A leading West Midlands executive has proffered a remarkable insight into the peaks and troughs of business as the 2013 Director of the Year Awards near.
Last year Dean Walton, sustainability director of West Midlands construction group, Alumet, was victorious in the Environmental category of the Institute of Directors regional competition and went on to take the Environmental/Corporate Responsibility honours on the national stage.
And, while Alumet, like most in its sector, is finding life tough in a depressed construction market, the other company of which he is a director, Mask-arade, a maker of party masks, is booming.
Mr Walton said: “The construction industry is in dire straits and the outlook is not good. All you have to do is look at the Birmingham skyline and the virtual absence of cranes.
“It is hard and a lot of our competitors have fallen by the wayside, some of them long established companies. It is extremely cutthroat and margins are tight.
“We need the Government to invest in construction infrastructure.
“In contrast at Mask-arade we can hardly keep up with demand. With all the events that were on last year like the Jubilee and the Royal Wedding we did particularly well – we sold a million masks of the Queen alone around the Jubilee.
“We are in stores like Sainsbury, Next and Primark, getting terrific TV exposure and have just got the licence for the world’s biggest boy band, One Direction.
“It has been amazing.”
Masks take in Sir Alex Ferguson to Benny Hill and Boris Johnson to Barak Obama.
Mr Walton said he was shocked to win his IOD national award because the rest of the short-list was so strong.
Subsequently it had proved a highly effective marketing tool.
Director standards remained “very variable” particular in the small firm sector which was why it was so important to promote best practice, such as through the Director of the Year Awards.
Good companies, went on Mr Walton, took their responsibilities extremely seriously even if that meant extra burdens in paperwork and increased costs as a result of health and safety, sustainability and environmental requirements which had burgeoned in the last 5-10 years.
“We still believe this is the right way to go but it can be galling when others paying little more than lip service to such issues undercut you and win work. And we do find that happening from time to time.”
The IoD West Midlands Director of the Year Awards 2013 are a champagne breakfast event, taking place on Tuesday, May 14, 7.30 to 10.00, in the 1882 Suite, Edgbaston Stadium, Warwickshire County Cricket Club. Tickets are £35 plus VAT (£42). Tables of 10 are available at £315 plus VAT (£378).
Arti Halai, local broadcaster and director of Fleet Consulting, will be the compere.
Entry to the competition is free; valuable sponsorship opportunities are also available.
Nominations are now being accepted, and an application form can be downloaded from www.iod.com/westmidlands.
The form is available directly at http://www.iod.com/Connecting/Local-networks/West-Midlands/director-of-the-year-awards Closing date is Friday March 1.
They cover the following categories: Large Company; SME; Young Director (under 42); Family Business; Environmental/CSR; and Not for profit/public sector.
An overall West Midlands winner will be selected once the categories are decided.
The awards are open to all directors or those of similar status. This includes LLPs, partners, appropriate sole traders and public sector employees. You do not need to be an IoD member to enter.
In both 2011 and 2012 West Midlands winners going on to the national awards in London have walked away with major accolades.
Two years ago Craig Errington, chief executive of Birmingham-based Wesleyan Assurance Society, was named overall Director of the Year, also taking the Director of the Year (Large Company) category.
Last year, in addition to Mr Walton’s success, West Midlands Director of the Year Peter Maskell, chief executive of the Birmingham-based BHSF healthcare, was highly commended in the Director of the Year (Small and Medium-sized Company) section as was Richard Close, of Briggs Equipment UK, Large Company. And Samantha Porter, marketing director with Birmingham’s Wesleyan Assurance Society, was highly commended in Young Director of the Year.
“It shows the strength in depth of this region’s leaders of industry,” said John Phillips, IOD regional director.
“We are looking to keep the success rolling and I would urge as many people as possible to apply.
“The Director of the Year Awards are truly inspiring.”
