Our Judges
We have developed our judging over 18 years and our judges, all top business people within their chosen arena, have cited our awards as both the most transparent and professionally executed. Each application is scored by up to 4 different judges from a panel of up to 30 judges, all applications are seen by different members of the judging panel. The judges spend several hours and score not only their own sponsored category but several others too, this ensures transparency. The first page of questions is designed to give the judges a real feel for your business, followed by several questions that are scored from 1 to 5. It is worth noting that although all judging is computer based please ensure you upload images or screen shots of all important pages. There are no site visits or presentations involved. The finalists are chosen by adding all the scores and up to 16 entrants can make it through to the final, however if scoring is low, less entrants make it through.
Danny Brown
Regional Director, SME Business Banking, East of England | HSBC UK
Danny is the Regional Director for the East of England in HSBC’s SME Business Banking segment. Danny has worked at HSBC for 12 years, the majority of which was in the Debt Finance origination team, supporting scale-ups to FTSE100 businesses with support on complex financing and broader support including utilising his stakeholder network for broader support. Danny is passionate about supporting SMEs in the local community and HSBC has a team of dedicated Relationship Managers ready to support you.
Tracy Grazioli
Local Director, SME Business Banking, East of England | HSBC UK
Tracy Grazioli is a leading expert in Business Growth Management and International Financial Services, renowned for her specialisation in Trade Finance and Global Transactional Banking. With a robust track record in driving banking innovations, Tracy has spearheaded trade missions to Chile, Argentina, New York, and Boston, gaining invaluable experience in The Netherlands. Her proficiency in managing government contracts and attracting inward investment solidifies her reputation as a key player in navigating complex financial landscapes.
Chris Davies
Founder | Snowdonia Hub
Chris is a high-impact leadership coach, mentor, and interim director with decades of performance-driven success in top-tier Blue Chip organisations. At Snowdonia Hub, he leads a hand-picked team of experts who share his results-first ethos — helping individuals and teams unlock meaningful growth in both business and life.
Chris doesn’t do theory for theory’s sake. In a business world saturated with systems and amateur psychology, his practical, experience-backed approach focuses on skill transfer, accountability, and sustainable change. His coaching is direct, honest, and empowering — delivered with energy, integrity, and just the right amount of challenge.
Whether working with C-suite leaders, rising talent, or entire teams, Chris has consistently helped people rediscover their self-belief, enhance their performance, and achieve measurable results.
“We all have the same hours in a day — let’s use them to build something better.”
Dr Heather Booth
Senior Operations Manager | Thorlabs Ltd
Heather Booth is a senior operations and technical leader with extensive UK and international experience across high‑technology manufacturing organisations. As part of Thorlabs’ Senior Leadership Team, she oversees the end-to-end manufacturing in the UK for Motion Control and Optical Tables products, and is responsible for machining, production, planning, logistics, facilities, health & safety and supply chain functions. She champions Lean Thinking to drive continuous improvement and lean transformation to support scalable growth and operational excellence.
Steve Sims
Engineering Manager | Thorlabs Ltd
A former co-founder of Ziconix, a Cambridge based wireless technology design startup, Steve is now an engineering manager at global Photonics equipment manufacturer Thorlabs where he leads the electronics and software engineering teams designing high precision motion control solutions for the international Photonics market.
Jordan Day
Head of Media and Public Relations | King’s Ely
Jordan has been Head of Media and Public Relations at King’s Ely for seven years and loves being able to celebrate and promote such a busy, thriving school. Jordan has been involved with local business awards for several years now and says they are a superb way to not only champion the region’s business owners and entrepreneurs, but to also nurture important relationships.
