Qatar British Business Forum (QBBF) has announced the winners of its ‘3rd Annual Awards’ ceremony organised recently to recognise business excellence and those members of the Qatari community, who have made outstanding contributions in the British community.
The event, organised in association with Deloitte & Touche in Qatar, was attended by Her Royal Highness Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and an audience of valued guests, dignitaries, and VIPs. British ambassador Ajay Sharma was also present to help bestow the awards to the winners.
Sharma said: “I was delighted to help present the awards at the QBBF Awards dinner, alongside Her Royal Highness the Countess of Wessex, and QBBF chairman Emad Turkman.  “Every year, these awards are a reminder of the fantastic work so many in the British and Qatari business communities are doing to further the ties between our countries and I was proud to see so many worthy winners.”
The awards are a part of an ongoing series of events and activities designed to promote business opportunities in Qatar and to strengthen commercial ties between the two nations. These initiatives focus on enhancing trade relations between Qatar and the UK. QBBF’s mission is to support local economic diversification as a part of Qatar’s National Vision 2030.
Turkman said: “The introduction of the QBBF awards is set to acknowledge and reward the contributions of the active community members, and their ongoing efforts to further strengthen the bilateral business and trade between the UK and Qatar. 
“For the third consecutive year, the awards continue to draw an overwhelming number of outstanding submissions, making it even a more challenging task for our judging panel to select the award winners.”
The winners of the ‘3rd Annual QBBF’ were carefully evaluated and selected by an esteemed list of judging panel, including Alan Bucknall; David Miller, general manager Galeries Lafayette; Ibrahim M Jaidah, GCEO and chief architect of Arab Engineering Bureau; and Paul Paterson, QBBF committee member.
The independent judging panel that consisted of a variety of prominent business individuals in the community helped to select the winners in six categories, including ‘Business Man of the Year’, ‘Business Woman of the Year’, ‘Organisation of the Year’, ‘SME of the Year’, ‘Work in the Community’, and ‘Special Achievement’.
Andrew North was awarded the ‘Business Man of the Year’ for his success in growing the start-up company, Protiviti Member Firm Qatar, in a short period of time, and his ongoing contributions in promoting UK businesses, while ‘Business Woman of the Year’ was awarded to Tamara Hasan for her success in growing The International Physiotherapy Centre and The International Medical Centre, and her continuous commitment to improve the access of residents in Qatar to quality healthcare.
The ‘Organisation of the Year’ was awarded to Doha English Speaking School (DESS) for providing outstanding English National Curriculum based primary education to students aged between 3 and 11 years old. A significant number of leading Qataris spent their formative years at DESS, including His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
The ‘SME of the Year’ was awarded to Better By Result (BBR), an interior design company with only two full-time employees that continued to thrive and grow in an ever competing market, servicing both SME and multinational companies.
Paws Rescue Qatar (PAWS), a not-for-profit organisation run by several ladies and volunteers rescuing stray and abandoned animals in Qatar, received the ‘Work in the Community’ award. 
The ‘Special Achievement’ award was received by Mike Lawton, a respected member in Qatar and in the local community. The Regatta Sailing Academy, a one of its kind in Qatar is pioneered by Lawton and has been in existence for 21 years, training many adults and children in the sport of sailing. 
Muhammed Bahemia from Deloitte said: “We are delighted to support the QBBF Awards, which honour the finest business success and recognise the companies, business leaders and teams who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in the British business community. The calibre of this year’s winners shows that businesses in Qatar have a lot to be proud of.”

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