INSPIRATEES
INSPIRATION STATION
Full results of the 11th annual Tees Business poll of the region’ s businesspeople to reveal the InspiraTees – the region’ s most inspiring business leaders, according to their peers.
Bill Scott OBE DL
( Wilton Group)
1 st
( 1st)
Clutching the impressive trophy – which he only gave back the previous week, not knowing it was going to be engraved with his name for 2026 – Bill attributed his business resilience to his competitive nature and tendency to“ always look forward”.
While Wilton Engineering has won major defence contracts, creating hundreds of local jobs, he said:“ Even now I’ m thinking about the next thing, which for us is to look at small modular reactors – we’ re one of the very few exclusive companies that has the capability of doing it.
“ We reinvent ourselves but we’ re always looking ahead.”
And in a message to his fellow business leaders, he said simply:“ Keep calm and carry on! There are so many fantastic people in Teesside – the collaboration is unbelievable.
“ Tees Valley Business Club, the charities we have, I’ m really proud to be a supporter of The Teesside Charity, Teesside Family Foundation and lots of others – but just keep doing what you’ re doing.”
“ We reinvent ourselves but we’ re always looking ahead.”
2 nd
( 2nd)
Imran Anwar
( Alt Labs and Flok)
A former Tees Business Leader of the Year and the 2025 Tees Tech Leader of the Year, it’ s a second consecutive InspiraTees runner-up spot for Imran, the MD of tech consultancy Alt Labs, founder of the thriving Flok co-working space in Middlesbrough and passionate advocate for the North-East’ s tech sector.
Since launching Alt Labs in 2017, he has led its growth from a start-up into an internationally acclaimed consultancy. He also serves as a governor at Middlesbrough College and is committed to developing the region ' s innovation ecosystem, championing entrepreneurship and helping firms adopt technology to deliver genuine commercial and social impact.
20 | Tees Business