Morning Wire Awards 2015: Why this week’s event will get the City talking
The wait is almost over. After all the build up, meetings, solicited and unsolicited input, the calculations, debate and analysis, one of the most important events of the political, financial and business calendar will be upon us. The City will be watching this traditional event on Wednesday, poring over the details in an effort to interpret the consequences and understand the implications.
We refer not to the chancellor’s Autumn Statement, but to the the Morning Wire Awards ceremony, where 500 of the best and the brightest from across London’s business and financial community will gather at The Grange St Paul’s to learn who has been deemed worthy of recognition and celebration.
The judges did not have an easy task. Across all the categories, from accountancy to fintech and law to innovation, the competition was fierce. This reflects the quality and caliber of the business, financial and entrepreneurial talent currently powering the British economy.
It’s worth reflecting on the judges themselves, who between them brought wisdom and insight from the very top of international business. Sir Martin Sorrell, Lady Barbara Judge, Xavier Rolet, Mark Kleinman and PwC’s Ian Powell to name just five of the eleven experts who gave up their time to help thrash out the winners.
The top award of the night is for Personality of the Year. This award recognises an individual who best demonstrates the qualities of leadership and success. There is no strict criteria for this accolade and past winners have included Nigel Wilson of Legal & General, EasyJet’s Carolyn McCall and the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.
On page 19 we introduce you to this year’s nominees. Drawn from property, sport, telecoms and banking it’s a diverse field and again reflects the breadth of Britain’s corporate success stories. So by the end of Wednesday night the City will have a new batch of champions.
These honours will round off a year which has seen a record number of jobs created across financial services, record investment in London’s thriving tech sector and a veritable feast of deals and IPOs. Nobody knows what 2016 will bring, but if anyone can make the most of the opportunities presented it will be the winners of these awards.