Shortlist for the 2024 Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award announced
Left to right: Meribeth Parker, Lyndsey Simpson, Jenny Biggam, Francesca Brady, Sharmadean Reid, Elaine Bedell, Tracy Blackwell, Kristina Blahnik. (Raccoon Photography ©)
Prestigious awards ceremony shortlists female entrepreneurs and business leaders for their excellence in driving innovation
The three female business leaders shortlisted in this year’s Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award have been announced.
Now in its 52nd year, the prestigious awards celebrate outstanding achievements by inspirational women with a proven track record of institutional and personal success.
Previous winners include Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, the inventor of the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID vaccine, Jo Whitfield, CEO of Co-Op Food, Poppy Gustafsson, co-CEO of Darktrace and Tessa Clarke, co-founder and CEO of Olio.
Among this year’s contenders for the prize are Elaine Bedell, CEO of the Southbank Centre in London and Tracy Blackwell, CEO of Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC). The third nominee is Jenny Biggam, founder of the7stars, which is the UK’s largest independent media agency.
Bedell is the first female CEO of the Southbank Centre in its 66-year history. As chief executive of the UK’s fifth most visited attraction, she has continued to protect investment in the creative hub, resulting in 40% of events being free to attend. She has also delivered new income streams for the Southbank Centre, among them hosting popular cultural events such as the Bafta Awards and BFI's London Film Festival.
Blackwell co-founded specialist insurance company PIC in 2006. Since then, it has grown into a FTSE 100-sized company, which pays the pensions of 350,000 people. It boats an impressive £45 billion portfolio, of which about £12 billion is invested in the UK’s infrastructure.
Biggam founded the7stars in 2005. It now manages over £450m of billings for clients including Gousto, TSB, H&M, Nintendo and Royal Mail. For 10 consecutive years, Best Companies named it among the top organisations to work for. Other accolades under Biggam’s leadership include winning Campaign’s Independent Media Agency of the Year 2023 and Campaign’s Best Places To Work: Top 5 Large Companies Winner 2023.
Two finalists have also been chosen for the Bold Future Award, which recognises ambitious up-and-coming female entrepreneurs. Shortlisted from a field of hundreds of applicants are Francesca Brady, co-founder and CEO of AirRated, which certifies indoor air quality, and Lyndsey Simpson. She is the founder and CEO of 55/Redefined, which is a champion for the over-50s.
Candidates for both awards are judged upon whether they uphold the legacy of ‘courageous female boldness’ shown by Madame Clicquot, the trailblazer who took over the reigns of the House of Veuve Clicquot in 1805 after her husband's death.
The judges include Sharmadean Reid, founder of The Stack World and a former Future Award winner, and Kristina Blahnik, CEO of Manolo Blahnik.
The winners for both categories will be announced at an awards ceremony in London on 13 June.