Finalists in Tenth Battle for BYPY Crown

Eighteen of the city’s top young professionals are locked in a fierce battle to become the tenth Birmingham Young Professional of Year.

A panel of judges, chaired by Michelin starred chef Glynn Purnell, has interviewed three finalists for each of the six categories, which include Communications, Financial, Legal, Recruitment and Training, Property and Construction, and Entrepreneurial.

The 18 candidates endured a tough grilling from the panel, which also included Alun Thorne, editor of the Birmingham Post, Paul Thandi, chief executive of the NEC group, last year’s BYPY winner Suzie Branch of BHMG, Trevor Foster of Lockton, Birmingham Forward chairman Sue Lewis of Eversheds and Birmingham Future chairman, Amanda Porter of Mills & Reeve.

The overall BYPY winner will be chosen from the winners of each of the six categories, all of which will be announced at the 10th anniversary awards ceremony on Thursday 27 May at the ICC.

The short listed candidates include creative brains Mark Scourse of Birmingham International Airport, second time finalist Rob Langley-Swain of the NEC Group and Katie Banks from the Town Hall and Symphony Hall Birmingham in the Communications category.

In the Financial Services category Heather Griffin of Yorkshire Bank, Simon O’Neill of Ernst & Young and David Neale of JNJ Financial Management have made it through to the final stages of the competition.

Ruth Creed of Mills & Reeve, Matthew Heaton of Pinsent Masons and Lisa Clark of HBJ Gateley Wareing are the contenders for the Legal category, while Joel Graham-Blake of Cultiv8 Solutions, Kaye Thumpston of eNL Legal Recruitment and Kam Vara of Katie Bard are going head to head in the Recruitment and Training sector.

Paul Daulton of MACE Group, Damien Byrne of MCD Developments and Gareth Poole of Turner & Townsend will fight it out in the Property and Construction category, and Chris Unitt of Meshed Media will take on James Villarreal of Glide Utilities and Tim Nutbeam of Moo Moo Youth Marketing in the Entrepreneurial category.

Darren Walker, associate at law firm Cobbetts and chairman of the BYPY committee, said: “This year more than ever we wanted to find the very best professional talent Birmingham has to offer to make the tenth BYPY the most competitive yet.

“Becoming BYPY is a fantastic opportunity to act as an ambassador for the city and we hope the previous nine winners will join us on the night when we will announce the tenth professional to join their ranks.

“Just being short-listed is a great achievement and all of the finalists, past and present, should feel very proud of their accomplishments.”

Tickets for BYPY are now on sale priced £850 + VAT per table (or £85 + VAT per person for single tickets). To reserve your place please contact Claire Hawkins at the Birmingham Future office on 0121 632 2204 or via email claire@birminghamforward.co.uk.

The BYPY judging panel deliberates after an interview with one of the finalists.

Getting to know – Suzie Branch – BYPY Winner 2009

Getting to know – Suzie Branch – BYPY winner 2009 and Director of BHMG Marketing.

In June 2009 Suzie Branch was crowned Birmingham Future’s BYPY winner for 2009, beating off stiff competition from the other 17 finalists on the night. We caught up with Suzie and asked her some questions in the hope to get to know our BYPY a little better… below are her answers and we’ve also asked Suzie to give us a monthly blog update, so watch this space…

1. As the overall winner of BYPY 2009, what do you hope to achieve over the next twelve months. To continue to promote the numerous opportunities Birmingham offers to young people and hopefully to work with them to understand these opportunities and provide support and advice where I can.

2. Why is BYPY such an important thing for the city and as recognition for young professionals? I think it’s its originality of BYPY as a concept. In many other business capitals the achievements of young professionals across various industries are rarely, if ever, recognised and as the 18 finalists this year proved there are many talented young people within our professional community. But I have learnt in the past month that its more than that it’s also what it can offer to the next generations – I have always worked closely within education environments and urge pupils and young students to understand that there are no barriers to what they want to achieve – the concept of BYPY reinforces that.

3. For those who aspire to become the next BYPY winner, what words of wisdom / advice would you give. Go for it and be yourself! You never know you may just completely surprise / shock yourself – I know I did!

4. Birmingham is a city that has changed dramatically over the past decade, what type of city do you think Birmingham will be in 10 years time. I know it will still be an energetic, determined and fun environment to work within as that is what is at the core of the Birmingham professional community. I hope it will also have seen transformations in terms of public transport – I love the fact that we have vibrant and cosmopolitan city centre complimented by some more bohemian areas such as Moseley but in 10 years time it would be great to see a public transport system linking everything together more.

5. How important is Birmingham Future’s role in helping to lead and shape the future of the city. Incredibly important. The members of Future by its foundation are some of tomorrow’s business leaders and spokespeople. I very much enjoy networking and meeting members of Birmingham Future and sharing views of various topics. What’s even better though is when members of Birmingham Future start working together within their professional environments and doing business together – I believe this is critical to the future of the local business community for us all to continue to support each other as local businesses.

