The operations director at a health and safety consultancy has been crowned as Businesswoman of the Year at the Northamptonshire Business Excellence Awards (NBEA).
Zeynep Guzelkasap, of Acorn Safety Services, took home the title at the local awards, which happened on Friday (21st November) at Northamptonshire County Cricket Club.
The judges praised Zeynep’s commerciality and “community minded approach” and the powerhouse collected her trophy to rapturous applause and cheers from her delighted colleagues.
Zeynep was promoted from operations manager to operations director at Northampton’s Acorn Safety Services earlier this year, following her integral involvement in the company’s exponential growth.
During her leadership, the company has doubled its workforce and outgrown two offices, and Zeynep has also introduced new services to help businesses to stay compliant with health and safety legislation.
Her team also celebrate her proactive approach to employee welfare, her inspirational leadership and her thoughtful charity endeavours.
Before Zeynep was announced as a winner, the awards host, writer and comedian Russell Kane, told the audience that the judges had described her as a “businesswoman who shows commerciality with a combination of industry knowledge and business leadership, partnering with colleagues and embracing technology to transform the business. She advocates for women in leadership and demonstrates a community minded approach.”
Zeynep said: “What an amazing evening at the Northamptonshire Business Excellence Awards, which is always a great event. Being nominated for Businesswoman of the Year was such a lovely surprise that I was immensely proud of, but to go and actually win it left me speechless.
“I couldn’t have done it without an amazing likeminded team of people around me, who all work hard to ensure we provide the best service possible and are always striving to help our clients. I feel very proud of what I have achieved while being at Acorn Safety Services and proud of all our team.
“Thank you to my colleagues and friends Samantha Reeves, Stephen Melvin, Kyle Glaser and Lorna Smith for one of the best nights!”
