THE 2020 NORTH EAST ENTREPRENEURIAL AWARDS

And the winners are…

Delivered online, in a week-long social media campaign, our 2020 North East Entrepreneurial Awards honoured North East business leaders who had demonstrated strong leadership, standing out from their peers during these challenging and unprecedented times.

EMERGING TALENT

Rez Gachcar, Mud Daddy

Our Emerging Talent Award was won by Rez Gachcar, CEO of Mud Daddy, which he founded in 2017 after spotting a gap in the market for a portable, gentle, and silent pet washer. Since then, the Newcastle company has dominated the UK pet care market, generating a revenue of £10m in its third year.

SCALE-UP ENTREPRENEUR

Dan Foskett, Connection Retail

Dan Foskett, who founded Connection Retail in 2012, which has 27 stores across the UK – was named Scale-up Entrepreneur. The business has three flooring brands (Flooring Superstore, Direct Wood Flooring and Grass Direct), is creating its own in-house delivery network and plans to open a further 24 stores this year.

What we do is made possible by the support of our partners and this year, our Awards were delivered in collaboration with Brewin Dolphin, Diamond Group, Encore Group, Narrative and Ward Hadaway.

MENTOR OF THE YEAR

Lianne Walker MBE

The Mentor of the Year award was presented to Lianne Walker MBE. Former Group Managing Director of Washington-based Walker Filtration, Lianne was praised for her ‘inspiration, warmth and passion’ and for being a ‘fantastic mentor’ to other North East business owners.

ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR

Glen Hall, Talent Insight Group

Glen Hall, of Talent Insight Group, was named Entrepreneur of the Year. Glen is a serial entrepreneur and best-selling author whose book royalties go to charities which help give disadvantaged children the opportunity of a first-class education’. He founded Talent Insight Group with a mission “to give something back” and a percentage of their annual profits goes to charity.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

Dame Margaret Barbour

We recognised Dame Margaret Barbour’s huge contribution to the North East by presenting her with our 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award. Under her leadership, South Shields-based Barbour has been transformed, growing from 100 to more than 1,000 staff, while The Barbour Foundation has awarded more than £20m to charities and good causes across the North East.