Judges

JUDGING IS RIGOROUS, FAIR AND HONEST.

Our highly experienced judging panel is represented by each of the partners and representatives from the region’s most influential bodies. Judges will score and pick the winners from the individual interviews.

Hannah King
Investor, BGF
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Hannah King is an investor at BGF, the UK and Ireland’s most active growth capital firm, with over ten years of experience supporting ambitious businesses across a diverse range of sectors, including technology, manufacturing, business support services and consumer.

Specialising in scaling high-growth companies, Hannah has partnered with management teams to support succession planning, building high-performance teams, international expansion and strategic acquisitions, to unlock long-term value and achieve growth ambitions.

Beyond her investment work, Hannah is passionate about fostering inclusivity and opportunity within the entrepreneurial ecosystem. She actively mentors individuals both internally and externally, and is involved with various initiatives to support underrepresented leaders.

Matthew Gazzard

Group Managing Director, Goonvean Group

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A qualified accountant with over 30 years of experience in industry covering sectors such as
automotive, manufacturing, print, food, medical devices, cosmetics and personal care.
As the Group MD for the Goonvean Group, a key focus and responsibility is setting Group
strategy, including an active M&A programme.

Previous employment with AutoLogic Holdings, Lex, Invensys, British Ceramic Tiles, MPG
Group, Thatchers Cider, Westfield Medical, Swallowfield plc, KDC/One.

Strong managerial background and high-calibre expertise in finance, operations and business
development. An exceptional level of diverse business experience.

Susan Barratt

Non Exec Director

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I am a qualified chartered accountant (Coopers & Lybrand) and having left practice in 1990 I have built my career in the food industry.

Currently I am a Non Exec Director at AGBarr plc and non Exec Chair at Plant Ex ltd, having sat as Non Exec at Edward Billington’s ltd and Higgidy ltd.

In my Executive career I was CEO of Eldridge Pope PLC a pub company , Natures way Food td a food manufacturing company and IGD a charity that sits at the heart of the food industry working with Government.

In my earlier career I worked with in the UK and abroad in various roles with Geest (now Bakkavor) and Whitbread.

Nick Sturge

Entrepreneur & Non Exec Director

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Nick is a serial entrepreneur and seasoned non-executive director.

After working in the UK semiconductor industry Nick co-founded Motion Media Technology which IPO’d in 1996.

Nick grew SETsquared Bristol to be the world’s top university business incubator, in 2015, 2018 & 2019, and in 2013, founded Engine Shed, a collaboration between Bristol City Council and Bristol University, to drive sustainable and inclusive growth.

Nick has achieved Chartered Director accreditation, is now a portfolio NED and strategic adviser and was awarded an MBE for services to the digital economy. He is non-exec chair of techSPARK, non-exec director of CFMS and Light Trace Photonics, a governor at Bath Spa University and advises a number of universities, regional governments and businesses on strategy and innovation ecosystems.

Rebecca DeNiro

Non Exec Director

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Rebecca holds chair, non-executive director and advisory roles across SMEs and large corporates within PLC, private equity, family owned and employee-owned organisations. Across the South West these include Riverford Organic Farmers, Ruroc and Gilcrest Manufacturing aswell as previously sitting on the board at Clarks. Former MD of Dyson GB&I and CEO of Pure Electric, Rebecca was voted Top 10 in the 100 Most Influential Women in Engineering 2019
Rebecca is also an active mentor and champion of inclusivity and diversity as well as an ambassador and past pupil mentor for Bristol Grammar School.