Daniel is the Founder of Wade Construction Management Consultants. A unique construction and project management company for the Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences sectors. Wade’s projects have helped to accelerate the delivery of medicine by using a tailored, agile and effective approach to Construction.  From their Teesside HQ, Daniel has managed the meteoric rise of Wade since its inception in 2018. Experiencing a 410% increase in company growth, investment of £800k into their 30 members of staff. Daniel’s passion for creating more transparency in the construction industry is felt throughout the team and he is the driving force behind their impressive growth over the last five years.

Neil is the co-founder of Mother Mercy, a group of premium table service cocktail bars in the centre of Newcastle and Gateshead. The chain began in November 2019 in a small basement in Newcastle’s Cloth Market. Despite opening four months prior to the beginning of the pandemic, under Neil’s leadership the business has delivered impressive growth with the introduction of two additional sites, instore at Fenwick and at Gateshead's ‘By The River Brew Co.’ as well as two further sites due to open later this year.  Alongside this, Mother Mercy boasts a number of prestigious local and national awards, most notably The Chronicles Best Bar and a spot in the prestigious UK Top 50 Cocktail Bars. 

Gary is the founder and brains behind OGEL, a North East based manufacturing and building company that started life as a flood defence system idea. Now it is an eco-friendly fully installed, fully reusable construction technology that uses recycled waste plastic to build garden rooms, offices, and other specialist buildings. Under Gary’s leadership OGEL were crowned ‘winners’ of the 2021 series of Dragons Den having been offered investment from a number of the Dragons, as well as featuring heavily in BBC2’s home improvement program ‘Your Home Made Perfect’. With patents in the UK, USA, China and most of mainland Europe Gary’s aim is to develop products in the most sustainable way possible whilst aiding the climate crisis.

Founder of My Healthcare Recruit, Sarah created an international healthcare recruitment agency, fuelled by new technology and a mission to deliver outstanding customer service. My Healthcare Recruit currently employs 16 team members and provides recruitment services to NHS Trusts, large national Private Healthcare chains and Nursing Homes. The business works hard to maintain their 5-star Trust Pilot rating from international candidates they have deployed to the UK; and in order to offer their clients an end-to-end solution, have successfully diversified their relocation services such as accommodation sourcing, clinical training and immigration advice.

Jonny is the Managing Director of iPac Packaging Innovations, a Gateshead based sustainable thermoformed packaging company. Since its inception in 2017 Jonny has grown iPac to an annualised turnover of over £20 million with over 70 employees. Jonny is passionate about ensuring that sustainability remains at the forefront of everything that iPac does. Through innovative design, iPac’s products have helped customers remove approximately 450 tonnes of packaging per year from their supply chains, whilst also removing difficult to recycle materials. Their recycled PET products prevent over half a million plastic bottles per day from going to landfill, incineration or into the environment

Luis is the Managing Director of JMAC Group, a leading independent specialist access Hire, Sales and industrial services provider. Under Luis’s leadership JMAC has grown from a humble family-run scaffolding business into a trailblazing industry leader with a turnover in-excess of £13 million and 175 employees working from their Stockton-on-Tees HQ. Over the past five years, JMAC has diversified, expanding to four distinct brands that seamlessly provide a comprehensive range of industry leading services. From sales, rentals, and contracting services of their patented health & safety equipment to specialised scaffolding, and multi-discipline industrial solutions.

Dale is a property entrepreneur with over 15 years’ experience in residential, commercial and holiday home property investment, development and management. He has grown what is now The SDDE Smith Group from one holiday home in March 2017 to a group of fourteen customer facing brands including legal services, construction, interior design and ongoing property management, with over 300 employees and a projected revenue of over £30 million for 2023. Dale is passionate about the North East and has developed a true purpose for The SDDE Smith Group which is to push boundaries to create better places to live, work and stay.

Ben and Jamie co-founded iamproperty together in 2009 with a vision to modernise the property market by pioneering the Modern Method of Auction (MMoA). Addressing a gap in the market to offer consumers more choice within their property sales, and growing iamproperty to be the UK’s largest residential auctioneer, with over 515 employees, turnover reaching £76 million and an online auction market share of over 60%. Today, iamproperty offers an ecosystem of digital solutions which modernise the property market, empowering forward-thinking Estate Agents to succeed and making it the UKs largest and fastest growing auction provider.

Tim turned heads with the launch of Lane7 Newcastle in 2013 when he spray-painted graffiti over millions of pounds worth of bowling tech, and he has continued to turn heads ever since. His bespoke bowling alleys are all set within the country's quirkiest venues, everything from old Quick Fit garages to disused train stations, Lane7 venues are far from ordinary. With 11 locations across the country (and an additional six coming soon), a turnover of £64 million and employee numbers reaching over 800 Lane7 has achieved tremendous. His next project, the multi-million-pound ‘Level X’ venues, will create spaces for adults and kids alike with bowling, mini golf, e-carts, e-sports, batting cages and even a VR zone.

An entrepreneur who has been selected for their outstanding contribution over the last twelve months to altruistically supporting fellow entrepreneurs and the growth of their businesses.

The winner of the Mentor of the Year award is decided by the Entrepreneurs' Forum board and kept a closely guarded secret until the night! 

The most prestigious award of the evening, our Lifetime Achievement award is decided by the Entrepreneurs' Forum board and remains top secret until the winner is announced on the night! 

It is awarded to a business leader who has shown huge commitment over a significant period of time and made a major impact to the regional economy.