Women 1st Announces 2012 Shine Award Winners and Inducts 30 Remarkable Women into Top 100
Women 1st has announced the winners of the 2012 Shine Awards recognising female excellence within hospitality, passenger transport, travel and tourism, and welcomed an additional 30 leading business women into the Top 100 Club of the Most Influential Women in the industry.
The exclusive event was held at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel in Knightsbridge, attended by industry dignitaries and hosted by radio and television presenter Emma Forbes.
The winners at the 2012 Shine Awards are as follows:
• Rising Star Award: Emily Perry, marketing manager, learnpurple
• Outstanding Entrepreneur Award: Freda Newton, managing director, Jacobite Cruises
• Mentor of the Year Award: Pippa Isbell, chief executive, PRCo Ltd
• Woman of the Year Award: Carolyn McCall OBE, chief executive, easyJet
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Jill Stein, director, The Seafood Restaurant
• Large Business Award: Merseytravel
• Small Business Award: HTP Training
Joining the Women 1st Top 100 Club of the Most Influential Women in hospitality, passenger transport, travel and tourism are an additional 30 female business leaders who have reached the pinnacle of their careers and who are the role models for the next generation of leaders. The 2012 inductees into the Top 100 Club are:
• Alison Gilbert, human resources director, CH&Co.
• Caroline Walters, head of corporate affairs, JD Wetherspoon plc
• Carolyn McCall OBE, chief executive, easyJet
• Cathy Beare, group chief financial officer, Holiday Extras Ltd.
• Clair Preston-Beer, individual franchise director, Costa Coffee
• Claire Sullivan, category marketing director, Unilever Food Solutions
• Clare Kavanagh, director of performance for Buses, Transport for London
• Clare Walker, chairman, Women in Aviation and Aerospace Committee, Royal Aeronautical Society, and former editor, Caterer and Hotelkeeper
• Debbie White, chief executive UK and Ireland, Sodexo Ltd.
• Debrah Dhugga, general manager, DUKES St. James London
• Elaine Higginson, managing director, United Coffee UK and Ireland
• Gillian Singh, group marketing director, Go-Ahead
• Helen Jones, managing director, Zizzi
• Jackie Cupper, operations director, Spirit Pub Company
• Jacky Simmonds, group HR director, TUI Travel PLC
• Jan Matthews, head of catering, cleaning and waste services London 2012, LOCOG
• Jane Dyson, owner, The Network FMP
• Janis Kong OBE, non-executive director, Network Rail, TUI and VisitBritain
• Judith Moreton, vice president and general manager, Jet Aviation London Biggin Hill
• Julia Lo Bue-Said, leisure director, Advantage Travel Centres
• Juliana Delaney, chief executive, Continuum Group
• Julie Barker, managing director, The University Caterers Organisation (TUCO)/ head of residential and catering services, University of Brighton
• Julie Houlder, head of finance and business planning, Centro
• Kellie Rixon, group brand development director, De Vere Group and managing director, De Vere Academy of Hospitality
• Liz Chandler, director of corporate development, Merseytravel
• Rachael Borthwick, head of group corporate communications, FirstGroup
• Suzanne Jackson, executive director, The Hospitality Guild
• Trisha Proud, managing partner, Partners in Solutions Ltd
• Vicky Williams, HR director, Compass Group UK and Ireland
• Zoe Jenkins, general manager, Coworth Park
Highlights of the achievements of the new entrants to the Top 100 Club include: Carolyn McCall, OBE, chief executive of easyJet who, despite having no previous experience of the airline industry, led the company to a record year in 2011, achieving its best ever operational performance, highest ever passenger numbers, high levels of customer satisfaction and highest ever profits; Kellie Rixon, group brand development director, De Vere Group and founder and managing director of the De Vere Academy of Hospitality, where her objective is to help 10,000 young people grow to reach their potential within the UK hospitality industry – with 2,000 already trained; and Juliana Delaney, chief executive, Continuum Group who has implemented career development programmes and apprenticeships to support both individuals and company goals, and leads the people that work for her to build, nurture and develop great teams.
