He's Coming to Town! We are delighted to announce the speaker of the 2013 Grampian Awards

...some exciting news regarding The Grampian Awards for Business Excellence 2013...

I fear I may have become somewhat of an 'events geek' as all of the different stages of the awards process from the official launch at the lovely Courtyard (Beetroot) Restaurant, the closing date for registrations, and even the night spent printing out hundreds of applications to get them all ready for judging day 1, have all been really exciting for me!

However, it's today when I get to share what I consider to be one of the most exciting pieces of news regarding the Grampian Awards of Business Excellence 2013, since we announced the fantastic 30 short listed finalists.

Who knows how excited we will all be on Awards night!

Today we announce the all important after dinner speaker for the evening. This individual has big shoes to fill. In previous years, we have had the ‘Rogue Trader’ – Nick Leeson, Mountaineer - Jamie Andrew, and the British Adventurer - Debra Searle.

The Enterprise Team this year thought that the speaker should embody everything that Enterprise North East Trust, and the Grampian Awards for Business Excellence stand for; an individual with entrepreneurial flair, a thirst for breaking traditional moulds to achieve excellence in their business, solid business acumen, and a philanthropic edge in injecting something back into the community.

Quite a tricky brief to meet, I think you will agree.

Well, we have only gone and done it!

Read on to hear more about Wayne Hemingway MBE, the speaker lined up for the Grampian Awards for Business Excellence - Awards Gala.

Wayne Hemingway along with his wife Gerardine you may remember most clearly for creating, building, and then eventually selling for multi millions, the iconic brand Red or Dead: http://www.redordead.com/our-story. They built the brand to achieve global acclaim winning the prestigious British Fashion Council’s Streetstyle Designer of the Year for an unprecedented three consecutive years.

Wayne's journey did not end there. From the somewhat humble beginnings of re-soling and up-cycling Doctor Martin boots (sourced from the Police when they had finished with them) to sell on Camden Market to now working through his urban design business Hemingway Design with large corporations such as Coca Cola, McDonalds and Wimpey Homes to develop product, service and community design - he has quite a story to share with the 400 guests who will be there on the night.

Chief Executive of Enterprise, Gary McEwan, said: “The awards have traditionally attracted a number of fantastic guest speakers over the years and it is always a pleasure to welcome such an inspirational UK entrepreneur to the North-East. Wayne has a remarkable success story and we are delighted that he can join us for the Awards. He has enthused generations of designers and I have no doubt that his tale will motivate local businesses to drive opportunity through creativity.”

Mr Hemingway said: “Businesses can, and should, do so much for communities and society as a whole and it’s important that initiatives like the Grampian Awards for Business Excellence continues to reward those that do strive to be the best and make a difference.”

Mike Fergusson, from sponsor RBS, said: “It is testament to the success and appeal of the event that we have managed to attract such a distinguished keynote speaker and entrepreneur like Red or Dead's Wayne Hemingway who understands what it takes to become a truly successful business and brand.”

Tickets for the Grampian Awards for Business Excellence 2013 are £100 (+VAT) per person or £1000 (+VAT) for a table of 10. Bookings can be made on Enterprise’s website www.enetrust.com or by emailing grampianawards@enetrust.com

Along with the exciting addition of Wayne, guests at the awards will be treated to a delightful 3 course dinner at the Ardoe House Hotel, whilst watching finalists videos, enjoying the vast networking opportunities and will then eventually find out who is the winner of the 10 Awards categories including Entrepreneur of the Year, The Spirit of Enterprise and Employer of the Year to mention just 3.

If you are a finalist or just fancy coming along to the evening, there are still a couple of tables left and these are priced at £100 + VAT per seating, and £1,000 + VAT per table of ten. We are looking forward to a quality evening for all.