YOUNG ACHIEVER OF THE YEAR

Keith Neilson, Craneware Plc (39)
Keith Neilson co-founded Craneware in 1999 and has been Chief Executive Officer since then.
Craneware is a leading company in the development, licensing and post contract support of computer software for the healthcare industry. Their software helps to identify errors in healthcare billing systems and increases their clients gross revenue by identifying millions in lost revenue per year. They have captured ~50% of the US market for electronic chargemaster auditing systems and from their offices in the US they supply and maintain almost 900 hospitals in 48 states. Their turnover in the year to June 2007 was in excess of £7.5 million - showing a compounded annual growth rate of 31% over the three previous years.

Elliot Robertson, Manorlane Limited (34)

Chief executive Elliot Robertson set up Manorlane in 2004 to supply premium, prestige, middle market sector homes. Since then, Manorlane has expanded with new sites in North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, West Lothian and East Renfrewshire. The company has built a land bank in excess of 1,600 units which is expected to deliver revenue of £300m over the next six years. In its second year of trading to April 2007, Manorlane almost tripled turnover to £13.67m, up from £5.14m in the previous year. Pre-tax profit for the year was £3.13m, up 291% compared to £1.075m. In addition to the core housebuilding business, Manorlane has grown to comprise a further three distinct companies: Manorlane Property, which focuses on providing commercial property; Manorlane Energy, which provides sustainable power to people and companies who wish to become green.

Michael Shand, RB Farquhar (Manufacturing) Limited (36)
Michael Shand is Managing Director of RB Faquhar (Manufacturing) Ltd and has lead the business through its relocation from Huntly, Aberdeenshire to its custom built premises in Prague. Since 1990 RB Farquhar have designed and manufactured prefabricated bathroom pods and today they manufacture one bathroom pod every fifteen minutes. The move to their custom built production plant near Prague has allowed the company to capitalise on lower manufacturing costs and improved production efficiencies. They will soon be entering the Gulf market in the UAE  and will build a purpose designed 10,000m2 production plant in the region . Their turnover has increased by 50 % over the last three years.

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Charles Hammond, Forth Ports PLC
Charles Hammond joined Forth Port Authority in 1989 as Company Secretary. He was Managing Director of the Port of Tilbury from 1995 before becoming Group Chief Executive in February 2001. Forth Ports PLC is the largest port listed company on the LSE handling over 50 million tonnes of cargo a year and operating in over 280 square miles of navigable water. They have a large property arm which is regenerating non-operational land on Edinburgh's waterfront, Grangemouth and Dundee with 400 acres of land available for development as well as being engaged in waste recycling and renewable energy initiatives as they broaden their business base. Their market cap has increased from £30 million in 1992 to over £900 million in 2007. Charles Hammond is chairman of Scottish Enterprise, Edinburgh and Lothian and an advisory board member of Scottish Enterprise.

Willie Haughey OBE DTech, City Refrigeration Holdings Ltd
Willie Haughey set up City Refrigeration in 1985 with 4 employees and a turnover of £100K. In 1994 3i bought a 33% stake in the business and the finance raised helped the company grow from a £6 million to a £66 million turnover business in 6 years. The company has now successfully negotiated to buy back the shares and Willie and Susan Haughey now have a 98% stake in the company. Key clients include ASDA, Booker, Ladbrokes and Budweiser. Their turnover in the year to December 2007 was in excess of £230 million.They have set up a charitable trust that has donated more than £3 million to charity. Willie Haughey has received many awards including: in 2000 The Entrepreneur of the Year, in 2003 the OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for Entrepreneurship in the West of Scotland and in 2007 the St Mungo's Prize for services to Glasgow.

INTERNATIONAL AWARD

Graeme Coutts, Expro International

Graeme Coutts has been Chief Executive Officer since 2003.  Expro International is a leading provider of services and products that measure, improve, control and process flow from oil and gas wells. The company has grown rapidly in recent years and in July 2006 acquired Power Well Services for £366 million. Expro employs more than 4000 people in 50 countries and recently landed a string of contracts in Indonesia, China and Vietnam. Turnover in the year to March 2007 was in excess of £510 million.

Mark Selway, The Weir Group PLC

Mark Selway was appointed Chief Executive in 2001. Since then he has introduced leaner processes and shorter lead times throughout the Group as well as disposing of 15 non-core businesses to focus the organisation on key sectors of oil & gas, mining and power generation. Over the same period, profits have doubled and market value quadrupled. Recent substantial acquisitions include SPM Flow Control in the United States for £326 million and CH Warman in Africa for £120 million. The Weir Group employs over 8500 people worldwide and turnover in the year to December 2007 was in excess of £1 billon.