The full Top 100 list, and details of the Shine Awards winners, can be viewed at www.people1st.co.uk/top100club and www.people1st.co.uk/shineawards
Sharon Glancy, founder of Women 1st, says: “The quality of the nominations we received this year was remarkable: Each and every one was an inspiration. It was a tough task to whittle it down and make our final selection. Our winners, and the extraordinary women in our Top 100, are a critical force which will play no small role in ensuring the future success of the industry. Women 1st is proud to recognise their accomplishments and we hope they will encourage and motivate other women and men to pursue their career aspirations, within our industry, with tenacity and enthusiasm.”
Women 1st is the brainchild of People 1st, the sector skills council for hospitality, passenger transport, travel and tourism. Since its inception in 2009, Women 1st has supported over 800 women through dedicated mentoring, training and thought leadership programmes.
ENDS
Notes to the Editor
For editorial information please contact: Chevaan Seresinhe at Chevaan.Sersinhe@emmettandsmith.com or telephone on 020 7384 7110
Information about each of the winners:
Rising Star Award
Sponsored by Tourism Authority of Thailand
Winner: Emily Perry, Marketing Manager, learnpurple
Since joining learnpurple in January 2011, Emily has transformed the marketing activities of the organisation including rolling out a new company website with streamlined e-commerce function which has delivered £75,000 of new business, brought PR in-house and increased coverage by 470%, edited and launched Jane Sunley’s new book – Purple your People – and grown subscriber numbers and opening rates for the company’s e-marketing campaigns.
Passionate about promoting the successes of learnpurple’s clients, she works outside her role to secure press coverage for them and helped Orient-Express win at the 2011 HR in Hospitality awards.
Acknowledging her experience in strategic marketing was weaker than that in marketing communications, she is currently studying for her Professional Diploma in Marketing (Chartered Institute of Marketing) while working full time, devoting her evenings and weekends to ensure course requirements are met.
Emily is determined to become a company director before the age of 30 and has taken it upon herself to attend courses which will help this progression including those which focus on leadership communication, management and motivation of individuals, image, presentation skills and financial awareness and commerciality. Last year Emily was diagnosed with a heart condition that required surgery. The way she dealt with her condition was inspirational, never allowing it to impact on her work, her studies or her focus.
Also shortlisted for this award:
• Caroline Harris, Marketing Director - Costa Enterprises, Costa Coffee
• Claire Jones, First Officer, Flybe
• Cassandra Leicester, Assembly and Manufacturing Leadership Development Scheme Trainee, Rolls-Royce Plc
• Lisa Mullaney, Assistant General Manager, Dishoom
Outstanding Entrepreneur Award
Sponsored by the De Vere Academy of Hospitality
Winner: Freda Newton, Managing Director, Jacobite Cruises
Freda began her career in the coach industry and in 2002 bought Jacobite Cruises, leading the company to the forefront of visitor attraction businesses in Scotland, quadrupling passenger numbers to over 135,000 annually and expanding the range of products it offers around its Loch Ness cruises and tours operation.
Freda is working on the new £2.5 million Jacobite Discovery Project, which she hopes will help transform the Loch Ness visitor experience, with a new harbour, reception, car and coach parking and brand new visitor facilities. The company has also recently invested in a new £1 million catamaran, which will be the largest vessel on the loch.
As the most recent chair of Destination Loch Ness, she has played a pivotal role in bringing local businesses together to improve marketing and promotion of the area including a circular trail around the loch, and securing funding for new piers. She is also a member of the Tourism Leadership Group developing the tourism strategy for Scotland.
Freda is an inspirational role model to women in a male dominated industry and employs female skippers and bus drivers at Jacobite. She regards herself very much as a team player, as happy to sell tickets as manage the company’s strategic direction. She can also drive a boat too!
