Ex-Forces In Business Awards: How Veterans Are Storming The Business Battlefield

After years preparing for battlefields, the hardest fight can sometimes be found back on civvy street. 

It's not always easy for Forces leavers to know what to turn their attention to, once the time comes to hang up their uniform.

But many are finding their feet in business - finding it lends itself perfectly to their military training, precision, and forward-thinking. 

On May 8, a strong mix of military and business leaders will descend on London for the second-ever British Ex-Forces In Business Awards. 

A crowd of more than 800 is expected to attend the ceremony, that honours the accomplishments of veterans who have made a successful and notable transition from military life into meaningful new employment. 

This year's finalists, who are spread across 18 categories including Military Virtues In Business and New Service Leaver, have now been revealed.  

The panel of judges - including senior leaders from Lockheed Martin, Goldman Sachs, Royal Mail and others - has had its work cut out to shorten the list of nominees from 400 to slightly fewer than 200. 

Admiral Sir George Zambellas, former First Sea Lord and current chairman of several companies, is Head Judge. 

He offered his congratulations to all the finalists, adding: "After many years focused on military delivery, [they] have turned their hands so successfully to the business battlefield.

"Many of the skills needed are identical: leadership, fortitude, commitment and attention to detail.

"Some are new, especially in commerce and sales. But the ethos and values of ex-Forces people always shine through, and I'm proud to support them."

The British Ex-Forces In Business Awards grew out of the need to highlight the opportunities available when veterans make the return, after what may have been a long and life-changing time, to civvy street.

Ben Rossi is the founder of the awards, and said the response to supporting ex-service personnel in their new careers has blown him away. 

He added: "Supporting veterans is not only the right thing to do, but there is a clear business case too.

"[It's] demonstrated by the incredible talent in the 400-plus nominations received for this year’s awards.

"There is still much to do to educate employers on the importance and value of supporting the transition of servicemen and women.

"We will continue to promote the crucial message that veterans are huge assets to business."

"It’s vital that service leavers have role models to look to, and we are privileged to host and showcase them at this unique celebration on 8 May."

Hosting this year is news anchor Susannah Streeter - herself an RAF veteran.

Keynote speeches are coming from ex-Army officer Sir Charlie Mayfield, who's chairman of the John Lewis Partnership; and the chief executive of Armed Forces charity SSAFA, Lieutenant General Sir Andrew Gregory. 

Lt Gen Sir Gregory, whose organisation is the official charity of the awards, said: "I am very aware of the challenges that can be faced by service leavers during their transition, with employment a major challenge for many.

"It is very heartening to see so many employers acknowledging the skills and experiences of those who have served their country."

Here are the finalists for the 2019 British Ex-Forces In Business Awards:

ADVOCATE OF THE YEAR

Christopher Livermore, Centrica

Dominic Hill, The White Ensign Association

Gillian Russell, Amazon

James & Lindsey Copperwait, Focus Logistics Group

Kelly Mullane, Northern Trust

Michael Robb, Crest Nicholson

Sarah Pylyp, Jaguar Land Rover

Stephen Jolly, M&C Saatchi

Steve Lowe, Project Nova

Sue Bomphray, Barclays    

BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR     

Alex Lane, Jacobs

Brian Chambers, Trident Pharmaceuticals

Christopher Gunton, One Housing Group

Louisa Clarke, Churchill Group

Michael Fildes, Circles, a Sodexo Company

Patrick Thomson, J.P. Morgan

Peter Satchwell, Gardner Denver – Reavell

Richard Charnock, Standard Life Aberdeen

Stuart Goodman, Essential Site Skills

Vern Davis, Sopra Steria

CHAMPION OF WOMEN AWARD       

Amanda Johnson, VACT

Andrea Dunlop, Paysafe

Daisy Coleman, Thales

Danielle Sandy, FDM Group

Julia Mathias, Lloyds Banking Group

Justine Hogkinson, Advocacy Focus

Louie-Mae Brisley-Gibson, Mainstay Group

Mandy Hickson, Hickson-Experience from the Front Line

EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR

Amazon    

Bloomberg L.P.

Compass Group UK&I

Jaguar Land Rover    

Microsoft 

Openreach

Splunk      

Transport for London

Yodel                 

ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR

Chris Gillan, Heroes Drinks Company

Lee Robertson, Octo Members Group

Lyndsey Marchant, Phoenix Occupational Health

Mitch Turner, Drake International

Nick Lilley, Upturn

Richard H Tucker MBE, AAA Caring Caretaker

Steve Thornton, Forces Cars Direct

Ted Jones, Northcott Global Solutions

Vince Noyce & Giles Collighan, The Portsmouth Distillery Co

EX-FORCES INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR      

Barclays Military Network Scotland           

BNY Mellon   

Insignia Crew

J.P. Morgan    

Lloyd's Military Network     

Quanta           

Services To Film       

Step into Health

INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR       

Charles Joel, Gardner Denver

Christoper Kenna, Brand Advance

Dawn Childs, Merlin Entertainments Group

Edward Janvrin, Spark Beyond

James Lang, SNC-Lavalin Atkins

James Lewis, Kuehne + Nagel

Kevin Alderton, Blind Veterans UK

Mick Doe, Clipper Logistics

Peter Koch de Gooreyund, Centrica Business Solutions

Steven Rumbold, EDF Energy     

INSPIRATION OF THE YEAR     

Craig Monaghan, Sale Sharks Community Trust

Greg Staunton, PwC

John Daley, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue

Louise Worrall, St. James's Place

Neil Spencer, Kuehne + Nagel

Paul Wood, Woodlands International

Penny Melville-Brown, Disability Dynamics

Rebecca Halliwell-Coutts, Foran Solutions

Sheena Wilcox, Career Transition Partnership

Tim Evers, Sapper Support

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Brendan Hindle, Jaguar Land Rover

