OUR JUDGES
Our Patron
Sir Bob Geldof
Sir Bob Geldof KBE is an Irish singer-songwriter, political activist and entrepreneur. An illustrious career spanning business, music, activism, and philanthropy has established Sir Bob as an international leader and global luminary, making a profound impact on both culture and society.
As our patron, Sir Bob will be joining us on the night of the British Business Awards to celebrate your success.
Judging Panel Chairperson
Alan Jope CBE
Former CEO of Unilever, Director of Accenture, not-for-profit Chair, and Chairman of the British Business Awards Judging Panel
Alan joined Unilever in 1985 and worked for a total of 11 years in the UK, 14 years in North America, and 13 years in Asia (Thailand, China, Singapore). He was appointed as Chief Executive Officer in 2019 and retired from Unilever at the end of 2023. He joined the Board of Accenture in April 2023, is Chair of The Leverhulme Trust, the UK’s largest private sector funder of non-medical academic research. He is also on the Board of the Global Energy Alliance for People & Planet and is a Commissioner on the Global Commission on Modern Slavery.
For one amazing night in Edinburgh, we will bring together entrepreneurs and leaders from across British business to celebrate their achievements. With Sting, Sir Bob Geldof and Rob Brydon joining us this year, we can promise you one thing – The British Business Awards will be the very best night in the business calendar.
Judging Panel
Sharan Parischa MBE
Sharan Pasricha MBE is an Indian born entrepreneur based in London, England. He founded the hospitality development and operating company Ennismore, and acquired The Hoxton and Gleneagles.
Emma Crystal
Emma is the CEO of Coutts Bank. Before moving to NatWest Group, she was Lead, Sustainable Finance Group at UBS and Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) at Credit Suisse. Before joining Credit Suisse, Emma worked in Global Markets at Deutsche Bank for 10 years.
Graeme Watt
Having served 5 years as CEO, Graeme Watt is currently the Chairman of Softcat plc, a software services and support company in the FTSE 250 and ranked 10th Best Workplace in the UK. Graeme was ranked top 3rd best CEO in the UK in a 2021 Glassdoor Award.
Phil Urban
Phil is the CEO of Mitchells and Butlers plc, a hospitality company that runs over 1,700 managed pubs, bars and restaurants throughout the United Kingdom and owns brands including All Bar One, Toby Carvery, Browns and Nicholson’s Pubs.
Vinodka “Vin” Murria OBE
Vinodka “Vin” Murria Is a renowned software entrepreneur often known as the “Queen of Tech” In the past three decades Vin Murria’s career highlights include the building and/or founding of three tech companies that with 2500 employees and combined a “multi unicorn” valuation of in excess of $2.5bn. In 2018, Muria received an OBE for her services to the British economy, as well as for her work advancing women in the software sector.
Simon Davis
Simon Davis was the 175th president of the Law Society for England and Wales and was the commercial litigation partner at the law firm Clifford Chance for 26 years. He is a former president of the London Solicitors Litigation Association, deputy vice-president of the Council of the Law Society, Committee member of the City of London Law Society and member of the Court of Appeal Mediation Panel.
Ross Mitchison
Ross Mitchison is the Co-CEO of Numis Corporation plc (Numis), an ambitious, dynamic and innovative investment bank. The bank has the largest client base by number of corporates in the UK. Through combining leading component services such as M&A solutions, equity sales and trading and debt advisory, it operates at the very forefront of the industry with specialist expertise in the UK market.
Will de Winton
William de Winton is a retired member of Lansdowne Partners and a former Managing Director of Morgan Stanley. He spent much of his career following the financial sector. He sits on a number of charity boards and is a founding Trustee of Unlocking Potential. He is also a founding Trustee of the SpringBoard Bursary Foundation which is the UK’s largest boarding school bursary charity.
Judith Cruickshank
Judith Cruickshank has worked with NatWest for 14 years in a variety of roles, focused on customer solutions for both Retail and Commercial customers. She is currently MD of Commercial Mid-Market Banking, Chair of the Scotland Board and Climate Sponsor.
Patrick Graham
Paddy Graham leads an investment team for Business Growth Fund (BGF) covering Scotland and Northern Ireland. BGF was set up to address the SME funding gap in the UK. They now back hundreds of companies across a variety of investment stages, sectors and regions—with a well-capitalised, evergreen balance sheet of £3bn.
Josh Littlejohn MBE
Josh is the founder of Social Bite and a founding partner of the British Business Awards. He has led on efforts to raise over £25M for homelessness causes and has been awarded an MBE, a Pride of Britain Award and a Robert Burns Humanitarian Award.
Conor O’Leary
Conor O’Leary is the managing director of Gleneagles Hotel. The 233-bedroom, five-AA-star Gleneagles, set within 250 acres of Perthshire countryside, has been fêted as one of the world’s most luxurious destination hotels since it opened in 1924. Conor was crowned the 2023 Hotelier of the Year and the 40th winner of the award.
Shaf Rasul
Shaf Rasul is a prominent entrepreneur, serial investor, and business columnist for The Sun. Following the success of his various business ventures, he was named Ernst and Young’s Scottish Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2006 and ranked 19th among the UK’s top 100 entrepreneurs. Shaf was a Dragon on the BBC’s online Dragons’ Den, an advisor to the UK government, and currently chairs the nominations and shortlisting committee for these awards. He has served as the Resident Entrepreneur at the University of Strathclyde, with business ventures spanning property, asset management, and technology, alongside his active engagement in philanthropy.
John McGlynn
John McGlynn is the founder of Scottish Capital and has been responsible for establishing over 80 new ventures, and was the founding Director of the Entrepreneurial Exchange in London.
Jennifer Cheyne OBE
Jennifer Cheyne, the founder of Cheynes Salons in Scotland and 42 Hairdressing Academies in England, is recognised as an industry leader and one of the most influential business women in Hair and Beauty in the UK. Jennifer has won many prestigious Hair and Business awards. She has also grown a Property portfolio including commercial and residential properties in the UK and Spain. Jennifer was awarded an OBE for her service in hairdressing and for her charity work.
Oli Norman
Oli is the founder and CEO of itison and itison venues. Today, itison speaks to 1.5 million members and connects them with over 5,000 businesses. Oli creates experiences through itison’s major events team, producing and directing events for over 300,000 ticket holders annually.
David Dinsmore
David Dinsmore is the Chief Operating Officer of News UK, responsible for Group Operations and Platform relationships, developing News UK’s partnerships with tech platforms including Google, Apple and Facebook, as well as furthering strategic client relationships with the UK’s biggest advertisers. David also oversees Newsprinters, the industry-leading publishing services providers for The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times as well as, amongst others, The Daily Telegraph, Financial Times, Daily Mail, Metro and Evening Standard.