Leading lights in the region’s finance community have been honoured at the prestigious Finance Director of the Year awards.
John Grinnell, of Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, was the big winner on the night. He collected the overall award of FD of the Year but was also recognised as FD of the Year at a Non-Profit Organisation (Over £100m). The judges noted the innovation he has applied to the challenging financial environment the Trust faces in caring for over 330,000 children each year.
Nicola Davies of the University of Liverpool received a Special Recognition Award for her outstanding contribution in the sector, as did Gerald Andrews, who retired in the summer, helped deliver and make a success of The ACC Liverpool Group. He was acknowledged with a Lifetime Achievement award.
Now in their ninth year, the awards, held at the Crowne Plaza, Liverpool, showcase the work of the region’s brightest FDs across both public and private sectors.
The regional specific awards included Liverpool - Mike Burns, The Walton Centre; Warrington – John Roberts, Secured Mail; Cheshire – Susan Shardlow, Blue Group; and North Wales, David Watson, Adventure Parc Snowdonia.
Simon Massey, Managing Director at Accountable Recruitment, said: “I'm very passionate about our local business regions and having had the pleasure of working with so many talented FD’s within the local area I really appreciate and understand what remarkable jobs they do year in year out. We had over 300 entries from outstanding professionals and I’d like to congratulate all of the finalists and winners.”
The full list of winners at the awards, which are sponsored by business advisers Grant Thornton, Accountable Recruitment, Hill Dickinson and HSBC is as follows:
Finance Director of the year – Liverpool City Region
Mike Burns, The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust
Finance Director of the year – Cheshire
Susan Shardlow, Blue Group
Finance Director of the year – North Wales
David Watson, Adventure Parc Snowdonia
Finance Director Under, 40 years of age – Up to £25m turnover
Chris Bird, Adlib Audio
Finance Director Under, 40 years of age – Over £25m
Kyle Tyrrell, Granite
Finance Director of a business Up to £8m
George Dutton, GasTag Ltd
Finance Director of a business £8 – £18m
Martin Audcent, SysGroup
Finance Director of a business £18 – £30m
Dan Adamson, Network Space
Finance Director of a business £30 – £42m
Ian Burton, Bullen Healthcare
Finance Director of a Large Corporate £42 – £75m
Alex Jessop, Stobart Energy
Finance Director of a Large Corporate £75m +
Martin Ashcroft, NRG Fleet Services
Finance Director of a Non Profit Organisation – Small/Medium Organisation
Tony Rowan, FRC Group
Finance Director of a Non Profit Organisation – Large Organisation
John Grinnell, Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
Commercial Finance Director of the Year
Kevin Whitley, PharmaPac (UK) Ltd
Finance Director of the year – Special Recognition Award
Nicola Davies, University of Liverpool
Finance Director of the year – Overall Winner 2018
John Grinnell, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital Trust
Lifetime Achievement
Gerald Andrews, The ACC Liverpool Group
