Founded in 2002 as a not-for-profit organisation by prominent entrepreneurs Sir Peter Vardy and Lorna Moran OBE, the Entrepreneurs’ Forum has grown from 40 founding members to hundreds of North East entrepreneurs.
The Entrepreneurs' Forum is launched. Co-founders Sir Peter Vardy and Lorna Moran OBE take the roles of Chairman and Vice Chair respectively.
The Entrepreneurs' Forum holds its official launch event with guest speakers Sir Richard Branson and Sir Tom Hunter.
The Forum launches its Entrepreneurial Awards with John Hays of Hays Travel winning its first award (Entrepreneur of the Year).
Paul Walker, CEO of Sage, is appointed Chair of the Forum.
Tom Maxfield, the pioneer behind Seaham Hall and founder of Tom's Companies, is appointed Chair of the Forum.
The Entrepreneurs' Forum launches the start-up focused If We Can You Can Challenge which it runs for six years.
The Forum hits a milestone, having delivered 250 events since its launch including one with Sir Bob Geldof!
Members of the Forum travel to Everest Base Camp to raise money for charity.
Nigel Mills CBE, co-founder of The Lakes Distillery and founder of Mills Group, is appointed Chair of the Entrepreneurs' Forum.
The Entrepreneurs' Forum hits another event milestone - having delivered over 500 events since its founding.
The Scale Up Leaders' Academy, developed in conjunction with the ScaleUp Institute, is launched providing support to our scaling members. Our first cohort included Raman Seghal (ramarketing), Gill Burgess (r//evolution) and Jo Feeley (Trend Bible) (all pictured).
James Robson MBE, founder of Exwold, is appointed Chairman of the Entrepreneurs' Forum.
The Scale-up Leaders' Academy is listed for the first time as a 'One to Watch' programme and featured by the ScaleUp Institute in its Annual Review.
The Entrepreneurs' Forum creates its online support hub, offering advice and guidance to entrepreneurs as they navigate through the pandemic.
The Entrepreneurs' Forum presents its 50th award during its 18th annual Entrepreneurial Awards to Dame Margaret Barbour of the fashion brand Barbour.
The Forum announces its £20k charity challenge in honour of its 20th birthday. It surpasses its initial target by double, raising £40k in 2022 for Business Beats Cancer Newcastle and The Prince's Trust Women Supporting Women campaign.
Members and partners past and present join the Forum's founding members, board and team in celebrating 20 years of the Entrepreneurs' Forum.
The first episode of the Forum's podcast, A Cast of Entrepreneurs, is released and marks the first in a multi-series show which focuses on the personal and professional stories of our region's entrepreneurs.
Brendon Hayward, the co-founder of engineering company OSBIT, is appointed Chair of the Entrepreneurs' Forum.
The Forum introduces a string of new award categories in a bid to shine a light on more of the remarkable talent and diversity of the North East’s business community and to mark the award's 20th anniversary.
