Member Article

Finance leaders recognised at FD Awards 2019

Leading lights in the region’s finance community have been honoured at the prestigious Finance Director of the Year awards.

John Grinnell, of Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, was the big winner on the night. He collected the overall award of FD of the Year but was also recognised as FD of the Year at a Non-Profit Organisation (Over £100m). The judges noted the innovation he has applied to the challenging financial environment the Trust faces in caring for over 330,000 children each year.

Nicola Davies of the University of Liverpool received a Special Recognition Award for her outstanding contribution in the sector, as did Gerald Andrews, who retired in the summer, helped deliver and make a success of The ACC Liverpool Group. He was acknowledged with a Lifetime Achievement award.

Now in their ninth year, the awards, held at the Crowne Plaza, Liverpool, showcase the work of the region’s brightest FDs across both public and private sectors.

The regional specific awards included Liverpool - Mike Burns, The Walton Centre; Warrington – John Roberts, Secured Mail; Cheshire – Susan Shardlow, Blue Group; and North Wales, David Watson, Adventure Parc Snowdonia.

Carl Williams, North West Managing Partner at Grant Thornton, said: “It’s always inspiring to see the professional excellence at the heart of some of the most dynamic businesses within our region. The finance directors represented at this year’s event all have compelling stories to tell of successfully negotiating big challenges and producing results against fearless ambitions. It’s a pleasure to see them acknowledged.”

Simon Massey, Managing Director at Accountable Recruitment, said: “I’m very passionate about our local business regions and having had the pleasure of working with so many talented FD’s within the area I really appreciate and understand what remarkable jobs they do year in year out. We had over 300 entries from outstanding professionals and I’d like to congratulate all of the finalists and winners.”

The full list of winners at the awards, which are sponsored by business advisers Grant Thornton, Accountable Recruitment, Hill Dickinson and HSBC is as follows:

Finance Director of the year – Liverpool City Region Mike Burns, The Walton Centre

Finance Director of the year – Cheshire Susan Shardlow, Blue Group

Finance Director of the year – North Wales David Watson, Adventure Parc Snowdonia

Finance Director Under, 40 years of age – Up to £25m turnover Chris Bird, Adlib

Finance Director Under, 40 years of age – Over £25m Kyle Tyrrell, Granite

Finance Director of a business Up to £8m George Dutton, GasTag Ltd

Finance Director of a business £8 – £18m Martin Audcent, SysGroup

Finance Director of a business £18 – £30m Dan Adamson, Network Space

Finance Director of a business £30 – £42m Ian Burton, Bullen Healthcare

Finance Director of a Large Corporate £42 – £75m Alex Jessop, Stobart Energy Plc

Finance Director of a Non Profit Organisation – Small/Medium Organisation Tony Rowan, FRC Group

Finance Director of a Non Profit Organisation – Large Organisation John Grinnell, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital Trust

Commercial Finance Director of the Year Kevin Whitley, PharmaPac (UK) Ltd

Finance Director of the year – Special Recognition Award Nicola Davies, University of Liverpool

Finance Director of the year – Overall Winner 2018 John Grinnell, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital Trust

Lifetime Achievement
Gerald Andrews, The ACC Liverpool Group

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Henry Roberts .