2026 Finalists UK

2026 FINALISTS – UK AWARDS

Congratulations to the finalists of the ninth annual British Forces in Business Awards. Drawn from a record-breaking 1,000+ nominations, this talented group of veterans and reservists demonstrate the enormous value to employers that hire from the Armed Forces community. The winners will be revealed at the world’s largest celebration of veterans in second careers, the British Forces in Business Awards gala ceremony, on 25 June 2026 at the Grosvenor House London, Park Lane. Click here to book your place at this exciting and inspirational evening.

ADVOCATE OF THE YEAR – INDIVIDUAL

Andrew Wilson, BT
David Welling, National Grid
Dom Sweny, Lockton Companies
Erik Gustafson, Wells Fargo
Jason Woosnam, Cencora Alliance Healthcare UK
Jean Kent, VodafoneThree
Liz McKinney-Bennett, Mott MacDonald
Nadine Davis, Barclays
Nigel Horne, Corps Security
Richard Wilkinson, Premier Estates
Steve King, Centrica
Tony Ellender, Balfour Beatty

ADVOCATE OF THE YEAR – ORGANISATION

Armed Forces Community HQ
Atos UK&I
Avove Utilities
Carbon60
Eagle Eye Innovations
Force Development Services
Landmarc Support Services
Royal Mail Group
Sunbelt Rentals UK & Ireland
The White Ensign Association
UK Power Networks
Willmott Dixon

BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR

Alan Park, Center Parcs
Ashley Howe, AWS
Chris Yates, Willmott Dixon
Clair Jackson, Saluda Medical
David Mossop, Arlanxeo
Emma Morgan, Amazon
Lee Cartmell, Chubb Fire & Security
Louis Fagan, Interactive Investor
Phaedra Gibson, Smiths Detection
Rick Davis, RLB
Shaun Enever, MBDA
Tom Coker, Intangles Lab

CHAMPION OF WOMEN AWARD

Anna-Marie Tipping, Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance
Elizabeth Bullock, Northrop Grumman UK
Emma Crawford, Mazuma
Gemma Luxton, RejuvaLux
Gemma Whitley, PA Consulting
Helen Seymour and Rosie Steevenson, On A Mission
Jacqui McDonald, International SOS
Jennifer Mennell, Ambrey
Kate Buffin, VIVO Defence Services
Lisa Tansley, Yorkshire Rose College
Nicola Neale, Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land
Nikki Williams, VodafoneThree

D&I INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR

Armed Forces Staff Network, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
Babcock Forces Community Network
Compass Group UK & Ireland
Female Veterans Alliance
HSBC Asset Management Veterans Programme
JointForces@ISS, ISS UK
Katy White, Amazon
Military Accelerated Programme, M Group
Military Work Placement Programmes, London, Barclays
Paul Jenner, Amazon
Squaddie Box
Veterans Network, Sage

EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR

Amethyst Risk Management
Avove Utilities
Babcock
BAE Systems
Bombardier
Calian UK
Carbon60
Company X Consulting
Inzpire
John Deere UK
Landmarc Support Services
MBDA
SA Group
Serco
VIVO Defence Services

ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE AWARD

Alastair Burn, British Airways
Alexander Coniff, British Antarctic Survey
Gavin Greenfield, PSS Utilities
Gus Birks, VodafoneThree
Jamie Mabrouk, Sir Robert McAlpine
Kevin Fenton, Galliford Try
Kevin Floyd, Veolia
Luke Travell, KBS Maritime
Peter Hall, ISS UK
Steve Plant, SA Group
Stuart Balls, Bureau Veritas
Will Watts, City College Plymouth

ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR

Adrian Kirkbride, AJ-Security
Andrew Rhodes, Eden Private Hire
Brett Baber, Thanos Renewables
Darren Hardy, Staystrong
David Taylor, Aruga Cyber
Dean Adkins, Selway Joyce
Gary Woodhead, CurveBlock
Joe Long, MMCG Consultancy / Veteran Knots
John Barry, Salamanca Training
Rohan Byfield, R2bean2
Saul Cuttell, Pitch RMT UK
Sharon McCormick, The Listening Centre

INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR

Aaron Fulton, Amazon
Ben Fowler, Leidos
Colin Howe, Rocky Road Resilience
David Kubale, Bernstein Autonomous
Ian Hirst, Talan
James Allan, Allianz
Mark Everest, Bombardier
Richard Davies, LimbAxis Systems
Richard Gill, Drone Defence
Richard Hay, Kuehne+Nagel
Robert Tams, FDM Group
Shafiq Sadiq, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust

INSPIRATION OF THE YEAR

Abid Moughal, GXO Logistics
Amy Manuel, e50K
Daniel Gaskin, Freedom
Drew Funnell, Bombardier
Jay Reynolds, Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust
Julia Chapple, Vistry
Leanne Casey, Sunbelt Rentals UK & Ireland
Ryan Boulton, Serco
Sarah Tott, Compass Group UK & Ireland
Shakira Bickhan, Mott MacDonald
Sophie Warren-Reece, TranSwap Technologies
Trevor Bygate, Hadleigh Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Andrew Jackson, SaluteMyJob
Anton Foulger, Leidos
Colin Burgess, BAFTA
John Milton, Eagle Eye Innovations
John Sutcliffe, Raytheon UK
Jon Webster, City Group Security
Nick Vadis, Compass Group UK & Ireland
Paul Weston, AtkinsRéalis
Professor Gavin Oxburgh, Northumbria University
Sally Orange MBE, Army Cadet Force
Simon Harbron, Ascent Flight Training
Simon Woodward, Independent Executive Business Consultant

