A leading light in the insurance industry has been named as Coventry and Warwickshire’s Professional of the Year.
Leigh Mackey, managing director at Coventry-based Inspire Insurance, scooped the top award during the fifth Coventry and Warwickshire First FirstPro Awards, which were held at the Ricoh Arena.
More than 200 people attended the FirstPro awards which aim to celebrate the skill and expertise of professionals in Coventry and Warwickshire.
The awards are designed to encourage continuing professional development, raise the profile of professionals locally and recognise those individual professionals who contribute to the growth of the sector by putting something back into the community.
Coventrian Leigh Mackey founded Inspire Insurance in 2010 at the age of 28 and within three years, has built it to be a leading commercial insurance broker.
Leigh, managing director of the firm based on the Middlemarch Business Park, Coventry, was also named Young Professional of the Year on the night.
He said: “I am delighted to have won both the Young Professional and Professional of the Year of the FirstPro Awards.
“To receive this level of recognition for all my hard work and dedication means the world to me and will provide further motivation to continue to drive the company forward in 2013.”
Karen O’Donoghue, chief executive of Coventry and Warwickshire First, said the high standard of the shortlisted candidates had highlighted the number and quality of professional services provided in the region.
“The standard of the nominees this year was phenomenal and it really underlined the diverse range of professional services on offer in Coventry and Warwickshire,” she said.
“It is not only the diversity of the services which is impressive, but the remarkable standard to which they are delivered in the region. That is something we should be very proud of as a business community.
“Leigh has contributed a great deal to business and the wider community over the past few years and he is a deserving winner of his awards.”
The awards are divided into five categories with the Professional of the Year being chosen from the category winners.
Paul Carvell, of Stewart Fletcher and Barrett, won the Business Services award; Richard Mason, of Ludgate Finance, took the Financial Services award; Julie Gay,Coventry City Council, received the Legal Services award; David Penn, Shotland Penn + Moore, scooped the Property Services award; and Leigh Mackey, Inspire Insurance, was selected as Young Professional of the Year.
There were also two special awards handed out during the evening. Adam Dent, of Advent Communications, was recognised for his outstanding contribution to business in Coventry and Warwickshire; and Bob Wilson, of Warwick University picked up an award for representing the region on a global scale.
Coventry’s West End stage star, Dave Willetts, also attended as a special guest to share his experiences with guests.