ao link
Credit Strategy homepage
Intelligence, insight and community
for credit professionals

Credit Awards marks 20 years with extravaganza

The Credit Awards, sponsored by Experian, marked 20 years of representing the credit profession with a celebration of excellence and achievement at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Mayfair, London.

Share on LinkedInShare on Twitter

More than 1,000 people from across the credit and financial services sector celebrated in style on a night where 44 awards were presented to high-achieving teams and individuals from a variety of spheres, including creditors, providers and the public sector.

 

Comedian Jimmy Carr hosted what was an extraordinary night for the profession, much to the delight of the guests.

 

Carr has been a fixture on our screens and the UK comedy scene for over a decade. In television, he has hosted Channel 4’s 8 Out of 10 Cats since 2005, the comedy panel show based on polls, surveys and statistics. Other regular television appearances include The Graham Norton Show, Have I Got News for You?, Would I Lie to You? and QI.

 

With a growing presence in the US, Jimmy can currently be seen in The Fix on Netflix and Your Face or Mine on Comedy Central, both of which he hosts alongside 2018’s Credit Awards host Katherine Ryan.

 

Three Rising Star of the Year awards were given, recognising those who have made rapid progress within three years of entering the credit industry in those sectors. AccountScore’s Harvey Lawrence took the gong in the Provider category, while HMRC’s Maria Hornby took the Public Sector title. Bradley Parker of Northumbrian Water was the recipient in the Creditor category. All three Rising Star of the Year Awards were sponsored by Acquired.com.

 

Lowell founder and outgoing chief executive James Cornell took the Outstanding Contribution to the Industry award for his role in pioneering debt purchase in the UK and European markets.

 

Cornell led Lowell for 15 years, overseeing the company’s growth to a pan-European business. He will step back from the day-to-day rigours of his role as chief executive in June, although he will continue to support Lowell as an adviser and investor.

 

The Special Award for Outstanding Chief Risk Officer, sponsored by Link Financial Outsourcing was won by Cambridge Building Society’s Victoria Stubbs, whose entry, the judges felt, showed “tangible, innovative demonstrations of a risk approach supporting business growth”.

 

HMRC took the Special Recognition for Diversity and Inclusion gong, while Fraud Prevention Team of the Year, sponsored by Experian, went to Vodafone.

 

Guests were in generous mood, too, as they raised £35,000 for the Bone Cancer Trust. Link Financial, which was also celebrating its 20th birthday, contributed £20,000 to the total raised.

 

Click here for the full Credit Awards 2019 winners list. Credit Strategy would like to thank all 24 judges who worked tirelessly to select the eventual winners. We would also like to thank all the night’s sponsors, particularly headline sponsor Experian, for making the awards possible.

 

 

 

 

Alongside the 20th iteration of the Credit Awards, the night marked Credit Strategy’s two decades as the profession’s publication-of-record, during which it’s charted its evolution over a tumultuous 20 years which included a financial crisis, regulatory overhaul and the uncertainty of Brexit.

 

These pivotal events have shaped business processes, dynamics of entire sectors, language used, remuneration practices and much more besides. Many of these changes have been mandated by government and regulation at times, but also, on occasion, by firms themselves.

 

Kamala Panday, founder of Credit Strategy and the Credit Awards (then Credit Today and the Credit Today Awards) said: “It’s an absolute pleasure to see the Credit Awards both survive and thrive as it reaches this wonderful milestone. More than 20 years ago, I had the sense that here was a critically important but underserved industry that could be united through content as well as rewarding those that exemplified best practice.

 

“The first awards took place at the Brewery in the City of London. I still remember sitting in front of Martin Hall, then director-general of the Finance & Leasing Association, who succumbed to my hard sell and bought into what was then just a publisher’s idea and supported the awards’ eventual realisation.”

 

This summer, Credit Strategy is producing a 20/20 Credit Review looking back at the most pivotal moments of the last 20 years. Contact Louis Bryant on lbryant@shardfinancialmedia.com for sponsorship opportunities.

Share on LinkedInShare on Twitter
Add New Comment
You must be logged in to comment. Login or Register to access enhanced features of the website.

Stay up-to-date with the latest articles from the Credit Strategy team

READ NEXT

Via Atal: Unlocking global growth

Via Atal: Unlocking global growth

The Budget - 2p National Insurance cut confirmed by the Chancellor 

The Budget - 2p National Insurance cut confirmed by the Chancellor 

2024 Credit 500 unveiled

2024 Credit 500 unveiled

Credit Strategy

Member of

Get the latest industry news 

creditstrategy.co.uk – an online news and information service for the UK’s commercial and consumer credit industry. creditstrategy.co.uk is published by Shard Financial Media Limited, registered in England & Wales as 5481132, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND. All rights reserved. Credit Strategy is committed to diversity in the workplace. @ Copyright Shard Media Group