Northumbrian Water Group's Heidi Mottram receives Yorkshire & North East Award

The Institute of Directors (IoD) has announced the winners of its Yorkshire and North East Director of the Year Awards 2020.

The winners were unveiled at a virtual awards ceremony, streamed live this week (18 November) to an audience of business leaders from across the region.

The Chair's Award for Excellence in Director and Board Practice went to Heidi Mottram, CEO of Northumbrian Water. Heidi was awarded an OBE in 2010 for services to the rail industry and a CBE in 2018 for services to the water industry and business community.

Delroy Beverley, IoD Yorkshire and North East regional chair, said: "Congratulations go to all our winners who demonstrated outstanding success in their individual sectors. We were delighted to showcase and celebrate their achievements during our virtual awards ceremony. Innovation, leadership and determination were among the qualities which shone through in our 2020 winners."

Commenting on the award, Mottram said: "These awards are a brilliant chance to celebrate all that is great about business in Yorkshire and the North East, and the leaders who lead those businesses as well.

"In my opinion a leader can only ever be as good as their team, and I have the absolute privilege of leading a brilliant team in Northumbrian Water. They are fantastic always, but I think these last few months when we have all been in these unusual times, they've really come to the fore keeping the water flowing for everybody.

"A huge thank you for this award, and a huge thank you on behalf of all my team."