28 | Tees Business
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, he has donated
huge amounts of money to charity. Cleveland
Cable is headquartered on Middlesbrough’s
Riverside Park but has bases in Dublin and
Dubai as well as other areas of England.
2nd
(Last year 3rd)
Andy PRESTON
Middlesbrough Council, Middlesbrough
Part businessman, part charity leader and
part politician. He’s never topped the list but
Andy is the only business leader to make
our top three for each of the four years
since we began our annual poll.
Elected independent mayor of
Middlesbrough earlier this year, the former
hedge fund manager has stepped down
from his role as chairman of Teesside
Philanthropic Foundation after inspiring
dozens of local businesses and wealthy
individuals to band together and dig deep,
raising more than £3m since 2011, as well
as a further £2m via a second charity he
formed, CEO Sleepout.
Having also launched Level Q within the
past 12 months – dubbed the best offices
on Teesside – Middlesbrough-born Andy is
now putting his mind to bringing investment
and jobs into Middlesbrough as part of his
mayoral role.
awareness about the disease.
Jane is not only the top-ranked woman
on this year’s list but is the first female to
be ranked in the top five.
4th (Last year 2nd)
Bill SCOTT OBE
Wilton Engineering,
Port Clarence
Our 2017 winner
has transformed
the fortunes of his
own firm by leading
a diversification
into the offshore wind
sector after a massive
downturn in their traditional oil markets.
And he insists on sharing his success with
local businesses – always sub-contracting
work to Tees firms whenever possible.
Born in a terraced house in central
Middlesbrough, he began his career as an
apprentice plater, was in charge of a team
of men by the age of 19 and has gone on to
build a small business empire on a 54-acre
site in the shadow of the Transporter Bridge
including Wilton Engineering, Universal
Coatings and Port Clarence Logistics.
6th (Re-entry into the top 10)
Sharon LANE
Tees Components
It is down to CEO Sharon’s vision that
North Skelton-based Tees Components
has successfully diversified into new
markets such as marine and defence after a
downturn in traditional markets such as oil
and gas. Sharon is the current Tees Valley
Business Executive of the Year.
7th (last year 8th)
Karl PEMBERTON
Active Chartered Financial Planners,
Stockton
Tees Business cover star Karl is not only
front man for Active, Teesside’s largest
financial firm, but is also a trustee of
Teesside Philanthropic Foundation and the
first president of the newly formed Tees
Valley branch of the Institute of Directors.
8th
(last year 5th)
Gary DAWSON
3rd (New entry into top 10)
Prof Jane TURNER OBE DL
Teesside University, Middlesbrough
Looking for inspiration? Meet the university
leader who’s fighting for women whilst
battling cancer. Teesside University’s gender
champion and pro vice-chancellor for
enterprise and business engagement, Jane
is striving to raise the profile of women and
celebrate the great things they are achieving
across the Tees Valley and beyond.
A huge supporter of the Tees
Businesswomen Awards, she has also
assembled a growing group of female
role models who provide inspiration and
aspiration for the region’s girls and young
women. All of this whilst she wages her
own war against ovarian cancer and raising
5th (Last year 7th)
Alastair POWELL
Cleveland Cable Company, Middlesbrough
Alastair has shunned publicity whilst
building Middlesbrough-based Cleveland
AV Dawson,
Middlesbrough
He prefers to
keep a low
profile but Gary
has been the
spearhead of
family-run freight
logistics giant AV
Dawson since
succeeding his
much-respected
late father Maurice as managing director in
2000. The Middlesbrough firm boasts one
of the largest independent rail terminals in
the North of England whilst it is also the
main distribution hub for the supply of steel
coils from TATA into Nissan’s Sunderland
factory.