Awards Celebrate Business Achievements of Military Veterans

We reveal the finalists for the second annual British Ex-Forces in Business Awards, the flagship celebration of military veterans in second careers. Over 800 military and business leaders are set to attend the prestigious awards ceremony in London on 8 May.

The finalists for the 2019 British Ex-Forces in Business Awards, the world’s largest celebration of military veterans in business, are today revealed. Each year thousands of servicemen and women leave the military, forming an attractive pool of talent in the civilian world. But despite their years spent gaining skills and values that are transferable and valuable to businesses, transitioning and finding a place in the wider workforce can be challenging. While many hundreds of thousands have gone through a similar transition, service leavers lack visible role models in business.

The British Ex-Forces in Business Awards provides that visibility on a national scale by celebrating the accomplishments of veterans across the UK workforce. The awards highlight the military skills and values that have enabled business success and recognise organisations that support the transition of servicemen and women into second careers.

This year’s awards ceremony, taking place on 8 May in the London Hilton on Park Lane’s Grand Ballroom, will bring together a record audience of over 800, making it the largest event of its kind globally. The prestigious event gathers business leaders, veterans, top employers, current serving officers, politicians, journalists and other stakeholders to promote the significant value that ex-military add to the UK economy.

The finalists were whittled down from over 400 nominations with the winners decided by a judging panel of military veterans headed up by Admiral Sir George Zambellas, former First Sea Lord and now chairman of several companies. Other judges include the CEOs of aerospace giant Lockheed Martin (UK), pathology service provider Viapath, governing body GB Snowsport and recruitment firm Staffline Group, as well as senior leaders from EY, PwC, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Cisco and Royal Mail among others.

Admiral Sir George Zambellas, First Sea Lord between 2013-2016 and Head Judge for the Awards, said: “I congratulate all those ex-forces men and women who, after many years focused on military delivery, have turned their hands so successfully to the business battlefield! Many of the skills needed are identical: leadership, fortitude, commitment and attention to detail. Some are new, especially in commerce and sales. But the ethos and values of ex-forces people always shine through, and I’m proud to support them.”

This year’s awards ceremony will be hosted by BBC news anchor and former RAF officer Susannah Streeter who will welcome keynote addresses from Sir Charlie Mayfield, Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership and a former army officer, and Lt. Gen. Sir Andrew Gregory, Chief Executive of SSAFA the Armed Forces charity and a former Chief of Defence People, plus live entertainment and guest award presenters.

SSAFA the Armed Forces charity is also the official charity for the event. Lt. Gen. Sir Andrew Gregory said: “Congratulations to all of those businesses who have been shortlisted for an award. SSAFA the Armed Forces charity is very proud to be associated with this important event which celebrates veteran employment. As a former Chief of Defence People, and now Chief Executive at a charity which operates a mentoring scheme for service leavers amongst other vital services, I am very aware of the challenges that can be faced by service leavers during their transition, with employment a major challenge for many. It is very heartening to see so many employers acknowledging the skills and experiences of those who have served their country.”

The British Ex-Forces in Business Awards are sponsored by CBRE, FDM Group, KuehneNagel, Galliford Try, Lloyd’s of London, the Officers’ Association, NTT Data, Santander, Savills, Sopra Steria and Standard Life Aberdeen. Other supporters include Forces Recruitment Services, RFEA – The Forces Employment Charity, SaluteMyJob, the White Ensign Association and media partners BFBS, Quest Magazine and RealBusiness.co.uk.

Ben Rossi, CEO of Disruptive Media Group and founder of the British Ex-Forces in Business Awards, said: “We have been blown away by the response to this programme. Supporting veterans is not only the right thing to do but there is a clear business case too, as demonstrated by the incredible talent in the 400+ nominations received for this year’s awards. There is still much to do to educate employers on the importance and value of supporting the transition of servicemen and women, and we will continue to promote the crucial message that veterans are huge assets to business. It’s vital that service leavers have role models to look to and we are privileged to host and showcase them at this unique celebration on 8 May.”

