Innovator Award
Stephen Anderson
Stephen Anderson spent years managing recruitment teams before realising there must be a more efficient way for businesses to find great candidates. So, he built crooton to flip traditional recruitment marketing on its head and create a smarter way to reach the people they need.
Today, Stephen and his team create and use location-based marketing tech, like geofencing, to help employers find and attract the right candidates. This unique approach has earned crooton numerous industry awards and some big name clients. Stephen still loves getting his hands dirty and he can often be found at events sharing what he’s learned and helping recruiters find new ways of working.
Kevin Doherty
Kevin Doherty is the Founder and Managing Director of CODEM Composites, a leading manufacturer of advanced composite components for the defence, aerospace, motorsport, and automotive sectors. Since founding the business in 2009, Kevin has led the company’s growth into a state-of-the-art 30,000 sq ft manufacturing facility, recognised for delivering innovative, high-quality composite solutions.
Passionate about developing the next generation of engineers, Kevin has made apprenticeships and skills development a key part of CODEM’s growth strategy, investing in opportunities that help build future talent within the industry. He is also committed to advancing sustainable manufacturing practices and supporting the composites sector’s transition towards Net Zero.
Kevin served for three years as a Board Director of Nottingham Technology Ventures, helping to commercialise university research and support technology start-ups.
Emma Henson
As Office Manager at Dragonheart Homes, Emma Henson plays a pivotal role in the day-to-day leadership of the business, overseeing a diverse portfolio including HR, procurement, accounts, executive support and the management of the stores and yard team. Beyond her operational responsibilities, Emma is passionate about creating a workplace where people can thrive.
A trained mental health ambassador through BrainSmart and Jamma, she champions mental health and neurodiversity across the organisation. Emma has led initiatives to increase awareness, embed inclusive practices and is driving Dragonheart Homes’ journey towards ISO 45003:2021 certification for Psychological Health and Safety at Work, for which the company is currently undergoing audit.
Emma also works closely with HMP North Sea Camp through the Prisoners Building Homes programme, supporting Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) participants with their transition into employment and helping secure accommodation on release, enabling many to build stable careers at Dragonheart Homes and beyond.
Jason Holloway
Jason Holloway is a co-founder and Managing Director of QL Security, an award-winning AI Security specialist partner based in Stamford.
Jason has spent more than 30 years in information and cyber security, with leadership roles at F-Secure and SanDisk before founding Bridgeway Security Solutions, which he scaled to £3.8m and exited via merger.
Last year he founded QL Security to close a gap many organisations now face: as AI adoption grows, securing and governing that AI becomes ever more urgent. The new firm helps mid-sized and enterprise organisations assess AI risk, implement the necessary governance and controls and produce the evidence a regulator, auditor or customer requires.
Jason has appeared on BBC News, ITV News, Sky News and CNBC, has been quoted in more than 600 articles and speaks regularly on how organisations can adopt AI without losing control of it.
He is also a keen glider pilot and is happily married to Louisa.
Faisal Mahmood
Faisal Mahmood is an entrepreneur, technology innovator and business mentor who has built a career around turning ideas into scalable, commercially successful solutions.
As founder and Managing Director of Medialogix, Faisal has grown the company into a highly profitable technology business serving organisations across the UK, including police forces, military, NHS Trusts, universities and major media organisations. His work focuses on helping organisations manage, protect and unlock the value of their digital assets, while continually developing new technology solutions for complex operational challenges.
Beyond Medialogix, Faisal is passionate about entrepreneurship and helping others achieve greater freedom through business. He mentors aspiring and established entrepreneurs, invests in property and helps bring the Peterborough business community together through the Progressive Business Network monthly event.
His approach combines innovation, commercial thinking and a belief that successful businesses should create meaningful impact for their customers, teams and communities.
Phil Meakins
Phil Meakins has spent more than 30 years working in technology, automation, cloud and AI, including building the AI platforms at AstraZeneca during the COVID-19 vaccine trial and its success.
The direction of his work changed when his daughter received an aggressive scam letter. She told him about it, but Phil immediately wondered how many other people had received the same letter and had nobody to turn to. He spent the next 12 days tracing those behind it until the operation was shut down.
Seeing the fear and distress caused to ordinary people stayed with him. It became the reason he created ScamAdvisory.net and JustAskWillow.com.
Willow is a free chat service that gives people somewhere to turn when they are worried or unsure, helping them understand what is happening and find the right support quickly, and keeping them safe online and in the real world.
Phil’s aim is simple: use technology to help people before the harm is done.
Mark Shortland
Mark Shortland is the founder and CEO of Shoplight, a UK retail lighting manufacturer recognised for challenging industry norms through innovation and sustainability. Under his leadership, Shoplight has pioneered the use of advanced biopolymers and 3D printing to create high-performance retail lighting solutions that significantly reduce environmental impact while delivering exceptional design and performance.
Passionate about combining commercial success with responsible business, Mark has led the company through a period of transformational innovation, earning the trust of leading retail brands across the UK and internationally, including Lululemon, Skechers and LEGO. Alongside running Shoplight, he is studying for an Executive MBA at Warwick Business School, with a particular interest in sustainable business strategy and leadership. His vision is to demonstrate that British manufacturing can be innovative, competitive and a force for positive environmental change.
Simon Thomas
Simon is the CEO of Paragraf, the company he founded in 2018. A diverse background in physics, engineering and materials science, with 20+ years in compound semiconductor materials, devices, and applications, across multiple technology disciplines led to the innovation of a novel manufacturing technique for graphene, and subsequently Paragraf.
The company is the first in the world to produce graphene electronics at scale, delivering next generation chips with higher performance and much lower power consumption than today’s alternatives. Paragraf’s products are already making impacts in the worlds of AI compute, Quantum, Space and Medical Diagnostics.
Having raised over $150m Simon has grown Paragraf into a UK headquartered global business with subsidiaries around the world. Simon is passionate about developing technologies that can solve today’s enduring challenges and beneficially affect society. He believes new materials hold the key to transformational products that will deliver a brighter, more sustainable future.
Lewis Vernum
Lewis Vernum is an entrepreneur, musician and founder of Project Abundance. After more than 20 years in music performing internationally and working across production, writing and mentoring, a difficult period in his own life led him to rethink what success, health and purpose really meant.
That journey became Project Abundance, a Peterborough-based social enterprise using food growing, nature, education and enterprise to regenerate the environment, health and communities
Lewis now brings together his experience in business, creativity and community development to create opportunities for people to grow food, learn practical skills, improve wellbeing and discover their own potential.
His philosophy is simple: don’t keep adapting people to broken systems. Build better ones, and give people the skills and confidence to help build them.