The Advisory Board for the Growth Investor Awards met today to debate criteria, nominations and judging for several awards and to suggest a keynote speaker for the black tie dinner – where winners will be revealed on 22 October.

Eight industry influencers convened in a boardroom at the Marriott Grosvenor Square in Mayfair, London, where this year’s awards dinner will take place. These included Sarah Wadham, Director General of the EISA; Tim Hames, Director General of the BVCA; Martin McCourt, former CEO of Dyson & director of Montagu Private Equity; Mike Harris, Founding CEO of Egg & First Direct, former Chairman of Group Innovation at RBS; Emma Jones MBE, CEO of Enterprise Nation; Tony Langham, Chairman of Unbiased.co.uk & Chief Executive of Lansons; and Lawrence Gosling, Group Editorial Director of Incisive Media. Tamara Rajah, Partner at McKinsey & Company, represented Sherry Coutu in her role as Trustee of the Scale-Up Institute – which launched in June to help the most promising high growth firms scale up to their fullest potential.

Key points on the agenda included nominees for the Industry Champion Award, which honours an influential individual who has championed alternative investment to engage a range of stakeholders in the industry; and criteria for the Industry Game-Changer award, which recognizes an individual, company, platform, product or service that has demonstrably improved practice, perception or engagement in the alternative investment industry.

The Board also debated the most appropriate keynote speaker for the Growth Investor Awards, with suggestions including an appropriate representative from government or the Treasury; a business journalist or commentator; and a successful entrepreneur or founder whose business has grown or scaled due to the support of the SME fund management industry.

Who would you like to hear from? Send your suggestions to alex@intelligent-partnership.com.