Jacky Stevens, OBE picks up The Lifetime Achievement Award

1 February 2010

The one category not open to nomination, at the News Business Excellence Awards is the LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD. Selected by judges, this individual must have demonstrated a body of work stretching back decades. This year is no different.

For just under four decades Jacky Stevens has worked in business as a Director and General Manager in manufacturing, boss of an export company and a short stint in the banking sector, before opting to work for businesses.

With a masters in Business Administration, too, she has conquered summits in academia, the private sector and as a public-sector based adviser.

Following three years with Hampshire TEC, she became Chief Executive of Business Link Hampshire at its launch in March 1996. In 2001 as Chief Executive of Southern Enterprise Alliance (SEA) she led the merger of Business Links in Hampshire, Dorset and IOW to create Business Link Wessex Limited, which later became WSX Enterprise Limited, where she was CEO until May 2008. In early 2005 she led the merger of six sub regional teams to create the regional UKTI Team South East operation.

Her name appeared in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in June 2005, awarding her an OBE in recognition of her sterling and long-standing services to business.

Today she is Chief Executive of the business support group Southern Enterprise Alliance, which manages the PLATO scheme and business mentoring scheme MentorNet.

Jacky Stevens, OBE, and Lifetime Achievement Award Winner 2010, commented on her evening at the News Business Excellence Awards, ‘ The evening was fantastic, and quite overwhelming, and it was a great honour to receive this award from my peers.‘

For further information:

Tel: 0845 600 9 006
Web: www.businesslink.gov.uk/southeast