British Ex-Forces in Business Awards 2019 – The Finalists

ADVOCATE OF THE YEAR

• Christopher Livermore, Centrica
• Dominic Hill, The White Ensign Association
• Gillian Russell, Amazon
• James & Lindsey Copperwait, Focus Logistics Group
• Kelly Mullane, Northern Trust
• Michael Robb, Crest Nicholson
• Sarah Pylyp, Jaguar Land Rover
• Stephen Jolly, M&C Saatchi
• Steve Lowe, Project Nova
• Sue Bomphray, Barclays

BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR

• Alex Lane, Jacobs
• Brian Chambers, Trident Pharmaceuticals
• Christopher Gunton, One Housing Group
• Louisa Clarke, Churchill Services
• Michael Fildes, Circles, a Sodexo Company
• Patrick Thomson, J.P. Morgan
• Peter Satchwell, Gardner Denver
• Richard Charnock, Standard Life Aberdeen
• Stuart Goodman, Essential Site Skills
• Vern Davis, Sopra Steria

CHAMPION OF WOMEN AWARD

• Amanda Johnson, VACT
• Andrea Dunlop, Paysafe
• Daisy Coleman, Thales
• Danielle Sandy, FDM Group
• Julia Mathias, Lloyds Banking Group
• Justine Hogkinson, Advocacy Focus
• Louie-Mae Brisley-Gibson, Mainstay Group
• Mandy Hickson, Hickson and Hickson

EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR

• Amazon
• Bloomberg
• Compass Group
• Jaguar Land Rover
• Microsoft
• Openreach
• Splunk
• Transport for London
• Yodel
  

ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR

• Chris Gillan, Heroes Drinks Company
• Lee Robertson, Octo Members Group
• Lyndsey Marchant, Phoenix Occupational Health
• Mitch Turner, Drake International
• Nick Lilley, Upturn
• Richard Tucker, AAA Caring Caretaker
• Steve Thornton, Forces Cars Direct
• Ted Jones, Northcott Global Solutions
• Vince Noyce & Giles Collighan, The Portsmouth Distillery Co

EX-FORCES INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR

• Barclays Military Network Scotland
• BNY Mellon
• Insignia Crew
• J.P. Morgan
• Lloyd’s Military Network
• Quanta
• Services To Film
• Step into Health

INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR

• Charles Joel, Gardner Denver
• Christoper Kenna, Brand Advance
• Dawn Childs, Merlin Entertainments Group
• Edward Janvrin, Spark Beyond
• James Lang, SNC-Lavalin Atkins
• James Lewis, Kuehne + Nagel
• Kevin Alderton, Blind Veterans UK
• Mick Doe, Clipper Logistics
• Peter Koch de Gooreyund, Centrica Business Solutions
• Steven Rumbold, EDF Energy

INSPIRATION OF THE YEAR

• Craig Monaghan, Sale Sharks Community Trust
• Greg Staunton, PwC
• John Daley, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue
• Louise Worrall, St. James’s Place
• Neil Spencer, Kuehne + Nagel
• Paul Wood, Woodlands International
• Penny Melville-Brown, Disability Dynamics
• Rebecca Halliwell-Coutts, Foran Solutions
• Sheena Wilcox, CTP
• Tim Evers, Sapper Support

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

• Brendan Hindle, Jaguar Land Rover
• Matt Wiles, Leidos UK
• Quentin Naylor, THG Ingenuity
• Richard Dorney, Strongmind
• Rod Brown, Opun
• Tim Harris, Wood
• Tony O’Connor, Marriott Hotels

MILITARY VIRTUES IN BUSINESS AWARD

• Andrew Cons, Travelport
• Craig Peckett, Chesterfield Special Cylinders
• Darren Evans, The Access Group
• Helen Knights, Barclays
• Johanna Covell-Ritchie, Bloomberg
• Mark Braham, The AA
• Matt Podmore, Virgin Atlantic
• Nicholas Brandram, HSBC Private Bank
• Rachael Stevenson, Serco
• Tom Kay, Kuehne + Nagel

NEW SERVICE LEAVER OF THE YEAR

• Colin Murphy, Jaguar Land Rover
• Conor Harbison, Citi
• Graeme Park, The Hut Group
• Lee Brown, Impellam Group
• Malcolm Biggs
• Matt Chapman, J.P. Morgan
• Michele Crossman, SNC-Lavalin Atkins
• Mohammed Ahmed, Sopra Steria
• Peter Berridge, FDM Group

