The winners of the 2022 Northern Finance Director Awards were announced last night at the celebratory gala dinner at Aspire, Leeds.

Over 150 guests attended the awards night, from leading Finance Directors and their teams to business professionals from across the North of England.

The awards, spanning 14 categories and sponsored by international business advisers Grant Thornton UK LLP, global law firm Squire Patton Boggs and recruitment firm Page Group, paid tribute to the enterprise, leadership, resilience, social impact and all-round excellence of financial leaders and their teams in Northern businesses over the past 12 months.

The event was hosted by Page Executive’s John Halton and we heard from Northern FD Awards winners both past and
present throughout the night. With special thanks to our charity partner Yorkshire Children’s Charity, working to transform lives for thousands of disadvantaged children in the region.

Yorkshire winners included Jeroen van Os of ERS Medical who won in the £25m – £100m category. ERS medical is one of the UK’s largest independent healthcare providers who provide patient transport and courier services to the NHS and wider healthcare sector.

David Brind at Kitwave Plc took home the award for Best Northern Finance Director of a Listed company. Beverley Shepherd at Econ Engineering Limited was named Best Northern Finance Director in the Leadership category. Econ Engineering are the UK’s largest manufacturer of gritters and salt spreading vehicles and the largest gritter hire company with a fleet of over 450 spreaders.

The final award of the night proved to be a challenging one for the judges who noted that after so many inspirational stories, it was difficult to pick just one winner in the newly introduced Finance Team of the Year category. However, it was Selby based Drax who took home the accolade.

The full list of winners is:

• Best Northern Finance Director of a Limited Company up to £25m – Ben Priestley, Mansfield Pollard & Co Limited
• Best Northern Finance Director of a Limited Company of £25m-£100m – Jeroen van Os, ERS Medical
• Best Northern Finance Director of a Limited Company over £100m – Henry Breese, Symington’s
• Best Northern Finance Director of a Listed Company – David Brind, Kitwave Plc
• Best Northern Finance Director of a Private Equity-backed Company – Mat Hanson, Travel Counsellors
• Best Northern Finance Director of a Global Company (HQ in the North [Subsidiary]) – Martyn Hawkins, City Football Group
• Northern Finance Director of the Year 2022 – Growth/Scale Up – Mark Fleetwood, END.
• Northern Finance Director of the Year 2022 – Innovation – Amman Boughan, Lights4fun Limited
• Northern Finance Director of the Year 2022 – Leadership – Beverley Shepherd, Econ Engineering Ltd
• Northern Finance Director of the Year 2022 – One to Watch – Adam Prickett, AppLearn
• Northern Finance Director of the Year 2022 – Turnaround – Nick Scott, Baird Group
• Northern Finance Director of the Year 2022 – Deal of the Year – Mark Dobson, Estio Training Limited
• Northern Finance Team of the Year 2022 – Drax Group plc
• ESG Champion 2022 – Isabelle Maddock, James Cropper plc

Emma Davies, partner at Grant Thornton in Yorkshire said: “It has been an honor to once again sponsor the Northern FD Awards, as ever a brilliant occasion to recognise and celebrate the vital contribution made by our Finance Directors and their teams across the North of England.

“Through a continually challenging business landscape, we’ve heard stories of great determination and agility from the Finance Leaders of the North who have gone above and beyond to bring success to their businesses. The awards have proved a brilliant opportunity to step back and acknowledge, as well as celebrate their outstanding achievements. A huge congratulations to all those involved.”

Hannah Kendrick, partner at Squire Patton Boggs in Yorkshire, said: “This year’s winners and finalists represent just a fraction of the incredible talent that resides in the region; of those that are worthy of praise and recognition for their tremendous efforts in directing their respective businesses to success.

“The judging process was challenging, with many candidates worthy of taking home the prize, and tonight we celebrate all of those who are deservedly listed as finalists. The exceptional talent witnessed at these awards is just one of the many reasons that Squire Patton Boggs continues to proudly sponsor the Northern Finance Director Awards.”

John Halton, partner, Page Executive added: “It was a privilege to be involved in these awards again this year and to hear of the continued high performance of finance leaders in the region – there have been some truly outstanding achievements.

“With new challenges facing businesses in the post-covid economy we have yet again seen the adaptability that these talented finance leaders possess and the positive impact their insight and decision making has on the companies they are involved with – the region is certainly better off as a result of their invaluable contributions to it.”