Eight Bristol directors will go head to head with some of the South West’s top bosses next week in one of the region’s most prestigious business award schemes.
The eight are among the finalists in this year’s South West Director of the Year Awards. 
The coveted awards will be presented at a high-profile dinner and ceremony in Exeter next Thursday with Christine Ourmières-Widener, CEO of Devon-based airline Flybe, as guest speaker.
This year’s awards received the highest-ever number of nominations – with the diverse shortlist reflecting the breadth of talent and leadership in the region.
Three new categories have been added this year recognising Inclusivity, Innovation and the Chairman’s Award for Excellence in Director and Board Practice.
Existing categories include Family Business, Public Sector, Not for Profit/Third Sector, Global, Emerging and Corporate Responsibility.
While the IoD has named the shortlist, it has not revealed which category they have been selected for as judges put forward a single individual in one category.
The Bristol directors contesting the awards are:
Chris Holland of business waste advisory service Waste Source. Chris founded and developed the Waste Source model five years ago while he was procurement manager for Pieminister and realised the company was being overcharged for the removal of waste. Waste Source has no vehicles of its own but operates a brokerage model across multiple sectors including hospitality, retail and construction.
James Kingston, founder and managing director of construction recruitment specialists Kingston Barnes. James launched the company after 12 years in construction recruitment.
David Kirkpatrick of Tria Recruitment, which specialises in IT and business transformation staffing. David co-founded the business with two other experienced recruiters in 2013. It has worked with clients ranging from the Body Shop to Primark and Whitbread.
James Monk, director of commercial services at GWE Business West, the region’s largest business support and lobbying group. James leads on commercial activities supporting the business community. GWE recently launched an International Trade Centre which has been was instrumental in helping Business West to achieve a 40% increase in website traffic, and 250% more potential first-time exporters using our services.
Steve Preston, managing director of professional services, engineering and IT recruiters Heat Recruitment. It recently became the first recruitment agency in Bristol to be accredited for the Workplace Wellbeing Charter as supported by Public Health England.
Rob Vivian, CEO of Pure Comms, a telecoms provider with offices in Clevedon and Cornwall. Rob is a business ambassador for North Somerset Council and also works with North Somerset Enterprise Agency to support up-and-coming business people.
Donna Whitehead, pro vice chancellor and executive dean of the Faculty of Business and Law at UWE. Donna leads a team of nearly 300 staff and more than 6,000 students and manages a budget of £55m. She also leads the work on enterprise across the university.
Gareth Williams, founder of YellowDog, which helps businesses access large amounts of computer processing resources. The firm is based at Bristol’s Engine Shed innovation hub.
IoD South West chairman Nick Sturge, who as director of Bristol’s Engine Shed innovation hub won in 2014, said: “The awards recognise individuals who have made a significant difference in their field, be they start-ups or established organisations across both the private and public sectors. The hard task now will be to choose the winners from such an eclectic and impressive shortlist.”
The awards are sponsored by regional accountancy firm Bishop Fleming, which has seven offices across the West of England and West Midlands, including in Bristol.
Bristol Business News and its sister titles Swindon Business News and Bath Business News are once again media partners for these coveted awards and will carry full details of the winners next Friday.
