WWMB Awards Winners & Nominees 2010
WWMB Woman of the Year 2010
Winner
Connie Parry
CEO, The Hurns Brewing Company Ltd
A note from Connie Parry, WWMB Woman of the Year 2010
“The Welsh Women Mean Business awards 2010 ceremony was a lavish and well-organised affair. I was over the moon when my name was called out for the Best Woman in Manufacturing Award. My trophy sat proudly in the middle of our table. My friends, colleagues and family were as thrilled with it as I was. The culmination of the ceremony was the announcement of the overall winner. I was very interested to see who it was going to be. I couldn’t quite believe my ears when I heard my own name! Being your own boss and a female chief executive officer in a very male dominated environment means personal congratulations are pretty few and far on the ground. I know that I am doing a good job however when my beers receive national and international accolades, and when the sales are up and the over draft is down. But to receive congratulation in the form of Welsh Woman of the Year is overwhelming. I knew from the outset of the competition the judges had met some extraordinary and inspiring women. So to come out on top really has meant the world to me.”
Connie Parry, CEO, The Burns Brewing Company
Best Small Business Leader
Winner
Lucy Cohen, Commercial Director, Mazuma Money
Nominees
Sophie Hughes, Operations Director, Mazuma Money
Lucy Cohen, Commercial Director, Mazuma Money
Jayne Davies, Director, CIOTEK Ltd
Aimee Bateman, Managing Director, Freshbaked People Ltd
Best Woman in Tourism/ Leisure and Service Sector
Winner
Zoe Agar, Joint Owner and Manager, The Grove Narbeth Restaurant with Rooms
Nominees
Zoe Agar, Joint Owner and Manager, The Grove Narbeth Restaurant with Rooms
Beth Roberts, Director, Gwesty Cymru Cyf
Best Female Business Newcomer
Winner
Janet Hay, Executive Director, 4WARD Development Ltd
Nominees
Abigail Carter, Executive Director, Forensic Resources Ltd
Zoe Agar, Joint Owner and Manager, The Grove Narbeth Restaurant with Rooms
Ceri Booth, Director, The Creative Booth Ltd
Janet Hay, Executive Director, 4WARD Development Ltd
Denise Morris, Executive Director, 4WARD Development Ltd
Best Woman in a Legal or Accountancy Business
Winner
Sarah Williams, Partner, Watkins and Gunn Solicitors
Nominees
Claudia Le Gros, Associate, M&A Solicitors LLP
Sophie Hughes, Operations Director, Mazuma Money
Lucy Cohen, Commercial Director, Mazuma Money
Emma Hardwidge, Director/ Solicitor, R L Edwards Solicitors
Sarah Williams, Partner, Watkins and Gunn Solicitors
Best Woman in a Business Investing in the Environment
Winner
Helen Northmore, Head, Energy Saving Trust Wales
Nominee
Helen Northmore, Head, Energy Saving Trust Wales
Best Woman in a Manufacturing Business
Winner
Connie Parry, CEO, The Hurns Brewing Company Ltd
Nominee
Connie Parry, CEO, The Hurns Brewing Company Ltd
Young Welsh Female Entrepreneur
Winner
Ceri Booth, Director, The Creative Booth Ltd
Nominees
Ceri Booth, Director, The Creative Booth Ltd
Alex Gazzard, Managing Director, Acityabode
Best Woman in a Beauty Business
Winner
Jane Kelly, Proprietor, HeadOffice Hairdressers
Nominees
Jane Kelly, Proprietor, HeadOffice Hairdressers
Wenda James-Rowe, Owner, The Style Team
Best Woman in Media/Creative
Winner
Sarah Stone, Founder, Sarah Stone Photography
Nominee
Sarah Stone, Founder, Sarah Stone Photography
The Joshua Foundation Memorial Award for contribution towards charity
Winner
Paula Abbandanato and Clare Birt, Partners, Vibe PR
Nominees
Jacquie Williams, Organiser, Welsh Women Walking
Paula Abbandanato and Clare Birt, Partners, Vibe PR
All of us at WWMB wish to extend our thanks to Karen McGrath at EventureUK (and Tracey of course!!), Carolyn Pugsley at FreshwaterPR, Hayley Parsons at Gocompare.com, Wendy Hopkins at HopkinsLAW and Andrew Marsh at Yogi Creative Design for their contribution to these awards. We would also like to extend a special thanks to Wessex Garages and Debbie Moore. A big thank you must also go to the following contributors for helping us make this first Awards such a success: Saville Audio Visual, Wow Event Hire, Top Table Catering Hire, Mark Williams Associates, Rhiwbina Flower Lodge, Bannatynes Health Club, Media Wales, South Wales Police, Conflict Solutions Ltd, Janet Robert's Executive Concierge, Constantinou Hairdressers of Crwys and City Road, Coleg Glan Hafren, St David's Hotel & Spa, Vale Hotel Golf & Spa Resort, The Celtic Manor Resort, Julia Young Inspire & Motivate Business Consultant, Transforming Smiles, Coed Y Mwstwr, Gwesty Cymru, The Chocolate Spa, Challenge Wales, Marriott Hotel, Cardiff, David Lloyd Health Club and Park House The Jeweller and of course we cannot forget the wonderful Ceri Dupree…
Our WWMB Judges
Emma del Torto
Emma is an employment solicitor and has the responsibility for business development at Cardiff law firm, Loosemores. Before founding her own law firm, ergo solicitors, in 2007, Emma's career has also included practicing the law with several London and Cardiff based law firms including Thompsons, where she specialised in representing trade unions and their members. With a masters in employment law, Emma also taught law at the University of Glamorgan and continues to enjoy regular guest lecturing and seminar delivery.
