Tees Business Issue 39 | Page 25

INSPIRATEES
Gary also chairs the High Tide Foundation , a charity showcasing job opportunities for the region ’ s young people .
MY TOP 3 by Michelle Wright ( Disruptive Innovators Network )
1 . Angela Lockwood 2 . Mark Easby 3 . David Dixon
MY TOP 3
by Kay Coleman ( Swanson Buck )
1 .
Yasmin Khan
2 .
Phil Teasdale
3 .
Tania Cooper MBE
Top 30 return - Garry Lofthouse .
Top 30 regular - Vikki Jackson-Smith .
Garry Lofthouse
Applied Integration Operating under the radar , Garry and his fellow directors have built a Stokesley firm that , among other things , creates highly technical control systems for the Ministry of Defence . A Teesside University graduate and former ICI apprentice , Gary ’ s vision has inspired Applied Integration into a £ 4m business that employs more than 80 staff .
Vikki Jackson-Smith
J & B Recycling Vikki built waste management firm J & B Recycling from sites in Hartlepool and Middlesbrough , creating 200 local jobs after diversifying the family firm from solid fuel . In 2021 , the firm was acquired by Urbaser , Europe ’ s third largest environmental services provider .
But Vikki remains very much involved with the firm as its CEO and public face , while earlier in 2024 , she joined the board of trustees at Hartlepool ’ s Alice House Hospice , having been a long-term supporter of the charity .
MY TOP 3
by Vikki Jackson-Smith
1 .
Sharon Lane
2 .
Victoria Lynch
3 .
Alison McGee
MY TOP 3
by Gilly Hall ( Teesside University )
1 .
Richard Bendelow
2 .
Garry Lofthouse
3 .
Charles Clinkard
Yasmin Khan
Halo Project As a long-time advisor to the Welsh government regarding violence against women , domestic abuse and sexual violence , Yasmin is the founder and chief officer of Middlesbrough-based Halo Project . The charity supports black and minoritised survivors of domestic abuse , sexual violence , female genital mutilation and honour-based abuse .
Originally from Essex but now an adopted Teessider , Yasmin started her career in banking before moving into diversity , social inequality and injustice .
Cover star - Victoria Lynch with Keith Gwaringa .
Victoria Lynch
Additional Lengths Focus of the cover feature in this issue of Tees Business , Port Clarence-born Victoria is the CEO of Stockton ’ s Additional Lengths . She launched what is now the UK ’ s second largest hair extensions business from a parent ’ s spare room in 2003 .
Along with a 20,000sq ft warehouse and head office distributing products nationally and internationally , Additional Lengths runs a store and salon in Stockton ’ s Wellington Square . The firm was crowned Business of the Year at the 2022 Tees Businesswomen Awards .
MY TOP 3
by Charlotte Linton ( Better )
1 .
Victoria Lynch
2 .
Frans Calje OBE
3 .
Karl Pemberton
Project leader - Yasmin Khan with Keith Gwaringa of event sponsor Moonrise .
The voice of business in the Tees region | 25