INSPIRATEES
MY TOP 3
by James Lees ( Yellowbox ) |
1 . |
Bob Makin |
2 . |
Karl Pemberton |
3 . |
Peter Turner |
New entry - John McGee .
John McGee
Durata Appearing on the InspiraTees list for the first time , Durata MD John is the driving force behind the fast-growing Middlesbrough business that also has a base in Germany .
Durata has doubled the size of its HQ at Tees Advanced Manufacturing Park this year , while the critical power specialists have retained their commitment to the local community , extending their sponsorship of Thornaby FC with John becoming a director alongside his wife Alison as the new CEO .
Bob Makin
Behaviour Interactive When global games developer Behaviour Interactive bought up SockMonkey Studios , Bob stayed on as general manager of their UK studios . Along with fellow Teesside University graduate Darren Cuthbert , Bob built the Middlesbrough firm into a thriving success over 10 years on the back of contracts with the likes of SEGA and Disney .
Winner of the Tees Tech Business Leader of the Year award in 2021 , Bob was made Tees Tech Ambassador 2023 .
Spotlight - Charlie Nettle .
Charlie Nettle
AV Dawson , Middlesbrough Group managing director of iconic Middlesbrough firm AV Dawson , adopted Teessider Charlie has enjoyed a meteoric rise since taking a part-time job hiring portable buildings on his arrival in the region .
Having been head of marketing at the North East Chamber of Commerce and AV Dawson , he was promoted to AV ’ s head of commercial and marketing before succeeding Gary Dawson in his current role .
Alastair Powell
Cleveland Cable Company He actively shuns publicity – indeed , he probably doesn ’ t appreciate appearing on this list – but Alastair Powell deserves the spotlight for the way he has built Middlesbrough-headquartered Cleveland Cable Company into a global success story , employing 600 staff , around half of them on Teesside .
Through the company he and his brother Michael have built into the UK ’ s largest cable distributor , Alastair has donated huge amounts of money to support worthy causes such as The Teesside Charity and Teesside Family Foundation .
MY TOP 3
Low profile - Alastair Powell .
by Ken Devereux ( Devereux Transport )
1 . Alastair Powell 2 . Gary Dawson 3 . Bill Scott OBE
Presentation - Claire Preston ( left ) with Moonrise MD Jessica Gwaringa .
Games guru - Bob Makin .
Claire Preston
Power of Women & Halo Project The inaugural Tees Businesswoman of the Year in 2018 returned to the InspiraTees top 30 last year after a three-year absence following a stint outside the region as commercial director of North Yorkshire Education Services .
26 | Tees Business