Yorkshire’s Finance Leaders celebrated at awards

2nd October 2018

Finance community’s outstanding achievements recognised at Yorkshire Finance Leaders Awards

The most inspirational and outstanding leaders from our region’s finance community were honoured at the 2018 Finance Leaders Awards held at the Queens Hotel on Wednesday 26 September.

The Awards were open to all senior finance professionals, including Finance Directors and CFOs, in both the public and private sectors and include categories for interim finance leaders and ‘fast rising’ finance leaders.

Following an interview and a judging process, 45 finalists were chosen from an initial list of 100+ nominations, with 11 winners being announced on the night, including the coveted ‘Outstanding Finance Leader of the Year’, which was awarded to Matthias Seeger, Group Finance Director, Costcutter.

Walker Morris is joint sponsor of the Awards, along with accountancy and business advisory firm BDO LLP, insurance brokerage Lockton Companies and Brewster Pratap Recruitment Group. The Yorkshire Post, Yorkshire’s National Newspaper, is media partner.

The keynote speakers at the event comprised, British explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who shared an exhilarating insight into his lifetime of adventure and exploration, and Victoria Woodings, Chief Executive Officer at Principle Group, the award-winning Huddersfield-based global brand implementation specialist.

Richard Naish, partner at Walker Morris said:

“It is testament to the Yorkshire finance community just how many high-calibre candidates were nominated, which made judging and selecting the winners an extremely difficult task. All the finalists were of an extremely high standard demonstrating inspirational leadership, outstanding achievement in their field and having a significant impact on the profitability of their businesses.

“However, congratulations go to our winners, who are all inspirational mentors working side-by-side with their management teams. Their strategic vision has helped to transform their organisations and we are delighted to be able to recognise their achievements at the Yorkshire Finance Leaders Awards.

“I would also like to take the opportunity to thank the fantastic keynote speakers, Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Victoria Woodings whose humbling speeches made an indelible impression on everyone.”

The winners on the night were:

• Finance Leader in a Private Company under £100m – Danny Taylor, Head of Finance and IT, Evolution Power Tools
• Finance Leader in a Private Company over £100m – Matthew Mitchell, Finance Director, Buy It Direct
• Finance Leader within a UK Group – Paula Smith, CFO, Plusnet PLC
• Finance Leader within an International Group – Ciara Milne, Finance Director & Company Secretary, Kloeckner Metals
• Shared Services Finance Leader – Rob Blomfield, Vice President Finance, Burberry Business Services
• Transformation Finance Leader – Andrea Rossi, CFO, DB Cargo UK
• Finance Leader in a Family Owned Business – Mike Porter, CFO, NG Bailey
• Fast Rising Finance Leader – Rob Littlewood, Finance Director, Parseq
• Interim Finance Leader – Ben Robinson, BR Financial Consultancy
• Finance Leader in a Private Equity Backed Company – Marcus Green, CFO, Platinum Stairlifts
• Outstanding Finance Leader of the Year – Matthias Seeger, Group Finance Director, Costcutter