Yorkshire Post Excellence in Business Awards 2023: How to enter and what's changing this year

The event, which is expected to attract over 400 of the region’s top business people, will take place on November 22 at Headingley Stadium in Leeds.

This year’s event will be hosted by BBC Look North anchor Amy Garcia.

New categories for this year include a Business in the Community Award and Apprentice/Trainee of the Year.

The former recognises a dynamic contribution a company has made to the local community by supporting local charities, initiatives or other community events, while the latter will recognise any apprentice or trainee who has gone the extra mile and exceeded the expectations of their trainer or mentor.

For the first time this year, the prestigious Outstanding Contribution to Business will be open to nominations rather than one selected by the judging team.

This special award will be given to an individual who has shown a lifetime of commitment to their field, sector, industry or business.

The entry process is now open and can be accessed by visiting the event website; https://www.nationalworldevents.com/ypba-2023.

The closing date for entries will be October 13, with the finalists announced later that month.

A prestigious judging panel has been selected to assess the entries. They include David Kerfoot CBE, a Deputy Lieutenant of North Yorkshire and one of the region’s best-known business people who founded The Kerfoot Group with wife Elizabeth in 1980.

Sharon Watson MBE, Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire and CEO and Principal of the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds is also on the panel, along with Peter Kavanagh, CEO and Founder of Harmony Energy.

The fourth judge is Dr Sophie Dale-Black, British Business Bank Midlands and North director.

Sponsors for this year’s event include Leeds University Business School and Openreach.

Amy Walker, Head of Communications (North) at Openreach, said: “As an organisation with roots in every city, town, village and community in Yorkshire and the Humber, Openreach is proud to support The Yorkshire Post Excellence in Business Awards for the fifth year running.

“Nearly 3,000 of our people live and work in the region and our network is the platform for more than 700 service providers UK-wide and for Yorkshire’s digital economy.

“Great connectivity has never been more important and our engineers are working hard to deliver a future-proof, ultrafast broadband network across Yorkshire.

“We know there’s more to do but are proud to be leading the way - it’s a massive challenge and a hugely complex engineering project but it will help to level-up the region because the impact of Full Fibre broadband stretches from increased economic prosperity and international competitiveness, to higher employment and environmental benefits.”

Chris Burn, head of business and features for The Yorkshire Post, said: “Last year we had more than 300 entries and an exceptionally high standard of nominations but I believe 2023 could be even better.

"This event is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the best of Yorkshire’s many tremendous businesses and it should be a fantastic and memorable evening .”

Full list of categories

Start-Up Business of the Year

Small Business of the Year

Medium Business of the Year

Large Business of the Year

International Business of the Year

Best Business Transformation,

Technology & Digital Award

Manufacturing Award

Sustainability Award

Innovation Award.

Diversity & Inclusion Award

Employee Health & Wellbeing Award

Business in the Community Award

Apprentice/Trainee of the Year prize.

Business Leader/Entrepreneur of the Year

Outstanding Contribution to Business