Page 8 - BOSS Today Issue 63
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BOSS Today      #63     BOSS AWARDS 2025                                                                                                                                                              BOSS Today     #63










          Independent Retailer Award,       Professional of the Year,          Rising Star of the Year,                          Sustainable Leadership –          honour to have my work recognised and   Sally Beach, Banner
          Axminster Printing                Julie Hadley, evo Group            Amy Mettam, Banner                                Most Improved, ExaClair           acknowledged in this way. The award   “It means an awful lot and I was
                                                                                                                                                                   validates the effort, commitment, and   absolutely surprised (and delighted)
                                                                                                                                                                   passion I put into what I do every day,   when I heard about the award. I have
                                                                                                                                                                   and it motivates me to continue striving   been in the industry for over 30 years
                                                                                                                                                                   for high standards and making a positive   so to be recognised and nominated by
                                                                                                                                                                   impact.”                           fellow colleagues meant so very much.”

                                                                                                                                                                   Jonathan Crosbee, YPO              Vicki Gordon, Hamelin Brands
                                                                                                                                                                   “In winning this award, I felt shocked and   “I was put forward for the award by the
                                                                                                                                                                   honoured for being recognised by the   management team of Hamelin Brands.
          “We pride ourselves on delivering                                                                                                                        trade that I have worked in for nearly   It wasn’t really about the winning for
          exceptional, community focused service                               “Winning this award means the world to            “Winning the Most Improved Sustainability   39 years and especially for the amazing   me but I just felt honoured that they
          to Axminster, offering a personal touch   “evo Group winning the Sustainable   me. I was not expecting to be make it to   Leadership Award reflects how far   team at YPO who took the time to put me   felt I was worthy of being put forward
          that simply can’t be replicated online.   Leadership Award 2025 was an incredibly   the shortlist let alone win on the night!   ExaClair Ltd. has progressed in embedding   forward and collect all the endorsements   in the first place. That in itself was a
          Being recognised at such prestigious   welcome surprise!  It’s a case of   I have been in the industry seven years     genuine sustainability into our products   and recommendations. We work in an   ‘win’.  Actually, winning the award was a
          awards, alongside so many outstanding   progress, not perfection, so seeing that   now and witnessed many deserving    and practices. It is a proud reminder that   amazing industry and if you embrace the   bonus.”
          businesses, is truly an honour.”  journey recognised by our industry was   winners of this award over the years. To    the work we are doing is both meaningful   industry and what it can offer, it will give
                                            incredibly rewarding.  Coupling that win   now be one of them still doesn’t seem real   and making a visible impact.”  you a wonderful life, plenty of friends and   Sarah Whale, VOW Wholesale
          New Product of the Year, ACCO     with Professional of the Year Award on   but receiving the recognition as well as                                      great memories and the icing on the cake   “Being nominated by my SLT was
          Brands – Leitz IQ OptiMax shredder  the same evening was a real shock and   the congratulations from friends across    Wholesaler of the Year,           is to get a BOSS Award.”           a wonderful surprise and honestly,
                                            made it even it more significant.  With   the industry shows that even though        VOW Wholesale                                                        quite humbling. To me, this award is a
                                            so many talented colleagues nominated,   it may not seem it at the time, you are                                       Neil Empson, ExaClair Ltd          validation of the hard work and passion
                                            it was especially meaningful not only   making an impact.”                                                             “The appreciation of being recognised   I put into my role every day. Knowing
                                            to have my work in sustainability                                                                                      from the business for time, effort and   that my leadership team recognises my
                                            recognised, but to see this vital subject   Service Provider of the Year,                                              willingness to drive operations forward,   contribution is enough for me.”
                                            receive the acknowledgement it needs   Prima Software                                                                  positively affects my mindset to achieve
                                            and deserves.” - Julie Hadley.                                                                                         more and continually improve our
                                                                                                                                                                   business.”
                                            Sustainable Leadership Award,
          “We entered the awards to showcase   evo Group                                                                                                           Henry Barker, Paperstone           We both have so much
          our new products & campaigns,                                                                                                                            “It was great to be honoured and   respect for everyone
          gain independent recognition, and                                                                                      “We were delighted to be named    recognised for my work leading our   in the industry, so to be
          benchmark our work against industry                                                                                    Wholesaler of the Year, recognising   Progress to Horizon ERP migration. It
          standards. We really do value the BOSS                                                                                 our efforts to diversify, understand   was a big project with a hard deadline   acknowledged by them
          Awards and what they stand for. It                                                                                     our customers’ needs, and provide the   and I really enjoyed working with   all is so special.
          also felt important to recognise the                                                                                   consistent, reliable support that helps   both our internal team, ECi and the
          collective team effort by entering. The                              “Winning the BOSS Service Provider of             our customers succeed.”           wholesalers. We’d built our proprietary   Arthur Hindmarch,
          development of our products and the                                  the year award is a huge moment for us                                              webstore and operations platform like a
          delivery of the marketing campaigns                                  because it recognises something we deeply         Unsung Hero Awards                glove around Progress over the past 20   Lifetime Achievement Award
          involve significant contribution from                                care about at Prima – how we treat our                                              years so updating to Horizon had some
          many individuals, and it is important to                             customers as partners and are genuinely                                             real complexities. We went live on time
          celebrate and recognise that work.”                                  passionate about their success.  This                                               and had very few major issues so it was
                                                                               award is not just about one department,                                             a big success.”
          Outstanding Team of the Year,                                        product or individual, it’s recognition of a
          Exertis Supplies Operations Team  In our 35th year, winning          culture that we have built around trust,                                            Rahid Quereshi, VOW Wholesale
                                            Dealer of the Year again           long-term partnerships and doing the                                                “It gives me a great sense of pride and
                                                                               right thing, even when it’s harder or takes                                         appreciation for the work I have been
                                            feels like validation              longer to achieve the right outcomes. This                                          doing in the last two years regarding
                                            of who we are. Small               award belongs to our entire team, from                                              paper sales.”
                                            enough to care, agile              support and onboarding to development
                                                                               and account management, everyone                  George Kourti, Dynamic
                                            enough to act.                     plays a huge part in Prima’s customer             Office Solutions
                                            Aston & James                      experience. To have that recognised by the        “Winning the Unsung Hero Award is
                                                                               industry means a great deal to us.”
                                                                                                                                 incredibly meaningful to me. It’s a real

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