MOST INSPIRING BUSINESS LEADERS
England to hold their only Euro warm-up games at the Riverside Stadium , while hosting the team at Rockliffe Hall , the five-star hotel he owns alongside Boro ’ s Hurworth-on-Tees training ground . The Gibson-O ’ Neill Group , co-owned by low-profile business partner Mike O ’ Neill , is centred around Middlesbrough firm Bulkhaul .
6th ( 11th ) Gary Dawson
8th ( 18th ) Jane Armitage
Jacksons Law Firm , Stockton A new entry in last year ’ s top 30 , likeable Jane leaps into our top 10 on the back of being crowned our third Tees Businesswoman of the Year in January this year . Born in Kent but now settled on Teesside , Jane is the outgoing managing partner of leading North-East law firm Jacksons , a company she joined on a part-time , and temporary , contract in 2004 .
Group for the past eight years , Zoe is the dynamic force behind a commitment to enhancing the region ’ s competitive edge by directly aligning the college ’ s offer to the skills required by employers . She has managed a turnover of £ 43m and the education of 15,000 students through a hugely challenging , Covid-impacted year .
AV Dawson , Middlesbrough He stays resolutely out of the limelight but Gary has been the spearhead of familyrun freight logistics giant AV Dawson since succeeding his father Maurice as managing director in 2000 . The firm runs the impressive Port of Middlesbrough , boasts one of the largest independent rail terminals in the north and is the main distribution hub for the supply of steel coils into Nissan ’ s Sunderland factory .
7th ( 21st ) Dean Benson
Visualsoft Stockton The CEO of a business he co-founded 23 years ago that ’ s grown into the region ’ s largest digital agency , Teesside University graduate Dean Benson is the public face of Stockton ’ s Visualsoft , with a team of 280 developers and digital marketers across three UK locations , as well as Dubai , providing e-commerce platforms . Some years ago , the firm led the field in implementing unlimited holidays and an unmonitored flexible working policy for all staff . He personally donated £ 20,000 to the Tees Business-backed digital poverty appeal at the height of the lockdown .
9th ( 24th ) Chloë Clover
Wander Films , Middlesbrough Totally stoked ! That ’ s the youngest business leader in our list for a second successive year . Along with partner Lou Tonner , Chloë is one half of the team that ’ s led Middlesbrough-based video marketing agency Wander Films to a series of high-profile successes , impressive contract wins and awards .
Chloë – known to friends as simply Clover – is the creative director and cofounder of a business that ’ s shaking up the way businesses portray themselves through film .
In the past 12 months alone , Wander won Business of the Year at the Tees Businesswomen Awards while Chloë herself won Best Newcomer at the same event and Rising Star at the inaugural Tees Tech Awards . As you can read elsewhere in this edition , she also recently made the prestigious Forbes 30 Under 30 list alongside other young entrepreneurs from across Europe .
10th ( 20th ) Zoe Lewis
Middlesbrough College Group The first female principal and chief executive of Middlesbrough College
11th ( new entry ) Steve Bagshaw CBE
National Horizons Centre Darlington Was CEO for six years of Fujifilm Diosynth Technology – the firm behind the so-called Teesside Covid vaccine – and is now an industry advisor on the government ’ s Vaccines Task Force , as well as chief industry advisor at Teesside University ’ s National Horizons Centre in Darlington . Awarded a CBE in the Queen ’ s New Year ’ s Honours .
12th ( 9th ) Catherine Devereux
The Russ Devereux Headlight Project Twelve months after gate-crashing our top 10 last year , Catherine ’ s position again reflects the admiration she attracts for her stoic and inspiring response to the loss of her much-loved husband , Russ , who took his own life three years ago . The inspiring solicitor and mum-of-three is now the driving force behind a project helping children to cope with mental health issues while speaking bravely about the impact suicide had on her life and raising the issue of mental health within the workplace .
13th ( 7th ) Alastair Powell
Cleveland Cable Company , Middlesbrough He shuns publicity but Alastair Powell
16 | Tees Business