The call for public nominations has officially opened for the next prestigious Bold Woman Awards, celebrating incredible British female leaders. The awards are the first and longest-running international award of its kind, boasting an illustrious alumni.
The awards honour and take inspiration from Madame Clicquot, who in 1805, at the age of 27 took control of the then relatively unknown champagne house. Madame Clicquot went on to revolutionise the process of making champagne, introducing techniques that are still used today by all major houses. Her tenacity and creativity built Veuve Clicquot into the renowned brand that it is today. She was undoubtedly a bold woman at a time when women were not even allowed to open a bank account.
Two categories are open for public submission, for 2023; the Bold Woman Award and the Bold Future Award.
Bold Woman Award
The Bold Woman Award celebrates female entrepreneurship and leadership. Past winners include Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, who led the development of the University of Oxford’s COVID-19 vaccine; Anne Pitcher, Group MD of Selfridges; and Liv Garfield, CEO at Severn Trent. It is awarded to those who share the same qualities as Madame Clicquot: her enterprising spirit, her courage and the determination necessary to accomplish the transformation of her field.
It honours women that have a track record of success within their organisation and personal achievements, but also actively inspire other women to follow in their footsteps. It is open to female founders and leaders of all types of organisations including private, charity and not-for-profit, providing they have been in the role for more than two years which is presented to a female leader who epitomises the qualities that Madame Clicquot herself represented – an enterprising spirit, courage and the determination necessary to accomplish business goals.
Last year’s winner Mel Smith, former CEO of Ocado Retail, was recognised for her fearless leadership, steering the brand through unprecedented challenges presented by Covid-19, helping to feed the nation in its time of need.
Bold Future Award
The second category is the Bold Future Award, presented to a woman who is breaking new ground and taking an innovative approach to achieving success. It is open to female founders of organisations established less than five years ago.
The winner of the Bold Future Award will emulate Madame Clicquot’s values of innovation, audacity, fearlessness and drive to act in the moment to optimise a gap in today’s market, by bringing a new offer to market or revolutionising the face of the market itself.
Social responsibility is a core tenet of modern business and as such, nominees for both categories must be able to show tangible evidence of positive social, ethical or environmental impact or activities.
Last year’s winner was Mursal Hedeyat, CEO of Chatterbox, was recognised for her role in creating a platform that supported displaced people to use their language skills as a means to creating and building successful careers in their new home country.
The Bold Woman Award celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022 with its biggest and brightest ceremony, held at the beautiful Royal Opera House in London.
Carole Bildé, Chief Marketing Officer, Veuve Clicquot, commented:
“This past year was an important milestone for us, as we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Bold Awards with a spectacular event that brought together inspiring female leaders, past and present.
“We are delighted to now open the public nominations for 2023. Every year, the calibre of candidate astounds the judges – standing in their own right as a role model – and it is always a difficult choice to whittle down the prospects to just a handful of names.
“We have no doubt that this year will be the same, and we ask the public to put forward those female business leaders who have inspired them; those who embody the trailblazing attitude and success that Madame Clicquot achieved in disrupting a traditionally male-dominated sector.”
The call for nominations for the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award and Bold Future Award acts as the starting point in the search for the best female business talent in the UK. This will result in up to two exceptional women being awarded at a prestigious event in London in September 2023.
Judges for the 2023 Bold Woman Award come from a mixture of industry titans and networkers including, Pip Jamieson, Founder of The Dots, Kristina Blahnik, CEO of Manolo Blahnik, Jenny Garrett OBE, career coach and leadership trainer, Lorraine Cope, Founder of BAME in Hospitality, Andy Woodfield, PwC Global Client Partner for the FCDO.
To enter someone for the award head to the Veuve Clicquot website.
