2019 West Midlands Finance Awards Winners

Businesses and professionals from across West Midlands celebrated at a black-tie awards gala dinner hosted by Dave Bryon on Thursday 5th December 2019 at the ICC in Birmingham as the winners were announced across 11 categories.

The evening successfully raised over £2,900 for the Birmingham Children's Hospital.

All applications for the 2019 awards were judged by the following judges and scored 70% or above:

Guest judge - A senior finance professional, find out more here.
ICAEW
Robert Walters RSM

Apply/nominate for the 2022 West Midlands Finance Awards here.

FINANCE DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR (£100M + TURNOVER)

Awarded to a finance director with a demonstrable legacy of delivery in financial performance, leadership and management. The winner is from a business turning over more than £100m annually and will have provided examples of providing strategic direction to their company.

Winner

Andrew Edginton
Gowling WLG

FINANCE DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR (UP TO £100M TURNOVER)

Awarded to a finance director with a demonstrable legacy of delivery in financial performance, leadership and management. The winner is from a business turning over up to £100m annually and will have provided examples of providing strategic direction to their company.

Winner

Jenny Young
Castleton

FINANCE DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR (NOT FOR PROFIT)

Awarded to a finance director with a demonstrable legacy of delivery in financial performance, leadership and management. The winner will be from a not-for-profit business and will have provided examples of providing strategic direction to their company.

Winner

Martin Penny
BMET

BUSINESS INNOVATION

Sponsored by West Midlands Trains

The winner of Business Innovation will have demonstrated the successful delivery and/or implementation of activities that have led to the betterment of the Business. This can be anything from a Transformation Project or ERP upgrade, through to the enhancement of people or the improvement of overall customer experience.

Winner

Glenn Collins
Britvic

Winner

Gowling WLG Finance Team

Gowling WLG

FINANCE TEAM OF THE YEAR (OVER 20 PEOPLE)

Awarded to a finance team with over 20 members that has demonstrated excellence in its field, with proven examples of collective successes within the last 12 months. The winning team may have positively impacted the wider business through outstanding achievements in the delivery of projects and encompass an infectious team spirit.

Winner

Gowling WLG Finance Team

Gowling WLG

FINANCE TEAM OF THE YEAR (20 PEOPLE OR LESS)

Awarded to a finance team with 20 members or less that has demonstrated excellence in its field, with proven examples of collective successes within the last 12 months. The winning team may have positively impacted the wider business through outstanding achievements in the delivery of projects and encompass an infectious team spirit.

Winner

Kiranpal Thakar
CrossCountry Trains

Highly Commended

Narinder Johal
Severn Trent

FINANCE TEAM OF THE YEAR (NOT-FOR-PROFIT)

The not-for-profit finance team of the year will have demonstrated excellence in its field, with proven examples of collective successes within the last 12 months. The winning team may have positively impacted the wider business through outstanding achievements in the delivery of projects and encompass an infectious team spirit.

Winner

Orbit Finance Team
Orbit Group

SHARED SERVICE CENTRE OF THE YEAR

This award will go to a West Midlands based shared service centre and will be measured against strength of processes and people. Throughout the judging process we looked for examples of key achievements around delivery and exemplary customer service.

Winner

Britvic

EXCELLENCE IN DIVERSITY

The business to be awarded Excellence in Diversity reinforced their commitment to strengthening and promoting a diverse workforce, embedding equality and inclusion within their value system.

Winner

Gowling WLG Finance Team

Gowling WLG

RISING STAR OF THE YEAR (QUALIFIED)

Sponsored by Birmingham Airport

Presented to the most passionate, driven and delivery focused person in the market. The winner of the qualified award will be a finance professional with under 8 years of post qualified experience. They will have provided examples of high achievement and outperforming their peer group.

Winner

Liam Butler
Dudley Building Society

Highly Commended

Andrew Shaw
Housing 21

RISING STAR OF THE YEAR (NON/PART QUALIFIED)

Sponsored by Millenium Point

Presented to the most passionate, driven and delivery focused person in the market. The winner of the non/part qualified award will be a finance professional with under 8 years of experience. They will have provided examples of high achievement and out-performing their peer group.