You would be forgiven for thinking that the most important Mansion House event was the Chancellor’s annual speech to City leaders but, with apologies to Rachel Reeves, she’s just been upstaged.
Last night (18 November 2024) 200 leaders and founders from a staggering array of businesses, charities and organisations gathered at this iconic Square Mile venue for the 2024 City AM Dragon Awards.
These awards have been held under the auspices of the Lord Mayor of the City of London for nearly 40 years, but this is the first time they’ve been organised and hosted by City AM. The Dragon Awards, which take their name from the many dragons that mark the boundaries of the City of London, recognise incredible examples of social impact across the business community.
We had over 200 brilliant submissions which were whittled down to 48 outstanding finalists before 12 category winners were revealed last night. And what a worthy group of winners they are; achieving remarkable things in their communities or for society at large.
Between them, they’re rehabilitating offenders; redefining inclusion at work; breaking down barriers; changing the landscape of impact investing; revolutionising healthcare; supporting underserved communities; tackling global issues; promoting financial inclusion; and benefiting the environment and our natural world. The entire evening was a succession of good news stories, and as journalists we don’t often get to revel in that.
My thanks go to all the nominees and our congratulations to all the winners.
Christian May – Editor in Chief
Winners
Advisor of the Year – Kate Grussing CBE
Industry Leader of the Year – Sarah de Lagarde
Startup of the Year – ISLA Health
Investor of the Year – Octopus Ventures
Impact Business of the Year – Reconomy
Entrepreneur of the Year and Leadership in Financial Literacy – GoHenry
Team of the Year – The Group Operations and Technology Office at UBS
Industry Association of the Year – Investor Action on Antimicrobial Resistance
Financial Institution of the Year – Zilch
Heart of the City Award – The Clink Charity
Inclusive Workplace and Wellbeing – Reed Smith
Guest speaker – Pinar Ozcan, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Said Business School in Oxford gave an inspirational speech about the power of technology to break down barriers