Lisa Nesbitt
Lisa began her career in Wales over ten years ago – originally moving from the North East of England to study Animation & Film making at the University of Glamorgan. As a freelancer for many years Lisa has a wealth of experience working with a number of major companies and organisation providing comprehensive events management for film and television festivals, conferences, screenings, launches and networking sessions to name a few.
Now based in Cardiff, Lisa is in her fourth-year as Director of BAFTA Cymru heading up all the Academies activities in Wales – including the prestigious annual Film, Television & Interactive Media Awards Ceremony.
Kate Mutter-Bowen-Chair Judge
Life Coach and Business Sales Coach
Kate worked in the City for many years as a National Sales Manager and Sales Director for some of the most innovative Insurance Companies, and Underwriting Agencies. Her interpersonal, Sales and Business skills coupled with an intuitive understanding of people has enabled her to develop her practice as a Life & Business Coach. Alongside, Kate’s Personal Coaching Work, continues with companies in the Financial Services sector and the Charitable Sector providing Business /Sales Coaching to their Sales and Customer facing to teams. She is also a qualified Bi-Aura Therapist. Along with her husband Steve, they decided to change the focus of their lives and returned to Wales in 2009.
Karen Thomas
Karen Thomas joined Barclays in 1989. The majority of her career has been in Cardiff undertaking commercial banking roles although at the end of 2008 she returned from England having spent 2 years heading up the Commercial team in Bath and Wiltshire. Karen is currently the Commercial Director for the Cardiff team overseeing 16 Relationship Directors and Senior Relationship Managers. An associate of the Institute of Bankers Karen has been president and is currently involved with the South Wales Committee for the Institute of Directors for Wales. She was also responsible for setting up the ladies networking group in 2004 called W.I.N.O’s (women in networking organisations) with a view to encouraging more ladies to network
Born in Dusseldorf – Germany, she spent much of her youth travelling around Europe as a forces child. After attending 14 schools she finally settled in Penarth to finish her A levels before embarking on a career with Barclays.
Ceinwen Jean Church
Jean is Managing Director of 2Win Consulting Limited a Company she set up in 2008 and which, despite the economic challenges of 2009, has doubled its turnover. Jean is described as a driven, commercially astute, motivational leader and inspirational mentor. An active Non-Executive Director, Jean has held a number of Operational Director and Senior Executive roles (nationally and internationally) wherein she has met the challenge of providing and sustaining business growth and re-engineering sales-and-service delivery to optimise productivity. She has worked across retailing, manufacturing, franchising and business consulting services. She is a panel member of Wales’ Investors in People and Chair of the South and West Wales Branch Committee of the Institute of Directors.
Wendy Hopkins
Wendy qualified as a solicitor in 1978 and has since specialised in family law. She was a partner in Phillips & Buck, now Eversheds Cardiff, before starting her own niche practice in 1996. She started her new practice in 2006 to deal not only with all areas of matrimonial and children family law but the broader spectrum of personal legal issues such as pre-nuptial agreements, property, wills, inheritance claims and probate. In her capacity as a family lawyer Wendy is well known for her firm stance on behalf of her clients and is sought particularly by those involved in high value cases, recently counting more than one footballer’s wife as a client. Wendy regularly appears as an expert contributor on television programmes and radio broadcasts. She encourages clients to address their present circumstances firmly and then move forward. She has a positive attitude to her clients’ requirements. She has personal experience of divorce and single parenthood and the demands and stress it produces and identifies with clients and their needs.
Hayley Parsons
Hayley Parsons is chief executive of Gocompare.com and has worked her entire career in the insurance broking and aggregator markets. Hayley established Gocompare.com in June 2006 to exploit the potential of insurance comparison websites and evolve the industry away from pure price comparison to focus on cover and product information, ultimately helping consumers find the right cover, at the right price. Hayley has since established partnerships for the Gocompare.com operation with leading UK insurance companies. Previously head of business development at confused.com, Admiral Insurance's online aggregator, she was co-founder of that operation and was instrumental in taking the brand from a standing start into a rapidly growing business valued at well in excess of £200 million, in six years. Prior to that she held senior positions with Gladiator Insurance Services, a £20 million+ turnover insurance intermediary, where she managed over 100 staff and headed the sales, renewals and partner relations functions.
