England Director of the Year Awards
Celebrating England’s finest leadership talent
The IoD Director of the Year Awards celebrates the achievements of outstanding business leaders in our society. Hosted once a year, awards are given to those who excel in areas such as innovation, sustainability, equity, diversity and inclusion, and more.
Open to all – whether you’re an executive, non-executive, partner or even a chief constable – we want to hear about the work you’re doing as a senior decision-maker to help build a better world through business.
Nominations and applications
12 February — 29 March 2024
Select an option below to start your own application or to nominate someone else. The IoD will contact those nominated to inform them and guide them to make an application.
Judging
22 April — 12 May 2024
Our external, dedicated panel of volunteer judges will scrupulously review each application multiple times to determine each category’s Director of the Year, along with any highly commended applicants.
Awards ceremony
4 October 2024, Birmingham
This year the England Director of the Year Awards will be reaching its grand finale in the city of Birmingham; you’ll be able to book your tickets at the button below when sales go live, later this year.
Chartered Director
The award recognises an outstanding business leader in England who scored the highest exam total of this year’s qualifying Chartered Directors. An overall winner is then selected from all those qualifying in this year and presented at our annual Chartered Director’s Summit. Sponsorship available.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Diversity and inclusion within any business are key factors in determining organisational success. Over the years many organisations have worked hard to embrace diversity within their workplaces and create an environment where everyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race or cultural background or disability, can flourish and succeed. Sponsorship available.
Family Business
This award recognises individuals in a family business who have responded to the specific challenges that face directors in family firms and who have contributed to the success of the diverse, dynamic, and innovative family business sector. Emerging leaders in a family business are eligible providing they demonstrate the right trajectory and ethos of this very important part of the private business community. Sponsorship available.
Innovation
This award recognises leaders that have achieved success through bringing an innovative and disruptive approach to their marketplace; a leader that has developed an innovative and transformational idea that displays creative thinking, has beaten the competition and has been developed and applied to improve commercial performance, operational effectiveness or customer engagement. Sponsorship available.
International
We are looking for an international business leader with evidence of credible growth and development plans in place to build further on their company success globally. The leader will operate across borders and could be in any industry sector but is likely to be gaining market share due to strong international growth from a great product or service.
Non-Executive
This award recognises individuals that have made a significant contribution to the organisation’s strategy, impacted on the financial success of the company, demonstrated high ethical standards and promoted the practice of good corporate governance. Sponsorship available.
Public and Third Sector
Leadership is critical to good public governance, including good planning, efficiency, transparency and accountability. This award is open to directors of Third Sector organisations and leaders of public services, including public agencies, national bodies and governmental departments. Sponsorship available.
Sustainability
This award is aimed at leaders who can demonstrate how they integrate the success and smooth running of their business with a commitment to innovative initiatives & investments in green decarbonising and is designed to recognise the most ethical, socially responsible green business leader in England. Sponsorship available.
Young and Start-Up
This award celebrates founders/co-founders of start-ups. It looks at the market opportunity identified by entrepreneurs, the model to capitalise on it and how it has been executed within the first three years of trading. Sponsorship available.
SME (up to £50 million)
This award will go to the business that can show outstanding initiative, boldness and imagination in enterprise, sustainability, as well as sound management practice, good corporate governance and commercial success. Sponsorship available.
Headline sponsor
University College Birmingham focuses on career-focused education ensuring its students can follow their passion, while learning industry skills employers need to meet today’s skills agenda.
Sponsorship enquiries
For all IoD Director of the Year sponsorship opportunities, please contact our dedicated team.
FAQs
Here you’ll find many common questions about the Director of the Year Awards.
Do I have to be an IoD member to apply to the awards?
No, our awards are open to entry to both IoD members and non-members. The only exception is where a region awards a Chartered Director of the Year Award – only IoD members can be awarded this award.
I’m not a director, am I still able to apply?
Yes, so long as your role is one that makes decisions for a business at a senior level, then generally you can apply for our awards – please make sure to read the eligibility criteria for the category you’d like to apply for. Some categories are naturally aimed at non-directors i.e. Public and Third Sector, or Start-up & Young. Download eligibility criteria here.
Is there an entry fee?
No, our awards are completely free to enter, whether you apply to one category or to multiple categories.
Can I apply to multiple categories?
Yes you can, we encourage you to apply to all categories where you have exemplary achievements. However, you must only apply to one region i.e. if you work in both England and Wales, if you apply to IoD England then you are unable to apply to IoD Wales.
Can someone else fill in an application for me on my behalf?
Yes, it’s fine for someone else i.e. an assistant, to fill in an application on your behalf, but we would ask that they use first person to respond to questions and be clear who the nominee for the award is.
How are the awards judged?
Each region employs an impartial panel of judges – made up of previous awards winners, IoD Fellows and exceptional members of the business community – to judge all applications multiple times, once the application period has closed. Our judges follow a clear set of criteria to complete judging and finalists for each category are chosen based on the highest percentage of scorers.
Do I apply on behalf of my company?
Our Director of the Year Awards look to celebrate your personal achievements – while we recognise that many achievements are made through teamwork and the support of your colleagues and employees, we want to hear about your efforts in making it happen.
In your application you will be asked to list your company name and this information will be used in press releases; where you have ties to multiple companies, we recommend listing the name of the company which supports the evidence you give in your application best.
Why can't I apply for the 'Chair's Award for Excellence' category?
This award is the highest accolade in the Director of the Year Awards, recognising the personal imprint of the UK’s most high-profile leaders on the culture and success of their organisations through outstanding professionalism and the implementation of best practice in governance and leadership. Winners will be selected by our national or regional IoD Chair.
If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our team on [email protected].
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