Judges

Dominic Geary - Mediavest. Chairman of Judges MediaVest Leeds is one of the leading media planning and buying specialists in the region with an annual turnover in excess of £18m. Dominic Geary is heavily involved in the Yorkshire business community working with Yorkshire Building Society, Yorkshire Forward and Provident Financial. Dominic joined the IoD West Yorkshire committee in 2007 and with his extensive background in media and advertising he helps promote the IoD’s West Yorkshire events. Dominic is also a judge for the YBI Digital Awards. 0113 224 0949

David Winterburn - MD Harrison-Winterburn Associates Ltd David Winterburn - Managing Director, Harrison Winterburn Associates Ltd David Winterburn has spent over 20 years identifying and selecting the top talent for UK boards and has been a member of Council for the Institute of Directors for over 3 years, having initially served as Chairman of the IoD West Yorkshire for 4 years and currently Regional Deputy Chairman. In addition, he is the former Chairman of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and the Association of Executive Recruiters. Current roles include: President of the ECSSA, the European search and selection organisation which he helped to form and a Non-Executive Director of the British American Business Council.

Jonathan Riley Jonathan Riley – Managing Partner, of Grant Thornton’s Yorkshire and North East offices, leading a team of over 350 people. With 20 years' experience in taxation, spending his early career primarily as an Inspector of Taxes, followed by a two year secondment as a tax policy advisor to the President of the Board of Trade, Jonathan has extensive experience dealing with entrepreneurial high net worth individuals and corporates, disposals, acquisitions, AIM, anti-avoidance, capital allowances, capital gains tax, corporate tax/property tax, tax planning and tax shelters. He works closely with clients who are typically entrepreneurial in sectors including property and construction, property investment and development, retailing and manufacturing.

Elaine Ball - MDL Ltd Elaine Ball - Managing Director of Measurement Devices Ltd (MDL) Based in York; with offices in Aberdeen, Scotland, Houston, USA and Melbourne, Australia. MDL is a rapidly expanding family firm specialising in the design, manufacture of rugged, reliable and best, laser based ‘field’ measurement tools for use in all-extreme environments. Elaine brings a wealth of B2B Marketing experience along with her passion for people development. “People are our business!” Elaine is highly passionate about the UK’s manufacturing base and commitment to assist in expanding the regional economy and export potential in the North. Elaine is currently working towards Chartered Directorship.

Simon Pilling – Partner, Addleshaw Goddard LLP Simon is a corporate lawyer based in the Leeds office of Addleshaw Goddard with over 18 years' experience in a full range of transactional work. He has returned to Leeds having spent seven years working in the firm's London office and his key focus now is on building long term relationships with corporate clients in the North East which is an important market and growth area for the firm. Over the years, he has been involved in all types of corporate transactions for a full range of clients including public and private M&A, private equity transactions, public company fund raising and corporate finance.

Theresa Lindsay - Senior Account Director Theresa Lindsay – Senior Account Director, Logistik Theresa works in one of the regions most successful and innovative communications agencies – Logistik - delivering solutions that positively transform the way audiences engage with some of the UK’s largest brands, increasing profitability and inspiring employees. Theresa has worked at senior levels across the private and public sector, in strategic marketing and business development and more recently at Yorkshire Forward, where she was responsible for revolutionising the region’s approach to international business, making it one of the top destinations for Foreign Direct investment in the UK.

Mike Harris - Fuse Studios Mike Harris – Director, Fuse Studios Limited Mike qualified as an architect in 1996 and joined Leeds based Careyjones architects a year later. Mike became a Director there in 2002 and co-led the practice’s largest architectural team; working on projects across all market sectors throughout the UK and he was also responsible for the practice’s Marketing and Communications strategy during his time as Director. Over recent years, Mike has established an excellent reputation for designing innovative buildings for Higher Education institutions, high-profile Mixed Use developments and regenerative masterplans, as well as working on spectrum of projects within the Leisure and Hospitality sector. In 2010 Mike founded Fuse with three other former Directors of Careyjones. The practice aims to build upon established working relationships and the successful delivery of several combined architecture and interior design projects.

Alex Roberts - Great Rail