Sara Murray, founder of Buddi, a personal tracking device won Entrepreneur of the Year at the Orange Business Awards last night.   It’s really refreshing to see so many women nominated in the category, with four out of the 10 finalists being women.  Given that only 14% of businesses are majority owned by women, this is a fantastic ratio

Other nominees included

Finalists:
Jeff Gunn, Bright Ideas Global
Dale Vince, Ecotricity
Denice Purdie, Purdies The Scottish Soap Co
Chris McClellan, Remote Asset Management
Katherine Corich, Sysdoc
Liz Cottingham, The Mill at Gordleton
Glen Manchester, Thunderhead
Avi Lasarow, Trimega Laboratories
Dr Lalvani, Vitabiotics

So, Sara had some tough competition!  Watch this space for a full feature on Sara and buddi.

Other winners on the night were:

Congratulations to all The National Business Awards 2009 winners and finalists listed below:

The Orange Leader of the Year
Peter Marks, Chief Executive, The Co-operative Group

3i Private Business of the Year
T.J. Morris Limited

The Coutts & Co Large-Cap Business of the Year
Inmarsat

The Grant Thornton Mid-Cap Business of the Year
ASOS

The Daily Telegraph Decade of Excellence in Business
Sir Philip Hampton, Chairman Sainsbury’s and Royal Bank of Scotland

The Orange Best Use of Technology in Business Award
Forensic Pathways & Cambridgeshire Police

The Health Work & Well-being Award
Artizan

The Health Work & Well-being Award for Small Business
Crown Spa Hotel

The Better Regulation Award
Environment Agency

The IMechE Business Innovation of the Year Award
Addison Lee

The ICAEW Corporate Responsibility Award
Framptons

The businesslink.gov.uk Growth Strategy of the Year Award
dotDigital Group

The Entrepreneur of the Year Award
Sara Murray, buddi

The Santander Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year Award
Go Ape High Wire Forest Adventure

The Customer Focus Award
DPD

The Employer of the Year Award
Cirrus Communication Systems

The Marketing Strategy of the Year
MCBD (C/O HM Revenue & Customs)