MILITARY VALUES IN BUSINESS AWARD

Barry McGuire, Leidos
Carl Maxwell, Vistry
Chris Smith, Leonardo UK
Christian Clifford, Serco
Elaine Forshaw, Capita
Jon Craig, International SOS
Lisa Evans, Capita
Matt Mullins, Willmott Dixon
Michael Pryce, Galliford Try
Paul Batten, BAE Systems
Phil Powell, VIVO Defence Services
Phil Rogers, Capita

NEW SERVICE LEAVER OF THE YEAR

Amie Spinks, SA Group
Benedict Barry, North Air
Christopher Dugdale, AtkinsRéalis
Dylan Jones, Kuehne+Nagel
Jacob Barr, FDM Group
John Room, Galliford Try
Joseph Tankard, HSBC
Mathew Darby, AtkinsRéalis
Natalie Shaw, Practice Plus Group
Stephen Reynolds, AHNA Group
Steven Tyler, Gardline
Tony Muers, Balfour Beatty

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVER OF THE YEAR

Andrew Pinkham, United Infrastructure
Clare Edwards, VIVO Defence Services
Clayton Chambers, Colt
Dan Clapcott, ISS UK
Dan Penter, UK Veterans Gaming
Darren McFaul, ALTEN
Jamie Hutch MBE, Landmarc Support Services
Maria James, Trust by Design
Michael Lobban, AventaMed
Richard Greenhough, Eagle Eye Innovations
Simon Taylor, Babcock International
Stuart Hide, Runshaw College

RESERVIST OF THE YEAR

Andrew Banfield, Impellam
Ashley Woolger, AtkinsRéalis
Colin Harwood, Richter
Domhnall Dods, CityFibre
Gavin Milligan, ISS UK
Iain Charnley, Willmott Dixon
Kam Hyder, FDM Group
Miles Beardsley, Cavendish Nuclear
Poppy Ewence, Barclays
Reece Bell, MBDA
Simon Killips, AECOM
Stephanie Robertson, Compass Group UK & Ireland

ROLE MODEL OF THE YEAR

Adam Wilkinson, Amazon
Douglas Glew, Amethyst Risk Management
Dusty Miller, British Fencing
Giles Hall, International SOS
James Healy, PentenAmio
Jerry Woods, MBDA
John Henry Williamson, CityFibre
Kirsty Britton, Capgemini
Peter Fish, Galliford Try
Ray Craggs, United Infrastructure
Sarah Sinclair, City College Plymouth
Scott Young, Parallel Wealth Management

SERVICE LEAVER OF THE YEAR

Andrew Davidge, BAE Systems
Andrew Willis, Leonardo UK
Brendan Mills, SCCI Alphatrack
Dan Marshall, Leidos
Dr Lucy Sheppard-Marks, Bournemouth University
Henry Anderson, Parallel Wealth Management
Jack Maguire, VodafoneThree
Kim Village, Aqua Consultants
Morgan Dally, Lincolnshire Co-Operative
Nick Goudie, Sodexo
Pete Wayre, Harbour Hotels
Tom Sykes, AtkinsRéalis

SME LEADER OF THE YEAR

Carl Shadrake, CS PM Consultancy
Chris Viggars, MMCG Consultancy
Gareth Woolley, PentenAmio
Georgina Ritchie, Accelerate
Jamie Carroll, AirX Jet Support
Jeremy Osborne, SA Group
Jill Winters, Active Care Group
Katie Raine, Helsing
Kris Pankhurst, Thanos Renewables
Richard Wallace, LCM Environmental
Robert Scott, Edgbaston Eye Consultants
Tony Talbot, Network Innovations

TEAM LEADER OF THE YEAR

Chris Brown, Carbon60
David Price, British Airways
Edward Anderson, Ascent Flight Training
Graham Hall, Amazon
John Gardner, Mott MacDonald
Jude Priestley, Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land
Leon Young, Northrop Grumman UK
Lisa Deehan, Howden Group
Natalie Gray, Practice Plus Group
Steve Witty, Willmott Dixon
Tim Steadman, Veolia
Wayne Orchard, Vistry

YOUNG LEADER OF THE YEAR

Danielle Sandy, Barclays
Dom Williams, McLaren
Ethan Donovan, RedCloud Technologies
Gavin Robinson, Mott MacDonald
Harrison Andrews, Arabelle Solutions
Jack O’Hara, LNER
Joe Madden, GKN Aerospace
Jordan Gask, The Hamilton Gold Company
Matthew Lemon, Kuehne+Nagel
Nick Hooper, Fairstone Wealth Manager
Rory Bewers, Mars
Simon Peterken, Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land

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