General Judging Criteria

Vision - What is their vision of the future of the company over the next 3-5 years and how do they intend to drive their business forward?

Objectives - What do they feel are the greatest challenges they face as a director and how do they plan to address these challenges?

Corporate Social Responsibility - How does their organisation interact with the society in which they operate and how seriously do they consider CSR issues?

Industry and Community Involvement - What is the individual director involved with on a personal basis to help shape the industry? Are they involved at all with their local trade or professional bodies, communities, charities, external organisations, etc?

Culture - How do they work with the people in their organisations and what is their approach to company culture, staff training and welfare, etc?

Corporate Governance - The use of non-executive directors and compliance with Higgs will be considered, together with the individual director's view of the usefulness of NED's.

Achievements - What does the individual director consider to be their greatest achievement over the last two years?

Company Performance - How has the individual director contributed to the success, growth and profitability of their organisation? Has the company seen increased sales, profit and market share under the direction of the individual?

Additional “International” Criteria

Open to organisations, with a turnover in excess of £5m, which are successful in exporting and committed to continued growth in the international business arena (outside the UK).

Entrants will show expertise in planning and managing an export strategy including managing currency functions, credit control and marketing overseas.

Additional “New Business” Criteria

Judges will be looking for companies, between 12 months and five years old, which have translated a good idea into a successful business venture. They will need to demonstrate how they are increasing turnover and are building a stable business base for the business to grow in a substantial way.