JAMES Milne, founder of the Balmoral oil services group, was last night named Entrepreneur of the Year at a flagship awards ceremony in Glasgow.
Mr Milne won recognition for the part he has played in growing Balmoral into a global provider of design and manufacturing services which has shown its ability to cope with big swings in market conditions in more than 35 years in business.
Often known as Jim, Mr Milne bounced back with Balmoral after his first oil services firm went into receivership in the 1970s amid the fall out from economic problems in Iran and Nigeria.
Chris Gauld, chief executive of Spark Energy, won the Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year award after leading the company on a successful push for growth in a market dominated by six big suppliers.
Staged this year by Entrepreneurial Scotland in association with professional services firm Deloitte and media partner The Herald, the awards are Scotland’s longest-standing annual awards for growth-oriented entrepreneurs.
The chief executive of Entrepreneurial Scotland, Sandy Kennedy, said: “Awards and achievements matter because they recognise skills, determination, talent, tenacity and hard work. They highlight excellence and, most importantly, they provide an opportunity to focus on the characteristics that we want to see more of for ourselves, our businesses and our communities.”
Richard Slater, partner and head of private markets for Deloitte in Scotland, highlighted the range and quality of the entries shortlisted for the two awards.
He added: “Uncertainty may be the word that currently pervades the Scottish economy – yet there are businesses, and people, who are finding ways to do incredible things, whatever the circumstances. The ambition and drive of Scotland’s entrepreneurial community continues to thrive.”
Mr Slater was on the judging panel for this year’s awards.
Panel members included the founder of the Saltire Energy oil services business, Mike Loggie, who won the Entrepreneur of the Year award last year and Julie Wilson and Amy Livingstone, of the Cheeky Chompers babywear firm, who won the Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2015.
Ian McConnell, business editor of The Herald, was on the judging panel.
The awards were presented at a dinner at the Doubletree by Hilton hotel in front of around 500 guests.
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