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SME News proudly presents...

Managing Director of the Year Awards (2023)

Currently in its second year, we at SME News are thrilled to host the Managing Director of the Year Awards 2023! Focusing on those at the forefront of businesses, we seek to shine a light on those who have shown true excellence in leadership, commitment, and determination more than ever over the past 12 months across the UK.

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Home  »  Awards  »  Managing Director of the Year Awards

Meet our amazing team

The Nomination Team can assist with answering any queries that you have regarding a nomination, or the process involved in taking part in one of our award programmes.

Please get in touch with us via email or over the phone if you have any questions - we are happy to help!

Meet The Team
Our Amazing Team - AI Global Media
Key Dates - Award
Key Dates

Entries Open:Monday 19th December 2022

Entries Close:Monday 6th March 2023

Winners Announced:June 2023

About the SME Managing Director of the Year Awards

Following a very successful introduction, SME News is proud to announce the return of the Managing Director of the Year Awards 2023 for its second instalment!

Exclusively devoted to rewarding the very best Managing Directors from across the UK, these awards offer a unique opportunity to gain recognition for both you and your business.

The role of the Managing Director (MD) has evolved significantly in recent years. Today’s MDs are expected to have a wide range of skills from exquisite leadership capabilities to possessing the necessary strategic insight to base key decisions on. A truly successful MD, though, goes beyond these basic requirements. They must also be able to forge and sustain key relationships based on trust and confidence, and to drive their business forward with proactive and thoughtful leadership on issues like diversity and climate.

The Managing Director of the Year Awards 2023 uses a rigorous, merit-based research process to identify and recognise the best MDs from across the UK! Our meticulous and equitable selection process ensures that only the most deserving participants are recognised. Our selection process considers a variety of factors including business performance, growth, and innovation, as well as testimonials from colleagues and stakeholders.

We gather information from a wide range of publicly available sources. Nominees are also welcome to provide additional information to support their candidacy, with our judging panel carefully reviewing all material to determine who our successful candidates will be.

This year’s successful nominees will be provided with access to our complimentary celebration package to announce the news to their audience, as well as being able to utilise the SME News brand and our circulation figure of 78,000 to be promoted on our official website for the foreseeable future.

By participating in this hugely successful SME News awards programme, you can gain recognition for your hard work and showcase your business’s achievements to a wider audience.

Being successful in the Managing Director of the Year Awards can prove to be a great marketing tool, with it providing third-party validation of your business’ excellence. This can help to attract new customers and partners and can even lead to increased investment opportunities!

Additionally, this awards programme provides a fantastic networking opportunity! By participating, you will be able to connect with other successful managing directors and learn from their experiences, which in turn can help you to develop new ideas and strategies for growing your business.

So why wait? If you would like to self-nominate, or indeed nominate another MD you feel is worthy, then please complete the voting form found above. Alternatively, if you would like further information about how the Managing Director of the Year Awards 2023 can benefit you, then please do not hesitate to contact our awards team directly at awards@sme-news.co.uk.

FAQ's
FAQ's - Full Width Banner
How long has SME News been in circulation for?
SME News was first launched in 2017 making it one of AI Global Media’s newer publications. SME News is a quarterly magazine circulated to just over 78,000 recipients. The publication seeks to inform, entertain, influence and endorse the start-up and SME business culture in the UK. We aim to achieve this by providing quality editorial and rigorous research utilising a multimedia platform capable of targeting key stakeholders of dedicated advisers, experts and contributors.

SME News is owned by AI Global Media, a UK based publisher which has over 200 issues to its name since 2010.
Where did the nomination come from?
In the interest of nurturing an environment proven to produce a high response rate, we don’t ask nominees to reveal any personal identity. With regards to methodology, we often nominate candidates ourselves and, when it comes to voting, if you didn’t cast a vote through a self-submission, it is likely to have been cast via a colleague or client who has received one of our direct invitations.

One of the main mantras of our awards system is that your ability to succeed is not linked to the number of votes received, meaning your award is presented purely on merit. In the interest of security and fairness, we track unusual behaviour on our website to identify repeat votes and cyber-threats.
What happens if I agree to be shortlisted?
In the interest of focusing our efforts on relevant and eager candidates, we ask all nominees to accept their position on the shortlist giving people complete control in the decision on whether they would like to move forward with the award. Nominees who accept are subject to our scrutiny during the internal vetting procedure and are given the opportunity to present their own data to be considered alongside information collated by our research team. This can take up to 8 weeks for final assessments to be rendered.
Who makes the final decision?
We employ an entirely impartial panel of 5 individuals to conduct all research. At the helm of the panel, is a veteran academic leader with international academic and training experience and is well versed in research, fact-checking and mediation. SME News’ research is overseen by Martyn Walters, who holds a master’s in history and experience in coaching, sales and hospitality.

