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Winners 2009 |
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Ken Olisa – Thames Reach
Not-for Profit
As chair for over 13 years, Ken has led the development of Thames Reach’s strategy, overseeing the organisation’s growth from a small body with a turnover of £2 million, to an organisation with 400 staff and a turnover of £200 million, providing support to around 5,000 people.
Ken has led on strategy and vision for the future – to put an end to street homelessness – and this has led to the creation of extremely effective business plans, which have delivered steady growth. Judges praised Ken’s ‘great job in changing the prospects for the homeless’.
Thames Reach has developed from an organisation that is dependent on grant income to one that bids for and has won multi-million pound contracts in a number of London Boroughs. This performance has been all the more impressive given the turbulent economic climate and the difficulties in keeping a charity alive in this environment. Strong, wide-ranging pedigree.
On the board of Thompson-Reuters, Ken has a ‘strong, wide-ranging pedigree’ and is a worthy winner of this category.
 Interview with Ken Olisa, Thames Reach, winner of the Not-for-Profit category
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David Evans – Immunodiognostics (IDS)
Quoted Company – AIM
Described as ‘absolutely brilliant’ by the judges and as giving a ‘tremendous contribution’ to the IDS board, David is a worth winner of this category. He led IDS through its AIM flotation in 2004 and since then helped to identify acquisition targets, presiding over all Due Diligence aspects and leading on fund raising.
As well as chairman of IDS, he is the Chairman of four other companies, which have all performed well. In fact, “Everything he does works extremely well, and he works extremely hard on,” commented the judges.
Comfortable playing the ‘Devil’s Advocate’ to the IDS board, David is happy to challenge the status quo, pushing his companies outside a comfortable ‘business as usual’ approach. His background is in finance and accounting, but his strong grasp of scientific matters has been noted by the rest of the board and investors.
‘He has instigated and encouraged success and direction among the team, his influence has been critical in that success.’
Interview with David Evans, Immunodiognostics (IDS) winner of the Quoted Company – AIM category
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John Brown – BTG
Quoted Company – Official List
John has a very strong reputation as a leading Chairman of the UK’s largest biotech company. Leading BTG through a period of strategic repositioning from a life sciences development company to an emerging speciality pharmaceuticals company, his analytical and inclusive approach has been praised by the judges.
John oversaw the acquisition of Protherics at the end of 2008, which provided access to BTG’s first marketed products. This was a task for which the Board found John’s skills and experience invaluable. He has a ‘calm manner that is persuasive’ , as well as an analytical and inclusive approach, which was instrumental in negotiating the merger discussions between BTG and Protherics. Following this acquisition, John then oversaw BTG’s restructuring to ensure the company was on track to deliver a targeted £20m in efficiencies and synergies.
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William Tadden – Capital Solutions Group (CSG)
Unlisted / Private Equity Backed
Bill Tadden is an active non-executive director at Capital Solutions Group, the managed service financier and asset management company, and has brought a lifetime of experience to totally change the manner in which the company transacted business with its supporting banks.
The NED judging panel recognises that Bill has a ‘solid record’ and has been ‘consistently successful’. Much of this has been due to his standing within the banking community, which meant that he could provide a considerable degree of comfort for bankers during a difficult two years.
Bill’s work directly led to CSG featuring for three consecutive years as one of the UK’s fastest-growing private companies. It also allowed the company to penetrate new markets, provide new products and increase profitability.
The judges also highlighted Bill’s ‘strong guiding influence and courage not to take on the risks that the rest of the market were taking on’, and he is a well-deserving winner of this category.
Interview with William Tadden, Capital Solutions Group (CSG) winner of the Unlisted / Private Equity Backed category
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Roger Carr – Centrica
FTSE 100
Roger Carr is a familiar face to UK investors, and he has faced a very busy 2010 with the contentious Cadbury takeover hitting the headlines nearly every day and culminating in an offer that he has described as a ‘bittersweet moment’. The £11.5 billion deal said the deal represents good value for Cadbury shareholders, which was what he was paid to focus on. Roger is a double chairman, acting as non-executive chairman at national energy provider Centrica. He joined the board in 2001, and it is for this role that he has been awarded the winner of this category. The judging panel praised his ‘fantastically common sense contribution to regulation’ and said that he is a ‘terrific chairman’.
Interview with Roger Carr, Centrica, overall winner and FTSE 100 category
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Not-For-Profit
Ken Olisa,
Thames Reach
Quoted Company - AIM
David Evans,
Immunodiagnostics Systems Holdings
Quoted Company - Official List
John Brown, (award collect on behalf of John Brown by Louise Makin)
BTG
Unlisted/Private Equity Backed
William Tadden,
Capital Solutions Group
FTSE 100
Roger Carr,
Centrica |
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