2021 WeDO Award winners

We were delighted to finally be able to return to hosting our annual Awards Dinner on the 5th of November, an extra special occasion being the 10th Anniversary of our Awards, supported by our headline sponsors NorDan UK and Opus Xenta.  Ten of Scotland’s most outstanding entrepreneurs & business leaders received their Awards at a glittering evening at the Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel in Edinburgh.  The event sold out in 5 weeks, we added a further 40 tickets which also sold out, in 2 weeks, we even had a waiting list for tickets!  A record 220 guests were in attendance and we were extremely grateful to everyone for doing lateral flow tests as requested, as a result, all of us remained Covid free.

The event was hosted by the hugely entertaining Fred MacAulay who was on top form having been locked down for so long and funds were raised for our charity partner My Name’5 Doddie Foundation through a raffle and auction. Guests were inspired and entertained during our ‘In Conversation’ with the inspirational John Davidson of Escape to Educate and ORCA Scotland,  a former SAS soldier who rowed the Atlantic solo for Doddie’s Foundation, and renowned rugby host and MC Bruce Aitchison, founder of the Happiness is Egg Shaped podcasts.

Commenting on the Awards Dinner, WeDO Scotland chair Gordon White said:

“It was great to be back at a live, in-person event to celebrate the success of Scotland’s entrepreneurial and business community. We’ve supported businesses of all sizes and sectors throughout the pandemic and have been so impressed by their tenacity and resilience.”

Here are the 2021 winners:

Inspiring Leader of the Year sponsored by OpusXenta

Jim Rae of docs24 a technology based marketing, business content and brand asset management platform with offices in Edinburgh and South Carolina, USA

“To be awarded Inspiring Leader of The Year was a complete shock but I am honoured, flattered and humbled to have been awarded this prestigious award from the WeDO Executive Team.

I accept this award on behalf of all of the docs24 team as they are the people who inspire me every day and I was so pleased that we could all celebrate this great surprise together at the Awards Dinner.”

Entrepreneur of the Year sponsored by NorDan UK

Andy Kerr of the McHardy Group in Edinburgh, a firm of chartered financial planner and independent financial advisers.

International Entrepreneur of the Year

Fred Bowden of employee owned engineering firm Woollard & Henry in Aberdeen.

“I was delighted picking up this award on behalf of Woollard and Henry. Since the employee buyout in 2002 we have been working to develop our international markets and presence, opening up a number of new facilities through organic growth and acquisitions. It was really pleasing to see all this hard work being recognised.”

Fred Bowden, Woollard & Henry

High Growth Company sponsored by Anderson Anderson Brown

Glasgow-based – B2B marketing group 4icg.

Eco Entrepreneur of the Year sponsored by Boda Bars

Stefan Huber of Fife based PAUL Heat Recovery Systems Scotland which provides energy efficient ventilation solutions for sustainable homes in Scotland.

Young Entrepreneur of the Year sponsored by Discover Chiropractic

Blair Stirling of Vuabl, a leading progressive, property-focused technology company operating throughout the UK, based in Glasgow.

“Absolutely delighted to have won the Young Entrepreneur of the year award and it is great testament to what we have achieved so far as a company. It was an enjoyable process rounded off by a fantastic awards dinner celebrating the 10th Anniversary. Thank you to everyone involved and well done to all the winners.”

Blair Stirling, Vuabl

Employee Owned Business sponsored by Azets

David Narro Associates, an engineering consultancy services firm in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, Aberdeen and Inverness.

“The entire team here at David Narro Associates are absolutely delighted to be the inaugural winner of the Employee-Owned Company of the Year award, it’s a fantastic recognition of the culture we’ve worked really hard to build here in the practice. It’s also great to see the employee ownership model as a whole being recognised this way.”

Pete Jeffrey, David Narro Associates

Scottish Product of the Year sponsored by Amplifi Solutions

Vert Technologies, a compressed air technology provider in Edinburgh.

“I am delighted that the efforts of our talented and experienced team at Vert have been recognised and we have been awarded ‘Product of the Year’ at this year’s awards.  Vert won against some stiff competition and it is testament to the team’s hard work and progress over the last year that the CRC technology has been formally recognised.”

Phil Harris, Vert Technologies

New Start Business sponsored by Beyond The Numbers

The Potato Guys in East Lothian, who deliver potatoes direct from the farm to homes across the UK.

Best Use of Technology sponsored by Scottish Business Resilience Centre – Exercise In A Box

Dr Eoghan Colgan of Continulus, a Glasgow based online learning platform for medical professionals, giving them access to world medical experts and gain CPD/CE/CME credits.  They offer courses, videos and lectures which support global equality in healthcare education.

Commenting on the 10th Anniversary Awards, WeDO Scotland founder Belinda Roberts said:

“I’m proud that WeDO Scotland continues to give support to entrepreneurs, business owners and businesses throughout Scotland.  We have worked hard to create an engaging community during the last 13 years, and we are delighted that we have finally been able to celebrate our tenth awards anniversary.

“The last 18 months have been unprecedented in terms of challenges. But the number of competitive and impressive entries we’ve received to this year’s awards are testament to growing business confidence.

“It was fantastic to see the number of applications and nominations in the Employee Owned category, testament to the continuing growth and popularity of this business model.”