Fearless explorer to take centre stage at awards

At 73, Sir Ranulph Fiennes is showing no signs of slowing down: he is the only human to have crossed both polar ice caps and climbed Mount Everest.

He will speak about his lifetime of adventure and exploration and his fundraising for charity.

Sir Ranulph has made headlines for 50 years for his willingness to embrace danger. He led the first hovercraft expedition up the Nile, the longest river in the world in 1968/1969 and since then has gone on to complete expeditions that have enhanced our understanding of the earth.

He achieved a world first in 1992/1993 by completing the first unsupported crossing of the Antarctic Continent, with fellow adventurer Mike Stroud. This was the longest unsupported polar journey in history.

Victoria Woodings, meanwhile, is the chief executive officer at Principle Group, the award- winning Huddersfield-based global brand implementation specialist.

She will speak about her own path to the top, progressing from finance director to CEO of a £155m-turnover international business serving many of the world’s biggest and best- known brands.

Ms Woodings will also talk about talent development, diversity and automation, which will be topical themes for the audience of business leaders at the awards ceremony on September 26.

The Yorkshire Finance Leaders Awards honour the outstanding men and women responsible for ensuring the ongoing financial strength of the region’s best small, medium and large institutions.

Their contribution will be rewarded in the new initiative from accountancy and business advisory firm BDO LLP, insurance brokerage Lockton Companies, Brewster Pratap Recruitment Group, and law firm Walker Morris LLP.

A spokeswoman for the sponsors said: “We are delighted to welcome Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Victoria Woodings as our guest speakers for the inaugural Yorkshire Finance Leaders Awards.

“They have very different life stories but each are highly inspiring in their own way and have important messages to share about determination and success.”

The YFL Awards are open to finance leaders from all public and private sector organisations across Yorkshire and includes categories for interim finance leaders and future finance leaders.

The Yorkshire Post is media partner for the awards dinner..

Tickets for the event go on sale on July 9. If you are interested in attending, please email [email protected].

For more information, please visit www.yflawards.co.uk.