A look into the future
Nov 28 2008 The Journal
Identifying the 500 most influential people in the North East proved a challenging task, so we passed the buck when it came to naming the next generation of leaders. And who better to decide who has what it takes to be the influential people of tomorrow than the leaders of today? Journal editor Brian Aitken explains how we came up with our Rising Stars and Future Leaders
If deciding which 500 people should make it into our original list of the movers and shakers of the region was a tricky task, then identifying the leaders of tomorrow was potentially even more troublesome.
Troublesome – yet very important. Leadership and the retention and development of talented young people have long been recognised as key issues facing the North East. So we felt it was time to celebrate those people who have what it takes to be the leaders of tomorrow – and perhaps to encourage a few more to follow in their footsteps.
There are, no doubt, thousands of people who have the potential to fill that leadership role – working in companies across the region, contributing to the arts, cultivating the region’s creative spirit or perhaps starring on the sports field.
In truth, it would be impossible to expect that we could capture all of these individuals within the pages of this publication. This publication, therefore, is at best an effort to highlight just a few of those who have been nominated by others for having the potential to fill these key positions in future.
Our list has been compiled with the kind assistance of many of those people who featured in our original 500 Most Influential publication. We wrote to each of those people and asked them to put forward up to four names of individuals who, they felt, had the capacity to become rising stars or future leaders.
We were delighted by the enthusiastic response that we got from so many of the region’s leaders. Many commented on what a valuable publication this had the potential to be.
The names put forward comprise an eclectic mix.
Many have come from the business world and represent all sorts of companies – although there is certainly a theme of creativity running through many of them. Some of these people are entrepreneurs who have built up their own companies from scratch, others have worked their way up within much larger organisations which they have the potential to lead in future years.
The professional sector is well represented too, with talented young dealmakers featuring alongside individuals who have already made it to become partners in their firms.
In sport, we have a whole host of individuals who may be starring in their chosen sport at the London 2012 Olympics, alongside the captain of the England Under 21s football team and a couple of rising stars who could well receive national honours in the rugby world in the not-too-distant future.
We have a host of talented designers in these pages, including furniture makers and rising stars from the world of fashion.
And in the arts we have a talented young theatre director, the boss of a nationally significant museum and a rising star at The Sage Gateshead.
The public sector, charities and not-for-profit organisations are also extremely well represented.
Where possible, we have printed the testimony provided by the person who nominated each individual featured in the publication. Some of them are highly personal, others more biographical, but in each case they seek to bring out just why this individual has such a bright future.
Journal
There are also contributions from a range of our original Most Influential 500 people about why leadership is such as important issue for the North East.
While this list is not in any sense intended to be comprehensive, it is expected to be inspiring. And – if it is – we have achieved what we set out to.
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