At a ceremony in Birmingham yesterday evening, CompTIA honoured a select group of technology professionals and organisations with its annual UK & Ireland Spotlight Awards. Winners were selected by CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the information technology (IT) industry and workforce, based on their excellence in leadership, commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, and innovation.
“The United Kingdom and Ireland have such an exciting and vibrant tech community, and the winners selected represent some of the best in the sector,” said M.J. Shoer, chief community officer at CompTIA. “We’re especially excited this year that the quality of entries was so high, the judges felt we had no choice but to recognise two winners for the Innovative Vendor category, which speaks to the exceptionally high standards and innovation across the UK & Ireland IT industry.”
Held at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole this year, the awards are part of the annual CompTIA UK & Ireland Community Meeting. The event brings together an audience of diverse executives and leaders engaged in the technology channel, from managed service providers (MSPs), managed security service providers (MSSPs), tech vendors, distributors and consulting organisations serving businesses of all sizes across the region.
This year, a new category was introduced to recognise excellence in Cybersecurity Leadership, reflecting the growing number of individuals dedicated to improving the cybersecurity resilience of the industry and the customers served.
“CompTIA’s purpose is to promote and embody excellence and standards across the technology sector and across the globe,” Shoer said. “United by a common goal of growing and strengthening the tech industry, their commitment, passion, and leadership are recognised with these awards.”
The 2023 CompTIA UK & Ireland Spotlight Award winners are:
CompTIA UK&I Future Leader Spotlight Award – Marcus Evans, Managing Director, Nutbourne Ltd, for making demonstrable impact within a CompTIA Member organisation and showing originality as an entrepreneur.
Finalist: Claire Jenks, Director, Jenks Creative
Finalist: Adam Pevie, Technical Support Manager, Bondgate IT
Finalist: Sam Callaghan, VP of EMEA Sales, ConnectWise
Finalist: Chloe Schofield, Sales Manager, Brigantia Partners Ltd
CompTIA UK&I Advancing Women in Technology Leadership Spotlight Award – Debby Clement, VP Talent, Pax8, for her active leadership in the industry and her personal community, and advocacy for women in technology.
Finalist: Hollie Whittles, Director, Purple Frog Systems Ltd
Finalist: Claire Jenks, Director, Jenks Creative
Finalist: Harpreet Narang, Head of Agency Ingram Micro EMEA, Ingram Micro
Finalist: Amanda Stewart, Chief Technical Officer, Illuminate
CompTIA UK&I Community Leadership Spotlight Award – Greg Jones, Vice President of Business Development EMEA, Datto, A Kaseya Company, for demonstrating outstanding leadership and impact to the community.
Finalist: Steven Pretlove, Managing Director, CCS IT Solutions
Finalist: Kristian Wright, Co Founder & Managing Director, inSOC
Finalist: Lizzie Robinson, Vendor Success Manager, Pax8
Finalist: Paul Croker, CIO, 18iT
CompTIA UK&I Cybersecurity Leadership Spotlight Award – Patrick Burgess, Technical Director, Nutbourne Ltd, for his outstanding commitment, thought leadership and passion regarding cybersecurity, which has helped advance the resilience of the CompTIA Community as a whole.
Finalist: Mostyn Thomas, Senior Director of Security EMEA, Pax8
Finalist: Jamie Akhtar, CEO, CyberSmart
Finalist: Greg Jones, Vice President of Business Development EMEA, Datto / Kaseya
Finalist: Peter Strahan, CEO, Lantech IT Services
CompTIA UK&I Advancing Diversity in Technology Leadership Spotlight Award – Pax8 for its advocacy and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in the industry that has positively impacted the lives and careers of others.
Finalist: Zomentum
Finalist: inSOC
Finalist: Cloud Nexus Limited
Finalist: Ingram Micro
CompTIA UK&I Solution Provider Spotlight Award – Pro Drive IT, for demonstrating leadership, excellence and innovation as an organisation and in service to their clients.
Finalist: Nutbourne
Finalist: Nostra
Finalist: SoConnect Ltd
Finalist: FourNet
CompTIA UK&I Innovative Vendor Spotlight Award – A Tie! – Terra Computer UK and N-able for demonstrating innovative approaches to their businesses, transforming their organisations, and their impact on the wider industry.
Finalist: inSOC
Finalist: CyberSmart
Finalist: Mesh
CompTIA UK&I Innovative Distributor Spotlight Award – Pax8, for making a significant impact on the industry through innovative new services and products that improve their partners’ experiences.
Finalist: QBS:MSP
Finalist: Brigantia Partners
Finalist: Terra Computer Ltd
Finalist: Teknov8 Distribution Ltd
