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04 April 2016
The shortlist for each of category of Coventry & Warwickshire First’s FirstPro Awards 2016 has now been announced.
From more than 80 nominations the 36 finalists across the six categories – Legal, Finance, Banking, Property, Business Services and Young Professional have been named.
“The number and calibre of applicants this year has made our job incredibly difficult,” said Andrew Smith, Chair of the judging panel. “It does though highlight the great depth and breadth of the professional and financial services community in Coventry and Warwickshire and its ability to help grow the local economy.”
The winners of FirstPro 2016 will be announced at the Gala Dinner, being held at the Ricoh Arena on Thursday 21 April.
The finalists are:
Legal Professional: Emma Gamble (Shakespeare Martineau); Hannah Bates (Shakespeare Martineau); Jeremy Hyde (Wright Hassall); Larry Coltman (Coltman Warner Cranston); Lucie Byron (Wright Hassall); Richard Jenkins (Claric Legal).
Finance Professional: Deborah Austin (Dafferns); Jane Cooper ((UK Export Finance); Rachel Horner (SFB Group); Sanjay Myanger (Dafferns); Sean Farnell (Burgis & Bullock).
Banking Professional: Debbie Harper (HSBC); Narinder Dhandwar (Barclays); Ravinder Bagri (Santander); Roger Scott (Lloyds Bank); Sukhjeeven Nat (Santander).
Property Professional: Liz Taylor (Liz Taylor Lettings); Louise Richardson (Warwickshire County Council); Martyn Howard (Drake Howard); Paul Rice (Wright Hassall); Richard Hardy (Bromwich Hardy); Simon Davis (Assured Property).
Business Services Professional: Adam Dent (Advent Communications); Cheryll Rawbone (AJ Gallagher); Mark Moseley (Band Hatton Button); Neal Lowe (SFB Needham Insurance Services); Paul Sullivan (52 Global Consultancy Services); Phil Ewing (Harrison Beale & Owen); Phil Ingle (Phil Ingle Associates); Tracy Benbow (Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber).
Young Professional: Balpreet Bains (SFB Group); Chrissie Elliot-Duxson (University of Warwick); Jenny Simpson (SFB Group); Katie Chedgley (AJ Gallagher); Paige Howitt (Dafferns); Sophie Breeze (Dafferns).
The nominees were assessed against three criteria:
Performance at work: the winners are more than simply good at their job. They consistently go ‘beyond the call of duty’, perhaps providing something extra to their clients or making time to support colleagues beyond what might be reasonably expected.
Contribution to Coventry & Warwickshire: the winner is an individual who ‘puts something back’ into their local community, for example, working with a youth group in a challenging part of the region, volunteering with a local charity or serving as a school governor.
X-factor: FirstPro winners have the all-important x-factor, the indescribable element that makes someone very special.
The judging panel – Andrew Smith, Chair of Coventry & Warwickshire First and Partner of Shakespeare Martineau; Phil Peak Senior Account Manager at the Growth Hub; Martin Gibbs, Immediate Past Chair of Coventry & Warwickshire First and Managing Partner of Dafferns Chartered Accountants; and Brian McGinity, Treasurer of Cystitis and Overactive Bladder Foundation, one of the nominated charities for the 2016 FirstPro Awards – will now interview each of the finalists to select the category and overall winners.
Coventry & Warwickshire First’s FirstPro recognises exceptional professionals in Coventry and Warwickshire, showcasing the depth and breadth of talent within the region. An award for individuals, each category celebrates the leading professional within the relevant sector.
Run by its members for its members, Coventry & Warwickshire First is the only forum in the region exclusively for professional and financial services firms. It represents all the major professional and business services organisations in the area, who collectively advise the majority of the region’s businesses.