Our panel of Judges encompasses an impressive combination of experience and passion for excellence in business, with some of our Judges being award winners themselves. You can meet some of our Judges here:
CHAIRMAN OF THE JUDGES
Stephen Dilworth – UK Membership Director, Foresters
Stephen has extensive experience in marketing and communications having held senior executive positions in Foresters UK, Bank of Ireland and IFA Promotion. He also ran his own marketing consultancy before joining Bank of Ireland as Head of Corporate Affairs in 1995. He then joined Foresters in 1999 and as UK Membership Director now oversees membership communication and charitable activities.
He has a First Class Honours Degree in Economics and History and a Degree in Financial Services. He is a Fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Banking and the Chartered Institute of Marketing. He has written numerous articles and undertaken television and radio interviews on corporate social responsibility, financial services and marketing.
In a voluntary capacity he serves on the Board of Soho Housing Association and Chairs Bromley Neighbourhood Police Panel. In 2007 he was elected as one of Manchester University’s Volunteers of the Year and is a previous winner of the Building Society Marketer of the Year. Steve is married with three children and lives in Bromley, Kent.
Ian Smith – Elite Financial Services
Ian Smith runs the successful mortgage brokerage, Elite Financial Services, in Chelmsford, and has been offering a personal and professional service since 1990. Before establishing Elite FS, he gained experience working for some of the major players in the financial services industry including Pearl Assurance and the Prudential. This experience enabled him to create a bespoke, customer-led service which focuses on the individual customer and getting them the most suitable mortgage solution for them. Ian’s unique insight allows him to recognise other businesses that have the same business ethos as him.
Andrew Areoff – Areoff Print and Design
As a Multi Award Winner himself with his business Areoff, Andrew Areoff is well placed to recognise success within other companies and with other business individuals.
Andrew has been in the Finance and Insurance space since 1999 when he founded Areoff, his very successful insurance and financial services website design service. His unique insight in to what makes a business or individual a success means that Andrew is a judge for many prolific Awards.
Jamie Millan – Willows Finance
One of our newest Judges, Jamie Millan has been in the secured loan industry for 15 years, ten of which he spent as part of the management team at Loans.co.uk, a successful brokerage with over 400 staff. His remit included helping lenders design and develop products to meet with evolving customer needs as well as developing new, key relationships. Jamie helped the business model grow until it was bought out in 2007.
The following year he founded Willows Finance (a recent Money Awards winner for Best Loans Start Up). Starting a loans business in the midst of an economic climate with tight lending criteria would be just too much of a challenge for most people, but Jamie has proved yet again that if you want to succeed at something, you can.