Check out these previous winners of the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year award
A distinct orange hue will be enveloping Claridge's this evening for the annual Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year awards; gongs will be handed out, Veuve will be drunk.
Thomas Cook’s Harriet Green is up against Mediacom’s Karen Blackett and retail doyenne Jane Shepherdson of Whistles for the top gong.
The additional New Generation award will also go to one of three names; Sharmadean Reid of WAH Nails, Jenny Dawson of Rubies in the Rubble or Melissa Morris of Network Locum.
Decoded founder Kathryn Parsons and Architect Zaha Hadid took home the gongs last year (pictured). But the award has been running since 1972 – this ain’t no new-fangled title. A look back at previous winners is an enjoyable romp through the history of female entrepreneurial prowess.
Let’s stroll down memory lane:
1974: Stella Brummel was one of the first ladies to receive the award. She was the managing director of Benford Ltd – the largest manufacturer of concrete mixing equipment in the UK.
1984: Debbie Moore OBE, founder of Pineapple Dance Studios, single-handedly made wearing leg-warmers and sweat bands cool during the 80s – we can’t decide whether to thank or curse her for that one.
1985: Dame Anita Roddick DBE, founder of The Body Shop brought us cosmetics with a a conscience back in the 70s, now there’s hardly a high street in the UK without one.
1989: Mair Barnes CBE was MD of pick ‘n’ mix haven Woolworths for seven years until 1994. She also served as non-exec director of the now ailing chain from 2000 until 2008.
1998: Dame Marjorie Scardino DBE, chief exec of Pearson became the first female boss of a FTSE 100 company when we was appointed at Pearson in 1997. There was a collective sigh of sadness when she announced her departure from Pearson last year, leaving us with even fewer female FTSE heads – but she has since been invited to be the first female board member of Twitter so she’s still forging firsts.
2001: Dianne Thompson CBE chief exec of Camelot Group won the award in the early 2000s and has hit the headlines again recently announcing she’ll be stepping down as chief exec after 14 years in the position.
2008: Carolyn McCall – she’s now the queen of the skies but the chief exec of easyJet was once more of a media whizz and won the award as chief executive of Guardian Media Group back in 2008.
Look out for tomorrow's paper to see who wins tonight…