Matt Wiles, Leidos UK

Quentin Naylor, THG Ingenuity

Richard Dorney, Strongmind

Rod Brown, Opun

Tim Harris, Wood

Tony O’Connor, Marriott Hotels 

MILITARY VIRTUES IN BUSINESS AWARD         

Andrew Cons, Go Digital Transformations

Craig Peckett, Chesterfield Special Cylinders

Darren Evans, The Access Group

Helen Knights, Barclays

Johanna Covell-Ritchie, Bloomberg L.P.

Mark Braham, The AA

Matt Podmore

Nicholas Brandram, HSBC Private Bank

Rachael Stevenson, Serco

Tom Kay, Kuehne + Nagel  

NEW SERVICE LEAVER OF THE YEAR        

Colin Murphy, Jaguar Land Rover

Conor Harbison, Citi

Graeme Park, The Hut Group

Lee Brown, Impellam Group

Malcolm Biggs  

Matt Chapman, J.P. Morgan

Michele Crossman, SNC-Lavalin Atkins

Mohammed Ahmed, Sopra Steria

Peter Berridge, FDM Group

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVER OF THE YEAR 

George Anderson, National Grid

James Denny, Viddyoze

James Dickaty, Sellafiled

James Howarth, RS Components

Jamie Thomas, Sodexo

John Chappell, United Utilities

Mike Forshaw, Dentons

Paul Embleton, Interserve

Rob Martin, Anchor Hanover Group

Toby Gutteridge, Bravery Organisation        

RESERVIST OF THE YEAR

Alex Rennie, FDM Group

David Freeman, Amazon

Gordon McLellan, Barclays

James Cox, SNC-Lavalin Atkins

James Wootton, Agency Space

Lindsay Stewart, Barclays

Malcolm McFarlane, FDM Group

Richard Perkins, Transport for London       

RISING STAR OF THE YEAR      

Alex Dickinson, J.P. Morgan

Darryll Boden, Eurostar

David Walker, James Walker Group

Ewan Bray, WSP

James Carpenter, Check Point Software Technologies

James Fenwick-Smith , Alstom Transport

Jonathon Robinson, Hastings Direct

Roger Holt, SNC-Lavalin Atkins

Rory Thompson, Canadian Pacific Rail

ROLE MODEL OF THE YEAR     

Ayub Kinyanjui, Knight Frank

Ben Edwards, Facebook

Garron Clark-Darby, T-Systems

Jeremy Cowell, FDM Group

Jim Niven, Cloudian

Rachel Webster, Barclays

Rick Mounfield, The Security Institute

Simon Hammerschmidt, Level Global

Steven Brown, James Walker Group

Travis Broad, IHS Markit

SERVICE LEAVER OF THE YEAR        

Andrew Reeves, BNY Mellon

David Ellis, SNC-Lavalin Atkins

Dominic Conway, J.P. Morgan

Mark Large, EY

Matthew Cox, Newton Investment Management

Nick Wadey, Hi-Line Contractors SW

Phil Pettit, Cummins Generator Technologies

Philip Worthington, Micross Componants

Robert Hemming, Equiniti

Tony Wilkinson, Direct Line Group     

TEAM LEADER OF THE YEAR   

Carl Fewsdale, SNC-Lavalin Atkins

Dee Appleton Cairns, Countess of Chester NHS FT

John White, Assystem Group

Neil Winchester, Dell Technologies

Olly King, J.P. Morgan

Paul Thomas, Morrisons

Richard Camp, Bloomberg L.P.

Stephen Butler, Chesterfield Special Cylinders

Stephen Essam, University of Bedfordshire

Tony Hanlon, HSBC   

YOUNG LEADER OF THE YEAR 

Adam Robinson, Exertis UK

Adrian Hales, Consultant

Ben Emslie, Splunk

Camilla Howard, Compass Group UK&I

Chris Crowther, Equifax

Dylan Williams, Aviva

Finlay Curror, Morgan Stanley

Lee Cartmell, Stagecoach

Rory Browne, Bombardier Transportation

The British Ex-Forces in Business Awards are sponsored by CBRE, FDM Group, Kuehne + Nagel, Galliford Try, Lloyd's of London, the Officers' Association, NTT Data, Santander, Savills, Sopra Steria and Standard Life Aberdeen.

Other supporters include BFBS, Forces Recruitment Services, RFEA – The Forces Employment Charity, SaluteMyJob, the White Ensign Association and other media partners Quest Magazine and RealBusiness.co.uk.