Bristol business figures dominate the nominations for the prestigious Institute of Directors (IoD) South West regional Director of the Year Awards with seven names on the shortlist.
They will join other directors from around the region at the awards ceremony later this month to celebrate outstanding business people and focus UK-wide attention on South West success.
The Bristol directors demonstrate the diverse range of business talent in and around the city and represent sectors ranging from product design and the arts to grounds maintenance and waste management.
On the shortlist from the Bristol area are:
- Simon Brown, managing director and owner of research and development tax credit consultancy ForrestBrown,
- Jonathan Fraser, director of Almondsbury-based grounds maintenance business Nurture Landscapes,
- David Gilroy, director of Conscious Solutions, a leading provider of digital marketing services to law firms,
- Merle Hall, managing director of Kinneir Dufort, which specialises in product, packaging and service design for companies around the world, including Bosch, Coca-Cola and Thales,
- Chris Holland, director of Waste Source, a waste brokerage firm working across the UK to increase recycling while reducing client costs,
- Louise Mitchell, CEO of the Bristol Music Trust, created in 2011 by Bristol City Council to manage the city’s iconic Colston Hall music venue and take a regional overview of music promotion and formal and non-formal music education,
- Andrew Scott, managing director of Weston-Super-Mare-based Ascot Group, which takes in Purplex Marketing, Insight Data, a specialist provider of B2B marketing data, and Business Leader magazine.
They will be competing in a number of categories, including Young Director, Not for Profit/Third Sector, Corporate Responsibility, Director of the Year and International Director of the Year, joining other nominees from Dorset, Gloucestershire and Cornwall.
The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony and gala dinner on May 25 at Ashton Gate Stadium. Categories winners will go forward for a chance to be a national award winner, judged against all the other regional finalists.
IoD South West chairman Nick Sturge said: “Once again we had an extremely high standard of entries demonstrating the breadth and depth of talent, enterprise and leadership across the region. I am also very pleased to be seeing more diversity in the nominees and the sectors they represent.
“Great leadership is essential to steer an organisation forward and our award scheme looks for individuals who understand and fulfil their responsibilities as directors or trustees. This will be one of the key factors in judging our winners.”
The guest speaker at this year’s event is IoD director-general Stephen Martin, who will be making his first visit to the region since he took over the post at the start of the year.
