MAIRI Mickel has been announced as the keynote speaker at The Herald Scottish Family Business Awards, which take place in Glasgow’s Radisson Blu hotel on Wednesday December 5.
A fourth-generation member of the family behind the Mactaggart and Mickel construction group, Ms Mickel is also the founder of Mairi Mickel’s Business Families, an advisory practice that gives specialist advice on exit planning and future proofing family businesses.
The awards, which will be hosted by television personality Carol Smillie, are organised in association with Business Gateway and supported by Strathclyde Business School, Craig Corporate, Campbell Dallas, Clydesdale Bank, Burness Paull, TL Dallas and Western Pension Group.
Business Gateway National Unit chief officer Hugh Lightbody hailed the event as “an opportunity to shine the spotlight on a range of outstanding companies operating in this important sector”, while TL Dallas client director Bernard Dunn noted “this year’s entry list is as strong as ever, from the length and breadth of Scotland”.
Pointing to the recently published Scottish Family Business Top 100, which revealed that the most profitable family firms generated a collective pre-tax profit of £1.14 billion last year, John Anderson of Strathclyde Business School said the strength of these businesses is reflected in “the quality of finalists” for the awards.
“Scotland is blessed with a strong family business base and at Strathclyde Business School we see signs of a positive change in attitude toward this important part of the economy and a willingness from the family business community to stand up and be counted,” he said.
Craig Corporate managing director Paul Yacoubian agreed, noting that “it’s fantastic to see such high-quality finalists again this year”. He added: “Their stories are inspiring and typify the great work being done within family businesses across Scotland.
“The businesses that emerge as winners will have done so against the very strongest of competition.”
Grant Stevenson, Partner, Burness Paull said “We are really looking forward to seeing everyone at The Herald Family Business Awards in a couple of weeks.
The calibre of entries has been excellent, and the evening is a great opportunity for everyone involved in the sector to celebrate the success of Scotland’s family businesses.”
As Mike Kennedy, Director at Western Pension Solutions explains “We are looking forward to meeting some great Scottish family business ambassadors to share in their success at an evening where the spotlight is on this vibrant sector.”
Brian Colquhoun, UK Head of Commercial Banking, Clydesdale Bank said “The Herald Scottish Family Business Awards is an excellent evening and it’s important that we celebrate the success of the family business sector. We wish all nominees the best of luck and we look forward to seeing everyone on the night.”
Bernard Dunn, Client Director at T L Dallas said, “We at T L Dallas, and our guests, are looking forward to this year’s awards night, with great excitement.
“You can feel the buzz in the hall on awards night, when you walk in, with so many great family companies “having a night off”, to celebrate success, longevity and hard work.
“This year’s entry list is as strong as ever, from the length and breadth of Scotland. We congratulate all these companies on what they add to our economy and our communities.”
Fraser Campbell, Head of Family Business advisory services at Campbell Dallas said, “This promises to be yet another excellent year, with many quality family businesses taking this as an opportunity to shine a spotlight on the Scottish rural sector.
“In the Large Rural Family Business category the bar has been set very high and we are very much looking forward to the big night”.
Head of Rural, Andy Ritchie added, “I am looking forward to the awards event and getting the opportunity to speak to so many talented family businesses. It will be a fantastic evening celebrating the hard work of families in the rural sector”.
For more information on how to attend the awards visit https://newsquestscotlandevents.com/events/familybusiness/ or contact Nina Holmes on 0141 302 6036.