6. Given the current economic conditions, what impact has this had on marketing in Birmingham and further afield. There’s no doubt that these are tough and difficult times for all industries. Marketing budgets have been cut considerably and competition for limited budgets is tough but there are still many opportunities which encourage agencies to work closely with businesses and organisations to look at how they can deliver the best value added campaigns within tighter budgets.

7. Who is your role model or role models? All of the members of our armed forces. The unbelievable courage, dedication, and loyalty of the members of all our forces are something that will never stop to amaze and humble me beyond belief.

8. What’s been your greatest achievement to date? Being honoured with the title of BYPY 2009. And growing BHMG marketing with an unbelievably talented and committed team of staff. It never fails to amaze me how the team pull together to work as one on any project or task and how much fun they are to work with – every day no matter what the day may bring.

9. Why do you think young professionals / graduates should choose Birmingham as a working destination above other cities such as Manchester, London etc? Opportunity and lifestyle. I have always said that I love working within Birmingham as you can “put your arms” around it. The size and close networking of the city allows you as a young professional to open doors to all manners of opportunities.

Birmingham and the West Midlands region also offers such a diverse lifestyle. There is just so much to see and do all within a short travel distance – from dining in a Michelin star restaurants, to visiting areas of outstanding beauty such as the Malvern Hills or enjoying the adventure and excitement of the many attractions large and small. All this on our door step!

10. Villa/City You can’t beat a break away in a holiday villa overseas for some sun and relaxing time. Oh sorry you mean the football teams! I’m a bit lost when it comes to football but being a rugby fan I do enjoy watching the likes of Worcester Warriors or Pertemps Bees!

Birmingham Future appoints the fourth Graduate Apprentice…

Graduates are facing a difficult time in securing jobs during the recession so it became great news to twenty one year old Emily Williams when she was announced this week as Birmingham Future’s fourth Graduate Apprentice.

This year’s successful candidate overcame a field of seventy other graduates all hoping to be given the unique opportunity to experience three diverse sixteen week placements within the city’s professional sector.

Emily, from Coventry, has recently graduated from Lancaster University with a first in mathematics and will start her year as the Graduate Apprentice in September with Deloitte in Birmingham. She will also enjoy placements with the HR department of Matthew Boulton and Sutton Coldfield Colleges as they prepare for the merger of the two colleges to form Birmingham Metropolitan College before completing her year with business consultants, VC Consulting.

Emily is the fourth Graduate Apprentice and the first female to be given the unique opportunity to sample three diverse working environments during a structured year since the innovative scheme was launched in 2006 by Birmingham Future.

The programme is run by the organisation’s Talent Retention and Development Committee and supported by Graduate Advantage.

Emily recently visited all three of the placement companies and enjoyed a tour of the city that will become her home and was excited at the prospect that lies ahead;

“Very few of my university friends have managed to secure a graduate job so I am even more excited and pleased to be given this unique opportunity. Like so many other students, I was unsure of the exact direction I wanted to take after leaving university which is why the Graduate Apprentice programme is so appealing.

“I will now have the opportunity to experience three different working environments and with three very different projects to work on. I shall get to know how a major business operates at Deloitte, be involved with Matthew Boulton and Sutton Coldfield Colleges at a highly important and significant time in their development and find out about life in an SME at VC Consulting. I know this will be a fantastic journey.”

Chair of Birmingham Future’s Talent Retention and Development Committee, Anthony McCourt commented;

“Congratulations to Emily on becoming the latest Graduate Apprentice. The introduction of the Government’s new Graduate Internship Programme highlights the importance they are putting on work placements. The Graduate Apprentice, which has been acknowledged as an innovative scheme by leading politicians, goes one step further by offering three diverse placements which gives a far broader view of the opportunities that exist within professional services. This year’s applications were the strongest we have seen which reflects clearly that this opportunity both excites and stimulates graduates.

“During these challenging economic times, I am delighted we are able to continue to offer this unique programme which is only possible due to the continuing support of our placement firms and Graduate Advantage.”

BYPY – Judging Day

BYPY seats are filling up nicely... have you got yours?!

Birmingham Young Professional of the Year is one of the highlights of the social calendar for anyone in Birmingham. Over the past 9 years, the award has celebrated the fantastic successes of the city, and provided the real business leaders of the future with the opportunity to show what they can do. Each year, the judging criteria get tougher, and the quality of the candidates improve. The blog asked James Bovil, part of this year’s judging panel, to give his feedback on BYPY 9…

Walking through the revolving doors at Number 1 Colmore Square, home to BYPY main sponsors Cobbetts LLP, there was more than a sense that this could be Birmingham’s answer to The Apprentice.