Dazzling ABDN Awards Dinner Breaks all Barriers
Arshad Chaudhry, Hamieda Begum and Amit Champaneri
Monday 5 April 2010
ABDN 2010 The 12th Annual Dinner and Business Awards, held at the prestigious Royal Armouries on the 1st April was an exuberant, glamorous and roaring success showcasing the stunning and visual Breaking Barriers theme highlighting how barriers have been broken in business and society. The evening of awards and entertainment was followed by an exclusive after-party held in the Events suite at Alea Casino.
The showcase event was the biggest ever attracting nearly 850 guests from the business community the UK , including representatives from Business Link, UK Trade and Industry, Institute of Directors, Jaguar, PWC, High Street Banks, Solicitors and Accountancy firms providing a range of networking opportunities at the highest level.
Hosted by Shazia Mirza, the award winning Asian comedienne and dance
medleys from KSPARK gave the evening an eclectic mix of comedy and
entertainment.
The main highlight of the evening was the unique theme of ‘Breaking Barriers’ which the audience found inspirational and captivating. The spectacular audio-visual display with ground breaking videos shown on the night highlighted case studies of businesses and individuals breaking barriers and gave the audience great examples of how to improve their business or lifestyle. To reaffirm how further barriers were broken, more than a third of those shortlisted for awards were women, along with four of the five judges on the judging panel.
ABDN Chairman, Arshad Chaudhry said on the evening, "Tonight is not only a celebration of business achievement; it is much more than that. It is a celebration of the beautiful tapestry of colour woven together which makes Britain what it is today. A vibrant and diverse nation. It is so important that we must strive to preserve the great attributes of our nation – the attributes of tolerance, justice and fairness."
Inspirational speeches by Julie Meyer, CEO of Ariadne Capital an online Dragon, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion and Social Action and Tony Pedder Chair of Business Link Yorkshire set the scene for the biggest and most inspirational business event in the country. Other key guests included the Lord Lieutenant Dr Ingrid Roscoe, MP’s Fabian Hamilton and Greg Mulholland, Terry Hodgkinson Chair Yorkshire Forward and The Lord Mayor of Leeds. Nearly £3300 was raised for the DEC Haiti Appeal, which was the chosen charity this year that supports the Haitian people to rebuild their lives providing medical care, food and water.
Award Winners on the evening were:
Breaking Barriers Lifetime Achievement Award - Mohammed Aslam MBE from Aagrah
Business of the Year - Mumtaz Ventures Ltd
SME Business of the Year - Squarefoot Apartments
Young Entrepreneur of the Year - Manni Hussain of Cubic Acquisitions LTD
Best Company to Work For - PEC Building and Shop fitting
Going Green - JTM Service Ltd
Female Entrepreneur of the Year (Supported by Sharing the Success) - Farina Tayub from Caremark Leeds
Most Promising New Business (Supported by Sharing the Success) - TREE
Service to the Community - Jagmohani Manku from Milun Women’s Centre
Contact us for further information:
ABDNRoundhay Chambers
199 Roundhay Road
Leeds
LS8 5AN
Tel: 01133229203
Email: hamieda@abdn.org.uk or amit@abdn.org.uk
ABDN 2010 Membership is coming soon. You will soon be able to take advantage of our partnership benefits.
Please register your interest here:
www.abdn.org.uk/join
"It was a pleasure to be with you at such a vibrant event. Very well done to you and all who were involved in the organisation"
Tony Pedder (Chair of Business Link Yorkshire)
"What a breathtaking good evening you and ABDN gave us last night. The speeches by you and Baroness Warsi really touched my heart. The atmosphere and excitement on the night must have pleased you greatly."
Dr Ingrid Roscoe Lord Lieutenant for the County of West Yorkshire
"Arshad, can I congratulate you and your team for the fantastic organisation, entertainment, food and hospitality."
Phil Orford (Chief Executive of Forum for Private Business)
"I really enjoyed the event, well done on putting on such a large and successful awards ceremony with such an impressive audience. Keep up the good work and look forward to working with you in the future."
David Parkin (Editor of the TheBusinessDesk.com)
"Arshad, I thought it was a superb evening and you should be very proud of yourself and your team"
Mark Webb (Managing Director, North East Division of Insider Media)
"What a fabulous night of entertainment, fun, awards and some excellent speeches that touched all the right buttons
It was my wife’s first time at the event and she enjoyed herself too, the company on our table was great. Arshad, if one of your missions in life is to make a positive difference to the communities in which you serve, then can I from my position say that you have well surpassed that goal, well done and keep up your great work, our region and our country needs people just like you."
Terry Hodgkinson (Chairman of Yorkshire Forward)
"Congratulations once again on a memorable Evening and an "inspirational " speech. Please also convey my best wishes to Hamieda, Amit and Kat. Their hard work and endeavours certainly paid off"
Lester Christie (Consultant, Gordans LLP)
"The event was sensational in every respect - from the entertainment, to the quality of food to the calibre of speakers - absolutely outstanding. Many congratulations."
Tom Wilkins (Managing Director of Envestors NW Ltd)
