"Im extremely honoured and delighted to join the board of directors of The Women of the Year Luncheon & Awards in a year which sees it celebrating its 40th anniversary."
Dr Sharon Redrobe OBE
One of the UK’s longest running annual awards, the Women of the Year Luncheon & Awards is celebrating the appointment of three new directors as it prepares to return for its 40th anniversary next year.
Dr Sharon Redrobe OBE, Jennie Johnson MBE and Fleur Sexton DL are the new faces at the helm of Women of the Year Luncheon & Awards, which celebrates the achievements of exceptional women, and highlights individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to their business, their sector or their wider community.
Sharon, Jennie and Fleur join the annual awards board of directors, which now comprises seven women from a wide range of sectors and businesses, including Entrepreneur Jenny Campbell and Founder and CEO of UK Container Maintenance, Emma Elston MBE.
Dr Sharon Redrobe OBE, battles against the extinction of great apes and other critically endangered species as CEO of Twycross Zoo and also sits as the chair of Ape Action Africa. Fleur Sexton DL is Deputy Lieutenant of the West Midlands, and strives to transform the lives of people across the West Midlands region through education and employment, while Jennie Johnson MBE is CEO and co-founder of My First 5 Years. All three women are previous winners of the illustrious Business Woman of the Year Award.
The 40th anniversary of the annual awards ceremony will take place on Friday 1st April 2022 at Hilton Birmingham Metropole, after a year of absence due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Women of the Year Luncheon & Awards 2022 is set to welcome over 650 professionals from the private and public sectors.
To celebrate its return and welcome its newly appointed directors, Women of the Year Luncheon & Awards held an exclusive launch event for 65 guests last week (04 Nov). The Award’s new president, British actress and writer Sally Lindsay, was also in attendance to mark the special occasion.
Women of the Year Luncheon & Awards was established in 1982 as a ladies’ luncheon to raise vital funds for charitable causes and to highlight and celebrate the many and varied achievements of women.
Since then, the annual awards have gone from strength to strength both as an event and as a movement to promote women’s achievements. Over the last four decades, winners have included Baroness Karren Brady CBE, Katie Piper, Dame Asha Khemka DBE (Principal and CEO of West Nottinghamshire College) and British Paralympian, Martine Wright MBE.
Of her new role, Dr Sharon Redrobe OBE said: “I’m extremely honoured and delighted to join the board of directors of The Women of the Year Luncheon & Awards in a year which sees it celebrating its 40th anniversary.
“The past year (in fact nearer two…) has been incredibly difficult for so many people, so I’m excited to be part of these awards and look forward to recognising the extraordinary achievements of many inspirational women and the outstanding contribution they have made to society in their field of work over the past two years.”
Women of the Year Luncheon & Awards takes place on Friday 1 April 2022 at Hilton Birmingham Metropole. All proceeds from the event will go directly to charity, with over £500,000 raised to date. For 2022, the event will support The Prince’s Trust: Women Supporting Women Initiative, a passionate group of supporters who are committed to changing the lives of young women, and NHS Charities Together which continues to support our NHS in the life saving work that they do.
To purchase tickets and for more information, please visit www.womenoftheyear.org.uk.
