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Figures from the world of North East business have received recognition in the New Year’s Honours List.
Brian Palmer, the founder and chief executive of Blyth based Tharsus Group, receives an OBE for services to manufacturing and skills, and described himself as the figurehead, with “a huge, fantastic team that make my achievements possible.”
Mr Palmer has turned the engineering company from a “back-street metal basher” into a leading robotics specialist counting Ocado among its clients. He said: “It’s an interesting mix of feelings – it’s definitely a huge honour but it’s also quite humbling. It also feels like the spur that I need to make the most of the opportunity now to live up to it, rather than this be something that looks backwards, for things that have been done so far.
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“It’s an accolade for things you’ve done in the past and you can view it as: ‘Crikey, I’ve got to live up to this now’. I’m in a very fortunate position with my business interests and I’ve got some great people I’m working with on community projects at the minute, and I want this to be forward looking and not backward looking.”
Nigel Begg, the co-founder of Aspire Technology Solutions based in Gateshead, receives an OBE for services to digital and technology industry growth in the North East. Mr Begg stepped back from day-to-day operations at the business a few years ago but remains a significant shareholder of Aspire, and now focuses his time on mentoring young business leaders and entrepreneurs within the IT, sports and performance meals sectors.
The Sunderland entrepreneur, who is also a trustee with the Chloe and Liam Together Forever Trust, said: “I am still involved with Aspire from a shareholder and investor perspective but not on a daily basis as such – I’m very proud of the team we have built at Aspire, to around 250 team members and £40m turnover, and proud of our especially loyal customers.
“I know it’s a cliché but I never thought I would ever achieve such a prestigious honour and it means a great deal to me and my wife Danielle and family. I have been very fortunate to have had an amazing business partner in Chris Fraser at Aspire and excellent North East mentors such as Tim Price, Phil Renton and Peter Slee amongst others. For a kid who played football all through school and was told he would never amount to anything, and spent his time looking out the window, I am very proud of what we have achieved.”
There was an MBE for Jack Deverson, the 31-year-old managing director of Sunderland firm Evidence Based Education. He said: “Receiving this award is a deeply humbling experience. It represents the collective effort and dedication of our team at Evidence Based Education. Our mission is to elevate educators and improve student outcomes, a goal we energetically pursue from our Sunderland base.”
And there was an OBE for Martin McTague, the County Durham-based chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, for services to small businesses.
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