services. Business owner, Jacqui Gallazzi-Ritchie, whose company is based in Stockton said: “It was a very lovely evening and I was overwhelmed with the support of friends and colleagues, who made the journey to be there. I was very humbled to have been nominated, but to have won both awards is truly an honour, not just for myself, but also the team at All England Gas.” Jaqueline de Rojas, EVP Northern Europe, Sage: “Sage is passionate about the UK, the technology industry and building businesses. We firmly believe that the UK - in this post Brexit climate - can become the nation of choice for inward investment and talent. Championing and recognising the great strides made by our female entrepreneurs and businesses in the region has an important part to play here, and Sage is a proud sponsor of the WIN awards. “We’ve got a region packed with potential here, and it was fantastic to see the quality of the competition – and the standard of our region’s women-led businesses. To help cultivate this environment of success in business further, I’d ask all nominees and winners to use this platform to both reach higher and inspire others, to help other women come out of the shadows and realise their dreams. To show them that they can do it. That it’s possible to succeed – and win. Working together and supporting one another in this way means we can all achieve great things.” Now in its 17th year the awards celebrate women’s achievements in a range of sectors. They were founded by an organisation originally set up to support women in business through networking but have been championed by Nickie Gott, She’s Gott It Events and Chair of North East England Chamber of Commerce’s Women’s Advisory Board for six years, whose business organised the event

Nickie Gott said: “The winners are all great examples of everything that is great about women entrepreneurs. They represent innovation, hard work and the ability to overcome any challenge that comes along with good humour and passion. I am delighted to have been able to play a part in recognising their fantastic achievements and look forward to hearing about even more success from them in the future.”

The judges who sifted through a record 200 entries were Nickie Gott and representatives from Sage UK, Durham Constabulary, the Chamber as well last year’s overall winner Jayne Dolder.

The full list of winners is: Best Apprenticeship sponsored by Northern Skills Group Chloe Thompson - Accenture

Best Creative Business sponsored by WIN Amy Jackson - Unwritten Creative Runner-up Emma Pace - House of Objects

Best Home Based Business Rachel McClumpha - RJM Photography Runner up, Nichola Reeder - 12th Man Solutions Ltd

Best New Business sponsored by Tees Valley Unlimited Rachel & Kathryn Meadows - Katie’s Garden

Best Use of Innovation sponsored by NatWest Joanna Wake - RAW Digital Training

Heart of the Community Joanne Smith - Fighting All Cancers Together (FACT) Runner- up, Laura Leigh Wayman - Child’s Play Private Nursery

Leadership Yvonne Gale - NEL Fund Managers Runner up, Margaret Toberty - Metrology Software Products Ltd (MSP)

Service Award sponsored by North East England Chamber of Commerce Claire Moore - School House Recruitment Ltd

STEM sponsored by TECHNIP Professor Roz Anderson - University of Sunderland Runner-up Professor Muzlifah Haniffa - Institute of Cellular Medicine, Newcastle University

Young Entrepreneur of the Year Laura Leigh Wayman - Child’s Play Private Nursery

All of the finalists will receive free use of Sage One business package for 12 months.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kay Wilson .