Commended by judges:
Helen Dhaliwal, Director, Red Hot World Buffet and Bar
Also shortlisted for this award:
• Rachael Fidler, Managing Director, HTP Training
• Kate Martin, Managing Partner, The Brookwood Partnership Ltd
• Carolyne Vale, Joint Managing Director and Co-Founder, Wilson Vale
Mentor of the Year Award
Winner: Pippa Isbell, Chief Executive, PRCo Ltd
Pippa has been a pioneer in the support and mentoring of women since the 60s when, at the Industrial Society, she ran courses specifically for women, which was unheard of at the time. In the 70s she pioneered a series of development programmes and convinced Cosmopolitan magazine to promote them. Thinking they would only get a few takers they were shocked to get sackfuls of applications from young women desperate to develop themselves and their careers.
During her high pressured career she has always made time to mentor and coach women, as she knows only too well the challenges they face. She inspires women in the industry by her high profile and support of women's initiatives – founding, with colleague Kristina Wallen, the Travel Women's Network in the 90s.
Pippa constantly kicks herself out of her comfort zone to take on new challenges. She set-up her own company in 1987 and successfully sold it in 1993. She then took on a major PR role at Orient Express Hotels, a public company quoted on the New York Stock Exchange, and became the only woman on the executive board. In 2010 she joined the Modern Muse project which is not only a voluntary programme to mentor and coach young women and girls about business, but she personally contributed financially to the project.
In 2011 she was head-hunted to join PRCo Ltd, a PR and digital agency based in London with offices in seven countries, as their CEO. She is a member of the everywomanClub, for senior women in business, and regularly contributes to its thought leadership, joining fellow business women who have a desire to pass on their advice and insight to younger women.
Commended by judges:
Liz Chandler, Director – Corporate Development, Merseytravel
Also shortlisted for this award:
• Alessandra Alonso, Independent Management Consultant and Coach Mentor
• Carol Hay, Director of Marketing UK and Europe, Caribbean Tourism Organisation
• Paula Rogers, Managing Director, Admiral Recruitment
Woman of the Year Award
Winner: Carolyn McCall OBE, Chief Executive, easyJet
Although the last 12 months have been difficult for the aviation and aerospace industries, under Carolyn McCall's management, easyJet reported a record year in 2011, achieving its best ever operational performance, highest ever passenger numbers, high levels of customer satisfaction and highest ever profits.
easyJet flies on more than 603 routes between 131 airports in 29 countries, enabling it to claim to be Europe's No. 1 air transport network with a leading presence on Europe's top 100 routes and at Europe's 50 largest airports. It also claims the title of the UK’s largest airline in terms of number of passengers flown - 55 million passengers per year, more than BA, BMI and Virgin Atlantic put together.
All this has been achieved through the leadership of a woman who had no experience of the airline industry until she took up the reins at easyJet in July 2010 at a time when the airline was at war with its founder, staff morale was low and aviation was reeling from the chaos and losses that resulted from the eruption of an Icelandic volcano.
Carolyn immediately set about resolving these challenges. Having struck a complex deal with the airline’s founder, easyJet was at last free to sign branding deals, including one with Visit Britain (worth about £9 million) and a major partnership with the Ministry of Defence. Since her arrival at easyJet, the CEOs of easyJet, IAG (BA), Ryanair and Virgin Atlantic have put aside their traditional hostility to come together for the first time to launch the Axe the Tax campaign against the Air Passenger Duty, which they argue is damaging to UK tourism.
There is no doubt that Carolyn McCall is an inspiring role model for women everywhere, but particularly for women in aviation and aerospace where for too long there have been too few women in leadership roles. Less than 4% of commercial pilots and less than 5% of aerospace engineers are female. A measure of her support for women in aviation and aerospace can be gauged from the fact that she chose to make her first public speech to the industry when she delivered the inaugural Amy Johnson Lecture in July 2011.