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVER OF THE YEAR

• George Anderson, National Grid
• James Denny, Viddyoze
• James Dickaty, Sellafiled
• James Howarth, RS Components
• Jamie Thomas, Sodexo
• John Chappell, United Utilities
• Mike Forshaw, Dentons
• Paul Embleton, Interserve
• Rob Martin, Anchor Hanover Group
• Toby Gutteridge, Bravery Organisation

RESERVIST OF THE YEAR

• Alex Rennie, FDM Group
• David Freeman, Amazon
• Gordon McLellan, Barclays
• James Cox, SNC-Lavalin Atkins
• James Wootton, Agency Space
• Lindsay Stewart, Barclays
• Malcolm McFarlane, FDM Group
• Richard Perkins, Transport for London

RISING STAR OF THE YEAR

• Alex Dickinson, J.P. Morgan
• Darryll Boden, Eurostar
• David Walker, James Walker & Co
• Ewan Bray, WSP
• James Carpenter, Check Point Software Technologies
• James Fenwick-Smith , Alstom Transport
• Jonathon Robinson, Hastings Direct
• Roger Holt, SNC-Lavalin Atkins
• Rory Thompson, Canadian Pacific Rail
• Simon du Boulay, MS Amlin

ROLE MODEL OF THE YEAR

• Ayub Kinyanjui, Knight Frank
• Ben Edwards, Facebook
• Garron Clark-Darby, T-Systems
• Jeremy Cowell
• Jim Niven, Cloudian
• Rachel Webster, Barclays
• Rick Mounfield, The Security Institute
• Simon Hammerschmidt, Level Global
• Steven Brown, James Walker Group
• Travis Broad, IHS Markit

SERVICE LEAVER OF THE YEAR

• Andrew Reeves, BNY Mellon
• David Ellis, SNC-Lavalin Atkins
• Dominic Conway, J.P. Morgan
• Mark Large, EY
• Matthew Cox, Newton Investment Management
• Nick Wadey, Hi-Line Contractors SW
• Phil Pettit, Cummins
• Philip Worthington, Micross Componants
• Robert Hemming, Equiniti
• Tony Wilkinson, Direct Line Group

TEAM LEADER OF THE YEAR

• Carl Fewsdale, SNC-Lavalin Atkins
• Dee Appleton Cairns, Countess of Chester NHS FT
• John White, Assystem Group
• Neil Winchester, Dell Technologies
• Olly King, J.P. Morgan
• Paul Thomas, Morrisons
• Richard Camp, Bloomberg
• Stephen Butler, Chesterfield Special Cylinders
• Stephen Essam, Baxter Storey
• Tony Hanlon, HSBC

YOUNG LEADER OF THE YEAR

• Adam Robinson, Exertis UK
• Adrian Hales
• Ben Emslie, Splunk
• Camilla Howard, Compass Group
• Chris Crowther, Equifax
• Dylan Williams, Aviva
• Finlay Curror, Morgan Stanley
• Lee Cartmell, Stagecoach
• Rory Browne, Bombardier Transportation

About the British Ex-Forces in Business Awards

The British Ex-Forces in Business Awards is the world’s largest celebration of military veterans in business. The awards are dedicated to providing a much-needed platform for uncovering and showcasing the business achievements of ex-military, presenting them as role models to service leavers, and recognising the employers that support current and former members of the British Armed Forces. The prestigious event promotes the huge value that military-gained skills and values add to the UK economy.

http://exforcesinbusiness.co.uk

About SSAFA the Armed Forces charity

SSAFA the Armed Forces charity supports the person behind the uniform; any time they need us, in any way they need us, for as long as they need us. Every year, SSAFA helps more than 73,000 people from the Forces family get on their feet; those currently serving, reserves, veterans and their families. Support is there for people at any stage in their military career; from the youngest recruit to the oldest veteran – no one’s service is ever forgotten. We give hope, help and personal support for as long as it takes to get that person’s life back to where they want it to be.

http://www.ssafa.org.uk