The fabulous thirty-eight...

Just 48 hours from now we’ll be putting the final touches to the 520+ place settings in our new venue for ProShare’s 25th Annual Awards. This will be the third Awards ceremony that I’ve been personally involved in and I cannot believe how fast the time has flown past since the first. It feels like only yesterday that I was contemplating the most nerve-wracking moment of my career to date – preparing to speak in front of the largest audience I’d ever faced, at the 2015 Awards.   

However, as much as I may agonise over it, what I stand up and say on the big night is the least important ingredient for a successful night – what matters most, and what everyone attends for, is the recognition of the truly excellent companies and individuals in our industry. Thirty-eight companies were shortlisted by our Judging Panel this year, with five commendations and fifteen winners amongst them.

A reminder of the shortlisted companies: Akce Holdings, Amadeus IT Group, ASDA, Aviva, Blue Prism Group, Breedon Group, BT Group, Burberry, ConvaTec, DHL, DS Smith, Forterra, Global Payments, Halfords, HSBC, IRESS, Janus Henderson Investors, Lloyds Banking Group, Morgan Sindall Group, National Grid, Nokia Corporation, Paddy Power Betfair, Phillips 66, Rathbone Brothers, Reckitt Benckiser Group, Royal Dutch Shell, RPC Group, SAP, SuperGroup, Ted Baker, Telefonica, TEVA Pharmaceuticals, The Sage Group, Travis Perkins, Tullow Oil, UBS, Valero Energy Corporation, and WH Smith.

The UK share plans industry is blessed with a depth of talent, expertise and commitment that others should envy. It is this talent, expertise and commitment that will see us through the challenges of the future, be that Brexit and its as-yet unconfirmed impact on British business, the continued expansion of the ‘gig economy’ and work which does not seem to require an employment contract, the demographic changes that are already upon us in all of our workplaces and our communities, regulatory flux, disruptive / transformative technological advances – or perhaps something else entirely unknown to us right now.

ProShare has a key role to play in helping everyone in the share plans industry to rise to these challenges, and it is our ambition to see the industry thrive rather than merely survive. Future-proofing employee share ownership is important work, work that we are passionate about, and with your support we will continue to work hard to ensure that future generations of UK employees get the chance to improve their financial security and that of their families.  

I look forward to toasting your continued support and the success of our highly commended and winning companies on Wednesday evening!