TEES TECH AWARDS 2023
UNSUNG HERO
SPONSORED BY BCEGI
FINALIST
BEV GOODALL ( ABACUSBEAN )
Graeme Webster ( left ) receives the Unsung Hero award on behalf of his late wife , Janice Webster , from Scott Wilson of DigitalCity , who presented the award on behalf of sponsors BCEGI .
WINNER
JANICE WEBSTER ( DigitalCity )
The husband of one of Teesside ’ s true digital pioneers said it was “ marvellous ” to learn that an award will be named after her .
Graeme Webster , was speaking after being told his late wife Janice was the posthumous winner of the Unsung Hero category .
And he said it was “ quite marvellous ” that organisers Tees Business had decided that the Unsung Hero award will from now on carry Janice ’ s name .
Janice , who sadly died shortly after last year ’ s awards , had been a digital driving force for decades .
Her many achievements included creating CAGTA – Teesside University ’ s masters in computer-aided graphical technology applications – and DigitalCity , which , with Middlesbrough Digital , was the evening ’ s headline co-sponsor .
An emotional Graeme told Tees Business : “ Janice was a great North- Easterner . Even though she was born in the East Midlands , she spent most of her life , 55 years of it , in Teesside and dedicated every minute of it to Teesside . She was a great lady and I miss her a lot .
“ The VR centre she established in Teesside tested the software for the planetarium in New York .
“ Everything she did on Teesside was about building on Teesside – build , build , build . When we came here the place was basically on its uppers – now we are the tops .
“ The people that have been through her courses and been through her hands are now really at the top of the tree in terms of animation , television and lots of things . Modern things that 50 , 40 , 30 years ago were in the future are here now , but she was there at the start , making it happen .”
SPONSOR ’ S MESSAGE
BCEGI ’ s Ono Odudu said : “ Congratulations to all of the Tees Tech Awards winners and finalists . Our category celebrated three fantastic Unsung Heroes who had until the event too often gone under the radar despite their contributions to the local digital sector . The posthumous award for Janice Webster rightly won a standing ovation .”
After a successful 20-year senior career at a large national accountancy firm , Bev left to follow her dreams and in 2018 , set up Stockton-based AbacusBean – an ICAEWregistered firm of chartered accountants and business advisers .
The firm reflects Bev – informal , transparent , straight-talking and friendly . She binned the suits , dropped the traditional accountancy way of clock-watching and focused on the people – an approach that quickly made her a firm favourite in the emerging tech sector .
Bev , who was last year named one of the top 30 most inspirational business leader in Teesside and was shortlisted for the Institute of Directors ’ award in 2021 , has so far employed 14 people and looks after well over 500 clients .
FINALIST
KATHERINE MAY ( VIANET )
Leading second line support within the Stockton company ’ s vending division , Katherine has handled more than 2,000 tickets raised by 108 unique clients across 28 product categories .
Her average CSAT ( customer satisfaction ) score across all tickets is an incredible 4.9 out 5 . She also handles second-line issues , which are often exceptionally complex , technical and require investigation both with other departments internally and liaising with thirdparty partners .
Considering this , she can still boast that 93 per cent of all tickets she has handled have been closed within Vianet ’ s 24 working hours service level agreement . She has also contributed greatly to the firm ’ s Knowledge Base , which is used by the entire organisation to ensure any lesson learned is never forgotten .
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