Marshfield Bakery managing director Chris Smith has won a prestigious Institute of Directors (IoD) Award for the second year running.
Chris, who only joined the family-owned cake and biscuit firm three years ago, scooped the title of Best Director of a Small Company at the awards ceremony.
Last year he landed the coveted top title of Director of the Year in the awards, which recognise and reward excellence in boardrooms across the South West.
Marshfield Bakery’s sales director Ben White, son of the firm’s founders, was a finalist in this year’s Young Director category.
Their success in the awards capped a year in which sales of the Marshfield-based firm’s private label and own brand tray bakes, cakes and biscuits rose to nearly £3m with an increase in annual profit to £270,000, driven by manufacturing efficiency improvements and new business development.
The company sells its products nationally through a network of direct customers and wholesalers. Products can be found on the shelves of most major UK multiple retailers and are also available internationally. The firm aims to more than double turnover to £8m by 2019, supported by licensed manufacture of product in the US by mid-2016.
Chris is also a director of two educational trusts and has championed apprenticeships through various schemes.
Simon Gould, managing director of Bath-based BMT Hi-Q Sigma Ltd received the IoD Director Development special award for the highest-scoring candidate from the South West who has taken the IoD Certificate in Company Direction Exam in the past 12 months.
The Director of the Year award went to Julie Moore, managing director of the food innovation company Green Gourmet, based in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire.
Other winners were Vashti Seth, founder of Bristol-based international microfinance charity Deki (Third Sector Director), Darren Ryemill, CEO of Opus Recruitment Services in Bristol (Young Director), and Neil Way, managing director of Bristol-based family-owned business Jeff Way Electrical Services (Family Business Director).
Vashti set up Deki in 2008, directly connecting people with entrepreneurs in the developing world through microfinance. To date the charity has provided £500,000 in loans and impacted the lives of over 12,000 people in countries including Uganda, South Sudan and Malawi.
Receiving her trophy from Robert Buckland, editor of Bath Business News, Bristol Business News and Swindon Business News – official media partners for the prestigious awards for the second year – she spoke about how she set up Deki with £2,000 left to her by her late father with a wish that she should “do something good” with it.
Sandie Foxall-Smith, group CEO of The Regard Group, and Paul Mullen, founder and director of the Bristol and Bath Science Park-based electronic development company Cubik Innovation were both highly commended.
The IoD Director Awards aim to celebrate achievements across the region, bring all parts of the enterprise community together and focus UK-wide attention on South West success. They seek to highlight outstanding business people across both the public and private sectors.
IoD South West chairman Richard Ayre said: “The entries this year demonstrate the breadth of enterprise and innovation in the South West region. It was a tough field to choose from so all our finalists, whether they walked away with an award or not, should feel a real sense of achievement.”
IoD chief economist James Sproule was the guest speaker and the event at Bordeaux Quay, which was sponsored by the Faculty of Business & Law at the University of the West of England and HSBC.
Pictured: Chris Smith of Marshfield Bakery, right, receives his Small Company Director Award from IoD regional chairman Richard Ayre with BBC Radio Bristol presenter and awards ceremony host Laura Rawlings. Picture by Clint Randall www.pixelprphotography.co.uk
