Three Bristol-based bosses who were among the winners of the recent IoD South West Director 2014 awards have been selected to compete in the national competition.
Nick Sturge, Henry Williams and Steve Clark will join other regional winners for the national honours, which recognise excellence in the boardroom, in London in October. 
Nick Sturge, co-founder of The Engine Shed enterprise hub at Temple Meads, which houses the SETsquared innovation centre, will compete for the title of Public Sector Director title.
He is director of the Science Research Foundation, owned by the University of Bristol and the organisation behind both the Engine Shed and SETsquared. Between them they support more than 60 hi-tech, high-growth businesses.
Henry Williams, managing director of Chipping Sodbury-based Morgan and Lotus car dealer Williams Automobiles is up for the Family Business Director.
Henry has reversed the fortunes of his 103-year-old family motor firm from ceasing to trade to a highly-profitable, globally-recognised business. As Morgan’s largest UK dealer, he wanted to build the UK’s most environmentally-friendly car retail business with the best online service. He now employs 11 people and the company recently gained the title Green Operation of the Year from a major motor trade organisation.
Steve Clark, chairman of Budget Pack Environmental at Aztec West, is shortlisted for the Corporate Responsibility Award.
He set up the business in 2003 when he failed to find a flexible, customer-focused compliance scheme to represent his customers’ best interests for recycling under UK packaging regulations.
The company is now one of the UK’s fastest-growing compliance schemes with 700-plus members across packaging, electric and electronic equipment recycling and batteries compliance. It provides waste collection and recycling services at more than 6,000 locations and advises on UK recycling policy.
The three join the two other regional award winners, Chris Smith, managing director of cake and biscuit producer Marshfield Bakery and Helen Lacey, founder of RedBerry Recruitment, which has offices across Somerset, in competing at the national awards.
IoD regional chair Richard Ayre said: “We are thrilled that all our regional finalists have been shortlisted because winning a regional award does not automatically qualify you for the national competition.
“I believe this is a reflection of both the quality of the entries we had this year and the breadth of enterprise and business talent that sits in this region.”
The last time the South West boasted a national winner was in 2012 when Robert Varley of the Met Office in Exeter was named Public Sector Director of the Year.
Julia Clarke, chief executive of Bristol Community Health CIC, was highly commended in Public Sector category and Griff Holland and Ed Brown, founders of Bristol-based healthy fast food restaurant chain Friska Food, were highly commended in the Young Director category.
