YTKO is proud to announce that Bev Hurley, our Chief Executive, has been honoured on the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours List, and presented with the Queens Award for Enterprise Promotion.

The Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion (QAEP) celebrates and recognises the activities of individuals who play a significant role in promoting enterprise in the UK.

The award acknowledges the outstanding enterprise support work that Bev delivers through programmes such as Norfolk Network, Outset Cornwall and Plymouth, Yorkshire Enterprise Fellowships, and Partner to Succeed, and her inspirational championing of female entrepreneurship through Peterborough Women’s Enterprise Centre and the Enterprising Women Community.

She also devotes substantial time to voluntary activities, including judging awards and business plan competitions, coaching and mentoring graduates and disadvantaged entrepreneurs. Bev is also one of the few female business angels, and serves as non-executive director on a number of private companies as well as in public sector service.

Bev’s passionate leadership of Enterprising Women has seen it grow exponentially since launch – with a current membership of nearly 8000 women and 250 stakeholder organisations. It provides a huge range of services, support for and promotion of its members, and was selected by BIS last year as one of three national best practice examples for supporting entrepreneurship.

Under Bev’s management, YTKO has seen strong year on year growth, and the creation of new offices in Stevenage, Truro, Plymouth, Bristol, Torbay, Leeds, and France. YTKO now employs over 75 people, and is growing at over 60% per annum.

Peter White, Chairman of YTKO, says, “Bev’s drive, passion and commitment to helping others grow their businesses continues to inspire everyone here at YTKO. We are all thrilled that her major, long-term contribution to UK enterprise has been acknowledged in such a prestigious manner.”