Judges of The Orange Innovation Award 2011

Sherry Coutu is a former CEO and angel investor who now serves on the boards of companies, charities and universities. Sherry specialises in consumer internet, information services and education. She has made angel investments in more than 35 companies and holds investments in two venture capital firms.
Last year she was voted as the best CEO mentor / advisor in Europe by TechCrunch, and this May was named by Wired magazine as one the top 25 'most influential people in the wired world', and one of the top ten most influential investors and women.
As an entrepreneur, Sherry has founded two businesses in the financial services industry. The first (acquired by Euromoney) has operations in more than 70 countries. The second was responsible for the first e-commerce transaction in the financial services industry in 1995. When she floated the company in 2000 it was valued at more than $1 billion and was the most over-subscribed IPO in the history of the market at the time. Philanthropically, she helped found the Prince's Trust Technology Leadership Group, is a member of the venture board of Cancer Research UK and serves on the Harvard Business School European Advisory Council.

Why has Sherry decided to judge the National Business Awards?
"Holding up champions of business as examples of excellence is a good thing to do"

Martin is Vice President of Business to Business for Everything Everywhere – the company that owns Orange, the headline sponsor of the National Business Awards. Martin joined Orange in November 2009, with responsibility for the strategy, marketing, and sales of the business unit. Martin headed up the merger of Orange and T-Mobile B2B business units to create Everything Everywhere, and is driving its three year commitment to improve customer productivity by up to 15% through innovative communications, drawing upon innovation and R&D from parent companies France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom. Martin is an active and established judge, having been on the panel for the Orange Innovation Award for the last two years. Prior to joining Orange, Martin spent ten years at O2 where he worked in a variety of business development roles. 

Managing Director of innovation-spotting firm Springwise, Chris worked as a marketer and a trendwatcher before focusing on the world of new business ideas. Chris led full-service agency RPM’s research into campaign innovation and strategic intelligence. Chris then moved to trendwatching.com, where his natural instinct for innovation culminated in a role as Head of Research and Analysis, producing Trend Briefings and annual Trend Reports that have been purchased by virtually every leading B2C brand in the world. He now leads a team that scours the globe for the latest in business innovation.

 
Why has Chris decided to judge the National Business Awards?
"There is no underestimating the importance of innovation to any successful business, and I am excited by the opportunity to examine the very best in British innovation and reward those teams responsible".

Eric Van der Kleij is Chief Advisor to the United Kingdom Government's Directorate for Investment, (www.ukti.gov.uk), which is the UK's principal inward investment and trade organisation with over 160 offices and embassies in 96 countries. In this role he leads UKTI's Major Projects initiative, which delivers major benefits to the UK economy and our trading partners by enabling the investment and implementation of major projects with "exceptional global potential".

Prior to taking up this role in 2009, he spent the previous six years establishing and developing the UK Government's Global Entrepreneur Programme, which has grown to become one of Europe's most successful entrepreneurship-in-government organisations operating today. Before taking on this role, Eric was a successful technology entrepreneur with over 25 years experience in high-technology and venture capital/equity finance. He has sound technical expertise in ICT, digital media, cleantech, and energy/renewables. His ability to recognise and harness innovation as well as commercialise exceptional technology has contributed to the success of his personal businesses as well as driving the success of his most recent work for the UK government.

As an accomplished entrepreneur himself, he was invited to establish the Global Entrepreneur Programme in 2003, where he continues to devote part of his time as a Senior Dealmaker, also helping develop the UK's strategy for attracting non-UK ideas and entrepreneurs of exceptional potential to the UK.