This two-tiered system allows for a neutral mediator which we feel allows a more efficient method when determining individuals and companies most deserving of winning an award and has brought us much success and commendation throughout its use.
Is there a winner’s ceremony/award dinner and if so, when does it take place?
The short answer is, no.

We decided to not focus our efforts on a celebratory event. Despite being an enjoyable occasion, it doesn’t support our group’s philosophy of cost-effective marketing. We follow the belief that optional costs associated with an award are better placed in a year’s worth of online marketing for the winner rather than spending large sums on a ceremonial evening.

Our press announcements are made digitally, online and across our network to enforce our position as digital publishers. We aim to provide you with the tools (both digital and physical) to generate real-world value.
What happens if I am deemed successful?
After you have been notified we enforce a short press embargo while the programme manager will liaise with you to establish your preferred method of coverage. Generally, our coverage takes the form of a digital celebratory magazine, we also offer physical trophies, wall mounted certificates and plaques and digital certificates, web-based advertisements and press releases which can be custom designed for you or your company.
Are there any costs involved?
As mentioned there are no compulsory costs in accepting a nomination or winning an award with SME News. We do offer a variety of paid additional benefits for our winners, but these are completely optional. To demonstrate our commitment to no mandatory fees, all our winners are offered a free of charge promotional package. Our company policy will always remain: regardless of budget, our clients should always be able to garner the full value of the award and our seal of approval. We offer a variety of promotional opportunities to our winners, as we have an extensive network and we know, more than anyone, the wider business benefits from promoting industry awards.
Why does your email domain differ from your website domain?
Because we send a large volume of emails, we separate our campaign email sends from our transactional ones. This structure helps to ensure a prompt and thorough response from one of our diligent team members. The sending email address will always be recognisable but please contact us via the address on this page if you have any concerns.
Methodology
Methodology 1: Researching nominees - Full Width BannerResearching nominees

The SME News team work ardently to identify market leaders, innovators and enterprising start-ups, driving many of the nominations themselves.

We also encourage external nominations via the SME News subscribers, online visitors, social media followers, clients and wider circulation.

Nominating parties are invited to put forward either third-party businesses whom they hold in high regard, or their own organisation.

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Methodology 2: Shortlisting nominees - Full Width BannerShortlisting nominees

All nominees are formally requested to accept their nomination. Should any firm or individual rather decline at this point, they are simply taken out of the running.

Those formally accepting are given the opportunity to submit additional materials in support of their nomination. Although there is no obligation to complete and supply material, we have found that many nominees value this stage, in the process, as much as our research team do.

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Methodology 3: Evaluating and judging - Full Width BannerEvaluating and judging

Our dedicated research team will assess all information presented to them.

The team gather information independently from a variety of publicly accessible sources, which are assessed alongside any material supplied by a nominating party or the nominee themselves.

The research team casts their final judgment, based on various criteria including: client dedication, innovation, business growth, longevity, online reputation, customer feedback and business performance.

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Methodology 4: The lucky winners - Full Width BannerThe lucky winners

Once winners are determined, they are personally notified before any public announcement is made, allowing time for any communications throughout the wider business and the coordination of marketing strategies.

Unfortunately, not everyone can be a winner; however, all who take part are encouraged to come back next year.

Once the press embargo is lifted, details of our SME award winners will be made public via the website, award winners’ magazine and subscriber newsletter.

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Methodology 5: Making the most - Full Width BannerMaking the most

We are prepared to offer a range of promotional packages and items to SME award winners, which vary from inclusion in the free-of-charge winners’ directory, to trophies, content in our magazine and on our website.

We encourage all winners to publicly announce their win independently. Announcements via company websites, social media, via publicly released press releases, and through local and national press are all great ways of maximising the exposure which can be gained from such an amazing achievement. If you have need of further advice, on how to gain maximum exposure from your win, please feel free to get in touch. We are happy to assist our clients with their needs.

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The winners hall of fame

View all winners of the SME Managing Director of the Year Awards.

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View all winners.

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