Also shortlisted for this award:
• Zoe Jenkins, General Manager, Coworth Park
• Jill McDonald, CEO UK and President Northern Division, McDonald's Restaurants Ltd
• Carolyne Vale, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Wilson Vale
• Angela Vickers, Managing Director, Apex Hotels Ltd
Lifetime Achievement Award
Sponsored by Unilever Food Solutions
Winner: Jill Stein, Director, The Seafood Restaurant
Jill possesses all of the great qualities of a successful leader; calm, humble, charismatic, inspirational, selfless and eloquent. She has been instrumental in running and inspiring the growth of The Seafood Restaurant, a hugely successful business in the small Cornish fishing village of Padstow, which she runs in partnership with her ex-husband, Rick.
The development and growth of the business from a single restaurant with a team of five into the diverse business it is today - with a total of six restaurants, a pub, cookery school, 40 bedrooms, four shops and mail order department, is testament to Jill’s excellent leadership and entrepreneurial skills. Together, she and Rick have created a plethora of businesses in the small fishing port of Padstow (and beyond) now employing over 400 staff during the county’s peak season.
While Rick’s name is known worldwide, Jill’s behind the scenes work has driven the company from the very start. When their three sons were born, Jill continued to run the restaurant and look after them too. In fact, many of the ideas to expand the business – such as Stein’s Fish and Chips, and the Padstow Seafood School – were hers.
The resulting impact on Padstow and tourism for the region has been astonishing - it is now firmly on the map as a culinary destination, welcoming thousands of visitors every year. The company has won numerous awards, including Egon Ronay’s Restaurant of the Year (1996), Hotel and Restaurant magazine’s Restaurant of the Year (1998-2004) and an AA Award for English Seafood Restaurant of the Year. In September 2011, Jill was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Plymouth.
Also shortlisted for this award:
• Penelope, Viscountess Cobham, Chair, VisitEngland
• Jackie Cupper, Operations Director, Spirit Pub Company
• Avril Owton MBE FIH, Owner, The Cloud Hotel
• Tanya Wheway, Chairman, Wheway Lifestyle International
Large Business Award
Winner: Merseytravel
Merseytravel is actively working to increase the representation of women both within the company and the wider transport sector, the latter through partnerships with Jobcentre Plus, Liverpool in Work and other community groups to encourage women returning to work and young people looking for employment through dedicated work experience and mentoring programmes.
The company has developed a number of programmes and networks to support women within the business, encouraging both career and personal development and growth, whilst also supporting females to break down existing barriers and stereotypes.
Merseytravel’s ‘Springboard’ learning programme is designed to increase the skills and confidence of women working at junior levels to develop their careers and unlock their true potential. The company has also launched a female leadership programme for women on middle management grades and a talent management career pathway programme for all staff.
Merseytravel offers workshops to parents to help them support their child at school including understanding key stages, modern day maths, encouraging your child to read and weekly help with homework sessions.
Also shortlisted for this award:
• Merlin Entertainments
Small Business Award
Winner: HTP Training
HTP Training was established by Rachael Fidler in 2000 in a tiny shed on the Isle of Wight and now operates from four prestigious centres across the South of England and has a turnover of £3.8 million with approximately 1200 personnel in learning at any one time. HTP holds Ofsted Grade 1, Outstanding, in every area of the business as well as the Government’s Beacon Status and has been named by Ofsted as one of the top 12 training providers in the country.
From the outset, HTP has encouraged women from the industry to join the team and use their expertise to help develop others. Currently over 70% of the workforce is female. The majority of senior management positions are held by women who have all gained the skills, knowledge and qualifications for their post through the organisation's continuous CPD programme and have been promoted through the management layers of the company.
HTP is fully committed to supporting all mothers returning to work and meetings are held to identify their needs before they return. The company offers flexible working arrangements, reduced hours and alternative positions within the business, if needed, to enable parents to meet their family needs. Children and partners are welcome at company events and kids are invited into the office to see where Mum or Dad work.
Historically, the hospitality sector for many women has been seen as offering short term work opportunities, a view which HTP works hard to dispel. HTP introduced management training opportunities and qualifications to the curriculum offer and has helped over 360 managers develop their skills, 185 of which are women who have all successfully gained formal, nationally recognised management qualifications.
Also shortlisted for this award:
• Affordable Car Hire
• Custard Communications
• Farmstay UK
Partners in Solutions
