IOE director general joins judging panel of dynamic new export awards

Fri 26 Feb 2016
Posted by: IOE News
IOE News

Top line (l-r): Lesley Batchelor, Julian Hucker, and Gabriel Buck; bottom line (l-r): Adam Marshall, Margaret Eyres,and Will Clark

The Institute’s director general, OBE, has been invited to join a high profile judging panel for the first UK National Awards for Export Excellence.

Organised by Global Trade Review – the world’s leading publisher and event organiser for the international trade and export finance markets – and in partnership with The Manufacturer, the awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of UK exporters over the last year.

Award categories span wide-ranging sectors including best first-time export, largest UK export and supply chain – and a variety of geographic regions.

Seeking to champion British export successes, they have been launched in response to the recent claim by the British Chamber of Commerce that we are 14 years behind meeting the Government’s aim to achieve £1 trillion in annual exports by 2020, despite outstanding performances by many organisations.

All UK-based exporting companies – of any size and from any sector – are eligible to enter until 24th March. The awards night will be held on 15th June, with a ceremony and gala dinner for shortlisted companies at St George’s Hall, Liverpool. More information can be found on the different categories here.

Joining Lesley Batchelor on the judging panel will be:

– Gabriel Buck, Cole Commission/BBA

– Margaret Eyres, UKEF

– Guto Davies, GE Capital/BExA

– Will Clark, AIG

– Julian Hucker, Open to Export

– Geoffrey de Mowbray, Dints/BExA

– Ed Harkins, Fieldstone/BBA/UKEF

– Adam Marshall, BCC

Said Lesley: “The awards are a wonderful platform to showcase the achievements of the businesses making waves in international trade. They reinforce how vital it is for product and service based businesses across the UK to seize the opportunity to include exports in their strategic planning and growth activity.

“The news agenda will continue to put international relations and trade under intense scrutiny over the next few months and it is vital that we all champion, encourage and support exporting to secure our economic security.”

The UK Trade & Export Finance Conference 2016 will take place earlier that day in the same venue, as part of the International Festival of Business 2016. This key date in the export sector calendar features speakers from across the domestic and international trade finance community – with delegates networking with a huge range of companies highly experienced in global commerce.

All awards entrants will receive complimentary tickets to the conference.

Visit the IOE website for more information about our trainingqualifications and business membership, or contact us if you have any questions.