Judges named for Y2017 E3 Business Awards
08 March 2017
The judging panel for the 2017 E3 Business Awards has now been named. The organiser, 1 Events Media has selected a total of twenty-six judges from the fields of business, education and business support. The judges will apply their collective experience to assessing award nominations from companies, entrepreneurs and social enterprises across the North West.
There are eighteen award categories in all and nominations closed on Wednesday 19th April.
The judging process will entail an examination of written submissions followed by interviews with all shortlisted nominees. These will take place between 16th and 18th May at the Kilhey Court Macdonald Hotel in Standish.
The winners will be announced at the E3 Awards evening, which will take place on Thursday 13th July at the Macron Stadium in Bolton.
The judges are hoping to see nominations from mainstream businesses as well as groups that may be under-represented in traditional awards programmes - groups such as rural businesses, female entrepreneurs, social enterprises and those coping with disability. In order to keep a strong emphasis on diversity, 1EM has selected judges from different sectors, communities and business types.
The judges include:
Amanda Gowans; Managing Director, Powder Systems Ltd, Liverpool Andrew Dewhurst; Managing Director, Affilius Group, Accrington Bev Butterworth; Business Manager, One Agecny Media, Manchester Brian Heyes; Area Director, HSBC Bank PLC, Preston Danny Callan; Director, Ice Box Designs, Manchester David Herington; CEO, Etail Systems, Barrow-in-Furness Fenner Pearson; Managing Director, Meantime IT, Kendal James Brayshaw; Managing Director, AdaptiveComms, Southport James Shelton; Managing Director, Marked Advantage, Manchester Jemma Taylor; Regional Sales Manager, Aldermore Group PLC, Peterborough John Daly; Partner: Corporate Finance, RSM, Preston Julie Robinson; Chief Executive Officer, Alliance Learning, Bolton Lisa Byrne; Director, One Agency Media, Manchester Lisa Edge; Director, Lancashare, Preston Liz Hey; Managing Director, Elizabeth Jane Associates, Rochdale Mark Fahy; Head of UK SMEs, London Stock Exchange Group, London Mark Law; Managing Director, Wilson Cooke, Bury Martin Heywood; Managing Director, Viva Blackpool, Fylde Martyn Shaw; Director, Business Development, University of Bolton Mike Orme; Founding Director, Fast Forward Growth, Blackburn Naomi Timperley; Co-Founder, Tech North Advocates, Macclesfield Paul Foster; Development Manager, Federation of Small Businesses, Lancashire & Cumbria Phil Burrows; Managing Director, PC Edutech Ltd, Bury Richard Alford; Managing Director, Blackbear IT Solutions, Lancaster Sajid Kadva; Operations Director, Leisure Guard Security, Bolton Stephen Pritchard; CEO, Matrix 247, Rossendale"Each year, we've felt compelled to extend and enlarge the E3 Awards,” notes 1EM managing director, Mubarak Chati. "The scope and volume of previous entries prompted us to add two new award categories this year. As a result, we've also had to increase the capacity of the judging panels. This year, we'll have two panel sessions on each of the three days so we can get through all eighteen categories.
"It's a big task and I'm very grateful to our judges for volunteering their time - in some cases for more than one session. We rely on the judges to make the E3 Business Awards completely impartial and independent, and given the calibre of entrants in recent years, it's certainly a challenge for everyone to agree the ultimate winners."