We were thrilled to welcome over 260 guests to the Kingsmills Hotel on Friday 29th September for our Highland Business Awards lunch. As well as marking the end of Highland Business Week, the afternoon was a celebration of Highland business, and sharing local success stories. Thank you to everyone who attended, whether as nominees or as guests; we loved celebrating with you!
The event was expertly hosted by Nicky Marr, whose positive energy perfectly matched the feel good atmosphere. We were treated to a fascinating speech from Lesley Still, Chief of Spaceport Operations at Orbex, whose career story is out of this world (see what we did there?).
This event wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Principal Sponsor Highland Council. We were delighted to welcome new Chief Executive Derek Brown; we would like to thank you for your insightful speech, and we wish him well in his post.
We enjoyed a delicious lunch from Kingsmills Hotel, whose stunning venue was decorated with beautiful flowers from Simpsons Florists; thank you to their excellent team for their warm hospitality and for keeping the day running smoothly! During the Awards presentations, we learned more about each of the finalists from videos and voiceovers from Story + Stage, who also provided the fabulous lighting and sound design for the event.
We would like to extend our thanks to our category sponsors Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Caithness Chamber of Commerce, Stagecoach, Business Gateway Highland, The Springfield Group, Saffery, and Techscaler. Each of the winners were presented with a trophy sponsored by SGL Carbon, and engraved by The Glass Scribe International.
After the Awards, we all rushed down to the White House for our first ever after party! Each guest received a free cocktail on arrival, featuring delicious gin from our drinks sponsor Roehill Springs Distillery. Thank you to Cru Holdings and the White House for their hospitality and for allowing us to continue our celebrations!
Final thanks go to our Media Partner Highland News and Media for their support throughout Highland Business Week, and to James Mackenzie for providing all the photos below. We can’t wait to see you next year!
The 2023 Highland Business Awards Winners are:
Innovation: Highland Home Carers
Resilience: Loch Ness by Jacobite
Environmental Sustainability: RI Cruden
Global Growth: Oakwood Cooperage
Digital Initiative: Inverness Taxis
Workforce Upskilling: Highland Campervans
Employee Wellbeing: teclan
Community Engagement: GlenWyvis Distillery
Employer of the Year: Drumossie Hotel
Young Employee of the Year: Jacques Huysamer – Gael Force Group
Business Leader of the Year: Alasdair Ferguson – Ferguson Transport & Shipping
Highland Business of the Year – RI Cruden
Picture: James Mackenzie
