Tees Valley Business Executive of the Year
Sponsored by Teesside University
Neil Stephenson, chief executive officer, Onyx Group, Middlesbrough
ONYX specialises in data hosting and workplace recovery especially for the financial services sector.
The firm, listed in the national Tech Track Top 100, has 3,000 clients and expects to more than double its workforce of 120 in the next couple of years. Its client list includes big listed companies in the North East, process industry giants, top football clubs, and a spread of businesses between Aberdeen and London.
The firm covers the country from six sites – in the North East (both on Tyneside and Teesside), Scotland and London, as well as having an office in Dubai.
It made four acquisitions in the last 18 months, including part of the collapsed Newcastle Computer Services. Stephenson expects the company to see £50m sales in the next few years. He is from South Shields, a graduate of Sunderland University. He became chief executive of Onyx following a management buyout in 2007, when its American predecessor had been shattered by the collapse of the dotcom sector.
A keen hill walker and Newcastle United fan, he was a marketing executive for Vaux Breweries before joining Onyx. It has trebled sales in two years and almost doubled export sales. Gross profit tripled in three years.
RUNNERS UP
Tanya Garland, owner and managing director, Cool Blue Brand Communications, Middlesbrough
Cool Blue Brand Communications, which is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary, specialises in public relations, graphic design and digital media. Quick to spot trends, Garland made Cool Blue the first North East agency with its own in-house digital studio. With a staff of 15 it works with national and leading regional brands in health, regeneration, education, professional services, science and technology. Born in North Ormesby, Middlesbrough, Garland has won many awards with her company, including a national award recently for its excellence in digital campaigns. She became a European account director for a leading UK agency, working on accounts such as Ford and Pepsi. Later she joined an international agency. On her return to the Tees Valley, which she champions at every opportunity, she became a specialist with another agency before setting out on her own. Much of Cool Blue’s PR is directed at countering outdated concepts that outsiders hold about the Tees Valley and its people. The firm invests regularly in technology and staff training, but avoids long-term liabilities. It does a lot of work voluntarily for good causes.
Peter Stephenson, founder and executive chairman, Able UK, Billingham
Able UK, which Peter Stephenson set up in 1966, employs around 450 people. Initially a leading and innovative specialist in complex demolition, the company has diversified also into many other activities. These include full site reclamation and associated property development. In this the firm buys, manages and develops redundant industrial facilities and finds and develops sites to suit clients’ particular needs. The portfolio includes more than 3,000 acres of developments throughout the UK. Able UK is also a market leader in decommissioning and recycling marine structures, including energy platforms and ships. For this, Stephenson operates on both the Tees and the Humber. Since 1986 some £50m has been invested at Able Seaton port, which is enhanced by three other Tees facilities. Able UK hit the headlines with its four year planning battle – ultimately successful – to dismantle 13 former US naval “ghost ships”. This was a triumph for Stephenson’s own tenacity. The firm is also dismantling the famous French aircraft carrier Clemenceau and four British vessels. Stephenson launched the business at 19 from his Hartlepool home.
:: Click here to see an image gallery from the North East Business Executive of the Year awards
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