 This supplement celebrates the achievements of the 14 finalists in the North-East Business Executive of the Year Awards 2005. Now in its 22nd year, the event aims to celebrate exceptional individual achievement of business executives in the North-East. Steve Brown, regional managing director of Trinity Mirror, said: "It's more than just the tradition of this event and the credibility of the winners list that makes it important and significant for the region. "Encouraging business leadership is the one single issue that unites the agenda of a whole range of initiatives and organisations. "Aspire, the CBI, the Chamber of Commerce, One NorthEast, the Entrepreneur's Forum, and many others all recognise that the future of the North-East economy depends on great people doing great things. "A page from the One NorthEast website says it all. `One NorthEast believes that the biggest asset of the region is its people. "Fundamental to our future is the creation and promotion of a self-sustaining inclusive leadership culture that serves to liberate the potential and self-confidence of the North-East of England. Leadership is the key to transforming the economic performance and the community regeneration of the region'. "Few here would disagree with that sentiment and, to my knowledge, this is the only event that we have that unashamedly focuses on, searches out and celebrates the best business leadership - the people who have made things happen, the people who have genuinely created wealth, the leaders of the future and the people who have achieved over a lifetime." The awards were announced at a dinner attended by 500 guests at the Marriott Hotel in Gosforth last week. The overall winner of the prestigious North-East Business Executive of the Year Award was Sir Michael Darrington, managing director of Newcastle-based retail bakery chain Greggs, who was also named Business Executive of the Year for Tyneside and Northumberland. And Sir Ian Wrigglesworth, chairman of the judges, told the hundreds of guests at the presentation: "Two of Sir Mike's great achievements, the judges feel, are the firm's expansion into mainland Europe, and the way Greggs' share performance has reshaped City attitudes of analysts and investors to look at turnovers of North-East quoted firms with new respect." Greggs has enjoyed almost unbroken growth in share value since it floated. Sir Mike has also impressed with his promotion of the region as a whole, his provision of Greggs' breakfast clubs for schoolchildren and his anti-cancer fundraising. Sir Mike, who was also named Tyneside and Northumberland Business Executive of the Year last night, plans to stay at Greggs until 2010, and see the company raise its current turnover of half a billion pounds plus to £1bn with more than 1,700 outlets, up from the current 1,300. On receiving his award at the Marriott Gosforth Park Hotel in Newcastle, he said: "Our business is very successful because it has so many North-East people working for it. I feel proud and privileged." Another popular winner at the event organised by The Journal and its Teesside sister paper the Evening Gazette, was Dame Margaret Barbour, chairman of J Barbour & Sons, whose South Tyneside firm diversified a business of trawlermen's stormwear into a worldwide fashion manufacturer, through the famous Barbour jacket. Her Lifetime Achievement Award marks not only her feat in taking over a company in crisis with no business experience, to make it a world-class operation - but also her understated generosity in financially supporting, through the Barbour Foundation, countless regional and community causes and organisations. Dame Margaret was a schoolteacher before taking over the running of Barbour 33 years ago at the age of 28. The family firm had been left leaderless by the premature death of her first husband. She not only saved a company founded in 1894, but created demand for its outdoor tailoring in more than 33 countries. Dame Margaret, who has always been a low profile figure, said of her win last night: "I am overjoyed to win this award. I am dedicated to the North-East." Meanwhile Anne Ganley, one of Britain's few women builders' merchants, was named Wearside and County Durham Business Executive of the Year. Anne Ganley has developed, hands-on, what was a family rag and bone trade into, first, a builders' merchants and now also a DIY specialist vying with the like of B&Q and Wickes. Trevor Arnold, the export-driven managing director of Thornaby engineering consultants K Home International, was made Tees Valley Business Executive of the Year. Mr Arnold's win recognises his part in taking K Home on from a business of local engineering contracting to an international, multi-disciplined operation, that oversees contracts worth billions. It is shortly to double its workforce to 700. And Daniele Cowan, 26, founder and managing director of 1st Fix Recruitment, a three-year-old Newcastle specialist in finding construction personnel, was named North-East Young Business Person 2005. Daniele Cowan's young business employs 24 and already has a turnover of £1m-plus. It has recently introduced a recruitment arm for cleaning services. The North-East Business Executive of the Year is co-sponsored by Dickinson Dees, Teesside University, Newcastle University Business School, Arriva, the Royal Bank of Scotland and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The judges spent two days whittling down the list of 90 candidates to pick out the final selection. The panel, under Sir Ian Wrigglesworth's chairmanship, included Vinay Bedi of stockbroker Wise Speke, George Cowcher, chief executive of the North-East Chamber of Commerce , John Irwin, director of Storeys:ssp, David Allison of One NorthEast, Jamie Martin, senior partner at Ward Hadaway and CBI regional chairman, Sue Kiddle of Barclays, and Paul Walker, chief executive of Sage plc, who was last year's winner. They were ably assisted by members of the business teams from The Journal and the Evening Gazette and, of course, by researcher-in-chief Brian Nicholls. The Journal gratefully acknowledges the support of the events' sponsors - Arriva, University of Newcastle Business School, Dickinson Dees, University of Teesside Business School, Royal Bank of Scotland and PricewaterhouseCoopers. | 
