High-flyers from the region’s businesses will be battling it out in front of a panel of experts at the University of Birmingham this week when they are judged for one of nine National Business Awards.
Entrepreneurs and business leaders will pit their wits against the judges at Birmingham Business School for the ‘Business Oscars’ in the Midlands and East of England regional heat.
Recognising and rewarding excellence, innovation and success, the Awards, sponsored by Orange, are uniquely open to organisations of all sizes and from any industry sector – public or private.
Judging takes place over five days, and the judges are drawn from government and leading businesses, business schools, public and private sector organisations and think-tanks. All are selected for their business acumen, experience and knowledge of the specific subject matter.
Professor Jonathan Michie, the Head of Birmingham Business School is “delighted that Birmingham Business School will host the regional judging sessions of these prestigious awards for the next three years. To attract these awards to Birmingham Business School is in accord with our mission to build strong links with the regional business community.”
Dr Rehan ul-Haq, Lecturer in Strategic Management from Birmingham Business School, is looking forward to being on the judging panel again this year: “I thoroughly enjoy being a panellist for the National Business Awards. It is a refreshing experience to hear inspirational ideas and leadership from the region’s business elite.’
Shortlisted candidates will have to wait until the Gala Dinner at Chesford Grange in Warwickshire on 4 July to discover whether they had the winning formula.
Winners from across the Midlands and Eastern England in the 2006 programme were: ARM Holdings, Tyrrells Potato Chips, Jaguar and Land Rover, epyx, Enviroquest, BigBarn, ClinPhone and the Luminus Group.
Ends
Notes to Editors:
The categories in the National Business Awards Regional Programme 2007 are:
- The 3i Growth Strategy of the Year Award
- The AXA Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year Award
- The Badenoch & Clark Business of the Year Award
- The Business Innovation of the Year Award
- The Cable & Wireless Award for Customer Focus
- The City & Guilds Employer of the Year Award
- The Corporate Social Responsibility Award
- The Credit Suisse Entrepreneur of the Year Award
- The Orange Best Use of Technology in Business Award
Allowing the best of British businesses to showcase their achievements and benchmark their successes against firms and bodies of all types, the combined turnover of entrants in 2006’s national programme was £366 billion with a profit of £32 billion, while it represented 1.8 million UK employees and 250,000 personnel overseas
University of Birmingham:
The University of Birmingham is one of the top research-intensive universities in the UK, with around 27, 000 students, 6,000 members of staff, and an annual turnover of c.£360 million, making it one of the biggest employers in Birmingham and a considerable business in its own right.
Known as the UK's first 'redbrick' university, the University of Birmingham encompasses not only the lakeside setting and green landscape of its Edgbaston campus, but also has bases across Birmingham as well as the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford upon Avon, the Ironbridge Institute at the Ironbridge Gorge and at its outward bound Priestley Centre on the edge of Lake Coniston in the Lake District.
Further information:
Rachel Burrows – Head of Communications, University of Birmingham
Tel: 0121 414 6681 / mob: 07789 921165 / email: r.burrows@bham.ac.uk
Lee Robertson – Head of PR, Quest Media for National Business Awards
tel: 020 7955 3962 / email: LRobertson@cmpi.biz