Thames Valley Business Magazine Awards 2008 - Alastair Campbell to present prestigious business awards

Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's former communications chief and popular media commentator, will be the guest speaker at the 13th annual Thames Valley Business Awards. The awards will be held on 22 November at the Royal Berkshire Conference Centre.

In addition to entries by post the Thames Valley Business Awards are inviting applications online at www.businessawards.co.uk. With a growing number of businesses from Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, North Hampshire and North Surrey entering the awards, the event looks set to be a spectacular showcase of business talent in the region; amongst last year’s winners were the Barracuda Group, Centennial Software and Re-new Surface Systems.

The closing date for completed applications is 30 September 2007.

Previous winners and finalists of the Thames Valley Business Awards have rightly been acclaimed as the area’s top achievers.

The categories for 2007 are:

 Thames Valley Business of the Year Award (sponsored by Pitmans Solicitors)

 Innovation Award (sponsored by Slough Trading Estate)

 Business Management Team Award (sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland)

 Dynamic Business Award (sponsored by Deloitte)

 Young Entrepreneur Award (sponsored by Millgate Developments)

 Employer of Choice Award (sponsored by Mandeville Recruitment Group)

 Small Business Award (sponsored by Regus)

Alastair Campbell was press and communications strategist and chief spokesman for Number 10, and he remains a key figure in Labour politics. Arguably the most influential of all government advisers, Campbell is no stranger to controversy, working the headlines or even making them as with the row over the BBC’s handling of the build-up to war in Iraq and the ensuing Hutton enquiry.

He is one of the four people credited with creating New Labour, a move which turned Labour into a party of government once more. It meant fighting and winning many battles for modernisation.

Campbell’s appearance at the Thames Valley’s premier business awards will provide a compelling and intriguing after dinner speech. David Murray, chairman of the awards said: “We are delighted to have Alastair Campbell speaking at the awards. The Thames Valley Business Awards are recognised as the most prestigious awards within the area and Alastair will mean we can keep to our promise of delivering an enjoyable and entertaining event, as well as top level recognition of successful businesses.”

For entry forms or tickets, contact Laura Smith at laura@elcot.co.uk or on 0118 974 5330

Online entries can be submitted at www.businessawards.co.uk